Pictures

I haven't really posted since Christmas, so I thought I'd share a few new pictures! Papa time! Jeff and I were having as much fun as the kids!

NO! I didn't slide. I just sent Rileigh slowly down to Jeff.

Now for the important part....the Kids!

Edana isn't a baby at all anymore. She is a beautiful little girl, stubborn and independent but vulnerable and attached at the hip.

I love watching her paint. She "lives for crafting" Oh the emotions of girls.

We chopped her hair. Back to the independent thing. She wanted to do it herself, so I gave her hair she could do herself. Well, I didn't the hairdresser did. She really is beautiful!

Aidan is such a sweetheart! And a fireball at times. Guess it goes with the name! Not to mention Edana can talk him into all kinds...

He is also very creative! His imagination is crazy! This painting ended up being Mr. Tumnus.

Declan is growing so much and learning like crazy. He knows his colors at 2! It makes me very proud.

He loves painting too. If possible I think he may be more active than ever!

He's super cute and super ornery!

Rileigh Cait turned one in Feb.!

She was reaching for her pacifier. She REALLY likes that thing.

I must have a hunderd pics like this. I never get tired of seeing all the kids piled on top of Jeff reading their bedtime story!

They ae so awesome! And they are all getting so BIG!!

Jeff cleaning fish, still flopping in the bag, straight from the river that a neighbor brought us one night. Finally ate them they other day. They were great!The kids were fascinated, of course. It was probably 70degrees that night. We ended up having an unexpectedly silly, fun night.

She wanted out with them so bad!

In Bed

That's where I am. That's where I've been for two whole days now! Two days! AHHHH!!!! okay, so that was a little dramatic. Anyway, for a few details you can check out Jeff's blog. I finally convinced him to start his own. This one was a little mushy, but since it was about me, I didn't mind! haha!

Some may say I'm living it up right now. My pain levels are fairly mild. I'm just weak as a kitten...no, weaker. At the moment, I'm propped on a mound of pillows, nicely drugged (enough to dull the pain without making me out of it), eating gumbo, and have the laptop all to myself. As nice as it sounds, its driving me crazy. I can hear mom watching bull riding in the office and Jeff and the kids watching Cars in the living room. I'm way to social to sit in the room by myself. I tried sitting in the living room, but inevitably I moved around too much and made myself hurt again.

The kids have handle things pretty well. Rileigh and Declan don't really know whats going on, but Edana and Aidan have been very informed. Edana has said she is going to be a nurse since she was barely three years old. Aidan says he is going to be a preacher. We never try to tell our kids what they should say, so I was very surprised when Aidan announced he wants to be a preacher. What is funny is he says I'm going to be a preacher and... the and usually changes, but always he says a preacher. there is a point to my ramblings! Friday afternoon when Jeff got me settled into bed I asked to see the kids. Edana came in asked to see my bandages, asked a few questions and said she'd come back later. Aidan climbed up on the bed and talked to me for about 15min. He climbed off the bed, patted my foot and said I'm going to leave you alone now. My Nurse and My Preacher. It was so fitting of them! I hope I can be a good enough parent to always encourage those gifts that God has placed in them from birth. Parenting can be so humbling!

Jeff has had it a lot harder than I have through this ordeal. I mean, I've been the one not feeling well and that had surgery, but Jeff has had to deal with a tired, achy, hormonal wife for the last ten months. the last three being the roughest, the point of me not hardly being able to exercise and gaining back the weight I'd worked so hard to get off. I should have gone to the doctor sooner, but that goes back to that bad patient thing. Already I feel better, surgery pains aside. The last few days, Jeff has had to do all the cleaning and taking care of the kids himself. I think dad took care of the cooking though. Next week, he'll be at Hermitage with the oldest two kids, and I'll be here with mom and dad and the youngest two kids. Jeff will have made three trips back and forth by the time its all over. I wouldn't say Jeff is spoiled, but he has a stay home wife. I am very big on the fact that my job is the housework and I try to do as much as I can. Jeff works hard and often ends up getting very little sleep. (Hopefully that will get better as he adjust to doing lesson plans more quickly) Not being used to doing as much of the housework on top of his job and taking care of a helpless woman who doesn't like waiting on help can be a little overwhelming. He might not admit it but he'll need lots of prayers over the next few weeks. Well, My words aren't making sense to me anymore. Meds must be getting to me. Check out Jeff's blog!

