Kidds of the King

Jody is DONE...He Graduated!!!!!

2010-09-22T15:14:00.002-04:00

We had a lot of food, fun, fellowship and swimming!
Said he could not have done it without his friends, family and God

Delicious Cake!

5 Months Old

2010-09-22T14:56:00.002-04:00

Kinsey was so sick that she fell asleep in the chair...if you know kinsey, you know this NEVER happens!
I love this view!
Caden wanted to take a picture.
Kaitlyn is 5 months old! Where does the time go. She is such a sweet heart. Always happy and loves to laugh at Caden.
She does not like to get stuck on her stomach though!

A great Day at the Zoo with my Monkeys!

2010-08-07T22:30:00.003-04:00

The tigers were pacing from one fence in the back to the fence in front of us.
I think it is cute that both boys are looking at the bear.

Say "Cheese"

It was so neat! The bear got in the water and it looked like he was taking a bath. The kids loved it.
Caden and Kinsey loved the fountains!
We had a blast at the zoo with friends.

Kaitlyn 4 months old

2010-08-03T22:41:00.002-04:00

She likes to look up at you while she is in your lap. She talks just to hear herself and she is soooooo sweet! Almost always smiling or chewing on her fingers and she is a thumb sucker just like her sister.
Caden is so good with Kaitlyn. He will play with her and he likes to make her laugh!

I absolutely love her rolls. The other 2 didn't have any rolls at all so I love to rub on her legs and squeeze on her legs.

Swimming at Jackson's Bday party!

2010-08-03T22:28:00.001-04:00

Kinsey

2010-08-03T22:15:00.005-04:00

This girl is so funny. I love it when she looks up with her eyes like she is not listening or knows she is in trouble.
Crazy...she is fearless. Unlike her brother who is cautious about everything, Kinsey has no fear and will probably try anything at least once.
She is becoming such a good swimmer
She was being very quiet in her room one day so I went to check on her and she was sitting in the chair and had set this up. She was drinking from one of the cups. oh, so cute!!!
She loves her "lovey" and her thumb.

4th of July

2010-08-03T22:05:00.003-04:00

We had a great 4th of July. We went to the church picnic at a beach in Jupiter then went to a friends house to watch the fireworks.

My sweet girls!
Having a blast in the bounce house!

Caden's Birthday

2010-07-06T08:44:00.002-04:00

My baby is 4!!!! Caden had a great birthday. We just had his cousins, Jeff, Sandi, Mimi, Pop Pop, Grammie and Papa and Lauren and Madison. We swam in our community pool and then came back to the house for pizza and cupcakes.

Mimi and PopPop got Caden a "new" bike!

Enjoying pizza and cheetos!

Kaitlyn is 3 Months Old

2010-06-07T22:40:00.003-04:00

She is such a sweet little girl. She loves to smile at anyone and anything. She is trying to talk now but hasn't quite got it yet. She is a happy baby almost all the time. She absolutely loves to watch the kids and enjoys smiling at them and trying to talk to them. She really likes to see Caden.

The Girls are Back

2010-06-07T22:23:00.005-04:00

I had to post this one from the beach...she is just too cute!

I just love her eyes. She talks with her eyes so much. She makes all kinds of faces using her eyes.

He will probably kill me one day but I have to show this picture. This is how he goes number 2. He sits on the seat like a frog because says "the toyet is too coewd." (the toilet is too cold)

We are so happy to have the girls back. I took some time off after having Kaitlyn but we are now back into the swing of things and the kids love it!

Totally Kinsey, she lives in her own world where she is definitely in charge.

The Beach

2010-06-07T22:08:00.002-04:00

We went to the beach a couple weeks ago and had a blast. The kids loved playing with daddy in the sand. Caden liked going in the water with daddy but Kinsey kept saying "no" the whole time. Kinsey loves the water and is not afraid in pools or at Dubois but the beach is a little scary for her.

Just chillin in the shade.

Some things from May

2010-06-07T21:44:00.004-04:00

oh, how I love this picture. My sweet Kaitlyn found her hands!!! And now she loves to look at them. She also loves to suck her thumb just like her sister.

