Christmas

My heart is soooo full that I have all my children home for Christmas.  Words just cannot describe.....

This was an amazing holiday full of family, fun, laughter and fellowship.  

Mia loved Christmas.  She had so much fun playing with everyone, including Maddie.  She was great at opening presents - a bit slow - but she so enjoyed it and loved playing with her new toys.  Maddie was so excited that Santa came and knew just what she wanted.  

The girls all dressed after church

All 4 of my beautiful children

Headphones from Santa

More photos to come.....

Happiness and Thankfulness

Many times throughout your daily life we will make reference to being happy or hear someone around us saying how happy they are.  I have heard people say it and I have even said it before.  But now I must say that the word "happiness" has a much deeper meaning for me.  My happiness is palpable - I can feel it, touch it, taste it - It encompasses who I am.  That feeling of happiness is driven from my faith in GOD and his enormous blessing that he has bestowed upon me and Keith - our Children.  When I think of my children and the fact that All of my children are healthy, happy and finally home (although Christopher is away at college), it reconfirms my HAPPINESS.  When I get up in the morning and see the smiling faces of my girls and talk with Christopher on the phone- I cannot stop smiling - my heart is FULL of joy!  and I am truly happy.....

Happiness leads me to thankfulness.  There are so many things for me to be thankful for - my supportive husband, my children, my family, my health and the health of my loved ones.  But one thing stands out to me - I am so thankful for being a mom.  That GOD blessed me with 4 beautiful children and I am thankful that GOD has helped me and is helping me raise these beautiful children to be productive members of society who love GOD and are willing to have a servants heart.

Thanksgiving was an amazing time with ALL my children, even one that I wish was mine (Lizzy's friend Lilly).  We made the journey to Gulf Shores, Alabama to our rented beach house.  Christopher had basketball practice so we went to him instead of him coming to us.  It was so nice to have everyone under the same roof.  We played on the beach (the weather was perfect!) and at night played pictionary and card games.  Oh what wonderful memories we made.

This was Mia's first time on the sand as well as her first Thanksgiving.  She wasn't too sure at first and it took her 3 full days to finally start to like it and walk on the beach without shoes.  Maddie loved the beach - the sand wasn't hot for her and the weather was beautiful.  She played and built sand castles and ran around.

Mia did not want her feet to touch the sand.  She was content sitting in her beach chair.

Lizzy, Lilly, Maddie and Mia - My girls.

Sandcastles on the beach at sunset

Mia getting the hang of digging in the sand

Shoes off, feet wet and she loves the sand!!!!

Christopher and Lizzy having some fun - they really missed each other

After our Championship Putt-Putt Game.  Maddie came in 1st place and Christopher 2nd

Great memories were made and I am so thankful for all of our blessings!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween to all!  This was Mia's first Halloween.  Maddie helped her pick out her costume and we ended up with matching Bumblebee costumes.

Mia quickly figured out how the Trick or Treat tradition works.  However, once candy was put in her bucket she wanted to eat it immediately.  Riding in the wagon from house to house Mia would try to eat through the wrapper of the candy.

Maddie was very helpful and held Mia's hand and showed her the ropes.

We are both ready to go Trick or Treating!

Nana & Poppy answer the DOOR!

Come on Mia - Keep up with me.

Bumblebees - TOO CUTE

Family Weekend

This past weekend Keith and I and all the girls along with my parents made the journey to Springhill College in Mobile, Alabama for family weekend with Christopher.  First of all I can't express how nice it  is when I have all of my children with me.  However, I must say that the most moving part of the weekend for this momma, was realizing that my son has become a Man, and a good one.  He is beginning to realize all of those lessons we tried to drill in his head when he was at home.  The value of money, the value of hard work, managing your time and resources, cleanliness and most importantly the value of family.

He has fit into the family of students at Springhill very well- everyone knows him and stopped us throughout our visit and would talk to us or the girls.  He is doing well in his classes and even secured an internship with the contractor that will be filming the Varsity Basketball games.

We were able to watch him play 2 basketball games while we were there,  He did soooo well and I am so proud of him for working so hard.

It is bittersweet watching him grow up.  But my heart is so full knowing what an amazing, kind, hardworking and compassionate man he is growing into.  This mom couldn't be prouder!!!!!!

It was so good to see him and I hated to leave, but we will be seeing him again this weekend for his first basketball game.  Let's Go #42!!!!!!!

After we left Lizzy told us that he Tweeted "Parents are the best!"  :)

Maddie is 5

It is so hard to believe, but Maddie is 5 years old.  We celebrated her birthday surrounded by family and   friends at Chuck E. Cheese (My favorite place - NOT).  Her classmates from school came and played with her and made her birthday extra special.  She had a great day and overall great birthday!  The only thing missing from her celebration was her brother - although she did get a special phone call from him.

Let the Party Begin!

My Happy Birthday Girl

My beautiful Girls!!!

Best Friends

Enjoying some Pizza - Yum!

Make A Wish!!!!

Maddie, her friends and Chuck E.

