Mommy 2 Five

Hannah's 14th birthday!

2009-05-05T14:37:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it but Hannah has is now 14 years old. Man, how time flies! My friend Julie went with me, Hannah and Hannah's friend Sarah to her birthday Disney trip this past weekend. We are completely exhausted but we had a great time!

We ate dinner at Chef Mickey's on Sunday night after spending all day at the Magic Kingdom. Here they are doing the birthday celebration song in hour of all birthdays. As you can see she was not excited that I made her participate.

We spent Monday at Hollywood Studios. We had lunch at the Sci-Fi. We rode the rides all day long! Our two most favorite rides are the Rock N Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror. In the Tower of Terror you ride up 13 stories in an elevator and it raises and drops you randomly. It is awesome! I took this video of Hannah on that ride. The first part of it is pretty dark because most of the beginning is dark but you can see Hannah during the most intense part of the ride when it drops you. Pay attention to her hair!

After the day at the park, before heading home, we ate our final meal at our new favorite place called the Whispering Canyon Cafe. It is located at the Wilderness Lodge. It is a very interesting place to eat! The food is great and the atmosphere is so much fun! In this picture, Hannah had asked our server for a fork. They brought her a 3 foot wooden fork! This fork she has to hold on to until someone else in the restaurant asks for a fork. Too funny!

Our server had help from some of the other children to come and sing to Hannah.

All in all we had a great time! We had a couple of late nights and a flat tire but we didn't let that stop our fun! I am so glad that we were able to spend that time together.

Old Friends

2009-05-05T14:26:00.000-07:00

Last week Matt, the kids and I went to Disney to meet up with an old friend from high school. They live in the Atlanta, Ga area and had come down for a week long Disney vacation. It was so nice to see her and her husband to and to finally meet her sweet children, David and Noah.

This is Karen Burdette (now Greer) and her little man, Noah.

Fun with "Melmo"

2009-05-02T20:03:00.000-07:00

I bought Luke this Elmo sprinkler toy today. The girls were just itching to take him outside to play with it. As you can tell he had a BLAST!!

You can hear him in the video say, "Melmo sissy! Sissy!". It was so cute!

Cheeeese!!!!

2009-04-28T08:25:00.000-07:00

Luke has come to like getting his picture taken....here at home! With the people he knows! I recently took him to get his 2 yr old pictures taken and the woman didn't snap one picture. He threw a massive fit crying and snotting all over the place! Oh well, I guess we will settle for picture we take here at home for a while! I thought these were some cute ones that I would share.

Here he is sitting eating cheese and saying "cheeeese". Too cute!!

He took his first carousel ride last week at Disney World. I think he liked although you couldn't tell here in these pictures because it was WELL past nap time!

And this was on the train after the carousel ride! He loves his sissy!

Happy Easter!!

2009-04-13T06:05:00.000-07:00

The kids woke up yesterday morning to dig into their Easter basket. I have found that making one big one works out better than to make five seperate ones.

Jacob....just too cool for all of this!!

I had even made Matt a basket. (filled with 100 calorie packs!)

Here are the kids on our way to church. As you can see, Luke is not interested in getting his picture taken but he did stay in his class the whole time. We are making progress!!

Birthday for Luke

2009-04-10T06:24:00.000-07:00

On March 29th we celebrated Luke's 2nd birthday. Matt and I took him on a Disney trip that was just for him. We had a great time spending time with just him. We stayed at Coronodo Springs and had lunch with the Little Einsteins (and JoJo circus), dinner with Winnie the Pooh & Friends and we went to a new place, (that turned out to be our new favorite place) the Whispering Canyon.

I had got a Mickey Mouse ice cream bar as one of my snacks. I fully intented to share it with Luke but as you can see he totally took it!

And, this was when I took it away!

We had a great time while we were gone! I have tons of pictures so that someday we will be able to tell Luke about his special trip.

I can't believe how big he is getting! He is constantly changing. Since he has had so many problems with his ears, his speech is a little behind. He does say things like mama, dada, bubba, sissy, bye-bye and help. And lets not forget be best one...NO!!! Why do they have to learn that? He also says blankie and drink but only us who lives with him understand that! I have talk with the dr about it and she says that its ok. He will catch up eventually. He finally stayed the whole time in the church nusery and the KidZone at the Y on Wednesday. I am hoping that we have turned a corner. See, up until now, he had refused to stay anywhere someone in his family wasn't. I was always getting called to come get him because he was too upset. Today I am going back to work out so we will see if he has turned over a new leaf.

Girls only Disney trip

2009-03-14T15:54:00.000-07:00

I think that I may have lost my mind! I agreed to take Noelle, 2 of her friends, Leah and Jasey and Hannah and her friend Meagan to Disney for 3 days. Am I crazy, or what?!?!?!

Hannah & Meagan

Jasey, Leah & Noelle

We went down to Orlando on Wednesday around lunch time. After we checked into our hotel we went and bought tickets for the girls who needed them for Thursdasy and Friday. We ate pizza in the hotel food court for dinner and I let the girls swim thinking we needed an early night with 2 long days ahead of us. As I say early night I have to giggle because I had to yell at them to go to sleep around 3am. One of the girls, and I won't say who, had some terrible gas and that was apprently a great source of entertainment for the rest of them. They laughed and laughed!! You would have thought I was in the room with a buch of boys!

Here they all are after showers. They are catching up on their gossip from the teen magazines.

On Thursday we spent the day at Magic Kingdom.

It was a VERY long fun day! We did everything they wanted to do. We even had lunch at the Crystal Palace with Winnie the Pooh and friends! I don't have that many pictures of Hannah and Meagan because they are older wanted their independance so thet were on their own.

Day 2 we spent at Disney' Hollywood Studios. Our day started out at Chef Mickey's for breakfast at the Contemporary Resort. My family always enjoys going there! We has to be up at 6am so we were sooooo tired!!

We got home around midnight last night. We were extreamly exhausted! Us girls slept throughout most of the day. Here are some pictures from the day at Hollywood Studios.

Luke Singing

2009-03-06T19:20:00.000-08:00

Luke likes to listen to the kids iPods whenever he gets a chance to. Here he is singing "We're Not Gonna Take It" on Noah's iPod. We are not sure what he is doing with his mouth after he sings "mmmmore" but it was too funny!!

Happy 30th Birthday TJ!!!!

2009-01-04T09:33:00.000-08:00

Today, my brother entered a new phase of life. Today, he turns 30 years old! While he was here for Christmas, we had a little party for him to celebrate.

Because he is a HUGE Gators fan, we had a Gator party all decked out in orange and blue.

He got some really great presents too!

It took a lot of work to get all 30 candles on this cake! The first ones started melting before we could get the last ones lit!

Happy Birthday TJ!!

It has been a LONG while....

2009-01-04T08:33:00.000-08:00

I know that is has been a very long time since my last post. My lack of posts is due to many reasons but hopefully I will get better at than I have been.

My MIL has asked for pictures from Christmas so I will start with that for now.

The kids has a great Christmas this year. They had gotten way more than they expected. Each of the kids ended up with an iPod Nano each in a different color so that they know whos is whos. They got a few board games and movies and I think best of all, Matt and I got them a Nintendo Wii. You should have seen the look on their faces! Jacob just kept saying, "No way, No way!!". Luke enjoyed his present too. Jacob helped him this year since the girls help last year. He wanted to play with every present as he unwrapped it. He didn't understand that there was more! We had to literally take the present away and hide it so that he would move on and open another one.

