Piper is 11 Months Old!

Today my sweet girl is 11 months old! I can't believe we are winding down to 1 year. She has been such a wonderful addition to our family. It seems like everyday one of the older kids says "I love Piper" or "I can't imagine if we did not have Piper." I can't imagine either. Everyday she makes me laugh. She is crawling everywhere but has not started to walk yet. She says da-da but flat refuses to say mama. I think she likes torturing me. I will try to get her to say it and she will either just grin or stick her tongue out and spit. She did this one time about 3 months ago and her brothers and sisters laughed so hard that she has done it every time since. It definitely paints an accurate picture of her personality. Love that sweety-girl!!

Maveric Graduated Kindergarten!!

Maveric crossing the stage to shake hands with Mr. Zago (the principal.)

The Class of 2020!!

Maveric holding his Diploma with Miss Hamrick.

Me and my baby boy.

Eric and Maveric.

Maveric with Mr. Zago, who looks about 7 feet tall!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day!!

I had a wonderful Mother's Day. We went to church and they had baby dedications today. My cousin's little girl Bella was dedicated and we also got to see Savannah Hope and her family and the Oatsvall's with Maggie. Such beautiful families! We still have not had Piper dedicated only because Josh was not able to be with us yesterday and we wanted to wait until we were all together as a family. We are planning for the November dedication. This will be perfect anyway because my new niece Brooklynn Sky will be here then, so we can have one big family dedication. After church we went to my brother's house to eat with my sister, mom and my grandmother. The kids gave me gifts that they had made and they all treated me like a queen. We came back home to rest and watch a movie together and then went to Minami for some sushi. It was a great day spent celebrating the role that I am so blessed to have as mommy to five awesome healthy children. I do not take a day with each of them for granted. It is truly a blessing that so many women never get to experience but so desperately want to. I am once again reminded of what a fabulous husband I have that will take the time to make the day special for me. Thanks E! I love you.

Saturday full of Softball

Lil Lady Warriors '99
Piper covered in Gatorade
Ali and the some of the team taking a break.

Ali and Kailee

Piper is very popular among these 8 & 9 year old girls!

Ali & Piper

Elise & Piper Skylar & Piper

Beth-Ann & Piper

Elise & Kailee

Darian, Holly, Ali & Skylar

Holly, Ali & Skylar

Elise performing her "dare" putting two whole nachos in her mouth.

Saturday was full of many games of softball. Savannah had her opening tournament here in Smyrna and played like a Rock Star. Unfortunately, Ali had a tournament in Gallatin so my mom took Savannah to her tournament and Eric and I took Ali. Usually Eric and I will divide the kids when they have things on the same day but he was out of town almost all week and I was really missing him so we chose the most rigorous tournament and went together. My mom is such a trooper and always steps in when we need an extra hand. With the kids getting older and into so many sports I don't know what we would do without her. Ali had a great tournament as well and it was a lot of fun. They played 5 games that day?, (they are all kind of running together.) In between games the girls decided to play truth or dare and they would come to me for the dares. As a result of the "dares" Ali ended up with a huge piece of ice down her uniform as did the coach. Also, Keith McKnight's daughter Kailee is on the team too so her dare was to go over to her dad and polish his bald head with a baby wipe!! It is so ironic growing up with someone and then watching your kids play together. The girls ended up with third place, not where we wanted to end up but still a good effort against some great competition.

Maveric's Kindergarten Performance

Maveric with his teacher Ms. Hamrick (LOVE this Teacher)

Tonight Maveric had his end of the year performance at school. With Eric being out of town it makes getting anywhere a major accomplishment, much less attempting to make it on time to something like this. I was toting Piper with the other four kids in tow, along with my camera and video camera so that I could record it for Eric. Piper was cranky because she missed her afternoon nap and started crying right when we entered the gym. I thought it was not going to go well. When the music started she was so amazed that she settled down. With one arm I held her and with the other attempted to steady the video camera all while trying to catch great footage of Maveric behind the two rows of much taller kids in front of him!! Why does this happen? Those of you who are teachers out there, please tell me why no one can look at the kids lined up and see that the tall kids should be in the back? Happens every time. Not only to my kids, to a lot of shorter kids. And it wasn't that he did not know the words or hand motions to the songs and they were trying to put the better performing kids in front. I have video! The giant of a kid that was standing in front of him hardly moved, mouth or hands!! Anyway, I did not let it get in the way of enjoying his performance he was so cute!!