Home Again, Home Again...

I wouldn't say I'm hardheaded exactly...well, not set in my ways, but maybe a little stubborn. Ha! People who know me best are laughing right now. That said...I'll tell you about the subtle changing of my mind. It only took nine years! Nine years ago in Feb, I came home one Saturday, between my split shifts at Charlie's Chicken, to find an empty house. I did the best thing I could think to do...I took a nap! My parents came home and woke me up with what they thought to be exciting news. They had bought a trailer and we were going to move to Brentwood! I was furious. How could they make that kind of a decision without me! (did I mention I was 17 and the baby of the family-yeah) What on earth would make them crazy enough to move out in the country to this ..... I took these shots when mom and dad were moving into their new house. The intent was to blow them up and frame them.

At some point that decision that made me so furious became home. We came in last night about 5:30p.m. When Jeff turned into the drive Edana, her most mothering voice, said, "Do you know where we are?" Aidan promptly answered, "We're home, its our trailer!" Strangely enough, I felt the same way. Maybe it took me a while, but this little valley, has grown on me. In my devotional the other night it asked a question, "what is your favorite spot outside?" Without warning, I started crying....I know I'm a baby. But it made me so homesick. This is my favorite spot...not really the prettiest, but my favorite.... I'm home for a few weeks. Jeff and the oldest two are going to be back and forth. I'll be having surgery Thursday, so please keep me in your prayers, but I intend to enjoy being outside as much as the weather allows!

The change in me..W.O.W.!

In April I started attending W.O.W. fitness classes at Trinity Fellowship. It is a free ministry offered to the women of northwest arkansas. They now offer cardio/dance style classes, strength/fitness classes, and kickboxing style classes. The classes are held at Trinity Fellowship in building B weekday mornings at 8 a.m., Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday evenings at 4:30 and Friday evenings at 5:30. Not only are you getting a chance to have FREE fitness classes, but you have an opportunity to have the support of average women just like yourself. The classes are taught by Tammy Hill (she started the ministry) and a few of the ladies who started taking classes under Tammy and now are capable of teaching them. (They aren't certified, just self-taught, but the results can't be argued with!) If you live in the area, check them out. Its not just a bunch of ladies who go to church at Trinity Fellowship. Other women from the community come as well. Donations and fundraisers make it possible to have the free classes. Now for my testimonial. The other night at the end of Cardio Groove, the instructor, Debbie Eden, played a song as we were stretching out. The simple gist of the song was that they weren't who they used to be. I started tearing up as I thought about who I had been. I don't have pictures, but in high school I was very skinny. I got this way by not eating. My senior year, I got sick. Mom took me to the doctor and the first thing he said was, "you have to gain 10lbs." I felt like I'd been slapped in the face. I didn't have good eating habits to fall back on. I either ate or I didn't. I gained about 20lbs in the next year. When I met Jeff I was a size nine. By our wedding day I was a 14. I had no idea how to get it off. Pregnancy just made it worse. After having Declan, I started really trying to eat better...I wasn't very good at it. I was a size 18! After 6 months, I finally lost one size. I was so pumped...then I realized I was pregnant again. I made a promise to myself to not gain too much weight. I gained 25 and when I went for my four week checkup I was 6lbs less than when I got pregnant. As soon as the doc said I was good, I started attending the W.O.W. classes. Tammy doesn't just teach fitness, she is constantly sending out e-mails loaded with great health living tips. This picture is me a month after Declan was born. I was pathetic. I'm usually behind the camera, so this is the best example I could find of me now. This was taken in June. Just 2 months into the classes. That is a size 14!! Back to where I was when Jeff and I got married.

We moved in August and I've had a struggle trying to do it on my own. There is a lot to be said for support. Especially outside support. (Its a little unfair to ask your husband and family to play the role of trainer and conscience) I actually got to a size 12, but I gained back to a fourteen. (the time changed making it harder to get to run and my dvd player broke, so I couldn't do my videos.) Plus having those specific times to workout made it easier for me. Doing it on my own, well, there's always a kid needing me or housework to do. I miss the classes. Jeff and I have set a schedule..and we got a dvd player for the kids for Christmas, so I can get back on track. Working out makes such a difference in me as a mom, wife, and christian. I can't even begin to describe it. Try it yourself, and if you live in the area, check out the W.O.W. classes. They are a Godsend!

What's up with that!

Have you ever really wanted something and every time you thought you were going to get it something happened. Edana loves animals and has wanted a puppy since she was big enough to ask for one. After 3 tries, Jeff and I decided it just wasn't happening. Well, if there is one thing that Edana is, its persistent. She has begged and begged. She proved responsible this summer with the stray cat dad took in. Even now when we're visiting she feeds "her cat" every day. After our last visit Jeff and I had a talk. Maybe now was the time. We could afford to take care of a dog properly, Edana is bigger and has shown responsibility, why not! Jeff looked at the dogs online. I called the pound and talked to them about the dogs Jeff picked out. This was our first choice. His name is Scooter. A sweet black lab mix. We were going to rename him Boomer. Unfortunately he was terrified when we got home. we tried for 3 days. It hid behind the toilet seat or under the step. Finally we took him back. As soon as he was back at the pound, he was happy as, well... a puppy. Shelly said he must have been suicidal!

This was number two! Our sweet wonderful perfect puppy! They told us it was a girl. Upon further inspection he was a boy! Alex helped us name her Darcy. He was just right. He was young but not too wild. The only thing he did was whine to come in and get tangled on his run. (He had fleas and was too young for meds, so he lived outside.) He was so cute. After we had him a couple weeks, thinking he was 8 weeks old, we got some frontline and took care of the fleas. We brought him to mom and dad's with us last Sunday. He did pretty good in the van, but we discovered something on the way. He was wormy. OH! That grosses me out. Not too big, I'd go get him some meds the next morning, right? Unfortunately the next morning didn't come. My sis-in-law said it was probably the worms(hopefully it wasn't the frontline), but when I went out to put him in the trailer (that's where we're sleeping this trip) he was laying almost dead out by our van. I wrapped him up and let him die. It was so sad. Edana was so upset. I took her out and let her tell him "bye." I don't what most would think of that but I thought it would help her understand.

Wish I understood. Maybe we're not meant to have a dog. The kids have already asked if they could have a new one, but I get attached to this puppies. I'm not sure I want to keep trying. Would you keep trying or just take it as a sign you shouldn't have one.

Pictures of the kids

Apparently people don't read my blog for football information. So here you go. The real reason people read. My Kiddos! They are worth checking out. I may be bias, but you can judge for yourself! They're so fun! Edana Rois! Yep! That's my girl. Papaw is raising her right! Wow! She's getting so big.

So big and so beautiful! And she loves animals. This was her puppy "Darci" She, umm..., went to heaven this week, but that's another post.

Mommy and her girl. She's so much fun! She's just crazy.

Aidan Jeffrey!

Aren't you supposed to sit on the couch this way. Oh well, check out my homemade sling shot. There is always a need for a cape!

School buddies!

Aidan's Christmas concert. It was a special performance just for us! He cracks me up.

Super strong!

Declan Eghan!

Can't you just see it in another 18 years or so? A biker and an artist!

He's my stinker! This 2 year old talks better than most 3 yr olds, and he definitely keeps us hopping. His latest game is his imaginary friend, Max. I didn't know 25mo old kids could have those! He's hilarious!

Really he just like his picture taken. Who needs a special reason!

What are you looking at? I'm not getting into anything. Would I do that?

Rileigh Cait!

Yep, she's growing! And Daddy is already teaching her about superheroes!

Her first spaghetti!Pumpkin head!So pretty!Notice the earlobe! She has earrings now!! Oh, she's so girly!!