This is the butterfly Grammie got the kids from butterfly world. It was just a cacoon and then one day there was a butterfly inside the cup.

My two girls. What a blessed mom I am.

She started holding up her head.

Kaitlyn is 2 Months

2010-05-10T21:54:00.005-04:00

Oh, how I love these kids!!! Never did I realize how wonderfully awesome it would be to be a mom. And to be the mom to these 3 is amazing!!!!

2 months old. 12lbs 8oz our biggest baby yet. Oh I just love her rolls

Trying to get them all to sit for a picture...Kinsey was having none of that!

~So sweet~

A few words from Caden and Kinsey

2010-04-21T14:22:00.004-04:00

Caden likes to talk and says the funniest things. Here are some things he has said lately:
"Barefoot is when bears don't have any shoes."
"Mom, it's a computer, it doesn't talk"
"The other day I got my text on"
"Sounds like a plan"
"Here's the deal"
"You hurt my feelings" (usually said when we are telling him no)
"You see..." (used when he is trying to explain something)
"You see mom..."
Pugix = Publix
Muscick = music
He has to have water at night. Likes to ride his scooter, his sisters, tackling daddy and digging in the dirt and LOVES to go to Grammies!!! He hates even a wet drop on his shirt. His absolute favorite breakfast...blueberry pancakes!

Kinsey now will say just about any word you tell her to way. Here are a few new ones:
dry, wet, water, bird, eat, snack, milk, Caden, brother
She loves to say "mmmmmm" while she is eating. She loves to wash her hands and play outside and does not like coming back inside! She loves to tackle her daddy and brother. Climbing on anything she can is also one of her favorite things to do!

Cousin time!!!

2010-04-20T15:35:00.001-04:00

1 month old

2010-04-20T15:12:00.003-04:00

I love this little girl. She is growing so much. She loves to watch and talk to Caden. And she tolerates Kinsey poking at her. She has just started smiling now at 6 weeks. She likes to look at things and study them. She sleeps good at night. She wakes up to eat and then goes back to sleep. We enjoy having her in our family.

Easter

2010-04-20T14:52:00.003-04:00

we had a fun time dying eggs!

We were all very sick before and during Easter. So it was pretty uneventful. But Grammie did give me some eggs to fill with stickers and I had candy already so that was about it. But they did not care. It was eat this year becuase I could tell Caden why we celebrate Easter and he understood. He may not understand it all but he will one day. He likes to tell his sisters about Jesus, which is just so sweet.

Life with 3

2010-04-20T14:35:00.003-04:00

Oh! She is just too cute...so beautiful.

Caden is such a swet big brother. He likes to teach her about the world and about Jesus. He tells her about heaven and that God lives there. And that Jesus can live in our hearts. He also introduced her to his friend Kinsey...he is so funny. He likes to read to her and show her books. he likes to just go up to her and kiss her and hug her. Yesterday he said to her, "When I think of mommy I think of you."

I think I have this same picture for each child. She did not like the first bath.

Caden put the cows just like that so Jody had to take a picture.

My four loves!!! I love all the bracelets on Kinsey, that is so her. And Caden putting the passey in Kaitlyn's mouth, that is so him.

"So Pretty"

2010-03-13T13:10:00.002-05:00

Papa and Kaitlyn

Our biggest baby yet!

So Pretty!

Caden is so sweet to her. He likes to read to her, kiss her, dance for her, give her toys and comfort her when she cries.

Welcome Kaitlyn, we love you so much!

Kaitlyn Elizabeth Kidd

2010-03-13T12:36:00.003-05:00

Introducing:

Kaitlyn Elizabeth Kidd born on March 7, 2010 at 3:37pm. 7 lbs. 10 oz. 19 1/2 ", blue eyes and dark brown hair. We are so in love with her!!!

