High School

Yesterday Taylor picked her classes for her Freshman year of high school. I can't believe this time is here. It doesn't seem possible that she is going to be in high school. It is very overwhelming for this momma! Just looking at her schedule (honors English 1, honors geometry, ap human geography, biology, acting 1, german, wellness, health science and ROTC) gives me a mild panic attack! She on the other hand is totally calm. I couldn't help but think that some of these courses are things I took as a upper level high school student (a foreign language) or even once I got to college (speech).

Tonight we spent 3 hrs at the high school signing up for extra-circular activities and see where everything is. It is a huge school. It is a nice school. It is an overwhelming school. My girl doesn't seem intimidated by any of it (she very well may but she definitely isn't showing it).

ROTC is the thing she is most excited about. Lots of people support her on this and quite a few are very opposed to her doing this. Her heart is set though. She would like to participate in it all 4 years so she can get scholarships. This child has a very good head on her shoulders. I know when I was entering my freshman year I wasn't thinking about college at all! Her plans include some type of medical area so all of her electives are geared that way. It's so crazy to think about her thinking about college.

I know she is going to do great but this momma is stressing out just a little!

Hello Blog, Sorry I've neglected you :(

Life has been crazy! We are so busy! Matt is working in Memphis until at least April and possibly through November...thank you USAF! He has been there since the beginning of November. He is loving doing what the military trained him to do and for that I am grateful! The kids and I miss him terribly. Luckily he was home for a few days at Thanksgiving. He also came home for 2 weeks at Christmas/New Years....thank you military leave! It was heavenly. The kids stayed up way past their bedtime the entire 2 weeks...they watched way more tv than they are supposed to, they played more Wii than they are supposed to, they ate more junk/drank more coke than they are supposed to....and it was totally worth it! We will go down to Memphis in 2 weeks and see him. The plan is to alternate the traveling...he comes home one month and the next month we go down there. One weekend a month isn't really enough but will have to do for now.

16 years

Today Matt and I celebrated 16 yrs of marriage...in different states :( He celebrated by being on active duty and working on AF vehicles and I celebrated by shopping for school supplies, taking Taylor to the dr and then spending 4 hrs at the pool with the kids! Yep, it was a good anniversary.

Last year we were here.....

and we looked like this....

Tonight, I will dream of Roatan :)

Busy!

I think this has been the theme of my last few posts but I can't think of anything more appropriate to describe our lives at this time. Our summer has been so busy and flown by! The kids will be going back in school in just a few short weeks. We have enjoyed lots of traveling this summer....and Matt has been with us :)

Right after school we enjoyed a beautiful trip to Destin with my parents and my sister and her family. It was the 1st time we had all gone anywhere together. It was also the 1st time we had been to the Gulf as a family. My kids will never return to the East Coast after a week of white sand and clear, blue water! Luckily, we have access to a timeshare there so they will get to continue that luxury. It was also the 1st time that we had taken a friend of vacation. Taylor's best friend Noelle came with us. Taylor definitely enjoyed having a friend with her. The weather was perfect the week we were there. The water was calm the 1st couple of days but the last part of our week we had red flags and therefore a bit more waves which my kids weren't fans of. We were blessed to have our own pool at the house my parents rented so we just enjoyed that.

June was so busy with both girls going to Girl Scout Day Camp (Taylor as a counselor and Madison as a camper for the 1st time).

The kids also had 3 VBS's which kept them busy during the day and evening.

And then at the end of June we left for a Disney adventure with most of Matt's family(his sister and her family weren't able to be with us). In all there were 21 one of us with the 11 kids ranging from 16 months to 18 yrs! It was so much fun. Our kids had been to Disney before however it was a first for our nieces and nephews. We were there for 9 days and never slowed down. There was so much to do. We enjoyed going to the major parks...Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom (twice) as well as Blizzard Beach (twice) and Disney Quest. This is our 3rd trip and we still haven't gone to Epcot. Our kids have never been very interested in going there and we enjoy the other parks so much that we just normally repeat Magic Kingdom. Maybe next time! Again we couldn't have asked for better weather. It was a little rainy the 1st few days but we didn't plan to go to the parks until Monday so we just prayed the rain would move out. We got pretty wet on Monday while at Animal Kingdom but the rain moved out and the rest of the week we just experienced the typical Fl showers a couple of times. And the rain brought in cooler temps which was nice. And the most pleasant surprise was the fairly short lines. We expected it to be pretty bad since it was peak season but for the most part only waited about 30 mins for rides (and that was w/o a fast pass, on those rides we waited less than 10 mins). It was definitely a fun time and we look forward to doing it again (in a few years)! LOL

