Noah is 11!

April is always a month that is B-U-S-Y for us. Whether it's Easter, Syd's birthday, our anniversary or our final celebration of the month....NOAH'S BIRTHDAY!

I think Noah had a good birthday. Saturday we took Noah to Indianapolis to watch the Naptown Girls Roller Derby. Talk about a fun time! Who wouldn't love to watch girls skating around the cement rink, pushing and shoving into each other, and those not so lucky get thrown into the crowd while the spectators yell and cheer for their team! It was awesome!!! Indianapolis won their bout against the Knoxville TN team (Hard Knox) in overtime. Noah got to have his picture taken with some of the roller girls and got a few autographs too. Afterwards, we went to Logan's Steakhouse to eat.

But...yesterday was his "official" birthday. He of couse, had to go to school but Chad came to eat with him at lunchtime and I bought him a giant iced chocolate chip cookie and juice to share with his classmates. Even though he had soccer practice after school, we had his favorite meal (spaghetti and meatballs) and then birthday cake for dessert. AND...let's not forget about the presents! Noah got an outfit, a PS2 game, and a movie (Night at the Museum...which if you haven't seen...rush right out and buy it...it is phenomenal! Great family movie!)

Many of you know what our life was like when Noah was a toddler. There were many days of frustration and tears on my part. TALK ABOUT BUSY! Noah was into everything all the time. He was active and you had to keep a constant eye on him. I sincerely mean this when I say I couldn't pee without taking Noah with me to bathroom because I was afraid of what he would do or get into. This is the child who would stick cheese puffs into the wasitband of his diaper (when he was 2) for a snack during his nap. This is the boy who climbed quietly out of his crib (when he was 2) got into the fridge and painted his room with a stick of butter! This is the boy who hours after we painted our living room decided to find a sharpie marker and walk the perimeter of the living room writing a line around the entire room. This is boy who would eat trash out of the trashcan, dirt out of my plants, and dog food right out of the dog bowl. This is the boy who got out of his crib, unscrewed the screws to the floor vent in his bedroom and then fell through 10 feet into the kitchen and nothing happened to him except a scratch on his leg. This all happened at the ripe age of TWO and all within just a couple months of each other

Those were frustrating days for me. I had no time to myself. I couldn't even go to the bathroom alone! In fact, there were days I didn't think the toddler days would end! But as I look at Noah now and how far he's come and how great he is.... living through those years was worth it. Noah is amazing. He is funny and silly and kind and smart and so witty. He is perfection and the older he gets the more I love him.

Now when I see the frustrated mom at the grocery whose ornery son is doing everything under the sun to drive her crazy and she's about at the end of her rapidly fraying rope...I want to say to her....HOLD ON! It will get better. Be patient and love him through these days. No matter how sweet, how silly, how ornery, or how awful your child may be at this particular moment in their life, seize this day. Love them like you've never loved them before. Hug the daylights out of them and thank Jesus everyday for that child.

I do thank Jesus for Noah. He is a blessing and we are thankful he is in our lives. What a wonderful gift!

Anniversary!

Well, it's official! Chad and I have been married for fifteen years!

It doesn't seem like we've been together that long. It seems like a flash in the pan. I can't believe we have a twelve year old son who is in middle school. I can't believe this is Noah's last year in elementary school and I find it incredible my baby girl just turned nine! Time just flies right by!

Chad is a wonderful man. He is an amazing father who puts his family first. He is a wonderful provider and really enjoys his job. Finally he is an incredible husband. He is loving and kind and very understanding. We do a lot of laughing together which is always a good thing. I don't know how we would have survived all these years without being able to laugh at each other and all the dumb things we do and say. I mean, he should be declared a saint with all he has to put up with here. I mean, how much more forgiveness is there for a person who nearly sets the house on fire everytime I make tacos (those darn shells are so flammable!!!) Or, how much patience can you have after your wife keeps dropping her diamond earring down the sink drain for the past fifteen years??? Apparently Chad has a sea of patience and a trunk full of forgiveness because it never runs out!!!

