Dorris Dish

It has been busy

2011-09-27T09:52:00.004-05:00

It's been awhile since I last posted, because, well because we have been very busy. The summer flew by and was way too short. We had a great time and I wish it had been a little longer. In July we had a great mini reunion with everyone at our house, it was great seeing everyone, but I wish it could have been longer.

The kids are all back in school now, Noah started 1st grade and loves it, his teacher is fantastic and we are so proud of how much he is learning and how well he is doing. Seth started kindergarden this year, and he loves it also. Riley is in her final year of preschool and she is so happy to finally be in the Kangaroo class, although, she will gladly tell you she would rather be in kindergarden and getting on the school bus with her boys. She recently learned how to ride her bike without training wheels and there is nothing stopping her now.

Our fall is also packed full and I will try and get some of that posted soon.

Our busy spring

2011-06-23T15:50:00.003-05:00

It has been a busy spring at our house and I thought I would share a few of our activities with everyone. The boys finished their first season of baseball, we were lucky enough to get both boys on the same team this year. They loved playing for Dr. Daxx on the Angels baseball team and they havve officially decided they like baseball a lot more than soccer.

Seth graduated from Preschool and he is now officially in Kindergarten, a fact that makes him very happy and his sister not happy. (Mostly because she thinks she should be going to kindergarten too)

Riley completed her first year of dance with a recital on May 15. It was chaotic, busy, and wonderful. She was adorable in her ballet tutu (see purple costume) and her tap costume (red). They danced their ballet song to Jesus Loves the Little Children, and did a fantastic job. Their tap song was "I enjoy Being a Girl" by Doris Day. The girls all did a great job and Riley is looking forward to dancing again in the fall.

Boys' Room

2011-04-25T17:31:00.004-05:00

This is what the boys' room looked like when we bought the house. The only difference after we moved in was the bunk beds. What you can't see is that the room was painted light blue with a silver faux finish over it.

Here are a couple of pictures of the boys' room now. We still need to hang up the shelves for their trophies and a couple of other decorative touches, but the painting is finished and the window treatments are hung.

Riley's room

2011-04-08T16:20:00.005-05:00

Riley's room before...

Riley's room after we agreed to paint it pink and purple for her. It turned out much better than I thought it would and most definitely fits her personality.

Boys and baseball

2011-04-08T16:17:00.003-05:00

Tulips

2011-04-08T16:12:00.002-05:00

We moved into our house in early August last year and so we missed all of the spring flowers planted around the house. This year we have been excited to see what flowers are in the flower beds and planted around the house. I love tulips and we have quite a few. Here are a couple of pictures of our yard and all of the wonderful colors we are getting to enjoy this spring.

Noah's bike

2011-03-08T21:09:00.005-06:00

A few weeks ago Jared took Noah's training wheels off his bike. This was not the first time we had attempted this particular skill, in fact we have tried this several times with bad results. By bad results I mean full on temper tantrum, crying, and screaming; it was not fun. This time was completely different. Within 5 minutes of Jared removing the training wheels Noah was riding his bike like a pro. I took this video just 30 minutes after his first attempted (this time).

Karate

2011-02-08T22:39:00.003-06:00

For the past two years Noah has been participating in karate at our YMCA, he recently moved up to the older kids class and was able to get his black gi.

Riley is also now participating in the younger kids class. She was so excited to finally be able to wear the gi's just like "her boys". She is by far the smallest kid in class, but don't tell her.

Here are a couple of pictures of my little karate peeps.

Snow

2011-01-19T20:13:00.005-06:00

The kids were out of school for most of last week due to snow in our area. The kids were able to play in the snow during the first good snow of winter, but due to my surgery the day of the snow, this was my first sledding time with the kids this winter. Actually, it's the first real time we were able to do any sledding as the kids are just now old enough to really enjoy going sledding.

We made the most of the snow days and went sledding on Monday and twice on Tuesday. We were also able to make snow cream with the kids (their first). Here are a few pictures of our adventures last week.

4

2010-11-28T21:27:00.004-06:00

It's hard to believe, but it's true; Riley our baby girl is 4 today!!!! She has been a huge blessing in our lives and I can't imagine life without her.

She is full of joy and laughter and has a ready smile for everyone. Riley loves to sing and can be heard daily making up songs. She also loves to color and will spend hours with some paper and crayons drawing and "writing". There is nothing she does not think she can do and she has spent her life doing whatever her boys are doing. This has helped make her fearless and advanced beyond her size.

We like to joke that she is a whole lot of personality in a tiny body, but it's really true. She is a joy to be around, full of life and love, always ready with a hug, and not afraid to stand up for herself. She truly has been a joy these past four years and I can't wait to see what the future holds for her.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY my sweet Riley!!!!!!

Halloween

2010-11-02T14:23:00.003-05:00

We took the kids trick-or-treating for the first time this year. This is the first year we have lived in a neighborhood with kids and trick-or-treaters. They loved every minute of it and you would not believe how much candy is now in this house.

Here are a couple of pictures of my adorable trick-or-treaters. In case you can't tell; Riley is Cinderella, Seth is Ben 10, and Noah is HeatBlast (one of the Ben 10 aliens). Can you tell what cartoon is most popular at our house?

The other girls in the picture are the next door neighbors and the kids best buddies in the neighborhood. The jack-0-lantern's are the kids and we put them on the brush pile during trick-or-treating. They looked great with the candles lit, but wouldn't show up very well in the picture.

Sleeping

2010-10-11T21:23:00.003-05:00

A couple of weeks ago we went to a family get together with Jared's family. The kids had a great time fishing, eating, and running around. While we were saying goodbye and getting ready to leave we found Noah like this. He slept for about 30 minutes like this without falling off the couch or sliding to the floor. I think he was a little tired.

Dancing

2010-10-11T21:16:00.003-05:00

Dance has officially started in our house. After 2 years of asking to take dance class, Riley is finally old enough to participate in the dance classes at the Y.

Her favorite part of the class is ballet, but she also loves wearing her "snappers" (her name for her tap shoes).

Summer

2010-09-17T10:48:00.005-05:00

It was a very busy summer for us and I thought I would catch everyone up on our adventures.
The kids had a great time playing with friends and we spent a lot of time at the pool or other water activities since it was so hot here this summer. Oh who am I kidding, it's still hot here. Here are a few pictures of the kids enjoying a morning at a local water park.

Jared is playing in a softball league again, this time a Sunday double-header league. So we are back to spending our weekends at the softball fields.

I tried something new this summer and participated in the Dragonboat Races in Nashville on the Cumberland River. It was a lot of fun, although extremely hot that day. Our trainer from Boot camp, Micah, put together a team made up of boot campers and personal training clients. We did a great job in our first two races, but did not do very well in our final race. I will definitely be participating again next year. I don't have a group picture of all 21 of us, but here is a picture from earlier in the day.

We also moved into our new house. It was a full, busy, hot, and fun summer. I am trying to catch up over the next few days so check back for first day of school pictures and more.

Birthday Boy

2010-09-11T15:07:00.002-05:00

I'm a little late in getting this posted, but I couldn't let Noah's birthday pass without a post for/about him.

Six years ago we got a huge surprise when Noah was born. For months we had been expecting a baby girl and then this amazing, beautiful baby boy was born. After the initial shock, I couldn't imagine life without him, and I still can't.

He is a happy, fun loving, handsome boy. He loves to draw, color, dance, and sing. He is one of the lights of my life and a true blessing in every sense of the word.

I can't believe he is already six and I can't wait to see what the future holds.

Kindergarten

2010-09-09T20:34:00.004-05:00

I'm a little behind in posting this, but it has been a hectic couple of months. We are mostly moved in to our new house and we are loving our neighborhood and our neighbors. All of our things are in the house, I just have some boxes left to unpack and hopefully that will happen before the end of the year.

On bigger news, Noah is officially in Kindergarten. He loves his new school, his teacher, and riding the bus. Our next door neighbor, Quincy, is in the same class as Noah, which I think helped make the transition a little easier. They ride the bus together and have the same class, we are truly blessed to have them living next door.

I did not get as teary as I expected on his first day, I think having Seth and Riley with me helped keep me distracted. I mostly got teary when he got off the bus that afternoon. I can't believe how big he his and how quickly the last six years have gone.

Noah's new school

Mommy and Noah on the first morning of Kindergarten.

Moving!!!!!

