Merry Christmas

MerryChristmas

I wanted to share some pictures from our holiday.

Our Christmas tree.

The girls received one of their presents early!!

I am happy to report that we have no broken bones....YET!!

Rhonda and Mark traditionally host our family Christmas and this year was no exception!!

Lauryn and her Daddy and the new babydoll that poops and pees and cries when it is not happy!!

Rhonda wants to know if she can return it......heeheehee!

The intense gamers!!

Cuddlin' cousins!!

Taylor settles in for movie time!!!

Merry Christmas to all....and a Happy New Year too!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is the holiday that we traditionally host at our home.

We have been doing it for the last several years and it is something that Mark and I look forward to every year.

Not only do we celebrate turkey day but also the birth of our second turkey, Madison. The year that Madison was born, the 26th was Thanksgiving day. So it has become a tradition to celebrate on that day even if it is not her exact birthday. This year we were blessed to have my entire extended family with us. So, 8 adults and 9 children gathered around our dinner table and it was all we had hoped it would be.

The 9 grandchildren.

I saw a T-shirt at the mall the other day.

It had the letters DADD on the front. It stood for Dads Against Daughters Dating. I think we will probably have three of those club members in our family. From the looks of it, we are going to have our hands full when it comes to the teenage years.

Lauryn and Allison took some time out of their day to spend some special time with Mariyah.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Happy Birthday Madison

Hard to believe it has been over ten years since this photo was taken. My little sister and I were due 1 month apart, her with her first child and me with my second.

Hard to believe it has been 10 years since Mark and I experienced the birth of our second beautiful daughter, Madison Lynn.

Madison was due on her Nina Wolford's birthday, November 28th, but decided she wanted to come in time for Thanksgiving. So at 12:23pm, Thanksgiving Day, she arrived, just in time for lunch.

When her big sister arrived at the hospital that evening, I heard her say "where is my baby sister" as she was coming down the hallway. She was very proud!

I wish they had that closeness now but maybe someday that will change.

Because Madison's birthday was so close to her Nina Wolfords, they celebrated together every year.

Their first Christmas together, Tristin and Madison.

Happy 10th Birthday Madison.

Mariyah

Last Sunday I got to spend some quality time with my newest niece, Mariyah, in the nursery. Luckily, I had my camera along to capture a few precious moments.

Me and Mariyah.

Yummy fingers!!!

Ain't she precious?!

My "baby", Allison, sang a solo at church. She sang "I miss you" in honor of her Nina Wolford, who would have celebrated her 70th birthday on November 28th.

Science fair

Science fair

This past week, the middle school hosted a science fair for our school district. Madison has a new found love of science. She is also a huge animal lover. Her lack of fear with certain creatures amazed me, and scared me a little.

Madison and a snake.

Madison and the turtle.

And, another snake.

Allison got in on a little bit of the fun, reluctantly.

For my brother..

I have never been a huge sports fan. My little brother, on the other hand, has always loved the Philadelphia Phillies. I will always remember hearing those Phillies games playing on his clock radio. We did not have TV growing up so he listened to all of the games on his radio. I do not remember when the Phillies won their last World Series, but he does, 1980.

So, tonight, my brother got to see his team win. I called him right afterwards and he was riding high. I am excited for him. He has been a die hard fan and has never once wavered in that. So this World Series win, I will never forget.

So, congratulations little brother and congrats to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Happy Birthday my love.

Today is my husband's 39th birthday....For real. One more year until the big 40. He said he did not want to celebrate anymore but that just ain't happening. He used to tell his Mom that but she always made it a point to call and sing to him. It is on days like this that we miss her even more than normal.

Last week Mark was diagnosed with Diabetes so the past week has been especially tough on him. So it is my turn to take on the "in sickness and in health" part of my oath.

So, Happy Birthday baby.

Happy Birthday Colden

On to birthday number 3 for October.

Colden James entered this world after his Mom was at the hospital for 18 minutes. I was blessed to be there for his birth and will never forget that day. I remember sitting in the rocking chair after he was born, and just being amazed with the speed he entered this crazy world. He came in with a bang and has been going non-stop ever since.

He was the second grandchild, and the first boy. Needless to say, tractors have been in his life for as long as he can remember. It is a bond that will be forever strong between him and his Dad, and him and his Grandpa Walizer.

Memorial Day parade, 2008.

He has his Grandpa's love for tractors, but his Grandma's blue eyes. He is gonna be a heartbreaker.

Happy 10th birthday buddy!!!

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary

15 years....

Hard to believe that 15 years ago today, Mark and I said our I do's....

We were talking the other night about how quickly the years have gone by. We have been through a lot. Our married life has not been an easy one but it has wonderful rewards.

We have tested the "good times and bad" and the "sickness and health" pretty frequently. If you had told me 15 years ago that I would spend six weeks away from him fighting to get my life back, I would have called you crazy. Yet it happened. He was there for me all the way. I will never forget the one phone call home when I told him that I just could not do it anymore. I wanted to stop the treatments because I could not handle the pain. He gave me a good pep talk and pushed me to finish. It was hard to leave him and the girls, but he was strong enough for the both of us when I did not even have the strength to climb a flight of stairs.

Thank you baby for standing by me, in sickness and in health, good times and bad.

Happy Anniversary.

Happy Birthday Tater...

So, October is a busy birthday month for our family.

Taylor is celebrating her 6th birthday today. We celebrated on Sunday with an October birthday party for the 3 birthday kids.

Colden Tristin Taylor

All children are a miracle, but Taylor is our special miracle child. Taylor was born with two very rare conditions. The first was a total situs inversus, which means that her internal organs are all reversed. She likes to tease the doctor when she goes for her check-up. She tells him that when she says the Pledge of Allegiance, she puts her hand on the opposite side.

The second condition that she was born with, was an abnormality with the greater vessels of her heart. Because her organs were reversed, her heart turned an extra quarter turn, and the vessels of her heart connected incorrectly.

She will never now how special she is to us. We had a direct line to heaven during those first couple of weeks. We still say a prayer every year when she goes for her check-up.

When Taylor was born, her grandmother asked her big sister Lauryn what the baby's name was and she replied "Tater." She could not say Taylor very well.

The name has stuck.

Happy Birthday Tater bug.

13....Already?!

October 1st

The memories of this day will forever be burned into my memory. Tristin Elizabeth entered our world and hearts after 12 hours of labor and 20 minutes of pushing. I will never forget her Daddy's reaaction when he sat and held his daughter for the first time. Her eyes were such a deep shade of dark brown that they looked black. "She has your eyes" he said with tears in his eyes.

I will never forget her Uncle Jeff's reaction....Wow, look at all that hair.

Tristin was the first grandchild on both sides of the family, so she was spoiled, as you can imagine.

Happy 13th Birthday to my beautiful daughter.