2010

2010 has been a year of changes, a year of struggle, a year of learning. I cannot say that ran smoothly or was wonderful but there were some great moments along the way. Here are a few highlights.

I turned the big 30 in 2010 and celebrated with my best friend of 25 years with an awesome party with our family and friends.

We welcomed our fifth baby in March, he has been a wonderful addition to our family and provided us all so much joy.

Bobcat started pre k this year, Sunshine started first grade and Buttercup started 8th grade, her last year before high school! We got them all into a wonderful, small school that we just love.

Though we struggled financially we have been blessed to be able to spend more time as a family this year. Kevin has been home more than ever and that is better than all the money in the world.

Sunshine learned to read this year, he also learned to ride a bike with no training wheels!

Bulldog has changed from a baby into a big boy, became a big brother, learned to sleep in his own bed, made huge vocabulary leaps and learned to pedal a trike.

Bobcat is doing well in , learning letters, shapes, colors and adjusting well to all day school.

Buttercup had her first broken arm, her first boyfriend and her first broken heart. She also had her first job over the summer and learned the joys of earning and spending money.

We have found a new church that we love dearly, made lots of new friends and are growing in our faith more than ever before.

We have grown and matured in our marriage. In 2011 we will celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary.

God has blessed us in so many ways this year and we praise him for that. Looking forward to all the New Year has in store!

OU Bike Ride - Nice December Day

It was an awesome day on Thursday and so the family went to OU to let the boys ride their new bikes. Little bulldog loved keeping up on his trike and just had a blast. It was so nice outside for late December. Wish every day could be like this one.

9 months

On Christmas eve. this little one turned 9 months old! I feel like a broken record when I say he is the happiest little thing ever, but it's true! He is pulling up, cruising on everything, pushing his walker toy. He still just has two teeth, but the top two are just about through. This boy LOVES food, I have yet to find anything he does not like. He starts off the mornings with a big bowl of oatmeal and fruit and he usually says"mmmmm" the whole time he is eating. In the last week he has learned to clap and he uses his new skill often. He is such a joy and I can't get enough of him!!

Christmas 2010

I know it is almost New Years and everyone else posted Christmas pics days ago but I have been savoring every moment with my family and have not had time to blog! For the first time in years my husband has been able to spend most of the break with us and we have been playing games, playing with new toys, watching movies and today even spending the day outside riding bikes (it was nearly 70 degrees here)!! It has been so wonderful to have no schedule, no agenda just time to spend together enjoying the season as a family. The kids got, as usual way to many things but they were all most excited about their pillow pets!! Looking around on other blogs it looks as though every kid got a pillow pet this year.

Merry Christmas

Hoping your holiday season will be blessed by the joy of togetherness and filled with God's goodness and grace.

A visit with Ole St. Nick...

One of our yearly traditions is visiting Santa. The kids love it and I love it as well. Seeing their faces light up (ok, sometimes they scream) when they see him and hearing them tell him their wishes, is a treasured memory to me. This year there was no crying, only happy faces!

The happiest little elf I know..

I always go overboard taking photos at Christmas (yes,even more than usual) especially when it's one of my kids first Christmas's. I love the sweet innocence, the excitement over all the lights and decorations and of course the cute outfits and hats! Some of my favorite pictures of all my boys have been in this hat and so of course I had to get some of Krews in it! He didn't let me down, look at the precious faces he gave me!! Love him! He really is the sweetest, happiest baby and I think is shows in these pictures! I really love the two little teeth shining through! I don't know about you but I think being a mom of young kids is even more fun than being the kid yourself!!

