It's the bomb-diggity of slip and slides!!!

I love it when it gets warm outside!! Although on this particular day it was NOT warm outside as you can see. The kids were so pumped about playing in the water...and then they turned purple and played in the water in their towels! Hee hee!!

Easter 2009

I have to say that this was one of the best easter's ever! We had so much fun dying eggs together and having a great Easter egg hunt at the house. The kids all got new outfits which they loved! Joey specifically requested one with a tie and nice shoes like Daddy. The girls looked beautiful and way too grown up!! The best part was when they found rabbit poop in the yard and said it was from the Easter Bunny(:

I love that Easter reminds us of how powerful our God is!! That He walked in this crummy world out of an amazing love for us, died for all the mess we do and will do, and beat death so that we can have life with a living, amazing Father. I love Easter!!!

Columbia Children's Museum

At the beginning of April we went to see our Grandparents and got to go to Columbia for the Edventure Children's Museum. The kids had a blast...and so did Grandma and Mommy(: Our best buddy Kasey went with us too. We got to go grocery shopping, go to the farm, clean someone elses teeth, play on a fire truck, AND sit on a couch that tooted...that was my favorite part(: Here are some pictures of our adventures...



We love us some George!!


Peace Out from Egypt


We are VERY blessed with awesome kiddos!!


Handsome like his Daddy(:


How you doin'??



Emi should start doing this for me(:


Emily will be a great dental hygienist!


Big ol' teeth!!

Emily the Princess/Dirt monkey....

This is such a perfect picture of Emily's personality!! She loves to dress up like a princess AND she loves to get down in the dirt! She is so funny and soooo much fun to watch. She is my only kiddo too who is totally cool with exploring and playing all on her own. It is a whole new experience for me(:

No fun updates...

Since i haven't written in a while I figured I would do the first post with boring updates! Basically medical updates on the kiddos so that you all would know the happenings here and how to pray more specifically for our sweet babies(:

All three kiddos are going to the doctor tomorrow (I will definitely get myself a coffee for that! ha). Joey and Madi are having their regular well checkups, but I am afraid at least one of them will need shots...no bueno! Emily will be having her iron level and zinc level checked because we are still having issues with PICA (eating non food substances). We will first make sure, again, that there are no mineral difficiencies and if that is clear then our Dr. believes it might have evolved into a behavioral issue. Not that she does it for attention (she actually likes to do these things very privately), but as more of a coping skill. I don't know much about it yet but will keep you all posted after tomorrow(:

Madi is doing very well...she is growing up so fast! She has had two new spots on her head from the alopecia. They showed up 2 weeks ago and all of the hair is gone. Both spots are probably about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. But we have been putting the cream on them and there are already some hairs growing back(: I don't really know how this new occurence affects her percentage of growing out of this but I will know after Friday. She is such a trooper about the whole thing. Before I could just rub the cream on and she was none the wiser. But now, she doesn't miss a thing and asks lots of questions. She will tell people that the hair is gone but that the medicine is working and it is already growing back. My kids bravery amazes me sometimes...we are very blessed!!

Big man has his MRI next Wednesday, May 6 at 7am. We have to be there at 6am...ugh! Please pray for him on this day. Each MRI gets tougher because he knows what is coming (the needle for sedation) and he gets very scared. He is a very brave boy but he is like his mommy when it comes to needles!! Everything else with his NF is going well. He does fantastic in school, hasn't had any new neurofibromas (he currently has 6 small ones), or any other painful signs/affects of the disease. He has lots of new cafe au lait spots but those don't mean anything(: I am very greatful to our sweet Heavenly Father for His constant protection of Joey in this disease.

That is it on the medical stuff. Please continue to lift up our sweet babies in prayer and i will keep you all posted with any new news. Now time for the fun stuff like pictures!!

Emi's personality...

Emily is certainly coming into her own. Her new found independence can be quite trying but her sense of humor is sooo entertaining(: She is such a little snuggle bug and is so smart I forget that she is only two. The other day we went to see our friends Noel, Cherie, and their sweet little baby Caleb. We met up at Chic Fil A since french fries and a playground are always a good combination for our family. Emily was playing in the playground and then ran out to find me. It was adorable because she just wanted to show me how big she was to be able to get out of there by herself. So I told how great it was and then she was off to go play again. Of course before she left she wanted a kiss. So I lean in to give my sweet little girl a smooch and right as I reached her little puckered lips, she stuck her tongue out and I kissed a big, slobbery tongue. I got grossed out and she thought that was the funniest thing ever. She then ran back to the playground. That's my girl!!

