My dad, with all bias aside, is truly a great man. He and my mom separated when I was 8, and I did only get to spend time with him here and there, not his fault but just the way things were due to many different reasons. Eventually when I turned 21 I was able to spend loads of time with him and am so thankful for that. Not just that I got to spend that time with him but that I got to do it as an adult (in making). It was during this time I realized how much I am like him in many ways. This is a good thing as far as I am concerned (most of the time!).
It is very hard being so far away from him, but I understand that this is life and the way it is, hopefully just for now. I do pray that one day my kids will be able to spend more time with him and see what a great Papaw they have. I know he would be such a positive influence in their lives.
I really can say I do not know anyone like my dad. He is so smart about so many things and is kind and generous and loving. To this day as a mother and wife and almost 30, I still look to my dad for advice. I WANT his opinion, I value and trust it.
I love you dad, and thank you for being who you are:)
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
The New Baby
Ahhhh...the new baby. A very unexpected surprise. This baby will be born within days of James' 1st birthday. Ryan will be in school, along with Kolton and I plan to have Jacob in a day care maybe for a couple days a week. This will lighten the load a bit during the days and Jeremy will be here in the evenings and he has always been a tremendous help with the boys.
Many people keep saying that maybe this one will be a girl. Some of me hopes so but the rest of me knows we'll need to change our living arraignments a few years down the road. Either way, I know with God's help, we'll make it work space wise. Really, space is my only concern (besides college down the road). We already have 4 kids, I figure one more will not change things that much but just give us one person to love :)
The boys are already excited which makes things so much easier on Jeremy and I. I love how much they all love each other and can not wait for things like Christmas 25 years from now when we have all 5 of our kids and possibly some daughter in laws and grandkids all running around. I am glad to know that these boys and their new sibling will always have each other, even when Jeremy and I are gone.
Strangely enough, I never wanted kids...LOL. I think God had different plans for me wouldn't you say?!? I could never imagine my life without anyone of them. They all complete my life. I miss them terribly when they go spend the night with mamaw and papaw (they will have their own post here soon), even though I know how much fun they have and how good John and Hazel are to them. Sometimes I think although Jeremy likes us to have a evening alone ( I do too), he'd rather have the kids here because all I do is worry about them when they are gone!
But, back to the new addition....I plan to post updates as soon as my doc appointments start. I have been blessed this time around so far with little to no nausea or sickness. I leave out "morning" because it was never one part of the day for me. This really helps since I have a 5 month old to care for. It's true I love to feel the baby grow and move around inside my belly, but ( and please forgive me if I offend) I really do not enjoy pregnancy. It is very hard on my body. I spend most of it sick with colds and viral infections and ear infections and aches and pains and headaches and I could go on but I wont. However, the end result is more than worth it:) I suppose that's good for now. This new baby will have several of his or her own post as he or she grows, stayed tuned for this.
Many people keep saying that maybe this one will be a girl. Some of me hopes so but the rest of me knows we'll need to change our living arraignments a few years down the road. Either way, I know with God's help, we'll make it work space wise. Really, space is my only concern (besides college down the road). We already have 4 kids, I figure one more will not change things that much but just give us one person to love :)
The boys are already excited which makes things so much easier on Jeremy and I. I love how much they all love each other and can not wait for things like Christmas 25 years from now when we have all 5 of our kids and possibly some daughter in laws and grandkids all running around. I am glad to know that these boys and their new sibling will always have each other, even when Jeremy and I are gone.
Strangely enough, I never wanted kids...LOL. I think God had different plans for me wouldn't you say?!? I could never imagine my life without anyone of them. They all complete my life. I miss them terribly when they go spend the night with mamaw and papaw (they will have their own post here soon), even though I know how much fun they have and how good John and Hazel are to them. Sometimes I think although Jeremy likes us to have a evening alone ( I do too), he'd rather have the kids here because all I do is worry about them when they are gone!
But, back to the new addition....I plan to post updates as soon as my doc appointments start. I have been blessed this time around so far with little to no nausea or sickness. I leave out "morning" because it was never one part of the day for me. This really helps since I have a 5 month old to care for. It's true I love to feel the baby grow and move around inside my belly, but ( and please forgive me if I offend) I really do not enjoy pregnancy. It is very hard on my body. I spend most of it sick with colds and viral infections and ear infections and aches and pains and headaches and I could go on but I wont. However, the end result is more than worth it:) I suppose that's good for now. This new baby will have several of his or her own post as he or she grows, stayed tuned for this.
