Friends...

One of the greatest blessings God placed on earth besides family, is friends! Somehow, He has seen fit to bless my life with many great friends and one of those is my cousin, Shauna. She and her family are here for the weekend and I thought that I would post some pictures of yesterday. I love you, Shauna! Thanks for our time together!!


Brooklyn & Kendra - We started out the morning swimming while the guys went up river.


Brittan & Zach playing cars together.


Best Friends makin' mud pies.


Painting each others toes.


Zach & Brittan - two peas in a pod.


John & Brook - you would think that after an entire day on the river they would be talked out. Not so with these two!!


Me & Shauna - trying to capture a picture with no children, impossible!!

Our Memorial Day

I love Memorial Day, it always seems to be the kick-off to summer bar-b-ques. Our friends from church and school, the Johnson's, invited us to come over to the Edge (the student center at our church here)to play sand volley ball with a few couples. At first I was a little hesitant because it has been years since I have played, but I decided not to let my pride get the best of me and away we went. There were four couples total(Thomas', Johnson's, Carr's, and us) so we played 4 on 4. Now I gotta tell you the truth, I am so bruised up this evening and my right hand is quite swollen and purple, but it was so worth it. We had blast and the weather couldn't have been more perfect for being outside. After playing for a couple of hours we headed over to the Youth Pastor's house for a wonderful bar-b-que and visiting. It was a fun day and this evening we are all exhausted. On the way home Brooklyn said, " Mommy, thank you for taking us to play with our friends in the sand. Can we go back another day?" I think that it was a hit.:) (I apologize that I didn't get more pictures, I was too pre-occupied!)



I brought along sand toys for the kids to play with, it was a huge hit!!


Ashley, Brooklyn, & Brittan cooling off with a popcicle from Pastor Steve.


Ready to eat.

Let Summer Begin!

Friday was Brooklyn's last day of school. They finished the year by having their annual 'Blessings Chapel' in which each and every child receives an award from their teacher, followed by an all school pizza picnic. Each teacher picks a theme and then awards accordingly. There were types of candy (ie, you make the class 'Snicker'), types of cereal (I get a kick out of your 'Trix'), and so on. It is original and adorable, but also ends the year for the kids, on a high note with them each one being acknowledged. Brooklyn's teacher, Mrs. Trigsted used Flip Flops. For Brooklyn she said, "I FLIP for your ability to: Show kindness to your friends while always wearing a matching hairbow." For those of you who don't know, it is a little joke between the moms at the school that Brooklyn ALWAYS wears a hairbow. I can't help it, I just love having a little girl to put bows in her hair. Brooklyn has worn a bow everyday since she has been born, whether we are going to town, to church, shopping, or to just play outside, she has a bow. I can't change now, almost six years and counting..., but for now bows and all, I say, let summer begin!!



Waiting for chapel to start. (and no I didn't let Brittan sit there.)


Brooklyn receiving her award.


The Whole Class


Brooklyn and her Flip Flops

We Lost a Tooth, But Found a Kitten...

Last weekend was not without a little drama, this time involving a little lost kitten and a loose front tooth. We/I were in a huge hurry to get to my parents on Friday evening. I needed to be there as quickly as possible so that I could iron clothes, bathe the kids, comb my hair and theirs, get them dressed, etc. As we rounded the corner on the back roads, Brook swerved to miss the car who had slammed on its brakes in front of us. We knew not why they acted in such haste until I saw a little black fur ball bound across the road in front of them and over to the side of the road by the sidewalk. Brook quickly pulled over as I told him what I had seen and asked me to get out and pick it up. Now, for me not being all that much of an animal lover this was difficult and I shuddered. I got out, ran over to the kitten, who was just a frightened as I was and quickly attempted to 'catch' it. It jumped as I reached down to pick it up, so then I jumped. I could hear laughter coming from the car, and not wanting to humiliate myself in front of the other cars who passed by, I made myself reach out again and grab the little thing with one hand. I am not sure who was more scared, me or it. I handed it to Brooklyn who was more than happy to oblige and then we looked for a house that it might belong to. To no avail. Brook was still laughing and asked me if I was scared of it, and although I wasn't to keen on the idea of being made fun of, I admitted that I was a little 'set off' by it, not sure what it would do to me, but not liking the fact that I had had to hold it. We hurried off, not finding an owner, but then I already knew, we had an owner!. She has brown eyes, brown curly hair, huge dimples and answers to the name, Brooklyn. I was not nearly as thrilled as she and her Dad were, but then those of you who know Brook know that he could never say no to his little girl.