In a Big Girl Car Seat

2010-01-15T08:52:00.003-05:00

Kinsey is now 14 and a half months and finally ready for a big gir car seat. I thought she would love it. So for her first ride we went down to their cousins in Ft. Lauderdale, a 45 minute ride. Caden has always been great in the car, so no worries right. Well, half way down she lost it. She wanted to get out. But I guess she has to learn to sit in her seat. I don't really think it was the seat though. She does not like to sit still and she will let you know if she does not like something. I think she just wanted to get out. But we made it and had a wonderful time. She almost lost it on the way home but I gave her Caden's sacred Woody toy and all was well. (He was asleep and did not know she had it.)

A Few Words

2010-01-14T07:55:00.005-05:00

A few things Caden says now.

"Mom, let me tell you something..." usually followed by what he thinks needs to happen or telling on someone.

"I was thinkin 'bout..."

"I decided..."

I love our conversations in the car. I usually do not turn on the radio and we just talk. It is so interesting what he thinks about and talks about.

He sais her instead of she and he calls Lauren, Wauren and he calls Kinsey "pretty." When you ask him what the baby's name will be he says "so pretty."

He spilled his milk one morning a couple days ago and said "Houston, we have a problem."

He loves to ask at the dinner table or in the car, "So, how was your day?" He is definitely a creature of habbit. Not forgetting that we had popcorn when we played the Wii for the first time so now we have to have popcorn everytime we play it. He has to read books every night.

He loves to play with his blocks and trucks set that his cousin got him, likes Woody and Buzz, and loves to dress up like a cowboy especially at Grammie's house. He says the funniest things I wish I would remember to right them all down.

Kinsey has also been saying a few words...Please, more, shoe, uh-oh, ni-night, milk, Papa, baby, book, ball, Mama, Dada, bye-buy, all done and walk. She has been signing words like thank you, more, milk, please, bath, drink, and all done. She goes not stop until nap time or bed time and has already thrown quite a few fits which are actually funny to see because she is so little. But we will have to work on that so it does not get wose, ha, ha. She likes to pull up my shirt and touch my belly and say "baby" and give it a kiss, it's so precious. She also loves to tackle her dad and brother! She is happy and alert from the moment she wakes up and thinks she is one of the big kids. She definitely knows what she wants and what she does not want. She shakes her head with a confident no if she does not want it. Her favorite things: her thumb and her pink "lovey."

And as for baby #3, no we do not have a name. She is quite active but not as much as Kinsey was. The pregnancy has been wonderful!!! Praise the Lord. I feel so blessed to have such terrific kids and a fantastic husband. Jody, by the way starts 2 more classes next week which will leave him with about 8 more to go. So party in the fall when he is finished. I am so proud of him!!

Lazy Sunday Fun

2010-01-03T20:00:00.002-05:00

We did nothing but go to church today, hang out and make smores, next post. So here are a few pics. of today.
Kinsey likes her car to ride but likes even more to stand up on it. In fact she likes to climb and stand on just abut anything.

Caden likes his new dress up from Grammie and Papa. And a belly picture...almost 31 weeks. One more dress up. He really liked the sword that came with this pirate dress up.

Smores Please

2010-01-03T19:43:00.003-05:00

I love smores!!! So we decided to have a cook out and do smores, it just happened to be this past weekend when it was cold. But it actually made it even better to sit around the fire and roast the marshmellows in the cold. The bottom 3 pictures are of the fish fry and fire we had. The first two pictures are of us having smores inside. Jody had to work the night of the fish fry so we decided to have smores with daddy inside...it was really cold outside tonight so we stayed inside to have our smores. Caden loves to roast the marshmellows but is not into eating them or the smores.

Christmas #2

2010-01-02T14:59:00.002-05:00

We are also blessed to be able to spend Christmas with Jody's side of the family down in Ft. Lauderdale.
We played outside alot. Jody tried to help Caden ride Jackson's bike but after a quick ride he was onto something else.
Caden had a blast with his cousins!

And a belly shot for those of you who asked to see it.

Christmas Fun

2010-01-02T14:46:00.003-05:00

We had a wonderful Christmas celebrating our Savior Jesus' birth. Christmas Eve we went to Grammie and Papa's after the Christmas Eve service. We ate dinner and then exchanged a few gifts. Grammie put a nativity set in the center of the table and Caden stared at it and then named all the people. I think we will do that every year.
Kinsey liked her drum set with this flute. She knew how to blow it right away.