We are getting ready to enjoy our last vacation of the summer. And we saved the most glamorous for last....we are going to Mississippi and Memphis! LOL Matt is going to be down on base doing some active duty training (he normally has to do 2 weeks however was offered 40 days and we jumped on it)! We are going to go and enjoy visiting friends for a portion of that time and then the kids and I will come back home and Matt will stay for another week and half. The kids are looking forward to going to Corey's farm and shooting some guns and bows, going to Incredible Pizza and seeing their friends Kaitlyn and Kyle! I'm looking forward to shooting too and just visiting with some friends I grew up with.

Then we will come home and start trying to get into a routine of some sorts so the kids will be ready for school. The 2 little ones will be going to a new school...that is going to take some getting used too! Taylor will be in her last year of middle school and Caleb will be in his last year of elementary school. That just doesn't seem possible!

The end is in sight!

I have a love/hate relationship with this time of year. I love that school is almost over and I am no longer going to have to get up at 5 AM during the week. I love that the teachers tend to send home less homework. I love that the days are long and my kids can go outside and play for hours when they come home from school. I love the flowers blooming and birds singing! I love the warm temps! I love getting ready for a beach vacation that always comes right when school gets out. I love celebrating 2 of my babies birthdays as well as my mom's, my sister's and now Quinn's. However I hate TCAPS! I really, really hate them. My sweet boy went to bed crying last night :( He doesn't like tests. He gets super anxious. HE is terrified of failing. He puts some much pressure on himself. He is miserable the whole week. That is why I hate TCAPS! IT makes a normally sweet boy very grumpy and sad for a whole week. And to make it worse for him....his big sister isn't intimidated by TCAPS at all! She doesn't brag about that fact but he knows it and it just makes his anxiety worse b/s she isn't phased by these daunting tests! I will be so glad when this week is over and my sweet Caleb is back.

On a happy note....13 years ago today I was getting ready to be a mom for the 1st time! Matt and I probably felt the same way Caleb does right now :) Hard to believe I am about to have a teenager! Where does the time go?

Easter 2013

This is our 1st Easter together as a family since 2010. It was so nice to have Matt with us for a change. His parents even joined us for lunch :)

My family :)


The rest of my Easter pictures are on my iphone and I haven't figured out how to get them onto my blog.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!

What has been going on in our life!

Boy, life has been so busy lately and has thrown us some major curve balls lately. After many weeks of Matt having back/leg pain due to a bulging disc and doing physical therapy to try and get relief he ended up needing emergency surgery when the disc ruptured. I am very thankful that God was watching over Matt...the surgeon said had the rupture been a few discs higher that the rupture would have severed his spinal cord and he would have been paralyzed for life. He did have quite a bit of nerve damage that is causing some lingering effects (no feeling in his left leg) but we are hoping those nerves will grow back over time and that these side effects aren't permanent. In the meantime he is sitting at home for the next 6 weeks on limited activity! During Matt's ordeal Caleb had been coughing and had a low grade fever. I was finally able to get him to the dr on Monday and he had pneumonia. He is responding well to antibotics though thank goodness. And if all that wasn't enough I was supposed to have a small procedure Nov. 2 to remove a couple of spots that had been found on a mammogram a few weeks ago. After numerous unsuccessful attempts to remove them my dr decided I had been through enough and they would just leave them and do another mammogram in 3 months. If there is growth at that point we will attempt a different procedure to remove them. Needless to say we have had a interesting few weeks and I am looking forward to things being relatively calm around here.

Safety City

Madison's Girl Scout had the opportunity to attend a safety day at Safety City. She was so excited. Not all of the girls from her troop came but quite a few did. Madison had a blast showing off her ability to ride a bike without training wheels! She was the only girl from her troop that could ride without training wheels. The girls had a great time taking a safety course, getting their "license" made and having their helmets fitted. A few girls, including Madison, didn't have properly fitting helmets so they were given new helmets. They were really nice helmets too! Listening in the safety class

Helmet fitting...they couldn't get this one to fit right so she got a new one!

The girls riding through the obstacle course!

Sweet girls at the end of the outing!

My Little Archer!

