Love and a Little Craziness

Hilton Head meet

2012-01-17T00:36:00.002-05:00

Click on this picture from Hilton Head to see Maddie's results.

Still going strong

2012-01-13T12:37:00.001-05:00

Well I'm still going strong. I added 3 more pounds for a total of 9 so far. I still haven't had any carbonated, sugary drinks. My sugar intake is actually pretty low. Last Saturday and Sunday I splurged a little (one piece of cake and a couple of doughnuts), but I jumped right back on the wagon. I didn't get upset like I used to. I know I'm going to make mistakes and I know I've got a long road ahead of me, but I know I will get there. This weekend we leave to go to Hilton Head for a gym meet. Hopefully I can stick with my plan.

Can't believe it....

2012-01-06T13:00:00.003-05:00

I have lost 6lbs in a week. I gave up carbonated, sugary drinks (it will be 1 week on Saturday). I've been exercising. I feel great. Can't wait to add more to my totals. Since I never post any pictures of my self, I'm going to post a picture to have a before picture on the blog. This picture was taken on Christmas day. It was when we were playing Just Dance 3. I was so out of shape and just gasping for air when we were playing. I hated that feeling. I still do. It embarrasses me. I want to be able to play games with the girls and not be out of breath. I want to enjoy the little time we have with each other before they are embarrassed to be with me. I've been on this journey before, but this time just feels different. Maybe it's because of my approaching 40th birthday. Maybe it's because I'm never in any pictures with the kids because I'm embarrassed. I don't know, but I'm glad I found that fire.

lazy day

2012-01-03T20:37:00.003-05:00

Today was a seriously lazy last day of break. The girls stayed in their pj's almost all day. Now we are watching biggest loser in front of the fire. Ready for the day tomorrow.

Almost back to routine

2012-01-02T22:49:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow is our last day of Christmas break. I am sad to see it go, but also glad to see it go. The girls have played together well and then have almost come to blows a couple of times. They definitely need their separate time. I'm also ready because my washer and dryer need a break. I think these girls have changed their clothes at least every hour. ... drives me crazy.

Tonight was Maddie's 1st gym practice in 2 weeks. She was so excited about going back. She was trying to do her beam routine and kept forgetting. Hopefully she will have it down in two weeks when we go to Hilton Head.

Brandon is in Tampa having a good time on his first trip by himself.

I hope that everyone is staying warm. It is windy and cold here, but I say bring it on. I love the colder weather.

I leave you with a picture of Gary our cat. I love this cat.

New Year's Eve

2012-01-01T20:44:00.005-05:00

Last night we celebrated New Year's Eve with a bunch of other people at Truett's grill. They have a nugget drop. It was a blast and the girls had a great time. They crashed about 5 minutes after we pulled out of the parking lot. I hope that everyone had a wonderful New Year's Eve and a wonderful start to the new year.

Goals not resolutions

2012-01-01T00:01:00.000-05:00

This New Years Eve, I decided to make 2012 goals instead of resolutions. It just sounds better and easier :). I also want to set realistic goals so that I can do my best to make and keep them.

1. My 1st goal is to lose 50lbs by May 31st. That's 10lbs a month and would be much easier to work with. Once I hit that goal on May 31st, I will continue with another 50lbs my November 30th. That would be awesome.
2. Next up is to try not to worry so much. My life is full of worry... worry about my job, my kids, my husband, money.. you name it. I just need to learn how to let it okay.
3. Take more pictures. I take plenty of pictures, but I've gotten really bad towards the end of the year. My kids don't know what to think :).
4. I'm going to try to be more patient this year. As I near my 40th birthday I need to learn that it is what it is.
5. My final goal of the year is to keep the blog updated :).

I hope that you all have a wonderful New Year's Eve. We are going to a nugget drop tonight. Should be lots of fun and I promise I will have pictures.

2011 Year in Review

2011-12-31T14:11:00.001-05:00

What a 2011 we have had. We have stayed busy and just enjoyed this year. It was still a year filled with stress and worry, but it was also a year filled with joy, happiness and fun.

January
Sophie started what would be her final basketball season. She had a great time, but she really wasn't into it anymore.

We had snow that kept us home for a week. Instead of pictures, I’m posting these videos. They crack me up everytime.

We got a glimpse of the future as we went to our first Gym Dawg meet. Maddie loved it and was in awe.

We traveled to Hilton Head for our first travel meet and Prep Op Silver meet. Maddie did well. You can see the video here.

February
We were at the gym for more basketball.

Traveled to Mimi's house in South Carolina for a visit.

Had a warm, beautiful winter day and played in the creek with good friends.

March

We enjoyed some time at the local park.

Sophie had her very first softball game.

We traveled to Savannah for another meet. You can see the video here.

April

Found me trying to do a photo shoot with the girls and Brandon.

We had a storm that sent all of us in to the bathroom. That was one of the scariest storms we have had in a very long time.

We had fun dying Easter eggs with our neighbors.

Taking the annual photo in front of my grandfathers oak tree. We do this every Easter.

May

Found us still at the ballpark for another year.

Celebrating mom and daughter date night at Truett’s.

Watching Brandon graduate with honors.

Playing in the sprinkler with good friends.

June

Found us at the ballpark for the last of softball. Sophie’s team went from only winning one game during the whole season to making it to the finals of the tournament. It was awesome seeing the last place team playing the first place team. They held their own, but ended up losing.

Went to Home Depot to make Father’s Day presents.

July

Had a very rainy 4th of July. The rain had stopped for a little while, but once the fireworks started God decided he had some of his own in mind. It poured.

Maddie had her first gymnastics injury. She hurt her elbow when she was jumping off of the bar like she wasn’t supposed to. She learned her lesson at least.

These girls love to play in the rain.

We went to 6 flags. We went on the Wednesday before school started. This was the absolute best time to go. The longest line we waited in was for the Hansen cars and we only waited about 10 minutes.

August

Found the girls starting 2nd grade. Can’t believe how fast time flies.

Brandon left home to go live with my parents so that he could be close to college.

We enjoyed a night at the Braves game.

September

Sophie celebrated her 9th birthday with her own birthday party. I picked Build a Bear for her because I knew she would enjoy it and I was not wrong. I think this was her best birthday ever.

Sophie started fall ball. This was a harder season for her since she moved up to kid pitch. I’m not sure if she wants to play in the spring.

Maddie had her first level 4 meet. It was stiff competition. You can see the video here.

Maddie celebrated her 8th birthday at her home away from home. It was also National Handstand Day. The USAG was trying to break the record for most people in a handstand. Our gym helped. It was a great party.

Maddie had another meet (September was a very busy month). You can see the video here.

October

Found us having a photoshoot. These pictures turned out to be some of my absolute favorite pictures that I’ve taken of the girls.

We had a bonfire with the neighbors and marshmallows started getting thrown instead of eaten.

We went to Stone Mountain with friends and of course Maddie couldn’t resist doing handstands on the mountain.

We then carved our pumpkin. We missed our trip to the mountains so I had to buy this little guy from the grocery store.

This year for Halloween was a little different. Sophie decided to stay home with her daddy because she wanted to pass out candy. Maddie went to a friend’s house and went trick or treating.

November

We made some salt dough ornaments with the neighbors.

Went to Aunt Carol’s for our annual Thanksgiving the Sunday before Thanksgiving.

Met Brandon’s girlfriend at Thanksgiving with my family.

