Out of town!!!

I am so excited.....I am going to my parents to visit this weekend! I am hoping to get some good pictures of my family. I know it is going to fly by....so just a heads-up this weekend will be over before we know it so enjoy. I am going to try to get some good sleep before then because I try to stay awake as long as I can and visit with everyone. This comes at such a good time. I love going to the farm and hanging with my family. My kids love it too. They have already told me what they need to pack. Abbey has already packed 3 toy bags filled with stuff that she won't even play with. Michael told me he needs to pack old boots "O....I don't have any" and old pants so he can play down at the ponds. Casey just screamed with excitement. And Caleb; he is happy no matter where he is, most of the time.

Very sad day

When I came home from work today I found out that my friend/neighbor is loosing her battle with cancer. My family and I have come to love her and her family very much in the last year and a half. My heart is so heavy for the family as they are together with her. As I have been thinking about our friendship I was reminded of how I stopped everything if she needed me......because I knew my time with her was limited. I am so glad I did.

I started this post a few weeks ago. I could not finish this post at the time. I was crying to much. Since then she has died and so has another friend of ours. They were both great people and are missed very much buy their family and friends. The past few weeks have been hard. Mike (my husband) did the funeral service for our friend and we were able to attend the viewing of our neighbor together. It was a sad few weeks.

Still here

Yes, I am still here.....however I am trying to adjust to all of the changes going on around in my life. I still love my new job but, I do miss being home with the kids. Mike is doing fabulous with the kids and helping out with whatever I need help with (and that has been a lot lately). All 4 of the kids are adjusting well to all the changes too. I appreciate the time I spend with them so much more now. I am always striving to be a better mom and I love stopping everything to just spend quality time with my kids. The house will always need cleaning but my kids are growing up to fast and I know that my time spent coloring and reading stories is flying by to quickly. Abbey is waiting for me to read so my time is done here!!!

Working!

I started my new job this week at the YMCA. I love it! I was working at the camp helping out where I was needed for a few hours this past week. Tuesday I will start in my classroom. I am an assistant in the kindergarten class. I am really excited to start and meet the children in my class. Abbey keeps asking me when it is time for her to go to my work. She will be going in the childcare for a few hours while I am working. She is looking forward to it and I think it will be a lot of fun for her. Mike has been awesome helping with the house and taking care of the kids in the morning when I was working this past week. It made the transition so much easier! Thank you Mike!! No more late nights for me on week days. Mike can tell you.....I can't hang past 9:30pm. Getting up at 5:30am takes its toll if I don't get my sleep. And if you know me you know I love my sleep.

Back home!

We are all home after a great week at Ocean City MD!!
The kids loved the beach and boardwalk! They all played
great together and had a lot of fun. At the end of the day
I am not sure who was more tired the kids or adults.
I am trying to get unpacked today so I have not downloaded
the new pictures yet. When I do I will post some. It is
good to be back home.

Happy Anniversary!

Today 17 years ago I was getting ready for our wedding!!! Today I am getting our family of 6 ready for church and I Love the preacher!!!! I would have never thought that this is where Mike and I would be 17 years later!! I am so blessed to have a husband like Mike. He is fun, smart, handsome, life of the party, great father, great communicator, I could go on and on but, I can't be late for church!!! Mike I love you now more than the day I married you and let me tell you that is A LOT!!!! Thank you for being such an awesome partner for life. I can't wait to see what the next 17 years hold for us.

Vacation here we come!

This picture of my son's hermit crab describes our
vacations. We almost always come home with a new
hermit crab. We are going with friends to O.C. MD.
I am almost all packed after staying up til 2 and 3am
the last two days. That seems to be the only time I
can get my work done. I am looking forward to eating
some seafood and spending some quality time with
my family and friends . As much work as it is to go
to the beach it is so worth watching them play and
have a great time (usually without fighting).
We are having a few baby/child dedications at
church in the morning (this always hold a special
place in my heart) and then we get to head out!

Job

Well there is a lot of news going on in our house! I am not going to bore you will all of it. One of the big things going on is that I am going to be starting a new job in a few weeks. I have mixed emotions about this new chapter for my life. I also have confidence like never before about this next step. You see, I prayed for God to make it obvious to me if this is where He wants me and.......you guessed it.......He made it VERY obvious ( I was hired on the spot ). What you may not know is that I have been a stay-at-home-mom for over 11 years. So, with all that said I have loved staying home but, I am excited to get out of the house for a few hours and help financially too.

