Weekend Update...with videos

We went to Monkey Joe's and the kids had a blast!! It was a great way to spend the morning with Daddy on his day off. We ate pizza there and then headed to Baskin Robins for their $1 scoop day for our treat! Yummy!! Check out the video of Jack and Hailey going down the slide!

After that ....we let the kids 'drive' their Jeep over to Grandma and Papa's house while we took Pedro on a walk. They thought that was the coolest thing ever!!

After church on Sunday was little Ava's funeral service. It was very sweet and Kristen looked much better. She is starting to heal (physically). She is walking around and her arm is no longer in a sling. I just continue to ask for prayers for her and the family as they start the healing process for all the emotional stuff that goes along with this tragedy.

Jack made me very proud at evening services...it was song service and he sang 'one song' with Papa!! It was Blue Sky's and Rainbows and he did such a great job!! I videoed the special event since Darren was working. Enjoy...it melts my heart every time! You can hear Hailey too :-)

Then after evening services we headed over to Grandma's for a little pool party in honor of Uncle Bubba! He is turning 19 TODAY!! There was lots of good grilled burgers and hot dogs, cake, ice cream and of course....Bubba Teeth! They were some of the party favors and Jack tried his best to fit them in his mouth...he did pretty good!

Happy Birthday Tyler!! We love you so much and wish you a very happy year 19!! You are a great little brother and uncle!

Bramlett Visit and Questionaire

So it's been almost a week since our visit with Amber, Sage, and Noah and I'm finally posting our pictures :-) We didn't take as many as we should have. It was a hectic visit with all the VBS activities going on. I promise the next time I will take a whole lot more!!

We went to El Cotija (Amber's favorite mexican place) Thursday night. It was fun and yummy! The kids know it as the place with the water fountain!!

Then we decided to hit my mom & dad's pool to cap off the evening. Here is Sage hanging out in the big tire.
Ms. Sarah and Riley...they're looking for Sage...she just went under the water.Here's Noah! He is such a crazy little man :-)
Of course Jack was on the sidelines again...not wanting to get in the water. He had fun watching all the kids and ended up convincing Papa to get the tractor out!
Ms. Hailey! She really enjoyed having Sage & Noah at her house. She is still camping out on her bedroom floor and it's a week later. I asked her last night if she was ever going to sleep in her bed again, she said 'nope'
Mr. Riley decided to dry off and play with Lightning McQueen!Here's Ralston...he brought water guns!

GET TO KNOW ME BETTER

1.What is in the back of your car? Stroller

2.What color is your toothbrush? Blue & White

3.Name one person who made you smile today. Hailey

4.What were you doing at 8:00 AM? Just starting to wake up...I heard Jack open his bedroom door.

5. What were you doing 45 minutes ago? Fixing Hailey's breakfast, checking blogs

6. What is your favorite candy? Mike & Ike's (green box)

7. What is the last thing your said aloud? Jack, get away from the front of the TV, your sister can't see it!

8. What is the best ice cream flavor? right now I love Chocolate Oreo

9. What is the last thing you had to drink? Dr. Pepper (last night)

10 What are you wearing right now? hot pink pajama top, and lime green/pink stripe pj shorts

11. What is the last thing you ate? handful of Capt. Crunch

12. Have you bought any new clothes this week? I bought a black/white polkadot dress for my cousin's wedding.

13. When was the last time you ran? I have to chase after Jack on a regular basis, we call him 'The Runaway Kid'

14. What was the last sporting event you watched? Warner Robins All Star Little League World Series Game (Last Season) WE WON!!!

15. Ever go camping? When I was in the girl scouts (we were in tents so I guess that counts)

16. Do you have a tan? Never.

17. Do you take vitamins daily? No.

18. Do you go to church? Yes

19. Do you like Chinese food more than pizza? No, pizza is better

20. Do you drink your soda with a straw? out in a glass? Only when I'm out to eat.

21. Are you someone’s best friend? I hope so :-)

22. What are you doing tomorrow? Probably more laundry and just hanging out with kids, Darren is working this weekend.

23. Where is your dad? At work (Federal Courthouse)

24. Can you say the alphabet backwards? Only up to about 'r'

25. Do you have a maid service clean your home? That's what I wish for every time I throw a penny in a fountain!!

26. Do you have a favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time? flip-flops

27. What color is your car? Slate Blue

28. How do you like your popcorn? Salty and butter

29. How did you get your worst scar? Holding a long piece of Bamboo (in philippines) my friend dropped her end, it cracked and when it split it also cut my palm right under my ring finger.