Put up our tree. I didn’t put a lot of ornaments on it, but it was still pretty full.

December

Made gingerbread houses

Went to Christmas on Peachtree with friends.

Celebrated Christmas with family and had a blast. Played some games, but the favorite was Just Dance 3.

2011 was a busy, fun, memory making year. Here’s hoping that everyone has a wonderful New Year. Bring on 2012!

Christmas Day

2011-12-25T23:05:00.000-05:00

Christmas morning Maddie woke up around 8am. We then woke Sophie, daddy and Brandon up. The girls were so excited. They didn't really ask for very much. They are getting to that age where they don't play that much with toys, but don't want to leave them behind.

Brandon - He got several books that were on his list, Space Jam, a video game and the NBA all access pass to watch his favorite games on line.

Sophie - She got a tablet and lincoln logs from Santa. From us she got luggage, squinkees, a piggy bank, boots, a Barbie and several CD's.

Maddie - She got a tablet and her monster high text messenger things. From us she got boots, two Barbie's, piggy bank, a pink hair dryer and a pink makeup case with a bunch of makeup in it.

After we opened gifts we head to my aunt's house. We always have a great time over there. Lot's of presents were opened, food was eaten and then the fun begins. We always enjoy playing games and Christmas day was no exception. We played cranium first and then ended up playing Just Dance 3. Oh my gracious we had so much fun. Brandon, Maddie, Sophie and I played this one song on the game that was a Japanese power ranger kind of song. I haven't laughed that hard in a very long time. There is video, but it's being used as blackmail later on :).

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas day and is ready for the New Year. I'm working on my goal post to post New Year's day. Hopefully I can accomplish them. I kind of fell behind a lot this year.

Santa came to visit

2011-12-25T00:29:00.001-05:00

Busted....

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T22:54:00.000-05:00

So I'm just a little behind on my postings. We've been busy and enjoying our time together.

Christmas Eve mimi came to our house first and the kids opened up their gifts from her. Sophie loved her horse stuff and Maddie loved her orbeez foot spa (and Brandon loved his money of course).

We then headed to my grandparents house. It's always a crazy good time up there. The girls got a portable DVD player for the car (which will help with trips and they won't have to use our laptops). Sophie got some cowgirl boots and some other things and Maddie got a pink bag and a bunch of other things. We had a great time.

After my grandparents we headed to my brother and sister in law's house. I sadly didn't get any pictures from there. We went to a beautiful candle light service at their church and then headed home to await the big guy.

Christmas on Peachtree

2011-12-21T22:38:00.006-05:00

We had a great time at Christmas on Peachtree today. The girls wrote letters to Santa, rode a train, played a WII game, climbed a rock wall and then we went to the Hard Rock Cafe. A good day was had by all.

Bathtub fun

2011-12-18T19:12:00.002-05:00

I stole this idea from pinterest the other day and the girls completely love it. The pictures stink because I wanted to show the glow in the dark effect. We filled the tub and then dropped glow sticks in. A good time was had.

Maddie's state meet

2011-12-04T21:49:00.002-05:00

Go here and check out the results of Maddie's level 4 state meet. We are so proud of her.

Gingerbread Houses

2011-11-30T00:39:00.004-05:00

We crossed another thing off of our Winter Bucket list. The girls did their gingerbread houses tonight. They look forward to it every year. I'm so glad that we do it. I think they eat more than they put on :).

The season has began

2011-11-27T22:04:00.002-05:00

This week and weekend went by way too fast. The girls had a wonderful break (I hope). We didn't go to gymnastics or anywhere really. Maddie had a friend who stayed with us from Friday - Sunday of last week and then Maddie spent the night there Monday - Tuesday. Sophie spent the night with a friend Saturday - Tuesday. They had fun at their friends house. We stayed home Wednesday, went to my grandfather's for Thanksgiving on Thursday, stayed home on Friday and then went shopping and to the Muppets on Saturday. The Muppets was the funniest movie I have seen in I can't tell you how long. I laughed so hard, I had tears coming out of my eyes. The girls thought it was pretty funny, but not like my dad, my aunt and me. Saturday night the girls went to spend the night with my parents and then came on Sunday and we did our tree. I love breaks, but I'm also ready to get back into a routine even though it will be short due to Christmas break. We have gym this week and then Maddie's state meet on Saturday. She is super excited about that. I know that she will do well.
I will leave you with a picture of the girls and Santa that we took on Saturday. I think we were their 1st customers on Saturday morning.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-25T15:43:00.004-05:00

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We have had a good Thanksgiving break, but I'm ready for the girls to go back to school :). Today the girls worked on making salt dough ornaments. We are going to give this another try since I didn't have any Christmas cookie cutters. Tomorrow I'm pulling the Christmas decorations down.... bring it on.

Maddie and her BFF

2011-11-19T17:18:00.002-05:00

Maddie's BFF came to spend the night last night. These two get along so well. They don't fight. They give in to whatever the other wants. It's great. Now we just need to find Sophie a BFF.

Day 7 - Adoption

2011-11-09T21:35:00.003-05:00

Today I am thankful for the miracle of adoption. If it weren't for adoption we would not have the two sweetest girls around. Today is Maddie's 7 year Gotcha Day anniversary. I can't believe it's been 7 years. Sophie's is coming up in May and it will be 5 years. Man we love those girls.

Day 6 - My siblings

2011-11-08T22:43:00.002-05:00

I know they are family as well, but I think they needed their own post. I have 4. A brother who is 10 months younger than me. A sister who is 17 (and 6 months younger than Brandon), another brother who is 14 and a sister who is 13. I don't get to see them that often, but I love them all. I am super proud of my sister who is super smart, talented and funny.

Day 5 - Family

2011-11-07T22:21:00.006-05:00

I am thankful for every member of my family. From my awesome mother-in-law to my awesome day to my equally awesome mom to my just as equally awesome aunt. I love every single member of my crazy family and am thankful for everyone of them.

Day 4 - my job

2011-11-06T18:37:00.002-05:00

I am thankful that I have a job right now. I've been there for 17 years and 10 months. There is the possibility that it won't be there for much longer (because the company merged), but I'm thankful I have one for now. There are so many people who don't have one and there are no prospects out there. I pray that I will still have mine for a long, long time.

Day 3 - Our house

2011-11-05T20:13:00.001-04:00

Today I am thankful for our house. I am thankful that it is warm during the winter and cool during the summer. I'm thankful for hot and cold running water. I'm thankful for 2.2 acres on a cul-de-sac.

Day 2 - The kids

2011-11-04T00:24:00.004-04:00

I am so thankful that God blessed me/us with 3 wonderful kids.

Brandon - He is a smart, funny, good young man. I am so thankful that he is who he is. I may not always agree with him, but I still love him. I do miss him not being here even though the majority of the time he spent in his room. There was just always something about knowing he was here.

Sophie - What a spunky, full of energy and joy gift we were given. She can make you smile and make you exhausted all at the same time. I always joke about how she can talk your ears off. She doesn't know a stranger. She is enjoying playing softball (although she's ready for this season to be over) and we are going to sign her up for Girl Scouts. She needs place to go where she can make her own friends and doesn't have her sister. She is in her own class at school, but still has Maddie around. I think it will be good for her.

Maddie - She is a diva, girly girly, hilarious drama queen. She has facial expressions and ways of saying things that just crack you up. She can be moody and we are so dreading the teen years with this one. She is going to be a handful. She has discovered a joy of reading and loves gymnastics. Her best friends are at gym and then she has friends at school. I guess that's what happens when you spend most of your time there.

