The Jump-o-lene

Look what daddy bought?  A jumpolene! 

My first thought was, "This thing is HUGE!  "Where are we going to put it? 

 "Oh my goodness!  Oh my."

After my initial shock and seeing Joe's excitement in giving it and Tornado's joy in receiving it, my thought changed to, "Oh well, the kids will love it!!!  

Tornado saw it as something cool.  I saw it as an an enormous blow up planted right in the middle of our living room.  

But my concern quickly faded and nothing else mattered  because the look on my 2 year old's  face was priceless.  He couldn't wait to jump! 

AND JUMP AND JUMP AND JUMP!!!!!

Hope your day is the jump start to a great week. 

Tara

The sound of my home!!!

I didn't think that I would miss them as much as I did. 

It's good to have my two older children home and settled in.  They were gone for almost 2 weeks.  They went to church camp for five days and as soon as they got home from camp they left with their dad and Jennifer on a trip to Branson, Missouri. 

When they finally came home to stay, Tornado instantly began yapping.  

Boo started running around screaming.  

Our dog Copper went crazy, licking every leg in sight (which by the way drives me absolutely bananas). 

Every night we have family time where we pray, talk, and connect.  It felt good to have all of us in the circle.  All of us together again. 

My home is full again and so is my heart.  My home is loudly filled with, "Hey mom can I have a snack?"

"Mom whats for dinner?"

And, "Mom, what are we doing today?"

It's good to get a break from my usual house-load of noise, but it's oh so much better when they come home. 

Hope your day is full like mine. Hope that you pray, talk and connect with someone that you've missed. 

Have a blessed day. 

Tara

Father's Day

We celebrated Father's Day this past weekend.  We called it Happy Daddy Day.  Last year Joe's Father's Day gift was Boo. 

This year his gift was a clean garage and a new boom box to go in it. 

I also played a little joke on him.  You know those stickers that everyone has on the back of their vans of a stick family?   We joke back and forth about those and how I should get the stickers and put them on the back of my van. 

Well..................Joe thinks they are obnoxious and I think they are cute.  So I took it upon myself to get the stickers and put them up in garage above his tools.  Perfect spot!!!!

That's one of the many things I love about my Joe is his sense of humor.  Another, would have to be that he truly is an amazing daddy. 

There is a look that he gets on his face when he is watching our children that I can't describe. 

 
It's the look 0f ....... Love.  He loves them without condition.  I am in awe of my husband most all the time and he continues to inspire me to be a better mommy. 

Hope you celebrated a wonderful daddy like we did. 

Hope you have a blessed day! 

 Tara

He's 2.....She's 1....and I'm a little sad.

We finally celebrated Tornado's and Boo's birthdays.  They are 12 months 2 weeks 2 days and 2 minutes apart. 

Close enough to wear the same size diapers. 

Close enough to take baths together. 

Close enough to drink out of each others sippy cups and share binkys. 

Close enough to share birthday parties. 

Tornado's birthday is June 1st and Boo's is June 16th, so we celebrated right in the middle. It was a lot of fun.  Tornado kept saying Happy Birthday cakes....all day.  He loves cupcakes. 

We celebrated with family, friends, cupcakes, ice cream, pizza, noodle swords, and a water sponge fight. 

The kids had a blast, but momma was a little sad at the party.  

Okay, I was sad on the first day of school for my older two children too. 

Watching my children grow is beautiful.  But it seems as if every time I blink, another year passes.  WHERE DO THEY ALL GO??? 

I wish I could slow down time.  But I can't.  What I can do, though, is try super hard to live fully in each moment. 

Have a blessed day!!!! 

Tara

Pretzels

I'm not much of a cook. But I do love an easy recipe. I get sooooo excited. I follow each step hoping that it will come out just the way it supposed to. Sometimes my best cooking is when I just go with it. My hubby and kids love this fun simple little treat. So I wanted to share.........


