We Were Showered!

My Mom, My Sister, Jen and her new, sweet little guy, D. came for a visit. A shower was being given for D. and Lucey by our Kansas City relatives.

I loved getting to know my little nephew. Lucey and D. played, colored and ate together. They were so cute sitting at the little antique table I just bought for Lucey. It was sweet parenting side by side with my sister. Something we thought we would never do together. Especially at our ages! Lucey and D. are just 5 months apart in age.

It was really funny watching D. and Lucey with my Mom. They both wanted her at the same time. Here, Lucey reading with Nana. Lucey can sit on a lap for a long time. Especially Nana's lap. I have quite a few photos with my Mom holding both of her newest grandchildren at the same time. She loves it.

Lucey is showing D. the outside. It's a beautiful day; time to get ready for the park.

Nana takes turn pushing the little ones.

We went to the apple orchard. Unfortunately, no apples....this was as good as it got. It was a beautiful day and the kids got to run and play.

Lucey and Nana.

We stopped by my Uncle Paul's house to drop Mom off. Jen got the grand tour.

Mom is the "Grandchild Whisper" dogs like her too. ;-)

The big party hosted by my Aunt Clare, my Cousin Emily and my Uncle Paul. It was an amazing celebration and we appreciate all of our family coming to meet Lucey and D. I think there must have been at least 60 people gathered together. We have such a big family. Lucey and D. make grandchildren 32 and 33 into our family.

I have a lot of great pictures....thank you, Kathy, for grabbing my camera! I don't know who is comfortable with the blog to I opted to include the pictures of those who I know don't mind.

Me and my little cousin Heather. We were so close when we were young. I'm so glad I get the opportunity to see a little more of her now that we live in Kansas. She had big news this night...she engaged. Congratulations Heather!

Emily came all the way from Chicago and did a lot of work make the shower extra special. Thank you so much Emily.

My sweet Goddaughter, Kara. She is always so great with Lucey.

D. got a lot of gifts....he was opening and then ran off to play with a good one I'm sure! Here, Jen is opening a few on his behalf.

Lucey also got a lot of wonderful gifts.

This little lap top computer from Nana was a huge hit.

We're headed to church the next day and here she is with her lap top. Look at her hand on the mouse....she knows what she's doing. Oh, that's right, she watched me all the time. :-) She is also wearing her new little dress given by Auntie M.

I didn't have any pictures of me with Aunt Clare and Uncle Paul...darn...they did so much work t throw such a special party. Thank you so much!!!

I have slacked off on photographing gifts....Lucey received so much, there is no way I can get them all together. We are incredibly grateful for all the generosity.

We are blessed.

Our Home--Our Life

So we live in Military Housing. This is a beautiful Fort. There are gorgeous historic homes (unfortunately there wasn't one available for us when we arrived) and such rich history here. We have an abundance of walking trails and big beautiful old trees. The kids are safe and can ride their bikes everywhere. We do like our home...I don't love it. It's a challenge to decorate. I finally hung some curtains in the dinning area. I had these from a previous home we owned.

We have a very small foyer and no "mud room." With 4 kids this can be a challenge with book bags, shoes and coats. I had to make the decision to use our foyer functionally. I hung this black and cream toile valance from a previous home, I have a table that usually holds a basket with our mail and there is a bowl that keeps our keys. Some day I will have a grand foyer that says, "Welcome." For now it says, "Come on in and dump your stuff."

The boys are at school as I type....I should take a picture after they arrive...this space will be crazy with shoes, coats, book bags and musical instruments. Actually, I do have them take some things up to their room but it takes awhile for things to migrate up. I'm sure some of you know what I'm talking about. (There is a black bench with a shelf with baskets under the peg rack...that helps a little)

The chairs I ordered finally arrived. I like them even better than the little fabric swatch in which I made the decision. Whew. On a side note...this room is like a bowling alley....24 x 11 1/2 a challenge. We have 8 foot ceilings with a 12 x24 inch (wide) beam that hangs down and is not even centered in the middle of the room. You can kind of see it in the right hand corner of the picture. We can't paint....any suggestions?

It took me awhile to get all of us organized. Our last few homes had desks built into the kitchen with so much room for organizing and storing files. This kitchen does not even include a pantry for food...so here is our organizational space with docking station. I have a master calendar and then I also have a big weekly calendar that has exactly 6 spaces for each person in our family to write each of their activities that hangs on the refrigerator. That was a mouth full.