Day 1 - My husband

2011-11-03T11:39:00.003-04:00

I meant to start on 11/1, but I got a little slack and a little behind. I'm thankful everyday, but am going to post once a day about the things I am most thankful for.

Day 1 - I am thankful for my loving, supportive, understanding, good looking, awesome sense of humor and all around good guy of a husband. I don't know what I would do with out him. I love him more and more everyday. Sometimes we only see brief glimpses of each other because we are running in more than one direction, but he is my love. Without him, I would be nothing.

Halloween and past

2011-10-31T22:15:00.007-04:00

I saw Lisa's Halloween post so I thought I would do a look back as well.

Here is October 2005. This was Maddie's first year home. She was unsure about it and I remember that we only went to a couple of houses. Brandon went off with his friends around the neighborhood. Maddie did love the candy.

October 2006 - Maddie was a little more into it. She dressed as a princess that year. She wore this dress-up outfit constantly. She also went to a little more houses.

October 2007 - Sophie's 1st Halloween. They both wanted to dress up like daddy. We went all around the neighborhood and down the road to the next neighborhood. This Halloween will always be remembered as the time we stopped on the side of the road and a baby copperhead was striking at the tractor tires. Daddy wanted to bring it home and mommy wasn't too keen on the idea.

October 2008 - Maddie had her tonsils taken out and Sophie dressed up as smarty pants for school. We taped smarties onto her pants. Sadly I didn't get a picture of her. This was also the year my beloved Accord was totaled. I was thankful that I was okay and no one else was in the car with me, but also a little upset that my car was gone. I was also thankful though that the guy who pulled out and hit me was okay.

October 2009 - I originally couldn't find anything and then I remembered my facebook page. We did do something. I remember it was pouring down rain so the girls couldn't go trick or treating, but P*blix had things for them to do. Maddie was a cheerleader and Sophie was a fairy. She even had cute little fairy shoes.

October 2010 - This was one of the best Halloween's we have had. We took the tractor and trailer over to some friends house and went trick or treating there. The girls had so much fun and got a ton of candy. They both dressed like witches.

October 2011 - This year was a little off. We went over to a friends house, but Sophie didn't want to go. She wanted to stay home and pass out candy so I let her. She and her daddy did go out a little bit later. Maddie had a blast with her friend. We have a bunch of candy from that and a bunch of candy left over. This year Maddie was a vampire bat girl and Sophie was a witch.

Getting ready

2011-10-30T21:38:00.003-04:00

We are getting ready for Halloween. A pumpkin is about all the decoration I can muster up for Halloween. I don't know why, but I just never got into the spirit of decorating for it.

Just had to share

2011-10-15T19:36:00.001-04:00

I just had to share the mummy I made. I thought it came out so cute. I'm going to either put cookies or candy in it. I made one for each teacher
.

This weekend

2011-10-10T22:03:00.010-04:00

This past weekend Maddie had a meet (click here to see how she did) in Gatlinburg so we decided to make a long weekend of it. We left Thursday night and came back Sunday. It was a great weekend. We went to Wonderworks on Friday and the girls had a blast. They loved it.
We then met some new friends Friday night for dinner. I have been following Lisa's blog for a long time. I remember when she got her referral for Maisie. She was so stinkin cute in her referral picture and is just as cute as a sweet 5 year old. Both Maisie and Maddie have a love of gymnastics and that's what brought us together in TN. Funny how we both live in GA, but it takes a meet in TN to get together. Go and check out Lisa's blog and see how Maisie did at her level 3 meet on Saturday. She rocked the house! Lisa also has some yummy recipes on her blog. My favorite is the chicken soup. It is so yummy.

Saturday Maddie had her meet at 8am and it was over by about noon. We went to lunch and then swam, went to dinner and then swam again. The girls loved the pool. They always do. I didn't get any pictures of the girls swimming, but I did get some at the pizza place we went to for dinner.

Sadly on Sunday our time was up. We had to head home. On the way home, we drove through the Smokey Mountains. All I can say is wow! I love the mountains. They are so pretty and just amazing to see. I know that in a week or two, they will be even prettier.

Monday was back to reality when I promptly lost the cat. She ran out the door and was fighting with another cat and when I came out to stop it, she was gone. Just that quick. I hope she comes home. The girls are devastated and for that matter, so are the parents.

Sunday Snapshot

2011-10-02T19:39:00.011-04:00

Today was a beautiful day and our beautiful girls indulged me with a photo shoot (and a promise of a frosty after wards).
First they sat on the bridge and indulged me with a little sisterly love.

Then they decided to jump for joy over their sisterly love.

Maddie then decided she needed to split.

and not to be out done, Sophie decided she needed to as well.
Then they came together once again to outrun a train.

They indulged me once last time for a little sisterly love.

Man how can you not enjoy a beautiful day with beautiful girls.

Bon Fire and Smores

2011-10-01T21:22:00.003-04:00

We had a bon fire and roasted some marshmallow's for smores. The girls had a great time. I love that the weather is cooler and we can do things like this.

Maddie's blog

2011-09-26T11:14:00.001-04:00

Maddie had a meet Saturday. You can click here if you want to see.

Fall softball

2011-09-21T01:08:00.003-04:00

Monday night was Sophie's second fall softball game. I got to see this. She did great. She didn't get any balls hit to her, but she didn't strike out when she was at bat. She drew a walk and then stole 2nd and then 3rd. She could have made it home, but she wasnt' paying attention. She did great and we are very proud of her for getting out there and trying her best.

Maddie's birthday

2011-09-20T13:40:00.004-04:00

Saturday was Maddie and her daddy's birthday. We celebrated Maddie's birthday at her home away from home, gym. This was one of the best birthday parties ever. She invited her team mates and a friend from school. They had a blast. They got to do the zip line, rock wall and bungee. Her party was supposed to be for 1 1/2 hours, but we were there for 2+. At the end, the girls participated in the National Gymnastics day handstand event. Everyone had to be on their hands at 1pm as they were trying to break the record of most consecutive handstands. USAG had over 20,000 people who did it and they broke the record. Maddie and her team mates get to say they were involved :).
Happy Birthday Mei Mei. We love you!

Maddie's 1st meet

2011-09-10T20:20:00.001-04:00

Maddie had her first meet this weekend. You can check it out here.

Sophie's birthday

2011-09-06T22:45:00.004-04:00

What a weekend. Sophie's birthday was Saturday and she had a build a bear party. It was her first party where she didn't have to share with Maddie. Since their birthday's are exactly 2 weeks apart, we have always held joint birthdays. It just works out easier. Well this year we went full bore and did separate. I'm so glad we did. Sophie had so much fun and really enjoyed her own party. I can't believe she's 9. Where has the time gone? I remember when she came home and how much like a 2 year old she acted instead of 4. She has come a long way. She's doing good in school. She love's softball. She is making her own friends. She and Maddie still gravitate towards each other, but at least they are becoming their own little personalities.

Happy Birthday sweet Sophie Lu. We love you!

There he goes

2011-08-21T18:11:00.003-04:00

Well it's been a big weekend for Brandon and tomorrow will be a big day. He got his first car and tomorrow he starts college. It seems like only yesterday that he loved playing with his pokemon. He moved in with my parents to be closer to school. I wish we could let him live on campus, I really do. It's so expensive. I think that he will have a good year.

