Camping Fun!

Well, its already been a month since we took Avery on her first camping excursion, Dale Hollow Lake.  It was also my nephew Paxton's first camping trip too, and we had so much fun!!  The weekend prior, it had been 95+ degrees, so we were worried about how hot it was going to be.  In actuality, it was much cooler than we thought, and we all ended up in hoodies and sweats during the evening and early morning hours.  Luckily, it was still warm enough during the day to head to the lake, or the swimming pool.  We all had a blast, one big (all 18 of us!) happy family!

 

Mommy warming Avery up!

Avery, lakeside!

 

Ryley, Daddy and Lilly enjoying the pool!

My nephews, Paxton and Jude, in the baby jail!

Family photo by the lake!

A March Madness Love Story

  I realize not everyone loves college basketball and March Madness season.  My husband and I are big sports fans in general and there is usually something important to watch nearly every season of the year.  To me, as far as sports go, nothing is more fun, exciting and anxiety provoking than college basketball during March.  I guess it helps to be a Kentucky Wildcats fan, who play in the NCAA tournament (nearly) every single year.  Interestingly enough, my husband is not a Cats fan (*gasp* I know!)  but is an arch rival Louisville Cardinals fan (*double gasp!*).  Our story of love is tied to this rivalry and I thought this time of year was a good time to tell it. 

  In January 2002, I was enrolled in a vehicle extrication class that was necessary to complete my Emergency Medicine degree from Eastern.  It was actually a pretty cool class where we learned all sorts of techniques to help treat and remove injured patients from wrecked vehicles.  A very attractive football player sat next to me in class, wearing this horrible Louisville hat every Friday morning at 8 am.  Perhaps the hat was why I didn't hit on him sooner?  We had a few flirtatious interactions during the class, but it ended after 8 weeks, and I didn't think much about it, or him.  Until April 5, 2002 when he waltzed into the Richmond Arby's (where I was working the drive thru) to eat dinner, wearing that terrible Louisville Cardinals hat.  I proceeded to tell him (he says flirtatiously, I remember being more rude?) he was not welcome to eat in my store, wearing that piece of crap hat.  I was due for a break and was going to go sit with him and eat, but we were too busy.  I do recall he came back to the counter quite a few times for (probably unnecessary) extra sauce packets.  I thought he'd left without saying goodbye, when I heard his voice in my ear piece, asking to order something else, just so he could come through and talk to me.  I wrote my number on a napkin, and as they say, the rest is history. 
 
  So I am madly in love with a Cards fan.  How can I hate the Cardinals like lots of other Cats fans do? I just can't do it.  Now I find myself cheering for them (eek!  I know!), so long as they aren't playing UK.  I am actually worried that we are breeding Cards fans, though try as I might to dress them in blue and teach them to cheer C-A-T-S, Cats, Cats, Cats!  They are daddy's girls, and alas, this puts me in a bad spot.  Bribe them to be Cats fans?  Check.  Buy them cute UK clothes?  Check.  Beg and plead for them to say, "Cats rule and Cards drool?"  Well, I begged, they refused.  I've decided maybe Lilly will be a lawyer when she grows up because she successfully plays both sides, saying she is both Cats and Cards.  I told Carl, we'd better be careful not to push for a choice too much or they'll end up going to college somewhere like UT.  Now THAT would be horrible! (just kidding people!)

  Now it's bracket time, and yes my five year old DID pick the Lehigh/Duke upset, as well as several other heralded upsets this past weekend.  Our brackets probably won't win any money, but a little family friendly competition is what started this household, and I wouldn't change it for the world!!

A Lifetime of Thankfulness

I didn't take part in the whole "30 days of thankfulness" that seemed to sweep through my Facebook feed this month.  This was not because I don't have 1,000,000+1 things to be thankful for, its just that I am a slacker when it comes to keeping up with such things.  It also seems to me, its important to be thankful for all my blessings year-round, not just during the month of November.  That being said, I thought I would jot a few things down that I have to be thankful for this year.

