A Lifetime of Love

Do you see this? It's a tent my kids made in the back half of our playroom. You are probably thinking, "Oh,that's fun. I remember doing that when I was a kid" or "My kids [used to] do that!" And for them, it is fun. It's a critical part of their development- they learn about creativity, teamwork, and some of the laws of physics. But for me, it induces feelings of anxiety to see it. My heart beats a little faster and I can feel my blood pressure rising. I hate every second it's up, and it takes every ounce of self-control I can muster to not make them tear it down and clean it up. Why do I feel so overwhelmed and out-of-control whenever the kids build forts or even get all of their toys out at one time? It's not because I'm a "Neat Nick" or anything like that, because I'm not; I have my fair share of clutter. I just cannot stand messes, and at the risk of sounding all "psychological," I think it goes back to my...

For us, 2011 was a year of learning… Thomas (9) learned to serve others by volunteering to gather and take out the garbage at a local pregnancy center.   He reports for duty every Monday and greatly enjoys the work! He also learned the value of a dollar as he worked for several neighbors and friends doing yard work and house/pet sitting this past spring and summer to earn money for art camp. Thomas is continuing to work and save his money as he plans to go with our church’s youth group to The Wilds Christian Camp in the mountains of North Carolina for one week this upcoming summer. We are excited about how the Lord will work in his life, especially while at camp. Tanner (6 ½) is learning to read in school. It has been fun to witness him read words on his own as we drive around town. He has also begun to read more books to his younger sisters, which is a great help to me! This summer and fall, Tanner learned to operate the lawn mower and leaf blower. If you know Tanner well, you...

Here is our most recent family picture. I am including it in our Christmas card...if I can ever find the time to write them! Life for me has become even busier than it was before. I am struggling to find a balance between my expectations and reality of what I can accomplish in a day. My "To Do" list is so long and yet it seems I spend all my time between laundry, dishes, and caring for children. It is discouraging to see my list get longer instead of shorter, but I know soon enough a routine will be established and life will get back to "normal," whatever that was. On a different note, Taryn is gaining weight quickly because she eats so often! During the day, she goes about 2 hours between feedings. However, starting around 8pm, she feeds about every hour and a half. I am nursing her but find myself giving her bottles of formula more and more because she just doesn't seem satisfied, even after nursing for 30 minutes or more. On the bright side, the kids (...

I'm sure everyone who's old enough to remember the events of September 11, 2001 can describe vividly the details of the day and how it's forever changed our nation. I am no exception... TJ and I were living in California at the time. He was still in the Air Force, and I worked as an Administrative Assistant at the Regional Office of Marshalls Department Store. TJ woke up first, showered, and turned on the TV to watch the news as he ironed his uniform. I awoke to TJ telling me that an airplane had hit the World Trade Center, and I remember watching the TV while trying to process everything. Keep in mind, living in CA, we were 3 hours behind the East Coast so the first plane hit at 5:46am PT. We continued watching the news coverage, and like many, were horrified as we watched the second plane hit on live TV. Even to this day, as I watch the news footage, I still find myself thinking it looks more like a scene from a movie than reality. We both readied ourselves for work a...

2010 has been a year marked by significant changes! On March 10 th we welcomed the newest member of our family, Taylor Ann. She was born almost 3 weeks early and has been a blessing since before her arrival. Now 9 months old, she is becoming more mobile and independent as she loves to explore her surroundings! She adores her siblings and is quite content to watch them play. At the end of May we moved into a larger house. The house is almost double the square footage of our old house, and is closer to the university where TJ works as the manager of the User Support and telephone call-center. It sits on a half-acre of land and is a long-awaited answer to prayer. We all have room to “spread out” but yet we enjoy the benefits of being closer to town. It is an older home that needs some updating, but we are slowly painting rooms and making it our own. Probably the best part of moving is our neighbors- over the months we’ve been here we have become closer with them and they are a blessing t...

I know I need to update this, and although a lot has happened over the past week and a half, not much of it is blog-worthy. =) As 2009 ended, the Lord's hand has been evident in many different ways and situations. As 2010 begins, I pray I continue to see His loving hand in everything. I am thankful for all that has happened in 2009 as it has shaped me into who I am today. I have learned a lot about God and His goodness this past year, and pray I continue to study the God I serve so that I may be better equipped to share with others about Him. More to come . . .

Tomorrow is the big day! My mom and sis have been planning this baby shower since mid-August. I am excited as I haven't received any new "baby gear" since Th's birth over 7 years ago. May not seem like a long time ago but considering my stuff has gone through 4 children, it's definitely worn and seen better days. :) I am not as excited about finding out what I'm having as I thought I would be. It's not that I'm not excited, but part of me feels like I am having a girl and Twin A was a boy. I will never know for sure until I reach Heaven, but it's a feeling I've had since I found out about the twins. I suppose a part of me is thinking that by finding out the gender of the other, I am confirming my suspicions. Does that make sense? Regardless, I am happy and thankful that I am now able to feel the baby move, helping to lessen my fears with each kick. I have been feeling movement for a few weeks, but as I get further along, the movements are more ...