I love to watch Chad with our kids. He will play with them for hours and always spends time with them one on one. He is the most patient man I've ever met and is always there to help the kids with school projects or coaching teams or working out problems. If one of the kids wants to help when he's in the garage working on something of his own, he always finds something for them to do and always explains how to use his tools and doesn't get upset or frustrated when they do something incorrectly.

He helps do laundry, he does dishes, he cleans up dog vomit (blech!) he is VERY handy (he's re-done our entire home entirely on his own!) and he loves us deeply and doesn't hold back with affection.

Chad once told me that "he was glad that God saw fit to slightly blind me long enough to fall in love with him and marry him." I haven't felt that way one day of our marriage. I love this man and I'm incredibly blessed to have him as my own.

Thank you, Chad for loving me and our children the way you do! Happy Anniversary!

Happy Birthday Sydney!

Monday is Sydney's ninth birthday.

I cannot believe it. It kind of crept up on me without me realizing what was happening. How could my baby be 9?!?!

I love, love, love having a girl. First off, we really thought we were done having children after Noah came. But then....SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE.... we got pregnant again! I was thrilled when I found out I was having a girl. After having two wonderfully, precious but very ornery boys, I was so excited to have a sweet, soft, pink, and sparkly girl! And boy oh boy did I ever get her.

Sydney is as girly as they come. She is as pink and glittery, and sparkly and sweet as any girl could ever be. She is so much fun. From the minute they laid her in my arms, she was mine and I couldn't have been happier.

Sydney and I have a great relationship. She is very open and kind and isn't afraid to talk to me about whatever is on her mind. She loves to spend time with me and still allows me to hold her hand or kiss her face even when we are in public. She is tender and loving and adores her big brothers. Her daddy is her hero and watching her melt into him when he hugs her is just about the sweetest thing.

She is wonderful!

But now she's nine! Will nine be as great as what eight was? Will she still love me without abandon? Will she hold my hand when we walk through the grocery store parking lot? Will she want me to read to her before I tuck her into bed? Will she even want me to tuck her in at night? I don't think I'm ready for nine!

Well, I found out the answer to these questions the other night. This conversation happened when I was putting her in bed.

S: Mom, will I like being nine?

M: Probably. You're just a day older than you were yesterday. Plus, you'll still be in third grade, so not much will change. Do you think you'll like being nine?

S: (shrugs) Um, I don't know. I really don't want to get any bigger. I like the size I am.

M: Well, I like the size you are too but being nine is probably going to be pretty great.

S: Will you still read to me?

M: Yes.

S: Will you still tuck me in at night?

M: Always.

S: Will we still hold hands when we walk together?

M: Of course.

S: Good! 'Cause I don't want to be nine if things are going to change.

I think my heart just melted into a puddle. She is amazing. And, just like she needed the reassurance that things weren't going to change, I needed to hear that with the ninth birthday there wasn't going to be an abrupt change too.

Anyway, I took Sydney and her best friend, Brittany to Libby Lou in the Castleton Mall today. They got a makeover (complete with fake hair, pink extensions, make up and nail polish.) They had a GREAT time.

I love Sydney and I know when each amazing phase of our lives ends, a new exciting one will begin. I am going to do my best to just enjoy each passing day of my childrens' lives without getting caught up in the thought that OH MY GOSH...she's nine!

God Bless Sydney on her birthday!

SHELLS!

Well, here is just a small fraction of the shells we would come across each morning after the tide went out. Isn't it amazing?

We had so much fun just combing the sand for perfect shells that weren't ruined by the crashing waves as they rolled onto the beaches during high tide.

So Cool!

Sunrise

First of all let me say that I am not much of a morning person. I mean, I don't like waking up super early and get busy doing whatever it is people who get up early get busy doing. I like waking up mid-morning, slow and easy, not rushing around, pressing the snooze button several times and then staying up late in the evening. Chad and I have always been more of a "night owl" type of people.

BUT...