A couple of weekends ago Taylor's Girl Scout troop went to our local Archery Club and from the first arrow Taylor shot she was hooked! And to top it off she was really good. She was able to practice with both a longbow and a compound. She preferred the longbow. In fact she asked for one for Christmas :) My dad used to compete in Archery Competitions and still has his longbows...we are going to see if they are still in good condition and if so just restring them. Taylor also wants to join the Archery Club and shoot weekly so she can get better. And we found out...there are Archery Scholarships :)

Hello, my name is Holly and I'm addicted to Pinterest!

I admit it...I am a pinterest-aholic! I refused to get on there for a long time. I didn't want to see all these cute ideas and yummy recipes that I didn't have time to do. Finally, I broke down and got on. At first I would get on and browse once a week. Then I browsed a couple times a week and before I knew it I was hooked and was on every day, "pinning" away. Now I have numerous boards and not only am following other people but have followers myself :) I have done a few crafts, made a few recipes and gotten many decorating ideas :) I'm pretty proud of myself. Now I just need to limit myself on how long I browse on a daily basis...it is so easy to get sucked in once the kids are in bed and spend hours looking at things. I made these for a birthday lunch at work the first week of school...they were a hit!

I made my own canvas!

Supplies for my menu board

Finished product

We're Back!

Matt and I returned from a wonderful 10 day vacation with no kids. This was our first big trip without them...we have gone away for a weekend before but never this long. We decided to farm out the kids so nobody would have all 3 (this way the caregivers would offer to keep the kids next time we do this). Caleb went to stay with Matt's parents, Madison stayed with my parents and Taylor went to my sister's house. This was the most relaxing vacation. We left at midnight Thursday night and drove to Orlando (driving at night is the best as there was no traffic) where we stayed at Bonnet Creek for 2 nights. Matt's mom had reserved the presidential suite for us. We checked in and slept for a few hours. We ended up walking around Universal Studio's Citywalk that evening and grabbing a bite to eat in a food court. Saturday we slept in and laid by the pool a little. We also enjoyed walking around the resort b/c lots had changed since we had been there last a few years ago. We can't wait to take the kids in March during Spring Break. Sunday morning we got up and drove over to Tampa. Once in Tampa we quickly found the parking garage we had reserved a spot at. They loaded our stuff onto the shuttle and we headed over to the Port Authority. A porter took our luggage and within 10 minutes we were through all the security and had our "sail & sign" cards in our hands and were on The Legend! I couldn't believe how quickly it happened. We enjoyed just sitting and people watching while waiting on our room (we got on the boat at 11:00 but couldn't get into our room until 1:30). We had a wonderful time and made some great memories and are already planning the next one! Because we did so much over the 10 day period I am going to break down the trip into many posts over the next few days.

Excited!

Our suitcases are slowly getting packed! We have been making runs to the store to pick up things for the cruise! We have booked our excursions! We have spent hours reading reviews and forums! We think we have everything finally figured out! We think we know what we want to do and when we want to do it! We can't wait to sit by the pool and relax. We can't wait to see white beaches and the blue ocean of the caribbean :) We can't wait to see new things! We can't wait to celebrate 15 yrs of marriage in Belize cave-tubing! We are only slightly excited to be leaving in 3.5 days! We are excited about spending 2 nights in Orlando in the Presidental Suite at Bonnet Creek thanks to Matt's parents! We are excited about having dinner at Margaritaville in Downtown Disney Saturday night! Again, we are only slightly excited!!!!

Enjoying summer!

I have neglected my blog so much over the past few months. We have been enjoying our summer though I haven't remembered to take many pictures. Matt came home on June 28th (2 days earlier than we expected) and we enjoyed spending 72 hours with him before he had to report to base in Memphis for 2 weeks. We enjoyed surprising our friends with his early arrival. And of course picking him up at the airport was priceless! And now he is home for good or until the next set of orders come. Taylor really enjoyed a week in Savannah, GA with her girl scout troop. She did all kinds of new things....zip-lining, archery, rifle shooting, scuba diving and rock climbing just to name a few. They were also able to drive over to Tybee Island and spend the day playing in the ocean. She was exhausted when she got back and spent the next week sleeping until noon! We enjoyed spending a few days in the mountains with Matt's mom just swimming and enjoying Dollywood. Madison celebrated her 7th birthday. Hard to believe she is that old. I'm looking forward to her 7 yr check-up to see how much she has grown...not much according to our scales. She has grown a few inches b/c she has moved up in band colors at Dollywood and can ride a few new things! She was so excited about this! We spent a few days at the river over the 4th. Taylor enjoyed tubing while Caleb and Madison enjoyed jumping off the dock and swimming in the river (I did not enjoy this part...I like my water crystal clear so I can see what it swimming with me). Matt and I are leaving for a caribbean cruise in less than 2 weeks to celebrate our 15th anniversary (thought it doesn't seem possible we have been married that long) and we couldn't be more excited! We are going to spend 2 days in Orlando before driving over to Tampa and catching the ship.