2010-07-09T15:57:00.002-05:00

It's official, WE ARE MOVING!!!! We have found a house and everything appears to be falling into place. We close on July 23rd and are very excited to start in our new house. Currently, I'm tired of packing but that is just part of the process and will be worth it once we get finished.

I will let everyone know our new address once we are official, until then here is a picture of our new house.

Legos

2010-06-20T11:18:00.002-05:00

Noah has recently become interested in legos. I was hoping to avoid this toy, but it seems to have invaded our house. He is doing a great job building different things and I think we are going to be seeing more legos our future.

Here are some of his most recent creations....

Activities

2010-06-20T11:10:00.003-05:00

It has been a busy few months at our house. Here are a ffew pictures of our activities.

Painting

2010-04-13T19:32:00.003-05:00

I had a painting of the kids commissioned. It is one of my favorite pictures of the kids and I wanted to be able to display it as more than just a photograph. Seth's teacher is an amazing artist and agreed to paint the picture for me. I'm so excited, it is finished and I can't wait to get it framed and hung. For those who will not be able to see it in person for awhile; here is a picture of the portrait for you to see.

For comparison purposes, here is the original picture she used to paint from.

Riley

2010-04-12T15:46:00.003-05:00

While I was writing the last post I found this sight on the couch. I thought you all might get a kick out of her newest sleeping pose.

Washing machine problems

2010-04-12T15:38:00.004-05:00

Yesterday as I was getting ready to go work at the Y, Riley came running out of the laundry room talking about Sethy. I could not understand what she could possibly be talking about so I followed her to find out what was going on.

As it turned out, my washing machine was full and unable to work. Upon further investigation here is what we found to be the problem....

Yes, that is Seth in the washing machine. And before anyone who doesn't know him gets the wrong impression; he put himself in the washing machine; he thought it was a great joke; and no we did not start the machine before he popped his head out or while he was still in the machine.

It actually was a great joke and before I made him get out of the machine I called Jared in from mowing the lawn to "help" me figure out what was wrong with the washing machine. It was the hardest I have laughed all week and a great representation of just who that little guy is.

What have we been doing?

2010-04-06T14:09:00.005-05:00

It's been quite awhile since I've posted anything so I thought I would catch up with what we have been doing.

Our house has been on the market for just over 2 months now. We actually had it sold once, but the buyer backed out halfway to closing. We are praying everyday that God will send the right people to our house soon. In the meantime, we are having fun and enjoying all of our many blessings.

Jared and I have been participating in boot camp at the YMCA since the middle of Nov. We have a great time, and while it is a very hard class we enjoy it. Our class is mostly my co-workers and we all have a great time working hard and encouraging each other. We are happy with the results, but man is it hard.

The boys are back in soccer and loving it. It is great to finally see some sun and sit on the sidelines cheering them on and enjoying the spring weather. Riley is still too young to play on her own team, but she is the biggest cheerleader for the boys at their games each week.

Here is a picture of my dad's "new" truck. The kids loved playing in the truck when we were up there a few weeks ago. Jared could barely fit inside the cab.

One of the pictures from our afternoon of hiking Easter weekend.

More pictures

2010-01-30T11:29:00.002-06:00

SNOW Today

2010-01-30T11:23:00.002-06:00

We did actually get snow yesterday. It started snowing about 9 am yesterday and snowed all day. We went out this morning in anticipation of making a snowman or two with the kids, but found that it is mostly ice on top and the snow underneath is too dry to make a snowman. Hopefully, we will be able to make one soon.

We did have fun playing in the snow though and then came inside to enjoy some hot chocolate. Nashville only gets this kind of snow every few years, so it might be awhile before the kids get to see snow like this again at home.

Snow

2010-01-28T19:21:00.002-06:00

Schools are out again in Nashville. There is no snow on the ground. This is the second time this month that school has been cancelled before a single snowflake has fallen from the sky. Maybe it's just me, but that seems like a crazy method for canceling school.

For anyone reading this, a prayer request. Our neighbors from our old neighborhood just lost a dear family member. She was very young, had cystic fibrosis and a year year old daughter. Her husband and daughter are in need of our prayers for peace and comfort at this difficult time. They are surrounded by loving family, are very strong believers in Christ, but I know that other believers prayers will be felt.

In other news, our house is officially on the market. The sign went in the yard today and hopefully will sell soon, although, not too soon since we haven't even started looking for another house yet. We would also appreciate any prayers for this stressful situation.

I promise I will post some pictures soon.

My Brother

2010-01-06T21:36:00.003-06:00

Here are a couple of more pictures from Christmas of the kids with my brother. They loved seeing their Uncle Walter and since he lives in Montana and they only get to see him once a year it made Christmas even better for us all.

Christmas

2010-01-05T20:57:00.003-06:00

December was a crazy, but fun month. We celebrated Riley's birthday with her friends at a princess themed birthday party. She had so much fun having her first friend birthday party.

The middle of the month brought the kids Christmas program at their preschool. We had a lot of fun watching the kids perform their songs and motions. Riley was in her element being on stage performing in front of the audience. They all had a great time and did a fantastic job.

We spent Christmas at my parents' house in Northern KY. We had a great time visiting with friends and family. My brother was able to com e into town from Montana for most of the week and we had a wonderful time visiting with him. The kids were especially excited to play with Uncle Walter and followed him everywhere he went around the house.

Here are a couple of pictures from our time with my family at Christmas.

The kids with Mamaw

The kids sitting with Uncle Walter

My baby is 3

2009-11-30T11:24:00.004-06:00

I can not believe how fast time has gone. My baby was 3 yesterday!!!!! How is it possible that it has been 3 years already?

She has been such a wonderful addition to our family and I can't imagine what this house full of boys would be like without her. Riley is fun-loving, happy, loving, gentle, smart, and beautiful. She is a big personality inside a small body and she does not let anything stop her. She thinks she is a big as Noah in both physical size and mental abilities and nobody can convince her differently.

Riley loves life and almost everything in it. She spends the majority of her day smiling and laughing and having a good time. She walks through life as if she is on a mission and is undaunted by anything.

The past 3 years have gone by way too fast and I am looking forward to everyday of the future. She has been a true blessing in my life and everyday; even the difficult ones; is a blessing.

I love you Riley and can't wait to see what God has planned for your life.

Oct. Happenings

2009-11-21T10:12:00.005-06:00

We have had a very busy couple of months and I've been very bad about getting pictures posted. The past couple of months we had a field trip to Walden Farms with the boys' preschool to see how pumpkins are grown and they were able to pick their own pumpkins out of the field.

The kids also were able to carve their first Jack-O-Lanterns this year. They loved scooping the seeds out with their hands and eating the roasted pumpkin seeds later. We opted to not go trick-or-treating this year since they had already had several trick-or-treating events at school and church, instead we were able to attend our first Predators hockey games on Halloween.

The kids were able to dress up in their costumes, trick-or-treat in the concourse of the Sommet Center, and watch the hockey game. We all had a great time and we are very thankful to a good friend who gifted us the tickets.

We also celebrated Seth's birthday with his friends. We had a great time at Chuck E. Cheese's with a superhero theme. Seth had a wonderful time playing with this friends and getting to play all of the games. I attempted my first pull apart cake and I think it was pretty good. The kids loved that the black icing turned their tongues black.

Halloween

2009-11-05T21:25:00.003-06:00

Here is a quick picture of the kids in their halloween costumes. I have a better picture and I hope to get them posted soon. They were super cute and they love their costumes so much that they have been wearing them just to play around the house.

I promise to post more later about Halloween and everything else we have been busy with the past couple of weeks.

4

2009-10-28T22:02:00.003-05:00

My darling Seth turned 4 last week. It has been a crazy time and I meant to get this written last week, but I couldn't go any longer without mentioning my Seth.

My second son, Seth, was born a short 13 months after our first child. He surprised us all!!! But, he has been a wonderful surprise in our life. And after a scary first 24 hours in the NICU, has been a very healthy active boy. Life would certainly not be as fun, loud, or full without him.

Seth lives life fully. He only stops when he literally runs out of energy. He does everything at full speed; he doesn't walk he runs; he would rather be moving than sitting still. His laugh is infectious, and he can make you laugh until you cry. He might run over you in his quest to do something, but he will also be the first to offer you a hug or kiss to feel better.

Seth is always the first to notice people's feelings and the most sensitive to how other people are feeling. And while he is usually the loudest thing in the room, he is very sensitive to being talked to in even a slightly raised voice.