This was our tree after Matt and I put out the presents. Notice Luke's Power Wheels Lil' Kawasaki. He LOVED that!

Jacob helped Luke open his presents.

Jacob and Hannah were so excited when they open their iPod Nano. They had wanted those for a while now.

Oh the excitement of the Wii!! It has been a great source of entertainment for us and any company we have had since Christmas. My Dad and Uncle got the kids Wii related gear for Christmas. They got games, MarioKart with four steering wheels and best of all (according to the kids) was Guitar Hero with two guitars. They have had the best time with that Wii.
Matt took this great picture of Noelle so surprised as Noah opened the Wii.

Orlando

2008-05-26T09:23:00.000-07:00

Me, Matt and all the kids left for Orlando last Tuesday. We spent the first couple of days doing the Disney thing. We stayed at Pop Century on the Disney Resort property. We had the best time. On our way into town we stopped and picked up Matt's mom in Oveido at her high school friend's house and she spent the afternoon with us. We took her and had lunch at Planet Hollywood. It was nice to see her since we hadn't seen her since we were last in New Port Richey last May. Luke was just a couple of weeks old last time we saw her. Tuesday evening until midnight, all day Wednesday and most of the day Thursday we spent at all four Disney parks. We had bought the Disney dining plan so all of our food was prepaid in advance which was really nice. Just one less thing to worry about. On the plan, we also got to eat some of the places we would not normally eat at because they are just too expensive for seven people. It doesn't matter where you on the plan we made sure to take advantage of it. The waiter gives you a copy of the receipt that tells you what it would have cost had you paid cash. Imagine our shock when we were at the Coral Reef in Epcot and the "bill" came to $285.00. Of course we didn't have to pay that but we would have if we hadn't been on the plan. Isn't that crazy? and that was just one meal!
Thursday afternoon we went for my annual trek to the FPEA Homeschool Convention in Orlando. We were there Thursday, Friday and Saturday. We took in some classes, bought some of our curriculum for next year and had some good fellowship with thousands of other people who do what you do and what you are going through. I really love going there. I can't say that I will ever take Matt and the kids again but it was ok. Maybe next time they can do the Disney thing while I do the convention thing. Taking a one year old to conventions wasn't the smartest move we ever made. He definitely made things challenging!
Luke has been pretty sick since his birthday in March. We have been battling ear infection after ear infection as well as stomach bugs and colds. He just can't seem to shake this stuff. He has an appointment at Nemours on June 6th with the ENT. His doctor also wants him to see the allergist for allergy testing before his surgery since he had a reaction to an antibiotic he has been on recently. Matt and I think it will show an allergy to milk. That will be difficult to deal with! Whatever we have to do to make him feel better. The poor kid is always under the weather. You can't help but feel bad for him. We were just in the emergency room last week because he was running a fever of 105.3 with ibuprofen and Tylenol. Nothing was working! As it turned out it was his ears again.

Matt's mom and the kids after Planet Hollywood at our hotel.

This was us at the Coral Reef restaurant in Epcot. You can see it because the lighting is very low but there is an aquarium in the background. It is like eating underwater.

With the Disney dining plan you get dessert at every meal. This was Noelle's dessert at the Coral Reef. We thought is was so cute we had to take a picture of it!

On Thursday we ended up at Chef Mickey's for the breakfast buffet. Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto come around to your table for autographs and pictures.

Kindred Hospital

2008-05-26T09:03:00.000-07:00

We have had a very busy couple of weeks here in the Sherman family. On May 14th we took a tour of Kindred Hospital in Green Cove Springs. It wasn't so much as a tour of the actual hospital but more of a tour of different medical careers. They talked about what each department did, how much schooling was involved, what the pay range was and what the need was for that career was in this area as well as nationwide. Noelle has always wanted to go into the medical field she says as a nurse or a pediatrician. I really tried hard to steer Jacob towards the pharmacy because they make a TON of money but he is clearly not interested. We think he is headed down the computer career path. He is not sure what avenue but he does know he wants it to involve computers somehow. He is really into movie making so I think that may play a role somewhere also. Noah has always said he wanted to be in the Navy. I can see that! He is just that kind of kid. I am encouraging him to get a college degree first so that he could go in as an officer and he can make more money. I have heard that is how it works. Hannah, we aren't sure what lies in Hannah's path yet. She is very undecided and that is ok because she has a lot of time to decide. She is considering a paralegal career but nothing has really been decided.

This is Noah in the physical therapy department.

Noelle is watching a nurse play a patient walking with a walker.

This was when we were in the lab. Jacob is looking into the microscope at some blood cells.

Jacob is all signed up to take part in the "Volunteen" program at Orange park Hospital this summer. He needs to have at least 75 volunteer hours for high school so this is his first step to achieving them.

Hannah turns 13!!

2008-05-05T13:27:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Hannah's 13th birthday on Saturday. The festivities actually started on Friday evening when Matt and I threw her surprise party here at our house. My dad got her to babysit while we decorated and got her friends to the house. Boy, was she SURPRISED!! We had a Hannah Montana karaoke party and sleepover. We had 9 girls here to spend the night. It was so crazy!! They sang karaoke until about 3am when Matt told me to go take away the microphone. At 4am I had to tell them to GO TO BED!! They were so loud!! I had given them a few rules like 1) don't go outside, 2) don't go on the computer and 3) no getting on the phone before going to bed myself around 12am. I apparently forgot to mention the rule about not warming up pizza in the toaster. Yes, the toaster!! They got hungry after eating all the nachos and 60 cookies that I left out for them so they tried to warm up pizza not in the microwave (because they didn't think they would be allowed to use it) but in the regular toaster. They finally drifted off into dreamland one by one sometime between 4am-5am after eating, drinking, singing and giving each other makeovers. I got up the next morning and made them blueberry muffins with OJ, milk and bananas and counted down the minutes until 9am when moms were to show up.

What a night!!!

Surprise! This was Hannah coming in the door....

Hannah and her friends sitting on the floor eating dinner.

Her Hannah Montana guitar cake.

Hannah and Noelle sang the first song, "If We Were a Movie".

On her actual birthday we took her and the kids to Ichiro, a Japanese Steakhouse. We all had chicken and watched in amazement as they cook it in front of us with lots of animation. I didn't get any pictures of this dinner. We charged the camera batteries from her party but forgot the camera when we left.

She combined some of her birthday money and bought this bike and helmet. She had outgrown her bike years ago and needed another one.

Our Family Expands

2008-05-05T13:22:00.001-07:00

We have added two new members to the Sherman family. This is Maggie & Bubbie and they are little Yorkies. Actually his name was Max but we already have a crazy dog named Max and we thought one Max was enough!! They are so sweet!

The Good News!!

2008-05-02T17:20:00.000-07:00

Matt and I took the kids to see the Christian body builder group, Team Impact, last night and I am VERY excited to tell you that Jacob accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. We have been patiently waiting and praying for him to do so for a while now. We are very proud of him and we look forward to my brother, TJ, baptizing him soon.

Busy, Busy, Busy!!

2008-04-25T15:46:00.000-07:00

Life has been so busy lately that I haven't had a lot of time to sit and blog in a while. We have been trying to get finished with the school year because I am DONE! This time of year is always hard because you can see the end in sight but it just can't come fast enough. We have all been battling sickness the last few months as well. Luke, it seems like, is always sick. We may end up having tubes put in his ears sometime soon. Just in the last few weeks he has been fighting a couple of ear infections and impataigo. He is currrently on his second round of of antibiotics for his current double ear infections. Me, Matt and the kids have had colds that just won't seem to go away.