Brandon - We are so proud of you. You are a wonderful, polite, funny, sarcastic and smart young man. We can't wait to see what you become. Have a wonderful year at school. Enjoy every minute. The door is always open at home. We love you.

Braves game

2011-08-21T14:30:00.003-04:00

Friday night we went to the Braves game. The girls love going. They have started to pay attention more and will actually sit and watch it. It was really hot, but we had a great time.

Girls rooms

2011-08-09T22:56:00.002-04:00

Since Brandon has basically moved out to go to college, we went ahead and separated the girls and redid their rooms. I am loving how they came out. Maddie's is pink. I had to talk her into doing some different elements, like the black medal holders. It was hard. She loves her some pink. I do have some pictures that I'm going to hang, they just haven't made it on the wall yet.

Sophie's is purple. I love it though. I thought it was going to be dark, but with all of the different elements in it, its not that dark in there. She still has some shelves and pictures that need to be hung as well.

I think they love having their own rooms. They have a space that they can just go and be by themselves if they want to.

1st day of school

2011-08-05T01:03:00.003-04:00

I've been a little behind in reading my favorite blogs and updating this one. We have been rearranging the girls room and I am just about done. We repainted, put furniture together and threw away a bunch of stuff. Now I just need to put shelves and other decorations up. That's the fun part. Pictures will be posted soon.

Today was the 1st day of school for the girls. It's hard to believe they are in 2nd grade now. Here's a little walk down memory lane.... pre-k, Kindergarten, 1st grade and now here are the 1st day of 2nd grade pictures.

It's kind of sad not seeing Brandon in the pictures. He doesn't start college until 8/22. The girls said they had an awesome day. I'm so glad. It was a really hard year last year. We pulled them out of private and put them into public and that was such a hard decision. They seem to have adjusted really well though and I'm so happy they are in separate classes this year. It will be good for them. I'm also happy to get back to our regular routine. Monday, Maddie will go back to gym and life will be back to normal.... I love normal.

I hope everyone had or is having a wonderful summer and is ready to go back to school.

Six Flags

2011-07-27T21:18:00.004-04:00

We went to Six Flags today and had a blast. It was hot, but not very crowded and the girls had a blast. Sophie was tall enough this year and she got to ride the mind bender and go on the up and down horse at the merry go round. She was so excited.

Rainy day

2011-07-14T22:31:00.003-04:00

Yesterday we had some much needed rain. After a huge storm (with hail) passed and there was no more lightening and thunder, I let the girls go play in the rain. They LOVE it. It is one of their absolute favorite things to do. I can't say that I blame them. I love to play in the rain as well.

It happened

2011-07-12T11:40:00.002-04:00

Maddie got her first gymnastics related injury. She was jumping off of the bar (and she knows better) and landed on her arm. She complained that it was hurting her, but she was still moving it around. After a restless night of kicking me in bed and not really moving her arm, I was afraid this morning that it was broken or fractured so I took her to the doctor. They took an X-ray (which she was seriously excited about) and examined it. It's not broken, just a soft tissue bruise. Hopefully she learned her lesson and will listen to me next time, but I know the odds of that happening are not that high!

July 4th

2011-07-07T21:32:00.002-04:00

Our July 4th was good, but rainy. We went over to my brothers house, had BBQ and played 80's Scene It. Let me just tell you how much that game rocked. My brother and I beat my dad, which was awesome. We never did that as kids. He would always challenge us to Trivial Pursuit and we would fail miserably. It was nice to beat the old man at something :).

We then went to AJ's brothers house for fireworks. The weather was NASTY. It poured. I saw cats and dogs actually floating down the street on little rafts. Okay not really, but it was raining hard. We ended up going to watch the fireworks around 7 and waited for them to start. It had finally stopped raining when we left. They started the fireworks before it got dark which ended up being a good thing because it started to rain again. We were soaked by the time we got back to the car. It rained almost my entire drive home. By the time I pulled into the driveway, it looked like it had never rained. I didn't take very many pictures during the day, but here are a few.

I hope everyone had a good, safe and dry 4th of July. God Bless America!

Tractor rides

2011-07-03T21:43:00.001-04:00

The girls got to ride daddy's tractors today. They used to do this all the time, but kind of grew out of it. I was happy to see them on it today because it brought back lot's of fun memories. Love the smiles on these sweet little faces.

Poor things

2011-07-01T19:51:00.003-04:00

Today the girls came running in the house to let me know there were some kittens in the storm drain. They don't look to be any older than 3-4 weeks old. There were 3 down there. The girls worked and worked to get them out. Poor little things. There is a solid black one that took off and we can't find it anywhere. The other two are in our bathroom. I just don't understand why people can't take care of their animals and why it seems we are always the dumping ground for unwanted ones.

Goodness

2011-06-26T00:04:00.005-04:00

It's been a week since my last post. I didn't mean for it to be that long. It's been a busy week. Camp, gymnastics and work just take up a ton of time. I can't believe that we are beginning our 5th week of summer and have 4 weeks left.
Gymnastics is going great. Maddie is getting her skills. Sophie is love, love, loving camp. She didn't want to go when it first started and now I think she's going to be really sad when it ends. They let her try out for the team at gym. She would have been on it, but she decided she didn't want to do it. I know she loves softball and that's her sport.
The last picture is the neighborhood kids. We let the girls stay out in the front yard until late Friday night. They had a blast playing with their tent and the other kids.
I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer.

Father's Day

2011-06-18T23:14:00.003-04:00

Happy Father's day to the most amazing husband anyone could ask for. Thank you for being patient and loving. Thank you for being the good cop to my bad cop. We love you.

Watermelon

2011-06-17T20:23:00.003-04:00

The watermelon's are starting to come in!

Sleeping beauties

2011-06-17T00:09:00.002-04:00

This is how I found the girls sleeping tonight with Minnie. Seriously... how sweet is this?

Library

2011-06-15T19:22:00.002-04:00

AJ had to work late tonight and I stayed at the office later than I have in a very long time. I picked the girls up from gym about 4:30. I asked them if they wanted Subway or McD's and they said Subway... yeah. We then went and did something I have been meaning to do for a very long time. They each got their own library cards. They were so excited. Now we just have to remember to take everything back on time.... luckily it's not to far from home.

It's my fault really

2011-06-13T17:13:00.003-04:00

I should have never left the razors in the shower. It's my fault really. Silly me for thinking after 2 years of the girls taking a shower, that they would never touch it. It was just to much for them. Last night they gave in to temptation apparently and each shaved a strip of their leg. I can't really tell a difference yet. Will see in a couple of days or weeks if it grows back hairier and darker... I will learn one of these days I swear.

Summer

2011-06-13T00:18:00.002-04:00

I can't believe the kids have been out of school for 2 weeks now. Where has the time gone? Oh yeah, it's been at softball tournaments, gymnastics and camp. It's been a good 2 weeks though and I'm ready for some more. I just can't believe how fast it's gone.

Here are some pictures from our garden. Everything is going in nicely. Can't wait to get that first tomato off of the vine though.

Hail of a storm

2011-06-09T22:03:00.002-04:00

Tonight we had a storm. I didn't even realize it was supposed to rain today. The girls were coloring and I was sitting in the chair. We heard the thunder and saw the lightening, but it was just normal stuff. Then I heard it start pelting the chimney and decided to take a look. It was a lot of hail and wind and rain all at once. Luckily we had no damage.