It has been a fast 4 years, in every possible way and I can't wait to see what the rest of his life holds. He is a tremendous blessing in my life and I can not imagine my life without my full of life little boy.

Riley

2009-10-28T21:40:00.004-05:00

Riley did not want to go to bed tonight. She cried for quite awhile after we did our normal nighttime routine. Once she was quiet I went to check on her and this is what I found.........

And in case you don't see what's funny about this site, here is a close-up.......

Kids really can sleep anywhere!!!

more pictures

2009-10-14T08:12:00.004-05:00

Here are a few more pictures from FL. I haven't downloaded anything from my camera yet, but I hope to get that done today.

Florida

2009-10-11T15:08:00.005-05:00

We are home today from an incredible week in Sarasota, FL. We had a great time visiting family, relaxing, and playing at the beach. It was wonderful to have a week of no deadlines, timetables, commitments, household chores, or any requirements except having fun and relaxing as a family.

Here are a few pictures from our week in Sarasota, I might post a few more later when I get the rest downloaded from my camera.

My favorite pictures from the whole week.

Soccer

2009-09-28T12:47:00.003-05:00

The boys have started soccer, and while our last 2 games have been rained out, they are really enjoying soccer. Here are a couple of pictures from their first games. And before you ask, no they are not on the same team, they play in two different age groups, but somehow ended up with the same color uniforms. It' s good thing the teams put the kids first names on their uniforms or I would never keep their jersey's or numbers straight.

Noah

Seth

5

2009-09-10T05:40:00.001-05:00

I can't believe it is time for this post already. My first baby is 5 today. 5 years ago today, after 20 long hours of labor, I was blessed with the birth of one of the cutest babies in the world. He was quite the surprise, given that they had told us he was going to be a girl. He was a long, skinny beautiful baby and I could not have been happier (you know after the shock wore off.)

He has grown so much in the past 5 years and I still can't believe what a wonderful boy he has become. He loves to dance (I'm not sure he is capable of standing still when he hears music). He has earned a yellow belt in karate and is becoming a good soccer player. Noah makes me smile all the time and he's pretty good with a knock, knock joke.

I love to hear him talk about God and wanting to please him. I love watching him learn something new everyday. I love the wonderful hugs and kisses he gives me daily and watching him smile at something silly. I love how he is quiet and thoughtful and that one of his best friends has Downs Syndrome, but all he sees is his friend and not the differences.

I can't wait to see what God has in store for my first baby. I can't wait to see who he becomes and to help him on that journey. I look forward to all the hugs and kisses of the future; even if I have to force them out of him in the future. I'm looking forward to setting in the blistering sun and pouring down rain of all his sporting events.

The first 5 years have been amazing and I know the future is only going to be more amazing.

First Day of School

2009-09-09T07:18:00.004-05:00

Noah's First day of Pre-K

Riley's very first day of preschool

Seth's first day of preschool

Company Girl Coffee

2009-08-28T14:24:00.003-05:00

Good Afternoon Everyone,
I am getting a late start on my post this morning due to an outing with the kids. We decided to spend some time together this morning at Jump Zone. I thought this would be fun for us all and a special time together since the kids are leaving tomorrow for a week with my parents. Yes, you read that right!!!! I will have one week without my 3 favorite short people and while I will miss them terribly I'm looking forward to getting a couple of projects completed without my ever-present helpers.

I have to keep this one short since I still have laundry to finish and get them packed, but if you want to see what we have been up to check out some of my recent posts from this past week. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I'll let you know next week how my week worked out.

Kids' pictures

2009-08-26T21:34:00.003-05:00

The kids love pictures. They love posing for pictures and they have recently figured out they love taking pictures. A couple of weeks ago I let me use my camera to take some pictures here are a few of my favorite. It is interesting to see how they view their world through the camera lens and how they act towards the sibling holding the camera.

Noah posing for Seth

"Seth" by Riley

Riley's close-up by Noah

Riley's dress up shoes

Me and Seth, photo by Noah

Yellow Belt

2009-08-26T07:22:00.004-05:00

Noah earned his yellow belt yesterday. We are so proud of his hardwork and dedication to his karate. Here is a picture of our proud new yellow belt. I'll post more later.

8 Years

2009-08-24T19:20:00.005-05:00

8 years!!!!!! Eight years ago today I married my best friend. We have changed a lot in those eight years and I can't imagine taking this journey with anyone else. During that time we have taken a few trips, I have gone back to school and finished this time, had 3 kids, refurbished a 100 year old house, moved, and a million other everyday things.

Jared and I started as great friends, (5 years before our first date) and I believe that friendship has helped us endure the difficult times. We pray together, laugh together, and sometimes cry together; although we laugh a whole lot more than we cry. I look forward to him coming home in the afternoons and our weekends together to play with the kids.

It has been a wonderful 8 years and I am looking forward to all of our years together. He is my best friend, my confidant, my husband, and so much more. God blessed my life by placing Jared in it and I am thankful everyday for the person he is and the person he continues to be. Jared is an amazing man who continues to obey God's will for his life and to be a wonderful example of a strong Christian man and husband to those who know him.

I am looking forward to everything God has in store for us and I know that together we can get through anything. I have my best friend to take this journey with me and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Company Girl Coffee 8/14

2009-08-14T15:39:00.004-05:00

Good afternoon everyone,
It has been a couple of weeks since I participated in Company Girl Coffee and I have missed it. It has been a very busy around here and I'm looking forward to things slowly down a little bit.

My parents and grandmother were here visiting last weekend and brought a wonderful new toy for our backyard. A TRAMPOLIINE. I'm a little jealous, because these are the same parents that would not let us have a trampoline growing up. Currently, I'm making up for that fact by jumping on the trampoline at least once a day. The kids are really enjoying it and my dad even joined in on the fun while they were here. I think he wishes he had a trampoline when he was younger too.

Seth and Gramps jumping together

This is what 67 on my Dad looks like. Hope it looks like that on me too.

Today's Small Thing was well accomplished when one of my friends called this morning. Life is crazy for us both and it had been several weeks since we had a chance to have a lengthy converstaion, it was great to catch up with her. Yesterday's Small Thing was completed when my husband and I made a batch of grape jelly and canned it. Here is a fun picture from that activity.

This is our 2 1/2 year old daughter sitting in the canner before we got started on the canning. Yes, she is very small for her age, she got my height not her father's.

Peach tree and wind

2009-07-22T15:15:00.004-05:00

A couple of weeks ago we had some very strong wind during the middle of the night. We didn't pay much attention to it until the next day when I found this.....

What you can't tell from this picture is that is our peach tree. Our peach tree that was fully loaded with Bella Georgia peaches about 1 week away from ripeness. The weight of the heavy, fruit filled limbs combined with the heavy wind snapped the limbs.

It was a very sad day. We were really looking forward to some fresh peaches, making peach preserves, and canning some peaches for this winter.

4-wheeler

2009-07-22T07:13:00.002-05:00

The kids were given an early birthday present by their paternal grandparents a couple of weeks ago and it has been a huge hit. Here are a couple of pictures of them riding their new 4-wheeler. Thank you so much Nana and Grandpa!!!!

Company Girl Coffee 7/11/09

2009-07-11T09:38:00.003-05:00

Good morning everyone. I started this morning by meeting a fellow Company Girl for the first time this morning. ( I will post a picture later today) It was a blessing meeting Sweetie this morning for some coffee before she went to tape at the studio. God is doing some amazing work through her and I look forward to hearing more about her work and getting to know her better.

The boys did a soccer clinic this week and had a great time. Yesterday, at the final clinic they were each given a certificate, a new soccer ball, and a t-shirt. I thought they would love having their own balls that they didn't have to share, but I was wrong. Their favorite thing was the t-shirt, for the rest of the day they proudly wore their new t-shirts and told anyone who would listen about them.

As for Small Things this week. I loved them all. I have been working hard at letting the kids figure out how to some things on their own, so I loved getting points for that. I also loved yesterday's Pause for refreshment. This one is harder with 3 small children, but an excellent reminder that we all need a little bit of time. I opted to join the kids in enjoying an Ice Pop while we played in our kiddie pool in the backyard.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Father's Day

2009-06-26T07:50:00.003-05:00

We spent Father's Day with my parents in Ft. Thomas. We were exhausted from our jam-packed weekend, but we had a great time. On Sat. morning we went to the natural history museum in Cincinnati, this is a great museum if anyone is ever there visiting. Our 4 year old did not feel very good, so it was a little much for him, but everyone else loved it. A quote from Noah, "Mommy, there were too many bones."

