I wanta Hippopotamus for Christmas........

Only a Hippopotamus will do!

Well...she doesn't really want a hippo for christmas because I asked her and she looked at me like I was crazy and said "I don't want a hippo for christmas!"

But she did get to dance to that song for her recital and she did fabulous! She was looking to the side the entire time at the girl behind the curtain doing the routine but she did it and I am soooo super proud of my little princess.

Her hair all done up in a bun.

And of course we had flowers for her and what else.......well a hippo of course!

This was the winter recital and the first one for the dance studio, she has only been open for 2 years now and it turned out great. Tumbling and Hip Hop weren't in this recital because they have so much more to learn but Katelin will be in two dances in June and Rylie will have a hip hop routine in June.

Dance, Dance, Dance

The girls had "watch week" at their dance studio this past week so parents got to sit in the room and watch the entire class. These girls of mine have some talent and I am so proud of them.

Katelin has tiny toes on Monday which is pretty much an intro to ballet, she really enjoys it.

Here are more pics from her tiny toes class.....

Then on Wednesdays she goes to tumbling, Miss Karly is her teacher for both classes. She is the owner of the studio and it is an awsome place and Katelin just loves Miss Karly. She does really well with tumbling, she can do a bridge on her own and foward rolls and all kinds of other cool things.

Then on Wednesday nights I take Rylie to hip hop and she loves it. She was a little nervous at first because she has a boy teacher...OMG! But he does a great job and she really enjoys working with him.

Oh where, oh where....

could Elfy be??? Oh where, oh where could he be????

I mentioned Elfy in my last post....well he is our new Elf on the Shelf. How did he come to be a part of our family??? Well....Santa sent him, of course!

You see....the kids came home from school one day and found this.....

on our front porch!

It had a letter from the big guy himself......

You see Elfy is here all day to keep an eye on how the kids are behaving, he has magical powers and at night when they are sound asleep he comes to life and flys to the North Pole to give Santa a report. Every morning when they wake up they find Elfy in a new spot. They enjoy finding him every morning and it really helps get them up and out of bed.

And let me tell you they take Elfy very seriously. One rule is you do not touch Elfy or he will lose his magical powers. Well one day he fell from the spot he was in and I went to pick him up and put him back, Katelin as serious as can be said "Mama you can't touch him, he will lose his magic powers", so I explained if he falls it is okay for Mommy to just put him back real fast. And Owen wanted to stay up and watch him all night one night so he could try and see him fly away. Even Rylie gets excited to find him each morning.

So that is how Elfy became a part of our family and I look foward to lots of fond memories with him over the years!!!!

It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas......

all around my house!

It actually has been for a while now but I am just now finding time to share it with you!

The Countdowns have begun:

The Stockings are hung:

The gifts are wrapped and under the tree (notice how bare the bottom half of the tree is well.....that is due to a certain adorable yet onery 1 year old who lives in our house): 

I even decorated my little metal tree: 

The nativity is out (I still have a few pieces I need to get to complete the set) but I love my nativity set: 

We have our outside lights up:

I took pictures for the xmas card, they are ordered and on there way to my house: 

We decorated some xmas treats: 

They had a lot of fun.... 

and they did a great job....

and then they got to eat some of what they made.... 

Well Evan didn't decorate but he hung out with us the whole time.... 

We also have a new member to our family....his name is Elfy and I will tell you more about him real soon!

My mom and I went out on black friday, we left around 8 pm and got home about 5:45 am....crazy, huh?
We did get some great deals and it's just kind of a fun thing we like to go do and we always stop at IHOP and it is always the best tasting breakfast ever! We pretty much got everything we went for except for one of the bigger items but didn't really think I would get it so not a big deal. The next 2 weeks is just going to be going to look at xmas lights, baking, watching movies, visiting Santa and just enjoying the season.

What my Kiddos are grateful for.........

I asked my kiddos to tell me what they are most grateful for and this is what they said............

My family, turkey, God, Me (meaning herself...she is a confident child and I love that about her), Cayenne (our blue heeler), Johnny(our kitty), parents, Jesus, having a family that supports me, little xmas tree(she got her own little tree for her room), tooth brushes to keep our teeth clean, clothes, teachers because they help you learn and school because that is where we learn at.

Family, Cayenne, Evan (he is very happy he got a little brother), Johnny, christmas, birthdays, school, teachers, food, God because he made food , clothes, beds, underwear (yeah....I don't know either!), water, animals,light, light bulbs( I think at this point he thought he just needed to keep thinking of things).

Katelin is thankful for.....everyone and that's all!

I'm going to speak on Evan's behalf....he is thankful for Mama, Dada, Grammy, his bubbie and his sissies, milk, his ba ba, his toys, hugs and kisses and drinks with straws (because he really really loves those).

I know I did all of mine in my last post but just one more shout out to my babies.....I am so thankful to have these remarkable kiddos call me Mama. And I am so proud of them for the things they are thankful for, I did not probe them just asked them to tell me what they are thankful for and I think they have great list.....no mention of their toys and all of the material things they have but they, even at their ages, realize what is really important in life!



Happy Thanksgiving!

So a lot of people have been on FB posting something they are thankful for each day....I thought about doing it but I did not so........I decided I would post on here things that I am thankful for, these aren't in any particular order but here are 25 things.....1 for each day of November leading up to Thanksgiving.

