Melissa and Jeff come to visit

What a great present to have my sis and her hubby here for my birthday! Melissa and I are due ONE DAY apart, we couldn't have planned it better (and we definitely didn't plan it !). She is having a baby girl (it's their 1st child) and I am having a little boy (if you've lost count this is our 4TH!!!).
How fun to be pregnant together and have our babies so close in age.

We really enjoyed their visit! Here are some highlights:

Yummy birthday lunch at the Olive Garden.

Melissa and Jeff went to the Slugger Museum where Jeff got his own genuine Louisville Slugger bat (his name engraved and all).

I love this pic of my girls snuggling with Melissa. They love their aunt Melissa so much.

Jeff got tickets to the Ryder Cup and had a great time watching his favorite sport just feet away from his golf idols. Unfortunately he couldn't take a camera in but Melissa has a fun post about his experience here.

We visited the Louisville Temple (just a few miles down the road from our house) for a photo opportunity.
We love to head out to the Ohio River to play at the park and eat at the family friendly restaurant on the river.

We played lot's of games. Ticket to Ride is a favorite. I even won...twice! (You are only impressed with that if you have actually played Ticket to Ride with Melissa and Jeff, they are insane!)

Operation (without the batteries because it gives my girls an anxiety attack if the little buzzer goes off) and Othello where the favorites of Hallie and Megan.

No trip to Kentucky is complete without a drive up to Cinci to visit the GAP clearance center... oh, I love that place.

Melissa and I love to be crafty and we did some fun projects (I will post them on my creative blog soon) we also re-did her blog template, made "thank-you" cards, visited some fun fabric/craft stores, and created baby shower invites on photoshop... so fun.

We also went to the Balloon Glow... that experience deserves it's own post so I'll get to that soon.

Gettin' it done!

Taping and mudding and mudding and sanding and mudding again and sanding again.

The dust, oh the dust... it's everywhere!

But, it's worth it!
Texturizing and priming.

We were letting the primer dry when I heard Trevor walk in the room and yell, "Oh, Crap!"

I came running up the stairs to find that Campbell had snuck

in the room and done a little painting himself. Little stinker!

He wasn't too happy about being caught.

Ike winds hit Kentucky

(above pictures courtesy WHAS11 news)

Wow, we had a crazy windstorm Sunday from Hurricane Ike. Winds up to 75mph! Hundreds of thousands are without power in the area and the newest update is they may not get power for up to 2 weeks! Even most hospitals are running off of generators. Unfortunately Louisville sent over 200 power company people down to Texas to help with the Hurricane and now they are trying to get them back.

Lot's of stores are closed including some gas stations so that the stations that are open have long lines. Schools are closed and the report yesterday was that 130 roads were closed because they are blocked by trees and other debris. Power lines are down all over the place. We drove under one today and I was just praying it wouldn't fall on us.

It's crazy around here but we are some of the few lucky ones who still have power and it has been so neat to see everyone out in the neighborhood helping other neighbors clean up the mess.

These are a few pictures of the damage at our house... luckily nothing serious. Mostly just a mess of debris and a few trees and fences down. Our grill has seen better days .

It has also been a good reminder to fill any holes I have in my food storage/ emergency preparedness and I'm finding I have a lot of holes!

Notes from Megan

Yesterday everyone in our family received a "card" from Megan. They are so precious I wanted to share them.

Trevor's card

"Dad I love you I love you Dad Your mi best frad Dad (heart)"



My card

"I love you mom I love you Mom your mi best mom you mak thin betr"



Hallie's card

"Hallie I love you Hallie Your wan av my best frenz your wan av mi best sister"



Campbell's card

" I love you Caml your mi best fred"



New baby's card

" Noo babe I love you I kat wat tel you kam"


Oh, the simple rewards of motherhood.

May I pick your brain...please?

So I have some questions I've been pondering and I thought maybe someone out there could help me ... if you don't mind... please :)

* I bought some used Harry Potter books today. Do you think Hallie (7 years-old) is too little for Harry Potter? Do you think it would be too confusing or too scary for a 7 year-old? What if I read them to her?