After lunch and a quick nap, we went to the pool, a great way to spend a hot afternoon.

Sunday after church we headed to a great lunch and then to a local firehouse. One of my dad's best friends is a Fire Chief at a local firestation. He graciously let us bring the kids to check out the trucks and other equipment along with the station. Thank you Chuck!!! He even let the kids pull the cord for the air horn on the ladder truck, it scared them all, but they quickly recovered.

This week has been full of Vacation Bible School. We have had a great time on the Boomerang Express, but it has been tiring since the kids have not been in bed before 9:30 each night. I even branched out of my comfort zone this year and helped teach the 1st graders (I'm more comfortable with the littler kids) It has been a great week. How was your week?

Dinner?

2009-06-16T19:53:00.006-05:00

I took this video on Tuesday night at dinner. At first Riley was pretending to be asleep, but it quickly turned into the real thing. Enjoy, we did!!!!!!

Pictures

2009-06-08T13:32:00.002-05:00

Here are a few random pictures of the kids.

Teaching Me

2009-06-08T13:21:00.003-05:00

You know those moments when somebody says something that makes you stop and think? I had one of those last week. We were playing with sidewalk chalk outside and having a great time. The kids were having a great time drawing things only their own imagination could recognize. Noah came to me and asked me to draw a heart for him, "his heart". I readily complied and drew his heart, when I was finished Noah promptly asked me to draw God. Not understanding what we was asking I sat there for a moment before asking him what he meant.

His answer, "Mommy, I need you to draw God in my heart because that is where He lives." His simple request left me speechless and gave me a lot of think about. You see, when Noah asked me to draw his heart I had been doodling hearts on the sidewalk; empty hearts and yet my 4-year-old immediately wanted his heart filled, not with other drawings, not with his name, but with God.

I'm no artist and wasn't sure at first how to fulfill his request so we settle on me writing GOD inside his heart.

Company Girl Coffee 5/29

2009-05-29T07:37:00.004-05:00

Good morning everyone. Come on in and grab something to drink and eat, you're welcome to anything you can find.

It has been another busy week here, although more relaxed than last week. We have continued with swimming lessons for the kids and a couple of mornings spent in the pool. Since school is out we have also enjoyed sleeping in a couple of days, although sleeping in around here means 7 am. (such is life with 3 preschoolers).

Last weekend my church hosted a 3-on-3 basketball tournament. This is the 6th year for this event and it has become a huge ministry in our community. Along with the tournament we have an area, called the Family Fun Zone, filled with inflatable bounce houses (we called them Moonwalks growing up), a climbing wall, snacks, and other activities for the kids. Due to severe storms this year the Family Fun Zone was rescheduled for this past Wed. night. We had a great time and had a special treat this year with the Predators (Nashville's hockey team) came out for the event. I'll admit I'm not much of a hockey fan, but it was fun for the kids to get to play hockey with Coach Trotz, Forward Vernon Fiddler, and the assistant coach.

My crew with some of the Predators

This is one of my middle child on the climbing wall. For those who don't know us, he is 3 and yes I'm frightened of what our future holds.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. It's supposed to be nice here this weekend, YEAH!!!!!
Our first weekend without rain in months (hopefully)

Strawberries

2009-05-23T12:00:00.000-05:00

Did you know that May is the time to pick strawberries? At least it is in TN. We love fresh fruit, the kids would rather eat fruit than anything else you could offer them. At our house fruit is considered desert, because it can not be put out as an option with a meal or they will not eat anything else on their plates.

Jared's cousin has a big strawberry patch and since the kids love strawberries so much we decided to go pick some strawberries. While Jared and I picked most of the berries, the kids enjoyed eating the berries as we went. By the time we were finished we had 25 quarts of strawberries. Ever wonder what that many berries looks like......

and this picture is missing half of a 5 gallon bucket full and the 6 quarts we had already frozen. With the remaining we made several pints and half-pints of jam and preserves. We also kept a couple of quarts to eat fresh over a couple of days. It was a great experience and we know have enough jam to last us most of the rest of the year.

Now we are waiting on our peaches to be ready and then we will start the whole process over.

Busy month and Company Girl Coffee

2009-05-22T15:38:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone. It has been a very busy month at our house and while I'm happy that summer is here, I'm even happier that we are going to get a break from our hectic schedule.

The boys are officially out of "school" for the summer. Yesterday was their last day of preschool and they are ready for the summer, especially going to the swimming pool, playing at the park, and returning to the zoo. (we boycott the zoo during the months of April and May due to so many field-trips you can't see the animals for all of the thousands of kids)

Everyone is currently taking swimming lessons and they are loving it. Riley was so upset about not being old enough to take lessons with the boys that I was able to get her a few private lessons (there are perks to working at the Y). She loves being in the swimming pool and thinks she is one of the big kids. She is doing a really good job and shows no fear (I think we are in trouble)

Here is a picture of her swimming....

and a picture of the boys....

Company Girl Coffee

2009-05-08T14:42:00.002-05:00

Good afternoon Company girls, friends, and family. I hop eyou are all having a wonderful Friday. It has been a little while since I posted anything. Do you ever just have those times when you don't feel like doing something? I have had 2 weeks of that. We have not been any busier than usual, but I have not had any desire to get on the computer, hopefully that is changing.

I have not been great at doing the Small Things the last few weeks, but I have been getting at least a couple completed each week. Wish I had done better, those treats from last month looked fantastic.

On more exciting new; well at least to us; our second son has finally decided to use the bathroom. He is 3 1/2 years old, and up until recently he had absolutely no desire to use the potty. Today he hopped off the couch and said, "Mommy, I need to use the potty. I'll be right back.", and he disappeared. From the hallway I heard the sound of him removing his diaper and yes, HE USED THE POTTY!!!!! Since then he has gone 2 more times. I know this is probably boring to most of you, but it's a breakthrough for us. Now we have only 1 in diapers. I'm not naive, I know this could end tonight, but it's the light at the end of the tunnel.

I hope you all have a wonderful mother's day.

Company Girl Coffee

2009-04-25T12:47:00.004-05:00

Good afternoon everyone. I'm a little late in posting this, it's been crazy around here. If you want to know what we've been up to scroll down for some pictures from the last couple of weeks.

This week Rachel Anne encouraged us to try a new recipe. I love this Small Thing, especially since I had a recipe I had been wanting to try out for a couple of weeks.

On Monday we had Chicken Saute with Artichokes, Lemon & Mint. It was great. Very easy to fix, 30 mintues, and a wonderful lighter meal. I will definitely make this one again.

Here is a picture of the finished dish.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Talk to you soon.

More pictures

2009-04-25T12:40:00.003-05:00

Noah showing off his karate moves.

Noah on his first field trip to a local dairy farm.

Here are a few more pictures of our adventures the past few weeks.

Kids

2009-04-25T12:32:00.003-05:00

I know it's been awhile since I posted some pictures of the kids. It's not because I don't have any, but because we have been so busy I haven't had time to get them downloaded from my camera.

So without further ado.....
Noah fishing with his new fishing pole, Easter

Jared showing the kids how to cast their line.

Riley trying out Seth's new bicycle

Noah showing off his new bicycle

Company Girl Coffee

2009-04-17T08:37:00.004-05:00

Good morning everyone. Rachel Anne at Home Sanctuary has asked us to post some of the things we do to save money. My list is long. It started 6 years ago when my husband and I did the Dave Ramsey get out of debt plan, this has enabled me to stay home with my kids and while we don't have room for many luxuries in our budget, we do have a good life.

Secondly, I work at the YMCA two shifts a week. Here in Nashville the YMCA is the place to work out, in all of the places I have lived, the YMCA has not had as big of a presence as it does here. The kids are able to go to work with me (free childcare) if I work during the day or they are home with their dad if I get an evening shift. I only work about 8 hours a week, but it pays for our membership, and I get a 50% employee discount on all activities for the kids, i.e. soccer, swimming lessons, karate, and many others.

Coupons. I have been using coupons for most of my adult life and I can't even begin to tell you how much money this has saved us over the years.

Phones. Seven years ago we turned off our land line phone and have not had one since. I was working full time and going to school at night. My husband was working a full time and part time job. We were hardly ever home so cell phones were the answer for us. We also keep our phones for several years (we don't have the latest and greatest phones, but we can use them to call or get calls from others)

Homemade cleaning supplies. About 6 months ago I started making our laundry detergent. I was a little scared of this at first, but now I can't imagine paying that much money for a bottle of detergent that lasts me a few weeks. Our clothes are clean, they smell good, and it costs me about $.01 a load. A word of caution, I tried this with homemade dishwashing detergent and it did not work good. For now I sticking with laundry detergent and hardwood floor cleaner.

