And the award goes to....

DADDY!!!!

My kids are so blessed to really have the best dadda in the world.....

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

What my kids favorite thing to do with daddy is... (their words)

Biggie- Play "W-I-I" (He always spells it so Jee won't think that he is going to play and that his big brother is inviting him to play along)

Roos- Cuddlying up with daddy

Jee- "Book" (ie: Reading books before bedtime) Side note: Jee is OBSESSED with his daddy right now and so last night when I said "Juju, who do you want to put you to bed?" He hugged up to his daddy and started loving on him and patting him on the back and I said "Buddy, don't you want mama to do it tonight?" He started literally pushing me away. Well, since daddy thought that was just so cute then he took it to the next level and started punching me away (that wasn't as cute and funny)

I am so thankful to my hubs that he really and truly is the best dad. He is so interactive with them and really loves just playing with them. That is my favorite thing in the world to see, he and the kiddos having the time of their lives together. They are so safe with him, so secure, and I love that. He is dependable, loving, hilarious, and involved. They love him so much and so do I!

"Happy Faders Day!!!" :)

Please Read...Inspiration

So I know many people don't like to read posts that is a post all about I love so and so, or so and so is an inspiration but, you need to read this one......

Many of you know this story about my sis but it really is worth speaking of again, plus you can view much of her story in commercial form now (she's famous!!!!!)

If you live in the area she lives in, you may have seen these commercials that she has been featured in as a "Survivor". If you want me to be honest, I hate the commercials. I look away when they come on, or walk out of the room if possible. I hate thinking about it, I hate that she is considered a "survivor" on one hand, but am so incredibly thankful that she survived on the other. I wish I had never learned the word cancer....I hate it. I wish I knew nothing about oligodendroglioma's (her type of brain cancer) but unfortunately, I know a lot about them....a whole lot.

It's hard for me to watch these commercials because I lived it with her. Was at the ER when she was diagnosed telling the unhurried lady at the front desk that they better get my sister back and better get her back now, there when the ER doctor told us it looked to be some type of tumor and asked if he could have his sunday school class pray for her tomorrow, there when the surgeon came out of the biopsy and said it was certainly an advanced form of anaplastic tumor, there with her when she wasn't given a lot of hope, there with her when we traveled to MD Anderson, there with her when she went in for surgery, there with her when she found out the baby she had become pregnant with was special needs, there when the doctors told her she must "terminate" the pregnancy to preserve and protect her own life, there when my nephew was born, there when he had his first surgery, there in the NICU, there with her to celebrate 5 years of survivorship, there with her to enjoy her life now. I don't want to watch it in commercial form, or probably to say it more accurately, I cannot bring myself to watch it in commercial form or re-live it in any way.

Sky is an eternal optimist....thank the Lord that she is. I am not. Not wired that way. I hate that about myself too.

So, there is a whole section on the website that is a continuation of her story. It is 19 different segments about my sister, her story, her life, her hope, her tumor.

You should check them out as a bit of inspiration. I hear from my family that all of them are good but in particular you may want to view "At the Integris ER", "Our Youngest Son, Jones", "Chemo until we knew I was pregnant", "The Impression Made on a 6th grade Student", and "Introducing our Kids" (My nieces and nephews are particularly proud of this one!!)

Here is the link (click on the word link), and go to the picture of my sister (the 6th photo)and click on it to pull up all the video's of her story. You should also just check out the general commercial if you haven't seen it yet. It features several "survivors." Be prepared to cry.

My sister.....my inspiration.

Savin' a little cash....

Soooo....we are going to an all cash system, trying to save a little cash so we are going to the envelope system. Our envelope for eating out has only a small amount of cash so, I am going to be doing a much better job with meal planning. Here's a little glimpse into what we are having....

(numbers are aprox. of course)

Lunch Ideas (not super healthy, I know :( )

Burritos, Carrots, Ranch, Me-Smart ones $5.76

Frozen Pizza/Carrots/Ranch $4.90

Mac n cheese/Apples $1.94

Dinner Ideas (I was thinking ease, somewhat well balanced, and cheap!)

Steamed Rice & Pot Stickers (my kids new fav) $13

Breakfast for Dinner (my kids old fav) $8.79

Sgetti Dinner/baguette/steamed zuchini&squash/salad-$11.97

Poppyseed Chicken/Homemade mashed potatoes/Corn- $18.02

Chicken Tenders/Pasta Salad/Green Beans-$8.66

Hot Dogs/Chips/Clementines-$7

Bal-uh-lay Season TWO

Look at the show of support....you think anyone loves this girl?!?!

My Little Ballerina had her second annual recital.....

Her cousins came out to show support....
Mim came to cheer her on as well...
Of course, mommy was there....
As we were walking into the building she said "Mommy, I can't do it....I just can't do it." I gave her a little pep talk about how her friends were counting on her and she came to her senses :) and did a fantastic job.

Oh so graceful....



Surely no one will notice if I just sneak this in real quick......

Her adoring fans....

Miss Alex, one of her teachers...

Aunt Bekah came to cheer her on as well

Mrs.Missy (as a side note, Mrs.Missy is my inspiration to do p90x.....check out those guns!)

Summer Book Plans

Alright...warning.....BORING post.

One thing that is so fun about summer is going to the LIBRARY!!! In fact, we celebrated our first day of freedom (no more "school"!!!) today. That kind of makes me laugh in that although we won't have "school" we will probably do just about as much "school", it will just be disguised :)!!

Okay, I want to keep track of the books we read this summer and what better place than this?!?!? So, this is where I will keep my running list. I will have a list of books we want to read and a list of books we have read. Sorry, this way I know I won't lose it and don't have to keep up with a sheet of paper.