By far the winning gift was this Woody doll from Uncle Justin. Caden would not put it down and opened the rest of his gifts with one hand while holding Woody in the other. Any time he opened a gift he would show the gift to Woody and then give Woody and others in the room a high five.

Kinsey with her new toy computer. She loves anything that makes music.

Dressed up for the Christmas Eve service.

Kinsey and the Vaccum

2009-12-15T08:21:00.004-05:00

Kinsey is scared of the vaccum so we caught it on video while we have been cleaning and organizing their rooms. Enjoy...

Birthday Party #2

2009-11-30T13:51:00.003-05:00

Party #2 at Grammie and Papa's house.
The girls playing in the playhouse outside.

Caden was so tired by the end of the night and Kinsey was not sure what to do.

Good cupcake!

Opening presents with Daddy We had a family party on Thanksgiving since Kinsey's birthday was the day before. Caden was so excited to see his cousins and was running around like a wild man. I think he was just excited to play with a boy, his cousin Jackson.

By the end of the night the kids had had enough.

Kinsey loved the icing on the bumble bee hive cake I made her. She did not want any of the cake. She would throw the cake pieces on the floor and just eat the icing.

Mmmmm. Delicious!!!

A bee cake for a very busy bee.

12 Months Old

2009-11-30T13:35:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday Kinsey! I can't believe my baby girl is one already. She is so much fun.

Mmmm...that's what she says when she is eating something really good. She liked the iceing.

This was party number one. Just a small party with one of her friends and the girls I watch.

Good morning birthday girl!

11 Months Old

2009-11-30T13:32:00.001-05:00

She is so beautiful! She is so happy and always smiling. She has so much energy and keeps us on our toes.

We love you "pretty girl."

Construction Worker and Bumble Bee

2009-11-30T13:20:00.002-05:00

I am a little behind on the posts lately. We have been busy but doing great. Here are a few pics. from October.
Carving a pumpkin

My construction worker and BUSY bumble bee.

Fun with Cousins

2009-10-24T21:07:00.002-04:00

Even though Jody's sister, husband and kids live in Ft. Lauderdale, we don't get to see them near as often as we would like. We got together last weekend and the kids had a blast with each other.

The Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-24T20:48:00.003-04:00

My attempt at taking a picture of both of them.

She had a great time. She liked carrying the pumpkins around.

Kinsey kept walking away. She did not want to stand still.

What a handsome boy!

This is so much fun!!!

Baby #3???

2009-10-08T15:14:00.003-04:00

I thought we would let Caden and Kinsey tell you.

10 Months Old

2009-10-03T08:52:00.002-04:00

Spaghetti...Mmmmmmm

Oh, she is just so precious!!! She has 8 teeth now, loves tackling the other kids, loves to give them hugs, and loves to listen to any toy with music. She holds it to her ear and rocks back and forth. She is so active and likes to be on the move. She stopped eating baby food by about 8 1/2 months. Once she tried real food, she has never wanted to go back to baby food. So she just eats whatever we eat. Like her brother, she is a great eater. She is very social and thinks she is just one of the big kids. Seh loves it when they play with her and include her in what they are playing. She is a wonderful blessing from God!

Kinsey is Walking!

2009-10-03T08:40:00.003-04:00

I took this video not this past week but the week before. She is doing great! She started standing around nin months on her own and started walking just before 10 months.

Blueberry Pancakes and More

2009-09-20T21:19:00.003-04:00

They love each other so much.

So this is the outfit Caden picked out to go to Publix with Grammie!!!

We love our blueberry pancakes!!! When Caden spends the night at Grammie and PaPa's they have blueberry pancakes also. Well, the last time he was there Grammie tred to give him pancakes without blueberries!!! He did not want anything to do with that. He wanted his BLUEBERRY pancakes.

Kinsey really loves them!

Her First Steps

2009-09-20T21:09:00.003-04:00

Kinsey started standing and balancing on her own. She also has taken her first steps. I just happen to be video taping her while she was standing on her own and got her taking 2 of her first steps.