Gary

2011-06-08T10:33:00.004-04:00

Gary is our cat. He didn't start off as our cat. He was the neighbor 4 houses down cat and his name was Peanut. Peanut would come and visit, but he wouldn't stay. Well the neighbors moved and didn't take Peanut with them. So being the animal ~~suckers~~ lovers that we are, we adopted Peanut. We didn't know his name was Peanut at the time so we changed it to Gary after Spongebob's Gary. Gary is an outside cat. He loves to be outside. He will come in and sleep all day, but at night it's time to play. Even when it was snowing and freezing outside we couldn't get him to stay in at night. He gets along with Minnie and the dogs don't bother him. He is one of the sweetest cats I have ever met (Minnie is the other). When you pick him up, he will snuggle in your neck.Poor Gary though is always on the losing end of whatever fight he is in. Maybe we can take him to some kind of cat fighting school so that he can learn to stand up for him self.
I didn't intend to get attached to him, but I worry about him when he doesn't come home. I mean seriously, how could you not love that face?

Softball is over

2011-06-05T22:24:00.001-04:00

Well softball season is over. It started slow, but ended with a bang. Sophie's team was in last place going to into the tournament and ended up in second place. It was awesome. The girls all did so well and improved so much. Sophie was awesome. We are so happy that she has finally found her sport. She can't wait until the fall to play fall ball. Here is a slideshow I put together of her season.

Summer schedule

2011-06-02T00:23:00.003-04:00

Goodness, our summer schedule started Tuesday and so far it's been crazy. It's probably only because Sophie's softball tournament was on Tuesday and Wednesday night. The girls also have had camp/gym at Maddie's gym. It's been awesome these last couple of days because they have gone right to sleep. Hopefully tonight will be calm. We aren't sure if there is supposed to be a softball game or not. We have to wait on the coach. The tournament should be done by Friday or Saturday. The girls have had a great time at camp so far. Maddie does gym in the morning for 4 hours and then switches over to camp with Maddie. I asked her what her favorite part was so far and it was conditioning. Sophie's favorite part so far is swimming. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far.

I ♥ our graduate

2011-05-28T00:02:00.003-04:00

I'm so proud of our honor grad. He has worked so hard. I know he doesn't think so sometimes, but I really am so proud and love him so much. He has turned into a very fine young man.

Seriously - Can they slow down?

2011-05-26T11:26:00.004-04:00

Growing that is.... Today is the last day of school. It has been a long year from start to finish. We started at one school (private) where the class sizes were small and the girls (and us) were loved. Due to job situation, we pulled them out and put them in public school in October. It was a huge decision and not one that was taken lightly. Sophie had the hardest time. She was really spoiled by her previous teacher and was used to doing things her way. When she went to public, she had to change all of that. They were also behind. I did love the private school, but when they started going to public I saw just how far behind they were. It has taken the whole year, but they are pretty much caught up with their peers and are doing great. Sophie's nervous about being in a class without Maddie next year. She says she's going to get in more trouble. I think she will do great. I think they need to be separated. They need their own friends and their own identity.
Tomorrow is Brandon's graduation and then summer break officially starts. We aren't really going anywhere. Maddie has team practice Monday - Friday from 8:30-12:30 and Sophie will be at camp at the gym. The camp will be fun for both. They get to play games and swim.

The week got away from me

2011-05-25T21:19:00.006-04:00

This week has just gotten away from me. Monday was the girls awards ceremony at school. They both received a "Participation" certificate. I'm a little peeved about that one. I know they don't want to hurt kids feelings now a days, but seriously? They all had to participate. Maddie did end up with the National Fitness award. She did 32 situps and 2 pullups. I told her I was going to tell coach Alex that he needed to condition her better this summer :).
Today was Sophie's softball party, but before we went we had to rescue a baby bird. Poor little things nest had fallen. It was cute.We then went to Sophie's party. They had a blast. It was a moonwalk place and they ran around and jumped and got hot and sweaty. They then presented the awards. Sophie was so excited that she got 2 trophies. Her 2nd trophy was best team work, but she is our MVP and rookie of the year.Before we left the girls showed me their school work. Check out what they want to be when they grow up.

Even more softball

2011-05-22T20:24:00.003-04:00

Seems all that I'm posting about right now is softball. On Saturday Sophie had what we thought was her last game. Turns out they have one more tomorrow and then a tournament that they will play until they get knocked out. Odds are it will only be one game. I will say that Sophie has improved tremendously since the beginning of the season. She seems to really enjoy playing and has gotten pretty good at it. On Saturday I gave Maddie the camera and told her to just shoot away. She got to sit in the dugout and take pictures. Speaking of Maddie, I went ahead and made her a separate blog for her gymnastics. Sometimes it seems like it takes over this one and I can keep track of her progress a little better. Just click on the picture on the right and side and it will take you there.

Night at the ballfield

2011-05-17T21:00:00.003-04:00

Let me just say that it was freezing tonight. Who would have thought that on 5/17 we would be wearing jackets and blue jeans.
Sophie did awesome tonight and got the game ball. She got 2 singles. She was too cute when she found out she got the game ball. She was so proud and we are so proud of her!

Lazy Sunday

2011-05-15T19:35:00.006-04:00

We were seriously lazy this Sunday. It was actually the first Sunday in I can't remember how long that we had absolutely nothing to do. I even got to take a nap :). We needed today. Here are some various pictures I took between yesterday and today.
I cut Sophie's hair last night. I love it this way. She has kind of a flat head in the back and this just gives it so much more body.Here are some pictures from the garden. We've got one little bell pepper and are getting some cherry tomatoes. I can't wait for the big tomatoes to start growing. I'm ready for some tomato sandwiches.Then here are some pictures of the dogs; Daisy, Lucy and Alice. Side note for Lucy the yellow lab. She looks horrible I know. She is shedding and so skinny. She is 13 years old and is deaf and blind.I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. Lovin the 60 degree weather in the middle of May.

I hear ya M3

2011-05-14T22:37:00.004-04:00

Following along with M3's post about her day yesterday I'm just going to say that I did not enjoy parenting today. Today was hard from start to finish. The girls took some kind of crazy pill and just didn't stop. They just went on and on and on. I have to believe (okay I hope) that tomorrow will be a better day.

Today Sophie did have a softball game. I thought we had 3 left this week, but we only have 2 more. We have one Tuesday and one Saturday. To say that I'm excited about the season ending is an understatement. It's not that I didn't enjoy watching Sophie and that she didn't have a good time. It's not that I expected them to win every game. It's just that she had a very unorganized coach and the coaches and some of the other parents always had the attitude that the umps were out to get them. I know that there were blown calls for our team, but there were blown calls for the other team. Some of the coaches and parents would take it personally. I'm just glad the season is almost over. Hopefully next season Sophie will get on a more organized team. I mean the coach and team mom didn't even put out a phone or email list. Practices would be on Tuesdays or maybe not. The coach would show up late. It was just craziness. Here's a picture from today that Maddie took.
Here is Maddie Thursday afternoon doing an aerial. She was so excited. She can't really see because of her hair being in the way, but she did it. She also did several last night at gym. She was pretty insistent that she was going to do it. They had watched Annie at school the other day and Maddie came home mad. I thought it was because of the orphanage, but no it was because the girls in the movie could do aerials and she couldn't. She quickly got it.

