Eight is Great!!

I was sitting at a cafe called the Bulldog. I was in Amsterdam. I was on my first trip to Europe by myself when I read my email...."I am pregnant!!! Brian and I are having a baby. We wanted to tell you before you left, but we hadn't told all the grandparents yet....congraulations, Addi...you are going to be an aunt!!!"

I cannot believe it has been 8 years since I got that email. I cannot believe how much you can love a child that is not your own. I cannot believe that Janae is 2 shoe sizes smaller than me and I really cannot believe that she is just about as tall as me!

What I CAN believe is how smart, FUNNY, caring, loving, artisitc and beautiful she is!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JANAE!! I love you bunches!

Where did it go??

Where in the world did this last year go? I cannot believe that Jacinda is 1!! What a blessing she is! Her smile can make your saddest day bright! :)

I cannot wait to see what God has in store for her. I cannot wait to see how she develops into a toddler...to see which sister she teams up with to argue with the other two! ;) I cannot wait to hear her say my name. That is one of the most exciting times for me...the first time one of the nieces/nephew say my name! :)

Happy birthday Jacinda! I love you!

Happy Birthday Leah

Leah's birthday was this week, so we had a carry-in lunch for her. Instead of a cake, I made some chocolate-chip zuchinni bread...yum! I love the picture of Leah doing what the card is saying and Cheryl laughing so hard she can't even look at the camera. Fun times! :)

Happy Birthday Senica!

Today Senica turns 5! I cannot believe how all my little nieces/nephew are growing up SO FAST! Senica is starting school and is already reading! She is such a sweet and caring child! Makes me so sad that pretty soon she will be like Janae - almost as tall as me! :( sniff, sniff.

Happy Birthday Brenna!!

Today little Brenna turns 5 years old! :)

It was so much fun trying to find pictures of her to post...she is such a fun girl!

Brenna is such a cuddle bug...I love that!

Some things I love about Brenna:

She loves her sisters
She loves her daddy
She REALLY loves her mom :)
She gives the best hugs
She in very entertaining and VERY funny (see bottom collage)
She is very smart and could teach you anything you want to know about Webkinz :)
She loves animals. Any animal...Webkinz or her kitty, Fluffy
She loves to feed her real cat (this is what Senica said)
She loves me to come to her house and spend the night (Senica again)
I love that she likes to chat with me on Webkinz (Senica)

We love you Brenna and hope that you have a Super-fantastic birthday today!!

Happy Birthday Hubby!!

Happy 28th birthday to my hubby!!

Just a few of the things I love about my husband:

His generours heart
How funny he is!
How he loves my crazy family
The way he is with my nieces and nephew
How he loves me!
How handsome he is!!! (see pics above...the one with the gray t-shirt!! WOW)
How laid back he is
That he sits down and cuts coupons with me...and goes to the grocery store with me, simply so I don't have to carry the groceries. :)
How he 99.9% of the time does the dishes
How even when he's mad at me, he's so darn cute (like when he does the dishes and 2 seconds later, I dirty some more) ;)
How he is such a hard worker
That he makes the BEST ribs EVER!! (ask Grandma)

The list could go on and on....

I love you Brian and I hope you have a wonderful day today and an even better year to come!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Happy Birthday Kari & Walt

Today is my Uncle Walt's birthday AND my cousin, his daughter, Kari! HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the both of you!! :) I searched and searched for a picture of Uncle Walt and found this one from this past 4th of July. :)

Kari has always been very special to me! Thinking back over the years, I realized why I feel such a special bond with her. I was the flower girl in her wedding. She babysat Anitra, April and I when we were little. She was with me when we found out that Grandpa Carl had died. She counseled me through heartbreak in high school. When she had her kids, I then helped to babysit them. She has just always been there. :)

I love that we are close. I love that I can just stop by her house un-announced and we can talk for hours. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE how funny she is. Not just funny...hilarious! As in...laugh so hard my stomach hurts and tears roll down my face, funny! And she's thoughtful, caring and so warm-hearted!

So Happy Birthday Kari! Happy Birthday Uncle Walt! I hope you both have a wonderful day!!

Happy Birthday Brian!!

Today is my brother-in-law's birthday. Happy Birthday Brian!! I am so glad that you are part of our family...it's always fun when you are around. :) Thank you for taking such good care of my sister and all the girls!! I am so proud of you...finding out what you wanted to do and working so hard to accomplish your dreams! Love you!! Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday Mom!!