Books for "Biggie":

Balto and the Great Race

The Night the Bells Rang

Taste of Blackberries

Barry, the Bravest Saint Bernard

Stone Fox

Tornado

Lots of Nate the Great

Lots of Beatrix Potter

Lots of Frog and Toad

Amelia Bedelia

The Mouse and The Motorcycle Series

Books for "Bitty" and "Roos" (and Biggie too, of course):

The Little Engine That Could

New Coat for Anna

Ox Cart Man

Miss Tizzy

Stone Soup

Story about Ping

The Giant Jam Sandwich

A Pair of Red Clogs

The Lonely Doll

There's no Such Thing as A Dragon by Jack Kent

Lots of Tomie dePaola (Shout out RC:)

How To Make A Cherry Pie and See the USA

Mei Li

Mrs. Wishy Washy

They Were Strong and Good

The Little House

Eric Carle Unit Study

Finders Keepers

May I bring a Friend?

Owl Moon

Lots of Raggedy Ann

Rapunzel

Hot Air

The Napping House

Velveteen Rabbit (Late Night Read Aloud)

Alice in Wonderland (Late Night Read Aloud)

Pinocchio (Late Night Read Aloud)

Books for Mama:

The Count of Monte Cristo (Shout out KW:)

Same Kind of Different As Me

I Wish for you a Beautiful Life (Letters written by Korean Birth Mothers to their Children)

Get Out of That Pit-Beth Moore (Shout out ND:)

Adopted for Life

Redeeming Love by F. Rivers (I totally forgot about this one from my friend Heather that Jessica reminded me of!!-Thanks!)

Safely Home by Randy Alcorn (Also one that I had been told about before but needed my reminder, thanks Joy!!)

Some good historical/convicting/biblical fiction (any suggestions???)

Finish reading Fearless (Max Lucado)

Books we've Read (Starting 5/25):

(edited 6/6-I've realized I'm pretty terrible at keeping track of books we've read, no matter how hard I try but I am doing better than usual)

Circus Boat

Money, Money, Honey Bunny

Owl Moon(*)

Tale of Peter Rabbit (C) (*)

Each Orange Had Eight Slices (Great Counting Book!!!)

How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? (Bitty reads this every single night)

Funny Bunny Hunny Bunny (*)

Romeow and Drooliet

Stagestruck by T. depaola (*)

Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs by T. d.(*)

A Pair of Red Clogs (*)

Charlie Needs A Cloak (*)

Mother Goose by T.d.

The Tale Of Mr.Jeremy Fisher (*)

How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food

Truman's Aunt Farm (* SUPER CUTE)

Raggedy Ann & Andy and the Camel With the Wrinkled Knees

The Berenstein Bears and the Trouble With Commercials

Five Green & Speckled Frogs (*)

Papa Picalo

The Little Engine that Could (*)

The Very Last First Time (*)

Angus and the DUCKS

Ish (*Very cute, along the lines of Harold and the Purple Crayon)

Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed by Mo Willems (*HILARIOUS)

Nate the Great and the Owl Express (C)

Story About Ping

I Wanna Iguana

The Ox Cart Man

Wiggly Tooth (C)

Mat (R- YES! She is READING-YIKES!!! Bob book)

Sydney's Star

The Doorbell Rang

Lon Po Po

Crysanthemum

Plaidypus Lost

Appelmando's Dream (AMAZING...may be one of my top 5 favs of all time)

Babushka Baba Yaga (Again, amazing. I love Patricia Polacco, she's one of my all time favorite authors)

So Few of Me

I Can Hear The Sun

Sydney's Star

Just Plain Fancy

Climbing Kansas Mountains

The Napping House

Miss Rumphius

Babushka's Doll

Don't Let the Pigion Drive the Bus! (*)

The Pigeon Wants a Puppy! (C)

Mouse Soup (C)

Betty Doll

Ginger and Petunia (*)

Music for Alice

The Relatives Came

Knuffle Bunny (*)

Knuffle Bunny Too

In Enzo's Splendid Gardens (*)

When Lightning Comes in a Jar (*)

The Keeping Quilt

Fortunately (*)

Tall Mother Goose

Big Anthony

The Song of Francis

Nate the Great and the Stolen Base (C)

Oliver Button is a Sissy

Nicolas, Where Have You Been?

A Color of My Own

Grumpy Bird

Shells!Shells!Shells!

A House for Hermit Crab

Pink and Say

"Mia do dat!"

Bitty calls himself "Mia" when he wants to say "me". We were driving up to Biggie's (my new name for my eldest child:) school and they had these huge inflatables to play on. Bitty says "Mia DO DAT" as clear as day. I have been so worried about his speech and it's like he is taking off this last month and it all the sudden clicked. Granted, I am very specific about what I call a sentence or a word, it has to be understandable to the world before I count it :) and "Mia DO DAT" was clear to the world.

Another one is "Dat BOKE"....His pacifiers. They are apparently all "Boke." I even bought brand new ones and they are "boke" too. So, guess what!!!???? My bitty is done with paci's...just like that, he gave em' up cold turkey. That was wayyyyy easier than I thought. In fact, I was still trying to force them on him and he was pushing them away. Weird. This kid's like his mama I guess. Wooah Boy.

He finds himself quite funny lately as well. He does all sorts of things that he knows will make us laugh. The other night we were in our small group and he walked by some friends of ours and started doing his funny walk where he holds his shoulders down and lets his arms hang (take my word, it's cute). I saw him in that moment, trying to get attention, with a little smirk on his face and it was literally like I was re-living biggie at that age. He's so much like his brother. WOOOOOOAHHHHH Boy.

Babies Galore!

My new baby nephew!!!!

He's precious and I already love him so. My sister Kels did an amazing job during labor, she rocked the house and look at the result...isn't he adorable!?!?

More pics to come, of course!