the hunt. the kill.

I hate that we've only had our Christmas tree for a week. Regardless, we sure had a great time finding it. Thinking back now... I don't think any tears were shed. It was a good day! ;) There was some argument regarding which tree was perfect for us but in the end, we alllll agreed on one. Mission accomplished!

Nash & Drew

Austyn pulled Drew almost the entire time :)

preparation

Tayt

Drew baby

Austyn & Jax Man

all of us (minus Dave...he was working) :(

notice Lia is holding Tayt's head... we were close to tears here, but we made it!

the find. the kill.

Jax Man

Mallory's husband, Chris, has their lab pulling Tayt &Nash on the sled! could have been bad ;)

Luke pulling Drew

Tayt &Mom  :)

I *think* Peyton is protecting Drew from the dogs here...

this is just a tiny bit of the madness that goes on when we're all together :)

Jax Man pulling out his tree

It was such a beautiful day for Christmas tree hunting. We look forward to it every year. One of my most favorite traditions!

more birthday cake

and then there was more cake... and gifts :)

Obviously, she was still not quite sure what to do... as are all the children at this age I feel... but she daintily indulged in more cake and had no problems.

All the other kids wanted in on it too.

Jax Man knew what he was doing!

Indeed, her foot. She's flexible!

Drew and Mom :)

A huge thanks to Mallory (and Mom) for taking photos for me. They did a great job!

birthday buddies

Last weekend Drew had her first birthday and we celebrated with her birthday buddy, Mr. A. Man. He's quite the ham and like Drew, full of attitude! His mother and I are in trouble :)

A. Man was this far (above) while Drew was carefully taking itty bitty bites of her frosting wondering what everyone was staring at (below).

More cake and presents to come :)

December 10, 2010

Drew baby, Drew baby, Drew baby... you just never know what personality these children will have. I assumed... yes, assumed... our sixth child would be quiet and calm and peaceful and quiet... why would I assume such a thing!?! We called Tayt The Beast and Nash quickly dethroned him... There's NO possible way to top The Beast... is there!? God plays silly tricks... shame on me for expecting or thinking otherwise... This little girl may very well be the lady version of The Beast. She has grown quite hilarious. has a short temper. is very determined. and is SO full of attitude. And I absolutely LOVE it. She fits right in, as we knew she would, and makes us laugh and smile just as much as all the rest. Man... we are seriously blessed!

Happy *First* Birthday Baby Drew!

You fit right in and have made sure you're spot in this family is quite clear... we love you so much!

whoa, lazy

Okay, okay... this time I have no excuse. It's been...oops, 10 days. I honestly cannot claim that we're crazy busy here. Somehow, it's December. Somehow, my baby is *gulp* walking. Somehow, my morning routine before starting work at noon has excluded computer time for the past couple weeks. Somehowwww... okay, that's all I got. So... my house is being kept clean. Something may be changing around here and I think I like it. It may have a little bit to do with this nice notepad my cousin made for me... it's so pertee...

I have been pretty regular with my Twitter and Instagram. Pat on the back.

Hmm... what else... I'm rather bummed that we don't have our Christmas tree up yet. There are absolutely NO decorations in this house and that, folks, is a tragedy. And I'll add holiday decorations to the "to do" list for tomorrow morning. Yay!

Oooh, oooh... I know. The last 2 weeks my sister, Megan, has been coming over so Dave and I can clean the house. Not daily cleaning stuff, but REAL nitty gritty cleaning. She's all... what exactly are you going to be doing!? And I'm all... you shut you're mouth when you're talking to me... kidding Pigg! We have a habit of being dirty piggs around here so we wanted one night a week to be about deep cleaning something. anythingggg! I shouldn't say dirty because we're not "dirty"... we just have a home that is lived in ;) very lived in... We've been here a year and there are still things in boxes and piles of things we don't quite know what to do with... so last week Dave cleaned the garage to fit the suburban and I cleaned the dresser in our bedroom. Now, I know what you're thinking. That's it! Well... you didn't see that garage or dresser. Ridiculous! Below are some before/after shots of our bedroom dresser. Embarrassing how this junk collects!

(photos taken with my phone so not as good quality wise)

before

dusting is overrated ;)

after



Moving on to this week. This week we worked together, completed only one "project," but I'm SO happy we chose this room next. My office...

These are all photos from after but trust me... this is a HUGE improvement. There were papers on top of everything, 2 boxes where that orange chair is sitting, and the closet... oh the closet... now you can actually walk IN to the office. The kids have been playing on the floor in here. It's a Christmas miracle ;) We'll see how long we can keep it this way.

Thanks for being patient with the blog as of late. I promise to be more interesting... or maybe not... free entertainment at the very least :)

official toddler

So... this is happening...

Miss Drew has decided she'll just walk now. Little by little for the last month she has been taking steps. Then steps turned in to short bouts between the couch and the recliner. Then for the last couple weeks she stands up in the middle of the room. WHAT!?! Then she walks from the couch to the recliner to the wall to the stairs to the kitchen... And that turned in to this video... and now I'm going to cry myself to sleep because my baby... walks. Just teasing... but for real, where did the time go... completely amazes me!

Some things to ignore in this video:
* Tayt dominating his nose in the first few seconds
* Nash saying "mom look" repeatedly... I didn't notice until I uploaded the video... oops! pay attention MOM!
* Drew is still in her pj's... give me a break, it's Monday! ;)
* my man voice... yowza!

too thankful

* I am firstly thankful for God's surprise nearly 12 years ago. This family is today because of that surprise... holding back tears until I'm done may be impossible...

* thankful for the spice and creativity to make you smile daily

* thankful for the craziest, girliest-girl around

* thankful for this rough and tumble all boy... The Original Beast :)

* thankful for a child who provides no dull moments & always catches his fall with his forehead (even on Thanksgiving morning!)

* thankful for first steps and the happiest of happy babies

* thankful for the man that makes every day better.  FOREVER  :)

yup, that did it... tear    :)