We arrived later than I had planned at my parents house. I scurried off to wash my hands again, afraid that the wet wipes I had used in the car had not removed all the 'kitty germs', while Brook set about to finding this little creature a box and some food. He headed to Wal-Mart and I headed to the bathroom with my two little darlings. He arrived home with 'several' kitty items, and I prepared the children for the wedding. He is such a softy and I am definitely glad that both my children take after him in the animal department!! I'm sure I would have driven on by.

It is now nearly a week later, "Scuffy"(had a little scuff on it's head when we found it, so Poppy thought that it should be named this)who is now called "Tinker Bell" has been quite an experience for our family. After a visit to the Vet, sure to not be the last, we have discovered the following: she is most likely going to cost us several dollars in the end, she is only 4 weeks old, too young to be away from her mom, has to be fed with a syringe, can't be handled very much(who likes to just sit and look at a kitten, especially when you are 5 years old!), she cries in the night & Brook has to get up to feed her, she is borderline sick because of her age & separation from her mommy(the Vet says that these type of animals make the best memories and pets for little children because they grow dependent on you, I think he is crazy!), and lastly, we are STUCK with it!!!! Is it any wonder that I don't care for animals?

Now as to the other part of my story, Brooklyn battled all weekend with a loose front tooth and finally Saturday, Mommy was successful in getting it to fall out. Brooklyn was thrilled and I might add, looks adorable with only one front tooth. This shall only last a short spell, the other one is loose too. And yes, the Tooth Fairy did find us in Nampa, so yet another sigh of satisfaction came from my little toothless wonder.:):)She LOVES her Tooth Fairy!


One happy little girl & one scared kitten!



Brooklyn taking the kitten for a ride, before we knew it wasn't supposed to be held.


Mommy attempting to pull the tooth...


And it's out!

A Friday Night Wedding

This last Friday evening a cousin from my Dad's side was getting married and we wanted to be there to share in their day with them and to see my family whom we haven't been with or seen for over 6 weeks. Since Brooklyn had school we had her go for a couple of hours that morning and then picked her up a little early in order to be in Nampa on time. It was a little bit of a stress on me to think that I had 3 people to get ready in less than an hour, but we made it and had a wonderful time seeing people that we hadn't seen in simply years. It was a beautiful wedding and I was so glad that we made the effort to be there. Congratulations, Dorae and Jeff! We wish you all God's very best in your new life together!


The front of the church.


Brooklyn has been dying to see 'Baby Keaton'


My Mom, Me, Brittan, & Brook just enjoying being together!! (not loving how the shoulder of the lady behind me looks like I have some huge hair piece)


Brooklyn & the Bride


Mindy, The Bride, & Chera


Cousins playing Ring-Around-the-Rosie.


Brittan was wanting that cake!!!


Unbeknownst to me he snuck a bite...


and a little more...


Totally Delicious!!


Brittan sharing his cars with other children who had had enough of the wedding celebrations. :)


Chera, Dorae, & Mindy showing off the slippers that were in our gift basket to her for her bridal shower. Her feet were worn out from the long day!

Photographs From My Mother's Day Weekend...

We did things a little differently this year, we decided to go to Spokane for the weekend with some of our friends from Brooklyn's school who have a little girl in her same class, Ashley. We first met the Bett's at the Ice Cream Social at the first of the year and just like our little girls, we have formed a very fun friendship.