30. Look to your left. What do you see? Back door

31. What color is your watch? Silver

32. What do you think of when you think of Australia? Picture of my dad holding a Kowala (he went TDY there when I was about 9yrs. old)

33. Do you use chap stick? no, I use lip gloss

34. Do you have a dog? 2yr old pitbull mix named Pedro

35. Last person you talked to on the phone? My mom

36. Have you met anyone famous? Was with my mom when she got Tom Skerret's autograph in the Seatle Airport

37. Any plans today? Clean up backyard, fold clothes

38. How many states have you lived in? DC/Maryland, Georgia, Washington, Wyoming

39. Do you dye your hair? Nope

40. Do you like cats? yes, I've almost always had a cat as a pet. (They're easier to take care of when you are military) Right now is the first time that I've not had one

Wanna play? Tag… you’re it!

Thursday's Thoughts

I know my earlier post was a little rant on how tired and stressed I was from cutting the grass but after tonight I have absolutely nothing to complain about.

Psalms 10:17 You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,

Monday evening there was a car accident and the girl that got hit pretty much head on was someone from our church. I know her family very well, her older sister, Amanda, was in my wedding and 'shared' my parents when we were little. (My mom was her babysitter during the day) Kristen is only 18 and was 30 weeks pregnant. They had to cut her out of the car and she is okay. Just a little fracture on her left arm and a bad sprang on her left ankle, but the baby was killed instantly. Darren worked the scene, helped with the reports....of course now there is a criminal investigation going on. Kristen had to have a c-section Tuesday night and got to hold her. They named her Ava Michelle, she was a little over 3lbs. I wasn't going to post about it yet because I didn't want to just broadcast it like an impersonal story. But tonight I went to see her at the hospital and it was the saddest thing I've ever seen. She showed me some pictures, I cried because she looked perfect. Just asleep. This tragedy has been on my mind constantly and I keep thinking 'why' and 'how is she going to get through it' The officers told them that if Kristen hadn't been pregnant (and that far along) the impact would have done major internal damage to her and possibly killed her. That little baby saved her life...that was her purpose. And now Kristen has to figure out what God has planned for her because it's so much bigger than she thought it was. That baby was her lifesaver. She is so young and has gone through more in these last few days than most of us go through in a lifetime. Please keep her and the family in your prayers. I came home from the hospital and just kissed my babies and tucked them in bed. So what if they fought all day while I tried to cut the grass and my house is still a disaster from VBS week...I have nothing to complain about. My heart just aches with sadness for Kristen and moments in life like this remind you to not take anything for granted.

I just mowed the grass...

Okay...so I've mowed the grass plenty of times at our other houses but the yards have never been this big. We have a push mower and I've been trying to get the grass cut for three days!! I've got a cough and the grass 'dust' doesn't help but Monday I cut the front yard (Darren woke up and weedeated-thanks) Then Tuesday after swimming at Ms. Jennifer's I cut the side yard for the front and back (nap time) Now it's Wednesday and I finally got the enormous back yard cut and it was so thick and long. It shut the mower down twice and I had to unclog it :-) Now it's about to rain and I'm done, till about 10 days from now when it will be time again... I love my yard. It's very pretty but it is so hard to be the yard guy, the maid, the cook, and the babysitter all at the same time.........I had the washer and dryer going, the kids were on the back patio crying because they were tired, about every three laps I had to stop and break up a fight :-) Then we stopped for lunch, did the dishes from the last day and went back out to finish up! Oh my I am sweaty and tired and so have to figure out a better way to get this done :-)

I'm sure you're thrilled about this post but I just needed to vent :-) My sweet sleeping beauty of a husband is still (you guessed it...) sleeping. But he did work last night so I guess it's okay :-) He usually gets up just about the time the kids go down for their nap...how convenient. I'm going to go put them to bed and take a shower and then I'm taking a nap :-) I hope they'll sleep long enough!