Monday, April 28, 2008
James
James will be 6 months old on May 13th. He is a wonderful happy baby...now. The poor thing spent the first month and a half of his life with untreated acid reflux. He cried all the time and never wante to lay down, spit up A LOT, acted hungry but didn't eat without crying. When we called his PCP they said to try a certain formula for colic. This didn't work and actually made it worse. I decided something was wrong with him. I knew his cry was a pain cry, not just from colic. When we took him into his doc, she was on leave for awhile and we got her fill in. We will NEVER see her again. She treated me like an over tired, over worked mom of 3 kids and a new baby. She chalked it up to colic and me over worrying and acted like I didn't know what I was talking about. But, I just new something was wrong. After 2 weeks with Christmas in the middle of it, i took him back to see his regular PCP. I told her his symptoms, and that I believed he had acid reflux. Praise God she listened! James was put on 2 different meds and has been like a completley different baby. This just goes to show you, if you think something is wrong with your kid, your most likely right and keep persisting until someone takes you seriously.
At 5.5 months James rolls both ways and rolls all over the living room and kitchen. He can walk in his walker forwards and backwards. He laughs and always smiles at everyone. He loves mashed potatoes, and all kinds of baby food. He is very long for his age, wearing 9-12 month clothing. He is a terrific sleeper, goes to bed on his own and rarely cries. We put him down at around 8, feed him at 11 and I don't see him again until 6-7 in the morning.
The sitting up on his own is a work in progress, he'll do it for a few seconds then laughs and falls over to the side. He will reach for Jeremy and practically fall out of my arms to get to him. He also does the same for John, Jeremy's dad. James is very much a daddy's boy. It is very sweet.
We changed a lot of our baby parenting with James and it seems to have helped him to flourish already and not be so "clingy" to his mommy:)
I am looking forward to the next 6 months and all the changes he will go through. I will absolutly be posting on those changes as they come.
At 5.5 months James rolls both ways and rolls all over the living room and kitchen. He can walk in his walker forwards and backwards. He laughs and always smiles at everyone. He loves mashed potatoes, and all kinds of baby food. He is very long for his age, wearing 9-12 month clothing. He is a terrific sleeper, goes to bed on his own and rarely cries. We put him down at around 8, feed him at 11 and I don't see him again until 6-7 in the morning.
The sitting up on his own is a work in progress, he'll do it for a few seconds then laughs and falls over to the side. He will reach for Jeremy and practically fall out of my arms to get to him. He also does the same for John, Jeremy's dad. James is very much a daddy's boy. It is very sweet.
We changed a lot of our baby parenting with James and it seems to have helped him to flourish already and not be so "clingy" to his mommy:)
I am looking forward to the next 6 months and all the changes he will go through. I will absolutly be posting on those changes as they come.
Jacob
Jacob is 3. He is pretty. I know he is a boy but that is the best word to describe what he looks like...pretty. He is also smart and very funny. Like Kolton, when he laughs a real laugh it is such a belly laugh and it makes you want to giggle too (Ryan just screams). He likes to play fight too much and can be mean sometimes to his brothers...Ryan calls him a bully! I do see future principal office visits in his future, but it's a part of him and I love all of him very much. I am just hoping with some guidance (a nicer word for discipline in this case) he'll grow out of it:)
Jacob never really baby talked all that much and when he was 18 months old and could only say "dada" yet understood everything we were saying, I decided it was time to do something about it. My PCP told me to wait until he was 2 but I am so glad I didn't because that would have been another 6 months without speech therapy, and instead of being delayed about 6months to 1 year now, he would be worse off. Jacob is now at a point where people outside our family can pretty much understand most of what he says. There are times (rare ones) that I do not understand what he is saying. In these cases I tell him to slow down and try again. This usually helps.
I am praying that by the time he starts school in about 18 months that he will be completely understandable. His speech therapist did say to expect some learning disabilities in reading and writing.
I am almost sure Jacob has OCD like his mommy. It shows itself in several funny ways with the classic being that I have to make sure his nap time blanket is perfect when he is going to take a nap. It has to be straight on all sides, no creases, no folds or he gets upset. It doesn't matter what the blanket looks like if he is just laying around with it, only when he is taking a nap. I am also a bit worried that this will affect him when it comes time to go to school as far as his current routine goes.
Right now, he is trying to write his name and has learned to count to 10 and we are practicing ABC's. Like I said he is delayed, but we are working on things and he has come so far, he keeps learning more and more and I am very proud of him.