Aaron & Sharleen went up early Friday morning and we met them that evening at Chuck E. Cheese. It was Brittan's first time there and he LOVED it!!! The girls had fun playing all the games and occasionally riding on a little ride, but Brittan, he just rode! We let them play for hours and then headed to our motel to spend a couple of hours in the pool. Despite a blip with Brittan in the pool, the kids had a total blast and crashed in bed late that night.

We all slept in Saturday morning and then headed for River Park Square where we spent the entire day enjoying the many attractions that they have there and exploring all around. (I could have stayed for days just shopping, but that wasn't the point of the trip. But we will return soon and shopping is going to be a must!!) It was a fun weekend, the kids couldn't have had more fun and as much as I love to cook, it was wonderful to have the weekend off. It was indeed a Happy Mother's Day!


Brittan and the 'Main Man' - Chuck E. Cheese.


Brittan's favorite ride of the night, Scoop.


Brooklyn & Ashley riding on the Fire Engine.


Swimming at the motel = FUN!!



The Carasouel


Waiting for the train...


Playing princess on the train ride.


Brittan loved "Thomas"


Leaving the park.


The reason I LOVE being a mother!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Today I want to honor my very own Mother, who without a doubt is at the top of the "Best Mother's In the World" list! So many times we wait until someone is gone to let everyone know how wonderful they were and that is nice, but how much more wonderful to let that person and everyone else around them know while they have their whole life left in front of them!

I grew up with a Mother that truly loved her children, they were first and foremost in her life, next to her relationship with Christ. It was very common to wake up and find my mom on her knees, Bible by her side, praying for her little family or whatever else she might have on her mind and heart. My mother is always kind and thougthful. She always had/has time for her children. Her words were soft, yet wise. She never yelled or be-rated us, disciplined when necessary, did everything within her own power to make sure that we knew we were loved, cared for, prayed for, special, and instilled within us values that I still hold dear today. She taught me the value of hard work, the value of a good name, the value of kind words, the value of family, the value of Godly character, the value of a deep and meaningful relationship with Christ, the value of total purity, the value of a true friend, the value of being real, the value of honesty, the value of your word, the value of others, the value of good choices, the value of time well spent, the value of showing others you care, the value of good principles, the value of a budget, the value of being a good homemaker, and that time spent with your children is like having money in the bank. My mom cared, truly cared, and still does!

She has not only devoted her life to her children, but to others children as well. She gave of her time, devotion, and energy each and every Sunday to lead the children at church in children's worship. And she was good!!! But more importantly the children KNEW that Aunt Cheryl LOVED them!!! Children's Worship wasn't something mundane and boring, it was fun and exciting and the kids were sad to see her take a break! I think that she still has several years left to give in that department, but do understand wanting a break for now. But hurry back mom, the kids miss you!

At the young age of 33, my mom lost her own dear mother to cancer. It was perhaps the most devestating event in her life, but she lived on. She kept a smile on her face and a spring in her step. She didn't hole up, hide away from her friends and family, and cease to live, no, she forged ahead, placing her own hurt aside and living for her husband and children, those who needed her most. I am just a couple months shy of being the exact age my mother was when she lost her mom and I can't even begin to imagine how lost and alone I would feel without her. Who would I turn to for guidance, for complete acceptance, for unconditional love, for un-wavering friendship, to pray for and with me? My Mom no longer had that, but bitterness was never a factor for her. She continued on and my Grandma would be so proud!!! She became who my Grandma raised her to be, what God planned & desired for her to be, and who I am so blessed to call my Mom, my dearest and best friend!

I love you, Mom! Words cannot begin to express the love that I hold for you in my heart. I am endeavoring to follow in your footsteps, to make you proud of me, to be what God would have me to be, and to be what you raised me to me. Thank you for all the love, support, guideance, prayers, time, energy, and friendship, etc. you have given to me. Happy Mother's Day to you. For now and always, I am in-debted to you!
I love you dearly!