VBS Recap

Vacation Bible School was a hit this year! We had a week full of fun for the kids and it totally tired me out, but it was so worth it! Our theme was "Walking in SON light" so we went wild with beach and luau decorations. The kids loved it and we all had a great time getting it ready. This picture is of our craft room. The ladies in there did an awesome job putting it together and that hula girl was one of Mr. Mike C.'s masterpieces!!

I went for the Beach look in my room. I taught the 3yr. olds with the wonderful help of Ashley and Wendi!! Without them I couldn't have done it. We had 11 kids each day and 12 on Friday!! That was after we pawned 3 of them off to the 2yr. old class :-)

Can you see our plane? Mr. Mike drew that for us too! He is just awesome!! He whipped it up there in about 30 seconds!

VBS was from 9-Noon each day and first we would meet in the auditorium to sing. My dad was the songleader and did a great job! The kid's favorite was definitely all the versions of 'Lord's Army' that we learned!! BTW...my dad had a hawaiian shirt for each day...he loves them :-)

We would also get a brief Bible story told to us by 'The Wandering Prophet'. My kids thought he was pretty cool but some of the 2yr. olds looked a little concerned...but by the third day I think everyone was fine :-)

On Wed. we studied Queen Ester, so she came too! Jack thought she was soooo pretty! He kept looking at her :-)

Jack was my super big boy and went to the 2yr. old class. He did so good each day and sat on his row with Ms. Andrea even though I was right across the aisle with my class! He learned so many songs and his new favorite is 'The Wise Man'

Hailey did awesome this year!! I was so proud of her. She was in the 4yr. old class and for the most part sat on her row (some mornings she wasn't awake enough and sat with me!) But she had such a great time and loved making her crafts and learning her Bible lessons.

Here are some of my boys in my class.... I'm not posting a picture of all the kids because I don't know how their mommies would feel about that but I know these three the best!

Ralston

Cole

Nathan

They were the three amigos all week! Super cute and very good! We didn't have any major catastrophes and I didn't lose anybody :-) Now I can relax and take a breather. Volunteering for it is like having a baby...right after it's over you say 'never again' but after a while you forget the pain and you sign up for it again :-) So I guess I'll see you next year!! We're doing Bible Boot Camp! Sounds like fun!!

I'll post pictures of our visit with Amber, Sage, and Noah tomorrow...

100th Post!

It's my 100th post!!

I was going to do something 100-ish and try to write 100 things about me but that started taking way too long :-) We are super busy this week with VBS!! It's been so much fun and the kids are so worn out by the time we get home. I'm teaching the 3yr. olds with two other ladies. They are a handful (all 11 of them) but so very cute! Jack and Hailey are really enjoying their classes and right now are enjoying a movie with Daddy on the couch. We are waiting patiently for Amber, Sage, and Noah to get here!! They are coming to visit for the rest of the week and we are so excited to see them :-D Hailey is especially excited that she'll be able to sleep on the floor like a slumber party! I'll post some pictures later...just wanted to catch up on our fun week so far!

Check out this Dad's Story...

I took this excerpt from the blog that you must go visit! It's called Matt, Liz and Madeline. The blog is written by a dad of a barely 3 month old little girl who lost his wife just one day after the baby was born. He is now learning more about fatherhood than most dad's probably want to learn! The story is truly a lesson in taking each day and living life to the fullest. This post is where he explains what happened in those short, yet long hours after the birth. (he does use a little foul language on his site, but it is still a great read) I thought it was fitting seeing how Father's Day is tomorrow....I hope he has a good one...He really deserves it!

what happened?