Fork Head....

Tonight I was lying in bed with Emi. She was very sweetly identifying the different parts of my face. She pointed to my forehead and said "Fork head." I giggled and said yes baby that is my Fore head. Then she started rubbing the top of my head and said "Spoon Head." Oh I laughed for a long time(: Now we are all calling each other Fork head and Spoon head! I am so thankful for my family and for these fun memories being made(:

Madi's Dinosaur Theory

Last night we were sitting down to dinner talking about our day. Madi started talking about how we all have bones in our bodys and if our skin was gone we would have nothing but bones...and that would really hurt. We all of course agreed that this would hurt. Then she very enthusiastically went on to say, "that's what happened to the dinosaurs. They couldn't find their skin so now they are just bones." Joey interjected quickly to let her know that that was not correct. Dinosaurs ran out of food and then died and went to heaven. Madi responded, "yeah, their skin is in Heaven now." What i would give to be able to see into those heads sometimes!! Ha ha!!

Joey's Blessing(:

Tonight at dinner Joey volunteered to say the blessing...it was adorable!

Dear God, Please protect the world from Venom, Doc Oc, the Green Goblin, and all the other bad guys. Please help me to have my spider man powers. Amen

I love that kid!!

Wonderful past few days(:

Last weekend Terry and I expected to have a rough weekend as we instituted new rule plans and consequences on the kiddos. However, we were pleasantly surprised to see what a wonderful weekend we have and how great this whole past week has been. It has been such a blessing to see my babies respond so well to this process as well as to one another. We have had more Joy in our home than we have experienced in quite some time. Thank you Jesus(:

There have been so many cute little things the kids have said lately (which they said cute stuff before but I think I was so annoyed in general I didn't appreciate them as much). They have just been making us laugh so much.

Example:

Joey made me read this TERRIBLE book he got from the library about COCK ROACHES! Um, I am more afraid of them than spiders (and thats saying alot!). It was full of pictures so everytime I turned the page and cringed Joey would just laugh and laugh! When we were done reading it, he started making up songs (just like Terry's grandpa used to). He began singing a song about a coach roach being on my cereal and me eating it...I threw up in my mouth a little! He is ALL boy! He was so proud at how badly it was grossing me out!!

Madi and I were walking down stairs and, of course, Emily had made a mess. I told Madi I didn't know what I was going to do with Emi (just joking). Madi looked at me and shrugged her shoulders and said "you could put her in a cage."

Emily is just adorable! Her new thing is to growl at people instead of saying hello. It is pretty darn funny. She is also so concerned if someone sneezes or says ow. She will look at you and so sweetly say, "What's wrong? Are you okay? Oh come here...you want me to kiss it." Then she kisses it.

Anyway, just wanted share and to say thank you for your prayers. They are making a difference in our family!!

"Those who fear the Lord are secure; He will be a refuge for their children."
~Proverbs 14:21

"A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body."
~Proverbs 14:30

That Crazy Leprachaun!!

Well once again that crazy Leprachaun came to our house! he comes every year and makes all kinds of mischief in our house. this year Joey had to make a trap for school to try and catch that silly Leprachaun. He was very smart and made it all shiny inside, had a robot with a string to pull the door shut once the leprachaun was in, and filled it full with Lucky charms (the leprachaun's favorite treat). Well, after the leprachaun rolled the house, put marshmellows everywhere, put chairs on top of the table, AND peed green into the toilets and left it, he climbed into the trap and ate all of the lucky charms. Unfortunately, he escaped from the trap. Ugh!

The kids could not believe what a mess he made. he even rolled their room while they were sleeping. Madi woke up and said "WHY DID HE COME INTO OUR ROOM, UGH!!" They were so funny. Emily woke up going on and on about what a mess it was. She thought it was gross too that there were marshmellows everywhere! HA! She kept saying, "Mommy, ewww Gross".