Okay, I have decided after reading my posts, I need to use the spell check that's here. No more missing letters. Stayed tuned for the James post.
Jacob never really baby talked all that much and when he was 18 months old and could only say "dada" yet understood everything we were saying, I decided it was time to do something about it. My PCP told me to wait until he was 2 but I am so glad I didn't because that would have been another 6 months without speech therapy, and instead of being delayed about 6months to 1 year now, he would be worse off. Jacob is now at a point where people outside our family can pretty much understand most of what he says. There are times (rare ones) that I do not understand what he is saying. In these cases I tell him to slow down and try again. This usually helps.
I am praying that by the time he starts school in about 18 months that he will be completely understandable. His speech therapist did say to expect some learning disabilities in reading and writing.
I am almost sure Jacob has OCD like his mommy. It shows itself in several funny ways with the classic being that I have to make sure his nap time blanket is perfect when he is going to take a nap. It has to be straight on all sides, no creases, no folds or he gets upset. It doesn't matter what the blanket looks like if he is just laying around with it, only when he is taking a nap. I am also a bit worried that this will affect him when it comes time to go to school as far as his current routine goes.
Right now, he is trying to write his name and has learned to count to 10 and we are practicing ABC's. Like I said he is delayed, but we are working on things and he has come so far, he keeps learning more and more and I am very proud of him.
Okay, I have decided after reading my posts, I need to use the spell check that's here. No more missing letters. Stayed tuned for the James post.
Ryan
My first born Ryan is a character. He can be so sweet and loving, but boy can he argue! He needs to be a lawyer when he grows up. He always has to have the last word, or tries to anyway. He is also very smart like his big brother.
In a few months, Ryan will be starting kindergarten. We went to an orientation and they 2 kind. teachers took the kids to their classes to do some stuff while the parents listened and talked to other teachers. There were other kids crying about going and some kids didn't even go. But, there was my Ryan, proud to go with the teacher. He was such a big little man. He had a great time with his teachers. He is ready, I on the other hand am not! I know he will be just fine but it's going to take me a minute to get my heart to understand that.
Ryan is also a handsome guy and funny and loves his baby brother to pieces. He is also very excited about the new baby that is on his or her way. Everyday he tells my belly "I love you baby". How cute is that?!? When he was asked by one of his teachers at church if he wanted a sister or another brother, he said to her "it's in God's hands". Talk about melt you heart. For 5 he is very understadning about God and Jesus and recently accepted Christ as Lord and Savior. I wouldn't be surprised if he does this again later in life and gets it (if he didn't actually get it this time), but that's okay as long as he gets it right if he hasn't already, but only God knows for sure. I don't take full credit for this. He has wonderful grandparents and teachers at church who have helped him to learn about Christ. I thank God for these people because they are helping us to mold our children (Kolton is also saved, I forgot to mention in his post).
I know God holds wonderful things for Ryan too. I can't wait to see him play with his own children one day.
He is a round little guy, and has a completely different body type than his dad and brothers. Sorry Ryan, you got mommies genes! But he is still too cute and I am sure he will grow out of his round little belly :)
Ryan is also a talker. Talk talk talk, I believe sometimes he just wants to hear himself talk! He loves to talk on the phone with his granny (my mom). He'll talk her ear off about 3 times a week for an hour sometimes, but granny eats it up! He talks so much I am worried he will get into trouble when he starts school. Already, he gets himself into trouble because he doesn't know when to just stop. When it's happening, it's frustrating but when you sit back and think about it, it's rather funny.
On another topic, for those of you reading this blog...help! Can you suggest baby boy names that do not start with "J". We are having a hard time coming up with a name. We have settled on Edward as a middle name. If you have any ideas please leave post them here, thanks :)
In a few months, Ryan will be starting kindergarten. We went to an orientation and they 2 kind. teachers took the kids to their classes to do some stuff while the parents listened and talked to other teachers. There were other kids crying about going and some kids didn't even go. But, there was my Ryan, proud to go with the teacher. He was such a big little man. He had a great time with his teachers. He is ready, I on the other hand am not! I know he will be just fine but it's going to take me a minute to get my heart to understand that.