More softball

2011-05-13T23:13:00.003-04:00

Here was Sophie Wednesday night with one of two singles. Her team actually won this game 6-4. It was their first real win of the season.

Here she is Thursday night with one of two singles. She has really gotten the hang of it with the last couple of games. We have a game tomorrow morning and then 3 next week and the season is over.

Mother Daughter Tea

2011-05-10T18:11:00.005-04:00

Yesterday evening the girls and I headed to Truett's. Truett's is like a Chick Fil A diner. They have a little bit more of a selection than regular Chick Fil A's. Let me just say, I love Truett's (and Chick Fil A). They do so much. The girls have been to a princess breakfast there and every New Year's Eve they have a chicken nugget drop (we really need to do that). They are so family oriented. The mother daughter tea was no exception. We walked up and they took our picture sitting around a little table. I get to go pick up that copy (free might I add) tomorrow. We then walked in and were taken to our reserved table. It had the cutest little center piece and name tag. Dinner was great. Maddie had a chicken sandwich and baked potato and Sophie and chicken nuggets, fries and coleslaw. There was a little sheet with conversation starters and questions on it and the girls and I got to know each other a little better. I really wish I had brought my video camera with me because some of their answers were hilarious. After dinner they brought cupcakes with little decorations to decorate them with. As we were leaving the girls got to decorate little teacups. It was a blast and I'm so glad we got to do it. I think they had fun and I'm glad I got to make a memory.

4 years

2011-05-09T15:19:00.001-04:00

It was 4 years ago today that I met Sophie in a little conference room in Shenyang. She came off of the elevator smiling. She looked a little timid and scared, but she soon warmed up. We had a rough couple of days, but I wouldn't change anything. She has added so much joy to our family. We are so glad that she is in our lives. We love you Sophie Lu!

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T18:06:00.002-04:00

Today was a very enjoyable day. We went to Barefoot in the Park and saw our friends perform their new Chinese dance. I think Maddie was missing it a little and so was I, but I'm so glad we don't make that commute anymore. It was normally an hour there and then almost 2 hours home because class ended on Fridays at 5:30 and we would have to drive through rush hour traffic. The girls looked so pretty in their costumes. Personally I loved the Irish dancers and wish we were closer to do that.We then came home to an awesome rib dinner cooked by my hubby. It was wonderful and I love my family so much!

Softball

2011-05-07T17:47:00.005-04:00

Sophie had a softball game today. The team was doing great and then just fell apart. The score ended up being 18-7. Poor Sophie went 0-2 today. I know she tries so hard and just wants to hit it as hard as she can. I know she will do great if she keeps on trying.

Fresh Beat Band

2011-05-06T21:36:00.001-04:00

The girls love the Fresh Beat band. I'm glad that they do. It keeps them from watching ICarly and Victorious.

Cinco De Mayo

2011-05-05T15:27:00.002-04:00

Maddie spent her Cinco De Mayo in the dentist chair. We thought she was getting 3 teeth pulled, but they only pulled 1 and crowned the other. She will go back in early June to have 2 on the bottom pulled and then it's on to the orthodontist for her spacer. She was talking today about how she wouldn't be able to eat ice cream with her braces. I explained to her that yes she would. She then said she wouldn't be able to eat Laffy Taffy and I told her that was correct so she better enjoy it while she could ;).
Now I'm getting ready to make Chinese for dinner tonight. That's what she wanted.

Cake wrecks

2011-05-04T21:54:00.003-04:00

I love the website www.cakewrecks.com. If you haven't been, you really need to. It is hilarious. I never thought I would have a wreck to share, but last year at the girls graduation party the decorator didn't let me down. I'm not sure who ordered the cake, but when we opened the box we all lost it. Would this not be something you would check first? Well today our cake was featured on cake wrecks. That cracked me up even more. Click on the picture to go to the post. The authors of the website have an amazing since of humor. I actually thought the William Shatner cake was hilarious as well.

Brandon

2011-05-03T23:18:00.007-04:00

Today on my 30th day in a row I am finally getting around to posting about Brandon. He is the oldest. I still can't believe that he will be graduating in about 3 weeks. I still can't believe that he will be graduating with honors. He's so smart and we are so proud of him. He has worked very hard all these years. I know that he was disappointed because he didn't get into UGA, but GA state is a good school. He can always transfer.
Brandon is funny, sweet and your typical 17 year old. He loves basketball which is funny because we aren't really a basketball family. He is probably about 2 heads taller than me. He picks on his sisters, but I think he loves them. I know it was hard for him to go from just him and I, to his dad and us and then have his sisters, but I think he came out okay. We've had our ups and downs, but so does every family.
We love you Brandon. I still remember holding you for the long flight home from San Diego when you were 4 days old. The flight attendants freaked out just a little bit. I can't believe that you will be out of high school soon and starting a huge new chapter in your life. Thank you for being you and we love you!

This was my 30th day in a row posting. First of all I can't believe it's been 30 days. It seems like just yesterday when I joined in. It has been fun to update my blog more. It was kind of getting left behind thanks to face book. I may not post everyday, but I will post every other day. Thanks for following along.

Still not sure

2011-05-02T22:44:00.004-04:00

Today was a bittersweet day. The company that I have been at for 17 yrs 4 mths is no longer. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. We still don't know anything about our jobs. That's the hardest part.. the not knowing. Oh well as I keep trying to tell myself, it is what it is. It's very hard to remember that sometimes :).

I'll leave you on my 29th day with a picture from yesterday and the girls playing in the yard.

Sunday

2011-05-01T15:45:00.004-04:00

Can't believe it's Sunday already. We had a lazy, busy day. We planted our garden this morning. Tomatoes, watermelons, pumpkins, peppers and cucumbers. I hope it's a bumper crop this year. I ended up going to $ General later in the day and bought the girls a cheap sprinkler. It's so hot outside and we can't really have a pool because of the neighbor kids. They played for a little while and then took a break. I hope that everyone had a wonderful, lazy Sunday.

28 down, 2 to go. I've never posted this many days in a row. I might have to go back to every other day or something. It's kept me off of face book more.

Another Saturday

2011-04-30T23:43:00.002-04:00

Where does the day go? The girls had a birthday party with a friend from their old school. They had a blast. I didn't get any pictures. The funny thing was Sophie asked me why I wasn't taking any pictures. Normally I have my camera, but for whatever reason I didn't bring it.
I also want to give a shout out to Walgreen's and Snapfish. I ordered Brandon's graduation announcements from Snapfish this morning at 10:00. I went by the Walgreen's I was having them made at 10:30 and they were done. That was quick.
Today is my 27th post....woohoo!

Softball

2011-04-29T12:36:00.003-04:00

Last night Sophie had a softball game. She did so much better than she's been doing. She went 2-2. She totally rocked it. We are so proud of her. Her team also came a little bit closer to winning. They lost 11-10. They actually came back from being 5 down at one point.

Today is also my 26th post for the challenge. I still can't believe it.

So very tired

2011-04-28T07:30:00.003-04:00

It was a long night last night. I was up until after 2 this morning waiting for the storm to past. At around 12:30 or so I put the girls in the bathtub. We live in a one story home so there was no where else for them to go. 2 of 3 dogs climbed into the tub with them. The chocolate lab in the picture so scared she was shivering. I thought she might have a heart attack. She ended up sleeping in the tub all night. It was kind of comical, but I was glad when the storm passed. We are thankful that we have no damage to our house and our neighbors were unscathed. Saying prayers for our neighbors in Alabama and parts of north Georgia. The devastation is horrible.

