Theme for the girls' new rooms when we move to the house

The girls couldn't decide if they wanted to have a garden with butterflies themed room, or princess theme for their rooms. So, I said, "Why don't you have a 'Princess Butterfly Garden' theme? Oh, they were all over that! Combine all the favorite stuff. :) Rachel will be in her own room, and Michaela and Alyssa will share a room. Michaela and Alyssa's room is currently blue with Nascar trim around the top of the wall, so we'll be repainting their room first with a light peach color after taking down the Nascar trim. Rachel's room is currently decorated for a girl with yellow paint and a purple butterfly border at the top of the wall, with some kind of butterfly and princess wall stickers. So, since she kind of likes the way it is already, we won't be in a rush to change her room. But, we do want to eventually change it and make it our own. Rachel wants a light lavender color for the walls, and the wallpaper trim and stickers will come off. Plus the current yellow paint that is there is all marked up in places or scratched. Need something fresh and new eventually! Then, decorate with garden/butterfly/princess motif and decor.

I also want to paint over the red walls in the dining room with the gobi desert color I used in our home in Raleigh. LOVE that color, and we always get compliments on it. I love red in moderation, but red is just a little too busy and loud for me to be on a wall. Plus, it's a smaller dining room than I'm used to. Needs to be a lighter color. I'm all about light or neutral wall colors.

Buying a new house!

We have decided to go ahead and buy a house for us to live in instead of continuing to live in the apartment while we wait for something to happen with our house in Raleigh. We got a smaller, inexpensive house that will work and that we LOVE. Our mortgage on this house with taxes and insurance included will cost us less than rent on the apartment. :) It's at the end of a cul-de-sac, with only one neighbor because there is a creek that goes to the side making it impossible to make the land beside us into a usable lot for another home. The master bedroom is on the second floor, which was a requirement this time around. The dining room and breakfast nook are smaller than we're used to, and we'll have to figure out how to make them work with our tables, but it'll work ok. We just won't be able to use all the leaves in the dining room table. And, the breakfast nook table will probably work if we put one end against the wall, and just won't be able to sit someone at that end. Has four bedrooms. Rachel will get her own room, and Michaela and Alyssa will share. The fourth room will be Brandon's office so he can work from home sometimes and have all the equipment he needs at home all set up. The family room is nice and is a good size. It also is laid out well for placing furniture, unlike our last home in Raleigh. Also downstairs is another small room that will be an area for our pantry overflow since the pantry is kind of small, and also a room to do our school work for homeschooling.

New kitchen table!

We just ordered a new kitchen table. :) I'm soooooo excited! We've had our current table for almost 12 years. Only four chairs with it, and we have five people currently in our family, with hopes to increase our numbers someday. As it is, we can never sit and eat as a family anymore. Brandon is usually not eating with us and eats later, or he kneels on the floor at the table on rare occasions, which isn't ideal. We're getting a larger table, with eight chairs. Very cute too! I love the white with the dark cherry tops. Very charming and country looking. Both Brandon and I fell in love with this set right away, and we both knew that after a long year-long search, we finally found our table!

Once we get this table, our current table will be going to my sister.

Link to view our table!

Had a wonderful weekend!

Friday started it off with eating lunch with Rachel at school. I signed up to give her teacher a lunch break, so I went in and watched her class so her teacher didn't have to. Got to meet some of the kids Rachel always talks about. Later that night was "Spike's Spooktacular." A little carnival at their school complete with games and rides. Got each kid 24 tickets each in advance, and Brandon ended up having to buy 12 extra while there. I ran the karaoke booth for an hour. Rachel won a goldfish, and she was really excited about that, but it ended up dying. :( We'll have to go get another fish.

Saturday, we went to the Skytop Orchard (apple orchard) with my dad, Sarah, and her kids. The kids played, we went on the hayless hay ride, Brandon and Rachel went off and picked a few apples, then we bought some apples, cider, and a little pumpkin for Michaela to take to school at their store.

Sunday we went on a drive up into the mountains and drove some of the Blueridge Parkway. We stopped a couple times and hiked some trails. Both the orchard and driving in the mountains to admire the fall leaves is a tradition our family does almost every year.

Brandon got a new calling this weekend as well. He is now 2nd counselor in the Stake Sunday School presidency. It's his first stake calling.

Sometime soon I'll have to come back and write about our other fun happenings from earlier this month. :)

We live in SC now

Guess I've neglected my blog for a while now. Then, found it again recently. We moved from Raleigh last February and came to SC, and live near my parents. We've been trying to sell our house in Raleigh with no luck, and are living in an apartment while we wait.