Cook from scratch. Almost everything I cook is from scratch and most of those ingredients I got on sale. I use very few box mixes and only when those are on sale and I have a coupon. We also limit how often we eat out. This also is aided by the vegetable garden that we grow every summer.

Here is part of my list. At first, doing these things might seem hard, but if you are looking to save some money they have worked well for us and once they become part of your routine they are easy.

P.S. For anyone interested, I got the laundry detergent recipe from the following website.
http://iamfrugal.blogspot.com/2008/11/homemade-dishwasher-detergent.html

Good Friday

2009-04-10T13:41:00.002-05:00

What do you say on a day like today? I am overwhelmed today with the thoughts of the wonderful, gracious gift of Jesus. We are having storms today in Nashville, big ugly storms with tornadoes. This is perhaps very fitting weather for Good Friday; dark, scary, fear-inducing; and yet for believers we are able to rest in the assurances and safety of our God. Today marks the beginning of our salvation through Jesus. Our salvation which would not be possible without the tremendous sacrifice that Jesus made on a Friday thousands of years ago, just for me and you.

My Good Friday Gratitude list:
1. Jesus Christ, who died for me.
2. A wonderful church family.
3. A wonderful family.
4. Good friends
5. A sturdy house to keep us out of the storms.

I hope you all have a blessed Easter weekend. I pray that while we enjoy the fun things of Easter we are also remembering the real reason for this celebration.

Tricycles

2009-04-09T21:00:00.004-05:00

Last week Riley figured out how to peddle her tricycle. She of course wants the biggest tricycle we have, even though her feet don't reach the peddles while sitting on the seat. Here is a short video of her riding her tricycle.

Mama, I thought you might enjoy seeing this.

Big bed, little girl

2009-04-09T20:47:00.004-05:00

This week our 2 1/2 year daughter started sleeping in her "big" bed. We were not in a hurry to move her out of the crib and waited until she asked to sleep in the big bed. She did great. The first night she laid awake for over an hour, but we never heard a single sound from her. Every time I would check in on her, she was looking at the door with her eyes wide open. The next day she went around telling everyone that she had slept in her big girl bed, and she has never gone back to the crib.

Can you find the sleeping 2 year old in these picture?

Company Girl Coffee 4/3

2009-04-03T13:38:00.004-05:00

Good afternoon Company Girls, friends, and family. I hope you all are having a great Friday. It has been a good, busy week here. My husband was able to get quite a few seeds planted in the garden, in another couple of weeks we will get the tomatoes and peppers planted, I can't wait.

An interesting thing happened this week. My parents moved us from Texas to KY many years ago. I left behind some wonderful friends, and while we stayed in touch for several years, I eventually lost touch with all but two of them. I am still friends with those two wonderful women still, as of now we have been friends for more than 25 years. But, I have often wondered what happened to everyone else. This week I was able to find out. One of those friends found me on facebook and within a couple of days I had reconnect with 4 friends. I had looked for them last summer when I joined, but had not looked in several months. It has been wonderful getting back in touch with my earliest friends. We have spent this week emailing and catching up with each other. I have loved every minute of it.

Gratitude Friday:
1. Spring weather
2. Reconnecting with long, lost friends.
3. Welcoming a new family member.
4. Starting a nightly devotion time with the kids.
5. My Mom to Mom group at church.
6. A loving God.
7. A wonderful family.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and enjoy simplifying your life today.

Random Sleeping

2009-03-31T15:29:00.002-05:00

I had to get pictures of this. The kids asked to watch Mary Poppins last week. They had a busy day and had not gotten a nap. I let them watch the movie while I was getting supper ready. This is how I found them 10 minutes after I started the movie.

Happenings at the Dorris house

2009-03-31T15:13:00.002-05:00

It's been awhile since my last post and I though I'd catch everyone up on our lives. It has been a busy couple of months. On March 20 we drove 5 hours to my parents house to spend the weekend for my Dad's birthday. We had a lot of fun visiting with Mimi and Gramps. On Saturday we all went to the childrens' Museum in Cincinnati for a fun day of hands on learning. It was crazy in there though, because of the dinosaur exhibit and IMAX movie at the same location.

This past Thursday we were excited to hear that my cousin gave birth to her third child, a baby girl Brier. We are so excited for the newest family member and can't wait to meet her in person. On Friday, one of our closest friends had her second child, a boy Leighton. We are also very excited to have a new friend to play with and grow up with. This prompted our oldest, Noah, to start asking for a baby brother. He is sad that all of his friends are getting babies, but he is not. He loves babies, always has, and he tells us all the time that he wants just one more baby. Never mind that he has 2 younger siblings already. He is a little bit mad at us since we told him that he would not be getting another baby. Hopefully, seeing his friends new siblings will help him get past it. (If Noah and I could talk his Daddy into it we would love another baby in the house, Daddy is not going to be talked into it)

The boys are learning so much at school. I am reminded each week how blessed we are to have gotten them into such a wonderful preschool in the middle of the year. Their program is fantastic and the teachers are the best.

Here are a couple of pictures from our weekend with Mimi and Gramps.

Company Girl Coffee 3/20

2009-03-20T07:53:00.003-05:00

My helpers

Green mashed potatoes

What it looked like on the plate.

Good morning Company Girls, friends, and family. Come in a help yourself to a cup of coffee or tea this morning. I'm posting early this week, because we are headed out of town for the weekend. Today is my dad's birthday!!HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! We are headed to Northern KY to celebrate with him this weekend.

We celebrated St. Patrick's Day with fun this year. The kids all wore green, and boys had special green snacks at preschool. I made Corned Beef and Cabbage with mashed potatoes, which Seth and I dyed green. I tried to tell Seth (3 year old) that he is very Irish, but he got very upset with me and said, "No, I'm not Irish mommy, I'm Sethie." Hopefully, one day he will understand and be proud of his Irish heritage.

The rest of the week was full of preschool and a preschool playdate with friends from church. Jared also tilled up the garden in anticipation of planting in a few weeks. I can't wait.

As for the Small Things this week, I was pretty good at completely them. My favorite was going green on St. Patrick's Day, as this is something we strive for daily. We use cloth napkins, I wash almost everything in cold water, we recycle to the point that we only put out 2 bags of trash on trash day, and for 5 people that's pretty good. I have quit using swiffer sheets and just use a microfiber cloth on my swiffer. We are not perfect in this area, never will be, but we try to be good steward's of our part of the earth and world.

I am really looking forward to working on today's Small Thing. I need to work on all of those areas in my life and this is a great way to start making time for them. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and are able to start next Monday feeling "recharged"

Company Girl Coffee

2009-03-14T15:03:00.002-05:00

I am a little bit late this week. It has just been one of those weeks around here. Maybe I'm letting the weather affect my outlook. We started the week in the high 70's with sunshine, we ended the week in the low 40's and rain, yuck!!! Oh well, I am looking forward to spring, I love seeing the flowers and trees bloom and getting started on our garden. I can already taste the fresh tomatoes we will be eating later this summer.

It was not a great week for my accomplishing the Small Things, but I did really enjoy lighting a candle to make the house smell good. I went with a lemonade candle in the hopes of making it feel more like spring inside.

Most of my week can be seen in the pictures on my previous post if you are interested in taking a look.

My gratitude list for the week:
1. A loving and gracious God.
2. A wonderful family, both here and all over the country.
3. A warm house on this cold, rainy day.
4. Wonderful friends.
5. New babies being born all around me; although this does make me want another one.
6. A fantastic Mother's group at my church.

Hope you all have a great week.

Random Pictures

2009-03-14T14:53:00.004-05:00

Here are a few random pictures from the last couple of weeks at our house.

The boys have been doing all things related to Dr. Seuss at preschool this month. This is Noah's "Cat in the Hat" hat he made for their Green Eggs and Ham breakfast.

Noah finished his basketball season last week and they were presented with their trophies.
Seth enjoying some painting/coloring time this week.
Riley painting, I think she painted herself more than the coloring book!
Dressed up for church and too cute for me to pass up on the picture.

So true

2009-03-10T12:30:00.002-05:00

I was bouncing around different blogs yesterday and came across this short poem. I don't know about you, but this rings very true in my home.