Zoo with the crew!

Do ya think he likes the zoo?

The monkeys sure do!

Happy Birthday Gus!

Yum! Yum!

This is me and the girls (they are best friends
they just don't know it yet). They were sharing
their sandy snacks with me. Not long ago I
would have graciously said "no thank you" but,
this day was different; I laid down on the
towel and enjoyed the moment. I asked a
friend to capture it on film for me. That way
when my mind forgets these moments I can
be reminded by looking at the pictures. It was
so worth it....just look at our smiles!!!

Summer

Here are a few things that I love about summer:

• swimming
• cricket sounds
• fireflies
  
• guest (like my niece that stay for a week)
• ice tea
• ice cream
• no schedule / late nights
• my kids out of school
• beach
  

Now for the few things I don't like about summer:

• sunburn
• cooking
  
• bug bites
• grouchy kids home for summer break
• poison ivy
  
• sand from the beach in my van
• flies in my house
  
• weeds all over my property
  

Caleb is 1!

Caleb turned 1 on June 19th! He is just such a
joy to have around! He is almost always happy
and trying to get into everything. He knows
which kitchen cabinets do not have locks on
and he gets into them often (only 2 but boy
does he make a mess of the Tupperware). He
is not walking yet, but he will be very soon.
He is eating mostly "big people" food now and
loving most of it. I can't even drink a glass of
water without giving him some. We are so
blessed to have Caleb as part of our family!
We love you Caleb!!! Happy Birthday!!!

Trash digger!

Is this not the funniest thing or what???!!!
Only a mother of 4 would take a picture and
then wash her sons hands!! I just could not
resist...it was too cute!!! I had to capture this
moment on camera. Times like these pass to
quickly and I want to always be able to
remember moments like this.

First video

This is my first attempt at posting a video. Hopefully with time I will only get better at this!

Girls

Abbey and Trinity were having some girl time. I just wish I knew what they were talking about. They looked like this for a while; just talking and sitting under the tree. O, to be a kid again!

Cool hair

Caleb loves his bath. Can you tell? He is just such a pleasant kid to have around. God knew what He was doing when he blessed us with Caleb our #4 and final kid. All of us enjoy having some Caleb time! Often I will catch Casey and Michael fighting over who gets Caleb! I hope their love for him stays the way it is even when he is big enough to get into their stuff!

My #1!

Mike is my favorite person in the whole world! I forget to tell him like I should. I am so glad to be living life with him. When I first met him I thought that he was to good to be true. I began praying hard that he would be interested in me. Next I prayed that he would be falling in love with me like I was with him. Now 18+ years later I pray for our marriage that God would continue to bless it. We learned early on that our marriage took 3 Mike, Naomi and God. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 talks about how " A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart." It is so true for us. With God being the 3rd strand in our marriage we can do so much more and overlook so much more when times are tough. Mike is such a great husband and I tell our kids that I search for the best man I could find to marry so that when we had children, they would have the best father. I am honored to be his wife. Mike I love you, thank you for being such a great husband and father to our children! This is not a great picture of Mike but, he is doing what he is great at and what he loves...preaching! I will have to get a better picture and post it sometime in the near future (no promises).

Drum roll please!

My sister Kim is definitely one of my favorite people in the whole world!!!! Please don't be offended because if you are reading this you may be another one of my favorite people in the world! I truly love (most) people. Kim is one of my favorite because she is just so sweet. She always puts others before herself and I mean always. I don't know if she even realizes how much I look up to and respect her. For example today (she is at my house :) she wore her hair curly ( she also wears is straight) and so I liked it and wore mine that way. Then my daughter came down later with her hair curly! I just thought it was kinda funny! We all love Kim! I love spending time with her and am always sad when our time together is done. Right now we live about 2 1/2 to 3 hours away. We visit each other with our families as much as we both can but, it is never enough for me. She is such a great person and I love her A LOT!!!! Kim thank you for being such an awesome big sister.

Check in later

Since it is raining and Abbey is play so good with the "junk" I am going to sell tomorrow I am going to try to post again later. I am waiting for my battery to charge for my camera. I have a great picture of me and one of my favorite people in the whole world. Check in later to see who it is????

Off the hook!