PTO

2011-04-27T10:00:00.004-04:00

So last night was the election for PTO officers. I am the new co-president at the girls school. I'm excited because I love to volunteer and I have a lot of great ideas I can't wait to share.

Here's the thing that bothered me about last night and the get to know you meeting last Thursday. There were a total of 4 people running for officer position. We went around and introduced ourselves. The 3 other people all mentioned how they had special needs kids. The outgoing president asked me why I didn't mention if I had any special needs kids. I really didn't think it was a qualification issue. I mentioned Sophie being small, but that's it. Then last night the other candidates mentioned their special needs kids, I didn't.

I guess I just don't think of Sophie being special needs. Yes she was on the special needs list and yes she does have some issues, but she is not special needs. She is able to do everything anybody else can do.

I'm not sure why the other mother's kept bringing up their special needs kids. Did they think that better enabled them to be on the PTO? Did they want extra praise since they were volunteering for PTO and parenting a special needs child? Don't get me wrong, I understand that special needs kids can be challenging. I get it. What I don't get is why some parents define who they are by their kids.

Enough of my soap box. Today was my 24th post in the M3 challenge and I'm glad I got it in early. Thanks for reading.

So tired tonight

2011-04-26T22:05:00.001-04:00

Two nights in a row for a short post. I'm going to bed early tonight. It's supposed to storm here and I'm sure we will be woken up sometime during the night. Longer post tomorrow. Batten down the hatches everyone :).

Crazy kids

2011-04-25T23:08:00.001-04:00

Yesterday as I was trying to take pictures of the kids next to the big oak tree, they all started to scatter. This is my favorite from the day. It's like herding cats.

This one is short. It's been a long day. More tomorrow.

Easter

2011-04-24T17:34:00.008-04:00

Last night I put curler's in the girls hair so that their hair would be curly this morning.

The girls (at 7am) and Brandon awoke to find the Easter bunny decided to leave them baskets. They both got Tech Decks, water guns, suckers, chocolate, coloring book and crayons. Maddie got a Dr. Pepper and Sophie got hot fries. They love it when they get that. Brandon got candy and will be getting a shirt from his favorite basketball team.

We then undid the curler's and took a few pictures before heading up to Marietta.

After church it was time to head to my grandfather's house and take the customary picture in front of the big oak in their yard. It's getting harder and harder to do. This will probably be our last year.

We then went to my step aunt's house for dinner and the egg hunt. Maddie ended up with about 93 eggs and Sophie ended up with about 65 or something like that. Maddie says next year she's not going to do it because "you just run around like hooligan's".

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Easter. Today is my 21st post in the M3 30 days in a row challenge. Tomorrow I'll finally post the one I did about Brandon.

Softball and nail salon

2011-04-23T17:36:00.006-04:00

Today Sophie had another softball game. She went 1-1 and got to make a play from the outfield today. She had a great time and that's all that matters. Her team lost 19-10.

We then headed to the nail salon where the girlies got their nails and toes painted. Sophie picked green and Maddie picked blue. All ready for Easter.

I hope everyone had a wonderful day today. The day started off foggy and ugly, but ended up sunny, beautiful and hot. Tomorrow is supposed to be 87. I'm not ready for 87 in April.

I'm still working on the challenge from M3. This is my 20th post.

Skipping gym and egg dyeing

2011-04-22T15:33:00.005-04:00

Well we decided to play hooky from gym today. Since they don't have any meets coming up and it's Good Friday I figured why not. She goes 4 days a week and will be going 5 days a week during the summer, so a break is called for every now and then.

I let the girls and a neighbor dye eggs this afternoon. I didn't realize that I got the kit that only had 3 dye tablets, but we made do. They made some pretty eggs.

Today is my 19th post since I've been participating in M3's challenge. Tomorrow Sophie has a game and I'm hoping to get better video and pictures and then Sunday is Easter. There are always lot's of Easter pictures. I still can't believe I've managed to keep it up.

Today

2011-04-21T23:07:00.001-04:00

Maddie's mouth didn't hurt her today which was great.

Sophie had a softball game. The other team had to forfeit because they didn't have enough players. They then had a scrimmage game and Sophie's team won their first game. Too bad it didn't count.

3 less teeth

2011-04-20T15:35:00.002-04:00

Well Maddie had 3 teeth pulled in the upper right today. They pulled one that was abscessed, one that had a cavity but due to over crowding they went ahead and pulled it and the 3rd one was one of the ones the orthodontist wants pulled. They still want 4 more teeth pulled, a crown put on one and if that can't be saved then they will pull it, a couple of fillings and I think that's it. He wants us to talk to the orthodontist before we pull anything else to find out what he wants to do about spacers or go ahead and start treatment. Again we are going to make an orthodontist very happy :). I tried to get a picture, but this was the best I could get. You can kind of see where the teeth are missing in the back.

Dentist

2011-04-19T23:10:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow Maddie has an appointment with the dentist. She was complaining about her tooth hurting. They are so close together and I'm pretty sure that there is a cavity up there. Poor Maddie and Sophie are going to have to get braces. Maddie's mouth is so crocked and Sophie's one tooth is crocked. It's funny that they are from two completely different parts of China, yet one of their front tooth is exactly the same. Maddie's turns one way and Sophie's turn the other way.
I have a picture of Maddie (that she took of herself by the way), but I don't have a close up of Sophie's tooth. Just imagine Sophie with her tooth turned the other way :). Some orthodontist is going to be able to send his kids to college off of our kids mouth.

I can't believe I've posted everyday since 4/9. That's a record for me. Thanks again M3 for the challenge.

Oops

2011-04-18T23:27:00.003-04:00

I typed up yesterday's post on Saturday and had saved it so that I could post it on Sunday, but I see I didn't change the day. Oh well I did post yesterday.

I was going to post about Brandon tonight, but since it's my birthday I wanted to change it up just a little. Today would have also been my mam-maw's birthday. She would have been 89. I've been missing her very much these last few days. I loved that woman. She practically raised me. She made me the person I am today. I could tell her anything and she wouldn't judge me. I was the oldest and I think I was her favorite ;). She loved Brandon as well. I'm getting teary just thinking about it so I'm going to make it short tonight.

Happy Birthday Mam-Maw. I know that you are having a wonderful day today. I love you and miss you.

I heart faces - Wind

2011-04-16T17:54:00.004-04:00

This weeks I heart faces challenge is wind. I took the girls out and did a mini photo shoot. This was Maddie spinning in and the wind blowing her hair. I loved how it came out. I used the Pioneer Woman's 70's photoshop action. I love how it came out.

Head on over to I heart faces and check out some more beautiful wind photos.

Also I'm on day 14 for the challenge. I haven't had to make up anything for a couple of days :). Tomorrow I have my post about Brandon. He let me take a couple of pictures.

Our newest pet

2011-04-16T11:00:00.001-04:00

Bummer no game today so no pictures.
Last night AJ called Sophie to come look outside on the side of the house. Our tree frog was back. Well I don't know if it's the same one that we used to have, but he was there. I of course had to take a few pictures of the newest member.

I got my post in early today :).

Crazy Saturday

2011-04-15T21:24:00.004-04:00

Sophie has a softball game tomorrow. Hope she does well. She had a good batting practice the other day so I hope that she can hit the cover off the ball. I hope she gets to play. It's supposed to be nasty here tonight, but clear up in the morning.