I was looking all over for a table for Lucey. She loves to write and color. I have two darling chairs from my friend Catherine that belonged to her when she was a child so all I needed was a table. I spotted this one in a window of an antique store. This table came with chairs so now I need to refinish the other little chairs. Lucey has one in her room she loves to sit in. Just her size.

We thought about putting the table here...

We ended up with the table in the kitchen; a perfect spot for Lucey since I spend a lot of time in the kitchen. The dresser behind her that is used to keep us organized also keeps Lucey's coloring books and other craft items.

I bought Lucey her first pair of C*nverse tennis shoes. They are so adorable and were only $8.00 at Dill*rd's. They have what looks like hand stitched flowers on them. I wish you could see them. Click on the photo and you can see how sweet those little tennis are....and L.L.!

Lucey has been going potty daily on her little potty chair. She goes every time she sits down. We are so proud of her. I'm sure it won't be long and she will be wearing big girl undies.

We all fight over who is going to sit in the comfy red chair. Today, Lucey got it all to herself.

I hope I didn't bore anyone. I'm sure I did though. I take photos of each house we live in. I know, someday, we will get a kick out of these pictures and how we lived each time we moved.

"Home Is Where The Army Sends You." I always try to make our house a home.

Nell Hill's Here We Come

Why are we smiling? We are heading to our favorite store--Nell Hill's. Yippee!

My Auntie M. and I have been talking about this for awhile now. My Aunt and I love to shop, talk and laugh when we get together and we sure do a lot of that. This day was Nell Hill's open house so we got to tour the owner, Mary Carol Garrity's home. She has a lovely home and she gives bright, new and fresh ideas every time we get the privilege to tour her home. She hires a shuttle to take shoppers up to her house and she is always there to welcome us...it's so much fun! If you ever get to the Kansas City area I recommend making this one of your stops. She has a new website....you need to take a peek, here.

The art on my wall behind us came from her shop. I have quite a few decorative pieces I have acquired over the past three times we have been stationed in this area of the country.

Auntie M., thank you for such a fun afternoon. Our guys had fun too...while us ladies were shopping, Uncle Paul and Ron were golfing. They have a great relationship too.

I put dinner in the crock pot so it was ready when we returned. What a fabulous time we had together.

Remembering 9-11

Where were you when you heard the news? I was in the Chapel at Ft. Polk, LA. I was running late that day; I took the twins to the day care room and Adam to the homeschool room. I quietly entered the chapel and joined all who were led in prayer by the Chaplain. I had no idea of what was going on. The Chaplain did not know the scope of what was happening but he knew we needed to pray. We then went to the television to watch in disbelief as we saw the towers fall. We saw the hole in the Pentagon and prayed for our people. It's still hard to put into words what I was feeling that day. I scooped the boys up and headed back for home. As I was driving I saw Soldiers preparing....preparing for what? Preparing to defend our country--to protect us. Our lives changed drastically that day. Our Post was closed. We had Humvees with armed Soldiers driving in our neighborhood. Ron was the Senior Observer Controller for training all of the Air Defense Soldier's in our Army. Training changed that day. I changed that day. I stopped thinking about Ron's retirement and stopped complaining how hard the military life is (okay, sometimes I still grumble). I am proud to be an American and I'm proud to serve along side my Hero, my husband.

Today we headed back to St. Louis...

The boys were great in helping me prepare for the trip. They helped with Lucey, Adam gassed up the car for me and Christian helped make lunch, Andrew entertained Lucey. Getting the 5 of us ready for a road trip is quite a process. It's difficult for me. Is it just me or can anyone else relate to this? Anyway, it was a beautiful day so we stopped and ate lunch at this rest stop.

We checked into the hotel and then walked to the stadium. Ron gave the oath to new recruits. I've said this before, I always get teary when he does a swearing in ceremony. These young men and women volunteering to serve during uncertain times. They are true American Heroes. The Cardinal Baseball organization did a fantastic job celebrating our country that night. Children sung patriotic songs. An Eagle (our national symbol since 1782) flew in a circle around the stadium. New recruits were honored.

A picture of Ron saluting....