The friend in the Mirror

2009-09-05T10:01:00.003-04:00

Here is Kinsey playing with her "friend" in the mirror. It is probably more funny to us than it will be to you. I just love how Caden is laughing so hard at her.

The last months

2009-09-05T09:50:00.002-04:00

Here are a few pics from the last month or so.
Why I am so busy...Lauren is now in school...we miss her!

We had to say good-bye to Bella. She was such a good dog and we miss her so much but I think she is at a home that can give her more attention than we could.

Daddy and Caden doing the dishes.

She loves the bath. When I make her hair crazy like this, Caden always likes to put it back down.

Having all his friends over for a play date. What fun!!!

A little behind

2009-09-05T09:31:00.004-04:00

I can't believe I have not posted in so long. It has been crazy busy and I don't think life is going to slow down any time soon. I have morning, well all day sickness for the past about 8 weeks due to this new surprise we have coming in March. But, praise the Lord, I am pretty much over the sickness at week 13! I have been watching a few more kids so I don't have time during the day or night really to update. So I will try to update you as best I can.

I missed Kinsey's post for 8 months. She had already started crawling and pulling herself up. By nine months she has been cruising along the furniture. Between 8 and 9 months I started giving her table food and she has decided she no longer wants baby food. She eats anything like her brother. She is bright and always on the move. Caden needs his time to wake up but Kinsey, you walk in the room when she is dead asleep, she wakes up, jumps right up with a big smile and is ready to go. She loves to play with Caden, give him kisses and tackle him. He is so good with her and is enjoying her so much. Caden is a great big brother. He is now into spider man, although I am not sure where he heard of him but he likes to be a super hero. I guess with all these girls around him he needs to show his masculin side.

Kinsey is Crawling

2009-07-21T09:07:00.004-04:00

That's right folks. In one week Kinsey has learned to crawl and pull herself up to stand at the table in the living room. She is a busy girl. Still always smiling and still loves playing with her brother.

The Best Book I Never Bought

2009-07-19T22:22:00.000-04:00

This past Friday Christa and I got the opportunity to go on a date (which doesn’t happen very often). But thanks to her mom (who is awesome) she said she could come and watch the kids. So, off we went! We decided we would just grab a bite to eat at a Mexican restaurant in Jupiter. When we arrived there was a 20 minute wait until we could be seated. After processing this information we figured it would be this long of a wait no matter where we went, so we put our name in and decided to head several doors down to Books-a-Million. I really enjoy book stores so the wait was actually a bonus. As usual I head straight to the “religious” section to see if there were any new titles or any books on sale. I picked up a book about different translations and began to skim through it. After putting the book down I noticed that they had several copies of pocket size ESV Bibles (which I have been wanting for some time now). I checked the price and began to rationalize/justify why I should buy one. I also looked at the price of the previous book and began to do the same. The price of the Bible and books were “in my justified” price range so I began to really rationalize why I needed one or both of them. It was at this point Christa popped her head around the corner and reminded me that we needed to head back. Realizing it would take too long to buy anything I put the books down and we headed back to the restaurant. On the way back I began to put my plan into action after we ate on how I would come back and buy at least the Bible (I mean after all it’s the Bible, what is wrong with buying that?).

After we sat down we began munching on the delicious chips and salsa while sipping on some of the best tap water this side of the Mississippi (ok, not really but that sounded really catchy and I always have wanted to say that). My mind began to think about my soon to be purchase when God began to speak to me. Do I really need another Bible? Psalm 23 says, “The LORD is my shepherd I shall not want…” It was at this point I realized that I spend more time chasing after things that I want rather than being content with what God has given me. Maybe instead of wanting “another” Bible I should read one of the four I already have on a regular basis! Or maybe I should take the money I was going to buy the Bible with and give it to someone who really needs either the money or the Bible? Or maybe I should stop justifying why I need worldly possessions and start falling in love with Jesus and begin living this life for Him and His glory; not my own. It was at this point that I realized the best book that I never bought was that Bible. A life that is lived for God and His glory doesn’t need another Bible to make him happy, more Godly, or content. A person who is living for God and His glory is more concerned with things other than himself. So what is it that I spend my time justifying in my mind that I need when in reality God is longing for me to be satisfied in Him and Him alone? What should we be doing with our time, talents, and treasures that we already have? What is God telling us in the Bible that we already have that we seem to ignore on a regular basis? Its funny how we think we “need” things when the things that we actually need have already been given to us, we just aren’t satisfied in them.

