Baby Addie

Isn't she so cute? She was just chilln' in her daddy's lap. Relaxing with her arm behind her head. Too cute!

Break time

Adria was that last out of the pool. I thought that was a cute pic of her! Then, time to dry off with Peggy and Mary...then ICE CREAM! :)

Pool time!

Today marked the first day that I got to swim with all 5 kids at one time! Usually Ty hates the water and won't stay in the pool. I was so proud of all of them. Janae can swim around without a floaty, Ty actually stayed in the pool for longer than 2 minutes, Senica didn't cry when she got splashed in the face, Brenna is swimming really good by herself (with a floaty) and Adria, well, she loves the pool and only gets whiny when she wants out.

Thanks April for taking pictures for me! I really, really appreciate it! :)

Good times!

This afternoon we had over our Sunday School class for a cookout. Babies, babies everywhere! In the last year alone, 9 babies have been born in our class. It was such a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun! April and the girls came over too, so I was on cloud 9 with my nieces and nephew, sisters and friends! :) It was a great day! Thanks to everyone for coming!

No one under 6 allowed....

For the first time since Janae was born, the adults had a dinner at a nice restaurant WITHOUT children! When Janae was first born, Anitra and Seth lived in Kentucky. Then as the kids were born, schedules got busy and we just had not done it. But my cousin, Kaytie and her brave boyfriend Jordan (who the girls LOVE) came to April's to watch all 5 kids so we adults could go to dinner to celebrate Seth's birthday!

We went to the Boathouse in Warsaw and it was delicious!! The middle picture is us at dinner. It was nice to be able to spend time with my sisters and mom...as you can see we sat girls at one end, boys at the other.

We got home and the kids had been good. *Sigh* April was worried because Adria had been fussy most of the day (teething?) but Kaytie said she was fine. Thanks to Kaytie and Jordan for watching the kids!! :)

Why I love this man...

Tonight we had "date" night. I know, I know...we aren't parents, but we very rarely go on an actual date! I suggested not spending any money and maybe packing a picnic dinner and going to the park. I got home and he had the cooler all ready to go! Diet coke - check, sandwiches - check, BBQ fritos - check...sunny weather - not quite! It was sprinkling a little bit, so I said maybe we can go to Dogg N Mugg (shucks). We had dinner there and then went to the mall and Old Navy to take back some returns.

On the way home, I was thinking about all the reasons I love him....

- He's handsome!
- He's goofy (top right picture in Brenna's headband)
- He's a hard worker and very giving of his time (bottom left, helping Seth roof)
- He's goofy (bottom right) Ok, so that had to be listed twice because he is really a nut!! As you can see, we go together perfectly
- He's thoughtful...I have coffee ready for me almost every morning before work, that he has made for me, when he doesn't even drink it himself

Those are just a few of many! When he knows it's been a long day at work, he gets a hot bath ready for me when I get home. He loves my family and they love him. He is a great cook. He does the dishes almost every night. He cleans the kitty litter box. He makes sure I always have a Diet Coke close by. He runs to the store late at night after I have just gotten groceries and forgot something because it's the last day it's on sale. He makes me laugh!! I love you honey! Thanks for my date tonight! :)

I want to ride my bicycle

Last night I was in the basement doing laundry and could hear this sweet, little voice calling my name. "ADDI, ADDI, ADDI" I look out the basement window, and I see Anitra and Senica riding their bikes. So of course, I yell for them to stop, so I can get my camera! :)
Anitra banned me from taking any pictures from behind, because of her behind....so I ran ahead of them and Senica says, "Addi, are you going to follow us around the block?" HARDLY! But, I did get some cute pics of her the short time they were by our house! Oh yeah, that's our house in the top right. :) Way to go Senica...such a big girl you are riding on the ROAD! ;)

From AM to PM

McGraw is my buddy. He is with me from first thing in the morning to right when I go to sleep. EVERYWHERE I go. I get up, go to the bathroom - he's there. Get in the bathtub - he lays on the ledge of the tub. (top left pic) Get my morning coffee - he's there. When I go to work, he sits in the window, like he's saying bye to me. I get home and I promise you, he hears that garage door, and is at the kitchen door waiting for me.