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep

Company Girl Coffee 3/6

2009-03-06T08:20:00.003-06:00

Good morning everyone,
Come in and help yourself to some coffee, tea, or whatever you would like. This morning started early with our oldest waking up at 3 this morning with a tummy ache, about 10 minutes later he threw up. Not my idea of a good morning wake up call. After he threw up he said he felt better and he went back to bed and sleep, I haven't heard from him again as he is sleeping in this morning. I hope it was just something he ate, because we have company coming to spend the weekend with us. A friend from high school and college is coming from Lexington to spend the weekend with us. It will be great to see her and her son, it's been a long time since we have been able to spend some time together.
This week has been busy with me trying to go through the kids clothes. I'm trying change over their clothes from this time last year, and figure out what they need for the coming spring and summer that I don't have for them. This is one task that overwhelms me and takes me quite awhile to accomplish. To me, it is one of the harder aspects of having 3 kids so close together.

And on to my gratitude list for this morning:
1. The wonderful spring weather we are getting in Nashville this weekend.
2. Receiving our income tax return.
3. A friend getting good news about her baby's position, she is due in 2 weeks.
4. A good and faithful God.
5. 3 beautiful, healthy children.
6. A wonderful husband who is also my best friend.
7. Jobs in this increasingly turbulent economy.
8. An upcoming weekend with a good friend.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Don't forget the time change on Sat.!!!!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-03-04T17:27:00.002-06:00

Baketball

2009-03-01T21:11:00.003-06:00

Here is a short video of Noah playing basketball. I hope you enjoy the entertainment of 4 year-olds playing basketball.

Baking

2009-03-01T21:05:00.002-06:00

My kids love to help in the kitchen and while I love to encourage them to "help" with almost everything around the house, this is a hard one for me. With 3 little kids all wanting to help it takes a lot longer to get a simple task done and I have to be careful to give everyone equal jobs. On Friday I decided to bake some Pear bread and of course everyone wanted to help. Here are a few pictures of our baking afternoon.

Pictures

2009-02-24T12:43:00.003-06:00

A couple of weeks ago it was in the mid-70's here. We took advantage of the wonderful weather to take the kids to the zoo. I thought you might enjoy a couple of pictures of them that day. (Especially for you Mama).

Company Girl Coffee 2/20

2009-02-20T17:47:00.004-06:00

Good evening Company Girls and others. I'm a little behind today in posting. It has been a very busy week at our house and while I thought today was going to be used to catch up on some things around here that has not happened since I have had a horrible headache all day.

This week was busy with our usual things; preschool, playdates, my work at the Y, and normal household chores. I was not great about the Small Things this week, wish I could have done better. Oh well, there is a time and season for everything.

On another Company Girl blog I saw her Gratitude Friday list and since I'm having one of those weeks in which I need to focus on my blessings instead of the day-to-day living here is mine.

1. A wonderful husband who is also my best friend.
2. A women's mini-retreat at my church next Friday night.
3. 3 fantastic kids
4. Jesus who died for my sins
5. A wonderful God who gives me many, many more blessings than I will ever deserve and who grants me grace everyday.
6. A part-time job that allows me to bring my kids to work with me while at the same time providing us with a fantastic preschool, extra income, and a membership to the YMCA.

I hope you each have a fantastic weekend. See you next week.

Company Girl Coffee 2/13

2009-02-13T14:36:00.002-06:00

Good afternoon Company Girls and others.
It has been a very hectic week around here, although I'm not sure how unusual that is. I have picked up a few more hours at the Y for a couple of weeks, this helps with my paycheck, but not with keeping up around the house. Meaning I've pretty much skipped most of the "Small Things" this week, but I still love reading them everyday.
On Tuesday I dropped the boys off at preschool to get 5 minutes down the road and get a call from them. My 3 year old had developed a 101 degree fever in the 5 minutes I was gone. We still don't know what was wrong with him. I picked him up, brought him home and gave him a dose of children's Advil, within 30-45 minutes his fever was gone and has not returned. That was also his only symptom.
Thursday was a full day of Valentine's parties at the boys preschool. This was fun, but hectic, it's hard to divide your time between 2 kids parties at the same school and at the same time. Next year will be even more interesting as I will have 3 kids there, oh well, I'll cross that bridge next year.
We did get good news from our family in Oklahoma, they were not hurt in the tornado that struck this week. My aunt's neighbor lost an outbuilding when the tornado that hit Edmond touched down, but thankfully my aunt and uncle's house was not harmed, nor were my cousins' houses.
We are not doing much for Valentine's day as my husband feels the same as Rachel Anne's husband, and honestly who can afford a sitter for 3 kids and the cost of going out. I have requested dinner at home, in which I do not have to cook. That is one of my favorite presents for any occasion.
I hope everyone has a great weekend, and fun on Valentine's day whatever you do.

Preschool Playgroup

2009-01-30T13:34:00.006-06:00

This morning the kids and I went to our church's preschool playdate. We went to make cookies with some of our friends, something we have done before and it's always a lot of fun. While we were waiting on our cookies to bake the kids started dancing to some music playing. Our oldest, Noah was born dancing. If there is music on he has to move, we have often observed him dancing while sitting in his chair, I'm not even sure he is always aware that he is moving.

Here is a short video from this morning's dance session. You can't hear the music very well, but I promise it was on. If you don't know us, my kids are the 3 blondies in the main frame, they usually stay as close together as possible.

Okay, while I try and figure out why the video is not working, here are a couple of pictures of them dancing.

Company Girl Coffee 1/31 and My Deal of the Year

2009-01-30T08:45:00.003-06:00

Good Morning Company Girls, Friends and Family. Come on in and help yourself to anything you find. This week at Home Sanctuary we have been working on a working schedule for our homes, boy is this what I needed. I have been thinking about doing this for awhile, but have not gotten around to it, so this was perfect timing for me.

For those people who know me, you know how much I love making lists. I make lists for everything, what to pack for a trip, things to do, grocery lists, books I've read. For about 8 months I have been making a menu plan for the week, but I will admit that making a menu plan for a month was harder for me to do, but I did enjoy it and it did make me think more about what our month holds. This also made the weekly household schedule for cleaning even more important, especially on weeks like this one when my husband is gone for a good portion of the week on a business trip and I am by myself with the kids.

Home Sanctuary has been a blessing in my life and I encourage you to stop by and check it out.

On a different note, I got the deal of the year this week. For 2 years I have been looking for a pre-lit Christmas tree, but I do not have the money to spend a couple of hundred dollars on a new one, and by the time I can look after Christmas at the sales the nice ones are usually long gone. On Tuesday afternoon I received a call from my good friend Leeanne, she had just purchased a $299 tree for $14.99 and they had one left. I threw Riley in the car, thank goodness the boys have preschool on Tuesday, and drove to the mall. We were there within 15 minutes, but the tree was gone. After talking to the employees for a couple of minutes they told me that they did have one tree left, but the box was broken and they didn't have a floor model to show me. They very kindly went to the back and brought the tree out for me to see. I was happy to buy their $499 for $28, yes you heard me right $28. I brought the tree home and set it up to make sure the lights worked before putting it in the attic for the rest of the year.

Here is a picture of the boys excited in front of our Christmas tree. I didn't really fix the tree so it looks a little sparse, I only put it up to make sure that the lights worked.

Basketball

2009-01-24T10:45:00.005-06:00

We have made our first foray into sports. Noah is now old enough to play basketball at the YMCA. He is thoroughly enjoying playing and is very proud of being on a team. If you have never seen a bunch of 4 year olds play basketball it is a great laugh and a lot of fun.

One of the issues with having children very close in age is trying to explain to a 3 year old why he is not old enough to play basketball like his brother, especially when he thinks they are the same age. We have appeased him by assuring him they can both play soccer this summer.

Here are a few pictures from Noah's first basketball game last week. Needless to say, Jared was very excited to see them wearing UK's colors.

The Best part of inauguration day

2009-01-21T14:19:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was the inauguration of our 44th president. I was excited for this day; not only was it a historic day in our nation's history, but in honor of it Krispy Kreme doughnuts gave away free donuts all day. Yes that's right, a free doughnut to all customers in honor of the inauguration.

So not only did we get a new president (yea!!!!!!!!!!), but we also got free doughnuts(double yea!!!!!!) After Riley and I picked the boys up from preschool we made our way over to Krispy Kreme for a very special after school surprise.

