Our Adventure called Life

Rise-n-Shine The most beautiful time of the year is upon us and we are fully emerged in pumpkins, costumes, and brightly colored leaves.  We kicked off our October by joining our friends in the Smile Mile, a walk to benefit down syndrome.  It was a cold and beautiful morning and our babes enjoyed being out and about in the crowd. Mmmmm.....pumpkin donuts The fall festival came to town and the kids got to experience the variety of foods that can be eaten from a stick.  I'm not a fan of the evening crowd so we ventured during the day and met Nana for lunch.  Despite eating our weight in fried foods at the festival, we made a pit stop at Donut Bank afterwards for iced coffee and pumpkin spice donut holes. Spoooooky There's been a couple nice and sunny days that have allowed us to play outside and soak up a few extra rays of sun before the looming fall air blows in.  I've been able to complete some outdoor crafts and arrange the 50+ pumpkins and gourd...

On the Road! The end of summer brought one last summer fling to the Fish4.  We loaded up the car and drove 7 hours south to Hot Springs, Arkansas.  The trip served 2 purposes, we met up with 2 guys that Scott went to school with (and their families) and it was also 1 of 3 states that I needed to complete my adventures in all 50 states. Home sweet home The kids have road tripped a handful of times, but that doesn't ease the fear of wondering how they will behave on this trip.  We packed a few movies, a few toys, lots of snacks, and off we sailed (drove) south.  The first 2 hours the kids entertained themselves by talking, playing and daydreaming out the window.  We saw numerous cotton fields, field fires and even a combine completely engulfed in flames. We stopped for lunch and told the kids if they napped we'd let them watch a movie when they woke up.  Happily, they took the bribe and by the time naps were over, we were roughly 2 hours away fro...

Looking back I love "looking back" on Facebook at the pictures and posts from years past.  The other day the above picture popped up in my feed.  Five years after this photo was taken, I look at it and feel my heart drop.  I can still feel the sadness that I carried in my heart on that very day.  I can see my smile was forced and although I was glad to be surrounded by dear friends, I felt alone. I was roughly 1.5 months pregnant with our honeymoon baby.  I knew the child in my stomach had been dealt a fatal prognosis.   I knew the chance of me carrying this baby to full term was less than 1%.  I knew that every second I carried this baby was 1 second closer to having to tell her good-bye. A small number of people knew at the time what my husband and I were facing, I didn't want to deal with the woeful looks from friends and family.  Looking back, I wouldn't change that.  We needed the time both during and after to figure out how to ...

4 years old and so very loved The way his blue eyes sparkle will stop you in your tracks.  The way his mouth turns up into a grin makes smiling contagious.  The way his blonde hair shimmers in the sun will make you think there's gold mixed in.  The amount of joy he has brought to our lives...indescribable.   At Birth                         4 Years 6lbs 5.9oz                     36lbs    19 inches                    34 inches Newborn Baby P He rolls out of bed around 6:45 and wants to cuddle for a few minutes before asking for breakfast.  I love the way his hair sticks up crazy and how he looks in his little truck jammies.  I hope he lets me dress him in matching top and pant jammies for another 4 years.  He wants cereal for breakfast, every morning.  His favo...

Baby L I remember looking at the ultrasound screen and knowing I was looking at our daughter before the ultrasound tech could say the words, "It's a girl!" I watched the itty bitty squiggly baby girl and felt excitement and fear.  Images of big bows, sassy attitudes, and spilled nail polish flashed through my brain.  Fast forward 2 years later....and all the images are true.  The fear I previously felt has turned to enjoyment, to pride, to immense love.  The little girl that scared me so much before she even weighed 1lb., has now turned 2. Birth                               2 Years 7 lbs 5oz                       24 lbs (14%) 19.5 inches                   28 inches (9%) This little doll rises and shines around 7am each and every day.  She'll start singing, talking to her...

Just the 2 of Us Prior to meeting Scott, I went through a phase of thinking I didn't want children (that was a result of being around undisciplined children).  Then I thought for awhile that I wanted a big family, 5 kids sounded just about right.  And then I met Scott. My sister & I (sometime in the 80's) Scott came from a family of 4 as did I.  As we talked about the future and marriage, the topic of children was a light conversation.  We both wanted kids, just a couple, but if for whatever reason kids weren't a part of our future together, we would be ok with that.  We didn't set a timeline or come to a conclusion about how many kids we wanted, we just agreed to let life happen. Family of 4 Now we have our own little family of 4.  Scott has this perfect little replica of himself that he's taught about fuel injection and hydraulic pressure.  I have this perfect little replica of myself (as a blonde) that is sassy and sweet and wil...

Face Time with Daddy When the opportunity came for Scott to get away from the daily stresses of life and head north for a week long fishing trip with the guys, we both said "YES!"  He knew he needed it, I knew he needed it, and the kids and I could handle a week without our favorite guy. Back in Warrick County Monday morning he pulled out before the sun or the kids had woken.  As the kids rolled out of bed asking if daddy already "went to work?" I explained that he was heading north on a fishing trip, even showing them on a map that daddy was far away.  Nearly a week after he's been gone, they continue to think daddy is just at work.  Some concepts are just hard to grasp when you're little. They love playing at playgrounds Tuesday we headed to my parents house to soak up some Nana and Papaw love!  It was a beautiful day so we headed to the lake to get some exercise and let the kids burn off some energy.  We stuffed ourselves with pizza and ...