It's true when they say that cats train humans...because as soon as I get home, he runs to the bathroom so I can get him a drink of water. (bottom right pic) I try to clean, he follows me to each room. Right now as I type, he's laying by my feet. And when I get in bed, he wedges himself between Brian and I and sleeps on my face with his little paw hugging me. How can you not love him?!

I wanna be a kid again!

Tonight Brian was supposed to have his final church-league softball game...tournament time! Anitra, Seth, the kids and I loaded in the van to go watch Uncle BK play. We got there and Brian said they weren't playing because they were one player short. Seth offered to play, but the other team said they wanted to play, but not a "practice game". Now, I have to be honest, this upset me, because this is supposed to be an outreach program, and if it truly was that...they would have played, even if they were short a few guys and maybe taken some of that extra time to talk with some of the guys about God and not be so worried about saving up so they could win the next game.

Anyway, Senica wanted to play on the playgroud and so we went over and even the adults got in on the action. We had so much fun being kids again, but I think I might be sore tomorrow. Ty had a little routine going on....run to the steps, climb up them, run across the bridge, play peek-a-boo, run back across the bridge and down the slide...start the same thing over again! It was too stinkn' cute!

So, we had yet another great night and I tried to think how God took something that was upsetting and made it into a wonderful evening! Who knows, if Brian would have played softball tonight, maybe he would have run into the fence or something and maybe God saved us from an ER visit?! :) Trying to be positive!

The Farm

Saturday when we went to take Ethan's Senior pictures, the day was the perfect, gorgeous, sunny day. Just as dinner was ready to eat, a storm started to roll in. The sky was so beautiful and the wind made the flag stand out straight. It was just so pretty, I had to get some pics...enjoy! :)

The Peg-meister

Last night we had dinner at Anitra and Seth's and Peggy came over too! We had good food and a lot of fun jumping on the trampoline, putting together Senica's puzzle and taking pictures.

I had taken a picture of Peggy and she took my camera and deleted it! The nerve!! I told her that when you erase one, I take 10 more...so to stay true to my word (almost, only 9) here are my pictures of Peggy! :) I love the different expressions she is giving Senica...and how when Ty is feeding her, he has his mouth open wider!

Thanks Peggy for having dinner with us...it was fun!

Senior and Senica pictures

Senica got into the picture mood too! While Ethan was changing into another outfit, we were waiting for him on the football field. I had Senica put on Ethan's jersey (it took a promise to give her a piece of gum) since it said 3 and she is still 3. Of course, she was quick to tell me, she's almost 4! But, I told her while she's still 3, it would be a cute picture. It is...isn't it? She's a cutie!

Senior Pics

Today, we rode down with Anitra, Seth and the kids to take some Senior pictures for Ethan.

We started the day at the ballfields getting some pics of Ethan in his uniforms and he wasn't so excited to be having his picture taken, but by the end of the day, he was changing into more outfits (10 total) and suggesting where we should take the next shot. :)

It was a fun day, and of course, Ethan is so photogenic, it's hard to pick a favorite!

After pictures, Joyce had a nice dinner for us, complete with ice cream cake. YUM! And to exercise off the nice big meal...Wii bowling!

We had a great time tonight! Thanks Ethan for thinking of me to take your pictures...I have fun!

