This is Dedicated to the Ones I Love!!!!

Today is Valentine's Day. Woo Hoo! The fact of the matter is that everyday should be a day that you celebrate the love you have for one another. Every morning , my husband gently kisses my cheek to say I love you without waking me too far out of my deep slumber. What a gracious man to get up before the dawn and drive 90 miles to work and yet not show bitterness as he watches his wife still deep in sleep. What a wonderful Daddy he is; never sugarcoated, only completely real. There is no fairytale image in our house only the true realism of deep heart felt love. We know the love that holds us all together and we can celebrate that today, but what a danger it would be if we forget tomorrow just because it is not a national day set aside to remember.

To my husband ....thank you for all that you are to me and our children. I love you more today than I did yesterday, and I will love you more than that tomorrow. It is my prayer that we will find something new to love about each other daily.

To my children....I loved you before I ever laid hands on you. With each kick I grew more and more in love with you, and now I am learning so many things about you daily. The more I learn; the more I love. You are all individual blessings placed in my arms. I love you forever!!!!

Watch Out Olive Garden Here We Come...

When there is snow on the ground and friends are in town; what should you do? Go to the Olive Garden of course. Thats right 2 moms 10 children all 10 and under (10, 8,7,7,5,5,3,2, 7mos, and 7 mos) graced the people at the big OG with our insanity. Really though, you would think this would be an equation that equals disaster. However, the kids were great (maybe a little sugared up by the end) but all in all they were a great bunch of kids to take out on the town.


Speaking of sugared up....Little O got ahold of a sugar packet and ate half the thing before I caught him. Needless to say he did a lot of talking after that. The only way to keep his quite loud babble down to a minimum was to give in and give the little fella a breadstick. Um Um gotta love those OG garlic breadsticks. As you can see he has quite the death grip in his giant treasure.

Our Little Touch of Winter

Doesnt the old homestead look delightful all covered in the first snow? The kids were full of so much excitement this morning, however we were completely unprepared for the wintery weather....

....as you can see we made the best of what we could find. Oh and to add to the excitement we were able to share this time with our best buds who were here for a visit. The kids had a blast together until it just got too cold. Time for hot chocolate.

Haircuts

Ok, we went a little shorter than planned but they look super cute. Right at the shoulder line is a good line for them. You cant tell from the picture because they have their shoulders are shrugged up. Needless to say they feel pretty. Oh and "please dont be sad daddy," B said for me to tell you that.

Vacations

Chaos.....
There is no other way to describe these past 2 weeks. We have taken a vacation from school and have done a great deal of traveling. Each place visited has fowarded a new carload of gifts which now need a place in the playroom. Not to mention the fact that the room was already overcrowded with toys, school books and supplies, two computers, cubbies, a table that seats 4 comfortably, and a dresser converted into a bookshelf. This room is a disaster!!!!! Why is it all in one room you ask. Well, it just seems to work that way. No matter what that room looks like at the end of the day, I can shut the door and ignore the mess as long as the rest of the house looks the way I want it. However, to my great dismay, the chaos seems to be oozing into other rooms of the house. Apparently the girls dont like to play in a room that has no room. So they bring their toys out into the living room, and the den, and the kitchen, and the washroom, and the weirdest place of all....the bathroom. WHAT????? I am going off the deep end. I like order and clean fresh houses and today my house is not to my liking. I need my sanity back! I need a bigger playroom or maybe less toys or maybe some organization to this chaos! Maybe I just need a vacation from my vacation. Things are out of order because there is no order. I think it is time to go back to the school schedule....Kids do much better when life is under control. Its time to get back to the controlled chaos we are used to.

Merry Christmas!!!!!

Welcome to Bethlehem Gultch

Well, Christmas is past and we have had so many wonderful things to do. However, the most fun we have had this season is watching H and K perform in the homeschool choir Christmas production. They both had solos and were GREAT!!!!! I am a proud momma of my little songbirds. Dont they look so cute? They both played cowgirls and enjoyed dressing the part they wore their gitup for a few days after the first production. I cant wait until the spring musical!

Christmas at Nana's and Pepa's

Wow! What a fun time we all had. This was our first long stay at Nana's since Little O was born. We had a blast.

Have you ever met an angel on earth? I have! In fact I've met 2. Grandmother and Granddaddy are two of the sweetest and most loving people I know. They are always there to give sweet hugs and always seem to be so free with their uplifting spirits. Merry Christmas Grandmother and Granddaddy!!!

Here are Scooters bros family. Arent they just the cutest? The girls love to see them when we are on vacation. Not to mention Little O loves to try and pull the babies hair. They look so cute together looking at each others babyness.

And here is Scooters sis with her two love bugs. Her daughter looks just like her as a little girl and her son took on his daddy's look but his momma's sweetness. I could just kiss him until he giggles.

And last but not least Nana and Pepa. Or as they like to refer to themselves as Mr. and Mrs. Claus. I dont remember what was so funny but it sure makes for a great picture. Thanks for entertaining our troops for our extended stay. We had a great time. Merry Christmas!!!!

A Tribute to Abe

Ok...I do not profess to be an animal lover, I have a smell phobia against them, and my children seem to be allergic to the dander they produce. However, today I realized how much I owe to this wonderful dog, Abraham. As of yesterday afternoon Abe has not been doing so well. Big Papa put Abe in the back of the truck for the kids and me to take him to the vet this morning. After an examination the vet thinks that Abes kidneys and liver are failing. We had to leave him there for the night and I walked out with 5 distraught little girls. I feel hypocritical for the emotions I am feeling myself. In fact I am having to fight back tears even writing this post. I have this massive lump in my throat, and am praying that no one calls and hears my emotion over a dog. The fact of the matter is that this massive warrior has always placed himself as the protector of our family through two deployments and way too many schools and trainings to even count. His bark has kept many salesmen at their distance and has scared off many stray wild animals. His loyalty to our family is honorable.

I Love a Man in Uniform

Big Papa.....thats his name when he is dressed like a man protecting the world. However at home he is my Scooter Boo. Either way he's the sexiest man I know. Look at that face, so chiseled with combat poise. You would never know he could be melted by six little faces at home. I love this man!