Ali-Cat is 9!!!

We have been blessed with Nine wonderful years with our Ali-Cat! I can not imagine our family without this girl! She is so loving, sassy, sweet, pretty and hilarious all at the same time. She loves softball and is playing for the second year on the Lil Lady Warriors fastpitch travel team. She also loves being mommy number three to Piper, behind Savannah and I. But I think she is by far the most indulgent of the three of us. Piper is not allowed to shed a tear when Ali is around. If I need to put her down to do something and Piper cries, Ali is right there saying "Come to Sister!" She is a friend to everyone and has a super compassionate heart. For her birthday she wanted to have a slumber party with two of her best friends since Kindergarten that we met while we homeschooled, and of course Bailey was here too! Birthdays are a huge deal in our family and get stretched out for days! Eric always takes them for Birthday breakfast usually at the Pancake Pantry and because of work and school it happens on the weekend. On her actual birthday, I woke her up with Happy Birthday and a gift, my mom called to sing Happy Birthday, I went to school to bring brownies and milk for the class and to have lunch with her, Eric sent her flowers to school, but we did not know that it was not allowed so they sat in the office, but she got to go look at them and read the card. Then for dinner since it was her actual birthday we went to Chuck E. Cheese. Then on the following Friday we had the slumber party, pizza, ice-cream cake, lots of movies and hair and nails being done. Since she had friends over on Saturday morning, Eric did not get to take her for her Birthday breakfast so she still has more birthday coming this weekend. We kind of go over board, but it is so much fun!

Savannah, Bailey, Megan, Gillian, Ali, Josh and Maveric @ Chuck E's

Ali (Mommy #3) with Piper

Revamping My Blog

I think I've finally figured out how to post pictures well. So, I cheated a little and went back and posted some pictures. Now I guess I just need to remove my sucky blog post, cause I don't think it sucks as much anymore!! Hope it is more ejoyable now.

Cover Kids

Maveric and Gillian were in the Cover Kids contest through the Parent magazine. I really am not sure why I entered him in this. To me, all of the kids there were so cute, how could you choose just two to be on the cover. And how wrong that they did choose just two. It is really just disturbing to me that two children are basically told that they are better than the other 90 children there. I suppose I should not complain since I am the one that voluntarily submitted my child to this. For Maveric it was the greatest thing ever. He had no clue that he was not a winner! He received a Gold medal and got to walk across a stage with everyone looking at him, with one of his favorite people in the world, Gillian. He also got a case full of cool stuff. So to him it was Awesome. Eric and I had a great time with Kelly and Chris, Gillian's parents. We got lunch at Macaroni Grill where Ali continued to play the Birthday card. She got cake with ice cream along with yet another serenade of the Happy Birthday song. Then Eric took the boys to see Iron Man and the girls and I looked around Opry Mills. All and all a wonderful day, even if it was laden with my beautiful boy not being named the Cover Kid!

Battle of the Bands

This picture is very significant because Piper will normally go to NO ONE when I am around, which is pretty much all of the time. She went to my friend Danna and actually looked like she was enjoying it! We went to Rocketown to see the Battle of the Bands. Ali, Megan, Gillian, Josh and Savannah watched from the stairway so that they could get a good shot of all of the bands over the crowd on the floor. The kids loved it and had a really great time. A friend of Danna and Steve's had one of his tour buses there so the kids were taking breaks and going into this super nice tour bus to watch a little Zac & Cody then going back in for the live music. It's cool that the majority of our kids are at an age that we can do things as a family that Eric and I actually enjoy too. We topped off the evening with a trip to Chik-fil-A to grab some dinner and discuss all of the bands.

Maveric's Field Trip

Here are some pictures from Maveric's field trip to the zoo. It was a beautiful day, perfect weather for the zoo. We were paired with two other moms and 6 kindergarten boys. I think we made the quickest trip around that zoo that I have ever experienced. They were so excited that they just ripped from one exhibit to the next. Of course the gigantic playground was their favorite part, go figure!

Savannah's Poem

Savannah was given an assignment at school to write a poem. They could write about anything that they wanted and would get extra credit if it fell under the heading of "hopes and dreams for the future." I think she did a wonderful job and wanted to share it...