Ryan is also a handsome guy and funny and loves his baby brother to pieces. He is also very excited about the new baby that is on his or her way. Everyday he tells my belly "I love you baby". How cute is that?!? When he was asked by one of his teachers at church if he wanted a sister or another brother, he said to her "it's in God's hands". Talk about melt you heart. For 5 he is very understadning about God and Jesus and recently accepted Christ as Lord and Savior. I wouldn't be surprised if he does this again later in life and gets it (if he didn't actually get it this time), but that's okay as long as he gets it right if he hasn't already, but only God knows for sure. I don't take full credit for this. He has wonderful grandparents and teachers at church who have helped him to learn about Christ. I thank God for these people because they are helping us to mold our children (Kolton is also saved, I forgot to mention in his post).
I know God holds wonderful things for Ryan too. I can't wait to see him play with his own children one day.
He is a round little guy, and has a completely different body type than his dad and brothers. Sorry Ryan, you got mommies genes! But he is still too cute and I am sure he will grow out of his round little belly :)
Ryan is also a talker. Talk talk talk, I believe sometimes he just wants to hear himself talk! He loves to talk on the phone with his granny (my mom). He'll talk her ear off about 3 times a week for an hour sometimes, but granny eats it up! He talks so much I am worried he will get into trouble when he starts school. Already, he gets himself into trouble because he doesn't know when to just stop. When it's happening, it's frustrating but when you sit back and think about it, it's rather funny.
On another topic, for those of you reading this blog...help! Can you suggest baby boy names that do not start with "J". We are having a hard time coming up with a name. We have settled on Edward as a middle name. If you have any ideas please leave post them here, thanks :)
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Kolton
If you have not read my other posts, scroll down, this will explain this post and some nore to come.
Kolton is my 9 year old step son. I really detest calling him that because I look at him as though he is my son, although I do have respect for the fact that I am not his mom and actually, his mom is a close friend of mine whom I love dearly.
I have been in his life since he was 18 months old, and am ashamed to say the first 1.5 years or so, I was not the person he needed me to be. I do not believe he remembers that but I do and it hurts me to this day.
Kolton is next to genius. He is so smart about all kinds of things and he has been accepted into a alpha program in school starting next year for creative and intelligent children. We are very proud of him and his accomlishments and he's only 9!
Kolton is a great big brother to our other boys (although siblings will be siblings). He is so loving and caring to everyone. He can be quite a lot of the times, but when you get him to laugh, his real laugh, it comes straight from his belly and it's infectious! He is the next best thing since french fries as far as his younger brothers are concerned (they don't like bread).
He is respectful and kind and handsome. I can't wait to see the great things ahead for him. I can't wait to watch him grow into a man and eventually a husband and father, he is going to be a great dad I think.
I know it is tough sometimes for him being the older brother (his next oldest brother is 4 years younger). But he does a good job and I just keep reminding him of all the things he'll get to do first in life because he is the oldest.
As with our other kids, I pray we do right by him and help him grow into the man God wants him to be.
Come back soon for more posts dedicated to the rest of my growing family.
Kolton is my 9 year old step son. I really detest calling him that because I look at him as though he is my son, although I do have respect for the fact that I am not his mom and actually, his mom is a close friend of mine whom I love dearly.
I have been in his life since he was 18 months old, and am ashamed to say the first 1.5 years or so, I was not the person he needed me to be. I do not believe he remembers that but I do and it hurts me to this day.
Kolton is next to genius. He is so smart about all kinds of things and he has been accepted into a alpha program in school starting next year for creative and intelligent children. We are very proud of him and his accomlishments and he's only 9!
Kolton is a great big brother to our other boys (although siblings will be siblings). He is so loving and caring to everyone. He can be quite a lot of the times, but when you get him to laugh, his real laugh, it comes straight from his belly and it's infectious! He is the next best thing since french fries as far as his younger brothers are concerned (they don't like bread).
He is respectful and kind and handsome. I can't wait to see the great things ahead for him. I can't wait to watch him grow into a man and eventually a husband and father, he is going to be a great dad I think.
I know it is tough sometimes for him being the older brother (his next oldest brother is 4 years younger). But he does a good job and I just keep reminding him of all the things he'll get to do first in life because he is the oldest.
As with our other kids, I pray we do right by him and help him grow into the man God wants him to be.
Come back soon for more posts dedicated to the rest of my growing family.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Yet again, another link
Apraxia kids is a great site for just that, kids with Apraixa of speech. My 3 year old has apraxia. His speech was (and still is slightly) delayed considerably. With an early intervention program through DHHS, we were able to be set up with speech therapy through a company of our choice. The one we choose led us to Jennifer, a wonderful speech therapist who finally put a name to Jacob's issue. This site will help you determine if your child possibly has apraxia.