Luke has finally started walking everywhere! He thinks he is something else! Once he saw that he caould do it he was off. He sure is a cutie!!

Luke also had his first birthday on March 29th. My brother and his family was here the week before for Easter and we had a family and close friend party at Ronnie VanZant park. We had pizza and cake. He did not like his little cake. He cried, maybe because he didn't know what it was all about or because he didn't like everyone watching him but he didn't even take a bite. We dunked his hand in it but that didn't help the situation at all. On his actual birthday, we of course, took him to Disney. The whole day was all about him. We didn't ride any big rides. All we did were rides he would enjoy. We had breakfast reservations at the "Crystal Palace" which offers Winnie the Pooh & Friends. He LOVES that Tigger! Although I have to say, he likes them more on the TV rather than in person. He was a little afraid. It was an all you can eat buffet but all I could get him to eat was banana bread.

This was me, Matt & Luke at his birthday party at the park.

This is a family picture taken outside the Crystal Palace the day we went to Disney.

The Crystal Palace knew it was his birthday so they had our table decorated a little for him.

Here he is eating the banana bread that I was talking about.

Isn't he a cutie?? You can see the "Happy Birthday Luke" button Disney gave to him.

You can see in these pictures that was less than empressed to see Pooh and friends in person.

The servers came togther to sing to him. They also brought him this cupcake. This piece of cake he actually tried.

This is Matt and I with Luke as we rode the people mover at the Magic Kingdom.

After not liking the other characters he did actually take to Handy Manny when we took him to the Playhouse Disney Live on stage performance at the MGM Studios.

I did it!!!

2008-03-11T08:11:00.000-07:00

I went to Weight Watchers this morning at I hit 101 pounds!! It was a very exciting morning! I thought I would post some pictures of myself to see how far I have come.

These are from 2003 and not yet at my heaviest weight.

I started WW in October of 2005. I had hit 80 pounds just before I found out I was pregnant with Luke. Here is me now not yet at my goal weight.

A boy becomes a man

2008-03-11T08:07:00.000-07:00

Jacob started shaving last week. I can't believe my baby is old enough for that!

Weigh In

2008-02-26T08:21:00.000-08:00

After two weeks of very little weight loss, I finally hit the jackpot!! I lost 5.2 pounds this week for a total of 97 pounds. I'm getting closer! That 100 pound mark is right around the corner! I was so happy to have my Uncle Buddy, my Dad and Connie join me at Weight Watchers today. It will make it a lot easier knowing my family are all in this together! I can't wait to see how they make out!

Weight Watchers

2008-02-12T07:34:00.000-08:00

I had started back at Weight Watchers at the beginning of the year. I had to take a couple of months off to deal with some things but I returned like I knew I would. I went to weigh in this morning and I had lost 2 pounds this week. That brings my total to 91 pounds so far. I was so excited since I have been working so hard!! I can't wait to hit 100! I think I will have to do something special for myself when I do.

News from the Sherman family's world

2008-02-08T15:26:00.000-08:00

It has been a really busy couple of weeks. I meant to post earlier but there just seem to be much time lately.

Hannah has broken her right index finger. She was at PE at the Y and they were playing basketball and somehow she hurt it. I didn't think that the DR did anything about broken fingers but apparently children are different. They put her into a cast all the way up to her elbow. Her index and middle finger are cast together and it goes all the way up her arm. It hurt for the first few days but she is feeling better now.

Luke is sick this week. He has two ear infections that he is taking antibiotics for and she put him back on the nebulizer 3 times a day for his coughing and wheezing. Poor guy! On top of everything else, he is getting his molar teeth in!! You can tell he doesn't feel well just by looking at him! He weighed in at 20lbs and 14.5oz and he turned 10 months old last week.

Luke, Jacob, Hannah and I flew out to my brother's house in Missouri last week. Jacob actually stayed at our friends, the Washingtons, house the five days that we were there. He had a BLAST!!! Hannah, Luke and I had a great time too! I learned on this trip that I don't mind cold weather but I HATE snow. Hannah loved it because she was able to play in it.

These are pictures of the kids on the plane ride there.....

Hannah and Luke in the snow....

Hannah built this snow-man and snow-rabbit.....

Hannah and my niece, Emma, playing in the snow....

TJ tried to get Luke to drink out of a cup. I can't get that kid to drink from a cup or a straw to save my life!!

Emma & Tate ~ Aren't they cute?

Hannah had her picture taken with the "World's Largest Flower Box". She was so embarrassed that I made her do this!!

These are pictures of us with the Washington's. Jacob with his friends Aaron and Ian and me and my friend Jackie. They once lived here in Orange Park and were in our homeschool group but they moved away because of their daddy's job. We miss them very much but we are so happy to see them when we can.

We are alive!!

2008-01-17T14:21:00.000-08:00

I know I am a slacker!! I have five kids people!! There has just been so much going on that I just didn't know where to start!

Luke is getting to be such a big guy. In the last month he has turned nine months old, gotten rid of his "army crawl" for normal crawling, started eating real food like peas, carrots and cheese (he hasn't met anything he hasn't liked and we have given him everything) and started cruising around the furniture, pulling up on everything and walks behind his walking toys. What a cutie he is!

Hannah and Noelle had their Christmas piano recital a few weeks ago. They played a duet of "Jingle Bells". They did a great job!

We celebrated my wonderful husbands 34th birthday last weekend. Of course we went to Disney because, well, we can and we plan to celebrate all our birthdays there this year since we have the passes. But we didn't exactly go for the rides this time. Matt had found a scavenger hunt on the internet that he want to attempt to do. We worked for a while on it and then decided since it was broken onto sections that we would do one section each time we go. That thing would have taken us all day!! The birthday boy had picked the ESPN Club for lunch at the Boardwalk Resort. Not my kind of place but it was right up his alley. He really liked it! After that we walked over to the Beach Club Resort to the Beaches and Cream restaurant for a dessert called the "Kitchen Sink". Check out the pictures of this thing! It has every ice cream flavor and topping they had from candies to cookies and a whole can of whipped cream!! I told Matt this was his "cake".

Here are just a couple of extra pictures from that day.....

Christmas 2007

2007-12-25T14:48:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from the Sherman Family!!

Fun at the Circus!

2007-12-16T11:21:00.000-08:00

The Ringling Brothers and Barnum Bailey Circus was in town last week and they came to the Y last Tuesday to the kids PE class to teach them a few circus tricks and to talk to them about maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The had such a great time! Here are a few pictures from their class.

Mission Accomplished!!

2007-12-11T04:42:00.000-08:00

After weeks of searching and searching, Matt and I found the absolutely best car for us. We bought a 2005 Buick Terraza CXL. It is so awesome!! It has everything you could ever want in a car.

It is all leather with dual powered sliding doors.

Lucky for the kids it has a DVD player. That will really come in handy on our trips!

We learned after we brought the van home last night that it has a remote starter which means I can start the van, and the air, from my key chain. How nice will that be in the heat of the summer? We will be able to get into a van that has already cooled down!

Cookies & Gingerbread

2007-12-10T18:20:00.000-08:00

Today, we went to our friend Anna's house for our, now, annual cookie and gingerbread house decorating party. They also made three Christmas ornaments each to put on our tree. My kids had the BEST time! Here are a couple of pictures of the finished product.

I know, it's been a while!!

