I hate to brag, but

I have the best husband in the world! For Mother's Day, he made me this photo collage of me and the kids with Proverbs 31:28-31 in the center.

I also got a gift card (which I already spent on a new dress), a lily, and an orchid corsage that I wore to church. The corsage didn't make it through the service, since all three of my girls needed some "mommy" time during church.

And to keep on boasting, here are a couple of photos of my beautiful baby. I just realized that I haven't posted any pictures of her lately! Poor neglected child! :)

A week behind

Last week was so busy that I hardly had time to catch my breath! A few of the highlights:

We went to the McCamy (Billy's paternal grandmother's side of the family) annual Decoration Day. We had lunch, then placed flowers at the family cemetery, and then had dessert at an old log cabin on the family property. There is a gentleman that is using the property as a hunting camp, so there are always interesting things for the kids to see.

Like petting a real raccoon...


On such a soggy Sunday, it wasn't too difficult for the "big" kids to find a puddle to splash in. They all had to ride home in their underwear. :)
Rebecca met her 7th(?) cousin for the first time and they really hit it off.


Last Monday was the preschool's field day. There were sack races, relay races, an inflatable bouncy and slide, a balloon artist, bubbles, hula hoops, and a painting craft. The boys had a blast, but Vivian was feeling a little under the weather. She had a low-grade fever when we got home, and I quickly followed. (No, we didn't have the swine flu!)

Waiting for the next event!


Lots of bubbles to be made.


Vivian taking a stab at the sack races. The two- and three-year-olds weren't too great at this event.


Billy took off from work on Tuesday because I was sick. He got to take Henry, William, and Vivian to the dentist. (All the kids and I took Rebecca the week before. What a disaster that was!)

When you don't feel so great, you'll let your kids play with anything! Seriously, Vivian got two "real" make-up sets for her birthday! Thanks, Nannie and Leah!


I met with Rebecca's teachers to discuss her IEP. It was great to sit and listen to them talk about how much progress she is making. I like to be optimistic, so it is refreshing to hear! Rebecca and Vivian also had their regular check-ups at the pediatrician last week. Rebecca had gained 10 pounds in one year! In 19 months, that child has gone from a size 4 to a size 7!! She's playing catch-up in more ways than one!

Happy Birthday, Vivian!

Tomorrow is Vivian's 3rd birthday, and to think that three years ago, we weren't even expecting this precious angel to enter our lives.

We celebrated with a Care Bear party on Saturday. She opened her gifts from us that morning. In addition to her pierced ears, she got an Elefun game, a Cabbage Patch doll, and a baton. (That's the mystery present that Rebecca is holding.)


Rebecca with some of our guests.


The cake.


A little shy during the birthday song.


Showing off my moves in my new ballerina costume.

Prelude to a party

Somebody is about to be 3 years old! I took Vivian today to get her ears pierced. She has been wanting this for a while. She was so brave but when it came time, you can tell she was having second thoughts. She did not cry at all though.


Sassy again! See my sparkly earrings?


Helping Mommy make cupcakes. When I told her I was making cupcakes for her party tomorrow, she threw her arms around me and said, "Oh, thank you, Mommy!!" Melted my heart. Stay tuned for the Care Bear cake made by Lisa!


I'm ready to go pick up everyone from school!

It was a tres, tres Happy Birthday!

Happy 8th birthday, Rebecca! In the short 19 months that you have been our daughter, you have grown and changed so much. You are a beautiful, precious little girl! We love you!
Friday Rebecca had her "special" day at school. She got to bring in some of her favorite things to show the class. I also made a poster full of pictures of her. The class sang "Happy Birthday" to her, and she got to blow out her candles. She was all smiles. Her teacher asked her some questions about her family and what she liked to do, etc. She also asked her where she would go for her birthday if she could choose. Rebecca said, "Chuck E. Cheese." (Oh, wouldn't that have been easier!!) We then went to lunch and Rebecca passed out the homemade cupcakes that I made. (No, I didn't buy them! And they even had lots of sprinkles!)
Granddaddy Bill brought pizza, cake, and ice cream (and presents) on Friday night. Rebecca got a High School Musical outfit, a Pinocchio movie, and a set of Princess sheets. Of course she had to sleep on the sheets that very night!


The big day--her Fancy Nancy party! We had lots of dress-up clothes and, of course, accessories, fancy pink punch in a fancy punch bowl, and "fancy" food--fruit, finger sandwiches and chicken nuggets on crystal trays. The cake was a beautiful 3-tiered pink cake, thanks to Lisa! The girls had their nails done and made a princess wand craft. I only wish we would have had time to make parfaits. We love Fancy Nancy!

Does this color suit me?


The dressing room


The only shot we got of the cake!


Making our wands


Yes! A Hannah Montana nightgown!


Waiting patiently for the cake & ice cream

Egg- ceptional Easter

Counting eggs after Henry's preschool egg hunt.


I missed William's egg hunt but was there for the pizza party!


Rebecca found 23 eggs at her kindergarten egg hunt!


Later that afternoon...the neighborhood egg hunt!


In the midst of it all, Ellen (sort of) enjoys her first rice cereal. She had her 4-month check-up and she now weighs 14 lbs. and is 25 in. long.


Coloring eggs Saturday morning.


Nannie & PawPaw's 10 grandchildren (and there is one more on the way) just before the big egg hunt! From L to R, Scarlett, Rebecca, Fiona, Phin, Henry, Walker, Vivian, Anna, William, and Ellen (with PawPaw).


Found another one!


Oh, no, the "terrible threes" are coming!


Easter Sunday




We hosted Easter dinner at our house with another big egg hunt. My kids should do this professionally! :) Note Henry's green face, thanks to Grandma's cupcakes!

Hippity, hoppity, Easter's on its way!

I'm tired. Really tired. More than just the mommy-of-five-young-children tired. We are in the 4th week of our kitchen/laundry room/bath remodel. I'm going to love it when it's over, but the whole process is just awful. It's taking twice as long as the initial estimate, and I never know what is going to happen from one day to the next. I'm finding out just how long you can drag out mudding and sanding drywall. I have no idea until I get home in the evening if my kitchen will be usable. There is dust EVERYWHERE. There are strange men in my house constantly and they don't knock before entering. And this is all minor in comparison to having to either stay away completely for the day or to keep the children out of the way. Being away all day means I have to do all my everyday chores at night. I'm not getting into bed until midnight on most nights. Plus, Rebecca is really acting out right now. My day really gets interesting at 2:30 every day, when I pick her up from school. I'm hoping that much of her problem is the change in her routine and things will be back to "normal" very soon!
But, Spring is here! Despite all my complaining, the kids and I have enjoyed our outings. We've had to endure "Dogwood Winter" earlier in the week, but those 70-degree temps are back. Easter weekend looks like it's going to be beautiful!

Here's Ellen "rolling" into Spring. She's 4 months old today, and she rolled over for the first time a couple of weeks ago.


Meeting the Easter Bunny at our church's egg hunt.


The church kiddos (and this isn't all of 'em!).


Vivian at her preschool egg hunt today.



I'm hoping to make it to the rest of the kids' school egg hunts on Friday. Henry's is at 10:00, William's is at 10:30, and Rebecca's is at 11:10. Think I can do it??