Water Park

2009-07-08T19:25:00.003-04:00

Jody and I took the kids to the Water Park and they had such a fun time. Here are just a few pictures.

Silly Girl

2009-07-08T19:12:00.003-04:00

I think Kinsey just found out her tongue can do funny things. She started sticking it out and now she makes funny noises when she sticks it out.

7 Months Old

2009-06-26T20:53:00.003-04:00

I can't believe my "pretty girl" is 7 months old. She is such a sweet girl! She is almost always smiling. She is constantly moving. We have to change her diaper on the floor instead of the changing table. She is great at sitting up and loves to touch everything. She adores her big brother and he loves his "pretty girl."

Kinsey loves it when Bella comes by her. She just laughs and smiles at Bella when she watches her play with her bone or scratch her back.

Happy Girl!!! The joy of the Lord!

Right before she started trying to eat the paper.

Silly Fun

2009-06-26T20:43:00.002-04:00

Kinsey loves to play and splash in the water.

Caden walked down the hall like this. He put on Kinsey's onesie. Silly Boy!

Kinsey loves to chew on her toes.

Just fun

2009-06-26T20:32:00.002-04:00

Mommy and Caden

The family

While outside, Caden drew on his face with chalk...when I asked him about it he said that he was puting makeup on.

Prunes

More from the Birthday

2009-06-26T20:13:00.003-04:00

Aunt Sandi and Kinsey

On the day of Caden's actual birthday, Hannah came over to play in the pool.

We had five games set up. Candy toss, Pin the tool on Manny, Dress up, Paint the house and Build a Tower. The kids loved the games.

I think over all, the house painting and build a tower were the kids favorites. This was the house towards the end of the party.

This was the house right before the party started.

pictures from Caden's Birthday

2009-06-26T19:58:00.002-04:00

Jody set me up on his computer so I could add some pictures. Here are some from my sweet boy's 3rd Birthday. HANDY MANNY!!!

Caden is 3!!!

2009-06-12T09:26:00.002-04:00

My big boy is 3!! He now goes pepe in the potty and does not need his pacifier anymore. We had a ceremony and he threw it in the lake. It was like watching a movie in slow motion. He starred at it for a long time after he threw it in. Then Caden, Grammie, Lauren, Madison and I waved goodbye for a long time. And that was it. Now everytime we go by the lake he says matter of factly, "I threw my BB in the lake." What a big boy!!! He is a sweet boy who loves to play with his tools and Lauren. He still loves to read and definitely knows what he wants.
I tried to post pictures but it is not working so they will be posted soon.
Kinsey is growing like a weed. She has two teeth now and loves to eat. She is such a content baby. She loves to watch the kids and now tries to interact with them.

Skateboard

2009-05-27T09:14:00.003-04:00

Caden loves his skateboard! I am not into using treats or gifts as a bribe but the potty is a big event and to get this boy to go we had to use something he was into. He decided he wanted a skateboard. My mom's neighbor happened to have this one so she gave it to us last week. We gave it to Caden on Sunday because he went on the potty all last week. When I gave it to him, he had the biggest smile. He wanted to take it everywhere when he first got it. When I asked him what he got the skateboard for, he was not quite sure and of course it was when I was video taping. All the other times he knew why he got it. Go figure.

6 Months Old

2009-05-25T09:19:00.004-04:00

I can't believe my little girl is now 6 months old!!! She is a joy to have around. She has the cutest smile and loves to watch the kids play. She is getting better and better at sitting up. She loves to suck on her toes and puts everything in her mouth. I have started rice cereal. She has been sleeping through the night since 2 months but in the last week wakes up around 10 or 11. So I said when she starts doing that she will be ready for food and she sure is. She has started rolling all over the place, she has to keep up with the kids some how.