2007-12-09T16:09:00.000-08:00

I am aware that it has been a while since my last post but life has been all consuming lately. A majority of my life these days has been car shopping because despite my best effort at begging, they totalled my van. I hate car shopping!! I am clearly out of my league since it not that often we have had to do this. The last several cars we have had we have bought off family and friends so going to dealerships is a new thing. We have, as of yet, not found anything that has wowed me and that I have thought of buying. We looked at a van this afternoon that could be a possibility because it had everything I wanted in a car but we will see. I am not getting my hopes up or anything. All I know is that Matt and I are having a hard time sharing a car because of our radically different schedules. It also doesn't help that his car, a Ford Explorer, doesn't fit us all. I am bound and determined to find the absolutely the best deal out there since I proudly claim the title of "cheapest person alive"!!

I celebrated my 31st birthday on November 29th with a trip with Matt and the kids to Disney. Since this was a preplanned trip and I no longer had a car my wonderful dad, for my birthday, lent me his van and paid the gas for us to go. And to top it off my awesome Uncle Buddy got us a hotel room for two nights! The reason for the trip was that since we were pass holders, we were invited to the taping of the Walt Disney Christmas Day Parade. We had up close views of the Dancing with the Stars cast, Jessica Simpson and Katherine McPhee. What a neat experience! The girls got to see one of their favorites, Sabrina Bryan. Be sure to watch the parade Christmas morning to see if you can catch a glimpse of us in the crowd. My birthday night we had reservations at "Chef Mickey's". It was once featured on the Food Network channel so it is widely considered the "it" place to go. I called for six weeks trying to get in because they start taking reservations six months in advance and it was book solid until the day before we left they had just had a cancellation. How cool was that?? I had wanted to go there for months!

School is progressing nicely. Jacob and Hannah are just finishing up the first semester this week with the Florida Virtual School. They will be studying this week for finals so that after they take their tests they will have the remainder of the year off. Semester two starts after the new year starts. Noah and Noelle started Odyssey of the Mind a few weeks ago. They love it! If you don't know what that is, a group 6 to 7 same aged kids get together once a week to solve a problem off a list the organization puts together. It is totally student led. They can't have any help or influencing from adults. Adults are there just as crowed control and can't put in their two cents.

We went on a field trip last Wednesday to WJXT News Channel 4. The kids toured the station and got to watch a live broadcast which in they got to wave on camera. They thought that was totally exciting!

Hannah had her Dr appt last Thursday at the Nemours Children Clinic in downtown Jacksonville. He put her on Synthroid which she will be on for the rest of her life. He wants her to return in 3 months for blood work to check how the medications are working.

Tomorrow, December 10th, we will be having a Christmas cookie and gingerbread house decorating party with my homeschool group. We had done it last year and it turned out so cute so they can't wait to do it again. I will be sure post pictures in the next few days.

Well, I'm sure this doesn't cover everything but at least I have posted something. I will be sure to keep in touch and keep you posted on my car situation.

Happy Anniversary!!

2007-11-20T13:23:00.000-08:00

Today, Matt and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary. It doesn't seem like it has been that long. It was just a year ago that Matt was sick in the hospital. I was so scared that I could loose him. I can't tell you how much I love and appreciate him for all he does for me and our kids. He works so hard and never takes any time to himself. Everything he does it for us. It has not always been an easy 14 years but I wouldn't trade them for anything!

Missing you

2007-11-19T13:44:00.000-08:00

Today is the 9th anniversary of the worst day of my life. On this day, November 19, 1998 my brother and I lost the best mom anyone could ask for. The pain of loosing her is still as fresh in my heart as the day she left us. So much has happen in the last 9 years I wish I could tell her. I can't tell you how much she LOVED being a Nana. She loved my kids more than life itself. Oh, how I would love her to know that I now have Luke and that TJ is married and has Emma and Tate. She would be absolutely thrilled to know that she has 7 grandchildren! It pains me to know that they will never know her and how much she loved them. One thing is for sure, life is sure different without her. My life will never be the same again!

So much excitement!!

2007-11-10T17:13:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness! I don't even know where to start. It has been a very exciting couple of days.

First of all, we did end up taking Noah and Noelle to Disney but we got there a little late. After stopping in Lake Mary, Fl,(about 1/2 hour from Disney) to go to the bathroom Matt, Noah, Noelle and I were in a car accident. It looks like Matt totaled my van. My van that was PAID FOR!! We are waiting to hear from the insurance company but as it stands right now the repairs will cost more than it is worth. Nobody was seriously hurt although Matt has a sore arm and my hips and neck are sore. Our insurance rented us a 2007 Dodge Ram 1500 truck to drive until a decision is made on my van. This truck is huge! I am short so it is very difficult to get in and out. Actually, all I have to do is fall out. Matt is so jealous because he has always wanted a truck like that.

Because of our morning excitement we missed our reservations at O'hanas for breakfast so Matt called and told them our situation and why we miss our appt time and they gladly made us new reservations for lunch at The Garden Grill at Epcot. It was an indoor revolving restaurant. Noah and Noelle got to meet Farmer Mickey, Chip & Dale and Pluto. Since it was their birthday they really made over them. They kept coming around to our table and visiting with them.

The captain of the monorail allowed Noah and Noelle to ride up front with him. That was so neat. We had never done that before. Did you know that they go 40 mph?

This is the kids with Farmer Mickey.

As Farmer Mickey came around, he pretended to blow out the candles on Noelle's hat.

Pluto came around and asked how old Noah was and when he said 10 years old Pluto preceded to give him 10 licks. After "licking" him he pretended to throw up. It was so funny!!

When Chip made it around to us, he was a little mischievous. As you can see, he pulled their hats over their eyes.

Our waitress brought them cupcakes with candles in them. They got to decorate them with cups of decorations. She even helped us sing Happy Birthday!

On Friday, I received a phone call from Hannah's doctor. Last week she had some blood tests done and as it turns out she has hypothyroidism which is an under active thyroid. Several people in Matt's family, including Matt, have it. As a precaution, I took the other kids to have their thyroid tested. I am hoping to get those tests back one day next week. In the mean time I have made Hannah an appt with a pediatric endocrinologist at Nemours Children Clinic. She will need to be put on medication to control it. I am hopeful that she is the only one to have it.

Also, yesterday Luke scooted across the floor on his belly for the first time. He has been DYING to be mobile! It is so sad to me. He is getting so big. Before you know he will be walking and talking. It is hard to believe he is 7 months old already.

The girls and I spent the last two days at a mother-daughter purity conference called "Strong in the Lord". We enjoyed it very much. I think they learned a lot and they have come home excited about the Lord and look forward to being a shining light in this sometimes dark world. The conference leaders really did a great job educating them on being godly young women. Hannah and Noelle said they would like to go back if they ever make it back to town. It was a very special time for me and my daughters.

Happy 10th Birthday Noelle & Noah!!!

2007-11-07T12:28:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow, November 8th, my babies are turning 10 years old. That's right! Noah and Noelle are turning 10! I just can't believe that it has been that long. I remember the day Matt and I were told that we were having twins. Talk about SHOCKED!! You could have knocked us over with a feather. The next morning after we found out I asked Matt again, "did they tell us we are having twins or was I dreaming?". I just could not believe it! Four kids! I was having four kids! Little did I know that 9 years later there would be five.

Tomorrow is just a day for Noelle and Noah. We have stashed the other kids at my dads house for the day and we are headed back to Disney for a day dedicated just to them. We have reservations to eat at O'Hanas for breakfast. They are really looking forward to spending the day with mom and dad all to themselves.

