Our Chocolate Valentine

As you can see Caleb loved his chocolate that we gave him for Valentine's Day! Crazy thing is -- it was only a small choloclate heart!

7 Months & So Much Fun!

Emily turned 7 months this week and she is all over the place. She has a pretty good army crawl and is very close to crawling on all fours. She loves to "talk" and when she is not napping she is babbling -- da da da la la la . . . She is very close to pulling herself to a stand and trying to walk around things. She is eating baby food and very interested in playing with whatever Caleb, Brandon or Taylor has. Brandon still loves her to death, Caleb like to make her laugh and Taylor is still mommie big helper.

Keepin Life Interesting

Caleb has learned to open all the doors in the house now, so things have gotten a little more interesting around here lately. While Charlie and I were busy getting Brandon and Taylor ready for school, Caleb decided our house needed a little decorating and pulled the toilet paper from our master bath down the hall through the kitchen and into the living room.

A half of roll later and the toilet paper was still attached to the roll in the bathroom!

Cheerleader in Training

Anyone who knows me well knows I am not really a girly girl. I love sports, I am low maintenance and only wear dresses on special occasions. So as you can imagine my beautiful daughter Taylor who is very girly has stretched me and challenged me to tap into my more feminine side. I am learning to braid hair, make jewelry and have fun playing Barbie’s. She doesn’t like soccer and would rather play the role of “encourager” than actually playing the game. One day she once asked me if her Aunt Bonnie could teach her how to be a cheerleader because she knows I did not know how. Though we are different, I love watching her grow into an amazing beautiful young lady. One of the things I loved most about my mom was the way she allowed me to be who God created me to be. I am sure she worried about me just like I worry about Taylor from time to time, but I know that God has special plans for her and I am trying to let Him be the captain of that ship. So with that said, it was a special weekend for Taylor as she got to cheer at the halftime of the girls and boys high school basketball game. After a mere 3 lessons she took the floor (along with about 40 other girls) and cheered like a superstar.

Remembering My Mom

Today would have been my Moms 67th Birthday. I am not sure a day goes by that I don't think about her and wish she was still here. Whether it is dropping my kids off at school and I see a grandma walking with her grandkids into the building or it is getting dressed and I put on a shirt that use to be hers. My heart still hurts as I long to know what life would be like if she was still here. I wish she could experience Taylor, Brandon, Caleb and now Emily grow into these amazing little people. I know she would be so proud of each one of our kids. Taylor for her sweet disposition and soft heart, Brandon for his outgoing fun-loving attitude, Caleb for his amazing heart and determination to overcome the many challenges he faces daily and for little Emily and her feisty disposition and determination to never be left out. I am grateful that both Taylor and Brandon still talk about her fondly and the special times they had together. Most of all I miss her spiritual influence in my life and the impact she would have had on my kids. My mom was such a strong Godly women who taught me so much about the person I want to be and how to trust & follow Christ even in the hard times. I have learned to cherish the memories and to be thankful the many years we had together. She may be gone, but she will always be in my heart and the lessons & legacy of faith & love will live forever as I pass those down to my kids.

To view the slide show below in full screen just click on the scrapblog star in the lower right corner and it should open a new window with a larger version.