Is it Monday yet??

These words hardly ever get muttered from lips, especially mine. But this week I am asking this question A LOT!!! I am getting away for a few days and I couldn't be more excited. Literally over the moon excited to be able to sleep in, eat hot meals that aren't kid friendly and DO WHAT I WANT!!

Pinch me because it sounds like a dream!

Check all these new posts out

Here are a BUNCH of posts that get me all caught up. It has been a busy 4 months these moments are just the high points!!!

Around the time I left off
Cuchara, CO
My oldest is 8!
Turning into a big boy
It was bound to happen sometime
Tri-State Fair 2010
Our birthday monkey
Running and no one was chasing me!

Running and no one was chasing me!

Yep I ran without anyone chasing me. I wasn't trying to get away from a water hose, booger, or the resident tickle monster (Cameron). I signed up for a RACE!

I will wait for a moment while you gather yourself. It is awe inspiring isn't it??

Mason's school hosts a HUGE carnival each year and one of the events to help raise money during this shindig is a family fun run 1 mile and 5K. Yes, I am fully aware that we could have done the 1 mile. In fact I pondered that BUT NO!!! We went all out and signed up for the 5K. So on purpose I paid money to get up early on a Sat. morning and be chilled to run without being chased.

This girl made me do it. Peer pressure sucks.

And at this moment I thought surely I would die. I had lived a good life...
I won't lie and say it was fun or even enjoyable but we finished. With a few people behind us even. Although I was a little sore that a little pipsqueak of about 7 passed us. But the rumor is she had been training. HARDCORE, or something like that. Did I mention that we hadn't run in quite a while? Well I ran the Monday before the race for a little bit but who am I kidding it wasn't anything like running outside!! And there were hills. Oh wait we live in Amarillo, there are no hills. But there was traffic. Oh wait there were cones and cars to block people off (except for that one lady who got extra close to me...I was hoping she would hit me so that I would be put out of my misery). But there was... oh forget it. It was brutal. BRUTAL I tell you. But like I said we finished. I got a t-shirt. I wore it proudly and promptly got Italian sauce on it. But I'll still wear it proudly.

I Keri Melban ran a 5K on October 9th, 2010. And word is I might do it again!

Our Birthday Monkey

Be prepared. There will be TONS of pictures.

What a fun party we had for sweet Reece. He turned 1 on the 6th and there was just so much anticipation and excitement in the air. Monkeys was the theme and not really jungle monkeys but more sock money/traditional monkeys were used. I loved it because it reminded me of his room (that he shares with his brothers) and just his personality. He is a mover and shaker and all around monkey boy! I will put this out there that I should have just hired Amy to plan the whole thing because seriously this party wouldn't have been 1/2 as cute if it were left up to my own devices. She did so much and I appreciate her tremendously

Each table was decorated with photos that Amy had taken of Reece and balloons.

The grandparent corner! :) It was so fun to have them all there!

Reece was so distracted by the commotion of big kids around him. He couldn't stay focused on his cookie and candle!

Lily is making sure Reece likes his cookie! :) Reece's shirt was made by a friend's sister that I haven't ever met but I feel like I know. Shannon has a online site that you can go check out. The coolest thing about working with Shannon was that she was so nice and just knew what I wanted. I wanted monkey~check, cute~check and his name~check. I was so pleased with how it turned out!!

Oh Lily!! What can I say about this girl?? I think she loves me almost as much as I love her!

Ashlyn, such a sweetie with the best hugs!

Miss Marlee. Always full of something to tell me!

Baby Joseph~when do you stop calling a child Baby? He will be 2 in 2 months but he is still called Baby Joseph by just about everyone.

Baby Joseph's sister Alexis. Cannon used to call her Sexy. He worked so hard at Alexis and it came out Sexy every time. How we first caught on was one time he was talking about Ms. Jill and said Sexy's mom...

When I asked to take her picture he quickly stopped playing and did her head tilt. I remember the day when Gracelyn picked up this little pose. It is adorable.

