The MRI

Taking Asher in for an MRI in the morning, we have to leave the house at 4:45am.  This is actually a blessing because he will sleep the 2 hour drive there, and then we will be in the hospital so his mind will not be focused on the fact he is not getting breakfast.  We went a week ago for this MRI and they tried to put him to sleep using an IV, they poked (more like stabbed) him 5 times before I said enough and picked my baby up and got out of there.  By the time we left, Asher was hysterical, I was bawling, and I am pretty sure I saw a nurse crying too.  This MRI, where the sedation will now be given in the form of gas, is to determine the cause of Asher's "headaches." For the past 6 or so months Asher grabs his head and tells me "owie head, mama," it occasionally brings him to tears and causes him to loose his balance.  I wonder how long he has been suffering headaches and not been able to communicate his pain with me.  He has always been a bit of a whiner, maybe its because he has real pain.  It kind of makes me sick to think about, my baby in pain and my callous reactions because I think he might be spoiled or trying to get attention.  Did I not notice more signs because I have been so consumed with too many children?  Is it possible to have too many children?  The answer to that of course is, no.  My family is exactly as God planned it to be, I have had all my kids exactly as God wanted me to, certainly not how I had planned on having them.  I know deep in my heart that things are going to be OK, that none of this is in my hands, but in the loving hands of my creator.  May God's will be done for my family always.  Thank you for praying for us during this time of questions.  I certainly hope that the answers are, well I guess I am not sure what I hope the answers are.  I just know that tonight I rocked my sweet two year old to sleep (because his brother, who he shares a room with, is sleeping at a friends tonight and Asher missed him "so much") and took in every breath of his sweet hair, cherished every warm breath on my neck, and prayed for him from the depths of my soul; and I would have done that if there was an MRI tomorrow or not.

Christmas filled with "candy-cans" and "no-men"

Now I know that this may be officially the lamest of all Christmas Cards that you recieve this year, and I also know that this is the 3rd year in a row that I have been this lame.  But... I promise next year, real tangable Christmas cards for your mantel (unless I am pregnant or have a new baby, which has been my excuse the last 3 years, and yes I still count 7 months as new especially since she still doesn't sleep through the night :-)

NOW, onto the year...

Last Christmas Asher took his first real steps and now he is a full blown running (actually he gallops wherever he goes which is much much cuter than running), talking, climbing, toy stealing, 2-year-old whose cheeks I cannot kiss enough!  This year DJ turned 3, and is now 3 1/2, and with every day that goes by I watch him mature and grow.  I no longer think that if someone is crying on the playground it was probably DJ who hurt them, if I leave the room it is now Asher that does the troublemaking, and DJ who puts a stop to it.  His favorite movie right now is "How to Train Your Dragon" and we are all viking/knight Dragon Fighters here, all the time!  Sweet Izzy joined our merry band in May and has captured our hearts in a way that before was unimaginable.  Her sweet little smile turns us all into mush and she has us eating out of the palm of her hand.  J turned 30 this year and we celebrated by surprising him with his whole family in Altus for the weekend.  J also completed his masters degree this year which means more family time, and way less stress in our house...to celebrate this, I got him a new video game for Christma,s and that is what you can find him doing now whenever our kids are in bed.  As for me, my life still pretty much consists of babies, and the Air Force, amazing new friends, and friends that I have had to say goodbye to.  I started my own business making Bible and nature inspired baby clothes, and I am thinking about expanding into women's as well, but for now I'm just trying to breath deep and take it all in because the time is already flying by much too fast!

From Our Family to Yours I want to wish you the Merriest of Christmas'

May you always remember that the reason we celebrate this and every Christmas is because on that day nearly 2000 years ago God gave the world the greatest gift of all, His Son, so that we may come to know Him and be saved with life eternal in Heaven.  Thank you God for the amazing gift that not only saves and forgives me, but saves all of us who know you.  May my children spend every Christmas celebrating You in Your Son Jesus Christ.

6 month photo shoot

Thanksgiving

only 2 days late, I am getting better...
This year I was looking around the house at the Thanksgiving aftermath and patting myself on the back for a job so well done; this was the first year that I have ever hosted a Thanksgiving dinner (I even baked pies!!!); and I began to think about all of the Thanksgivings that J and I have spent together.  When we got married in 2005 we decided that we would not go home (home being CO) for the holidays.  It was/is just too complicated with 3 different families all living at least an hour from one another.  The holidays would more than likely be spent mostly in a car and even then people would probably have hurt feelings.  So every holiday for the past 5 years have been spent with the amazing people that God has blessed us with on this journey we have in the military.  And that is what I am thankful for this year, the military and the incredible places it has brought us and the wonderful people we have had the opportunity to welcome into our family.