Hopes and Dreams for the Future

“Alone No More”

Sitting and waiting for help today.
Hopeless, unloved, crying out, and Alone.
There, day by day while I go on carefree.
They are orphans and are alone all over the world.
I am in America; land of the free.
While they don’t have any idea what love is.
I go to bed full and warm while they go to bed hungry and cold.
They are orphans all Alone.

But one day I dream of adopting.
No longer will she sit and wait for help.
No longer hopeless, unloved, crying out, and Alone.
Here, day by day she will go on carefree.
No longer an orphan across the world.
She will be in America; land of the free.
She will know the feeling of love for the first time.
She will go to bed full and warm, no longer hungry and cold.
Alone No More.

Montana Guests

On Wednesday, my mother-in-law Sharon and her husband Gary arrived from Montana. I really enjoy having Sharon visit. She is just a wonderful person and a pleasure to be around. She is so type A like Eric! She loves to be doing something and often enough that is my laundry or cleaning something around our house!! She had a great time playing with the kids and catching up with them. We also went antique shopping. Awhile back she had given us her antique French clock. It is gorgeous but we did not have anything really nice to set it on. So we were on the hunt for an antique table. Like my friend said, "If you give a mouse a cookie..." We found the perfect table for it. I wish I was really good at posting pictures cause I would sure take one of this table and clock. Thanks to Sharon for giving us this beautiful gift and to Gary for enduring the antique shopping!

Maveric's first day of being six!

Maveric in front of the door to his classroom with the birthday sign and the amazing birthday cake hat that he proudly wore all day and to bed!

I LOVE this boy!!!

my blog sucks

My blog just really sucks. I visit other blogs that are so amazing and mine is just blah! So I want to appologize to those of you who are looking at this. Sorry:) We had another busy weekend with softball, but managed to sneak out for a date night with a couple of friends for dinner Saturday night (Kevin and Karen). Ali had a tournament in Cookeville and it was unbelievably cold, like drizzling sleet and rain cold. Saturday wasn't as bad and our girls played great but today they played not so great. We won the first game somehow but the second game was a disaster. One of our girls was catching a pop fly in the first inning when it hit her directly in the eye with a very loud thud. Her eye was completely swollen shut. It was terrible. But in true Warrior fashion she only sat out the remainder of that inning and wanted to finish playing the rest of the game!! We lost and were sent home. I was SO ready to go. I love watching my kids in any sport and love to win, but wrestling with a baby and an umbrella while keeping track of other kids in freezing temperatures is not my idea of a good time. We got home early and have been lounging in our messy house observing the Lord's appointed Day of Rest. I am going to bed in hopes that I will be full of energy and ready to get a lot accomplished tomorrow. How was your weekend? Thanks for reading the sucky blog!!

I LOVE SWINGING!

These pictures also showcase Piper's first "Boo-Boo." She was at my mom's and fell over and whacked her eye. She looks like she went a couple of rounds with Mike Tyson.

The Cardinal Chase

Maveric taking a break after the run.
Maveric stops for water

And he is running...

and running. I don't think he knew he could stop.

Ali & Piper

Me, Ali & Piper

Ali slowed down & I got a picture. She is SO fast.

Ali getting her lap marked.

Josh's Teacher Mrs. Wallen & the entire class doing some crazy faces.

(LOVE this teacher!!)

Josh & his friend Austin

Run Forrest Run!!

Josh, Ali & Maveric had a fund raising event at school, well, I shouldn't say a, this was about the 7th fund raiser that they have had. But this was by far the best. I shouldn't even get started on the fund raisers, but I am going there. A couple of the fund raisers that the school does are in partnership with companies that basicaly get rich on us "pimping" our kids out to sell all of their over-priced but cheaply made crap and the school only gets about half of the sales. They get the kids worked into a lather about getting to some absurd level in which they will receive a Wii or an X-Box and we all know that the only kids who make it to that level are the ones whose parents "pimp" themselves out to their co-workers and sell the over-priced but cheaply made crap themselves. So, all that to say that this fund raiser I really like. The kids get donations or sponsorship to run laps outside the school. 100% of the funds go to the school and it is great fun for everyone. I got to see all of our sweet kids run their hearts out. I even joined Ali for a few laps. It was a really great day for a good cause.

Bad Hair Day!

Piper wakes up with the wildest hair sometimes. It was especially out of control this morning, so I had to take some pictures of it before I washed it.