This was my mom with Noelle and Noah. She had come down from Illinois to be with us when they were born. I had no idea how special this picture was until she was gone, a year and three weeks later.

They were about six months old in this picture. We had just moved to Orange Park from New Port Richey. Noelle went through a phase where she always would stick out her tongue. You can see that here in this picture.

This picture was taken while we were in New York on vacation in 2001. I just think they were too cute!!

Happy Birthday kids! Mommy & Daddy love you very much.

Luke ~ 7 months old

2007-11-02T07:25:00.000-07:00

Hannah ~ 12 years old

2007-11-02T07:10:00.000-07:00

This is Hannah at 12 years old. She stands just a little taller than me at 5'4. Isn't she a pretty little thing?

Halloween 2007

2007-11-01T19:45:00.000-07:00

On our vacation last month, we bought the kids seasonal passes to Disney World for Christmas, so we took them back to the Magic Kingdom for Halloween. Morning came early since we were up at 5am to leave at 6am. We had a great time riding all of our favorite rides. We even had a nice lunch at the Liberty Tree Tavern. Magic Kingdom closed at 7pm because of the "Not So Scary Halloween Party" so we made a quick stop at Downtown Disney then we ate at the world's largest playspace McDonalds for dinner and then we headed home. We finally made it home at 11:30pm. Boy were we exhausted!!

Luke in Halloween outfit. His bib says "My First Halloween". He looked so cute!

Noah, the dog, wanted to take his mom on a drive on the Speedway track. He was a very good driver!

Jacob, who was a pirate, posed in front of the sign of his favorite ride and movie.

Hannah and Noelle enjoyed their ride on the Carousel.

The girls were also very excited to meet Mary Poppins. We all thought she was very pretty.

The boys were too cool to wait in line for the Mary Poppins autograph and picture opportunity.

Our pumpkin "Jack"

2007-10-24T19:08:00.001-07:00

On the way home from church tonight we stopped and picked up a pumpkin. The girls being girls decided it needed a name so we named it Jack.

Matt making the first incisions. He started out with a knife but ended up using a small saw.

The kids could not wait to get their hands into that pumpkin! We took the seeds out, cleaned them up and roasted them in the oven. They were awsome!!

The finished product.

Conner's Cornfield Maze

2007-10-15T12:40:00.000-07:00

We had a field trip to Conner's Cornfield Maze in Hilliard today. It is always fun when we go there. This year the maze had a "Noah's Ark" theme. You have to follow the numbers to be able to get out of the maze but at each number is a question that the answer determines if you go right, left or straight. Luke and I toured the maze with the girls of our group that were Hannah's age. Let me just say, we got so lost!!! They had no idea what they were doing! We ended up running into the group that had the younger girls in it and they were able to lead us out. Next time I am going with them!

Of course they have much more to do there than just the corn maze. They have go carts that you pedal around a track, some water games, a petting zoo and this cow train ride. Luke and I got to ride in the front while we pulled the kids around. He was more interested in the gear shift than the ride in a tractor!

The kids seemed to really enjoy the hayride.

One of the other attactions is a big tub of corn. The kids get into it and play around. Here, some of the kids are burying Noah in the corn.

And these were too cute! Mommy's little pumpkin!

Florida Times Union

2007-10-12T05:21:00.000-07:00

The Jacksonville newspaper was at our archery field trip that took recently. The man took some pictures and told us to watch for them in the next couple of weeks. Well, they were in today! This was the article on the front page of the Metro section. There is also a link to their website to view a slide show of pictures. My kids made it into several of them. Check it out!!

http://www.jacksonville.com/slideshows/071011173031.shtml

We're Back!!!

2007-10-07T12:02:00.000-07:00

We are back and we had a blast! We are so tired we don't know quite what to do with ourselves. We will need the next week to recover from our vacation.

We arrived at our condo at "The Fountains" last Sunday at about 4pm. After unloading the car, we headed out to Downtown Disney for dinner at the RainForest Cafe`. We enjoyed our dinner there. The food was average but I think people go more for the atmosphere. It's like eating in the middle of the jungle. We finished our dinner with a dessert they called the Volcano. It was ice cream, brownies and chocolate and caramel sauce. All six of us split it so it was gone in about 30 seconds. You can see it on our table in the group picture of us.

On Monday, surprisingly I had to wake the kids up. I thought they would have been up and dressed by 6am. They have been so excited about this trip. They had been on a count down for weeks! Anyway, we headed out to the Magic Kingdom. We have found out that this was a great time of year to go. We pretty much walked onto every ride. It was so awesome! And this time everyone was tall enough to ride it all with the exception of Luke. It did make the trip a bit more challenging as you can imagine. Matt and I took turns taking the kids on rides that Luke couldn't ride. We spent the whole day there. We did leave and go back to the condo for dinner. I had taken my crock pot and had dinner waiting for us.

Tuesday we had reservations at Cape may Cafe` at the Beach Club Disney resort for our character breakfast. It was an all you can eat buffet breakfast. Minnie, Goofy and Dale (Chip was MIA) came around to our table and spent time with us taking pictures and signing their autograph books as we ate breakfast. These pictures are the kids with the characters at breakfast.

After our breakfast it was back to the Magic Kingdom for day two. We took our time the first day doing every ride and show we could. We got half the park done so we needed to do the other half on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, we took a much needed rest. We hung out at the pool, Matt and the kids played ping pong and we took naps. I for one was completely wiped out! That night we took the kids to Medieval Times for dinner. They put on a jousting show and feed us dinner. The dinner you get does not come with silverware so you have to eat it all with your fingers. It's very interesting! We had soup that we drank from bowls with garlic bread, ribs, half a chicken, half a potato and apple pie for dessert. Matt and I had been there before years ago but the kids had never been and they really like it. The girls bought princess hats and Noah bought an axe and Jacob bought a sword. I know what you are thinking but hey it was their own money. Don't worry, knowing my boys they will be broken in no time at all.

We decided that on Thursday we would go to Animal Kingdom. None of us had ever been there before. I personally am not that excited about animals but they did have some good rides. We enjoyed the Dinosaur and Everest rides they had. There were a couple of other little rides we did too but those were our favorites. I couldn't believe it but the Everest ride is a roller coaster that went backwards! It took you all the way up the mountain then back down backwards! FREAKY!! Even Matt and I were a little shaken up by it. The kids, they LOVED it!!!

Since Animal Kingdom closes early at 5pm we headed back to Downtown Disney for dinner at Planet Hollywood and to do some shopping.

We also made it to LegoLand. They have any Lego product you could ever want. Outside they have a place for the kids to build something out of the legos that are there. Here are the kids building with Legos and Luke sitting next to a basset hound made out of Legos. We thought it looked a lot like our Max!

Is it Friday yet because I am exhausted just typing this out! Friday, we went to MGM Studios. Luke and I had to cut the day short because it rained and he was getting tired by this point. It had been a long week for him. Out of his routine, out of his sleep schedule and in a stroller all day. So Luke and I left Matt and the kids at MGM and picked them up at 8pm when it closed. I did manage to sneak in a ride on the Tower of Terror. Oh my gosh!!!! It takes you up an elevator 13 stories, opens the doors to the outside so that you can see the whole park then....it drops you! Then you go back up and it drops you again. It does this several times. You know that feeling you get in an elevator when it settles? Well, this was 20 times worse! The girls got to see their High School Musical and the boys enjoyed the Rock n Roller Coaster. They seemed to have a great time. Of course I got to hear about all the fun I missed. Luke must have needed the rest because he slept from 2pm-6pm. I must say, it was a relaxing day for me with him sleeping and Matt and the kids at MGM.