My new favorite site for cards of any kind..Tiny Prints

It's no secret that I am a fan of Christmas cards and invitations personalized with photos. As a matter of fact not a card leaves my house without a picture on it. I love sending holiday cards and over the years I have ordered them from lots of places, all were okay but I longed for something more than a standard, flat card. This year I was lucky enough to stumble upon Tiny Prints and I instantly fell in LOVE!
Their selection is amazing, not only do they have amazing flat cards but also many other choices as well, things I have not seen anywhere else. They offer tri fold cards, all sizes and shapes of photo cards as well as ornament cards!! Yes, ornament cards!! I love this idea because instead of just sending a card that will likely get thrown away when the holidays are over you can send a card that can hang on your loved ones tree and be cherished for years to come! They also offer personalized cards for all occassions as well as invitations, birth announcments and so much more.
The quality of the printing is amazing, better than anywhere I have seen! The cardstock is heavy weight and durable and the colors are stunning. Also I love that your order is checked by the Tiny Prints staff to make sure no printing errors occur. When I made my order I recieved an email telling we they had found an extra comma, they fixed the problem, asked me to okay the change and then sent the cards to print!! Anywhere else would not have taken the time to check the wording. They also sent out an email telling me thank you for my order! What great customer service.
I can't speak highly enough of this company! They truey have a unique and beautiful product line! I look forward to ordering more cards and announcments from them in the future! Give them a try, you won't regret it!!







(These above are the cards I ordered! Love these ornament cards!! They even come with a ribbin to hang them with! Great gift idea!)


Check them out here : www.tinyprints.com
Also for amazing deals and exclusive offers Like them on Facebook
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DISCLAIMER: I was sent items by Tiny Prints to help facilitate my review. No money exchanged hands. Any opinions stated are strictly my own.*

Teach it to me Tuesday

Another installment of random things I've learned from being the mother of five.

1. First shoes - soft soled shoes are better for beginning walkers. Babies need to grip with their feet when learning balance and it is hard to do so in traditional shoes. My favorite brand is Pediped, a little costly but well made and great for little feet.

2. Pull ups- don't waste your money . When your child is ready to potty train go straight to underwear. Pull ups are good for night time but during the day I have found that kids will go in them instead of the potty because they feel like a diaper.

3. Eating- don't sweat it if they don't eat much. Just offer them a healthy variety and when they are hungry they will eat.

Breastfeeding- there is lot on this topic but I'll start with the first few ads after baby is born. Offer feeding frequently even is baby is sleepy. Put then to the breast and let them stay near most of the day it will help stimulate your milk production and stimulate baby to wake and eat. Keep in mind babies do not require food the first few days and are often not hungry in the first 24 hours.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Just a few things I've been up too.

New photo ledges my sweet husband built for our bedroom, so I can display even more pictures in our room!!
My attempt at a paper wreath, not quite what I was hoping for but not too bad for a first attempt.
My redone holiday frame!

Whoops I missed it..twice

Looks like I missed my Teach it to me Tuesdays twice! Oh well It's not like anyone was anxiously waiting :) I will indeed start it back up next Tuesday so get ready.Is it just me or does this time of year seem to move way faster than the rest of the year?? It is going crazy fast around here.

Wordless Wednesday

Christmas Craft Number 1

I can't claim this idea as my own I got it from the lovely lady over and Clean and Scentsible you can find the instructions on her blog here. I already had the wood blocks so I knew I had to make it. It make a cute, fun. photo display.

CHristmas cards of the past

Well Thanksgiving is officially over!! We celebrated yesterday as my husband worked on Thanksgiving Day and today I am cleaning and unwinding. No black friday shopping for us! I am an internet shopper all the way :) Anyway do get in the Christmas spirit I thought I would share some photos of Christmas's past! I love looking back at these to see just how much out family has changes over the years. I look forward to getting lots of Christmas cards in the mail soon, my favorite part of the season!!

8 months old

Yesterdays post should have gone today and this one yesterday but hey my mind is random like that. My sweet boy is 8 months old now and man is he changing fast. He is now crawling on all fours instead of that little army crawl he was doing. He is pulling up to everything and trying to cruise around things. It won't be long and he will be walking! He has two teeth and will by the looks of his gums soon have two more. He loves to eat, but is still on the skinny side. He is such a happy baby always smiling and laughing at his brothers. I adore him so much and am so glad that he is all mine.

Rejoice and be glad in it!