With all the recent stress and frustrations in life, Brandon felt the girls and I needed a break from each other, so they are temporarily in public school this year. Rachel is in 4th grade, and Michaela is in 1st. They are at Brushy Creek, and I like this school soooo much better than Timber Drive in Garner, NC that Rachel went to in Kindergarten. They are educating at level and being challenged. So, if they must go, at least I'm happy with their school and teachers. :) Alyssa is home with me during the days, and we work on preschool level work together.

That's the quick update for now. I'm hoping I'll be posting more regularly in the future. :D

Been so tired!

Once again it's been a while since I've posted anything. Been super busy, too busy actually, and just can't seem to keep up with it all. So, it's definitely wearing on me and I find myself tired a lot. I should get to bed sooner at night, but I just have so much to do!

Plus, not much new with us anyway; other than the Holy Ghost keeping the girls and I from being in a car accident that would have killed Alyssa and I for sure, and maybe the other two. That was March 6th, so about a month ago now. And no! The accident would not have happened because I was tired, more from not just one, but TWO other drivers running a red light when it was supposed to be my turn in the intersection. I was prompted to not go even though my light was green, then watched as a car speed right in front me going faster than the speed limit of the road it was on. I would have made it to that part of the intersection by the time the other car went through, which would have slammed right into me and Alyssa's doors. For a second, I was in shock that someone would do that and that I wasn't in the way, then looked at the light and saw it was still green, but still felt I should stay put. Four seconds or so later, another car came through the same way as the first. I became even more in shock, but after the second car, I felt it was now ok to proceed making my left turn, but did so very timidly looking to my left to make sure all cars were stopping! And no, the second car was not a cop chasing the first. (I've been asked that before.) I find myself thinking about that day quite a bit and thankful to still be here, and that my girls are still here. I can't imagine what it would have been like for Brandon (he was at work and not with us) if he had lost all four of his girls at once that day; or lost some of us and some of us be still alive but injured.

Yesterday I noticed at gymnastics that Rachel is learning new stuff and tricks. :) Not the same old routines anymore. The girls are excited about Easter coming. (Although today Michaela said that she wants snow and Christmas. Hmmm?) Oh, Rachel got to her goal of selling 200 boxes of Girl Scout cookies so that she could earn the plush pony. Earlier this week, I let Alyssa scribble on paper with a crayon for the first time. I think we may have another leftie! I guess time will tell for sure. Michaela is left handed. We're also looking forward to conference this weekend. :)

99 Things

Saw this on Kory's blog, and thought I'd do it too. :)

Here are the rules:
Bold the things you’ve done and post on your blog!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars (As well as the rain! All while sleeping OVER an ant hill while on a pioneer trek as a teen. Interesting story there!)
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train (Don't remember it much, I was 4. All I remember is getting on the train, and my brother being upset that he didn't get to go.)
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping (Have too much self respect to do that one!)
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice (Does a gondola at the Venician in Vegas count?)
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise (Bay cruise in San Fran, but not one of those long multi-day cruises.)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (Not sure, but could have)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (Does being on the news count?)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (Does helping my daughter count?)
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (I tried but they told me not to come back b/c my veins were too small)
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Redwoods (We've even done a drive through tree!)
82. Bought a brand new car (Actually, Brandon bought it for me)
83. Walked in Jerusalem (I was 6 or 7 when my parents went, and they left me at home in Germany. Boo!)
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (I WATCHED a turkey being killed on the pioneer trek, but didn't kill it myself)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous (Richard G. Scott at Hill Cumorah Pageant)
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Who wants to play?

Alyssa is walking!

Yes! She is finally a walker. This kid definitely does things on HER timetable. I guess it's been a couple weeks now since she started taking her first steps. Each day she'd take a few more steps before falling down. I'd say about last Wednesday or so, she's gotten really good. Although she's still slow and falls down every now and then. Crawls at times, but she does seem to prefer the walking. My kids have started to walk at ages: Rachel, 15 months; Michaela, 11-12 months; and Alyssa, 16 months.