Jordyn~A.K.A. the new big sister. She has a new baby at her house that is about 5 weeks old I believe. Alyssa is a mini Jordyn. So of course she is going to be just beautiful.

Ahh...Nathan I got you!!! You only thought you evaded the camera!

Gracelyn and Macy

Kennedi~She is waiting for her baby brother from Russia! We are all on the edge of our seats in anticipation of the arrival of Baby Boy Rawlins. Go check out their journey here.

Lainee Lou~Which isn't her name at all. She is a Lainee Mae just like Gracelyn but for some reason Lainee Lou came out one day and it stuck. I sure hope she doesn't mind Teresa!!! Cameron calls her Laineebug. What ever name she goes by she is simply precious in our eyes.

I thought I turned this photo around but apparently not. This is mischief 1 and mischief 2!!! Two peas in a pod these two. Maggie is one of my favorites!

Ava Cakes. This is one girl who loves her momma! I don't blame her I do too!

This sock monkey was a hit! Reece hugged him right away. And now he sleeps with him. I only push the cute lovies on him!

My kids should take lessons from me while taking photos. I am almost falling off a squishy cube. I mean squishy!!! It couldn't be because I was too big for it at all or anything. But still I am looking up and smiling. The boys just had to sit there and still managed to make silly faces or turn their head. Sheeesh!!!

All in all a GREAT party. I loved working on his party and all the details. It was a fairly cheap event but turned out great!

Dear Reece,

My sweet baby boy. You bring so much life to our family. Daddy and I look at you every single day and can't believe you are so sweet and ours. We find ourselves constantly telling each other how much we love you. We are positive your older brothers and sister have taught us this love. You have added so much personality to our lives and we are so grateful. This past year has been one of much appreciation and love for our kids. You have taught us to slow down and enjoy the moment. I have tried to soak up every single second of your babyhood. Things that were the same between you and your siblings is that you came out looking just like daddy. BUT the red hair was certainly a wonderful surprise. I love it and hope it never changes. It is a unique trademark to set you apart from the rest. Your sleeping habits mimic Mason's (I'm not impressed) but your eating habits are all your own. At a year you weigh 19.2lbs and are 30 inches tall. You nursed for 1 year and 4 days. Quite the accomplishment if I do say so myself. I am proud of both of us little man. I love how you lay your head on our shoulder and although you don't pat us you give up hugs and your kisses are super sweet.

Love you more each day,

Momma

Tri-State Fair 2010

Do you have those traditions that you set in place YEARS ago that you didn't really know would be a tradition or annual event but developed into one? We also have a few sporadic events that I wanted so bad to become reoccurring things but it just never panned out. Like pumpkin patches. My kids have wondered patches and gathered their own pumpkins off the vine. At that moment I could have sworn that I would fulfill this desire of mine annually no matter what. Guess where our pumpkins came from last year? Wal-Mart! Yep the grocery store pumpkins were not only cheaper but cleaner, more convenient and easy!

But one tradition that has STUCK is a fair trip. I don't like the fair after 2:00pm. In fact my kids have NEVER ridden a ride at our fair. They have at carnivals like Dogie Days but I generally stay away and never mention rides at fairs or carnivals for the most part. We go for the exhibits, petting zoo and food. Boy do I sound old! I load up the kiddies along with the Ramsey crew and we eat, pet animals, walk in all sorts of weather from one building to another. This year was no exception.

I mostly took pictures of the petting zoo BUT there was so much more to be seen. It is the story of my life when I am in the moment I am soaking it all up and the last thing on my radar is taking pictures. I think I am too reliant on other people's pictures. I need to change this habit of mine.

I loved this guy. I think his eyes were so sweet!

It was bound to happen sometime

The end of summer came and boy was I sad! We had the best summer ever. I think there was at least 3-4 days a week spent at the pool, discovery center passes got used to the max, park dates were at an all time high. It was a time that made me certain I could handle this mom-of-four gig I got myself into.