The kids enjoying their free doughnuts. I actually didn't get to eat mine, because Riley decided she did not like her sprinkles and ate mine instead. I could not handle the too sweet icing and sprinkles on hers so I went without. Believe me, I'm better off that way. I did get one bite and it was fantastic.

Company Girl Coffee 09

2009-01-09T08:47:00.002-06:00

This is my first Company Girl Coffee participation for 2009. Welcome to my little corner of the world.

My favorite Small Thing this week was getting to play. In my house that is a daily event anyway, but to get permission and points, that rocks! I did get my work done first, at least part of my list was completed, but then the kids and I spent time playing games and dancing around the house. There is nothing better to uplift my spirits for the day then a good laugh and great time spent with my kids. It makes the harder parts of my day much easier to bear.

And because I have not posted any Christmas pictures yet, here are a few from Christmas day with the kids favorite new toy. How did Santa Claus know they loved the Polar Express and trains?

Old interests

2009-01-09T08:14:00.002-06:00

One thing that all parents know is that interests and hobbies usually get pushed to the back of the priority list with the arrival of children. This is typically required for a at least a short time, but how many of us ever pick those interests back up? One of my goals for the new year (one I did not list here earlier) is to get back to one of my pre-children interests.

Something that mostly only my family and a few friends from childhood know is that I took 13 years worth of piano lessons. At first it was something my parents made me do and even later it there were times when I wanted to quit my lessons for more free time. I was never good enough to be a concert pianist or anything close, I just love sitting down at a piano and playing a song or two for myself.

A few months ago, my parents gave us a piano, mostly for my children to be able to start lessons in a couple of years. I mostly ignored the piano until the last month or so. It is very hard for me to sit down and play, all 3 kids love to help out with my songs, and the perfectionist side of me gets frustrated with the errant notes; my own and theirs.

Two weeks ago I made the decision to not let this stand in my way. I plan to make a trip to the music store to buy some new music and get back to one of my loves. Music, specifically piano, is a large part of my past and something that brings me a lot of pleasure, this house has had a silent piano for too long and that side of myself has been silent for too long.

Do you have interests/hobbies/passions you have let go? Maybe 2009 is a good time to revisit those and bring back a part of your pre-parent life.

Goals for 2009

2009-01-06T23:04:00.002-06:00

This year is shaping up to be a very busy and eventful year, so I'm hoping that some of the goals I have set for myself will be easy to attain this year. Hopefully posting them here will also give me extra incentive to actually accomplish them this year.

2009 Goals

1. Read at least 40 books this year.
2. Have more patience with my kids.
3. Spend more time one-on-one with each child.
4. Be better about daily quiet times.
5. Work out at least 3 times per week, almost every week.
6. Get my pictures in better order. (Maybe actually get caught up on the kids albums)

I guess that's it for the year. Well, maybe not it, but a start on some tasks to work on this year.

Seth surgery update

2009-01-06T15:20:00.009-06:00

Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts during Seth's surgery before Christmas. Everything went extremely well and Seth is back to his normal self, with a fixed thumb. The surgery only lasted about 30 minutes, shorter than the hour we were told and after 5 days in a cast to keep him from messing with his stitches, he was able to use his thumb again and there were no complaints of pain.

I'll post some pictures soon; he was just too cute in those hospital p.j.'s for kids that I had to get a picture.

Seth and Mommy in recovery

My week

2008-12-19T16:15:00.003-06:00

Welcome Company Girls, friends, and family. It has been a crazy week at our house and I'm trying to get some last minute chores finished this Friday afternoon.

I worked a few more hours than usual this week, but extra money is always helpful this time of year. I attended the staff Christmas party for the YMCA on Sunday evening and had a nice evening of food and fellowship. On Monday, my normal 3 hour night shift at the Y. Wed. the boys had their last day of preschool and on Thursday morning we attended their Christmas concert. It was their last day with their friends as we have removed them from that program. That is a very long story, but essentially we were very unhappy with some things going on at their preschool and decided they were better off not continuing there. I have since found out that we are not the only ones and no less than 5 other children from the two classes are also not returning after Christmas.

Last night Jared and I were able to attend a special sneak preview of the movie, Marley & Me. I recommend it to anyone except maybe small children. It was a very funny and heartwarming movie and not just for women, my husband also enjoyed the movie very much.

Today we found out that our middle child, Seth, will be having surgery on Tuesday morning. This summer he closed his hand in the back of the sliding door on our minivan and it froze the top joint of his thumb in a bent locked position. It is an outpatient surgery to release the tendon in his thumb, but it does require him to be put under anesthesia because of his age. If I might ask for your prayers for this surgery. None of my children have ever required surgery and the unknown and typical mother anxieties make me nervous.

My favorite small things this week were getting points for lighting a candle, something I love to do anyway, and today's small thing of getting points for doing something of my choosing, especially since this has been a very busy day/week. At least, I'll get some points for getting all of my laundry done today or was that scrubbing the bathtub.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I will update everyone next week on the outcome of Seth's surgery.

My wish for you this season.....

2008-12-15T22:05:00.005-06:00

Many words come to my mind this time of year; joy, love, happiness, merry, wonder, and my favorite PEACE. This is my wish for my family and yours this holiday season. Christmas here is hectic: there are parties to attend, cookies to bake, cards to mail, presents to buy, and general mayhem. Peace is what God offered us with the birth of his Son. Maybe not peace meaning no wars or other problems, but peace within our own lives. The peace that comes from taking a moment to remember the real reason for this time of celebration. The peace that happens within our souls when we rest in Him instead of the worldly aspects of Christmas and the peace that comes with knowing and loving our Savior.

This Christmas I wish you all a season full of peace, love, and joy. May we all take a few moments to remember the real reason we celebrate Christmas. I wish you all a wonderful Christmas season.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Company Girl Coffee

2008-12-12T15:14:00.003-06:00

It's Friday again and time for Company Girl Coffee. It's been a great week, and as always I was very excited to get the verse for the month. I love the artwork Rachel Anne puts with the verse and I love the new verse and the way it always seems to speak to me.

My favorite Small Thing this month was spending time with my baby. During this season of my life, spending time with each child individually is a challenge. I try my best to spend some time each day with each child, but with 3 kids with the ages of 4, 3, and 2, it is not an easy task. On Tuesday I was able to spend some great time one-on-one with Noah. While the younger two kids took their naps, Noah and I finished a Lite Brite picture and finished a puzzle. It's amazing how relaxing these activities were with only one 4 year old and not the whole gaggle that usually participates. We finished our time alone with a shared cup of hot chocolate, a great treat on a cold afternoon. It was a great afternoon and I loved having that time with my first baby.

Out of the mouths of babes

2008-12-05T20:54:00.003-06:00

I coudn't resist posting a conversation I had with my 3 year-old son earlier this week. First a little background information for those who do not know us personally. I am 5'2" and am considerably shorter than everyone in my family of origin. My husband is 6'5" and the shortest of the three boys in his family, his mom is even 6'1". Our boys are tall and skinny and according to their doctor will be well over 6 foot, while our daughter will probably be closer to my height. Now that you know the details, the story...

Seth: Mommy, that's me when I was a baby (looking at a picture in our bedroom)

Me: Yes honey it is.

Seth: Mommy, God grew me to a big boy.

Me: Yes he did, but He started you as a baby.

Seth: But He grew me to a big boy now.

Me: You're right.

Seth: Mommy, when is God going to finish growing you?

Me: He already did honey, this is as tall as I'm going to be.

Seth: But you're little, God needs to finish growing you.

At this point I was out of answers but full of laughter. It's true, you never know what they are going to say, but in our house you will almost always get a laugh out of it.

Company Girl Coffee Dec. 5

2008-12-05T13:13:00.004-06:00

Welcome. Sit down, enjoy a hot drink with me and we can talk about our weeks. It's been a relatively quiet week at our house, I know, I'll pay for that comment later.

I've done good this week at finishing the Small Things at Home Sanctuary every day this week, hopefully I'll be able to keep that up this month. I really enjoyed doing something for my Real Self on Tuesday and I happily went to my Mom to Mom group without one moment of guilt and enjoyed my evening of bible study and girl talk.