Another Link
The Hoskins Missionary team is a family of 5 Americans who have travelled to Brazil to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They are a great family and have other links to share on their website. If missionary work interests you, check this out.
Jeremy
Okay, so I thought it would be good to dedicate a seperate post for each of my guys, and valentine (sex of new baby yet to be determined so for now we will call him or her "valentine" because he or she was concieved in Feb., along with 2 of my other boys!).
This one is as titled, for my husband.
Jeremy is ( I believe anyway) who God wanted me to marry and spend the rest of my life with. He and I have been through A LOT since we started dating almost 7 years ago. We both lived a very undesirable life filled with drugs and hurting ourselves and those we love. After getting in trouble with the law and me becoming pregnant with our first child, we changed our lives for the better. Life got even more complicated when Jeremy fell out of a tree (he is a tree trimmer) while I was 6 months preganat with Ryan (my first born). Although a tough time, It worked for good, because it got us into church and brought Jeremy's parents and myself to a place where we could get to know each other better. Things have been looking up from there. We never turned back to our old life and to this day still continue to grow in our new life with each other, with our kids and of course with God.
Although he can make me madder than a hornet, Jeremy is also the only person to ever make me laugh as hard as he does. He can bring a smile to my face with just a look and we have an uncanny way of thinking the exact same thing at the exact same time. Like I said, we have been through some tough stuff, I am so glad I went through it all with him. I thank God for him and all he's brought to my life, including 2 great parental in laws. There are things they taught their son that show today in his life and the way he fathers our kids and the way he treats me. They did a great job and I am thankful for that.
I look so forward to the next many decades as Jeremy's wife and mother of his children. I know God's future for us holds many great things and I am sure it holds bumps in the road too. However I truly believe that with God, Jeremy, myself and our family can get through anything.
Thank you Jeremy for being such a loving husband and a terrific dad.
This one is as titled, for my husband.
Jeremy is ( I believe anyway) who God wanted me to marry and spend the rest of my life with. He and I have been through A LOT since we started dating almost 7 years ago. We both lived a very undesirable life filled with drugs and hurting ourselves and those we love. After getting in trouble with the law and me becoming pregnant with our first child, we changed our lives for the better. Life got even more complicated when Jeremy fell out of a tree (he is a tree trimmer) while I was 6 months preganat with Ryan (my first born). Although a tough time, It worked for good, because it got us into church and brought Jeremy's parents and myself to a place where we could get to know each other better. Things have been looking up from there. We never turned back to our old life and to this day still continue to grow in our new life with each other, with our kids and of course with God.
Although he can make me madder than a hornet, Jeremy is also the only person to ever make me laugh as hard as he does. He can bring a smile to my face with just a look and we have an uncanny way of thinking the exact same thing at the exact same time. Like I said, we have been through some tough stuff, I am so glad I went through it all with him. I thank God for him and all he's brought to my life, including 2 great parental in laws. There are things they taught their son that show today in his life and the way he fathers our kids and the way he treats me. They did a great job and I am thankful for that.
I look so forward to the next many decades as Jeremy's wife and mother of his children. I know God's future for us holds many great things and I am sure it holds bumps in the road too. However I truly believe that with God, Jeremy, myself and our family can get through anything.
Thank you Jeremy for being such a loving husband and a terrific dad.
My links
I have added a link to another blog. I was turned to it by a friend and haven't been able to leave it alone. This is an awesome blog by an awesome Christian husband and father. Their story is an amazing tribute to the love God has for us and the many ways He shows it. Be prepared, if you check it out, you will want to keep following it! Enjoy.
Intro
So, this is an introduction to my life. I am 28, a wife to an awesome husband, Jeremy. I have a 9 yr. old step son Kolton and 3 boys, Ryan 5, Jacob 3, James 5 months and a baby on the way! I was born and raised in Toronto Canada and came to Arkansas to spend my 21st birthday with some family. While here, I met Jeremy and well, I never left.
In the past 6.5 years of living here, I have found a relationship with God and claimed Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. My church, Holly Springs Baptist is home to my extended family whom I love dearly. Both my parents live in Canada which is tough at times, because it saddens me that they do not get to experience the growing of my children. However, my husband and I always say, if we were to change anything, nothing would be the same. I do not regret anything about being so far away from home, becuase if I wasn't, I wouldn't have this great fmaily that I have.
So, I thought I would start this blog as a way for my family to stay up to date with me and mine.
The pics above are all my guys. Youngest to oldest, James, Jacob, Ryan, Kolton and Jeremy.
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