* Toddler bed or twin? Campbell is still in the crib but with the baby coming in November I'm thinking I need to get him out of the crib by February so the baby can have it. I'm just debating if I should get a toddler bed (anybody getting rid of theirs?) or go straight to the twin. With my girls I put them right into a twin bed but they were older. It would be nice to do a toddler bed because it wouldn't take up much room since they will be sharing a bedroom and I think Campbell would adjust to it better but I don't want to spend money on a bed that he will outgrow so quickly (the mattress is the same size as a crib mattress). Any opinions?

*Finally, how the heck do you discipline a 18month old crazy little boy? Seriously? Nothing is working, what do (or did) you do that works? Help!!! (I'm begging you on this one)

Thanks

Thanks be to Lacey who led me to this great site for a tutorial on 3 column blog templates. I LOVE having the extra sidebar on the left! Less scrolling for everybody!

"Campbell, can you say... OUCH?"

Untitled from T G on Vimeo.

It's tough being a kid, especially when your having a bad hair day!

Campbell is 18 months old and boy is this kid busy! He hates to be slowed down (just look at that face when I stopped him to take a picture). He had his well-child appointment this week

and the weighed in at 24lbs 9 oz (40 %) and 32 inches (50%) tall.

He is my fastest walker but my slowest talker (although a friend assured me that it means he is a left-brainer and so he will probably be a brilliant scientist one day ;)

He loves to keep busy and find new things to do. He recently took one of the neighbor girl's shoes and filled it with chocolate syrup. You should have seen the look on his face when he handed it to her, he was so proud.

Campbell still loves to dance and has his own kind of rhythm. He is always bouncing and swaying to the beat (he even digs the Hymns).

What else can I say, this kid makes me laugh every- single- day.

I adore him.

I'm against child labor laws

I believe in teaching the importance of a good work ethic at a young... very young age. ;)heehee
(Actually, the kid is just obsessed with vacuums!)

Learned a new blogging trick worth sharing

I wanted to learn how to "sign" my posts and found out how you can do it and have your "signature" automatically added to your posts. Just check out this great tutorial!

I didn't use the "mylivesignature" (although, I've tried it and it is really cool!) I just wanted to create my own whimsical signature which I did on photoshop and then uploaded it to photobucket and followed the rest of the tutorial.

Just thought I'd share.

Taylorsville Lake

Taylorsville Lake is about an hour away and the girl's favorite place to camp since it is also where they found their turtle "Shelly Sandy". Unfortunately, this time when they went hunting for a new turtle they only found a skunk!

Our friends Christina and Dave joined us for dinner and smores (which we roasted over the gas stove in the air conditioned trailer since it was 90+degrees outside... why sweat if you don't have to?).



We threw rocks in the lake and Campbell found a pack of cigarettes to play with then did a nose dive into the rocky shore... he sure keeps us busy. He also keeps us laughing...everyday!


Campbell and Nixon are buds and love to chase each other and fight over toys... it's what little boys do.
Hallie and Meg loved the break from routine and, as always, they love to go camping with daddy.

I personally don't love camping but I do love spending time with my fam. Afterall, together IS our favorite place to be. ;)

Sheetrock!!!

Trev has been working really hard on the new room. My sis and her hubby are coming in Sept. so we now have a deadline we'd like to meet. Trev, with the help of a few friends, (thank you Brett and Dave N. -- bless you, bless you!) has put up a lot of the sheetrock and it is really looking like a room!

We had no idea just how much work this room would end up being and we are soooo happy to be at this point. Still a lot to do but look how far it's come!

Back in Session

Ahhh, the first day of school. I can't recall a summer ever going as fast as this one did! It was a great summer full of fun memories that I will cherish.
Hallie and Megan were excited and anxious to start school in fact they could hardly sleep the night before and they insisted that I wake them up at 6:15am so we had plenty of time to "get ready and do their hair cute." Stripes greeted us at the front door of the school. Hallie willingly posed for a picture while Campbell stared in unbelief and Megan hid behind me (She was nervous enough without adding a 7 ft tiger into her morning).
We dropped Megan off first to her class where they were coloring a schoolhouse then off to Hallie's class just down the hall where her teacher anxiously awaited her arrival (did I mention we were running a little late... even after waking up at 6:15am! ) I felt the lump forming in my throat as I walked from their new classes towards the exit. What is it about the first day of school? I can't help but get a little choked up about this milestone in their lives. But, I was strong and held it in... until I got in the car, then I allowed myself a few tears before I headed home for a quiet day with just me and my little man. (Did I say quiet? Haha )

When the afternoon came I headed up to the bus stop and the girls walked off the bus smiling and looking triumphant. The first day was a huge success and there was lot's to talk about. Stealing a tradition from a friend years ago I make cookies on the first day of school every year and so when the kids got home we sat around the kitchen table eating cookies and milk and talking about all of the events of the day.
Megan's favorite part was riding the bus and reading stories and Hallie enjoyed learning a new song and seeing her old friends and teacher again (they keep the same class for 2 years).
They were both beaming and I was so thrilled and so thankful that they had such a wonderful day!
Here's to the first day of school!!

He hears me.

As all of my dear friends and family know I have been worried about Megan for awhile now. To say she is shy is an understatement. Infact there are dear friends of mine who have never heard her speak. She only speaks to a select few so when I was praying to know if I should put her in kindergarten this year I was nervous when I felt strongly that I should.

How would she communicate? How would they test her? Who would be friends with a little girl who won't talk to them? Would they make fun of her? Would she hate school and be sad and lonely everyday?

As her mother I just want her to be happy and thrive and feel loved so I prayed for faith and for help for Megan.

Soon after, I was vacuuming my house and felt the prompting to stop and call the school to talk to someone about Megan. I did, not knowing what I was going to say. They answered and connected me with the school counselor. I tried to explain my concerns and told the counselor we believe Meg has what they call "selective mutism". She stopped me and said, "My child had that". I was shocked... my pediatrician didn't even know what it was, it is so rare. I felt myself warm inside and tears filled my eyes as she told me she thought I should put Megan in "Jungle" during the summer (which is a program at the school for kids whose parents work) to help her get comfortable with the school and meet some other kids.

After calling the Jungle director and talking to the teacher over Megan's age group it was all set-up and they knew the purpose of Megan being there.

The first day of Jungle was hard. I took her early and tried to get her comfortable with the new surroundings but when it was time to go she clung to me and when I looked in her eyes I could see she was absolutely terrified. I finally had the teacher hold her while I tore myself from her grasp and practically ran to the car where I promptly burst into tears wondering if I was making a huge mistake. I cried and prayed... and I was comforted.

Needless to say we did this for awhile but gradually it was easier for her to say good-bye and we noticed she starting acting differently at home. She seemed to somehow be braver and happier.

Last week was Megan's last day at "Jungle" and she walked in happily and sat in her spot as I waved good-bye. When I came back to pick her up I was greeted by 2 smiling faces as the director exclaimed, "Megan talked today!" "What?" I couldn't believe it but apparently Megan talked to one of the girls (Sydney) in her group. That was the first time she spoke to anyone there... and everyone was so proud of her. I was thrilled and so grateful that the Lord led us there.

My prayers have become more fervent as school started today. Monday we had the opportunity to meet Megan's new teacher and some of the other kids in the class. Her teacher was as sweet as can be and we were shocked to find that of the 4 friends starting kindergarten ALL 4 were in her class!

I dropped Megan off today for her first day of school. I could tell she was anxious as we nervously looked for her seat in a crowded room of strange faces and then there was Sydney sitting right next to Megan's assigned seat. "Hi Megan!" Sydney smiled and Megan smiled (looking relieved) and slid into her seat. Again my heart warmed. The spirit whispered to me that the Lord had heard my prayers and He will take care of my quiet little Megan and I am so humbled by His love.

gIrLy HaiR

With school starting this week I've been trying to come up with some new fun hair-do's for the girls. I used to be creative but I've gotten really boring and lazy when it comes to hair. Anyway, I found some awesome hair blogs and wanted to share them. Check them out!
http://allgirlshair.blogspot.com/
http://babesinhairland.blogspot.com/
http://girlydos.blogspot.com/
http://shedoeshair.blogspot.com/
http://hair4myprincess.blogspot.com/