Maddie had a wonderful day!  It warms my heart to see her so happy.  Time has flown by and my little girl is already 5.  Maddie is looking forward to the future and told us last night that now she is almost 6 years old.  

The Power of a Touch

As imperfect humans we tend to rush through life and not cherish the small things in life, those things that are intangible. The smell of your grandmothers kitchen, the joy of the holidays spent with family, the excitement of personal triumphs and the comfort of your mothers touch.  Life is spent rushing from activity to activity and those small, yet wonderful moments get rushed through and ignored.

Having taken some time off of work with Mia I have had time to "decompress" and let my world slow down a bit.  I am learning first hand how important some of these things are.  For instance, Touch is quite important to Mia.  It brings her comfort, security and gives her a sense of love.  Think about how big that is - all those things accomplished with just a "touch".  Many nights she will wake up and cry.  I will go and sleep next to her crib and rub her hand or foot and she instantly knows that she is ok, her mom is there and goes back to sleep.  During the day, we spend alot of time snuggling, and yet there are many things in the house and in my business that are left undone, but I know those moments with Mia are more important than anything else.  This time with her will be go by in a flash and I want her to move to the next phase of her life having felt the love of her mother - unrushed, uninterrupted and totally focused on just loving her.

Mia is healthy and happy and is very loved.  She fits into our family just perfectly!  I will hate to return to the rat race and not be able to see her every minute of every day.  I only hope that once I return to work that I stop to enjoy the small, sweet things in life with my girls.

My beautiful Mia

Just wanted to share some amazing pictures of Mia.  She is such a sweet baby!

Many things.....

It has been quite a long time since my last post.  Our lives have been topsy turvy and very busy lately.

Lizzy is turning 16 this year and I have been very busy planning an amazing birthday that she would remember.  She has been such a big help to me with both Maddie and Mia I wanted to make sure it was a special birthday she would always remember.  I surprised her with a trip to New York City during Fashion Week along with front row tickets to the Couture Fashion Show.  We did the usual things that you would expect a 16 year old would do in New York - SHOP, SHOP and SHOP some more.  We had a wonderful time and were able to spend some quality mother daughter time together.  She is such a great kid that she is so enjoyable to be with.  I enjoy spending time with my teenager.

The next step for Lizzy is getting her drivers license.  She has been counting down the day until she can drive for about 3 months.  It's finally arrived this week.  She has been given my Volvo to drive.  I just ask that all my friends and family please pray for her as she ventures out alone in a vehicle.  I'm a little nervous to say the least.

Keith's mother passed away recently.  All of my children gathered around their father to support him at his most difficult hour.  Christopher came to Shreveport and joined the rest of us for a celebration of her life.  It was heartwarming to have my family together.  I caught a glimpse of my older kids character when this happened.  The love, sympathy and compassion for their dad was heartwarming.

Homecoming festivities for St. Louis High School was in full swing last week.  Keith graciously offered to build the float and have it ready for the parade.  The parents were responsible for decorating it.  Maddie got to join in the fun and ride on the parade float.  She threw candy and had a blast!  What an arm she has! The homecoming dance finished up the week's activities.  Hair and makeup appointments were the tasks for the day.  All her friends and date showed up at our house for a few pictures and then off to dinner and the dance.  She looked beautiful - absolutely beautiful.

In between all this activity I am having to drive our family dog (Pressley) to LSU Vet Clinic in Baton Rouge, La (which is 2 hours away from where we live each way) every week for Cancer Treatment.  For those of you that don't know - our family absolutely loves Pressley and are completed devestated that she is sick.  We are hopeful that we can at least extend her life a little bit.  Dogs add so much joy to your life.  We can't imagine ours without Pressley.

I am still off on Leave of Absence with Mia.  We spend most days just snuggling!  She has adjusted well and has the cutest personality.  We have definitely seen her blossom!  She is walking (running) and getting into everything.  She evens has a tendency to walk on her tip toes - so cute.  She loves playing with Maddie and gives her hugs and kisses.  Maddie is doing much better with Mia although we are still working on the "Sharing" concept.

I am so thankful for all my children!!!  I'm so glad that they will all be home for the holidays this year.  Next big event in October is Maddie's birthday - She is turning 5!!!  So hard to believe she is already 5. They grow up so fast.

Texas Children's Visit

Yesterday, Keith, Mia and I made the 2 hour journey to Texas Children's for her long awaited appointment with the Craniofacial team at Texas Children's.  We got to see some familiar faces during our visit.  We met with the same Speech Pathologist that Maddie sees on an annual basis.  Sadly, the surgeon, that was following Maddie's case,  that was the leader of this program/team, Dr. Stahl, had passed away last Monday.  So we saw a new surgeon with the Team, Dr. Buchanan.

After a quick evaluation from the speech pathologist, we were pleasantly surprised that Mia is pretty much on target with her speech development for her age and considering her open palate.  Of course we can expect her speech to improve and expand once her palate is closed.  Unfortunately, with the passing of Dr. Stahl the surgical schedule is backed up.  Our surgery is scheduled for January 24th right now.  We are on the cancellation list, which could possibly move us up if someone cancels their scheduled surgery.  Apparently cancellations happen frequently when the child scheduled for surgery is ill on the day or day before surgery.  I am hopeful that we will be moved up and be able to have Mia's surgery before January.

