Happy Holidays!!

Well, Santa came to Kiddie Academy today.......

I did not think Aaron was going to have anything to do with him, but we did get a picture of him with Santa!

Happy Holidays everyone!!!!

They grow up way too fast!

Here are the most recent pictures of the kids....I think Karleigh looks like a little model for the Gap or something and Aaron well he is as cute as always!!!!!

City Kids gone Country

Well, we traveled to North Carolina for the Thanksgiving holiday to spend time with my grandfather and had the chance to have the kids visit a friends family farm......Here are some pictures of the kids enjoying the great life outdoors. Karleigh really enjoyed the animals, and Aaron was not so sure of them all! I have to admit, I had no idea that pigs got quite as large as Miss. Piggy and Big Daddy are....

fun times with cousins

Wow the kids are growing up way to fast!!!

Here is a recent picture of Karleigh and Aaron with Rob's sisters kids, Tanner, Anthony and Mary!

Having cousins so close is fun!!!!

Halloween Pictures

Well it has taken me a while, but here are pictures of the kids from Halloween....

Whats been going on....

I am really bad at updating our blog, although I expect everyone else to so I can see whats going on in everyones life.....

Sooooo, what has happened since my last post.....

Aaron is getting so independent and gets cuter by the day! (If that is even possible) He is offically FULLY POTTY TRAINED!!!!!!! Thank goodness!!! He decided one day that he was ready and has never looked back! SO he is the proud owner of many pairs of Thomas the Tank Engine underwear as well as the smallest cutest boxer briefs I have ever seen..... After much debate and many no's on every costume we showed him, he has finally decided that he can dress as a fireman for Halloween!

Karleigh continues to grow up waaaaaay to fast! She has started back into gymnastics! I am so glad she is gettinf back into it! She is doing really well! She is going to dress up as a witch for Halloween, and loves her costume.....And the biggest newa on Karleigh is that she has lost her front tooth....she looks silly, absolutely adorable but silly none the less!

Rob is busy with his classroom.......he started taking a class today and is thinking about going back to school again.....And for the first time in 8 years, I am not going to have to hand write his report cards as Columbus has gone electronic.......I might actually miss this task a little bit although I would never freely admit that to him!

Hope everyone is doing well!! We love you all!!!!

Happy Birthday Katie!!

Happy Birthday Sweetie!!!!! We hope you had a great day!! We love you!!!!!

Hannah is HOME!!!!!

Not even 29 hours of traveling could make her unhappy. Although I am certain she was very overwhelmed, as I would have been as well as there were I think 16 relatives plus her new family of her mom, and 5 siblings waiting for her, she was a real trooper!!!
Here are a few pictures of the "arrival celebration". And let me tell you that the airport was not ready for us!!!!

September 12th what a day!

Tomorrow is set to be quite a day...

First, my little girl will be turning 7! OMGoodness, where did the time go? 7, she cant really be 7 can she? That means I am getting old, but I will gladly grow old as long as it means I am able to watch my children grow and blossom! I love you Karleigh!!!!

Secondly, my brother, mom and Hannah arrive home from China. I can not wait to finally meet Hannah. It seems like we have waited a lifetime to meet you so I can only imagine how Amie and her other children feel! As I write this they have begun their journey home, so I will continue to pray for a safe and uneventful rest of the trip home for them! And Hannah you will have quite the line of people who want and cant wait to meet you little lady!!!!!

Hope everyone is doing well, and love to you all!

Welcome Hannah Lynn

As many of you know, my brother and mom are in China right now, to bring Hannah home to her forever home. God as definately put in overtime in making sure that the trip is perfect! Hannah is adapting exceptionally well to her new papa (jeff). She seems to have a great sense of humor and loves to make everyone laugh.

I can not wait to meet her and welcome her into our family.

Here are a few pictures of my new niece! (Yes, I am a very proud Aunt!!!)

1st day of school--she is growing up way too fast!

So Wednesday, we sent our sweet little girl to her first day of 2nd grade....I guess she isnt so little anymore, as she is forever reminding me that she is almost 7!!!!



My mom and brother left on Thursday for the trip to China to bring my niece Hannah to her forever home! We are so excited to finally meet her! How ironic is it that they left for their trip to bring her home on her 2nd birthday and they come home on Karleigh's 7th birthday!!! Very cool! So if anyone could spare a prayer that their journey to Hannah is safe and amazing, we would all appreciate it!!!