Being a military wife is like nothing on earth, the families and people that you come to love and know and depend on for your survival touches me to my very soul.  It is so wonderful to know that wherever I go there will be people ready and willing to take care of my family if the need is there.  We are welcome to anyones table for dinner any night of the week.  If my child falls down at the playground there is a mom there to pick him up if I am far away. If my child is acting like a bully, and I don't see, I know there is a mom who will gently correct his behavior.  If I am sick there are women lining up at the door to take my kids so that I can rest, or bringing food so I don't have to cook.  Every month there are spouse socials to raise money for charities, there is wine club, and book club, and bible studies.  Women to go to the gym with, run marathons with, grab a drink with.  I am so blessed to live this life and so amazed at the families that I get to meet and the friends that I have met and will keep in my heart forever.  And I haven't even mentioned the incredible churches that we have been a part of and the delightful families and support that we have experienced with them.  Thankful for Seacoast Church in Mt. Pleasent SC and Family Life Church here in Altus OK.

SO here is to... The Kinney's, The Pamily, The Stuckey's, The Phillips, The Sober's, The Fisher's, The Shaffer's, The Taliaferro's, The Knizevski's, The Oden's, The Pullen's, The Schopmeyer's, The Clausen's, The Karas's, The Werner's, The Carpenter's, The Warnaar's, The Inscoe's, The Arbore's, and the many other families that have made all holidays from Birthday Parties to Christmas, Easter to Halloween, so incredibly special for us.  You all are amazing, and we are thankful for you!

Listen to freshberrys Playlist

How About Mommy?

Seriously, could he be any cuter?

Asher just turned 2 yesterday...

His favorite bedtime story is "Good Day"

He loves his blankie and bite

He cries and blames his brother even if they aren't in the same room

He loves all animals, but especially cows

His favorite color is green

He loves waffles and cereal for breakfast and yells "yummy!"  when he eats something delicious

He loves hot dogs

He loves Go Diego Go or "GO GO" as he calls it and repeats all the words in Spanish

He likes to play with monster trucks and balls
His favorite song is "You Never Let Go" by Matt Redman
and most of all

He LOVES hugs and kisses

and whenever he gives ANYone else a kiss he always says, "What about Mommy?" and has to find me and give me a kiss too.

My Son.



Lunch This Afternoon

My kids find the strangest things amusing... this afternoon at lunch I yelped when I hurt myself and they all 3 cracked up like I was "insert funny comic's name here"  so I kept doing it and they kept laughing their pretty little heads off.  I then decided to get my camera so I could blog about this funny little experience and of course they got a little camera shy and distracted but I think you will get the general idea...

Who knew lunch time could be so funny?

Happy Halloween

"Trick or Treat" sounds its sweetest out of the mouths of two-year-olds.  I am convinced that is how my sons came home with literally their weight in candy after only an hour of trick or treating.  That, and the fact they are the CUTEST stinkin kids EVER!!!  This year's Halloween was the greatest of my 29 years here on earth, the weather was beautiful, we were with great friends and their fun kids, and trick or treating on base is so nice and safe and carefree.  We decided this year (well DJ decided for us) that we would all be marvel super heroes...
DJ was the Hulk
Asher was Captain America
J was Wolverine
I was Spider man
and Iz was the spider that bit me

We had so much fun!!!  DJ led the way up every driveway to every bowl of candy, Asher kept yelling "Mommy, Mommy, watch!" and he would leap (it's a leap for him anyway) off the curb and onto the street.  I stood with a grin on my face, trying to be humble as the people around me gasped and gushed about the adorableness of my kids.  Thank you GOD for the gift of this family and the fun memories that we get to share with one another!

funny (at least it will be one day)

SO my hubby has been traveling the world this month leaving me alone with our 3, 3 and under, which you know always leads to some story that actually brings me to tears today but one day will be funny.  Throw in some construction work on the house and we are all sure to have a good time.  Picture this, if you will...
Story #1
I am in the nursery feeding Iz and getting her ready for her morning nap, Asher is in the kitchen eating his second bowl of cereal, and DJ is quietly working on a puzzle.  Ahhhh sweet mornings are made from beginnings like these, then without warning BUBUBUBUBUBUBUBUBUBUBUBU a jackhammer and 5 construction workers begin to tear out my back patio mere feet from where DJ is doing his puzzle.  Terrified screams come from the kitchen I have to rip Iz off of her morning snack and throw her into her crib, which does NOT make her happy.  I run into the kitchen and find a terrified Asher who has dumped his cereal into his lap and DJ running up and kicking me in the shin in a desperate attempt to crawl up me.  AND THEN I look over and... wait for it... my five year old completely potty trained dog is pooping on the couch.