Kinsey and Leah

2009-05-22T22:55:00.002-04:00

Hannah, Caden's friend, and her sister Leah came over to play today. What fun! Kinsey and Leah are only 11 days apart.

This week Kinsey has gotten good at sitting up. She still needs pillows around her but she is learning quickly.
One more Disney picture. Caden eating his lollypop on the train. He was so tired, he fell asleep while sitting on the train.

Big Mile Stones this Week

2009-05-22T22:41:00.002-04:00

We tried potty training for the 4th time this week with Caden and he is finally ready! I have tried 3 times in the past couple months but he and I were not ready. He is now doing a great job. Some days are better than others but towards the end of this week he has gotten the hang of it. He said he wanted a skateboard for doing so well.

He did this on his own. I mean, who doesn't wear their underwear on their head?

And with "pretty girl" as Caden and I call her, she has started rice cereal. I just started this week so she is just moving it around in her mouth but she get's better each day.

I don't think she is too sure about this whole rice cereal thing.

but she does like trying to grab the spoon.

Disney Fun

2009-05-22T22:28:00.003-04:00

Where have we been? I have been so busy and the blog has suffered. So to catch you up, for my birthday, we went to Orlando and had a blast! It is so great to just hang out with family and close friends.
After riding Peter Pan, Caden was nervous about any ride he thought might be scary.

The cutest girl in the world!

Jody and Caden on It's a Small World. Caden just starred at everything on the ride. Kinsey's eyes were as wide as saucers. I think her brain was on overload trying to take it all in.

Mommy and Kinsey.

The Family

Her feet

2009-05-05T15:05:00.002-04:00

Caden and Lauren made crowns out of paper and the foam shaped. Then they had fun playing king and queen.

Silly boy. He likes to wear hats and sunglasses.

Kinsey loves her feet. She just found them at five months. It is a great play toy that she can always get to.

For some reason she raises her feet in the car seat. Especially when we are carrying her. She loves chewing on the pink bear teething ring whe has hanging from the car seat handle.

5 Months Old

2009-04-25T20:08:00.003-04:00

Caden loves to be silly and Kinsey is almost always happy.

My sweet baby Kinsey is 5 months old. Caden and I like to all her pretty girl. She is talking alot! She loves to chew and suck on anything she can get her hands on. She still sucks her thumb when she is tired. She loves her bed and is a very scheduled little girl which makes it very easy to know what she wants. She is just smitten over Caden but she adores her daddy. She is rolling over more and more and is able to grab at her toys and bring them to her mouth to suck on. She loves to sleep on her tummy or on her side with a thumb in her mouth and her other hand over her face. We are having so much fun with this little bundle of joy! What a blessing she is!!!

She has found her Voice

2009-04-24T16:36:00.004-04:00

Kinsey has found her voice. The other day we were outside while the kids were playing in the pool and she was talking for about 15 minutes. She has been doing this off and on for a while but I could never catch it on video. We finaly got got it on video. She is too cute!!!!

Easter pictures

2009-04-17T21:08:00.003-04:00

For Easter we went over to my parents and enjoyed being with family. It was so nice outside we spent the entire time outside. We set up the pool for Caden and his cousins. They had a blast.

Caden loves kinsey! He loves to hug on her and make her laugh. She loves to watch him and smiles every time he looks at her. I have two amazing kids. Kinsey is a wonderful baby, a great sleeper, and very content. Caden is such a terrific big brother. He is a big "helper boy", he loves to play with Lauren, is learning to obey the first time and he and Kinsey LOVE their bath.

The day after Easter Paige and Ellie stopped by to play with the kids. What fun!!!

Caden and Kinsey with their cousins on Easter.

I like to move it

2009-04-17T20:54:00.003-04:00

The kids were in the bounce house today. The girls were bouncing and Caden was singing. Lauren brought over a toy that sings "I like to move it, move it..." He just kept singing the same words over and over. Kind of reminds me of rain man.