Our last full day was Saturday. We again took the opportunity to catch up on much needed rest and slept in. After lunch we ventured out to M&M World at the Florida Mall. What a neat place! They had anything you could imagine with the M&M logo on it. And any color M&M you could ever want. With or without peanuts. Before we left we bought a pound of M&M's for all of us to share.

We found out that the Magic Kingdom was closing at 12am on Saturday night so we went back to do the rides again that were our favorites. We got there around 4pm and stayed until it closed at midnight. We got off the Haunted Mansion at 12:05am. By the time we caught the ferry and the tram to the car it was 1am. We were beat! But it was fun! It was 2am before we got settle down and got to bed and we were up early to pack and check out by 10am this morning. What a long and expensive week this was but our kids had the time of their lives and memories they will never forget!

Here are random pictures of us enjoying our week.......

Good-bye for now

2007-09-29T16:35:00.000-07:00

Me, Matt and the kids are leaving for vacation tomorrow, September 30th. We will be spending the week in Orlando so we will be back the following Sunday, October 7th. We have made plans to spend four days at the Disney parks, have a character breakfast with Minnie, Goofy, Chip & Dale at the Cape May Cafe` and dinners at Medieval Times, The RainForest Cafe and Planet Hollywood. We are very excited about going. It's been very stressful around our house lately (will explain later) so it is a much needed time of relaxation and family "togetherness". I'm sure I will have TONS of pictures to share when we return. Talk to you soon!!

Luke ~ 6 months

2007-09-28T13:46:00.000-07:00

Luke had his six month well check today. Everything went very good. He is 19 pounds and 28 inches long. The nurse said he is in the 95th percentile for his height. He will be tall like Jacob. Poor Noah! He has my height genes I'm afraid. Luke also got his normal two shots in each leg.

Archery

2007-09-28T13:39:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, we went to the archery range for a field trip. My kids love doing that! Noelle, as it turns out, is really good at it. She got three bulls eye in a row. The men that were helping us were very impressed. I would really like to get a membership so that we can go back more often. It can be a fun family activity.

Wrestling

2007-09-23T06:45:00.000-07:00

Jacob, Hannah, Noah and Noelle learned wrestling in PE last week. They really enjoyed learing about it. They had never done anything like that before. These pictures of them are pretty dark but I picked out the best ones to put on. The gym didn't have good lighting.

Noelle and her friend Elizabeth

Hannah and Natalee

Jacob and Sean

Noah and Matthew

Good Morning!

2007-09-23T06:40:00.000-07:00

I went in to get Luke up the other morning and this is the scene that came in on. He had moved into the corner of the crib and lifted the bumper pad to look out the bars of his crib. He had his arm hanging out and he was just smiling so big. It was so cute!!

Bath Time

2007-09-22T18:07:00.000-07:00

Luke LOVES his bath time! We took these pictures tonight and I thought they were so cute I had to post them.

Sitting Pretty, I mean Handsome!

2007-09-19T07:02:00.000-07:00

Luke learned to sit up all by himself this week.

He is still has a round bottom but he is getting better everyday.

The fact that he can't throw himself backwards is a hard lesson for little guy to learn. As many times as he has fallen over he hasn't put two and two together to figure out that it hurts.

New pictures

2007-09-10T18:00:00.000-07:00

I had this picture of my Grandma and the kids made while she was here a few weeks ago.

My five little angels.

Here is Jacob at 13 years old. Isn't he a cutie?

Luke's New Seat

2007-09-09T19:10:00.000-07:00

On Friday, Luke got his new big boy car seat. He looks so cute! He is still not that crazy about being strapped into a car seat but he is able to see out the window a little more and I think that makes it a little better.

This morning, Matt had fed him some cereal and cleaned him up. When he unbuckled his seat belt to take him out Luke grabbed it and tried to put it back together. How smart is my baby? He is always watching and learning new things. It's so amazing to me! We had the best time watching him try to figure it out. I told Matt that he gets his smarts from me but he just laughed. What do you think that means?

updates 9/5/07

2007-09-05T05:26:00.000-07:00

Our co-op started yesterday. Co-op is when a bunch of moms get together and teach different classes. The co-op meets at our church on Tuesdays from 8:45am-12:45pm. It's just like a school day since they are in a classroom and get to change classes like you would at regular school. We have enough moms and kids that we are able to provide five different age groups from kindergarten through high school. Noah and Noelle are taking classes like art, Florida history, The story of the World (part 3) and science where they are studying the earth and its formations. Hannah is taking Fl history, Story of the World and earth science but she is also taking a class with Jacob called "Reality Bytes". They study real world stuff like budgets, banking, job hunting etc... Jacob has moved up to the high school level classes like psychology, civics and biology. He is really excited because he will dissecting a worm soon!! I am not teaching this year because I have Luke this year. I am just a helper in a couple of classes. In years past I have taught classes like creative writing and geography. The school year is off to a great start! Getting very busy again since we start piano lessons up again tomorrow and PE started up last week.

Also, Luke has made it through the night for the last five nights!! I am still waking up out of habit but the baby is sleeping all night. That's so weird!! He has been doing really well with his baby food. He's keeping it all down and has pretty much loved everything we give him.

Fun in the Sun!

2007-08-31T11:20:00.000-07:00

Our daddy was off of work today so we thought we would head out to Mickler's Landing beach in Ponte Vedra. I personally don't care for the beach but the kids really loved it. I guess anything is better than doing schoolwork! What they don't realize, is that they will do Friday's work on Saturday!!

Noah met a fisherman who had caught a baby shark from the beach. The man was very nice to let Noah and Hannah hold it. Jacob and Noelle wanted nothing to do with it! I for sure wasn't going in the water after we saw that!!!

Fun in the sun!!

This was Luke's first trip to the beach. I have to say he was less than impressed. Actually, he hated it. We thought he would love it because he loves the bath and when we go swimming at the YMCA but he freaked out evertime a wave came along. He held on for dear life!!

After the trauma of the waves, he fell asleep on the blanket.

Noah ~ 9 years old

2007-08-27T11:41:00.000-07:00

This is Noah at 9 years old. He too is on the birthday countdown. Noelle calls him her "little" brother even though he is only 11 minutes younger than her. He hates it when she does that!!

Noelle ~ 9 years old

2007-08-26T16:32:00.000-07:00

I had these pictures taken of Noelle 2 weeks ago. I think they turned out really good. She is already on the birthday count down since she will be 10 years old in November. Double digits, you know!!

Surprise!!

2007-08-24T20:41:00.000-07:00

My Grandma (on my moms side) came down for a visit from Indiana. We hadn't seen her since last March and she hadn't seen Luke at all yet. She arrived late Saturday night. Too late to actually do anything. On Sunday after church we went out to lunch with my Uncle Buddy, my Dad, Connie and Sierra. What my Grandma didn't know is that I had planned a surprise party at my house after lunch for her 79th birthday which was the day after she left here. I stalled her long enough for everybody to get to my house. Boy was she surprised!!

My 2 Grandma's

2007-08-24T20:38:00.000-07:00

My two Grandma's.

Homemade chicken & noodles

2007-08-24T20:29:00.000-07:00

My Grandma taught the girls how to make made-from-scratch noodles and dinner rolls. My kitchen had flour everywhere but they had the best time! It was well worth it. We had the chicken & noodles with mashed potatoes and homemade dinner rolls that night for dinner. Man, there is nothing like Grandma's cooking!!