Me and my shadow

When Senica wasn't busy carrying all those boxies, she was busy following Tiff around. Senica really loves Jeff and Tiff and towards the end of the day, I could see her mood changing a little bit. Anitra had to go to work, so they took Ty and Brian and I kept Senica. When we were getting ready to leave she yelled over to Jeff for "HUGS". He hugged her and she walked away real quick, wiping her eyes. (the bottom left pic). I hurried and put my sunglasses down on my face so she wouldn't see my crying too, so I could be strong for her. Our converation went as follows:

S: I'm gonna miss them.
A: I know Senica, I'm gonna miss them too!
S: Are you sad Addi?
A: Yes, I am sad, but we will see them again. Are you crying Senica?
S: No, I'm not. My eyes are just wet!

It made me think...I was trying to not let her see me cry so I could be strong for her, but was I really showing her that it's not ok to cry? I hope not, and I'm sure she doesn't think that. I cry a lot and she sees me cry a lot. We talked about it again at lunch. I was telling Anitra that she was sad and crying...

Addi: Senica and I were sad when we had to say goodbye and Senica cried a little bit.
Anitra: Senica did you cry?
Senica: NO!
Addi: Senica, you didn't cry? I thought you were.
Anitra: Well, Senica, mommy cried because she is going to miss them.
Senica: No, I did not cry, my eyes were just wet and you guys are making my eyes get wet again right now!

She's too sweet!

Professional mover

Please do not call CPS. Senica did this all on her own, we did not force her to work and as you can see, I even gave her a sprinkle donut, per her request, for breakfast.

"What can I carry now?" was her phrase of the day. She is such a caring little girl, always wanting to help! She moved so fast, it was hard to keep up with her just trying to find the small, light things for her to carry. What a great kid! :)

Moving Day

I am so behind on my posting!! I have been taking a lot of pictures, but just haven't had that block of time to just sit down and work on it.

So, today I am off (Thank you Cheryl) and I thought I would take a few quick moments to blog while the laundry is drying. (Anitra's that is) their washer broke and left a nice puddle in their basement...since we are down the street, I said bring it down here! Seth took it to Bethel though and they are re-doing the floors and now the laundry smells like new house or something. So he brought it down last night to wash it again. I am feeling a little goofy right now, just having it sit next to me and smelling it. Kidding Anitra! Don't worry!

Last Saturday, we helped our friends Jeff and Tiff pack up their Uhaul for Maryland. They had a great number of people helping and it just goes to show how much they are loved!! Even Dustin, Stacy and Baby Addie made an appearance and Addie was only a few days old!

*Side note: It's weird typing my name with an "E" on the end of it. I find myself backspacing to correct it and then saying, oh no, that was right! All my life I have been saying A-d-d-i no E. ha!!*

Anyway, it was great to have everyone helping them...I have more pictures to post, but this is the gang...minus Stacy and Addie who decided she was hungry during picture time. :)

*Another side note: I crouched down so that I wouldn't block Tiff, which makes me look 3 feet instead of 4....why I bent down I have yet to figure out. Have a I ever blocked ANYONE in a picture ever?

Happy 33rd!!

Happy Birthday Seth! I hope you had a wonderful birthday today. Thanks for being a wonderful brother (in-law) to me and a great husband to my sister and super father to my niece and nephew! You're an amazing man whose love for the Lord shines through. Love you!

Alison F. Kline

Picture from Tom's Flicker photos

Alison passed away this evening. My heart breaks and grieves for Tom and their family, but my brain tells me to rejoice as well, because I know where Alison is now. She is in heaven, pain free and cancer free.

Alison will be missed by more people than I think we will ever know. She touched so many lives in her short 27 years. She was beautiful inside and out.

Please continue to keep Tom and their families in your thoughts and prayers while they grieve the loss of their sweet Alison

Sleepless

I can't sleep.

It's 1am and I wish I could because tomorrow will probably be a looong day. But other people will have a longer day than me. Those people are Tom and Alison. That is why I can't sleep.

If you have been keeping up with Tom's posting, through Alison's and his blog, you know that Alison's poor body can't take much more. You can see his latest post on his blog with the update from yesterday (8/4).

When you read this, please stop and say a prayer for them and their families.