1 bag of pretzels( I like to use the mini pretzels)
3/4 c of oil
1 pkg ranch dressing mix
1 tsp ground red cayenne pepper
1 tsp lemon pepper
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

mix ingredients together in a bowl and pour over pretzels....
I usually put my pretzels in a LARGE sack (like a produce bag) or a 2 gallon zip-loc baggie.

Turn and shake gently every 30 minutes or so.


This is the best part......NO BAKING........YUMMMMMMMMM

Enjoy!!! 
Have a blessed day! 

 Tara

Random Pictures of Fun Moments

B's turtle he found on the road in our neighborhood.  He was so excited!!  

We had to stop and save him.

Tornado with syrup in his hair and mascara on. He had pancakes and decided he wanted to see what the syrup felt like on top of his head.  STIFF BANGS.  Two minutes later he got into my mascara.  So cute!  Syrup and mascara....looks like they go great together to me.

We went to the Aquarium....I love this picture......my crew is bad to the bone.  

NOT REALLY!!!!

Ice cream......yummmmmy

 Boo's fat foot!! That's enough to make you say awwwwww.

Joe and I woke up one morning and this is what we found on the refrigerator. I love it!!!!

Hope that you all have a blessed day full of fun moments. 

 Tara

Wordy Wednesday

Read the three quotes below and choose one to intentionally make it part of your day.  

 Celebrate what you have accomplished

 Appreciate something of the arts

 Help Another

I hope your Wednesday is so much more than just the middle of your week.  I hope that the loss you are grieving will soon be filled with a joy you are celebrating.  I hope this day makes you giggle more than gripe.

Yaya

Our 5k run...........The Orphan Run

The Orphan Run sprung from the heart of a 14 year old boy after visiting Uganda on a mission trip. He was so taken back by the horrible living conditions of the Ugandan people that he wanted to help in any way he could.   And he did.

He organized a 5K run to raise money for orphan care in Uganda.  The recent run we participated in raised over one hundred thousand dollars.  I can't even tell you how many people attended. 

This was my second run and Sunshine and Little B's first. Sunshine is very competitive.  Little B just goes with the flow.  And I'm dead center. 

Before the race I told the kids that we had to get timers. That was all Sunshine needed to hear.  She was ready to fly after that. 

B kept asking, "Mom, can we just walk?" 

My goal was to finish and jog the whole thing. 

If you have not ever taken your children on a organized run ....seriously try it.  It was fun.  At one point we ran by a Sonic where B said, "Mom, can I get a cheeseburger?:     LOL

Sunshine passed us.  B was still walking, jogging, sprinting, and talking.  He told me that he was going to blast off when we were close to the finish line.  And he did.  We finished in 34 minutes. 

While I was running I couldn't help but think about what we were running for.  I thought about my sister and brother-in-law who are adopting a little orphan girl from China. We have been waiting for her for over a year now.  I can't wait to meet her, and make her hair bows, and watch her play with all her cousins at our family get-togethers. 

Although Cindy couldn't run in the race because of an injury,  I know that she is more than ready to run after the little girl who will soon be her own.

Have a blessed day!!!!! 

Tara

What About My Sister?

J.D and I have been trying to spend individual time with the kids. The last week of school we decided it was time for B to have a special day.  It was hard agreeing on who was going to deliver his surprise. I told JD that I would do it and JD said, "No problem.  I can handle it." 

We were like two kids, "I want to take him."  "No,no, let me take B."

J.D. won, deciding it would be a boys day out.

So he picked B up a little early from school with a huge surprise in mind....lunch anywhere of B's choosing, followed by AVENGER MOVIE IN 3-D.



B was so excited that he called me immediately after JD picked him up.  But one thing wasn't quite right ... one thing he couldn't get out of his little head. 

"Well, what about my sister??" B kept asking J.D. over and over. 


They went to Red Lobster for a yummy lunch.  B was nervous that his sister was missing out and that she might feel bad not to be included. 

They went to the movie and once again B mentioned that his sister was not there. 