Story #2
Giving the kids a bath...  giving three babies a bath by yourself is no easy task.  I put the boys in the tub and let Iz watch us from her bouncy seat, once the boys were nice and clean I got Iz's baby bathtub out and ready.  I took Asher out first and that little squirt took off the second his feet hit the floor, he ran straight into the hall and peed on the carpet.  After clamoring out of the bathroom I scooped Asher up and took him back to put his diaper on.  After I had Asher pee proofed I came back for DJ who I discovered let himself out of the bath and was using the bath cup to get water from the toilet and fill up Izzy's bathtub for me.  Needless to say Iz did not get a full bath that night, I opted for the more white trash baby wipe bath for her.  And now me and my dirty kids cannot wait for our Daddy to get back home.

Enjoy the stories, I know that they will make me laugh too one day.  Today is not that day...

the view in my rearview mirror

While I am driving around town I can't help but stare into my rear view mirror (dangerous I know, and I try to keep it limited to stoplights only) at this beautiful family that I have been blessed with.  I think back to the things I used to see in the rear view...
In High School I saw my friends singing, and smoking, and having a ball.
In College I saw my friends singing, drinking and puking, and having a ball.
When I married J I would imagine a car seat in my cute little Mercedes, then I had DJ and there was a car seat in my cute little Mercedes.  I remember driving home from work on the bridge between Mt. Pleasant and North Charleston, stuck in traffic, watching DJ's head bend to such an angle while he was sleeping that I thought for sure it was broken, then I would start to panic because stuck on the bridge there is no pulling over to check and make sure he was still alive :)
Then Asher came and we sold my cute Mercedes and got a *gasp* minivan!  Then I would watch and listen as DJ pointed out every car or truck and Asher screamed at the top of his lungs, until finally the day came we could turn him around! 
Now I look into my rear view mirror and I see my two sweet boys, DJ singing along to KLOVE bopping his head to the beat, Asher trying to catch my eye so he can say "hi mommy" with a shy little smile that makes his eyes go squinty from his fat cheeks.  All I can see of sweet baby Iz, in the mirror that faces her, is tiny feet which she has just discovered and she LOVES so they are always in the air, always in her hands.  I can listen to Iz's squeals of delight as DJ makes funny faces at her, and DJ and Asher having some very important brother conversations about types of cars and trucks, and that all animals are not called "moo" regardless of what Asher seems to think. 
Far gone are the days when my car was a lonely or peaceful place.  When I sneeze there are people in the car who say "bless you mommy" and when the radio plays a great song there are voices in the back shouting turn it up! 
I love the view in my rear view mirror and I am trying my hardest to remember exactly what I see in it today, because I know what I see tomorrow will be different; just as amazing, just as magical, but drastically different.

Five Years

So, tomorrow morning is our 5 year wedding anniversary and right now J is packing up to fly in an air show *insert pout here* I did, however,  insist that we sit down together as a family and watch our wedding video.  It was actually a really fun time, we all piled on the bed where I nursed Iz, Asher kept yelling "mommy, mommy watch!" and then threw himself on his backside, and DJ was excited in the way that only DJ can get excited about the fact that he knew just about everyone on the TV, though he did keep asking, "where are DJ and Asher?" J and I only caught bits and pieces amongst the chaos, but it was really nice to look back.  Here are the things that I learned...
#1 We have both put on a few lbs and I think we may never go back to looking as HOT as we did that day.

#2  I am more in love with J today than I was that day, something I once thought impossible!

#3  While I never in a million years imagined that I would be spending my 5th wedding anniversary running around with 3 kids 3 years-old and younger, I am so blessed that I am!!

J is my eagle.  Eagles mate for life, and I know that J will be my husband forever in this lifetime and the next.  Eagles continue to build on their nest and have new chicks every year *wink* they work together to feed and protect their chicks, to teach them how to fly and encourage them to leave the nest.  I am so blessed to have J as a partner in raising our children.  He is an amazing dad, and all his strengths as a father are where I am lacking as a mother.  Our children are the incredible product of Gods beautiful handy work, my ferocious affection, and J's big bear hugs and guiding hands.  Eagle's are the kings of the sky and the sky is where they are truly at home, anyone who knows J knows this is true of him.  Thank you J for an amazing 5 years, I cannot wait to see what happens the next 55!!  I will fly with you anywhere, anytime.