Here is a picture of Karleigh on her first day of 2nd grade!!!

What a week!!

We had a busy week here....I started a new job! I am the new director of Kiddie Academy of Lewis Center.

The kids have come with me for a few days.....Aaron is almost potty trained....... and Karleigh is loving having friends to play with there.....

I worked over 60 hours this week, so I am exhausted and will update more later!!!

We are in for it I think!

Here is a recent picture of the kids enjoying Aaron's new set of wheels....

Our baby is growing!

So I wanted to share a picture of our baby cockatiel now that it is a little older....Its eyes opened this week, and it is starting to get its crest feathers and wing feathers and a tail!!!

Aaron's First Set of Wheels!

Sooooo, thanks to a friend of ours, Aaron now has his first set of wheels. His very own motorbike as he calls them.....And Aunt Amie, he is wearing a helmet! I think we are in for it when he is legal!

Happy 4th of July!!!

God Bless America and those who have fought and are fighting for our freedom!

We have a new baby in the family!

Okay, so not a human baby, but 2 of our cockatiels had eggs and one of them hatched on Monday, so we are now the proud parents of a little teeny tiny baby cockatiel!

Five Things Mommy Style

So I keep stealing things like this from a friends blog but they are fun!!!


Five Things Mommy Style
Five Snacks I Enjoy
Potato Chips
Grapes
Cookies
Any kind of ice cream
Tortilla chips with Queso Blanco

Five Songs I Know All the Lyrics Too
I Melt (Rascall Flats)
Jesus Take the Wheel (really anything Carrie Underwood)
Find Out Who Your Friends Are (Tracy Lawerence, w/Kenny and Tim)
From This Moment (Shania Twain, this was Rob and my first dance song at our wedding)
Independence Day (Martina McBride)

Five Things I Would Do if I Were a Millionaire
Build my dream house
Take the family to Disney World (including a cruise)
Put money aside for Karleigh and Aaron for college and to make sure they never feel a financial pinch!
Give a large chunk to my church
Donate to research cancer and infant deaths

Five Bad Habits
I have a potty mouth at times
I am a firm believer in retail therapy - which stinks when you have champagne taste on a beer budget
I hate to do laundry and will avoid it at all costs
I leave my shoes all over the house
I tend to procrastinate a lot!

Five Things I Like to Do
Scrapbook
Spend time with my family
Suduko Puzzles
Shop
Travel (although we dont do it enough!)

Five Things I Would Never Wear Again
Stirrup pants
Shoulder pads
Formal dresses that look like my highschool prom from junior year
A side ponytail
Banana clip

Five Favorite Toys
Playdough (but I cant stand the smell)
Anything crafty
Barbies
Aarons fisher price animal zoo
Stuffed animals

Summer fun!

I can remember spending my summers at the pool from 8 in the morning until when ever my dad dragged me out when he got off work at 6 or so.....

Karleigh is loving the water, thankfully she is content in our little pool in the backyard. Aaron is not so sure of it, but is getting much better. He is such a safety man! He has to be in his floaty even walking across the pool.

Anyways, here is a picture of the kids enjoying the nice evening tonight in the pool!

How does our garden grow?

Surprisingly really well!!! Rob and I decided to plant a garden this year. We did all seeds and I really did not expect anything to grow this year but as you can see, we did get a lot to come up!!!! Now if we get any vegetables from it is another thing, but I will keep you informed!!

Scattergories - Karleigh and Aaron Style:

I stole this from a friend's blog I read. I did it for the kids instead of for me.

Rules: Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following.

1. Famous singer/band: Aerosmith and Kiss
2. 4 letter word: Ants and Kiss
3. Street name: Andover and Khanawa
4. Color: Almond and Kelly Green
5. Gifts/presents: Airplane and Kite
6. Vehicle: Airplane and Kia
7. Things in a souvenir shop: Atlas and a Key Chain
8. Boy name: Aaron and Kevin
9. Girl name: Alexandra and Karleigh
10. Movie title: Anchorman and Kill Bill
11. Drink: Appletini and Kool Aide
12. Occupation: Astronaut and Kindergarten Teacher
13. Flower: amaryllis and kangaroo paw
14. Celebrity: Adam Sandler and Kiera Knightly
15. Magazine: AmericanStyle and Kiwi
16. U.S. city: Ann Arbor and Knoxville
17. Pro sports teams: Astros and Kansas City Royals
18. Fruit/vegetable: Apple and Kiwi
19. Reason late for work: Alarm clock didnt go off and keys got lost
20. Something you throw away: Apple cores and klennex
21. Things you shout: Alright and Knock it off
22. Cartoon character: Alvin the Chipmunk and Kermit the Frog

Summer has begun.....

