My Pillow Pets!

Eric I went to the Home & Landscape show recently and happened across these lovable, SOFT, pillows that also turn into pets. I saw how cute they were so we went up to the table and then I FELT them! Oh my goodness these are so so so soft! I fell in love with them and told Eric that we HAD to buy some for the kiddos. So the next day we took the kids back and we let them each pick out their own. These pets have velcroe on them so if you undo the velcroe they become pillows. They are machine washable and are a perfect for anyone and everyone. I hope you'll click on the link and check them out. I loved them so much I decided to become an affiliate and sell some myself. If you have any questions or want to feel them COME ON OVER!

Procrastination at it's finest!

While I was draining the pool and refilling it my dear Kimberlee was working hard on finishing up her country report. She has known about this report since before Spring Break. I told her how nice it would be to not be stressed out the night before it's due and to begin working on it a little bit each day. She always had more important things to be doing so I think she pretty much pulled it together the week before it was due. This is a HUGE improvement for her so I am NOT complaining one bit. All along I told her that if she came home from school again and told me anything was due the next day I would simply say, "I'm sorry you chose to wait for the last minute I wish you the best of luck!" I'm pretty sure she knew that I was serious so she did start a week ago. It was the day before that she finished typing it up. This is what a 6th grader looks like when they are stressed!Oh to be in the 6th grade again! I know I would sure do things differently.
I am just thrilled that she has passed the 6th grade and in 1 more week we'll have our first Junior High Girl. We'll also have our first young woman. Almost every day Kim (as her friends and teachers call her) asks me if she can wear makeup. I tell her when she's 12. I sure hope she uses it in moderation. I won't be able to stand a caked on make-up girl very well. Knowing Kimber's she'll have the art of applying make-up mastered before she even starts. She is totally into looking her best all the time now. She can wear my old clothes that I have outgrown (yes I am extremely phat now), my shoes (her feet are a tad longer than mine), so I have no doubt she'll be able to wear my make-up too. Wish me luck as we venture into this next stage, a tween! I'm scared out of my mind!

Welcome to SHREK'S Swamp!

We just love this movie! It is so fun to watch. I love the "greenery"! I have said before how much I love "green grass" I really truly do love the color green. I happen to have "green" eyes and I love them too. BUT..... I don't love green pools!It seems as though Shrek has moved his swamp into our lovely beautiful blue swimming pool. So we had a couple of choices.... 1. Fill it in 2. Buy tons of expensive chemicals 3. Get us a "redneck pool" which would look about like this:We no longer have a big red truck so I don't think the kids would have too much fun! Or last 4.Pump out the nasty "green" water, and fill ever so slowly, the beautiful blue water. So guess which choice we made???

You guessed it! We emptied it and are refilling as we speak. It is a very slow process. This is me trying to skim the neighbors tree droppings out of the pool. It is the perfect day to do this, with the overcast skies and cool weather it made it so we hopefully won't crack the pool. We are hoping to have it completely full by tonight. Until then Zach & Livie are enjoying themselves in a Huge empty wading pool!

Prayer Request!

Without going into too much detail we are requesting the prayers of anyone and everyone. Our primary breadwinner is having some health problems and we would appreciate your faith and prayers. We would like your prayers for knowledgeable specialists, that will be able to get to the underlying cause of Eric's condition. We would also like your prayers of comfort and peace especially since he is in a lot of pain. And lastly I would appreciate your faith and prayers for a speedy recovery. For some reason his bladder will not void on it's own. On Sunday in the ER the Dr. drained out 400 cc, which is the normal amount your bladder can hold. To no voiding at all until Wednesday morning at about 10 at the specialists office. She drained 1200 cc's, that's 3 x the legal limit! Wow, I think that's a record but not one Eric is proud of I will assure you that. He is hating life right about now. Wednesday he literally looked like a jaundice baby from the neck down, yellow as yellow could be and from the neck up completely flush. So prayer power will work, I have faith in the Lord's plan and as I have seen miracles happen in my own life, challenges coming frequently it seems. I can still feel the love of my Heavenly Father and know with a surety that he lives and knows me and our families needs. Thanks in advance for your love, faith, and prayers!
P.S. Eric prolly won't be so thankful for this post but I feel like he needs prayers. So honey, if you read this, I love you BABE!
P.S.S. Out of privacy concerns no pictures will be posted with this post, sorry to disappoint all of you! :)

One Of Life's Little Dilemas!