WTG, Alyssa! We love you. :)

New background

So, I put up a new background. :) I love changing things up for the seasons/holidays. And so many cute ones to choose from! I was originally going to put up the "Kiss me, I'm Irish" background, but when I tried it, all the little clovers in the middle made it hard to read the posts. I then settled for the one that is here now. And yes, I'm American, but since I have Irish ancestry . . . .I figured I could get away with somewhat being Irish in a way! ;)

January . . . .What a tough month it's been for Rachel

So, if you have read the post right under this one, you'll know that poor Rachel started out the month sick with some kind of bug. She was fine that whole Saturday, then boom! Started getting sick Saturday night, and the next day was supposed to be her first day in CTR 7. Luckily, she quickly got over that one.

January 9th she had her crowns put in to cover her back teeth. (She was born with a condition that causes her to have no enamel for those that didn't know. That's why her teeth look yellow.) I took her to the hospital; Brandon took the day off to stay home with the other two. They were REALLY good with her! After registering, they took us back to a pre-op area where they made her feel comfortable, play games, watch cartoons, play on a computer, DRAW ON THE SHEETS WITH MARKERS (she really liked that one since she'll NEVER be able to do that at home). They had a dog puppet named Mr. Wrinkles that they used to demonstrate what was going to happen to her. She got to decorate her gas mask with stickers (which she got to take home). They gave her necklaces and a headband to make her feel like a princess and told her "when you wake up you'll have princess crowns on your teeth." She was really enjoying it and loving being there since it was "so much fun!"

Then the time came to put her to sleep and they took her away. I went back out to the waiting area and sat, read, and ate snacks for 2.5 hours while waiting. One of the nurses came out to me first when it was done and told me how it kinda went. She said that as they were trying to wake Rachel, the first thing out of her mouth was, "This is NOT fun!" lol Big change from before. Everything went great, and once I was able to go back there and be with her, I found a Rachel that was having a hard time waking up. I went and got the car alone and pulled up by the door to the hospital, and they wheeled her out in a wheelchair and helped her in the car. She really liked the wheelchair ride!

Angel Bear they gave her at the hospital after taking her to recovery.

Rachel with the balloon Daddy and her sisters got for her, and her gas mask from the hospital complete with stickers!

On January 16th I took her to the doctor because she had been complaining about her ear hurting. They said no infection in it, may have been a little red so they gave us ear drops with anti-biotics in them to put into her infected ear to clear it up. We did this for 7 days. She said her ear was feeling better while on these, and stopped hurting for a few days altogether when we were done doing the drops. So, I was thinking we were all good and clear at this point. They also tested her for strep, which came back negative.

On January 28th she started to complain about her ear again that night, and the next morning it was really bothering her. She woke up on the 29th to find that puss had oozed out of her ear that night. So, I took her back in. This time is WAS an actual ear infection. Also checked for strep again because the doctor suspected it, and she had strep as well. So, she was given amoxacillin for 10 days to clear those up. Not sure why the ear infection and strep didn't show up on the 16th, unless she was just starting to get it at that point, and wasn't strong enough for the doctors to detect yet?

So, it's been a tough month for Rachel, and mommy and daddy! Hoping that February will be happy and healthy. :)

First day of Sunbeams!

January 4th was Michaela's first day in Sunbeams and primary. What a big girl! *sniff, sniff* Can't you tell she was oh so excited from the pic? I didn't get to be there, so I was really sad to miss seeing her go into her first day of primary, but Brandon got some pics. Rachel was throwing up the night before, so I stayed home with her and Alyssa. Brandon and Michaela went to church that day.

Another tooth is gone!

This time, thanks goes to little sister Michaela. . . again . . . for kicking it out! She's kicked out a tooth once before as they played. The only difference this time was that this tooth wasn't AS loose as the first kicked out tooth. It was loose, but no where near ready to come out. :( There was lots of blood involved, and Rachel said it hurt pretty bad. I'm thinking they need to stop tickling each other when they're playing. . . that causes legs to go kicking other people!

Michaela's first hair cut and Thanksgiving 2008

This year we had Thanksgiving with our friends the Hammon family. They have three adorable little boys. :) Before we headed over there, I gave Michaela her first hair cut! I also cut Rachel's hair, but this wasn't her first cut. So, I'm going to include pics from both events together in one post. I never did get an "after" pic of Michaela after I cut her hair, so a pic of her at the Hammon's will have to do for that. Thank you Hammon family for having us over! We had a great time. :)

Michaela's "before" hair cut pic:

Rachel and Michaela at the table they sat at.
A good "after" pic for Michaela's hair cut!

Pic of all the kids and me:

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everybody! I love this new background. :) Fireworks are always exciting. I hope the new year brings lots of happiness and blessings to all of my friends and family.