I bought this leo from Snowflake Leotards. It was in the grab bag section for $15. You didn't know what style or color you were getting, but when I opened the envelope I saw how beautiful it is. It's sparkly velvet. Maddie loved it. The cool thing was it only took 2 days to get here. This is my 12th post... woohoo..

Animals

2011-04-14T23:07:00.004-04:00

As I'm sitting here watching Minnie go crazy, I thought I would do an animal post. Sometimes I feel like we live in a zoo or the pound would probably better describe it. In the 9 1/2 years that we have been married we have had 5 dogs, 5 cats, 2 hamsters and some fish. We now only have 3 dogs and 2 cats. We have been known to rescue animals from the side of the road. The one that killed me was a puppy that was probably not more than 6 weeks old in the middle of the main road. It was raining and I almost ran over it. I had a towel in the car and I picked it up. The girls, especially Maddie became seriously attached to that dog in the 4 hours that we had it. They would put it in the pretend shopping cart and push it around. It was too funny and sweet. We had found somebody to take it and the devastation in our house that night was just so sad. Then we adopted our neighbors cat. The neighbor just up and left him. He is the sweetest cat. When you pick him up he will nuzzle in your neck. He will stay inside all day and then go outside at night. As far as the dogs, we have Lucy and Alice and Daisy. Daisy is just a big gigantic pillow. She is English Mastiff and Blue Tick Hound mix. She's a big huge baby. Lucy and Alice are labs. Lucy was AJ's before we married and Alice we adopted her when she was a baby. She's not the brightest animal, but we love her.

Head on over to M3 and check out some other fabulous blogs involved in the 30 day challenge.

Videos

2011-04-13T20:47:00.003-04:00

Here is Maddie tonight at gym. The girls got to try bars using grips. They were all so cute. She would hold her hand up and just grin. I think she spent more time putting chalk and water (like the big girls) on them more than she spent on the bars.

Here is Sophie's foul ball from Monday night. Sadly she struck out both times she got up to bat. She tries so hard when she's up there. She wants to hit a home run. I know that she will soon...

Going strong with the 30 days challenge.

Teenage Daughters (and sons)

2011-04-12T20:37:00.005-04:00

So how many of you think your daughters (or sons) are growing up way too fast? I do. I can't believe Brandon will be graduating this year and that Maddie and Sophie will be in 2nd grade. It didn't really hit me until Sunday night when I was trying to get Brandon to give me information about the college he's going to. I mean we are the ones paying for it..... Sometimes I miss the days of changing diapers and when they wouldn't talk back to me or as Sophie did today say "son of a b&*%$ - ummm yeah we don't say that in our house (at least not where they can hear. I asked where she heard it and she said TV, but I think more that her friends down the street :). I'm glad they are growing, don't get me wrong. I just wish that sometimes they would stay little for just a little bit longer.

I'm on a roll now. Thanks M3 for doing this. I don't spend as much time on face book now :).

Bet you thought I wouldn't make it

2011-04-11T23:02:00.003-04:00

Just squeaked in..... Today was back to normal day. School, softball game, gymnastics you know, the usual. The girls were awesome this morning and this afternoon after school. No whining or anything. It made for a great day. Sophie's softball game was not so great. The team lost 9-1. She tried really hard to get a hit and was close, but not this time. Gymnastics was great. They did conditioning, floor, vault and bars. At bars they got to try on grips. Maddie was so excited, but also nonchalant about it has well.
I have no pictures to go with the day except for our seedlings. They are coming right along.
I've made it a week for M3's challenge. Woohoo...

Sunday Snapshot

2011-04-10T14:19:00.008-04:00

We had a mini photo shoot last night. The girls just looked so sweet in their dresses that I couldn't pass up the opportunity.Even with no smiles...

or dimple showing smiles...These girls just look so natural. How cute are her toes :)?Man I love that dimple....I hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday. We had a great Spring break, but I'm counting down the hours til they go back to school.

I can't believe I've posted 6 days in a row. I've done pretty good I think :).

Dinner

2011-04-09T13:09:00.003-04:00

Today was a very lazy day. We did absolutely nothing which was simply fantastic. I made this for dinner. It was so very yummy. I never take a picture of our dinner, but I had to with this one. You should try it. You will like it.

Woohoo it is day 6 of M3's challenge. It is getting harder to find stuff to talk about, but I'm sure I'll find something :).

States

2011-04-08T15:50:00.003-04:00

Hey I'm on day 5 of the continuous posting challenge from M3.
I never posted the video for Maddie's state meet. Here it is. She did a great job. We were just proud of her for not whining and pitching a fit that she didn't get more medals. The beam routine is not the whole thing. The camera died just as she was getting ready to compete.

Old team

2011-04-07T11:08:00.003-04:00

Continuing my 30 days in a row posting that M3 started, I'm going to delay talking about Brandon until he comes home after spring break. Hopefully I'll be able to get some better pictures of him to use in my post.
Yesterday the girls and I went to a friends house. It's one of Maddie's team mates. J has been with Maddie since we were at her first gym and moved with us to our new gym. Let me just say how much we love our new gym. It is clean, big, bright, friendly, no booster club(!), no crazy parents, coaches are awesome, they pray with the girls and the list goes on and on. Maddie and J have started training level 5. They were level 3 last fall and move up to prep op silver this winter. We thought they were going to be level 4 in the fall, but it looks like they will be level 5. They have almost all of the skills except for a kip on bars. None of the girls (there are 11) have it yet. I'm sure by the end of summer they will. They will have practice from 8:30-12:30 Monday - Friday so they will have plenty of time. The girls are really enjoying their time at gym. At the old gym they would whine and actually cry about going to practice. They were beginning to hate it. When we went to the new gym, they were completely different girls.
As much as we love the new gym, we were missing the girls from the old one. J's mom had the team over yesterday. We were missing 3 girls, but everyone had a blast. It was like they had never left each other. It was fun watching all of them show off with each other.
I'm glad J's mom did it and can't wait to do it again. We miss those girls.

Sophie

2011-04-06T09:16:00.000-04:00

Today is about Sophie. She is the middle child and is 8. She is from Dandong in the Liaoning Province of China. She came home when she was 4 in 5/07. Here are some bullets about Sophie.

She absolutely does not know a stranger. Once you meet her, you are wrapped around her little finger.
She is a giving child. Maddie can be overbearing and harsh, Sophie can be giving and taking. She kind of lets Maddie walk all over her.
She is very creative and a very good artist.
She loves to wear t-shirts, jeans and shorts. It doesn't have to be a particular color, but she loves purple and orange.
She used to eat just about anything, but is now very picky. She hates pot roast because it's cow, but will eat a hamburger.
It takes her over an hour to do homework because she gets sidetracked by just the littlest things.
She was good at basketball, but I think she is even better at softball. She seems to enjoy playing it. I think we found a sport she enjoys.
Loves to work on mechanical things with her daddy. She loves to be in the garage helping him work on his tractors or organizing his tools.
She loves to play outside.
Loves to watch Dinosaur Train and shows like that.
She sometimes tries to use the fact that she's short as a way to get out of things, but we won't let her. She knows she can do it.
Loves, loves, loves to talk. Talking is her biggest problem and gets her into the most trouble.

She is a great kid and we love her very much. I am so glad that she is in our lives and don't know what we would do without her. She has a little dimple that is contagious.