They all got their green on because they didn't want to get pinched(: Joey wore a green shirt AND his camaflouge green PJ pants. I asked him if he wanted to put on blue jeans (green PJs not working for me!). He just looked at me like I was crazy and said, "Mom, their not green." So i lost that battle before it even began(:

I was hoping that one of the kids would catch that silly leprachaun at school so he could come clean up the mess he made...no such luck! Oh well, there is always next year...

Very Special visitor :D

Today we had a very special visitor come to see us. My friend Nikki brought her 2 week old little boy, Carter, over to see us. The kid were so excited! They have been dieing to meet Carter. Carter was born on March 3 (a very special day), but had to stay in the NICU for about a week and a half. The kids were so excited. I think the hardest thing for me was seeing how big Emily, my baby, was compared to Carter. She was so sweet and gentle. Madi and Joey kept comparing how much bigger they were than Carter. Madi was holding her feet up to his and Joey was saying how his brain was bigger than Carter's.

A very sweet part of the visit was when Carter first got here and the kids gathered around to see him, Joey gently walked up to Bekah and placed his arm around her while they watched Carter. it was adorable(:

Madi's photographic skilz!!

Apparently, madi got a hold of my camera and took some pics today. It is actually impressive that she knows how to take a picture with this digital camera. I amvery proud of my blooming photographer so i thought i would share some of her wonderful shots(: Enjoy!

Game on!!

Joey and I got to enjoy a great day of fun and games at our awesome church. Kindergarten through 5th grade competed against one another in some fun games. We were all in our small groups (Steph and i co teach 3rd graders on Sunday's). We had so much fun and Joey and I wore our tattoos and shirts all day long.

Sweet faces:




Game faces:



Yeah, that's right...be afraid! HA!

Madi's school friend Burt comes for a visit...

Madi's preschool has a cute Teddy bear named Burt that goes from house to house each week to hang with the students family. Well last week Burt got to come hang at our house. He got lots of snuggle time with Madi, play doh and coloring time, and even got to enjoy a light saber fight with Joey and Madi (isn't he lucky!) Madi really enjoyed having a new friend here and she was very sad to see him go. but we got to journal about all of the fun memories they made together and then she got to share them with the class.

The Force is strong in our house!!

I couldn't resist putting these pictures up...it cracks me up and makes Terry very proud!

Ten years...and still going strong(:

I have to say that this was probably the best anniversary celebration so far. We are very blessed to have such amazing friends who made this beautiful anniversary possible. A few of the couples from our small group volunteered to take on an extra kiddo so that Terry and I could have a whole night ALONE at home! Emily got to go play at Grace and Anna's house, Madi went to Eden and Alex's house, and Joey spent the night with Bekah and Kate. They all had a blast with their friends. Thank you Steph and Shaun, Rachel and Mike, and Lisa and Justin for making this possible!!

The evening started out for me with beautiful flowers, a bottle of yummy wine and an amazingly sweet card.



Terry and I went to an AWESOME japanese haibaichi restaurante. It was fun and yummy and so stinkin' cool not to have to worry about hurrying home for the sitter.





After our amazing meal and free chopsticks(: we went to see Mall Cop. It was very funny. We haven't gone to a movie in long time so it was a very nice treat. It was also very cool to come home and the house still be picked up(:

We slept in the next morning until 9:30 and then went and grabbed some breakfast at the infamous Waffle House(: It was awesome! By this time, we were definitely missing our babies so it was time to bring them home!!

I am very thankful for the last 10 years and i can't wait to see what God does in the next 10!! I love you Ter bear and I wouldn't want to walk through this life with anyone but you Bay!

Blast from the past...Holy Cow!

Today an old highschool friend of my posted a picture from my senior year of highschool. Wow! Crazy! It was my senior prom...and it was terrible! Pretty dress, bad guy...eh, what are you gonna do!!

Madi's slumber party idea!

For some reason I have really been missing my dad lately. I never really know what triggers different feelings. Emily walked up to me holding a picture of my dad holding and talking to Joey. Joey was only a week old at the time. Madi and Joey both know about grandpa Gregg of course, but Emily is just kindof learning about him. She asked, "who's that". So I told her Grandpa Gregg and then started crying.