Hilarious and Horrible

Because I have been a little wordy lately, my own hubby almost fell asleep reading my last post, this will be short and sweet all of the things my short sweet babies have been up to this week...

DJ showed some major courage when he DESTROYED J's childhood car book (a book that he looks at with J all the time and he LOVES!) and I told him that when J got home he would be very sad and DJ would have to apologize, and show Daddy what he did.  This caused DJ to break out in tears randomly throughout the day worried about hurting his Daddy or making Daddy mad at him.  First thing when J walked in the door DJ told him, "Daddy I have a dangerous problem, I broke your car book and I am so very sorry.  I will show it to you."  Blew me away, I knew that he was sick to his stomach with worry about this very moment all day, yet he pulled himself together and faced it straight on first thing, so proud!

While the boys were eating fish sticks I stepped out to change Iz and when I returned Asher was covered in head to toe ketchup and before I could say a word he said, "Mommy, I paint!"

DJ named his gigantic stuffed horse "Panto" and went riding it around shouting, "YeeHaw Cowboy, Howdy Partner," and "I am looking for a dangerous creeeeeeepy bad guy mommy."

During a terrible thunderstorm in the middle of the night a scared Ashey insisted on "holding" his mommy and slept on my chest like a newborn *sigh* <3

I set the boys down to color while I cooked dinner and when I checked on them I caught DJ "decorating" his brother.  This left me with 2 options, #1 get mad and take the markers and coloring sheets away or #2 strip them both down to skivvies and let them go to town decorating each other and throw them in a bubble bath before dinner, I chose option #2 and I am so glad I did!

And while Iz has done nothing hilarious or horrible she is quite possibly the most beautiful baby I have ever seen and I catch myself daily just staring in awe of her beauty so thankful that she is mine!

Shower Power

Friends and Family, while I still have yet to write about our AWESOME adventure to Arbuckel Wildlife Park, I have to share what happened tonight.  First of all lets rewind a bit so I can tell you that last night I had a near mental breakdown, between a crying Iz that I could not put down without one of her brothers harassing her into screams, DJ flipping his dinner plate onto his lap (grilled chicken, couscous, and salad with ranch), Asher tossing my camera onto the floor, and a very rainy day that started at 6am (after I had a night of 5 total hours sleep and not consecutively) with no coffee to be had because I desperately needed to go grocery shopping, I was pretty much a mess when J got home at 6.  J walked in and I took Iz and walked out, where to you ask, why to the walmart of course to do the desperate grocery shopping... but at least I was out of the house and away from my naughty naughty boys; mommy needed a break.  When I got home J put all the groceries away, I put Iz to bed and was in bed myself at 9:30, only one feeding last night and no getting up from the boys until around 6:30 this morning which was fine because today was the glorious mothers day out!!!  I did nothing all morning, got my hair done after lunch (its fab by the way) before I went to pick up the boys completely recharged.  After a lovely dinner (by the way is it 8pm now and Iz has been asleep since 4pm and yes she is alive because I keep going in to poke her but I will not wake a sleeping baby) I gave Asher a bath while DJ took trash out with Daddy and just for kicks I asked DJ if he would like to shower instead of take a bath, to my surprise he said yes and was stripped down and in my shower before I could say boo.  I turned the water on for him and went to get the baby soap and when I returned to the bathroom he was already "cleaning himself" with J's bar of soap "like a big boy."  DJ then informed me that it was time to shave and he needed his shaver, I just so happen to have one of those "razors" that has no blade so I gave it to him, then he pointed to J's shaving cream and said "Mama, that too!" so I put a little on his cheeks and melted into a puddle as he began to shave, I ran to get J and my camera and when I came back this is what I found

Head to toe shaving cream!!!

It was SO AWESOME!  Then of course Asher came in to see all the commotion and had to shave his face too!

Have I ever mentioned that I love being the mom of boys?!

Football Sunday

Every football coaches dream come true!

Asher

AKA: Sher Sher and Ashey (which J does not think should have a y but I do and its my blog so there!)