Gracelyn started 3rd grade. Why is turning 8 AND going into 3rd grade so monumental? I guess because I never taught those ages or grades so it seems so OLD to me. We were blessed with Mrs. Smith as her teacher. I know that she is the perfect teacher for Gracelyn


Cannon jumped into public school this year. Pre-K is proving to be awesome (according to Cannon). He was made for school. He loves the rules, structure, and routine of the school day. He loves his teacher just as much. Mrs. Kutin is so sweet and loving towards Cannon. the first time she met him she looked him up one side and down the other and said, "Wow, we have a leader on our hands!" I knew right there that she was going to do great things for my sweet Cannon!


Mason attends St. Mary's Montessori 4 days a week. After being in a MDO setting I (along with Mason) was ready for more structure within his routine. After the first 6 weeks he FINALLY stopped crying at drop off. It was brutal every morning but he loved Ms. Jennifer and wanted to see her every day.


And this little guy is happy that he gets me all to himself in the mornings. We have tons of fun running errands, going to bible study, play dates (these are more for me than him), grocery shopping...

Turning into a big boy

Cannon is 5!! Can you believe it? I sure can't . Grace and Cannon's birthdays are only 2 weeks apart so we barely are able to come off the birthday high from one child before we start on it with another.

For MONTHS Cannon has expressed his desire to go to the beach for his birthday. Well it wasn't happening because honestly the beach is about 19-22 hours from here. And there was no way I was going to just hope in the car to fulfill his desire when surely I could come up with something to satisfy him right??? Well this year it was hard but we did it! I did something that went against every mommy code in my head. We went to the beach. Greenbelt Lake's Sandy Beach.
I have not one single physical picture of this trip but I have tons in my head. It was the absolute best thing our family could have done for him.

I didn't step foot in a party store, order a cake, ponder over balloons, wonder how many little friends were going to show up. I just fulfilled my little boy's wish of going to the beach. I dealt with the guilt of course because planning parties is very much who I am. I really get into them. Gracelyn's first 3 were productions that I am mighty proud of. As the years have passed I have slacked or let some aspects go to a degree because of cost, reality, and my children's desires but for the most part every child has had a party with attention solely focusing on them for the day.

Saying all that it was truly my favorite day with Cannon. He loved floating in his life jacket and just being in a space that was bigger than he could imagine. We played in the sand, built sand castles/figures, floated for hours, splashed and did tons of jumps off daddy's shoulders. No one was ready to leave but alas all good parties must come to an end.

Here are a few pictures of Cannon this summer. He got a new bike for his birthday and couldn't wait to show it off.He seriously has the most angelic face I've ever seen.

Dear Cannon,

Your sweetness is greatly appreciated. Although at times we wonder if you will ever get "tough" secretly I love your gentleness and sensitivity. You are going to make a wonderful husband because you are so in tune with other people's emotions. You genuinely care how people feel and if they are happy. You tell us a million times a day that you love us and in turn I just can't help but kiss all over your sweet face and return the sentiments. You are such the snuggler and I pray that never goes away. I love how you love your daddy but you have gotten a little more attached to me. You are always up for a car ride and ask a million questions that keep us on our toes. You are VERY smart and although your speech wouldn't show it at times your words are thought out and precise. We love your stories and wish we could understand 100% of what you tell us. We are getting there sweet boy!

Love you to heaven and back,

Momma

My oldest is 8!

If she is 8, how old am I?? Never mind don't answer that!! After many years of planning parties and such at our house I outsourced! We had don't it the previous year and I decided it was NICE! So a swimming party was born. Macy and Grace have birthdays 2 weeks apart so we (the mommas) decided to help each other out and do a combined party. It was a huge success. The only problem was that we didn't get to spend much time with each other's family but it was so much fun and a change from the past.

We had a wonderful time celebrating Gracelyn and how special she is.

Dear Gracelyn,

Each year I say this is the best one yet. I mean it. You bring such joy to our lives. I am so proud of your heart and sweet spirit. My favorite memories are when it is just us girls doing girl stuff. God carefully orchestrated our family and putting you first was just brilliant. You are such a little momma to the boys and they love you so much. We both know they have mastered the term pesky little brother but the love between you all is strong.

Much love my sweet angel,

Momma