Lets see where do I start??? Early Sunday morning Eric became quite sick. I was up during wee hours of the morning trying to help him and comfort him. So Sunday morning when I opened my eyes and the clock showed 7:00 I wanted to cry.... we have church at 9:00 and I am in charge of printing and handing out the Relief Society bulletin so I had to bust myself out of the warm cozy bed. The children were all awake and I walked down the hallway and told them all that it was time to get ready for church. I didn't think any of them heard me although Zach made the comment, "ah why church". So I went back down the hall and began getting ready myself. A while later Olivia came in my room all dressed for church. Wow! The youngest child has the best listening ears. Imagine that! Anyway I did her hair and we went down the hall to find her some snacks for church. I wasn't really that surprised to find the 3 other kids still seated in the family room and still in their pj's. UGH! I didn't get upset with them though. I simply turned off the T.V. and told them all that I was so sad they chose not to listen to their Mom the first time. I told them that I guess they were sick, and so they needed to get in their beds. That's where they stayed the rest of the day. Except meals I did let them get up to eat. I heard lots of unhappy grumbles and my reply was oh man I am so sorry you chose not to get ready for church the first time I asked. They were all three just devastated. So I told Livie how pleased I was that she got dressed all by herself the first time I asked. I told her I was so happy and I was going to take her somewhere special on Monday. Guess where we went???
A pedicure and manicure for Olivia! She was thrilled and I took a couple cute pictures of the big event. Afterward she said Mom can you buy me a pack of gum? I said sure, as she loves to have her own pack. When Kimberlee and the boys realized all the fun we had and what they missed out on they were sooooo MAD! I hope this turned out to be a good teaching moment for them. I can't force them to go to church, I can't force them to choose the "Best" way. What is important is that they learn for themselves and they develop testimonies of their own. Enjoy the pictures of Little Miss Olivia's special day!

She said "Mom I need to grow bigger so I can reach the massagers". She had to sit so far forward that she couldn't feel the massage chair.
The expression says it ALL!
She is showing off her pretty nails and her prized possession; her own pack of gum!

The Carnival

Hale Elementary had it's yearly school carnival this past Friday. The kids look forward to this event all year long. This year we were lucky enough to have some of our cousins go with us. Here are some pictures of all the fun everyone had!
Olivia, Braxton, and Kyson!
Braxton & Olivia Going Fishin! I have to mention to take note of Liv's outfit, she chose it all by herself and there was no way she was going to change it. Sometimes I just have to look the other way with her. She thinks she is so stylish and her style DRIVES ME CRAZY!
Zachary the Rock Climber
This is the 3 musketeers! Sophie Orr ( A good friend of Kim's), Courtney Hall (cousin) & Kimberlee! This is the only picture I took of them because they were off on their own that night. I think they had a blast! They all won these matching stylish back bags!
Derick my climber, almost to the very top! I think he made it!
From far away you can rally see how huge this rock wall was! Up high is Derick and just below is cousin Devon Owens! These boys are great friends, they are so much alike. I thought it was pretty funny that they were dressed almost alike that day. It was a great carnival! We were all tired by the time our tickets were gone.

"The Better To Hear You With My Dear!"

Little miss Livie has some trouble with her speech. She says the funniest things and pronounces things so different than the "norm". About 3 months ago her speech Teacher and school Teacher noticed she was having some difficulty hearing out of her left ear. We noticed it at home also so I took her to the Pediatrician and they gave her a referral to an ENT. Well it took about 3 months just to get her in to see the Ear Doc. We finally took her to Dr. Fucci this past Wednesday. They ran lots of tests and Olivia sat so big and brave while the Dr. did his thing. She also went in a special room so that the audiologist could test her ears. Here is a picture of her sitting in the big chair doing her testing.
She looks so little to be sitting up on the big chair all by herself. She shocked all the staff in the office with how grown up she was. We are so happy to report that her ears hear 100% in both ears. The Dr. is confident that since she has grown the fluid isn't building up as much anymore and he said to continue with the speech therapy. He had her count to 10 for him and she did it all by herself. Some of the funniest things she says are:
Reputer- computer
Mik- Milk
Dek- Derick
woxy- Roxy(Our cute dog)
Math-e-you- For her little friend in her class Matthew- she really accentuates e- you- it cracks me up!
Cindy- For Sydney her favorite friend
sassage-When asking Mom for a "massage"
I'll have to listen better tomorrow and add to the list because this is all I can think of right now.