Moms 50th Birthday

We had a party for Mom at a local Mexican restaurant. Everyone came in from out of town to he there as well. It was a nice time and it was good to see everyone.

Chris and Benton's swearing in ceremony.

Benton was officially sworn into the city of Benton with Chris as his handler. We went to the school of the girl who won the naming contest. Jacob and I tagged along to get some pics. We are so proud I could barely help from crying(pregnancy hormones). It was a good day. Benton is doing ok. He is a great family dog and loves to sleep on my couch when he gets the chance. I must say he has fit into our house rather easy. I find it hard to tell him no sometimes due to his sad goofy face. He is a joy to have around.

Chris' new motorcycle

Yes, he finally bought him a bike about a month ago. He is loving it I must say. I can't wait to ride with him once the baby is born. Chris truly enjoys riding and he deserves it.

The "New Dog"

The new dog is doing really well. The name is still being kept on the down low till the end of the month. He is very smart and loving. The kids adore him and want to play with him all the time. It is hard for them to understand he is a working dog and needs to be left alone sometimes and when Daddy is at work so is he. They are so excited when the two come home. He has made himself comfortable on my couch a few times and I don't have the heart to tell him to get down. He is really a pretty dog and has those loving, dopey dog eyes. It is hard not to get attached. Hopefully we will have him for quite a while.

New Driveway and Dog Kennel

Boys and their Toys!

Jacob "helped" Daddy and the guys with the new dog kennel and drive way. He had a blast.

Trip to Wisconsin 2/09

The kids and I headed to Wisconsin with Mom and Hershall. We spent a week visiting with Anthony, Windy and Titan, playing in the snow, shopping, and lots of water park fun. I did manage to forget my camera every time we went down to the water parks so I have no pictures of the kids swimming. Emily loved the water slides. There was only one she was big enough to go down (barely) and I was concerned about that one b/c it wasnt exactly small for someone her size. She did it over and over again like a champ. I went down a big one with my brother b/c Em wanted to go on it so bad and she could ride with me but by the time I got to the bottom there was no way she was going on that. My stomach hurt for quite a while after that and being pregnant didn't help with the complete darkness of the slide. Talk about motion sickness. Jaocb liked to play with all the little water gadgets around the park. They both really liked the wave pool and thought it was funny it made a big elephant sound when the waves were coming on. It was cute. We stopped and visited Fred, Bev and Renee on the way there and back. It snowed on the way home and was so pretty. It was a good but LONG trip and the kids will probably never get to go back there since Anthony and Windy are now moved to Tennessee. I am glad we went but have decided no more long vacations like that again without Daddy by my side.
We also celebrated Moms birthday at a neat local restaurant that had a fish tank with local catch across a whole wall. It was a fun time.

Random Pics I like

Daddy painting Emily's toe nails, which she loved, The 2 kids loving on each other. Emily in her Valentines getup.

Family Updates

Lets see.....we are all doing well. I am 21 weeks now and so excited to meet our little girl. I am feeling so much better these days. Nausea is still around but not constant. I do have a weak stomach this time around. Chris thinks it is funny.
Chris is busy busy busy. He has a full load this semester with school. Taking Biology, Literature, and Algebra while working full time with a family is not exactly easy. I am so proud of him for getting his degree. Doing it later in life and all on his own with no help is a lot harder than you might think. He just got selected to be the new K-9 officer also. He is very excited about this. The kids are excited and think it will be fun to have a "police dog" at home. He starts training with him next week and will probably be home with us within a month. Chris has always wanted to do K-9 so I am glad he is getting to pursue what he loves to do.
The kids are doing great. They are growing up way too fast. Emily is doing great in Pre-K and Jacob has turned into that loud but "o-so-cute" 2 year old. They are so funny these days. Emily thinks she knows everything and Jacob thinks she is too so that makes for some funny moments.
Upcoming events include a trip to Wisconsin with the kids, Granny and Papa, stopping along the way to see Uncle Fred, Aunt Bev and Renee. A trip to Corning for the boys birthday, my Mom's 50th birthday party,Chris's parents are coming to visit in March around spring break and we have so many birthday parties coming up as well. It is that time of year. We are so blessed to have the family we do have and such wonderful friends here. Things are good.

We are having a Baby Girl

I am so excited to be having another girl. It has been almost 5 years since I have had a little baby girl to buy for. I love all the precious little clothes. I am excited to have another daughter to bond with. There is nothing like it. I think I am more excited about this pregnancy than any other. Maybe its the ease that comes with knowing what is going to happen. Maybe it's that I have a wonderful family and support system with my husband or maybe its just the fact that I have been blessed to have another child. I am ecstatic to meet this baby as are the kids. Emily and Jacob are really happy to be having another sister. During the ultrasound I kept looking at them to see the expressions on their faces. It was priceless. When the ultrasound tech turned the sound on to hear the heartbeat Jacob said "That's not baby, that's Dolphins." I could not stop laughing. The lady said she had heard a lot of things in 15 years but that was a first. I am so happy we all went together to find out. It was truly something I will always remember. Afterward we went and did a little party shopping and had dinner. It was a nice family day.

Monster Trucks

This is the only one I can get to upload for some reason. 
We took the kids to the Monster Jam show at Alltel. This was an interesting evening. The kids had fun and then....everything went down hill from there. Jacob had been so excited about going to this. I could tell he was not feeling well from the moment we arrived even though he would tell you he felt good. By the time the truck show was half over, Jacob was running a fever and his eyes and nose were running like a river. He wanted to fall asleep so bad but would not close his eyes. He was bound and determined to enjoy the show. He was so pitiful looking. He was also wearing ear protection b/c it was so loud and that was getting him frustrated as well. We decided to leave a few minutes early because Emily decided to join in on the misery and was crying that she wanted to sleep in my lap. Jacob had a complete melt down at this point and cried half of the ride home. They were both out by the time we got home. He had a 101 temp and that was taking it under his arm. We were there from 5 till 9:30pm and that was after the kids having sleepovers the night before and playdates earlier in the day. They were pooped. It was fun, I just wish Jacob could of enjoyed it as much as he wanted to. (pics won't post, working on it)

My beautiful Roses from Chris

I have a wonderful husband who brought me these the other day for no reason other than he loves me. How blessed am I to have such a wonderful man in my life. I thank God for him everyday.

Christmas at Granny's

We went to Moms for Christmas dinner and it was of course so good. It was a nice gathering of the other side of the family and the kids had a nice time. They loved their gifts and I think Daddy had more fun with Jacob's nerf gun and remote control car than Jacob did. He is such a big kid.

Christmas Day

We had a great Christmas morning and the kids were so appreciative of their loot. I can't help but think we are doing something right when my 4 year old comes in the loving room to see all the her Christmas goodies and the first thing she says is "Momma, you can open your present I got for you now." How sweet is that! We had our traditional monkey bread for breakfast and played around with all the new toys till around noon. Thanks to everyone for their wonderful gifts, they really do appreciate it. I can't wait until next year when we have three little ones to adore.

Christmas Eve

We had a nice time at home making homemade sweets and cookies. Emily made peanut butter cookies for Santa because that's his favorite. We made homemade pizza for dinner, which was a tradition of mine growing up so we decided to carry it on. The kids loved making their own pizza. It was such a nice time at home with our family.