Blogland MIA

Well, HELLO. How have you all been?

We have been busy being the poster children for the old adage, "the more things change, the more they stay the same"..... or at least, "the more time passes, the more things stay the same".

First, let me share pictures of my new nephew that I promised almost two months ago! Colten was early but did very well for a 34 weeker. He stayed in the hospital for several days but didn't have any major concerns, and has been doing great since coming home.

Baby Colten with an IV in his head. Ewww!!

Colten and his pretty (and pretty tired!) Mama.

Right after our excitement of adding another baby into the family, we got a contract on our house. Yea! They wanted to close by August 14th which was perfectly fine with us. And they wanted to buy most of our furniture with the house, which was also fine with us because it was less to move. We hurried up and moved our remaining things to a storage shed to get ready to close.......and then the buyers financing fell through.

Ugh!!!!!!!!

So, yes, the more things change.....the more they stay the same. We put the house back on the market and are still waiting for the perfect buyers.......ok yes, I mean ANY buyers! Our lives are still on hold for the time being and it's so frustrating. We are really trying to keep our chins up. Of course, some days are better than others!

Before we packed all our stuff, Brinn had her very first sleep over with her friend Carley. (Gosh, does this really start at 5????) Carley stayed over at our house and the girls had a great time. We put Brinn's Hanna Montana tent up in our room and they watched a movie and had popcorn. Carley stayed all night and only asked to go home once but decided to give it another try after talking to her mom.

We went back and forth on our decision on if we were going to send Brinn to kindergarten this year. Ultimately, since she is a late summer birthday and because our lives are still a bit chaotic, we decided for another year of preschool. We signed her up for five days a week and she LOVES it. I'm very comfortable with our decision to wait. I'd much rather do another year of preschool than have her struggling to keep up with her classmates throughout her years in school!

And what would another blog be without saying DELTA DAWN has done it again! She made a cake for our niece Camryn's 2nd birthday. Of course it turned out wonderful. Good job, Delt!

I also want to say CONGRATULATIONS to Jarrod and Lainie for having their beautiful baby boy Chase Hendrix. We have gotten to see him twice. Unfortunately, I have been as good of a picture taker as I have been as a blogger! Trust me, he's a cutie!

Howdy Y'all

Let's Make That 7 Birthdays in July.......

My sister, Samantha, had her baby today! That makes 7 birthdays in the month of July for my side of the family. Fall is obviously our "breeding season"!

Colten is doing wonderful (especially for a 34 weeker) but will have to stay in the hospital anywhere from 1 to 3 weeks for observation.

Congratulations Sam and Scott!

Pictures soon.............

S'more Fun

Made s'mores and posed by the campfire last night.........
Pink pillow even made it to the campsite. (Surprise!)

Mowin' the Lawn - Country Diva Style

Shane's parents are hanging out in Missouri while we hang out in Kansas so we're swapping mowing chores!

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Brinn's 5th Birthday - Take II

Take II - Second Party!

Whoa! She got the "Bike with Me Barbie" bike that she wanted. Thanks Mimi and Poppy!!!

Happy Birthday Brinn!! We love you!!!!

Brinn's 5th Birthday - Take I

I can't believe our little girl is 5!!!!!!! We couldn't be bless with a more loving and wonderful daughter. We are so proud of her and happy God chose us to be her parents. I pray she grows up knowing this. It goes so fast....before we know it she will be 10.....15....20......Ekkkkkk!!

Shane and I very much wanted to throw her a big, fun 5th birthday party, but since we are half in Missouri and half in Kansas there was just no way we were going to stress ourselves out trying to figure out who/what/where/when. (Lately we don't even know who/what/where/when we are!) So, we opted for just family parties - one with my side and one with Shane's side. I'm pretty sure she had a great time at both!

As you might have guessed, Delta Dawn did it once again! She made a beautiful Cinderella cake. Thanks Delt, you are AWESOME!

I even got a little creative and made Brinn a tool skirt. Can you believe it???

Supper Club Kids, July 2009

Holly and Tommy hosted Supper Club this month....a shrimp boil.......and MMMMMMM, it was delicious!

We got the kiddos together (as best we could) for a picture. (L to R): Quinn, Carter, Kaden, Addison, Dylan (on Addy's lap), Brinn, Payton.