1. My 4 incredible, beautiful healthy children....I was the kid who spent my entire childhood dreaming of the day I would be a mommy and I always wanted lots of kiddos and I have been blessed 4 times over and it's more incredible than I had ever imagined.

2. My husband....I am truly married to my best friend, the most wonderful, big hearted man I have ever known. He brings so much laughter and love into my life and I am forever greatful for him.

3. My mom....she is always there for me no matter what and has given up so much to do for her kids. I am very lucky to not only call her my mom but to also call her my friend!

4. Matthew, Cheston and Jakee....I wish we saw them more and I wish I had been a better stepmom when they lived with us. I'm greatful when we do get to see them and that the kids have older siblings to look up to.

5. Our home....our dream was to live in the country and while it is not my "dream home" it has been a great home and a great place to live. We have 4 acres for our kids to play and explore. A dead end gravel road with very little traffic and  a warm and safe roof over our heads. I will truly miss it when we move on from here.

6. My kids school...I love our school district and the people in it. Coming from another school district that was not so great, I so appreciate all that they do for our kids.

7. Olathe Tree Service...Chet leaving his greedy boss he worked for for 19 years and embarking on our own business was the best move we could have ever made. Definitely some growing pains but so much more peace of mind.

8. Cheryl (Chet's Mom)....while she wasn't always the ideal mom, I am greatful I had a chance to know her and to be able to know the good in her. And I am also greatful that she thought of her boys with her life insurance....without the money she left behind, our business would not be what it is today so thank you Cheryl.... RIP.....we love you!

9. My Friends....I have been blessed to remain friends with the girls I met in 2nd grade and I love them all and I have met many new friends since then and you are all an essential part to my life and my sanity so thank you for being you! Mandy, Natalie, Monica, Amy, Kristin, Angie.....Love you all!!!

10. The laughter of my children....is there really any better sound in this world?!?!?

11. Chets family....while we don't see then nearly enough we love them all dearly...Chester, Doris, Stephen, Daniel and Alison, Nathan and Chris and Michelle.

12. My nieces and nephews....we have 6 nieces, 4 nephews and 1 great nephew and I enjoy every opportunity I have to spend with each and every one of them.

13. Money...we don't have an over abundance of it but we have enough and for that I am greatful.

14. My Ford Expedition....I did my time as a mini van mom and I am so glad to not be that any more.

15. Fertility....I am obviously blessed in that area and I have never taken that for granted....I can't imagine how hard it must be not to be able to start a family and I cherish the fact that I was able to easily have my babies.

16. A baby that is a perfect sleeper.....finally! I didn't do tough love so well so we ended up with kids in our bed a lot. I toughened up a little the 4th time around and he sleeps "like a baby" every night.

17. My video monitor.....it gives me such peace of mind since my baby is not in my room with me.

18. My handy man husband....he is a jack of all trades, if something is broke he can fix it. It saves us money and time not having to wait for someone.

19. Food....I wish I liked it just a little bit less but am greatful to always have plenty to feed my family. We try to eat together at the table every night and for that I am also greatful.

20. Modern technology....all the connections i've made on FB are incredible and would otherwise never have happened. The security of always having a cell phone on hand. The world at your fingertips via the internet. It's almost hard to believe that just 50 years ago none of it existed.

21. Our Military.....for all that they are and all that they do. They are heroes in my book... Thank You!

22. To all of our other heroes....doctors, nurses, teachers, police, medics, firefighters, volunteers and lets not forget all the moms and dads (or those raising someones elses kids as their own) who are good and loving to their children (most are but sadly too many are not) and to all the hard working good people who make this country and this world mostly an incredible place!


23. To be an american....something so often taken for granted, we have so much just by being american.

24. God... I am not someone who group up with organized religion but I have a deep deep faith and belief in God and I feel His prescence in my life daily and I am eternally greatful for all He has blessed me with.

25. My Life....I am truly truly blessed in so many ways, I have a happy life, happy marraige and happy children.....what more could one ask for.

And the reasons life has been sooo busy.....

Reason #1.......Dance

Katelin all ready for dance class!

 These are from her first class back in September, she has been going 2 mornings a week....one is tiny toes (sort of an intro to ballet) and the other in tumbling. She just loves Miss Karly and she has so much fun.
Rylie is also in hip hop one night a week and she seems to enjoy it, I haven't got any pics yet bus as soon as they have a watch week I will get some!

Reason #2......Football

I am so proud of Owen, he started out not really getting into the football...just sort of spacing out on the field. I asked Chet if he thought Owen understood how to play so he asked Owen and he didn't. Once Chet sat down with him and explained offense and defense and what he's supposed to do....he made a huge improvement on the field. I don't know if football will be his sport or not, he seems to really have an interest in basketball, he shoots hoops all the time on our goal and he is really good. I just signed him up and that will be starting soon.

 Reason # 3....Volleyball

This was Rylie's second year at volleyball. She didn't get on Abby's team so I wasn't sure if she would stick with it at first but she did and I am so proud of her. She is an incredible server and has made so may points for her team....one game I think she scored 13 points and their last game she scored the winning point! She had an awesome coach this year and towards the end she really started interacting more with her teammates, it takes her time but she does come out of her shell.

Being goofy with her team!

Rylie also is involved in singing missles and has to be at school by 7:30 two mornings a week (which is not easy for her, she is such a grouch in the am), they sang at their school musical and get to sing at the mayor's xmas tree lighting. She really enjoys it.