Strawberry Tea Room

2007-08-24T20:24:00.001-07:00

I took the girls and my Grandma to the Strawberry Tea Room on Tuesday for light afternoon tea. She really like it. She said that she had never done anything like that before. What a special time that was for us four girls. I know I will never forget it!

What a cutie!!

2007-08-24T20:13:00.001-07:00

I just thought these were cute. I had to post them!

Sweet Peas for the Sweet Pea

2007-08-24T20:10:00.000-07:00

Luke had his first veggie today when he tried sweet peas. He LOVED it!! He did really well with it and even held it down. He is growing and changing so much.

I am also happy to report that he has finally rolled over and on purpose not by accident. He was a little late on that because he doesn't get put down much. As you can imagine, with 6 people in the house everybody wants their fair share of Luke time and there is only so many hours in a day.

A New Year

2007-08-24T19:49:00.000-07:00

The dreaded has has finally arrived. Another year of homeschooling has now begun. I can't believe that this is our sixth year already.

Jacob and Hannah started FLVS (Florida Virtual School) on Monday. It's all done online and they have real teachers to report to. One of the advantages of being a homeschooler is that you can get a head start on high school credits. Jacob is in 8th grade but is taking three high school classes. Pretty cool, right?

Noah and Noelle started 4th grade on Thursday but they still are doing book work. I look forward to the day that they get to start FLVS in 6th grade. That will free me up a lot!

Too cute!

2007-08-14T17:51:00.001-07:00

I took this picture of Luke for his photo book and thought it was so cute. It's hard to believe he will be 5 months old on Thursday.

Luke's first teeth

2007-08-14T17:10:00.000-07:00

Well, we got up this morning and noticed that Luke's first two teeth had come through. He got both bottom teeth at the same time. I guess that's better than one at a time just to get them done and over with. Matt thinks I should think about weaning him since he bit me this morning but I hoping he will stop that. I'm not ready to give it up yet.

Shutterfly photo book

2007-08-13T14:04:00.000-07:00

I made a photo book for Luke over the last couple of days. This link take you to their website to view it. Hopefully you are able to access it. I hope you like it. I worked really long and hard on it.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/project/0AZNHLho1Zt2LiI/landing

Babysitting Class & Luke

2007-08-12T20:30:00.000-07:00

Hannah and Jacob took a babysitting class at the hospital on Saturday. Hannah needed it because she is babysitting regularly now. Not only does she have her regular two day a week job but she also has a couple more jobs lined up. We joke because my 12 year old makes more money than I do! Ahhhh, to be 12, have money and no responsibility!! Those were the days! Jacob took the class so that Matt and I feel more comfortable leaving Luke here with him. He is always asking when Luke gets to stay with him. He got really lucky because as it turned out he was one of three boys in the class. The lady said that never happens! It's usually always all girls.

And an update on Luke....I took him back to the Dr on Friday. They wanted to see him because I called to tell them that he was still congested and coughing like crazy. She wanted to make sure it hadn't turned into pneumonia. It hadn't but he does now have an ear infection. So now on top of the nebulizer he is also taking an antibiotic. Does it ever end? He is costing me a small fortune!! But he is so worth it since he is so cute. But the good news is that, today, he seems to be doing much better.

Poor Baby

2007-08-07T12:19:00.001-07:00

I had taken Luke to the DR last week because he was coughing really bad but the DR said he had a cold and I should continue to give him the cough syrup, elevate his bed and use a cool mist humidifier. If he didn't improve I should bring him back. Well, he didn't. Now he had a runny nose and a congested head and chest. He hasn't slept well in a week now which means I don't sleep well. I was told this morning he now has bronchitis. They gave him a nebulizer breathing treatment in the office and sent us home with a nebulizer to give him treatments at home every four hours. Let me just say...he hates that thing!! He screamed somthing horrible at the DR office this morning while he had that mask on his face. The nurse said that its good if he cries because then we know he is inhaling the medicine. I just hope he feels better soon.

These are pictures of Luke taking one of his treatments. He just looks so pathetic that I had to post it.

Luke ~ 18 weeks

2007-08-04T15:16:00.000-07:00

The kids spent the night at my dad and Connie's house last night so that Matt and I could have a date since he had his first Friday off in months. We hadn't been out on a date since before we had Luke. It was so nice to get out!!

Hannah, Noelle and I had a girls afternoon out today. We went to lunch at Texas Roadhouse and then we were off to the mall to have Luke's picture taken and to do a bit of shopping. Matt, Jacob and Noah had a boys afternoon out as well. They went to play putt-putt golf and to the baseball card shop for "trade day". We all had a great day although we were so tired when we got home.

Here are pictures that were taken of Luke today at 18 weeks old. He is just the sweetest thing! He has learned to give kisses already. Nothing like getting one of those open mouth, slobbering kisses from a baby. I had reported that he had his first cereal but we had to stop that because he threw up every time he had it. The DR told us to try again at 6 months old. Oh well!! I am happy to report that he slept all night long last night. He went from 8:30pm to 7am. Let's see if he can make a habit out of it!! I am curious to see what tonight will bring.

Happy Birthday Mom!

2007-07-31T16:19:00.000-07:00

Today would have been my mom's 51st birthday. This is a picture of her as an infant and just a year or so before she died.

Happy Birthday Mom!!

I'm Back!

2007-07-29T16:53:00.000-07:00

Well, I got home late last night from the hospital from my bladder surgery. I am sore but doing OK. The doctor tells us that it went well and that he expects things to work well.

After the trauma of dropping off my baby knowing that it would be at least a day until I saw him again, it was time freak out about my surgery. It was a long, quiet ride to the hospital for Matt and I. Knowing that I would be a sleep and someone would be cutting into me was almost too much to bare. As 10am came closer and closer I started shaking and crying. I said goodbye to Matt and cried all the way to the OR. The last thing I remember is crying in the OR and the nurse rubbing my arm. The next thing I knew I was in recovery. My right leg felt like it was on fire! My nurse gave me a little something for the pain and I rested there for a while. When I got to my room, I was still feeling the pain in my leg. It was a horrible pain and a very weird numbness feeling. It was very heavy to lift and I could barely move it due to the pain. The nurses did a pretty good job at keeping me medicated. After having an ultrasound of both my legs and a meeting with a neurologist, it was determined that I have a stretched nerve in my thigh area. It should improve in the next couple of weeks. Apparently, during the surgery I wasn't in a very lady-like position. So now I rest for a while. I have to return to the doctor in two weeks for a check up.

Oh, and the kids did really well at my Dad and Connie's house. Luke even slept pretty much all night. When we brought him home last night he got up four times! Why does that happen? Oh well, at least he was good for them. They had even brought the kids up to the hospital when it looked like I might have to stay another night because of my leg problem. They did a good job watching all six kids (including Sierra) and I am thankful that they did that for me.

Hannah's First Job

2007-07-26T11:50:00.000-07:00

Today, Hannah has had her first official paid babysitting job. She has been looking forward to this all week! A woman who goes to our church asked Hannah to come over a couple days a week and help look after her son and daughter. I am just amazed at the fact that she is old enough to do that now. I know I have said this before but she is growing up so fast!! Before you know it, she will be a full grown woman. It's sad because she will not be my little girl anymore but excited to see what her future holds.