If you read one of my other posts you will appreciate this even more. It is raining outside! I was planning on mowing the grass today but, now I can't! YEAH I am off the hook!!! I have been mowing the grass for Mike since he has been away or his allergies have been bothering him. I did use earphones and music last week and that helped. I just hope that I was not singing to loud. Sorry neighbors if you heard me over the lawn mower! As for tomorrow... our neighborhood is having their yard sale so I am hoping for good weather. I have my side of the garage full of "junk" that will be another persons "treasure"! Casey reminded me yesterday that "one mans junk is another mans treasure". She told me that that is my dad's (her poppie) favorite saying. I believe it. The only problem with that is that he has everyones "treasure" but it really is "junk". I love my dad! I hope you get to enjoy your rainy day too!!!!

Happy Birthday Michael!

Michael turned 8 years old today! I can't believe how fast they flew by! I was so excited that we had a girl and now our boy. I talked Mike into naming our little boy after him. When Michael was born he was to little for the name Michael so we called him Mikey until one day he announced that his name was Michael. And so he has been Micheal ever since. He is the one to make you laugh. He also likes to play games or outdoor sports. I am so proud of the young man you are turning into Michael. Remember to always keep God #1 in your life. He will always be there for you. I really think a lot of your earthly father too that is why I named you after him. He has good footsteps to follow after too. You will always be my #1 boy! I love you! Happy birthday buddy!!

My mother-in-love

Mom don't be mad at me for putting your picture on here. Please!!! I wanted to try to highlight a few things from the past 19? years since we met. Again I will try to keep it brief. You were so sweet when Mike brought me home to meet you all. I think I got a hug that day.
I was a young, shy teenager and you made me feel so welcome. Thank you mom. I am so glad to be able to brag about our relationship when others are complaining about their in-laws! Thank you mom. You raised a godly man who I am so glad to be married to (most days, I think we all have our bad days). Thank you mom. I never knew it but, you were an example of being a "pastors wife" all those years. Thank you mom. You bake the BEST Boston cream pie. Everything in it is from scratch! Yum Yum! Thank you mom. We still joke that you had Mike trained on making his bed and all that house stuff... then he married me.....I don't know what happened but.....he rarely makes the bed. But, he does help me ALOT with cleaning the house. So, thank you mom. You are the best and I love you!!! Ps. I am so glad to have you a few min. away now and not a few hours away!

My mother

I wanted to thank my mom for being being such a wonderful mom! I don't have the time to share them all so I will just highlight a few things. My mom drove the school van that took us to our small Christian school. She did that so she did not have to "work" outside of the house. My mom does not like to drive. Thank you mom. She put up with our "pets". She is not a real animal lover. Thank you mom. She bakes the BEST apple pies and only makes them her 18inch pie plate. Yes, that is one big apple pie but, it always goes quick. Thank you mom (I hope to get one this year). She always makes me fell so loved and is always there to listen. Thank you mom. I always felt safe in knowing that my parents would never get a divorce. They have their disagreements but, they always work things out. Let me tell you our family has had its tough times too but, God is always the center and divorce was never an option. Thank you mom. My life has been so blessed by the times you have spent on your knees for me and I am not talking about cleaning the floors. You taught my by your example that it is a good place to start and end the day on your knees talking to God. Thank you mom. My prayer is that I will pass down these qualities to my children. Mom I love you and I am so grateful to have you in my life!!!! Mom THANK YOU!!!!

Spending less

I am amazed at how God works things out! It really should be of no surprise to me since I know that He created everything.... but, He always amazes me! Let me back up a little.....Mike and I have gotten used to spending to much money on eating out. So our kids also are used to living like that for a few years on and off. In Jan. when we realized that we had to scale back on a lot of things so I would not have to go get a job (sometimes I would love to work a few hours out of the house but, that is for another day). So we canceled our cable tv service and made a few other adjustments financially to help offset our change in lifestyles. Back to our eating out. We knew that we could cut out a bit by eating out less and then we realized how much more we spent by ordering sodas and milk: at least $10 for our family. I used to be the one thinking that people who made their family order water out we just plain cheap. I am now that person. Now I realize that if we all order water that adds up to: 2 blockbuster movies, a pizza, ice cream cones or almost 3 gallons of gas. We now let our kids help us decide if they want soda or last night it was ice cream. They all ordered water and we all enjoyed the treat of ice cream! When we did the ice cream part we let them pick anything that they wanted! I loved that it was such a treat and not like it used to be, expected. I only wish that we had done this a long time ago! I want to help develop good spending habits in our children. God has blessed us with more than we could ever imagine! Our kids can drink some soda at home and all the milk they want. Just wanted you to know that they do not do without!

