"I Love Her"

Don't have a whole lot to report on.  Things seems to be sailing a long fairly smoothly.  Andy has taken on a whole new schedule at work to be able to work with Audrie and that has taken a GINORMOUS load off my back.  He works with her every night and it's change my anxiety level dramatically...I'm not sure he will ever realize how much that means to me.

Tyler seems to be doing better too.  His ipod hasn't been a distraction, as it doesn't have any games on it (to his ultimate dismay).  He still thinks he can remember everything he needs to, which has been proven wrong time and time again, but yet he has himself convinced he doesn't need to write anything down; although he HAS been doing it.  I've told him he has to keep it up for 30 days and I may consider putting ONE game back on his ipod....but really I haven't decided exactly what to do.

Kaylee seems to be doing well, but having a few issues socially with one little girl that lives on our street.  A drama mama that happens to be in Kaylee's class as well and shereally hurts Kaylee's feelings...quite frequently.  I'm wondering if I should talk to the mother.  She's a single child and extremely spoiled, "bratty" would be an appropriate word (and I usually give kids the benefit of the doubt!). 

Sam is thriving in preschool, just loves it.  She still has a hard time waking up in the mornings; I really have to work to get her up.  She could sleep in until 9am or later if I let her (and I have).  Then after preschool she just waits for her sisters to come home.  She loves them...in fact I've had several teary moments with how cute the girls are together.  On two different occasions in the past week this exact situation has happened:  A friend calls, or a mother texts me, and asks if one of the girls wants to play.  In Sam's particular situation sam responded, "Mom, I'm going to have think about it for a minute."  Then a few minutes later after a sigh, "Mom, I just want to play with my sisters."  Then I tear.   I mean how sweet is that!  Audrie did the SAME thing with her friends as well, responding with "Mom- I just would rather play with Kaylee and Sam."  TENDER.  Tender.

I'm doing well, just tired these days.  Still getting things done and taking on WAY to many projects,  but that's just in my nature.  I don't like sitting around, I like DOING things (thank you very much Stone's side).  Today's to do's involve binding a baby quilt, cutting out some material for the cradle sheets, prepping for YW's tonight, and of course the usual loads of laundry.  I'd like to work on the baby's room a little more, but Andy just called and said he is going to take off Friday to get that done, YAY!  It should turn out really great.

I included a picture of Sam loving on my belly.  She said, "Mom, I lover her."  Such a cutie! (Disclaimer- we all interchange pronouns when we talk about the baby, so don't think we know, it just happened to be a 'She' that day!)

Birthday's, Baptism, Fam Reunion and the Disney Cruise

We hit the ground running since summer vacation ended and I haven't quite had the chance to sit down and write an email about all of our fun!

First off Kaylee's birthday party was great fun :0)  She had lots of her friends and of course enjoyed every second she had with them and with the pool.  She is one tan fish!!  Love that fish.

She also was able to be baptized August 8th, 2015.  She is such a gem, with such a mature, wise spirit.  Just yesterday she woke up and began telling me about a dream she had.  I still am not quite sure what it means, but it was so interesting to hear what she could remember!

"There was a guy from the scriptures that came to our house but he had to leave bc he had to go to teach people

You were there and had to find people to believe and you took me to this house to help people believe.  You left me at that house to be with those people, but I didn't want to stay.  But I had to go back but I ran to another place and "he" was there, the guy from the scriptures. I just don't know his name...but he had brown hair, I feel like it was John.

You know that picture with Jesus knocking on the door- I felt like I was in there."

Second, the family reunion was a great success!  We had a blast while everyone was here.  Between fixing food, crafting, devotionals and watermelon football I think we would say it was one of our best ones yet!  Loved having everyone around, and miss that we can't all be closer.  Good times had by all!

(Random, but we had a microwave malfunction that required a replacement.  Andy spent hours and hours trying to fix it and later that evening Shane was able to help as well!  The new one was finally installed after lots of trial and error.  Thanks babe!)

Everyone loved snuggles with that HollyMae.  She is one fun little bundle.

Watermelon football was a highlight.  Everyone had a blast learning how to pass a watermelon underwater!  Great fun.

Lots of pool time.  Lots of fun.

Cruise was a blast.  We drove all day Thursday (over 15 hours!) and made it to Orlando with plenty of time to relax and eat dinner.  Sam started a fever that evening...of course.  You have to fill out a form when you go on a cruise asking if anyone in your party has been sick with various symptoms within the last 72 hours.  So I lied.  We just kept her up on Tylenol and Ibuprofen the entire time.