i’ve been hearing
that question
a lot.
so…
for those of you
who don’t know
here goes…
5 weeks of bedrest.
(2 at home, 3 in the hospital).
liz had low amniotic fluid.
baby had her cord around her neck.
baby’s heart rate dropped
(multiple times).
liz almost delivered
(multiple times).
the day finally came
(3/24).
madeline was born via c-section.
everyone was happy
and healthy.
liz was told
to hang out in bed
for another 24 hours
and then she was going to
see madeline.
she waited patiently
hearing stories
and seeing photos
of me
feeding and changing
madeline’s diapers.
(she was soooo jealous and i teased her mercilessly that i was 1, 2, 3 diapers ahead of her and that she had to catch up).
24 hours came
and she got ready
to lay her hands
on madeline
for the very
first
time.
she got up from bed
(with the help of some nurses and me).
we joked about her new-found independence.
i told her that she
had to start waiting on me
because i’d been waiting on her
for 5 weeks.
she laughed,
and said,
“of course.”
she walked to the mirror
and said,
“my hair looks like shit.”
we all laughed
(because her hair looked great, especially for someone who’d been on bed rest for 5 weeks).
the nurse said,
“are you ready to go?”
she said,
“yes.”
her excitement
was overflowing.
she turned around
to sit in her wheelchair
for her ride to see
madeline.
she said,
“i feel lightheaded”
and then she passed out.
we got her in to
her hospital bed.
doctors and nurses
rushed to help her.
but nothing could be done
to bring her
back.
no one to blame.
shitty luck
and
a pulmonary embolism
are what led us to
the saddest,
most horrific moment
of my life.
(and many other people’s lives).

www.mattlogelin.com

Tyler's Graduation!!

He did it!! My little brother graduated :-) We are so very proud of him and last night we all got together to watch him get his GED from Middle Georgia Technical College! He will turn 19 at the end of this month and would have only been in the 11th grade this year due to some setbacks in elementary school, so he decided at the end of school last year to not go back and just go for his general education diploma. He passed all subjects the first time he took the test except for the math portion...and he passed that the second time!! So he did awesome! So here's the pictures of our funfilled evening (well...two evenings!)

Wednesday night we took Tyler to Cheddar's for dinner with our parents, grandparents and his buddy Matt before church.

Hailey was super excited because she got to swim and see Grandaddy-Great and Grandma-Great all in one day!! Grandma-Great, Jack, and GrandmaDarren, Matt, and Tyler

Thursday we kind of had a little pizza party before we had to leave for the graduation. It started at 7pm, had to be there at 6, which meant we needed to leave around 5:30....so we ate early.Mom set this out for everyone to sign that hadn't already. This caricature was drawn by a guy at our church. He drew one for each of the graduates for the Senior dinner this year!

Hailey was getting some good Grandma-Great time in while we were waiting....Buzz Lightyear even made it to the party...Uncle Bubba must be pretty famous!Princess (my grandparent's dog) and Dudlee (my parent's dog) were hoping someone would drop a piece of pizza :-)The Dudlee just decided to revert to good ole begging (doesn't he look like a cat?!?)I guess Princess gave up and went to lay down...she's such a sweetie.Finally it was time to go!!! We drove out to Perry for the ceremony...The kids wanted to know if we were going to the fair...(that's where it is every October). Jack had missed Mr. Tom. They'd been gone a few days on a trip. Hailey really wanted to wear some of her hair clips but wanted to do them herself. I decided it wasn't something I wanted to battle...why not let her do her own hair every now and then?!?
Isn't it adorable?!? By the way...in the van, while she was working on this masterpiece she asked me to look...so I did and kind of started to laugh...she quickly informed me that it wasn't silly it was beautiful!! I'm terribly sorry, you're so very right! You should have seen some of the looks we were getting...but I could have cared less. She was happy so I was thrilled!We saw Bubba in the 'waiting' area when we walked in...

So then the fun began....we got to wait, and wait, and wait...so we decided to have a little fun with the camera!

This is Hailey's : Scary....Sad....Happy....

And here is Jack's : Scary...Sad...Happy...

So much fun!

Goofy Jack and Daddy!

Goofy Mommy and Hailey!

FINALLY!!! The graduates started to come into the arena! Yea!! There's Tyler!!

More boring stuff....So we did stickers! Now it's Uncle Bubba's turn! We jumped, we shouted, and Adam blew the air horn!! It was great!

Here's the crowd that came to cheer him on!!

Now the 'formal' pic's

Dad, Tyler, and MomGrandaddy, Tyler, and Grandma

Me, Tyler, Jack, Hailey, and Darren (since when did Tyler get so much taller than me...I think I was trying to stand on my tippy-toes in this one)

Jack, Adam, and Tyler....(Jack was being a crazy man!! He was so happy to be out of that auditorium!)
Everybody came back to my mom's for cake and icecream to celebrate! I'm so proud of you Tyler, we all knew you could do it!! I know you'll do great in whatever you decide to do in your future!