Also, I wanted to let you know that I will be having my bladder surgery tomorrow morning July 27 at 10:00am. I will be at St. Vincents Hospital for one night. All five of the kids will be staying at my dad and Connie's house while Matt stays with me. They're brave, right? I am having a really hard time with the fact that I will be away from Luke for that long. He's so little and I feel like he needs me but I really need to have this taken care of. Pray that I will have some peace about it. I will update you when I get home sometime on Saturday.

Updates!!!

2007-07-24T07:20:00.000-07:00

Just to update you...Luke DID NOT sleep all night last night!!! He actually woke up more times. I'm not sure if it was the shots he got yesterday or the fact that our air conditioning is out in our house but he woke up four times!

On a happier note, I went to my Weight Watchers meeting this morning and lost 3.6 pounds! I got another five pound star for a total of 81.2 pounds!! I was so happy!

Luke's First Cereal

2007-07-23T17:03:00.000-07:00

Today, Matt and I took Luke to the doctor for his four month check up and shots. He weighs 17lbs 4oz and is 25 inches long. I felt really bad for him because he was so happy then BANG…two shots in each leg. He was so mad!! My heart breaks every time I hear him cry like that. Dr. Woolwine also told us she thought he was ready to try a little rice cereal so we picked some up this afternoon. I think he liked it but he wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. Maybe this will help him finally sleep through the night. She told us that at this age he isn’t getting up because he is hungry, necessarily, but out of habit. But, as long as my last sweet baby continues to wake up I will continue to nurse him happily. I know I will miss these days when they are finally over. Here are some pictures of Luke’s first attempt at rice cereal

A Visit From Aunt Mel

2007-07-22T16:40:00.000-07:00

My mom’s sister, Melody, came for a visit from Chicago on Thursday. We had such a great time with her. When she got here Thursday we just hung out and ate turkey burgers that Matt grilled for us. Friday morning we got up and went to the cemetery to put some new flowers on my mom’s grave. She loved the Sunflower so we put out some of those. They were very pretty. For lunch, we went to lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant, La Nopalera. The rest of the afternoon was spent hitting thrift and consignment stores. We LOVE doing that! It’s the thrill of the hunt for us. Before we knew it our visit was over. We took her to the airport on Saturday morning. It was kind of funny because when I am leaving the house will all five kids it is always hectic but I am become accustomed to it. For an outsider it can be sort of stressful but she laughed it off saying it was like being in a sitcom! We loved having her and hope she comes back soon.

Luke 3 1/2 months old

2007-07-15T14:01:00.000-07:00

I had these pictures made of Luke 2 weeks ago when he was 3 1/2 months old. He will be 16 weeks old this Thursday. He is growing up too fast!! I wish he would slow down a little. The blue baseball background is actually a blanket that Hannah made for him and gave me as a gift at my baby shower.

Locks of Love

2007-07-15T13:15:00.000-07:00

I took the girls today to the Orange Park Mall where they donated 10 inches of their hair to Locks of Love. Locks of Love is a company who makes wigs for children who have lost their hair due to medical issues like cancer. Hannah and Noelle were very nervous about it but in the end they like their haircuts and feel good about giving to other children who need it. Matt and I are so proud of them!
Here are during and after pictures of them.

Happy 1st Birthday Tate!

2007-07-06T14:34:00.000-07:00

Today my nephew, Tate, is having his very first birthday. He is so cute and so sweet. I only wish I lived closer to him (and Emma) so that I could share in their lives more regularly. I am one proud Auntie. Can you tell?

Happy Birthday Tate! Auntie loves you!!

Fireworks!!

2007-07-05T13:51:00.000-07:00

After my dad and Connie left we enjoyed some down time until it got dark. The people in our neighborhood always put on a great fireworks show. It’s just as good as a professional show except no crowds. Matt and I took the kids, our chairs and the baby monitor (because Luke was already in bed) outside to do Sparklers and enjoy the fireworks.

These are pictures of the kids enjoying their Sparklers. Although, Jacob said at 13 Sparklers aren't what they use to be.

Happy July 4th!!!

2007-07-05T13:39:00.000-07:00

We had a really great July 4th. My Dad, Connie and Sierra came over to our house and we cooked out hamburgers and hotdogs. They had bought us a grill for our anniversary a year and a half ago that we had never used. It was so good! We will be using it more often now that it has been “broken in.”

These are pictures of my dad and Connie with the kids. Yes, that’s my dad wearing a tie with shorts and a t-shirt. Can you believe he went to Publix that way? How embarrassing!! He has gotten a little weird in his old age.

A Visit to MawMaw

2007-07-02T12:10:00.000-07:00

I hadn’t seen my Grandma in a very long time so I thought I would take the kids to see her this morning. After all, she had never seen Luke. When we got there, she was sitting in a rocking chair in the hallway rocking back and forth. She looked at me like she knows she should know me but I know she still has no idea who I am. She had an awful lot to say although I didn’t understand any of it. I just kept telling her how pretty she looked and that we love her.

Happy Boy!!

2007-07-02T06:28:00.000-07:00

Luke is very much a morning baby. He is so happy when he wakes up. Here he is this morning at 13 weeks old. Can you believe it? It goes so fast!!

Game Day 2007

2007-07-02T06:22:00.000-07:00

Last week Hannah, Noah and Noelle went to Vacation Bible School and music camp at First Baptist Church of Middleburg. They were gone everyday last week from 9am to 3pm. It was really great! I only had Jacob (because he was to old) and Luke. Two kids was so easy!! They had their musical performance last Friday night. They did such a good job.

Jacob's 13th Birthday

2007-06-27T13:38:00.000-07:00

Today, June 27th, Jacob had his 13th birthday. I can’t get over the fact that I now have a teenager. Am I old enough to have a teenager? Not really but we won’t go there. He has grown up so much. Matt and I got out the measuring tape this morning and he is 5’7. That’s 4 inches taller than me and 2 inches shorter than Matt. How does that happen? It won’t be long and he will be taller than Matt. What happen to my little boy?

For his birthday, we took Jacob, my Dad, Connie and our cousin Debbie to La Nopalera (our favorite Mexican restaurant) for lunch today. It was so good! I had stopped at Walmart and got him a cake and had them write “Happy 13th Birthday Jacob” on it. That’s when I realized that my baby was 13 already. I almost shed a tear right there in the Walmart bakery. I am so emotional these days!!

Matt and Jacob just left for a boys night out. They are starting out at the local batting cages and dinner and then off to St. Augustine for a trip to Potter’s Wax Museum and an 8pm Ghost Tour. I think he will have a great time. I will try to post pictures of their adventure soon.

Jacob Tyler Sherman
June 27, 1994
10:39pm
10 lbs, 4 oz

A Note to My Baby

2007-06-27T12:51:00.000-07:00

Dearest Jacob,

I can remember the day you were born like it was yesterday. It's hard to believe that it's been 13 years already. There is always a special place in a mother's heart for all her children but there is just something about your first baby. You were such a good baby. Your Dad and I were so in love with you from the moment we first saw you. What a blessing you are to us! We love you and are so proud of the young man you are becoming.

Mom

2007-06-26T12:23:00.000-07:00

Me, Matt and Luke 6/17/2007

The Sherman Family 6/17/2007

2007-06-26T05:18:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, June 17th, was not only Father's Day but it was also Baby Dedication at our church. This was the first time we had only dedicated one baby. Both other times we had dedicated two each time. Luke did a really good job. He slept the whole time. I remember Noah cried through the service when he was dedicated. After church I took Matt and my dad out for lunch at Johnny Carinos.

Welcome!

2007-06-23T17:34:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my new blog site! I plan to keep you posted on our families comings and goings so check back often.