When we go to the terminal we parked, they took our bags and headed up to the main area where we checked in.  There were A TON of people.  Very crowded.  But we didn't have to wait long before we were able to board.  My research suggested we should bring our own carry on type backpacks in order to have our swimwear and other needed items as we got on the boat, so each kid had their backpack with swim suits, sunscreen, etc.  It worked out great because you can't go to your rooms until later that afternoon in addition to your luggage being delivered even later.  So we went strait to the pool and slide deck :)  We all were able to go down the Aqua Duck several times before the crowds got bad, (many people didn't do their research and were just standing around because they didn't have their luggage nor were able to go to their rooms)!  It was great.  We later checked out our rooms, enjoyed the many buffets and started our journey to the Bahamas.  The ocean was gorgeous and our first stop was Nassau.  We decided not to get off at that port due to my pregnant belly and 4 kids to tote as (per my research) there are a lot of aggressive sales people and crime there....I just didn't want to deal with it.  If it was just Andy and I maybe we would have risked it, but we didn't.  We simply played on the boat, including a spy game that took you around the entire ship (we raced the kids to see who could solve it first!), going to one of their movie theaters, met many Disney princesses and got their autographs, among other things.

The rooms were pretty cool, but small, although having adjoining rooms really made a difference.  We didn't feel cramped at all.  Plus each of our rooms had this awesome port window you could sit in and watch the ocean go by.  The girls particularly love that part.  The service was great too.  They even left stuffed animals on the kids pillows one night.  They would change the sheets into fun Disney themed sheets as well.  Chocolates were left on beds, and fun characters would be found made out of towels throughout each of our cabins.

The second day was at the port Castaway Cay.  It is a Disney owned island.  We rented snorkels and floats, bought a few sand buckets and shovels and played in the gorgeous waters for a while.  I found a live star fish, which was a highlight for me and when I swam back into the beach to tell everyone a storm began brewing.  Soon an extremely loud (and close) clap of thunder echoed and the entire body of people fled for their lives.  It's was actually kind of funny because as soon as I saw the storm I made the kids get out, and when that thunder struck we had the perfect view of the fleeing people. (Why do I get evil pleasure out of that??)

We tried to find shelter after they closed the beaches, but there were so many people CRAMMED under pavilions we simply walked around getting completely drenched for a good hour.  Finally we decided to eat the buffet lunch they provided and squeezed ourselves into one of the pavilions.  The little's were pretty miserable.  Everyone at the point seemed to be going back to the boat thinking the storm wasn't going to let up.  We held out because Andy and the kids had booked a sting ray excursion that was supposed to take place that afternoon.  Fortunately it all worked out and they were able to swim with 60 sting rays, feed them, etc.  They had a blast!!!  Sam and I had the ENTIRE beach to ourselves because they opened it up after everyone left.  It was great!

That evening Andy and I had a reservation at one of the "fine" restaurants on board and checked the kids into their various activities so we could go on our own.  It was DELISH!  We had a great time together and it was a welcomed break from all the kiddos (love them!). 

Each evening of the cruise they put on a show.  We would go to dinner as a family at our assigned restaurant which rotated each evening, although our server would stay with us.  Each dining room had a theme, one being "The Enchanted Garden," another the "Animation Studio" and the other was more formal, and I can't remember the name right now.  Anyway they were VERY cool.  The animation one was the most entertaining due to the live animation that took place on the screens throughout the dining room.  It was based on 'Finding Nemo' and the sea turtle would go from screen to screen on the walls actually interacting with tables nearest to him, LIVE.  It was cool.  Then we would go to our assigned show.  The shows were absolutely the BEST part of the cruise in my opinion.  They were fun, family appropriate and were all MUSICALS!  They were top notch, Broadway worthy. 

After the cruise we headed to Grandma and Grandpa Hart's home.  We weren't able to stay very long due to vital back to school functions that the older kids needed to attend, but it was really great to see all of them (including G'ma Shockey!).  We also did a pretty lame job of celebrating Andy's birthday (the day we disembarked and arrived at the Hart's home), but we did celebrate!  Sorry hon!

Currently I am feeling very large, and am dealing with a cold.  I am stuffed up beyond belief and was coughing all night.  Hopefully it will pass soon and no one else will get it.  And just for kicks and giggles here is a picture taken by Sam from last week.  Currently 27 weeks.