Well Karleigh ended her school year on Friday and Rob has to go to work tomorrow for a teacher work day and then they are done for the summer! Karleigh was kind of sad on her last day, because she is not returning to Tyler Run since we have moved.......she is sad that she won't be able to give Ms. Ridgway (her teacher this year) a hug every morning as she has seen all the second grade girls do this year.
But speaking of Ms. Ridgway, the influence she had on Karleigh this year was to say the least AMAZING!!!!! When Karleigh plays school, which she does every night when we put her to bed, she sounds just like her teacher. When I say she plays school every night at bedtime, I mean I walk in to tuck her in and she says please be careful of my books on my bed that I am going to read to my students, and she is usually writing on some pad of paper and when you shut her door you can hear her start right in asking her "students" questions. I will definately miss the family feeling of Tyler Run but am sure we will be happy at Worthington Park as we have friends whose children go there and they love it!!!!
Karleigh and Aaron ran through the sprinkler for the first time this season today! Well let me rephrase that.....Karleigh ran through it and Aaron waited for it to pass and then ran across the yard......he did not want to get wet!
Speaking of Aaron, what are we going to do with him? He is so ready to be potty trained but refuses to sit on the potty. Big or small makes no difference. Now we have recently had success having him stand...but mommy teaching that is funny!!!
Rob and I planted a garden today.......9 different vegetables.....I will be thrilled if we get one bean plant to grow...I dont hold high hopes...
Thats about it for us for now.....I will update some more recent pictures soon!
We love and miss everyone!!!!

Please give us strength

Not much to say tonight, but tomorrow is Annabelle's birthday and the day she became our angel. Please keep the family in your thoughts and prayers as it is a very hard day for all of us!

What a weekend!

We had a very busy but great weekend....

Being the animal lovers we are, we are "watching" my brothers dog for them for a while. His name is Buster and he has adapted very well to his new surroundings....But you please be the judge by looking at the picture I took of him and Rob this evening.....

The little stinker sleeps under a pillow on our bed at night as well....Karleigh and Aaron absolutely adore him.......

My oldest nephew turned 11 last week and we celebrated his birthday yesterday.....what fun we have when we all get together...When the entire family is together there are 13 kids with David being the oldest at 11......

We hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Holiday weekend.....

They are at it again!

So apparently calling the Sheriff and filing a civil law suit is not enough to get the Homeowners Association for stopping and leaving us alone. As I dropped Karleigh off at school this morning, I went by the old house and noticed that the board had messed with our yard AGAIN!!!! So I called our attorney and he advised me to call the Sheriff again and file another report soooooo....thats what I did...The Sheriff told me that all it did was make our case more solid!

Oh well, I should probably feel sorry for them that they have nothing better to do than mess with our property but Karma is a b&*@# and it will come full circle I have faith in that!!!!!

How Much Can We Take????

Okay, so our move has finally come to an end I think........We finally rented a truck and got the last of our things from the old house. This move has really confused poor little Aaron who when we first started staying at the new house, and we would be out and say lets go home, and he would see the new house he would tell us, "no this not our home, this is the new house". So we have started calling the old house, just that the old house.

Anyways, we recruited Rob's dad, and his brothers this weekend to make some final trips with the last of the things. So after we picked up the truck, I get a phone call from Rob asking me when the last time I had been at the old house, because someone took it upon themselves to mulch our flowerbeds and mow the front and back lawns. Well when they did that thats fine, if they want to spend the money on the house, but they destroyed some of our property! We quickly figured out that is was the lovely homeowners association. Well they destroyed our bird flight, which to some probably does not seem like a big deal, but it will cost them a pretty penny to replace! So we filed a police report, and I am heading down to the courthouse tomorrow morning to file an official civil suit. SO bottom line, we are suing the homeowners association for replacement! Wish us luck through this although it is pretty cut and dry, people came on to our property unauthorized and stole from us. I think we can all see who is at fault here! Oh and the kicker is, they claim to have sent a letter to us asking us to take care of things. The police even asked them if they sent this letter ceritfied, and they admitted no. Now considering that the president of the assoication is a para-legal, I think he should know that they have no leg to stand on for proof of notifying us of anything. I will keep everyone posted on how things are going!