Things you may not know

Here are 5 things that you may or may not know about me:

1. I am very afraid of lawn mowers ( it is stressful for me when I mow our lawn )

2. I love my neighbors (past and present) but, I wish I lived on a farm in the middle of nowhere

3. Growing up I had a lot of different pets

4. I love the spring for a lot of reasons one being that it reminds me of the farm that I grew up on

5. I still love all kinds of animals but, I love my husband MORE and therefore we don't have many pets (he has alergies and does not love animals)

6. I used to be the one to beg Mike to go and do things now....I am begging him to slow down

7. I can't count.....and I love my Creator more than anything/anyone and that is ALOT

my apologies

I know it has been a long time since I posted and for that please accept my apologies. Mike was out of town for a lot of the past 2 weeks and I had to run this house on my own. Yes, it was a little scary at times but, we all survived. We are all glad to be united as a family again. As for me not posting.... I will try to never put this blog ahead of my family. I had to do double duty and was to tired to think or stay awake to blog. I did enjoy some fun time with the kids while Mike was away. I allowed them to take turns having sleepovers in my room. By the last night I declared it "me" night. That meant I was claiming my room back and needed one good nights sleep alone before Dad came home. I must admit that I slept much better when he returned. Something about having the Man of the house home at night just makes it so much easier to sleep sound. Speaking of.... he is such a great man.....I heard a noise in the middle of the night 2 nights ago and he got up to check it out for me. If you know Mike you know how awesome of him that was (he likes his sleep to be uninterrupted). Don't know what the noise was but, boy was I glad that did not happen when he was away! Ok I am rambling but it does feel good to be able to get back on here. I am not sure with the nice weather how often I will post. I am hoping for 2 times a week. If I have to choose between being outside with my kids or posting.....sorry again but, I will always try to pick my kids.

rough life!

Caleb has is so rough around here! He was
tired from all the work he did this morning!

Seriously, these are the best moments....when
he just falls asleep no matter where he is or
what he is doing! This does not happen often.
I looked to see why he was so quiet and found
him like this. It lasted long enough to take the
picture!

Licorice!

Mike gave Caleb his first piece of licorice!
Do you think that he liked it???

Father/Daughter

Casey had her father/daughter dance last week
at her school. I still can not believe how grown
up she is! I am very grateful that we are still at
the father/daughter stage though. I don't know
what I will do when it is time for her to go to
prom and it is not with her dad.

I am so proud of her! She is such a blessing to
me! I love you Casey! And I love your date too!

Off line!

I know it has been a long time since my last blog. I have some fun pictures to post but, I was without the internet for a few days and now we have friends visiting for the weekend. So check back Monday! Enjoy the sunshine too!!

Don't tell Mike!

I love spring! I get this new energy and start ripping the house apart. The problem is that I run out of energy or daytime before I finish and get everything put back. So, I am going to try and focus on one project at a time and finish that project before I start the next one. I am also going to be a lot slower with my 2 little helpers. So.... here is to getting this room (the front/computer room) done before Mike has a meeting in it tonight! This is after I already started work in the garage. See my problem? Can anyone relate?

Bad day at work!

Ok it wasn't that bad! And I am a stay at home mom so I can't get fired. Caleb is into everything and he is having the time of his life! Today he got into 2 plants and made a mess.....one right after the other! The sad thing was that I was right there....he is too fast and I may be a little slower than a few years ago. Abbey on the other hand is such a big helper! She brought down a load of laundry for me into the basement and emptied ( the load that had not been washed yet) the washer and then filled it back up for me; then she proceeded to press the buttons to wash this load. Ok this is when I enter the room......do I yell or laugh and thank her for her help? I did the later and then went to tell Mike. I did yell a little bit when I discovered that she messed up my washer and I could not get it to start!! Mike unplugged the washer (that must have reset it) and that solved the problem. I had to look back and just laugh and be grateful for days like these that I am able to spend with my little ones. I look at my older 2 and I don't know where the time went!

New Baby pics!

Here's baby Tessa and her mom! Isn't she so beautiful?
Congratulations Kristen and Walter!

Another big day at Elk Creek Church!

