Haylee's Birthday Present

Haylee is turning 4 on June 23rd!

And now that she is a little lady she wanted to get her

ears pierced! The fact that two of her friends have pierced ears probably

contributed too! We got it done at Fort Wayne Peds, and Carla (cortney's mom)

was the one that helped do it.

Haylee was very excited to get it done!

Ms Carla cleaning her ear

Carla used to help Cortney watch the girls when the girls

were little, so Haylee has known her for a while.

She did AMAZING! No cry, no whimper, not even an ouch.

Her eyes watered but that was it.

I gave her a hug and Carla gave her stickers, stamps, and

a sucker!

All the ladies in the office were very impressed with Haylee's bravery.

Ryan of course took the credit saying that Haylee took after him!

Getting to pick out stickers and stamps

She started telling anyone that would listen about her earrings!

She is very proud!

She wanted me to stop taking pictures! LOL

Mama's 29

I am celebrating the last year of my 20's. It's hard to believe that I'm almost 30.

When taking an assessment of the last 29 years I have discovered that I have arrived at a place of contentment and peace. I think that I searched for a long time to find who I am.

I made poor choices at points to provide comfort and security. Some of these choices-both positive & negative, will be with me forever. But they are apart of my identity now and shape me. The wisdom I have gained, hopefully I will successfully pass down to my children. Here are a few of my nuggets of truth that I hope to instill to my children:

• Celebrate differences that you have physically, emotionally, and spiritually
• Allow grace for your mistakes, and don't assume that it means you are weak or bad
• Regardless of your choices and behavior you are loved and remain secure
• Learn the spectrum of emotions. Be able to identify the primary and secondary emotion, and learn to self soothe
• Don't allow your emotions to control you- like shame, anger and jealousy
• Don't EVER settle
• Discover a personal relationship with Christ: His love, His grace, His guidance, and His justice
• Question everything, even Spirituality. It makes it your own, and you will be wiser for it
• Don't allow circumstances to hold you back. Find a way to do what you want. (i.e. traveling when there are lack of funds)
• Find your passion
• Don't let others tell you who you are-Discover it yourself and don't allow it to falter
• Believe that your Word is all that you have, and give it out thoughtfully
• Don't "throw your pearls to swine"
• Be compassionate and nonjudgmental

I'm sure there are others things, but those are the most important to me to pass down.

I am truely blessed with my family, my career, and my friends.

I hope to continue to celebrate another 30 years and more, but if Jesus takes me "home" I know that I lived a great life thus far and I am at peace. Thanks to everyone who have contributed to making these 29 years pretty great!

2010

2006

Little Man's Smiles

Micah has the cutest smile!

Mobile Uploads

GG & Micah

Ryan riped out the hedge in the front. It looks amazing now, with lights lining the walkway.
Sophie wanted to help too!

Marybeth, Tegan & Haylee

The tree amigos

Books for the Summer

When I was in third grade I was assessed and told I have a learning disability.

I couldn't read or spell (which I still have a problem with ;) ) and the teachers told my parents that I would have a difficult time graduating high school and have little chance of getting into college let alone succeeding in it. I learned to compensate for my disability, and achieved academic honors in high school and maintained a B average in college. During my studies in undergrad I took a course in world literature, and fell in love with the stories. Well of course that passion would dissipate when I was forced to read something, but then regain strength when I was free to read what I wanted. So I started reading the classics, some of which are my favorites today, most notably Jane Austen.

In grad school I found that I was very interested in researching mental health issues but found I had little time to read for pleasure. When I graduated I started reading the stories that I wanted to. From mysteries/thrillers, Historical Fiction to Nonfiction cultural biographies. For Christmas my mom got me a Sony EReader- one of the BEST presents I have ever gotten. Since then I have read over 11 books just on the Reader. This is a testament that shows when someone has a passion for something, no matter the disability they can overcome it with determination and support from others.

This year for my birthday I asked my mom to purchase me some books to read over the summer. It was cheaper to get them used than to purchase them for my EReader. Some of them I am reading for a book club that I have joined on the website Goodreads.com. I have found that a few of the books I have read via the club I wouldn't have picked up on my own, but ended up liking them. So here's my summer list:

Pleasure Reading

Educational Reading

Books I just read:
"The Birth of Venus" Sarah Dunant
"Pandora's Daughter" Iris Johansen
"The Poisonwood Bible" Barbara Kingsolver
"The Red Tent" Anita Diamant
(Those being for the Book Club)

"The Twilight Series" Stephenie Meyer
"The Host" Stephenie Meyer
"A Long Way Gone" Ishmael Beah
"The Lost Symbol" Dan Brown
"Shutter Island" Dennis Lehane

I have a lot of reading to do this summer, but it's all on my time table which oddly enough makes me read them faster! I'm always open to more book ideas, so please leave comments about recent books you have read that you have enjoyed!

First days of the Lake

It's our first time up to the Lake this year. And it's off to a good start!

Sophie sporting her new sunglasses and her new mosquito bites

Can never be too safe!

I'm a bit of a worrier when it comes to kids and water!

Bella, the new pillow

Bella is such a good dog. She even endures being drooled on!

3 months

Little Man is 3 months &

13 pounds

He is sleeping through the night and taking 6-8 oz of formula every 3-4 hours.

He smiles at mommy often and I have even gotten him to give me a chuckle when I tickle his chin. His sisters are little mama's and try to feed him and hold him.

They even try to comfort him when he is crying.

I love kissing his cheeks and he loves to be held!

I think he might turn into a mama's boy, I just love loving on him so much!

The Sharpie & the Wall

It is true what they say, that if a child is quiet in the other room that most likely they are up to no good. And so is the case of the mysterious "Sharpie and the Wall."

Since both of my daughters are angels I thought that someone HAD to have broken into my home while my husband and I were finishing dinner in the other room and wrote with a permanent marker on our walls. But as I looked closer at my angelic daughters...

I saw the tell-tale signs that one of them had done it!

And, that she was proud of it!!

"Ta-dah!"

And this is exactly why I call my youngest daughter "my little monster."

Oh she IS super cute, but watch out because she is notorious for getting into trouble!

Sleepy Sophie

I guess she was a little tired

Summer Dreams & T-Ball

Ryan bought the girls an official T-Ball set since Haylee may join a team soon. He wanted to work with her to improve her "skills." I tired to remind him that it is more about team building and improving coordination, but he really didn't seem to hear me. Oh well, I just hope the kids have fun and don't beat their daddy with the bat if he pressures them too much! ;)

Sophie thought she would try it out too

Out of nowhere Haylee started to ride her bike with ease. She can even keep pace with the older kids. It's amazing how fast she is growing up!

Summer Dreams 2

Sophie rolling down the slope in our yard

Micah enjoying the sun

And that's prune juice on his shirt. Poor kid in more than one way!

MB just got back from cheerleading practice-so I told her to show me a cheer!

Marybeth is surly going to be athletic.

She's swinging a baseball bat while in a cheerleading outfit!

Tegan who is 3 just moved in with his grandparents who live on our block.

He had visited many times before with his brother Alex who is 6.

He calls Haylee and Sophie his "gurls." His mom says that anytime he sees us

outside he says, "mom, my gurls are outside. I need to go play with them!"

He is super cute

He's a pro

Daddy Moments

Spending some QT with daddy

Do you see the similarities in appearance?

Everyone calls Micah "ryan" or "lil' ryan"

He definitely is cute!