Still need to catch up on past happenings. . . .but just wanted to at least wish everyone a Happy New Year!

We're crawling! (November 6, 2008)

Alyssa finally decided to start crawling at almost 13 months old on November 6. She had been doing some kind of scooching before this, but that was the day she just up and decided to be an actual crawler and get around faster! Started just slightly sooner than Rachel did! Rachel was close, but was AFTER her 13 month mark by a few days. Alyssa started a few days before her 13 month mark.

Ack! How did I let so much time slip away since my last post?!

Easy. . . very busy and very sick! I had bronchitis for about four to five weeks, and didn't realize it until the last week. Four weeks into it, I went to the doc, and then after seeing him, took another week to really get better. Needless to say, I have some catching up to do. Both on the blog, and just "stuff."

Here's the late Halloween update:

FOR ALEESHA! You were asking about Alyssa's hair color at the baby shower. Most of the other pics I've posted below, her hair looks red like the other girls, but it's not really like that, so not sure why it shows up in pics that way. This is a truer representation of her hair if you were around her in person. It's a light brown with blond streaks. Maybe has a tinge of red, but it really doesn't scream RED! Here she had just finished enjoying some leftover Halloween pudding. :)

This is the Church trunk or treat party they had. Michaela won best homemade costume! The battery ended up dying on the camera, so this is the only pic I got!

I made their costumes this year. Rachel wanted to be a spider, so I bought a black shirt, and then sewed extra arms to the sides with black fabric. I tacked them together so they would come up when they raised their arms. Between her own two arms and legs, and the four extra, she had her 8 legs! Michaela's costume was an idea inspired by Brandon, and then created by me. They like to play "what animal am I" at night as a family. One time, Brandon got a flashlight, picked up Alyssa, and flew her around flashing the light from her bum. She was a firefly! Keeping with the "bug theme" I thought it would be cute to make Kayla a firefly. . . .IF I could find a light she could wear and flash on its own. We were in luck, and Brandon found one at Home Depot. I did the same for her. . .black shirt and sewed on extra legs to give her 6, since that's how many fireflies have. She also got antennae made of black pipe cleaner, and homemade wings made of cardboard slipped into fabric cut and sewn from the extra leg material. That's what the white yarn is around her neck. . . .holding on her wings!

FHE - Pumpkin Carving

So, last Monday we carved our pumpkin that Aunt Judy gave us for FHE and had our annual Halloween treat. . . Ghosts in the Graveyard. It's a family favorite. We've made it every year since Rachel was very little.

Our pumpkin before surgery!

Cleaning it out

Daddy drawing on the face Rachel designed while Michaela looks on.

All done!

Yumminess!

The kids anxiously awaiting the treat:

Michaela with Jack and Graveyard treat:

1st Birthday pictures!

Ok, so I have soooooo much to catch up on. Been WAY too busy. . .and of course that means LOTS to talk about, and little time to do so. Here's some pics from Alyssa's birthday.

What's a birthday without presents!?
Thank you to Grandparents Turpin, Grandparents Doyal, and Great-Grandparents Avery
and Mommy and Daddy

Checking out a new high chair toy:

October Birthday Girl and her Halloweenish cake

Yay! Everyone just sang a song about me, so it MUST be a reason to clap!

Balloons are fun!

Eating cake

My two favorite "after eating cake" pics:

Trying out some of her new toys for her swing.

We sign our kids up for the Baskin Robins Birthday Club before their first birthdays.
Here's Alyssa eating her first free BR birthday ice cream!

All Done!

Happy Birthday to my baby!

Today was Alyssa's first birthday! We actually celebrated with cake/ice cream and presents last night since tonight was gymnastics, and I didn't want her celebration to be rushed after getting back before bed. I haven't downloaded the pics yet, so I'll have to share those later.

Happy Birthday sweet girl! I can't believe you're a year old already. :(

My dad is going to Baghdad

For 3 months and I'm so scared! He leaves on the 13th. He's had military training (I'm an Army brat); but he's a 55 year old man now and it's scary over there. He's going there for a construction project his company is working on, not the war, so at least he's not fighting, but it's still scary over there and he'll stick out like a sore thumb as an American. I can't stop crying. Why do they have to send my dad there? Why are they doing a project there? When I first heard of the possibility, I thought it was going to be a one or two week thing. (Like when he went to Haiti for a week.) Now, it's for sure and 3 months now.