Flowers for Mommy

OK, you can all tease me later about posting three times in a day! I haven't been able to get on the internet for several days and it was driving me nuts! There was a lot going on so I have to fill you all in! :) I had a very nice Mother's Day. My gift came on Saturday when Scott and the boys made this flower bed for me around the tree in the front yard. I have wanted to do it for the last couple summers and we finally got to do it! Everyone helped as you can see! It looks really nice...hopefully my flowers survive ME. I am horrible with plants and flowers. We shall see!

Andrew's Pain in the Neck

Andrew woke up last Thursday with a sore neck. He went to school and we thought the kink would work itself out. Well...I got a call at the fire station that he wanted to come home at lunch time. His teacher said he was miserable. So we came home and put heat on it and rubbed it and took some Tylenol. As the day went on it wasn't getting any better. Our neighbor suggested taking him to the doctor for a muscle relaxer. So we took him in that evening and he came home with a collar and Tylenol with codeine!!!! The doctor said the muscles in his upper spine were in a spasm and that he needed to keep the collar on until Monday. It got better each day. The weird thing was that he had gone to bed feeling fine and woke up in such bad shape!!! Poor thing...I kept saying "quit favoring it-it will hurt worse.....keep your shoulders level...blah...blah...blah! I'm very glad we took him in!!! He got lots of attention and "oh! what happened????" He loved it! He only got worried when papa asked if it would affect his golf game! Andrew was afraid they were coming in the next few days and he wouldn't get to play. I think he is recovered and ready, papa!

Firefighter Luke!

Last Thursday our playgroup went to the fire station downtown for a short tour. I really planned this especially for Luke because he is so into fire trucks and firefighters right now. As expected he was in complete awe!! They did a really nice job with the kids. They got to get inside the truck and hear the tone that goes off when a call comes into the station. They got to see the guys slide down the pole. They even took us upstairs to see where they sleep and eat and play!!! The biggest thing Luke took away from the things that were said...."Don't hide in closets and don't hide under your bed!" He imitated the guy all day long!!!! The fireman had said that because when kids get afraid in a fire they hide and then it is difficult to find them with all the smoke-so don't hide!!!!

Matthew is Seven!!!!

I remember May 6, 2000 like it was just yesterday. It was a very warm Saturday in Kansas City. We were out shopping at Kohl's and doing some other errands when I started feeling kinda weird. As time went on I knew I was feeling worse and wanted to head home. When we got home we started timing what I thought were contractions. They were about 5 minutes apart. I called Danielle and she came and stayed with Andrew until the babysitter could get there. Then her and Mike came up to the hospital to keep us company. The guys watched the NBA playoffs on TV. I had a nurse who had previously been an army nurse. She was quite large and very rough!!! Enough said....every time she came in to check on me Mike and Scott were making faces behind her. It really was quite funny. Once they broke my water things moved very quickly!! Danielle said she remembers my doctor running down the hall getting his gloves on. Nobody expected things to move as quickly as they did! I think I was admitted around three and delivered him around seven. Mom and dad arrived the next day and Gramma and Papa Ice came to see Matthew for the first time over Memorial weekend. Can't believe that was seven years ago!!

Matthew's birthday party

Last night was Matthew's birthday party. He had four friends over and after pizza they went bowling. What a sweet little group of kids. They had a lot of fun together. When they got back Matthew opened his gifts and then it was pinata time!! I think that was the highlight of the night! Scott was the one to finally bust it open. The kids did a quick scramble to get as much candy as they could. Emilee even joined in! Can't believe he is seven!!! Happy birthday, buddy! We love you!

New Shoes

What is it about girls and shoes? After all these boys I have to say I am LOVING the girly stuff!!! When I saw these shoes I had to get them! As soon as I tried them on her feet she smiled and kept looking at them! Just wish they had some in my size!

The Boy, The Job, The Reward!

We are finally on the road to potty training with Luke!!! We started working on it on Thursday and all day Friday (Saturday and Sunday were a little harder.) He was cooperative and excited which was HUGE! I had grown weary in the battle, I must admit. His goal was to get his new Diego trike that had been sitting in a box on daddy's workbench for about two months!! As you can see from the pictures he was very pleased!!! He has only pooped on the potty once....sooo....if he doesn't keep up his end of the deal the trike goes back on the workbench!!! We shall see what today brings???!!!!!!