They came home with a thousand things to share. B was on cloud nine, but I could tell he was nervous about telling his sister about his special day. 

Later, I asked him why he kept bringing up his older sister. He said, looking at me with his big brown eyes, "Because she's my sister and I love her very much.  It was fun but it would have been so much better if my sister had been there. 

UGH.  Seriously, my heart hit the floor. 

I hope you have a great day and that you share it with someone you love very much. 

 Tara

Boo Boo

I bought Boo's last can of formula a week or so ago.  I don't know if I should be sad.....

or jumping up and down celebrating.  She is getting big so fast.  She's now walking everywhere. 

She is our baby.....the last one.  She will be the last of them all. 
 

Boo's birthday is coming up fast - like in nine days.  She will only be one but time flies when your changing diapers, kissing owies, and wiping noses. 

When I realize how fast it goes, it makes my heart ache.  I'm already thinking about when they are all grown and out of the house. 


What the heck am I going to do.......??????  

Boo we always be our little princess.  So for now I will buy her whole milk and watch her do all her firsts instead of worrying about all of her lasts. 

Have the best day!!!!

 Tara

Today I want to honor and recognize my mom, Terry

Where do I start....?

I am so thankful for her: thankful for her prayers, for kissing my band aids and for believing in me.  

I am thankful for the nine months of pregnancy that she carried me and kept me alive.  I am thankful for every ball game she coached and for every meal she cooked.  

I am thankful for every tear she shed for me, thankful for her laugh (man, its a good one) - thankful for teaching me things when she wasn't even aware she was being a teacher. 

I am thankful for her curly hair because I now know how to handle my almost 12 year old daughters fro. 

I'm thankful for moms big blue eyes - 


 





both of my babies have them. 




I'm thankful for her ability to throw anything in a pot and have it come out of the oven smelling like heaven.  

I'm thankful for the southern way she talks.  I sound just liiiiike her. 

It's been two years since I have touched or held my momma's hand. But yesterday I was holding her close to my heart. 

Love you momma!!!! Hope your day was just as beautiful as you!!!

 Tara

Wordy Wednesday

Hello, Happy Wednesday!  

Choose one of the quotes below and apply it to your day...

I hope your day brings pleasure and your night brings peace.  It is good to be with you again.

Yaya

Letting Go

My oldest daughter had a science experiment due near the end of school before summer vacation.

It was a big part of her final science grade. She kept asking me, "Mom, what should I do? or, How do I do this???" 

I found myself all stressed out and trying to come up with an experiment for her.  NOT GOOD!!!
 
J.D. reminded me that she could do it on her own. My first thought was, "I know."

Then I thought, "If I know that she can do it on her own, then why am I stressed out over her experiment?" 

I needed to let go and let her do it.  Jeez....that was hard. 

But I did it.  I let her find her own experiment and from then on I became her cheerleader.

Silently I was praying that no matter what I would not jump in and help and that I would LET HER DO IT ALL ON HER OWN. 

She went upstairs to her room and 2 hours later came down pumped and soooo excited about what she had discovered.

She had decided to make a lava lamp.  She immediately went to work and she worked very hard. 

The day of her big presentation I took her to Starbucks. YUMMY!!! LOVE THAT PLACE (But I don't think that place loves my four rowdy children).  

We had coffee and chatted about the science experiment. She was extremely nervous about talking in front of the whole fifth grade. We got to school and set up her experiment. When it was time for me to leave, I could see that my daughter was confident and ready. 

But, I was a nervous wreck.  She was to present her experiment at 10 a.m.

I told her good luck and that I would be there after school to help her pack up.

That afternoon when I got back to the school I found her whole class standing in front of her experiment. 

She'd gotten 2nd place! I don't think I will ever forget the look on her face.  Although there was no sound, I heard her face screaming loud and clear, "MOM, I DID IT!"  

I thought, "You sure did. All by your self."

I realized that when I let go my daughter was able to step up and fly.  It was beautiful.  

We both learned something that day.  

Have the best day!!!!

 Tara