Anyway, later that same day we were all eating dinner and out of the blue Madi asked me where my Daddy was. I told her that he was in heaven with Jesus. She got a sad face and said she really missed him. Then she said, "When he gets undead can he spend the night with me?" I smiled and said, "Baby when we are in Heaven we can have a slumber every single night." She got the biggest smile on her face and started yelling YAY! It was adorable and I know made my Daddy smile!

I miss you Daddy...

Terry's 32nd birthday...woo hoo!!

Well, my sweet husband is 32 now. He definitely knew how loved he was when we finished with him(: He got a nice new watch that he is still trying to learn how to read time on...ha ha! His birthday was on a Tuesday so me, Madi, and Emi went and got him breakfast and balloons and suprised him at school. I love to see the smile on his face when we show up at school. He is a sweetheart and really enjoys to show off his family!!

Madi and Emily loved being there with Daddy. Emily of course fit right in with the eighth grade class that Terry was teaching. She went and sat in with the flutes:



And helped Daddy to conduct:



Madi, on the other hand, was quite shy:



We got Daddy two balloons. One was spongebob (Emily's favorite) and the other was a "happy birthday Handsome" balloon. Terry's students called him handsome all day! ha ha! I know baby...i love you too(:

Happy birthday sweet heart! We love you!!

So it's been a month...eh!!

Yeah, I know...I'm terrible! Life has been a little too crazy to sit down and have fun posting pictures. But now that I am watching Ghosthunter and drinking Starbucks, it's all good(: So first I will just catch everyone up on the big stuff. Joey's MRI was scheduled for Monday morning at 7am. Unfortunately, I bite and overslept. We were supposed to be there at 6am, but instead got there at 7am. We have to reschedule! Ugh!!

Madi had her second dentist appointment and did awesome! She was very brave and her teeth are beautiful. Emily had a blast running all around the dentist office...and I was pooped by 8:30am!

Emily had her urology appointment and was a very brave girl. She will stay on antibiotics for the bladder reflux for another year and then we will do the test again to see if she has outgrown this. I am also going to have her tested to see if she is mineral difficient since she is still very much enjoying non food items to eat(: I would have to say her favorite is probably a tie between dirt and rocks...

Now on to the fun blogs(:

Joey's Crazy Birthday Party!

Last Sunday was Joey's birthday and wow was it fun(: Apparently, Joey's friend Tracy has not stopped talking about it and keeps saying that it was the best party he's ever been to (this of course makes Joey quite proud!) Joey had his best friend Charlie spend the night Saturday night and on Sunday they decorated for the party. Charlie LOVES to decorate! We had all spongebob decorations and that made Emi quite happy (she is in love with spongebob).

His other buddies got there around 2pm. It was a small group which made it even more fun. We started with musical chairs and the boys just loved it. Joey and Sasha were the last two left but they kept sitting on the chair at the same time to tie. They were so sweet. Sasha said Joey won because he's the birthday boy(:






Next we did face painting. Thank you again Nikki(: The boys thought that was sooo cool to have their own personal face painter. Most of them got spider webs with a spider coming down their nose. Very cool!!



After that we started our games. We went outside to play the dizzy bat game where you run to one side, turn around 5 times with the bat and then run back to your team. It was hilarious. We were all so dizzy. I couldn't even make the full 5 turns and was about run into the side of the house...I hate getting old!





Next was the scavenger hunt. The clues were in hierglyphics so they would have to decipher them with the key I made. They were excited. With each clue you could see the intensity grow as they knew they were getting closer to the treasure. When they found their treasure, they also found their silly string....so began the silly string fight. Man, this was such a fun party!!!







In my opinion, the next activity was the most fun of the whole party! Everybody got a pie plate filled with whip cream....and got to throw them at Joey's daddy...ha ha ha!! The boys thought this was the coolest thing ever. And no one was to shy to walk right up and smash it in Terry's face(: Terry was a very good sport and I couldn't stop laughing!







Then we did balloon animals and finally we had our very yummy spongebob birthday cake. Joey had so much fun and certainly knew how very special he is. He got great presents from his buddies and was quite pooped after everyone left. He wants to have the same party next year(: Happy Birthday Buddy. We love you so very much!!!