I am not going to say life is a bed of roses right now, because it's not, not for us anyway. Things are stressful here to say the least. We are in the midst of some of some of the hardest times we have ever faced and sometimes it is hard while going through times like these to be thankful, to focus on what is going right instead of what isn't. But being thankful is just what I am going to do. How can I not be thankful? I have a wonderful husband, healthy, happy and if I do say so myself beautiful kids and most of all a God who loves me enough to give me all these blessings. So today and everyday I will choose to be thankful. After all this is the day he has made, we should rejoice and be glad in it, right? No matter what life throws our way we should rejoice and give thanks to him knowing that he is in control. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

"This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. "Psalm 118:24

50 free cards for bloggers from Shutterfly

The Holidays are approaching much to quickly and one of my favorite parts of the holidays are all cards I get and of course sending my own. One of my favorite places to get cards is Shutterfly.com and right now they are doing a wonderful promotion for bloggers 50 free cards! They have a wonderful selection of everything from good old fashioned folded greeting cards for every occasion (LOOK HERE) to awesome photo holiday cards (LOOK HERE) and even awesome photo gifts like coffee mugs that make the perfect Christmas gifts (LOOK HERE). The best part is they have great prices and great quality.

My favorite card we have ever sent was when we just had Buttercup, Sunshine and a tiny little Bobcat. They were all in their jammies. It was a sweet card. It was before Bobcat has his strabismus surgery and his eyes were very crossed but there was something very sweet about that little cross eyed Santa! Above are a few of my favorite cards that Shutterfly has to offer this year. I like the more formal feel of these cards. What will your cards look like? Are they ready? Head over to Shutterfly today to make your selection ! Good luck there are lots to choose from. Click (here) to learn more about the 50 free cards for bloggers.

Teach it to me Tuesdays

Recently one of the moms on one of the blogs I read posed the question what diapers you you use? Simple enough but it got me thinking. I am a mom of five. I have learned a lot in my days as a mother, a lot I could share with other moms. So I decided that every Tuesday I am going to share my knowledge with all two of you that are listening :) and you can feel free to leave me a comment and let me know what you have learned too! I am not saying I know it all, every day is an opportunity to learn something new and each child brings new and unique challenges, i am just sharing what has and has not worked for me!!

Diapers: All my kids have had sensitive skin so this is one are I have learned I cannot skimp. I have tried every brand known to man and we are a Pampers family for many reason. 1. they do not leak in my experience 2. they are soft 3. they do not have perfumes 4. they do not pill when wet

Trust your instincts: This one is so important people. No one knows your child like you, you have to trust your instincts. Dr.'s make mistakes all the time as do pharmacists, teachers and other professionals, you have to be an advocate for your child. I think sometimes mothers feel like, "Oh, well I'm just a mom what do I know" and they disregard their worries, when often those worries are indicators of something. So so with your gut!!

Schedules are overrated : Ok, all you schedule lovers are gonna kill me for this one but it's true. Sure schedules seem great in theory. But truth is when you actually have a baby or more than one you have to be flexible too. You can try and schedule all you want but be prepared to have that schedule broken time and time again. Babies will eat when they want, nap when they want and that is ok the world will not fall apart if little Johnny does not eat at noon or skips a nap once in a while. Truth is it is good for kids to learn to be flexible and adjust, you don't want them to be so set in up their schedule that when you go to grandmas for the holidays no one sleeps. Be flexible.

Pacifiers/Blankets/Etc: Don't let other people's judgment make your decision on how/when to take it away. I promise it won't be as bad as you think and if it is, give it back and try again when they are older. No one ever went to college with a blankie!!

Thats all for today. See you next Tuesday :)

Water wheel

There is a neighborhood here in town with a cool water wheel at it's entrance. I love it. So the other day I took Krews there to practice some shots. Here are a few. I hope to get some more of all the kids in their Christmas outfits soon.

Finally

I have been in a blogging slump but I am determined to break free. I finally got the pictures I used on my living room canvases uploaded. I know they were kind of hard to see "in all their glory" in the picture of the canvases as a group. As I have said before I kind of ride the fence when it come to editing images. Sometimes I prefer to leave an image alone other times I like to tinker with it, add texture, play with the color, etc. On these pictures I decided to add some texture to the truck to give it a more vintage feel. I love the way it turned out. When I see these pictures on my wall they make me smile and that is what makes me love photography and want to learn more. I realize that not everyone who looks at these images is as in love with them as me and that's ok, it really is an art, everyone sees beauty differently. As for me I see beauty in these faces.