Thank you my Love!

Today, I want to thank my love, a.k.a. Rich, for working hard to get this:

his bachelor's degree, and later his master's degree. If Rich hadn't worked hard, and set goals, I would not have the opportunity to stay home with my precious children. Rich goes to work every day, so that our family is provided for and our needs are met; he goes to work, so that I may do a job that he tells me time and time again is more important than the work he is doing. I think sometimes he forgets, that I couldn't do what I am doing without all of his support: temporal, spiritual, and emotional. As I sat today staring at this little face,

and listening to her talk about her future, her desire to be a mother one day, how Jesus got boo boos, feeling Jesus in her heart, going to kindergarten in a couple years, how you say holy cow when you are excited, how Sally (her imaginary friend) teaches her a lot, how she liked singing with me today, and any other thought that popped into her sweet little head (which means it is also going to come out of her sweet little mouth), it hit me how much I would be missing if I still had to teach school. It also made me think about how grateful I am to Rich for allowing me to be home. I admit it was hard at first when I started staying home after Braden was born, but now I can't imagine a better job or a place I would rather be than with my children. By leaving the teaching profession, I am able to do a nobler calling, teaching my children. True, I was able to touch many lives during the years I taught, and I loved what I did; by teaching my children though, I am touching generations. Thank you Rich for allowing me this opportunity; thank you for sacrificing, so that I may be there for our children's comings and goings. Thank you for allowing me to be there when they need me the most. Thank you for allowing me to be such an integral part of their lives. We waited and prayed a long time for
our three miracles,

and I am grateful to you that I don't have to let someone else raise them.
I love you honey, more than you will ever know!

One of a Kind

I will be the first to tell you that Emma is one of a kind; I don't think there was a mold when she was made, so it should be no surprise to me that she was a little less than cooperative tonight for our little photo shoot. This is the little girl who brings me odd pieces of various outfits, insisting that I help her put them on and achieve whatever fashion statement she is trying to make (that is when she actually wants to wear clothes), the little girl who knows no fear and tries to Houdini herself out of highchairs, shopping carts, and wagons, the little girl who tackles her older siblings like she is a little football player, the little girl who has learned to say, "No biting!", but does not listen to her own advice, the little girl who will throw toys at you in anger, and the little girl who has no trouble asserting herself and screaming a resounding, "NO!" when she does not want to do something. Emma knows what she does and doesn't want to do, and tonight she DID NOT want her picture taken!

Here are the pictures from my failed attempt:

First, she tried to pull her dress over her head and hide.

Then, she decided that ignoring me and the camera would be her next tactic.

Next, she let me know what she thought of me and my camera by sticking her tongue out.

Finally, she realized that I wasn't going away, so she threw me a line and looked at the camera; unfortunately that look didn't come along with a cute Emma smile.


Then she decides the chair is for the birds, and that holding onto the fence and bending backwards would be much more fun; who cares if Mama wants to take a picture, I'm having fun!

Once, Rich and I wrestled her back into the chair, she let us both know what she thought about the chair and how frustrated she was.

In the end, Emma won; I put my camera away, but don't worry, this battle isn't over yet. I am going to get a cute picture even if it makes me crazy, which it probably will.

Just a couple pictures of Brooke

Here are just a couple pictures I took of Brooke today in the backyard; my goal is to get an updated picture of each of the cuties to send to aunts, uncles, and grandparents. I think I will have to enlist Rich's help though to get Emma's; she isn't always the most cooperative when it comes to the camera.

Our School Week in Review

Here are just a few pictures I took of Brooke this week during school (including a few of our little tag a long, Emma); she is loving staying at home, and every time she tells me how much she loves being home with me, it lets me know that we made the right decision! I've really enjoyed the time I have gotten to spend with her, and she is learning so much. The initial plan was to just have school a few days a week, but every morning she wakes up, and wants to know what she is learning for that day. Tomorrow however, we are taking a day off; my house is in desperate need of a cleaning, so tomorrow Brooke and I both will be donning our aprons and getting to work. Brooke won't be learning her alphabet or her numbers, but she will learn about hard work; I'm sure it will give us plenty of time to talk about everything that pops into that little mind of hers, which is a LOT!

Pictures of Brooke working on sorting and

the numbers 1-5

Pictures of Brooke making her Five Little Pumpkins Counting Book

Emma cheesing it up for the camera and looking at The Five Little Pumpkins book

Oh, to be a Daddy!

Some days I think,

Oh, to be a Daddy!

Oh, to take a shower in peace! Oh, to use the bathroom without an audience! Oh, to have a full night's sleep! Oh, to get to go to work and escape the dirty dishes, the endless barrage of laundry, the never ending monotony of cleaning the house, the tattling, and the whining that never seems to end!