Not in picture: Finnegan

Tubing 101

Brinn and I missed the actual 4th of July with Shaner (he was down at the lake while we were getting our baby fix), but we did make it back down for a few sun-filled days of fun.

Carla and Rick (Shane's sister and brother-in-law) have had a tube tied to the back of their boat for as long as I can remember. Brinn has seen it many, many times but never asked to go for a ride on it. I guess all kids get to the point they want to test their parents' comfort level, right? She decided it was now time to try it. Oh, great!


I want to tube......pleeeeease...........

We started out just staying by the dock and letting her climb on it while Carla pulled her in by hand.

Then we progressed to actual tubing. First with Shane, then with me. She loved it, of course!



Here's a video of Shane and Brinn in action.

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Then Shane and I thought it would be a good idea if we gave it a try too. MIND YOU, we have not tubed in FOREVER!!! Rick gave us a pretty good run for our money and we looked like a couple of bobble heads a few times, however, we stayed on much longer than I thought we would!!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I'll Drink That Cake!

Yes, Lisa's birthday cake is another Delta Dawn original!

She has made three cakes so far...Kristin's shower cake, Josh's birthday cake (a Wii remote cake), and Lisa's birthday cake...and each one has been equally wonderful (and delicious I might add!).

I just love this idea. We were all blown away when we saw it.

Great job, Delt!


And Happy Birthday to my baby sister....I can't believe my baby sister is 21. OMG!!!

Crazy/Busy/Fun

We have 5 birthdays (actually now 6 with baby Kyle) in the month of July (just on my side of the family), so this time of the year always gets a little hairy. This year, however, has nearly left my head spinning!

My new nephew, Kyle, was born on July 2nd, which also happens to be my nephew Josh's birthday. My sister, Lisa, turned 21 on July 3rd (Yeah Lisa!). In the course of these few days we all tried to celebrate Kyle's birth, Josh's birthday, Lisa's birthday, and Kyle's homecoming (and the 4th of July of course!). Unfortunately, the homecoming celebration was short lived because the day after Kyle came home, he had to be readmitted into the hospital to treat his jaundice. After a few days in the hospital and a few more days of treatment at home, his bilirubin levels are now normal. Now we can REALLY love on him!

Aunt Delta, Brinn and baby Kyle.
Proud Daddy Joe.
Going home!

Birthday boy Josh and his friend. Happy 11th, Josh!

Birthday girl Lisa with her cake.

Back in the hospital......
And back home again!

Introducing Kyle Josef, 7/2/2009

My new newphew......Kyle Josef, born on July 2nd, 2009.

Congratulations Joe and Kris!!! He's gorgeous.....look at all the hair!!!

June Catch-Up

Where does the time go? Almost a month has come and gone without a post. Shame on me!

Brinn went to summer school during June. Although I believe she DID like it, it was every day of the week and much longer than preschool (7:30 - 2:30). She told me she didn't like it because it "TAKES TOO LONG TO SEE MY MOMMY". Awwww.......yep, you can be sure I will remind her of that when she is 16!!!

In an effort to make our mornings run smoothly, I let her choose her outfits for school the night before. She enjoyed doing this and made sure every outfit was chosen carefully. She had her own system and everything had to be laid out just so. I just let her go at it. Here's an example of the fun and interesting outfits she concocted!

My sisters and I all threw a baby shower for our sister Kristin. This is her first baby (a boy!) and she is due at the end of July. We had lots of fun shopping for goodies for our new nephew, baby Kyle!

My sister Dawn had the most fun though, making Kyle's cake for the shower. She did an AMAZING job. I will be begging her to make all my cakes from this day forward!

The last couple of weeks we have been doing a lot of swimming. We have gone several times to our local community center which has a WONDERFUL pool and of course getting our fill of Table Rock Lake while were still here! (NO, no takers on the house yet......boo hoo.....)

Brinn LOVES her goggles. She'll wear them for days on end!

Brinn and her Mimi.

Brinn in her 'I LOVE MOMMY' hat and her too-cool Tinkerbell shades. Awwww.......

My two water bugs....Brinn and Daddy.

Little Driver.

Just got a call that Kristin is in labor!!!!

Baby update soon!