A roof over my head and a working heater to keep us warm.  A husband that works hard to pay for said home and heater, amongst other things.  For his friendship, partnership and love.  Beautiful, healthy, intelligent daughters who brighten my life.  Wonderful friends and an even better family.  A new church family where we feel like we belong and are slowly learning and growing our faith!  A love and appreciation for all the simple things in life.  A 26 week old baby girl growing in my womb.  A loyal boxer and onery kitten that round out our lives.  And more important than all of those things, I am thankful for the One who loves me enough to let me have all these things, who loves me despites all my faults and short comings.  Jesus Christ, whom I am still learning to lean on more and who makes all these things possible!

Introducing Jasmine!

Back in June, our family cat Frankie was killed by a neighbors car.  Our girls were devastated.  He was a stray cat that was so sweet and lovable! 

Lilly had been asking for a kitten for a while now, but our excuse had always been, "but we already have a cat!"  Well, now that excuse didn't hold water, and shortly after Frankie died, they started asking for a kitten.  A friend at work told us she knew someone that had kittens and was getting them all fixed, and it would be free to us!  An excellent situation!  We agreed and the girls even went out to her farm to visit and pick out a kitten.  Lilly debated back and forth the merits of naming it Ariel for a girl or Sebastian for a boy.  The kittens were still too small to come home with us, so we had to wait.  A few weeks later, my friend came to me upset.  The lady was not going to give her kittens away after all, she had decided just to keep them! :(  Lilly was devastated when I told her, she cried and cried about her long lost stripey kitten. 
Fast forward to one week ago today.  A knock on our door, a neighbor lady with a tiny stripey kitten in a carrier.  City workers found it in the sewer drain being worked on near our home.  She thought the kitten might be ours.  Lilly squealed!  "My stripey kittie!!" It wasn't ours before, but now she is!  Lilly changed her mind about the name and decided on Jasmine, and we have been calling her Jazzy!  I feel like I scold the girls constantly to put her down, Ryley especially!  But Jazzy is such a sweet smart girl, tolerant of all the handling, also she's really getting used to the dog and already filling out some!  She has been a great addition to the family!  Best part?  Since I am pregnant someone else (aka Carl) has to do the litter box cleaning!
Here our some pictures of our little addition Jasmine!
 

Lilly has her playing dress up already!

Curious about bathtime!  She hopped up there herself!

So cute!!

Introductions!

I figure, first things, first.   I should introduce my important "peeps".  As most moms would agree, I do not put myself first in my life.  Everyone else's needs always seem to come first on a daily basis.  Its something I am always trying to work on, making time for me.  So, I'll start with me.  I realized as I surfed through the billions of pictures I have saved on my computer, I have very few of just me.  The one's I do have a me, obviously I took myself.  You know what they say, if you want something done right, do it  yourself! 

Second, the love of my life.  Carl and I met in a class in college in January 2002.  He was so dang cute and he sat right next to me every Friday morning.  If you went to Eastern Kentucky University between 1999-2003, you know that Thursday nights were a big, fun night!  Friday morning 8 am classes were the pits.  I am not sure I was ever showered or presentable in that class, but somehow I caught his eye.  He stumbled upon me one afternoon in April working the drivethru at Arby's, and as they say, the rest, is history!  We married April 2004 and I am more in love with him every day!

Next, my oldest daughter Lilly (or as she would tell you Lillian Elaine).  She is four, almost five, and its unbelievable how fast these past few years have gone by.  She reminds me so much of myself, not just in looks but in personality and spirit.  She's a soft-hearted soul, a people pleaser and a real leader (a.k.a. bossy).  She's very sensitve and gets her feelings hurt easily.  She's a budding ballerina, and she includes dancer in her extensive list of things she wants to be when she grows up, including chef, horse rider, veterinarian and princess.  I'm glad she was born just after the kindergarden cutoff, or she would be off to school this fall. Momma's not ready for that yet, and I'm glad I get to keep her home with me one more year!

Last, but not least, my daughter Ryley.  She was two in February and is as feisty as her sister is sweet.  They have a few commonalities when it comes to looks and personality, but they are so different!  Ryley is a real sweetheart when she wants to be, but she can be a firecracker!  She's more mischevious than her sister ever was, she's curious, adventurous and scared of nothing (except strangers, of course).  She is so easy to love with a big wide smile and sparkling blue eyes.  I can never stay mad at her very long!  She reminds me so much of her dad, and that makes me love her even more!