I realized I have given Iz her own post and DJ his own post, so before I post about how my sweet family was stargazing in my bedroom in the middle of the day or about the adventure we are about to have tomorrow, it is my pleasure to write a bit about my sweet Ashey.  Born when DJ was 17months old I was so scared, how could another baby possibly hold a candle to DJ who melted the hearts of all who came with in a 2 foot radius of him.  Could we possibly love another child as much?  The answer was, those are stupid questions!  Asher is a different child, he cannot be compared to his brother because there is no comparison, he is his own very special brand of amazing, the same way we all are, the way that God created us to be.  Asher had colic which  means that from the moment he was 2 weeks old until the day he turned 12 weeks old he did nothing but cry, all day, all night, cry.  For some reason I think this made me love him ferociously, I knew that no one but his mommy could accept and deal with this unbelievable crying and so I never fully trusted anyone to be with him for any extended period of time, including his daddy.  So it was the two of us fighting the storm of colic together, sleeping together every night and holding him on my hip every day.  Thank the Good Lord for my mom and her husband who let me move in with them while J was away 2 of those three months.  I know I would not have made it on my own!  Now Asher is the sweetest most loving little boy I have ever even heard of.  He hugs and kisses, cuddles and giggles ALL the time.  He is beginning to enter the terrible twos but even in his outright defiance I grin because he is so stinkin cute.  Asher attends a mothers day out program and his teachers wrote on his daily report yesterday, "Asher is such a great boy, so sweet, and we love him so much!"  Asher has been in school a total of 4 days so far, and they love him so much, that is definitely one of my boys.  I hope that they are melting hearts like this forever.  There are so many things that I love about my Asher I can only list a few here;  I love that when he smiles his eyes close because his cheeks are so fat, I love the way he says "mommy, mommy, mommy" always three times before he can get the actual words out, I love that when we hold him he rubs the back of our necks with his chubby hand, and I love the way he gives us all 100 unsolicited kisses a day.  My sweet man is about to be two and I can't wait to discover all of the other millions of things I will love about him.

To Be Continued...

My DJ

Just a little word about my little man... my first born.  Getting pregnant with DJ was an answer to a prayer, once we found out he was a boy I prayed that he would be healthy and that he would have the heart of King David for whom he would be named.  King David in the Bible had a heart that mirrored that of God and what could be a bigger blessing than to have a son who worshiped God with all that he was, who was a warrior, who sang and danced, who fessed up when he messed up (not always right away but eventually).  God has answered all of those prayers and I am in awe every day of how DJ exemplifies King David.  I am not saying this is easy, it is hard to have a three-year-old warrior at playgroup.  We have yet to discover the secret to getting DJ to pray from his heart openly and willingly.  He loves music, but hates when I sing (I think that has more to do with my lovely voice).  And DJ is completely run by desire and emotion, he puts very little thought into consequences.  But it is not all hard, when DJ does something wrong he always admits it straight away and takes punishment without question; and he is FUNNY, DJ makes me laugh like no one else. 

DJ likes to vote for the underdog, when he plays dinosaurs the T-Rex is the bigger and the meaner but somehow or another the Stegosaurus always wins.  In his favorite (for the week) book the page with "L is for Ladybugs" shows 4 huge ladybugs surrounding a little green bug who DJ always insists that they want to eat, and in the next breath he tells you how this little green bug won't go down without a fight (David and Goliath anyone?). 

We signed him up for drum lessons hoping to combine his love for music with his desire to hit things, and I also bought a DVD to teach him some dance moves and get some energy out since it is too hot to be outside.  But DJ's favorite inside game?  Wooden spoon sword fights with Daddy, J actually knighted him today! 

This week my funny little man brought his "Stinky" out of bed, big no no, and when I said I would put "Stinky" up on a shelf he held the bear up and in his highest pitch said "oh no mama, don't put me up!"  When I asked him to finish his dinner tonight he looked at me and said "are you serious? That's ridiculous!" 

When I ask him to help his brother or sister his answer is always "I sure can!" and if he wants something he always starts the sentence with "Mama, I have a great idea!"  My son is always showing me how fast he is, how strong he is, or how tough he is, he lives for my approval and acknowledgement, and I live to give it to him.  I love him so much my heart could burst just writing this out, and I just needed to say a few things about my little king.

The First Day of "school"

Yesterday was the first day of "school" and I say "school" in quotes because its really a mothers-day-out program not school per say, and that little disclaimer is for my hubby who could have cared less that "school" started yesterday because it was not real.  Emotions have been running high for a lot of the moms I know this week, little ones off to preschool for the first time, or full time kindergarten.  Facebook is full of pics of the kids in their new school attire and backpacks.  At our house this week was sweet relief, school was back, yeehaw!  I tried in vain to get some cute pics of the boys before we left the house...