On the way home from our appointment Mia was quite entertaining and chatted in her carseat the entire way home.  Enjoy the quick video snipit below.

We will keep you posted if anything changes with Mia's surgery date.

Move In Day!

Christopher has officially begun the next chapter of his life; COLLEGE.  We moved him into the dorm at Springhill on Thursday.  Athletes were able to move in a day early so it was a little less chaotic at campus during the move.  The college scheduled it this way so that the athletes would be able to help unload new students' belongings the next day during Freshman Move in day.

His dorm room is quite small but it's home for the next semester and I think he is happy to be there.  We met his roommate who is from Birmingham, Alabama and is also on the basketball team.  The college did an excellent job of choosing a roommate for Christopher - they seem to be very compatible and alike in many ways.

Christopher was excited to get his room and his stuff all situated in his new space.  After move in was complete (or at least we thought), we took Christopher and Sam (his roommate) and Sam's mom to dinner.  We had such a nice time and felt like we had known each other forever.  It is so nice to meet this family and have them part of our lives and our son's life.  After dinner, the boys returned to their dorm to rearrange it.  I did not want any part of that - once was enough for me.

Christopher and I had talked in depth about his plans for the future and his feelings about college.  I truly feel that he is ready for this next phase of his life.  He has thought about his course of study and possible career choices.  He has even thought about graduate school and continued studies at speciality schools.  I am proud of the son I raised, proud that he is a man who is a leader and is looking ahead to his future.  He is finding his passion in life and trying to mesh that into his life AND make a difference in the world.  He shared with me certain goals and aspirations that he has and was specific in that he did not just want a career but wanted to make a difference in the world, make an impact with his work.  What an amazing time in his life.  I am so proud of him!!   I am so blessed that GOD has allowed me to be Christopher's mom AND is allowing me to have a glimpse of Christopher becoming a man and finding GOD's will in his life.  

Outside of Viragh Hall

His closet - ooh how small

His desk - getting it all organized

Christopher & Sam - Roommates & Teammates

I am looking forward to next weekend as we are driving to Springhill again to deliver Christopher's vehicle.  Hopefully I will get some feedback from him on how classes are, how basketball practice is and overall what he thinks of college life so far.

Mia is WALKING!!!!

Last Friday Mia just decided it was time for her to walk.  And she is now walking everywhere and is into everything.  Whew - I'm getting a workout chasing after her.  Check out the video below:

Summer fun winding down

What an amazing summer I have had.  I started the summer months with only 3 children and will end the summer with memories of an amazing journey to China to bring home our 4th child as well as a bittersweet memory of my oldest moving to college.

After getting home and recovering from jet lag we have enjoyed each others company, had fun hanging by the pool as well as going to do those fun summer things, such as a visit to the children's museum, tennis lessons, lunch at our favorite spots in town, etc.

Tennis Lessons for Lizzy

Maddie, Mia & Halle at the Museum fingerpainting

This is the first and only time in my life I have ever been off from work for an extended period of time during the summer.  I have enjoyed being home with all of the kids and am quite sad that this time is coming to an end.  However, when I look back at my journey over the first half of this year and my journey to Mia I know that GOD's timing was absolutely perfect!.  It was perfect that I was able to enjoy my son's graduation - all the events, parties and absorb every moment.  It was perfect timing that Lizzy got to go to camp during 1st term and be part of the amazing senior camper program at Camp Champions with all of her camp friends - she had an amazing time!  His timing was perfect that Maddie got some down time and was able to spend some one on one time with Mom and Dad while Christopher and Lizzy were at camp and then got to enjoy the entire summer without having to go to daycare.  It was perfect timing as I look ahead to having the time off to move Christopher to college, be there for my girls after school and of course - BASKETBALL - be able to attend most of Christopher's basketball games.  And sadly, GOD's timing is perfect as I have the time to take our dearest Pressley (our family dog) to the Oncology department at LSU for cancer treatments in hopes to prolong her life as much as possible.

Maddie learned to dive this summer (and has been truly inspired by the Summer Olympics).  Lizzy learned to play tennis. Christopher learned (and is learning) to take care of things by himself.  AND Mia learned to walk.  Check out the video below

Summer is ending and the familiar routine of school is back.  Maddie started Pre-K 4 today and was so excited to go to "big" school.  She tells me on the way to school "You know Mom, my legs are getting longer - because I'm getting bigger".  And bigger she is getting - Growing up too fast!  Lizzy will return to school on Wednesday.  Christopher and I make the journey to Springhill College for move in day on Friday - that will be the toughest thing for me I have had to do all year!  Keith does remind me that anytime I feel like I want to visit him on the weekend or have dinner with him - we can always fly over and do so.  (That makes me feel a little better).  That leaves Mia and Me all day home to snuggle!!!!

Maddie's First day of Pre-K 4