Benjamin Franklin Speaks

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos

As promised earlier this week, here is Andrew's speech as Ben Franklin. We had to return the costume so he doesn't look quite the same but that doesn't matter. He had actually already gone to bed last night when I remembered we hadn't videoed him yet. So he came back out and said it, but obviously wasn't as fresh as the day he had said it 30-40 times already!!! Once again, I had trouble with the download so the words don't match his lips!! Enjoy!

Happy Birthday, Scott!

Happy birthday to the best daddy and husband in the world! Our family is truly blessed by you!!! We love you!!!!!!!

He is getting OLD! He is now on the other half of the 30's-I have to rub it in since I have a few months left to be on the younger side of the 30's!!! No big plans today since it is a school day. I am going to surprise him and take him out for dinner just the two of us and then do cake and ice cream with the kiddos after that!

Wax Museum

For the past two months or so Andrew's class has been working on their famous American projects. They had to come up with an outline, write a 2-3 page report, write a 1-2 minute speech and then dress as the character and give that speech. Well, today was the big day. It was so much fun! The kids looked absolutely adorable. As you can see from the pictures they had really great costumes with a wide range of people chosen-sport figures, presidents, evangelists, etc. They stood in a pose and then we pretended to "press a button" and the character came to life. Andrew did a really nice job! I think he had a lot of fun doing it too. He was very tired of saying his speech when it was done. He had to have said it at least 30 times or more! We videoed it, but the volume was really bad. We plan to have him redo it tomorrow and I will post it then so that you can hear it. What a great way to make learning fun. It was a lot of hard work, but I think very well worth it. He learned a lot about Benjamin Franklin.

Mom and Muffin Day

Today was Mom and Muffin Day for kindergarten. Matthew and I had so much fun! I got to spend the entire morning with him. We of course had a muffin together, but we got to do lots of different activities. I also got to be a part of his music and spanish classes. He made two special treats. One was a snowman that he made in art class and then the other was one of his old shoes that they painted and used as a flower pot! Very cute! It was a fun day for just the two of us!

Surprise, Mom!

Mom turns 60 the end of this month and so my sister and I decided to surprise her differently than we did for dad. My folks were already planning a trip to KC for grandparent's day this past weekend. What mom didn't know was that I was flying in for a girls only weekend. A big thank you to my dear husband who kept all four kids all weekend! Danielle picked me up at the airport Friday morning at 7:45. We got back to the house before mom and dad returned from the activities up at school. I hid in the kitchen and Mackenzie greeted Nana at the door and said she had a surprise upstairs in the kitchen (that was me!) Needless to say it was a big surprise! At naptime, the three of us girls left for the hotel. We checked in and went for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory-yum!!! Danielle tried to run mom and me over with the Explorer when she picked us up at the door! Not really, but that is a funny story. We spent the days talking and shopping and getting a pedicure and stamping cards and laughing and having a wonderful time together. It is a time we will treasure forever! We love you, mom! Happy Birthday!!

P.S. Check out the video on my sister's blog!

"I Can Do It Myself!"

Why is it so much better to feed yourself??? I took these pictures this morning at breakfast. Emilee used to LOVE yogurt. Then one day she started to turn her head away as soon as I took it out of the fridge. It has been a while since I have offered it to her. I put it on the tray today with a spoon and she ate almost the entire thing. Well...as you can obviously see about half of it ended up places other than in her mouth!!! She abandoned the spoon toward the end and just started digging in with her hand. She had a great time and then went right to the tub!!!

Easter Weekend

The weekend was so cold that it sure didn't feel like Easter, but it was very nice despite the weather. Fortunately, we had done an egg hunt when my sister was here so we skipped that. Saturday we dyed eggs during nap time. My sister is teasing me for leaving Luke out!! He woke up just in time to stick the sticker faces on!! The boys played "ding dong ditch" with the neighbors and left some eggs at their doorstep, then came home and ate most of the ones we had left!! Saturday night for devotions we used our resurrection eggs and read the coordinating book "Benjamin's Box." The boys always love doing that each year. Sunday morning we got all spruced up in our new duds from Nana and Papa. The kids looked so cute...I must say! I know my days are numbered that they all want to match. Yesterday's services were wonderful. The choir did several numbers in the morning and then we had the handbell choir from BJ in the service last night. The music was truly a blessing. Hope you all had a blessed Resurrection Sunday!