As you can see the best pic is the one of the boys lunch boxes ready to go.  The new backpacks aren't ready yet (I am making them out of old flight suits) and lunch was the most exciting thing going yesterday morning, in fact this is the only pic of DJ without the lunchbox in front of his face, and he is striking a pose.  The most miraculous thing of all was that we got to the school on time, and I was not in pajamas, no makeup but no pajamas either, even Iz was dressed.  I dropped each boy off in his own classroom, no small feat since each boy had...
 a lunch box,
a backpack,
a mat for sleeping on and a blanket,
DJ had a bear (NOT stinky) and Asher his blankie and paci (he calls them gugu and bite),
tissue boxes
and wipes for the classroom. 
There were no tears, not from the boys and surly not from Mama.  As I drove away looking at the moms still sitting in their cars unable to leave their babies I wondered if there may be something wrong with me that I felt so, well, giddy.  SO, if yesterday was the first day of school, why am I writing this post today instead of yesterday when I only had Iz around the house?  The answer my friend is that I literally did not sit down one time yesterday.  Dropped the boys off, had a dentist appointment, came home to nurse Iz and shovel some food in my face, cut coupons, went grocery shopping, went to post office, time to pick up boys, came home, put Iz to sleep and a snack for the boys so I can put groceries away, nurse Iz again, make dinner, feed family, bath, bedtime, laundry.  SERIOUSLY!!! 

And that is why even "stay-at-home" moms need a mothers day out!

Most Loved Girl in the World!

My daughter happens to be the most loved girl in the world, I am pretty sure. This afternoon she spit up while I was holding her and Asher grabbed the bottom of my shirt (that I was wearing) and wiped her mouth off with it. Every day is a battle between the brothers to see who can kiss her more, who can make her smile bigger, and even who gets to throw away her stinky diapers. When her Daddy comes home all he wants is to hold and kiss her sweet face, even if it means he might wake her up and he will have to face the wrath of Mama! I watch in awe as Iz experiences what every girl desires, she captivates the men around her. They love her fiercely and with all that they have they will protect her and console her and most of all let her know that she is special. God knew what he was doing when He gave us our Iz, she will be something special that is for sure, how could she not with love like this all around her.

Mornings

This morning was great, as great as any morning can be at 7am after each of the three kids woke up at least once through the night. It began with my three-year-olds face pressed up against mine with a HUGE grin and enthusiastic "Good morning Mama!" He then promptly climbed into bed carrying ALL things from his bed to include 2 blankets and his Stinky (a bear that he has had since he was 6 months old dubbed stinky because he chews on its ear and it stinks no matter how often I wash it). Then I hear the one year old yell "Mommy? Daddy? (pronounced Dayyyi)" and my husband quickly ran off to retrieve him from crib prison. My boys and I cuddled and kissed and watched Daddy finish getting ready for work and when he was out the door we were off... Change Asher, take DJ potty, let the dog out to potty, feed the cat, feed the dog, ask the boys what they want for breakfast; DJ says "NO, NO BREAKFAST!" and Ashey smiles and says "food?" then of course DJ has an opinion, this morning it was cereal. The boys clung to my legs between me and the counter, as I tried to pour bowls of cereal, arguing over who got which bowl (the bowls by the way, completely identical). I trip over them to get to the table and set the bowls down when Ashey immediately demands "poon!!" and DJ says "Mama, you forgot the milk!" Quickly as I can I grab milk and spoons and sippy cups (because I know that is the next request) and go to retrieve Iz who has been sweetly cooing in her crib for 10 minutes but is beginning to cry. I change her and bring her to the kitchen where both boys beg for hugs and kisses from their bubbie (AKA Iz), I pour myself a cup of coffee and sit to nurse sweet Iz, I look across the table at my messy boys faces and into the adoring eyes of my baby girl I thank God that this is my morning, every morning.

February

So while it is not technically February still, it is only the second day of March and as you can see my one blog every month resolution is not going as well as I had hoped! There was a HUGE ice storm here toward the end of January and we were without power for a whole week. While some Altusites choose to stay and tough it out we moved the family (pets and all) to a hotel in Wichita Falls TX. Here are some pictures I took of our trees before we left... Then in February we had a super busy month, but being the lame mom I am I only took pictures of the fun play group we had that went to the fire station on base. DJ was so excited he literally could not stand stll!