Today we are celebrating my mom's birthday! It's a lot harder to find pictures of her than it is the kids. She is usually cooking or
"behind the scenes" when we all get together. My mom is a wonderful mother and an amazing Grandma. She is full of life and is always, always making me laugh! I have been blessed with a wonderful family and it all started with my mom!

Happy Birthday Mom! I love you!

Happy Birthday Ty!!!

Wow! I cannot believe that Ty is 2 already! It feels like it was not that long ago I was driving Senica to the hospital to meet her brother. I can remember how excited we both were! Excitement would be a good word to describe what he has brought to our lives!

Ty, we love you so much and we can't wait to see what new adventures you are going to take us on in the coming year!

Some of my favorite things about Ty:

They way he says "Addi"
How when he's really tired, he loves to cuddle with me
When he prays
Those blue, blue eyes
How he "growls" for no reason (none of the girls would do this)
How he calls Brian - "Bay" for BK
How when I walk in the door, he smiles and runs to me like he hasn't seen me in months!
His kisses! :)

Happy Birthday buddy!! We love you!

3 or 33?

Tonight we had Anitra, the kids and Mom and Bobby over for Anitra's birthday dinner. We had steak...since we bought steak, we couldn't afford a big cake. We did get her a mini-cupcake. And since, we didn't have money for a big cake, we just bought her one "3" candle. If you look at the middle picture and cross your eyes, you will see her real age. :)

Ok, so the real story is this...

Anitra wanted steak, rice, broccoli & cheese and rolls for her birthday dinner. I told her for her dessert, she could have anything she wanted...cake, cookies, brownies. She wanted to make sure that I really meant anything and when I told her yeah, she told me, "in that case, I want Apple Dumplings...and can you make them taste just like mom's?" PRESSURE!! So, I tried. She liked them. They didn't taste like mom's...but they passed the test. :) But that's why the candle is in the cupcake. Much easier than sticking it in an Apple Dumpling. ;)

Happy Birthday Anitra!!

Happy Birthday to my favorite 33-year-old!!

Today is my oldest sister's birthday. I was trying to find some pictures of just her to post, but there are very few of just her alone.

I am lucky enough to live down the street from Anitra. I am also lucky enough to have 2 of my very best friends be my sisters. The older we get, the closer we get. I am so grateful for the relationships that I have with them.

Anitra has been a wonderful sister! I have watched her in recent years not only be a wonderful sister, but an incredible mother. She has guided me in so many ways. She has helped me in my walk with Christ, taught me too many things to count...probably the most important, the act of forgiveness.

She makes me laugh! If we are really honest, sometimes she makes me mad too. She supports me. She encourages me. She pushes me...when I think I can't do it. But most importantly, she loves me. Unconditionally. And for that, I am forever thankful!

I love you Anitra!!

Happy Birthday Jessica!!!

Happy birthday Jessica!!! You are such a wonderful friend!! I hope that you have a GREAT day and that you are feeling better!

Exhausted!

By the end of the day, we all felt like Brenna! She tossed and turned in this chair for a long time! Finally, she sat on the ground and rested her head on the chair! Poor thing! I know, I know...what kind of aunt am I that I just stood there taking her picture? Well, after I took these, I picked her up and carried her to the car. She was one worn out girl! I felt like she looked!

Pool time

Thanks to Grandma Pottenger for letting us have the party at her house. As late as Friday, they were calling for PM showers. Thankfully, they were wrong!! It was a beautiful day and warm, so everyone enjoyed the pool! Grandma even stuck her feet in. There was swimming races, diving competitions, chicken fights and just lounging! Adria enjoyed having her own pool to herself! She kept sticking her head in the water like a duck. It was too funny!

The perfect day...

Mom and Bobby got to the party and they were in such a hurry when they left home, they forgot their cell phones and Bobby forget his wallet. Brian said that sounded like the perfect day to him! It was a wonderful day!! The girls had fun with the pinata and each other and Ty's cupcake didn't stand a chance! :)

The party goes on...

Ok, bear with me! Today we had Senica's birthday party at Grandma Pottenger's house and I am having a hard time narrowing down my 789 pictures to just a few to post....so you are gonna see quite a few. These are of the YUMMY food, the great cake my mom made, Senica blowing out the candles and her showing us every single gift she got like she was a Bob Barker model. :)

Happy Birthday Senica!!

Happy Birthday Sis! I put together some of my favorite pictures of you from the past few months. I hope that you have a WONDERFUL birthday today. You are such a sweet girl and I love you a whole bunch! I'm so proud of you! You have had a big year! You have learned so many new things and you are growing up so fast!! The best thing from this year was you asking Jesus into your heart! I couldn't be more proud of you! Love you bunches!!!