Jon & Kate Gosselin were at Elk Creek Church yesterday!
It was a great service. I was able to spend some time with
Jon & Kate and they are great people! It was so awesome
to here about their faith in Jesus Christ. I knew they were
Christians but, it is very evident in their lives and in their
life choices. They are terrific parents, they are younger then
Mike and I, and they have twice as many kids as us! It was
a lot of fun! God bless Jon & Kate and their children!

Crazy Fun!

This is what crazy fun looks like!!!!! My niece turned 21 yesterday and we went to celebrate with her and some family and friends. You're thinking...not so crazy. You are wrong! We decided at 4pm that we were going to surprise her and be there at her party. We drove 2 1/2 hours one way to make this happen. It was so worth it! She was very surprised! We enjoyed some time celebrating and then drove home. We also left Abbey to stay for a few days and have some fun with Grandma, Poppie and Great-Grandma! When you get a chance to have some crazy fun make sure you do. It is so worth it!!!

Fun pictures!

Here are some fun pictures: top- Abbey and friend Hailey
next- Caleb and Lilly ( Hailey's sister )
next- Mike and our kids and his niece
last- Abbey helping Caleb!

Caleb's 9 months!

Caleb turned 9 months old yesterday! He is so much fun! He is crawling now, big time! If you look away he is off to another room. He is getting into everything! Abbey bless her little heart tries to help with Caleb. But, she is not so gentle so, I have to really keep an eye on her. She loves to play with him but, she does not like to share her toys or or his toys (they are all hers). Caleb says Dada, Bubu, and Mama but Dada is his favorite! He also loves to give a bunch of sloppy kisses and I am usually the one to receive them. That makes up for him saying Dada all the time! He is a very pleasant baby and he brings so much love into our home! Everyone loves on Caleb and fights over who gets to hold him next! Happy 9 months Caleb!

Baby girls!

Don't get worried they are not mine! A friend from church had a baby girl last week and I have a new niece! I am hoping to see both baby girls on Sunday and get some pictures to show here. I love babies...they bring out the best in people. They make the grumpiest people smile! God knew what he was doing when he created babies!

Down hill fast......

Today was so different from yesterday.......Caleb has double ear infections. So, as you can imagine I did not get a lot done today. Weird enough though....he is now sleeping through the nights....I think he has it backwards. When you are sick, you are not supposed to sleep better than when you are healthy. I am not complaining. It has felt good to get the much needed sleep:) I feel so bad for him though. I am sure he will be felling better in the morning!

Goop and stuff!

I am at the end of a very good day. I had more fun today than I should be allowed to have! I started by dropping our dog off to get groomed....he looks and smells good now. Then I had a cup of coffee with a friend. Next I enjoyed a cup of Starbucks coffee with my husband and I finished my Bible study lesson. At home I helped our 3 kids make goop ( homemade silly puddy ) and a yummy dessert! More little stuff happened but I am done for this day! Today I love my job!!

The kids take after their father!! They know how to have fun!! I love it!!!!!

Last post

The pictures from my last post caused me much grief!!! Not the pictures themselves but trying to post them with the right caption. I know the problem really is with me not knowing how to post them properly but, I only have 24 hours in a day (just like you) and I refuse to use to many of them on this blog and less with my kids who are growing up way to fast. So here you go: The top one is of Mike at our hotel, next is my nieces new puppy (Maggie), there are 2 with the kids showing off there gifts from Casey, the one of Caleb is his first airplane ride, one of me and Caleb with an elephant that was at C3 (when we were away) and the last one is of my dad and Caleb. I know that they are not in that same order but I am sure you can figure them out!!

Recap last 2 weeks!

New look!

Check out what my husband did for me yesterday!!!! He gave me a new look for my blog.....just to be nice!!! I love it! I could never have figured out how to do what he did ( I think he knows it to ). So.......THANK YOU MIKE!!!! I think that Casey helped approve some of it too so, thank you Casey!!!!! I love you guys!!!!!!!!!

Home safe!

Casey made it home safe at 3:30am Monday! I got to spend a few hours with my parents before they had to head home! The life changing stories are great ( I will share some later). I can't wait to hear from the rest of the team that went too! Casey welcome home we all missed you!!

Silly Pictures!

Mike was teaching me again (how to upload these pics) so you get to benefit from my class!!! That is one of the reasons that I love him so much.....he makes me laugh!!!!!! I hope you get a good laugh out of us too!!!! If you know me well, you know that this pictures are out of my character. So here's to living and having fun!!!!!!