We had a very special guest with us, our Nephew, Derrick. He came all the way from Florida to spend the weekend with us. I have beautiful pictures of him with our kids but I did not get permission to post his picture on our blog. He is one handsome guy and has the greatest personality. We were blessed to have him for the weekend. He is going through a medical struggle. I'm asking you to pray for him. Thank you.

We also got to spend the evening with these great guys. Ron's high school friend life long friend (Ron corrected me...I'm sorry!), Craig and his Dad, Jay. They are so much fun and so great to be with. Thank you for all the pictures, Jay!! They turned out great. PS....We need to get together soon!

Mom and Dad joined us too....we were all invited to the Anheuser Busch Suite----NICE! We spent some time talking to Whitey Herzog and Dan Cox. They were very personable. To quote my Mom, "We miss Whitey Ball!" The 1980's....great Cardinal Baseball!

Lucey had a great time too. She always does. She's a girl who likes to be out and about.

Dad and I. Fun times.

The evening is coming to an end.

Derrick brought gifts for the boys and Lucey. Thank you, Aunt Heather, for the Gator T-Shirts and the Cind*rella Baby for Lucey.

Spetember 12th, we took a stroll through the City Garden. Christian was not feeling well; he stayed at the hotel and rested. We sure missed you Christian.

Giant bronze head resting on its side by Igor Mitoraj. Hmmmm interesting.

Crossing the stones with a little help.

Andrew on the giant Bunny....This ones for you, Aunt Bunny.

Meeting up with Daddy. Ahhhh, nothing better than a strong shoulder to rest the head.

After our stroll through the garden it was time to meet friends at the Science Center for a last minute meeting. Thank you Katie, Ben and Savannah for joining us. Nana and Papa came too and went to the Omnimax with Andrew, Christian and Ron.

Katie, our chat wasn't long enough.

We ate on the Hill that night....oh how we love Italian Food.

The girls...Savannah was there too but we didn't want to take her away from Adam's side. :-)

Sunday morning it was to the airport to say good-bye to Derrick. :-(

Lucey is taking a morning rest.

This weekend was packed and the best was yet to come...on our way home we stopped by my Sister and Brother-in law's house and met our nephew/cousin for the first time. Welcome home D.! What a beautiful little guy and so happy! We love you so much!

Lucey was quite jealous of me holding him. Jen's not comfortable with D.'s picture on our blog so you get a little peek of his beautiful hair!

What a special weekend!

Thankful Thursday

It's homecoming week for Adam's school. Everyday there is a theme to bring spirit and fun leading up to the big football game on Friday night. Typically Adam wears a uniform to school so not having to do so is such a gift to the students. Tuesday they wore their school colors. Yesterday they wore their crested oxford shirts because they had chapel. Adam added a tie to his ensemble. Today is "Disco" day. Adam threw this outfit together this morning....I thought it was a riot. I'm thinking he is a mix between a B.G. and Elvis? What do you think?

I'm thankful for Adam...our first born. He has such a great attitude and loves life. He jumps into new situations with such enthusiasm and zest. When he returns home at the end of the day I always ask him how his day went and he always responds, "I had an AMAZING day." I think about his response a lot....what would it be like to have an amazing day everyday? I know Adam has his struggles like the rest of us but it's how he handles it....with a great attitude and a big heart. Adam has such a wonderful sense of humor. I wish I could more like Adam. I learn a lot from my first born...I want to enjoy each day as it comes and have joy in the midst of life...just like Adam.

Colossians 3:17

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Wordless Wednesday...

Let's Play!

Adam had a soccer game this evening and Ron was gone so I toted everyone up to Adam's school. The boys brought some things to entertain themselves....I guess the game is not exciting enough for them....hee hee.

Playing cards on the blanket.

Wrapping up in the blanket.....

Christian making adjustments......

Christian pulling Andrew and Lucey down the hill......weeeeee....what fun!

It's Andrew's turn to take them down the hill. Lucey loves playing with the boys.

Adam mentioned it was quite a scene from their side of the field....all of his buddies could see all the activity. It's true....the boys are full of energy and keep me on my toes. There is something about twins....they just feed off of one another. Always thinking up new things to do.

On a sweeter note....Christian reading to Lucey. The boys are very good to her.

Lucey can have a lot of fun even when the boys are at school. She is dancing around being silly.

She can make quite a mess too. She makes us smile.