Family Reunion/Birthday Celebration

Here are some more pics from our fun Saturday with our family at our house for a cookout. I am a dork and can't figure out how to take my uncles pics and make them bigger without messing up the resolution. Hmmm....

Happy 2nd Birthday Mr. Greyson!!!

Greyson showing his "birthday suit" to the world

Look at that new big boy haircut-how cute is that?

Loving his Spongebob cake!

I can hardly believe Greyson is two. It seems like just yesterday that we brought him home from Ethiopia and celebrated his first birthday. He has not only skyrocketed off the growth chart (mainly in weight-chicken nuggets will do that to ya) but he has grown into a little boy instead of a baby. He now talks all the time, sings songs, dances and copies everything Maddie and Lilly do. He is so full of love and is always wanting to give Steve and I a bear hug and a big snotty kiss. (his nose is ALWAYS running). It has been so fun to watch him change in the past year and develop this fun personality.

Happy second birthday little man. We fall more in love with you everyday!!!

May Memories Montage

Me and my best friend Melanie at the soggy Oaks

Dinner with grownups- what a concept!

Steve and I making some two dollar bets

What a great view of the muddy track!

The last days of school- Maddie and her best friend McKenzie

Maddie at her little desk- isn't she big?

Maisy and her new do.

Just the girls hanging out at Mayfest.

Maddie and Mrs. Lawson, the best Kindergarten teacher in the WORLD!

Maddie doing her model pose in Gratz Park

Lilly squishing my earrings into my head-

Okay my camera has been in limbo for a good month without a working USB cord so I finally get to download all my May pics and share with the three people who regularly read my blog (if you are a lurker please comment occasionally- I am lonely out here in cyberspace)

Brownie

Today Maddie and Lilly were chasing Greyson around the house and were yelling "Brownie" at the top of their lungs. He was laughing hysterically and they were too. It took a minute for Steve and I to catch on to what they were saying and realize how completely inappropriate it was because we had just woken up.
It is one of those moments that you are trying to correct your kids but you are about to start cracking up yourself. They are so innocent that they just don't realize how awful it would sound to someone in public. I asked Maddie why they were calling him that and she said matter of factly " because he has brown skin and he likes it when we call him that" After trying to explain to her why it was not a cool thing to say- I had to go into a civics lesson and remind her about what she learned about Martin Luther King Jr. etc. etc.
It was a moment that reminds me how innocently kids think- He looks brown so lets call him brownie!!! You know the angels in heaven love to watch kids.

So you had a bad day...

Let me give you the synopsis of my very bad day-

• Got up way too late and did not get to go to the gym but got in a very short and dehydrated feeling run.
• My house was a wreck from the night before from having friends over from dinner so being the anal retentive personality I am, it all had to be cleaned before we could go.
• Had to run about a million errands with three little kids which means endless buckling and unbuckling of car seats and one time I got down the road and realized I had not buckled Lilly in.
• Lilly had to pee every five minutes because she must have the bladder size of a walnut. So i would have to pull over and let her pee in her little baby potty seat (thanks for this tip Nicole- it is a lifesaver that keeps us out of nasty germ ridden potties in gas stations- I know Britney Spears likes these kinds of places but they are not cool with three little ones that like to touch the toilet seats)
• We got McDonalds in the car and greyson dumped all his stinky greasy french fries on the floor. Being the good mom trying to build up his immunity, I blew on them and gave them back to him.
• Got to the video store where my kids proceed to try to touch every video case and move them out of order- This video store luckily loves me because I am there every week and they seem to feel my pain.
• Took all three of them and myself to get a haircut because poor Melanie ( my bestest friend) was dealing with pink eye and was not able to keep Greyson for me. We were almost a half hour late and as I proceed to go the wrong way through the ATM and am trying to get my wallet out it drops in the little potty that still had pee in it. Are you feeling my pain yet????
• We get to the haircut place and the kids were surprisingly well behaved as i got my haircut first . It was Greyson's turn next. His hair had gotten beyond nappy and although people always tell us how cute he is we decided it was time to cut the fro. I had to hold him on my lap as she proceeded to torture him and shave his hair. He is strong as an ox, so much so that it is a bit scary- so it was quite the exhausting experience but the results made it worth it. HE LOOKS PRECIOUS. I will post pictures soon if I ever get my USB cord from China or Taiwan or wherever in the Orient it is coming from ( can you tell I have had a bad day yet)
• Okay so the girls get their hair cut and before we leave I go in the restroom with Greyson and Lilly and proceed to knock and entire shelf off the wall and break some shells that were on there. I had to try to put it together and keep Greyson out of the toilet all at the same time. (oh and there was no toilet paper either)
• Okay so here is the clincher of the story. We leave the haircut place and are going to the car that is parked on the street in very rural Taylorsville. I got Greyson and Maddie in first because they were on the passenger side next to the sidewalk. Little did I know that Lilly had slipped away from me and was walking toward her side- The next thing I hear is a horn honking and everything went in slow motion as I ran to her screaming to stop. It was horrifying to say the least. As I scooped her up and was telling her never ever ever to do that again this redneck guy gets out of his car and proceeds to SCREAM at me "what kind of mother are you? You almost let a horrible accident happen- You need to watch your kids ..." As I was about to start bawling and my face was getting hot and red- I let out some words that I am not proud of (not cursing but I did let him have it). I had to apologize to my kids when I got back in the car and tell them that is not how mommy should talk even if the man was mean to me.

I think that is about all.... I really feel like God uses these days to grow mothers into more mature and patient women. It isn't any one incident that brings you to your knees, it is often the culmination of them that humble you and realize you can't do this job without God's strength and grace.

Can i get an amen???

Islands in the Stream

I have been looking for some way to use a Dolly Parton song as a title for my post and here it is. We have been having much fun with nature lately- streams, ponds, dirt, sand and lots of bugs. Ah how I love spring and summer.

If anyone knows of any good stain removal tricks please share!

Spring Break 08

Jumping on the beds before we left my sisters

The play place/toystore in Cinci

Emme and Maddie loved playing cashier in this play store

And doing ballet moves in this play studio

The princesses in front of their castle

At the zoo eating lunch

A great shot of Greyson at Nana and Papas

Me and my big girl

Lilly fishing for leaves in Papas pond

Me and my girls at Jacobson Park

Maddie's legs glowing in the sand

Chuck E Cheese fun kicked off our week

Our internet was down for a LONG LONG time (it was painful for me) so I am just now getting maddie's wild and woolly spring break pics up. We did have a great time even though I did many of these activities with a fever.