NATHAN'S BIRTHDAY MAY 2016

Nathan had to work on his birthday this year.  The kids didn't mind though...going to the fire station is always an exciting thing for them so they thought it was pretty awesome to get to celebrate there.  Sitting on the fire trucks never gets old to them. 

They each got a present for Nathan.  They were really excited to head out to the station to give Daddy his gifts even though they don't look so happy in this picture :) 

They weren't happy with me for making them get off of the trucks to get this picture but I needed the memory.

 Jude was pretty excited to sit in the fire truck for the first time. 

 His sweet little face...I can't get over how big he has gotten!  

After the kids played on the trucks for a while we ate dinner and then sang happy birthday and had cake. 

And opened presents.  Alanna got him a chocolate candy bar.  Liam got him a green balloon and Ruy got him tongs for the grill.  Liam and Ruy picked out their gifts themselves :)  Liam saw that green balloon as soon as we went into the door and he yelled "this is what Daddy always wanted!" And Ruy spent a long time deciding, trying to find the perfect gift! :) 

Jude and Alanna were in no mood for pictures so this is what we got! 

 ...Happy 28th Birthday Daddy! 

A VISIT TO SEE MY SISTER

At the beginning of May I was so excited to be able to go and visit my sister.  I hadn't seen her but one time in about eight months and it was such a short visit that I hardly counted it!  I took the kids by myself on the three hour drive to NC and we stayed two nights.  Thankfully the drive was on one highway almost the whole way!  We stopped at a rest area exactly half way there and ate lunch and the kids ran around for about 30 minutes.  It broke up the trip really well and Jude hardly cried the whole way which was so great!  

We had such a great time at my sisters!  The kids had a blast playing in the yard, visiting the little farm they have there, riding bikes, exploring the woods, playing legos, eating popcorn and watching movies!  And my sister and I talked and ate way too much lol.  

The first morning we were there the boys got up and ran outside to find a HUGE snapping turtle!  It was such an awesome way to start out the day! 

My sister and I are best friends and it was so nice to get to spend the two days talking, laughing, and cooking with each other just like we used to when she lived near me.  Oh how I miss those moments together so much!

Our kids all had such a great time together and we were all so sad when our visit had to come to an end.  Our times together are so sweet and fun.  I cherish every minute...every second that I have been able to spend with my sister and her family since they moved into the trailer.  This visit went by so fast but I'm looking forward to hopefully seeing them again in July!

Before we left we snapped a few pictures of all of the kids together!  It was also our first picture of all the kids including Andrew!  It's no easy thing getting 13 kids all sitting still long enough to snap a picture! But we are pretty awesome and managed it somehow! :)

 This picture represents a little more how the kids really felt about pictures LOL

And that's how our visit came to an end!  I love all these kiddos so much and I feel so blessed that my kids are such amazing friends with all their cousins!

MOTHER'S DAY 2016

Mother's Day we went to church and then came home and had lunch with my mom.  No one was feeling positive thoughts about this family picture but I was determined to get at least one family picture this day.

I'm so thankful for my mom.  She's been there for me through a lot of things and I have learned a lot of wonderful things from her.  She gives and gives of herself to her children.  She loves my kids and all of her other grandchildren so much.  Love you so much mom! 

After lunch my mom went home and we spent the afternoon playing outside with the kids

Liam went across the monkey bars for the first time! 

And Liam found worms of course...

We went on a long walk and then spent the rest of the evening hanging out inside playing games, doing puzzles, watching a movie.  

These four are my world!  They are all so different in their own little ways but they each melt my heart and I love them all so much!  I'm so blessed and so thankful God gave me these four precious treasures for me to love for the rest of my life!

MY BIRTHDAY

My birthday was over a month ago (May 3) but I'm catching up on posts and my birthday was next.  It was a pretty quiet day.  We spent most of the day at home.  We took a walk after lunch and just enjoyed the nice weather...

 and then when Nathan came home from his meetings, we had homemade chocolate zucchini cupcakes and I opened my gift from Ruy. Nathan bought me a new camera lens for my birthday about three weeks before my actual birthday :) The kids always like to help blow out candles.  A few years ago when Ruy was little I was totally against kids helping blow out candles but I've since realized that I was just being silly and now enjoy having all the kids around me helping me blow them out.  Ruy got me a mug with a chalkboard on it and he helped Liam and Alanna make me a card.  It was very thoughtful and sweet of him.

After cupcakes, we headed out to one of our favorite parks and enjoyed a few hours there watching the kids play and just enjoying time together. 

It was a good birthday and I feel very blessed!