Then I feel little Colton kick inside of me, I feel Emma wrap her little arms around my neck and give me one of her sweet kisses on my cheek, I hear Brooke tell me I'm the best mom ever, and Braden tells me that he loves me, and my thoughts quickly change to Oh, to be a Mama! Oh to be the one who gets the privilege to spend everyday with these choice spirits! Oh to be the one who has been blessed with such a great honor and responsibility! Oh to be the one who is there to see their first step and hear their first word! Oh to be the one to hear their joyous laughter! Oh to be the one who is both a source of strength to them and a safe place to fall! Oh to be the one who gets to make their home a little piece of heaven on earth! Oh to be the one who gets to foster their imaginations, encourage their dreams, and bolster their confidence! Oh to be the one who receives their sweet kisses and loving hugs! Oh to be the one they call Mama!

How was your Halloween?

How was your Halloween? Ours began like this, taking pictures of the cuties all decked out and ready to collect candy.

Little did I know that our night of fun and frolic was about to change, all with the simple closing of a door. As I was taking the pictures, I hear Rich shut the door. I think, 'Oh no, I didn't get my mask out of the house, and I locked the front door.' I preparing ahead and attempting to avert disaster had placed the key in my pocket, or so I thought. I saunter up to the door (thinking no big deal, I have the key), place the key in the lock, but it won't turn; it is about this time, it hits me! I grabbed the key to our house in St. Marys instead! In a split second the realization and panic start to set in; I have locked us out of our house!!!!! I frantically explain our situation to Rich; he simply says, "Why don't we just go trick or treating first, and then we will deal with the problem." Is he nuts?!? There is no way I can enjoy myself now; I need to know that when we get back from trick or treating, I will have a nice warm house to enter. I need to know that we will not be calling our friends begging for a place to lay our heads. I HAVE to get into that HOUSE!!!!!! We quickly realize that the garage door is locked, can't get to the extra key in the van, the extra key we keep outside is in fact in the house, and ALL of the doors are locked! What are we going to do?!? I don't want to pay a locksmith!!!! I want to use that money for Christmas! Why in all my wisdom did I do this (like how I said, "in all my wisdom"; I'm trying to make myself feel better)? I can't believe I locked us out of our own home! I started racking my brain, what can we do? Maybe there is a window that isn't locked (usually unlikely, because I am sooooooo over paranoid about batting down the hatches). I start to check the windows, finally finding one in the back that is unlocked; thank you Rich for forgetting to lock the window (never thought I would say that)! YES, we have a solution!!!!!





So here are the pictures of the break in; Rich finally jimmies the screen off, pushes the window up, and we are in the money! Rich slips our little guy in, he unlocks the door, we grab Rich's key, place the extra key back outside, securely lock the window, and we are now in business!

Now we can really enjoy our Halloween!

So off we go, time to collect candy, but not before taking a couple pictures of our little Indian waiting patiently in the wagon.

Okay, now we are off; candy here we come!

Emma was having so much fun going from house to house collecting candy, waving "bye, bye" to everyone after receiving candy, and taking in all the sights. She touched every decoration she walked by, and she loved all of the ooohs and aaahs she got; I myself was getting a lot of entertainment watching her. She was so cute and funny running after Braden and Brooke with her little legs and taking the candy out of every one's hands, so she could place it in her pumpkin all by herself. In fact, she was enjoying herself so much, that when we did finally return home, this was her reaction (I guess her tired older siblings cut her fun too short).

No worries, it was nothing a little dose of Kit Kat couldn't help, all better now.

I hope all of you had a great Halloween! I leave you now with a picture of our little ladybug enjoying her spoils.

CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAZY HAIR

First, I guess I should give a little background, before I show you the pictures. A couple weekends ago when we went to the festival in Marietta, Paul and Brooke noticed a booth entitled Crazy Hair. Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that in said booth, you could get your hair made crazy for $6; basically, they sprayed your hair crazy colors, pinned it up, and stuck various things in your hair, such as fake butterflies. Needless to say, Brooke was hooked; she had her little heart set on getting "crazy hair", but I had my heart set on not spending $6 for someone to spray her hair (a can of the spray is only about $1.88 at Wal-mart). I also knew that if Brooke had her hair done, than Braden would want his hair sprayed as well; of course, now our grand total would be up to about $12, so I told them both that I would buy some colored spray from Wal-mart and work my own crazy hair magic. Well, Sunday night, I made good on my promise. After giving them "crazy hair", I am even more glad I didn't pay $6 for Brooke to have her hair done, because her version of crazy hair was putting her hair in pigtails (excuse me, she refers to them as two ponytails; she explained to me that she isn't a pig) and having me spray it pink. Braden however was a little braver and let me spike his hair. Emma also got in on the act. After our crazy hair session was complete, we did the only thing good upstanding citizens can do, we loaded the children into the wagon and went on a walk around the block for all of the world to see. I think Rich may have been a little embarrassed or either he just thought I was nuts, or both, I'm not sure which? Either way, the kids had a blast, and that is what counts!

Before:

After:

(I think it is safe to say that Braden was very pleased with the results!)

Before:

After:

(I couldn't quite get all of the curls in front without spraying her head pink as well, but she liked the results.)

And last, but certainly not least, is Emma our little crazy hair rocker. Alas, we have no before pictures; she wouldn't sit still long enough for such things, and in all honesty, she didn't really want to be still for the after pictures either (as you can probably tell).

After: