Chris' 30th Birthday Bash!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chris and I went to Branson for the weekend by ourselves. It was so much fun. Anthony and Windy helped me put together a little surprise weekend for him. Windy got us a penthouse Friday night and some friends came over and we had a good time. Chris got a little hammered as we all expected. He did well though. Saturday we did a little shopping for the kids Christmas and then that evening we went to Springfield and went to this awesome sushi restaurant. Chris and I enjoyed ourselves. The kids stayed with Mom Friday and Saturday Emily had a sleepover with Trinity and Jerald and Amy watched them both till we got home Sunday. Thanks to everyone who helped out and made our weekend special.

Summer time 07

After an afternoon in the pool.
Gotta love McDonalds

This summer has been so hot, you either have to do things in the morning or evening. The heat wears you out. We have beat the heat for the most part but the kids are always ready to go. School officially starts on Monday, Emily is excited. I think I am more nervous than she is with her going everyday.

My kiddos.....8/07

I have such wonderful kids.

Texas Granny and Papapa visit......Aug 07

Texas Granny and Papa came up to visit this weekend. We enjoyed it so much. Emily is already missing them. Just this morning she said, " Momma, I ready to go to Texas now." "I wanna go to Granny's house and go fishin and feed the birds." She loves them so much, we all do. Friday evening my parents cam over for dinner also and Chris made some yummy ribs on the grill and we all chowed down together. It was really nice to have everyone together. It was also my birthday on Saturday and they all made it so special for me. I got out for a few hours with my friend Amber for brunch, a massage and facial, it was so awesome. I appreciate being able to do that. My wonderful husband got me a new phone which I desperately needed, thank you. He actually came up to the spa because I had called him with Ambers phone and told him my phone wasn't working anymore and he came in and pulled the new one out of his pocket and said,"try this one." It was nice. Granny and Papa also treated us to a great dinner at Red Lobster, yummy!! Thank you so much, it was great. I just want to say to Ted and Linda, thanks for being such great grandparents to our kiddos, it really reflects in their attitudes and upbringing. Your the greatest. Especially to Mom Linda, I appreciate everything you do for us and the things you help me out with. You are truly someone that is special to me. We can't wait till October to see you again!

Weekend/Reunion

A couple recent pics....

I was lucky enough to get to go on a ride along with my hubby friday night since my Mom volunteered to take the kiddos for the night. Thanks Mom. I love going with him, it is so much fun to see how he interacts with people. I am very proud of him. God couldn't of given me anyone better.
My mom, me and the kids went to the Hill family reunion Saturday in Forest City. It was nice seeing people I hadn't seen since before Emily was born but I sure would like to know who decided to have it in August. I t was sooooo hot. We were all pooped by the time we got home.

The kids are anxious for Granny and Papa to come from Texas. Emily says she wants to take them to the zoo and the park. She is so excited.

Before and After.....Jacob's 2nd hair cut

It was time for another cut even though I liked the long hair. Now he looks like a big boy, not a baby!

Emmie's sleepover

Emily had a sleep over with her cousin Friday night.. They had so much fun together. Saturday I took them to the jump place and McDonalds for lunch then they got to swim in the evening. Today Emily is back over swimming again. She loves the water.

Weekend.

The kids and I went to Greenbriar with the rest of the family to see uncle Don, Linda and Blake. If you are reading this please keep them in your prayers. They are struggling with Don's cancer right now and sometimes there is nothing better than the power of prayer. Their community is being very supportive of them and helping as much as possible. They sponsored a poker tournament fund raiser for them and all the proceeds go to the family for finances. We (the family are very thankful). Again, please keep them in your prayers and hope that blessing come their way.
The kids had fun swimming and playing. I think Emily stayed in the pool for about 3 hours and only go tout because there was no one else in there. She is doing very well on her swimming and loves it. Jacob is loving the water also. He was sitting in a little baby ring and sticking the balls down between his legs. He thought that was so much fun. We had a good visit but wish Dad could of come but he had to work.

Update on my sweeties.....July 07

I thought I would post an update on some funny things and well, not so funny things the kids have been up to. Jacob is getting too big! He is so polite for a one year old. He says "tan-tu" every time you give him something and he loves to pretend he is talking on the phone. I don't know if this is whats to come but, he is telling me when he wants to be changed and when he wants to go night night. Now this is not my imagination being the proud parent that I am, when he has a dirty diaper he comes to me and grabs at his crotch and says da da. I ask him if that is whats wrong and he will go straight to his room and wait for me by the changing table. At night I ask him if he wants to go night night and he will go give his Daddy kisses and go to his bed and wait there. Its cute, if I don't come right away he will come into the hallway and give me this look like, are you coming? He loves his big sister, sometimes I think he thinks she is the say all do all of the family. At least they get along for now. He is starting to show a little attitude if he doesn't get what he wants. He gets over it pretty quick though. We have yet to have a knock down blow out fit yet. I am sure it is coming. All in due time. He is a very easy going baby. His teachers at the church say they wish every baby was like him. He crys for like a minute when I leave then he is fine. He lays down on his nap mat and goes straight to sleep no issues. I am glad he is liking his school. It is nice to have that 5 hours to myself on Thursdays.
Emily is growing into a little lady. She is loving school and can't seem to grasp the fact that they only go to school on Thursdays during the summer. She is excited to start her new school come fall. I think it might take a bit for her to adjust but it will be so good for her. She already tells me she wants to go to school everyday. She needs the social stimulation with other kids her age. I can only give her so much. I think she is finally catching up with her social skills. There for a bit I was afraid she was not picking up on the social ques she needs to play nicely with other kids. She is still a bit on the shy side and a little reserved around strangers but thriving. Being in pre-school daily will help for sure. We are still having trouble with her eyes. There has been no change in her vision after a month of the glasses and patch. We are doing another month of patches and will see what happens, I am afraid it is going to require surgery to fix it. On a lighter note, Emily has been telling the funniest stories lately. She has quite an imagination. I hear her in her room more often than not "reading" a book and it amazes me how much she remembers of the story from when we read it together. I guess I have been watching a little to many wedding shows lately because Emily has begun planning hers. This is her recollection of her big day: (in Emily's words) I meet a man, he give me a pretty ring and we plan a big wedding. I get a big white pretty princess dress. Mommy has to help me get dressed. I have pretty shoes too. Mommy will wear a pink dress and pink shoes. Mommy have a pretty necklace. We get married in a big church I get another ring. We have a big party after and I dance with my husband then I have Daddy dance and Daddy spins me around. We eat a big cake and dance then we go on a trip together. (By the way I am writing this as Emily is telling me.) ISN'T THAT JUST THE SWEETEST THING? Trust me she will get the wedding she wants, everyone deserves that. I hope to give my kids things I did not have growing up and memories that will last a lifetime. God Bless.

Trip to the Casino

My bro and sis-in-law came to visit for a few days. Thursday afternoon we left the kids with Mom and headed to the casino. It was raining so hard it took 4 hours to get there. We had a great dinner of steak and lobstger(YUMMY) then gambled some with our birthday present from Anthony and Windy. We had a great time together, it was nice reconnecting with my hubby. I wish we could have a night alone at least once a month but, I will take what I can get. Thanks to everyone for our trip and watching our kiddos.

July 4th

We had a good day. We went to some friends and had a craw fish boil. The kids played all evening. We did some fire works after dark but the kids were so tired they did not get much out of them. We enjoyed ourselves, some maybe a little too much.

Happy 1st Birthday Jacob

My baby is 1, already! He had a great birthday. The family and friends came over and the kids swam and played on the slip-n-slide.
Jacob is about 22 lbs. He is a very social loving child. He is learning so fast. It amazes me how much he picks up from us so quickly. He says, Hi, bye, Dada, Mama, Sissy, ball, quack, bite,thats all I can think of for now. He loves chicken nuggets and french fries with ketchup. He loves dipping whatever he is eating in either ketchup or ranch, I think he just likes to do what we do. He likes cherios, strawberry cereal bars, milk, grapes, strawberries, and carrots. He is not a big vege eater. He is a big Daddy's boy. If Chris is in the room he wants nothing to do with Mommy. We love him and can't wait to see what the future holds for him, maybe he will take after his Daddy and be a policeman(no pressure).

My favorite People

Dress Up Time

They loves to be princesses!

School days!

Emily in her new glasses on the computer.

Emily and Jacobs first day of summer pre-school.

Update

I thought I would just post an update. We have been pretty busy lately. Chris mom came from Texas a couple weeks ago. The kids love seeing her. As Emily says, "Texas Granny's nice, I love her." Last weekend we went to Branson to visit Anthony and Windy. They are having a little boy. We are all excited. I am planning to throw them a baby shower sometime around the beginning of September, so any of you reading this, please keep it in mind. We went to Dixie Stampeed Friday night and the kids had a blast. Jacob enjoyed it way more than I thought. He was dancing and singing and clapping. It was so cute. Emily loved all the animals. Saturday we did a little shopping and went to Silver Dollar City in the evening. It was fun. Emily loves the rides and playlands they have. Sunday we went to the kid park they have on the main stripe. It has go carts and all sorts of kiddie rides. Emily had the time of her life. She has no fear and goes on every ride. Her and Daddy had gone on the tea cups so many times Daddy said no more. We played mini-golf, well, as much as a 3 year old would play anyway. We went and ate lunch after that at the Music Hall and headed home after that. Thanks for a good time Bubba and Windy.

The kids are doing well. Emily is really starting to show some, we will say, "personality."
Let's just say I think the 3's are going to be a lot more challenging than the 2's. She is in summer pre-school for the next 2 months so they only go on Thursdays. She misses the Tuesdays already. Jacob started going also. I had a hard time leaving him for the first time. He was actually laughing at the other kids crying but, when I had to go he got scared and joined in with the rest. Hopefully next week will go better. In August both of the kids are going to start school mon-fri 8-3. I know Emily will love it b/c it is an actual structured pre-school program. They do schooling in the morning and have lunch and nap and play in the afternoon. I am ok with Emily going but I am a little hesitant to put Jacob in. he is only 1 and I think I will miss him. I feel like it would just be me handing him over to someone else to take care of till 3. Chris' feels it will be so good for him. He wants him to be social and be around other kids. We had some problems with Emily b/c of her shyness and she took a bit to adjust to school when she started last year at 2. I will give it a try and see what happens. I just wish it wasn't everyday. We are getting into this pre-school at no cost to us so if he does not go 80% of the month then he can loose his spot in the program. We are fortunate to get them into this b/c there is actually a waiting list for the private-pay kids. Take care.

Emily 3rd birthday weekend.....

She had a great birthday. She had a party at school Thursday, went to Disney on Ice:Princess wishes Friday night, and had her big jump party Saturday. We forgot the camera for the jump party so we have no pics of that. Here are some others of the festivities..