Today's Small Thing is to "Wipe the Slate Clean" be it a counter top or relationship, and while relationships can always be improved and I did clean off my buffet this morning, doing the "Small things" everyday is a kind of Clean Slate for me. If I didn't get the task done the previous day I get to start fresh each morning with a new Small Thing and every day I get to work at making our home a sanctuary for my family. I'm also trying to wipe the slate clean with myself, too often we beat ourselves up for not being good enough, not being perfect wives, daughters, friends, MOTHERS!!!!; but more often than not we are much harder on ourselves than our friends and families. Today I'm trying to let go of those things and just enjoy all of the many blessings in my life.

Pictures

2008-12-01T21:36:00.006-06:00

The weather on Thanksgiving here was fantastic and since we were going to be at Jared's parents house we took the opportunity to get some great pictures of the kids. It was the best experience we have had so far in trying to get everyone's pictures (alone or together). Here are a few of my favorite pictures.

Noah, Seth, and Riley

Seth

Noah

Riley, this picture was taken at Seth's birthday party.

The next picture was taken at the beginning of October when my brother was visiting at my parents house from MT. I like the picture and thought I would share it with everyone.

Thankful

2008-11-28T19:40:00.003-06:00

I love Thanksgiving, it is my favorite holiday, always has been. This year I thought I would list some of the many things I am most thankful for, in no particular order.

1. God and my Jesus who died for me.
2. Jared
3. Noah
4. Seth
5. Riley
6. The rest of my family, by blood or marriage
5. Health
6. Wonderful friends
7. A great church family
8. Our own home
9. Jared's good job, so I can be home with our kids.
10. My life and all of the many blessing that are apart of it.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that this is the start to a great holiday season for you all.

Broken Foot

2008-11-21T14:29:00.003-06:00

Yes, you read that correctly. Last night I walked out the door to go work my 4 hours at the Y and 2 seconds later I was laying on the front porch crying. I stepped wrong, rolled my foot, heard a "pop" and could not walk. Thankfully Jared was home, heard me scream and came to my rescue. Any other day I would have been leaving the house with 3 preschoolers in tow.

After arranging for our neighbor to come watch the kids, Jared took me to the ER, where an hour later they confirmed that I had broken a bone in my right foot. The doctor called it a "ballet dancer's break", ironic since I was wearing ballet style flats when it happened.

How do you take care of a 2, 3, and 4 year old while on crutches for 2 weeks? That is a question I have yet to get answered. This morning the kids wanted oatmeal for breakfast, easy enough, except how do you get hot bowls of oatmeal to the table. The solution, offered by my dad, use the kids little shopping cart. Noah brought the shopping cart to the kitchen, I placed a bowl in the cart and then Noah pushed the cart to the table and put the bowls at each person's place. It worked out pretty good, although it was quite time consuming, but at least everyone was able to have a hot bowl of oatmeal for breakfast this morning.

I'll update later as to how we survived this time and I'll gladly take any suggestions from anyone.

Big Shoes to Fill

2008-11-17T21:38:00.005-06:00

Riley has a fascination with shoes. ( I know we are in trouble!!!!) Yesterday she decided that Daddy's shoes were the best. Once the camera was spotted everyone wanted their pictures taken with the shoes on.

And in case those shoes look bigger than most, you're right, Daddy wears a 14.

Where have we been?

2008-11-02T21:26:00.004-06:00

Everywhere!!!! Birthday parties, the zoo, the park, a pumpkin farm; we have been having a great time this fall.

Seth had his first friends birthday party this year. We had a great time and he loved playing with his friends. His favorite part of the day was when everyone sang Happy Birthday to him.

We have also spent a lot of time playing at the zoo and the playground as usual, but special this month was a visit to a local pumpkin farm. The kids had a great time picking out their first pumpkins, playing in the corn field, and seeing the animals. It was a great afternoon with our good friends Analayne and Leeanne.

We have been having a great time and November looks like it might be more of the same. I will try and be better about posting, especially pictures as we move into the holiday season.

Pizza

2008-10-04T14:36:00.003-05:00

Last week we decided to have an adventure with pizza. Our grocery store has started selling pizza dough, for about $2 you get get a ball of pizza dough big enough to make a 12" pizza or several individual pizzas. Jared helped the kids roll out their dough, I helped them spread out the pizza sauce and then they were able to put any of the several different toppings on their pizza however they wished.

The finished pizzas were great and it was a fun way to have dinner one evening. We will definitely do this again as it was inexpensive, fun, and the pizzas tasted great. Plus, the kids had a fantastic time playing in the flour (which ended up all over the dining room).

Easy Cheap Entertainment

2008-09-24T21:02:00.002-05:00

On Saturday the boys went to a birthday party for a friend from church. They had a great time and when they left they each received a goodie bag. The bags only lasted to the car, as they both unpacked everything in the bags as soon as they were buckled in. Their favorite thing in the bag were the punch balloons. You know what I'm talking about, those balloons that have the rubber band on one end and after they have been blown up you can punch them. A favorite of mine growing up and my kids seem to enjoy them also.

By the time we got home Seth had lost his balloon, I know seems hard to do when they did not get out of the car, but it happened. Jared started blowing up Noah's balloon and it popped after a couple of breaths. Luckily, I had a $1.00 bag of 3 punch balloons in the closet (gotta love The Dollar Tree) and two of them were the same colors as the missing and popped balloons. This meant that all 3 kids now had their own balloons and our house was a happy punchy place to be on Saturday night.

My Favorite....

2008-09-21T15:36:00.002-05:00

I couldn't resist sharing this picture of Jared and the kids. This is a daily ritual at our house, reading to the kids. Jared and I share this time, but I had to get a picture of him and the kids together, my favorite people and picture subjects.

Cherry Pie

2008-09-19T13:03:00.004-05:00

This week I attempted my first pie. I love to bake; cookies, cakes, bread, but pies have always seemed harder and more scary.

I decided to go for it this week when on of the Small Things on the Home Sanctuary blog was to make something from scratch. We have a few bags of fresh cherries we picked this summer, which we froze, that were just sitting there waiting to be used for something. While, I will admit that the pie was not the prettiest pie ever made it tasted great, and once it is paired with some vanilla ice cream who cares what it looked like in the pie plate anyway.

For those of you interested in what it did look like here is a picture for your viewing pleasure.

Also, while the pie was not as hard as I thought it might be, I think that I will stick to the cookies, cakes, and breads for awhile and maybe try again later.

Watermelon

2008-09-15T20:27:00.004-05:00

If you know our family, you know that watermelon is a favorite treat at our house. We eat watermelon all summer and rarely go a day without watermelon available for a snack, with lunch, or for desert. Yes, I said desert. Watermelon is such a favorite for my son, Noah, that he turns down cookies, ice cream, brownies, and any other sugary treat you can think of for desert.

This picture was taken on Sunday after a birthday party in the backyard. I was putting away the food after everyone had gone home and Riley caught me with watermelon in my hand. This is Riley enjoying her 4th piece of watermelon for the day and I think she would have eaten more if we would have let her.

Company Girl Coffee

2008-09-13T16:35:00.005-05:00

For several months now I have been reading a blog called Home Sanctuary. This blog focuses on doing "Small Things" around your home to help make it a sanctuary for you and your family. I try to do the posted "assignment" each day, it helps make me feel like I'm accomplishing at least one thing every day. This week she started "Company Girl Coffee" where we can share each week, I love this idea, although we'll see how good I am at participating.

This week my favorite small thing was working on my bookcase. This is something that I have been putting on my To-Do List almost every day for the past couple of weeks, but never actually completed. This week I did.....

Before

After

Contrary to what it looks like, I took about 30 books off of the shelves and as much as I would like to put decorative objects in with the books, my kids are still too little for that to be an option right now.

If you are wondering about my classification system, the book are arranged by subject and then my size within the subject.

First Day of School

2008-09-12T12:45:00.004-05:00

On Wednesday the boys started "school", this is a relative term since at our house this means Mother's Day Out for Seth and Preshool for Noah. Seth is only going 1 day/week this year, but he could not be happier. He keeps telling me, "Mommy, I big to go to school!" He has never had separation issues, but I was a little bit bummed when he pretty much ran through the door of his classroom without slowing down to say good-bye or give me a hug.

Noah was excited to be on the preschool side this year and walked right into his class, although he did stop long enough for me to give him a hug.

I'm not sure if Riley was happy or sad that day. She likes having me all to herself all day, but I think she missed having her brothers around to play with. While we didn't get to do anything exciting our first day together; we spent the entire day at home with a plumber fixing the bathtub and running new pipes under the house; I'm looking forward to the next few Wed. hopefully we can do some fun things, just the 2 of us.

Here are a few pictures of the first day of school.

Seth

Noah