But on a positive note, we have everything at the new house and it is really starting to feel like home!

Oh and we have the sweetest little old man that lives across the street from us. Today he brought over 2 vases of peonys flowers for us, and told us to cut as many as we would like from his 6 bushes as often as we would like! Thats what I call a friendly neighbor!!!!

Where does the time go???

I can not believe that this past weekend we celebrated Aaron's 3rd birthday!!! He is growing up way too quickly!
We had his first celebration on Saturday with my family....wow do we have a crew of kids when we get together! They are all so cool and amazing!!
On Sunday, we got together with Rob's family. That is always fun too! The kids play so well together. Uncle Michael and Kathleen got Aaron his shirt that he is wearing in this picture....

And finally Monday on his actual birthday we went to Dairy Queen for ice cream.

As you can see from the pictures, the kids are growing up way too fast! But we are enjoying every moment.

What a week

Okay, so we have had one heck of a week.....did you know that the courts don't have to notify you if you loose your license? OKay to make a long story as short as I can here goes.....Last November I had a minor accident. (I bumped into someone from behind, and we were not going more than 2 miles per hour). Well I was sighted for incorrect start from a stopped position. The nice trooper told me that since my license was clean, what he suggested was that I take a defensive driving class on line and then it would take care of the points and fine. SO, I did...what I did not know is that it does not take care of the fine only the points. SO, when we went to renew our tags last Saturday, the nice lady at the BMV informed me that my license was under suspension. I went to Delaware CO Municipal Court Monday morning, and after 5 hours there, paid my fine, and went to find the reinstatement center for the BMV and after 2 hours there, I finally was a legal driver again, and barely knew I wasnt all along.

Then on Wednesday night, Carter, our Catalina Macaw, was playing with Rob, and ended up knicking his right eye. Rob would not allow me to take him to get it looked at that night, but his school nurse made him go Thursday morning and Carter scratched his cornea (sp?). So I took him to an opthamologist yesterday and again today and back on Monday hoping that the chunk Carter took out has filled back in so we can see if their is any permanent damage......Aaron loved his daddy wearing an eye patch and kept saying "Arrrrrrggggg Daddy you a pirate!!!"

Hope all is well with everyone!

the kids

Well this is an older picture of the kids, obviously from the holidays, but I was really just trying to figure out if I could do it! Although it is an older picture it is still one of my favorites because it shows their personalities so well....Karleigh is always trying to be a young lady and Aaron wants to look innocent but his mischievious grin gives him away..

The Move......

will it ever end??? It feels like we have been moving forever! We are very close to being done, and certainly would not be where we are today in the process if Rob's brothers, Michael and Jeffrey had not helped as much as they have!! So thank you to both of you!! Don't worry your handsome reward is close!!

Karleigh is excited because her trampoline and swing set made the move.....the tramp has been a big hit with the neighbors who just stand at the fence and stare! They want to jump so badly, but they are all older and it scares me with Aaron on there, so as of today, Jase, his brother Jeff and Zach (who Karleigh thinks looks like someone from High Schoo Musical) have yet to jump!

Rob's birthday is this week and I am hosting his party at the house on Saturday...hopefully we will all have a place to sit!

Welcome to our Blog

Well, I have finally decided that since I, well we really, are so bad at keeping in contact with loved ones, that I would join the world of blogs....Now hopefully I will be able to keep everyone up to date through here!

Feel free to leave messages, etc here for us as well!!!

The kids are fantastic......Karleigh is wrapping up her first grade year at school, and is doing extremely well. She is reading beyond her grade level, and her report card reflects her mastering first grade with confidence. We are so proud of her!!!! Aaron is a typical 2, almost 3, year old boy.....anything he comes into contact with becomes something that either shoots or is a sword......He is still an animal lover and thanks to many has learned just about all the animal sounds we can think of! His favorite at the moment is an elephant, which he learned from Grandma Swaddling!!!!

I will post pictures just as soon as I figure out how to!

Hope all is well with everyone! We love you all!