What we have been up to.....

It is hard to believe how quickly Matt's time in Calafornia has gone (though I don't think he will agree)....only 20 days and he will be home (only for 24 hrs but I will take what I can get). There was the occassional day where I thought the 17 weeks would never be over but for the most part it has really gone by quickly. I give the credit to our very busy schedules. I think we just stayed so busy that the days went quickly and though I really missed Matt I didn't have much time to sit around and mope over him being gone. I thought about him most mornings when I was dragging myself out of bed at 5 AM to get my day started. I know the kids are very excited. They are counting the days until he comes home. They are very excited about meeting him at the airport. We are just waiting to see when he will arrive...we won't know that until a few days before he comes home. I am expecting a late arrival though since he is coming in from CA which puts him 3 hours behind us. It doesn't matter if it is midnight me and the kids will be there. Lots has happened since I posted 3 months ago. We have celebrated Taylor's 12th birthday and Caleb's 9th birthday. Madison will be turning 7 in a few short weeks. Mother's Day came and went. We celebrated our sweet niece Quinn's 1st birthday. School finished with a bang...I now have a 7th grader (that doesn't seem possible) who is anticipating numerous honors classes in the fall based on her TCAP scores (which makes me nervous b/c I had trouble helping her with her honors classes this year), a 4th grader and a 1st grader. My, where has the time gone. We spent Memorial week at Edisto Island with my parents and Matt's parents. It was fabulous. Matt's brother, his wife and their 3 girls also came down. The kids had fun playing with their cousins who we don't get to see much since they live in China. I will have another blog post later though I didn't take as many pictures this time since I was doing everything with all 3 kids. Makes it hard to take pictures if you are the one in the water, sand, etc. We are gearing up for 2 busy weeks of VBS. This week we have a VBS in the morning as well as one in the evenings. Next week we have another morning VBS. Taylor then heads to Savannah for a week to celebrate 100 yrs of girl scouting with her troop. She is supposed to get home the same day as Matt...here's hoping their arrival times aren't the same.

One week down.....16 to go!

Well we have survived the 1st week with only a few bumps! For the 1st time since school started in August I had to get all 3 kids to school and myself to work. I was very nervous but it went smoothly though it did require me getting up at 5:00 AM and let me tell you I thought 5:30 was bad, it is nothing compared to 5:00! The kids have coped well. Caleb has been a little more arguemenative then normal but is fine at school so I can deal with the at home stuff. Luckily we are so busy during the week we barely have time to miss Matt. We have tennis on Monday's and Tuesday's, church on Wednesday's and scouts every other Thursday and Friday! This will definitely help the weeks go by quickly! I talked to Matt on Tuesday and he was settling in on base. The kids won't get to talk with him much during the week as they are already in bed when he can finally call (thanks to the 3 hour time difference). The kids did get to talk with him on Saturday. That made their day :) 3 of their cousins are here from Nashville (as well as one from Cookeville) for a few days so they have enjoyed playing with them this weekend.

Taylor and I went to see Big Miracle on Friday night. It was a movie we wanted to see and she had the opportunity to earn some extra credit for her Honors Language Arts class. It was really good. I don't remember the event actually taking place (it was in 1988).

We are busy trying to plan something fun for Spring Break. Trying to decide between the aquarium in Chattanooga or the zoo in Atlanta...anyone been to either place and lend me some feedback? We got Dollywood passes so maybe we will make it up there sometime. I also plan to paint the entryway and hallway as well as work on Taylor's new bedroom furniture. The week will go by too quickly I am sure!

Busy, Busy, Busy

We have been so busy! It seems like things never slow down for us. Girl Scouts for Taylor and Madison has picked up b/c we are in the middle of cookie sales! Madison has started tennis up. She is loving it! And I have to admit she looks so cute out on the court :)


We enjoyed spending last weekend at The Glade with all of Matt's family. It is the only time we will be together while Matt's brother and sister-in-law are home from China since Matt will be leaving. We enjoyed just sitting around talking, playing cards and swimming! I didn't get a lot of pictures b/c I was busy enjoying myself! Here is our attempt at a group picture...pretty good considering there was 10 adults and 12 kids ranging from 17 to 21 months!