The End.  Whoa.  That was long.

A day in the Life: Dyslexia

The school year began with giggles and smiles and words like "freedom," "fun," and "amazing."  There was laughter, hope and a brightness about her when she returned from her day.   But today, day three of school, dyslexia reared it's ugly face in the form of a math worksheet with words like "integer," "generate," and "represent".  They all might as well be Chinese characters.  She simply could not read them.  Like trudging through thick mud we worked word by word as I interpreted.  The mud got thicker, her mind got darker and dyslexia won.  Hope checked out as she slumped into the couch and tried to hold back the tears.

It's time like these I wonder how in the world is she going to make it?  How on earth can she do this at school? 

Then my husband walked in, took the reigns and began his own journey through the treacherous mud.  It didn't take long to hear laughter and feel the happiness as she says, "oh. Yeah. I get it."  Hope flickered again.  For 3.5 hours it flickered on and off as they trudged through the sludge. 

He assured me this will be the year.  That this will be it, "she is going to kill it this year."  But my hope is still dim, if even lit at all.  I've had hope before, and I've lost it many times.  Year after year I have hope; since she was seven I've had hope.  They say if you "catch" it early you will have the best success.  They post story after story of "successes" and "clicking" and "light bulbs turning on".  Well dangit we caught it early, we've tested, we've remediated, heck we spend $20k on a private school and $400+ every month in "therapy". 

Immense sadness takes over me.  How can one be successful in any aspect of life without the gift of reading?  Third, MAYBE fourth grade reading level going into SIXTH.  And that's probably on a good day.  It seems like an unfair battle; one that she is going to have to fight uphill for the rest of her life. 

I think of her future and imagine a life such as mine and wonder.  How will she meet a worthy companion?  Will she surround herself with good, successful people if she can't get into a church college?  How?

Then as my son slammed the door front door he loudly proclaimed "I'm home! I ran around the lake twice and once around the block.  I didn't think I could do that!  I really surprised myself!"  I try to hid the tears streaming down my face and find myself choking on the words coming out of my mouth:  "I knew you could do it.  It's amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it...isn't it?!"  

The light of hope flickers again as I eat my words.  Maybe this isn't a hopeless battle.  Maybe there is a grander plan.  Maybe just maybe this isn't just about her.  Maybe I need to learn about a concept called faith; something divine, beyond my comprehension.  Then a scripture flashes in my head:

"Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation."

"After much tribulation come the blessings.  Wherefore the day come the that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is no yet, but is nigh at hand."

The dark clouds begin to dissipate.  And as I take a deep breath I think to myself, "I can do this."  I will keep "doing this" until that hope is rekindled and shines as bright as the sun.  "I hope can do this..."

I can do this.

Strange Things are Happening here...

I am sitting in a Kroger parking lot so I can write this...we had some "fun" yesterday a few hours after Cami and her kids arrived.  The house began getting very warm, fast, and immediately I knew something was up with our AC.  We had just fixed it in March so I was cringing inside knowing we were probably going to have the shell out some $$$.
Long story short we apparently had several brown outs in our area, and it actually ruined our entire outside AC unit :(. It wouldn't even run.  We had to shell out a few thousand dollars for that fix...but are still waiting on our internet to start working again (they can't come until tomorrow evening)!  We have no internet, therefore no home phone due to the new digital land lines.  Also my cell service is basically useless in and around our house without our booster working (which works through our router).

My point is we have very limited communication until we get all this fixed :)  I am thinking about writing some sort of thriller after hearing about the NYSE and United "glitches" today amidst all our electrical issues....definitely strange that all of these things happened within 24 hours of each other.

I feel bad all of that went down as soon as Cami got to our house.  It was a great distraction for all of us, so thanks Cam!  HollieMae is just a doll!!!  So fun and interactive!  Definitely stepping into that chubby, oozing with personality phase.  Makes me excited for our little one to arrive :)




We are missing Audrie already after sending her off to Utah early this morning!  Her and Cousins are going to have a fun adventure that's for certain!!

K- I better go.  I've been idling in my car for at least 30 minutes now :)

Audrie's Birthday Fun!

We celebrated Audrie's birthday by starting with a luxurious pedicure.  It was then followed by bowling and dinner.  Tyler was at scout camp all week long, and we missed him terribly, but had some fun without him.  It just so happened Tropical Storm Bill hit on her birthday so we had to reschedule her friend birthday festivities another week. Here are a few pics from her fun day!