The Sturgills' Visit

Danielle and Mike and the kids arrived LATE Wednesday night (actually Thursday morning!) About 2:30 am!! Their kids all woke up and got a second wind so we talked and played for about 45 minutes. Thursday began quite normally and as the day progressed the craziness began and didn't end until they headed back home. We had a wonderful time and have lots of funny stories to tell....Around lunch time Danielle came to me and told me in a panic that Mackenzie had a tick in her hair. She was calm in front of Kenz but not calm with me. We called my pediatrician and when we described things to the nurse they really wanted to see her. Long story short, they removed it and gave it to Mackenzie in a jar to bring home!! That same afternoon Scott and Mike were in Indy doing some work and our Blazer died on the highway. It had to be towed and Scott's dad came to the rescue and brought them back home. Damage:fuel pump $1,300!!! Thursday night Scott and Mike played basketball up in the gym with some guys from church, Scott rolled his ankle again-this time even worse. So he comes hobbling into the house on crutches and in major pain and sick to his stomach from the pain. THAT WAS ALL THURSDAY!!!! Friday was pretty uneventful. We played most of the day and had the egg hunt and that evening the four of us went out for dinner. It was wonderful. When we got back and got the kids to bed I was doing the dishes and set the dishwasher. I walked out of the room and back in and heard water trickling. I at first thought I'd left the faucet running, but nnoooooooooooooo!! There was water gushing out from underneath the dishwasher. I hollered and Mike came running and Scott was hopping close behind. We were filling bowls and cups and towels as quickly as we could....it wouldn't stop! Scott turned the water off and it stopped immediately. We thought it was draining out but the hose had loosed itself from the fitting and the water wasn't even making it into the dishwasher!!! Yikes!! I was most worried about my laminate flooring buckling, but it is fine. I am so glad we were home or else we would have had quite a mess! All of that said, we had a wonderful time together! The kids got along great!! You would never have known there were 12 people in my house and 8 of them children!!! Love you, Danielle and Mike and gang. Come see us again soon! Hopefully not as full of crazy events! Ha!Ha!

Week full of Fun

This past week was a crazy one in our home!! Besides the fact that it was full of nine week exams for Andrew and Scott we had other activities as well. Andrew got to participate in the intramural basketball for 3-6th graders for the past two weeks. This week was the tournament Tues. and Thursday after school. He really enjoyed that. Being a 3rd grader he didn't get as much playing time as he would have liked, but that is part of being the youngest one!! Also, Wednesday night was the Grand Prix at church. Back when we did AWANA there was a grand prix and everyone loved it so they continue the tradition even though we now do Truth Trackers on Wednesday nights. The kids get chunks of pine and some wheels and then they (and their dads) sand it, paint it, put wheels on it, weight it, etc. I say dads because in many cases it becomes more about the dads than the child!! Not here, of course! :) They race four cars at a time and the first and second cars down win the heat. After losing two heats you are eliminated. Andrew ended up 3rd place for 1-3rd graders. He was very excited. He got a trophy as you can see from the pictures. He painted his car silver and put football stickers on it. It looked pretty cool. Other kids shaped theirs to be a shark, a tank, etc. Next year we will get more creative!!! Boy Scouts do this as well and have ideas on the internet of what you can create. Seems just yesterday we weren't even to the school mode yet and now we are in full swing knowing it only gets busier!!

Name That Tune!

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos

Luke is the household singer and this was my serenade the other morning at breakfast. Can you recognize the tune? Here is a clue...it is NOT a church song!:) Second clue...the two words in the title rhyme. Third clue...surely you have figured it out by now...if not...it names parts of the body?????

P.S. For some reason the sound is delayed a bit! His lips don't match the words. Notice the sneeze-it's quite delayed! Ha!Ha!