During vacation, I couldn't wait to get up, while the house was still and quiet and watch the sun creep onto the horizon. It's light would spill massive amounts of glitter onto the water and would seep into the ocean all the while a warm glow spreads over the sand and water causing all these amazing colors to appear. It was absolutely breath taking! I just couldn't get enough of it!

These pictures, I think, says it all.

All I can say is WOW!

On the Beach

I love these pictures! In the one picture, Noah is watching the waves and it looks as if he is contemplating what move he should make next in his giant scheme of taking over the world. This is a side of Noah we rarely see. If you know Noah at all, then you know he is rambunctious, loud, and quite the comedian. He is rarely serious or quiet. I love this picture because it completely captures Noah in a different light than what we usually see. How could you not love this boy?

The other picture is a picture of our kids playing in the sand on the beach. Their goal each day was to dig the biggest hole they possibly could and then they would take turns standing in it. They would work and work and dig and dig and get it to the exact depth they wanted and then the tide would come in later that night and they would have to start all over again. BUT...they were relentless in their hole-digging. You have to give them props for that!!!

I had the best time with my family this week. It was great fun to watch my children play, explore, and get to do things they don't normally get to do in Indiana at our house. Each day my children bless me and looking at these pictures I am again reminded of how precious they are.

VACATION!

We are officially back from vacation! We made it back home safe and sound! We arrived home Saturday night around 10:00 p.m. We were really sad to come home but really glad when we got here and were able to sleep in our own beds.

We had the BEST week! We (the Mays, the Austins, and the Jones) made plans a few weeks ago to go to Emerald Isle in North Carolina. If you don't know where that is, it's part of the Outer Banks and located on the southern most tip. It is gorgeous there and I'm so jealous of those who get to live there. It is a small community situated on an island that is only about six to seven house rows wide. It is so fun! We rented an oceanfront house right on the beach. It was so awesome to wake up every morning to the beach and go to sleep every night with the sounds of the ocean singing you to sleep.

Every morning, we would take walks on the beach and gather new shells the tide would bring in each night. We have quite a collection! We spent our days on the beach, shopping, or touring the nearby towns. We had one cold and rainy day (Thursday) so we spent that day at the Pine Knoll Shores Aquarium which turned out to be really fun. The kids got to "pet" stingrays, horseshoe crabs, and sharks. It is was really great. We also got to eat some amazing seafood! We went to this restaurant which is our new favorite called AJ's. It was delicious! I had Mahi Mahi the first visit and the second visit, Elijah and I ate shrimp and crab. YUMMY!

In the evenings, different couples would take turns making big dinners and then each couple had a date night. Mom did a Hawaiian night (complete with authentic Hawaiian outfits, lais, and umbrellas in fancy drinks.) The Mays did a Mexican night with delicious margs! The Jones did an American style dinner. We were not present on this night since it was our night out.

Our date was so fun! We first went to a restaurant called Kathryn's for drinks. It was a pretty fancy place and it was so fun to be there! Afterwards, we went to see a movie (Premonition) and then we traveled to Moorhead City to eat at Sonic. We had been dying to try this restaurant since we don't have one in Muncie and their commercials crack us up! It was a good night and were glad to have some time together.

The kids had a great time. Believe it or not, they all swam in the ocean nearly everyday (which was pretty darn cold!) However, they kept saying, "C'mon, Mom! Once you get used to the water, it's fine!" I think this translates into "Once you're in the water and your skin becomes numb, you really can't feel the hypothermia setting in!!!"

Shopping is great! Everything is a little pricey but you can find some stores that are very reasonable. We do have favorites. Our very favorite t-shirt and souvenir place is called Pacific Superstore. It was there we met Kamal who is the cutest little soccer playing Moroccan. I believe he manages the store. He gave us many good bargains! Thanks Kamal!!! You Rock!

We have TONS of pictures and I'll include some from our trip this week. I'll try not to bombard you with them...so I will limit myself!

This honestly was one of our best vacations. It rates up there with our California vacation a couple years ago.

Bottom line...if you're looking for a great vacation....look into Emerald Isle! I promise, you won't be disappointed!!!