So my husband felt like my birthday was not all that he wanted it to be because our dinner was not "the best". Dinner was okay, just not worth the price we paid per meal. Anyway, today he surprised me by sending a dozen roses to my school. Is that not the sweetest thought ever? I was so shocked, especially because it was so unexpected! That's what I love about him- the little thoughtful things he does for me. I just happened to be in the main office talking to the secretary when the FedEx man made a delivery. I turned to walk back to my class when she told me the package was a delivery for me. I immediately corrected her since my mentor teacher and I have similar last names and said, "You mean Mrs. _____?" And she said, "No, it's for you. I promise." I felt my face match the same shade of red as my shirt, and I opened it right then. The flowers are beautiful, and there was also a package of chocolates (chocolate- my favorite!). I left the flowers o...

TJ bought me a new camera for Christmas. . . one I've been wanting for about 10 years. I'm still learning to use it as it is an amazing camera and has lots of functions. But, here is a sample of pictures I've taken over the past couple of days. Ta at our Pastor's son's wedding T.G. Sleeping Teagan Handsome! The boys with Ron "Patch" Hamilton Rainbow, our cat

Merry Christmas! As you celebrate with loved ones, pause for a moment to reflect on the birth of the One and Only True Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Like we sang over cinnamon rolls this morning, Happy Birthday, Jesus!

I'm still here. It's been a crazy week with family visiting. My sis and Kaylee were here last weekend, and my parents and brother are here now. We've been busy doing stuff and I also had school Monday and Tuesday. Next week is my final week of school, and finals begin the week after. I have 4 huge projects due next week. I am trying to finish up writing the reports and other necessary paperwork. It's all very time-consuming. In other news, my Thanksgiving was good with the exception of one minor glitch- my microwave caught on fire! It began sparking and I told TJ so he could come and look at it. He was pre-occupied on the computer so he sort of blew me off. He only took me half-serious when I told him it was sparking. He got up, looked at it, turned it on for about 2 seconds, and said it was good to go. I believed him and turned it on again. About 15 seconds in, it sparked and black smoke came bellowing out, filling my entire first floor. My mom and dad were on a walk ...

Man oh man am I tired! TJ is at the Wilds this weekend for a men's retreat so I have been home with the kiddos. We went to visit the nursing home yesterday afternoon for Halloween, and then came home and ordered a pizza. While we waited for the pizza to arrive, we went through the candy and put all the stuff they aren't allowed to have (hard candy mainly) in a bowl for the trick-or-treaters who come to our neighborhood (we don't do trick-or-treating except at the nursing home- during daylight hours). They had fun periodically checking the bowl to see if it was empty. Surprisingly, most of it was gone within about 2 hours. There were only about 8 pieces or so left by the time I turned off our porch light at 8pm. This was the first time I have done that (I usually send the candy to work with TJ) and the kids had such a good time, I think I'll do it every year. Ta and T.G. aren't feeling well and both had difficulty sleeping last night. T.G. woke up at 10:15pm and I di...

Father’s Day was nice. TJ was feeling ill and that allowed me an opportunity to prepare the night before so the morning wasn’t as hectic while we got ready for church in addition to our Father’s Day festivities. I was able to get the table set for breakfast, his gifts ready to give to him, and the food thawed for me to make Sunday morning. I was up late Saturday night, but the relatively stress-free morning was worth the effort! I woke early with the kids as they rarely sleep past 6:45am. Sunday was no exception and we were up by 6:30am. I was able to grab a quick shower before heading downstairs to prepare breakfast. Ta loves to watch me cook, so he stood on a chair as I fried bacon and potatoes to add to our breakfast burritos. TJ came down about 7:45am, just as breakfast was almost ready (hmm, do you think he knew it was time to eat?) and we ate before he was able to open his presents. About his gifts. I have been waiting for about a month for this day to arrive. I thought of the pe...

Happy Memorial Day! TJ has to work most holidays so I was going to take the kids to the zoo today, but with the high cost of gas and high probability of crowds, I decided against it. Instead, we are heading to the pool later this morning. I bought some new pool toys and floats, and I hope T.G. enjoys them more this year than she did last year. Last year I had to hold her the entire time she was in the water because she hated her baby float. The boys, on the other hand, love the water and I have to make sure they stay by the steps where they can somewhat touch the bottom. Nonetheless, they are excited, and were ready to go in their bathing suits at 7:15 this morning! LOL ! I hate that TJ has to work today, but he gets a week off between Christmas and New Year's to make up for it, and it's worth it then, especially since the kids are out of school for 3 weeks during that time. Well, I have to go pack some snacks and begin the process of getting everyone lathered up with sunscr...

I cannot believe October has passed! T.G.'s first birthday is fast-approaching, and I am a little saddened. My baby is growing too fast! I posted some pictures from this past month, including Halloween. I love looking at the pictures, especially seeing the smiles on the faces of the residents in the nursing home; it is nothing short of sheer joy at seeing the children in their costumes. Th was a robot, Ta was Piglet, and T.G. was a pumpkin. I made her costume for $2.40 and I am really proud of myself. It's not the best in the world, but considering I didn't have a pattern and had to make one on my own, it turned out pretty good. It was a little big, but I knew it would be: I used Th as my mannequin because the only opportunity I had to sew was while she was napping. The picture is difficult to see, but I even sewed some green leaves out of felt for her hair. Oh, I wanted to update about school from a few weeks ago. I found out I need 2 classes in order to get my Elementa...