We have been gearing up for Matt to leave again! He will be gone for 17 weeks this time. Skype will be our best friend! We have been trying to spend as much time as a family as possible but it is really hard with everyone's busy schedules.

Taylor attended her 1st Winterfest in Gatlinburg this weekend...13,000 teens from many Church of Christ all gathered together for a weekend of worship. Taylor said it was wonderful. She came back very tired though. Now she is gearing up for a girls weekend with the youth group in 2 weeks. I love that Taylor is involved in a wonderful youth group. We are really excited that our new youth minister will be here next month.

The kids were out of school today and neither Matt and I had to work. We took the kids to see The Secret World of Arriety. It was really good...the kids loved it. It was their first anime. Then Caleb went over to Will's house to play for awhile. All in all it was a very fun day :)

Madison's Sayings

While cleaning out a few boxes last week I found a list of Madison's sayings that I had written down. She was 2/3 when she said most of these but there are a couple she still says. I wrote them down so I wouldn't forget but thought I should write them here on my blog in case I lose the sheet of paper (which is very probable) LOL

slushie...flushie
binoculars....nokulars
surprise...special
webkinz....wekin
feather...feeder
heater...feeter
sweet dreams...happy dreams
happy birthday...happy cake
polka dots...pokey nots
trampoline...jumpoline
cot...cotton
comfortable...constable
marshmallow...smarshmallow
elevator...alligator
hand sanitizer...hansitizer
cold...chilly
yesterday...last year (this one was one of my favorites)

Christmas Stockings

The stockings are the best part of Christmas I think. Everyone buys everyone else something for their stocking (less than $10) so you have lots of little things to open. The kids really get into this because they get to pick out something for everyone. Since Madison loves penguins we were on the lookout for penguin things, Chris was needing pocket squares for his suits, Nana collects snowmen so she normally gets snowmen ornaments or decorations. It is always lots of fun!

Madison loves Holly Shiftwell (Cars 2) and had been wanting a little one...we finally found one so she was a little excited!


This year we played a joke on Caleb. We had told him since he was having surgery right after Christmas that all he would get in his stocking was gatorade, jello and pudding. He didn't believe us so what did we do...wrapped up 9 things of gatorade, jello and pudding! He thought it was the funniest thing! When he got done opening those we pulled out his real gifts!


He also got some shampoo and bodywash that looked like car oil...he loved it!


Taylor got a new Bible...she had 1 but it is kinda big and she wanted a slim one that would be easier to carry to church.

Christmas 2011 Part 2

After church we came home and the kids quickly changed back into their pj's. Everyone wanted to be very comfortable for the "opening of presents and eating" that was about to commence :) Madison put on her new penguin robe.


We had a quick brunch of homemade biscuits and ham before Hope, Chris and Quinn arrived. She is such a cutie!


The massive amount of presents, it was ridiculous and we had even cut back from last year! They wouldn't all fit around the tree!



Madison behind her pile of presents!


Pops got a new laptop since his had finally died and Matt had not been able to revive it.


Taylor got a pretty new clock for her room makeover scheduled for this spring!


Hope and I bought Nana and Pops a large canvas of the grandkids...it must have been a hit because Nana cried!


Madison got squinkies!


And Matt surprised me with a gift....the knife set from Pampered Chef!

Madison

Lately Madison has been both driving me crazy and cracking me up! She is still my little side-kick! I very rarely get out of the house without her. Most times I don't mind but sometimes I wish I could get out and run errands without her. If I do get out without her it is after numerous hugs, kisses and "I love you's". Also she has to wave to me from the deck when I leave. She says some of the funniest things and today was no exception. I knew I needed to write them down before I forget.

On the way home from school she said "mom, we talked about this little brown boy today. did you know brown people had to drink out of a different water fountain than white people a long time ago. that wasn't fair was it mom?" I told her I didn't think it was fair either, that God made all colors of people and that we shouldn't treat people different b/c of the way they look.

We had a few stops to make after I picked her up from school. While at the Dollar Tree she asked if we could go to Menchie's. I told her not today because I wasn't feeling to great (I have a cold). Once we got in the car she informed me that one of her nose's was runny but the other one was stuffy! Last time I checked she only has 1 nose so I think she probably meant nostril :) LOL I thought it was so cute though and want to remember the cute things she says.