Easter eggs

2009-04-10T20:42:00.001-04:00

We had a fun time coloring eggs!

Easter

2009-04-10T20:23:00.003-04:00

Caden and I colored Easter eggs today and we talked about why we celebrate Easter. When I asked him why, he said his Bible verse. I know he may not understand it all now but I know God's Word is being hidden in Caden's heart. I pray he and Kinsey will understand it one day and have an awesome relationship with our God!

I love hearing him quote God's Word. He is such a neat God and I am so thankful for two neat kids.

Clap for Jesus

2009-04-08T15:17:00.003-04:00

Lauren said she made up this song. She said God told it to her. Whether she made it up or not, it is a cute song.
Clap, clap,clap for Jesus
Clap, clap for He is good.

Beautiful...

2009-04-08T15:13:00.003-04:00

I have the most beautiful children. Thanking the Lord everyday that I get to be their mom!

2009-04-03T09:15:00.003-04:00

Caden's friend Hannah likes to watch the videos. So here is one for you Hannah. We do not know the whole verse but we are working on it. It is never too early to hide His Word in our hearts.

Sofia's birthday

2009-04-01T21:04:00.003-04:00

I have great neighbors. My good friend Becky lives in our neighborhood. Today was her daughter Sofia's birthday so we had them over to celebrate! What fun!!!
Eating cupcakes for Sofia's Birthday.

My pretty little baby Kinsey!

Fun in the sun. The kids had a great time outside for 3 hours.

Such good friends. And again, Caden was the only boy.

Happy Birthday Sofia.

4 months old

2009-03-27T15:42:00.001-04:00

What a wonderful blessing she is!!! We love you Kinsey!

Do You Know What God Looks Like?

2009-03-23T12:54:00.004-04:00

Lauren is making an ABC book. She has to write the sentence and fill in the blank with a word that begins with that letter and then draw the picture. I then save the papers and will put them together to make her book when she has done all the letters. Today the letter was G. She picked God. I just thought I would let you all know what God looks like. I also thought you might enjoy a good laugh at my picture. Caden asked me to draw a tiger in a cave, a zebra, rhino, apple tree, pumpkin, dog, giraffe, and a bush. As you can see, I CANNOT draw!!!

By the way, I printed the papers for her ABC book from www.starfall.com

It is a great website and you can print all kinds of letter and phonics papers and books. They also have cute stories and books for each letter.

2009-03-19T21:28:00.004-04:00

So for the last two months I have not let Caden watch TV. I let him pick a video on Fridays and every once in a while on a weekend he might see Diego. Let me tell you, it is hard. I have become convicted about the TV so we do not watch much at all (I still watch the Duggars and American Idol and the food network). We have always played outside alot but we play outside even more now and the kids don't mind. They never ask to watch TV and I don't think they even miss it. Try not letting your kid watch TV. There are moments like today when it is rainy and I have things I want to get done but the kids have learned how to occupy themselves and today we got out the playdough.

It does help that we have a nice porch and a Grammie and MiMi who make sure we have plenty of things to do on the porch. The newest item... a bounce house from Grammie. They love it!!!! They also love playing with the sand.

Every Morning

2009-03-19T21:18:00.003-04:00

Every morning Caden calls out to ask if he can get out of bed. Then he throws his "bb" in his bed and goes straight to his drawer to pick out what he wants to wear for the day. He usually picks one of either his monkey shirt, digger shirt or this mickey shirt. He also likes to wear his backpack and this hat that Gramie got him. He also loves to wear his "joke" shoes. I am not sure where he got that name but that is what he calls his flip flops.

More words:

bundle bee= bumble bee

swy water= fly swatter

Houston, we have a problem

2009-03-11T13:38:00.003-04:00

Caden spent the night with Grammie and PaPa over the weekend. Grammie and Caden were playing in his tent waiting for Jody and I to pick him up. They were playing with some of his stuffed animals and toys and Grammie said "Houston, we have a problem, Houston we have a problem." Caden as serious as can be says "Grammie, my name is not Houston, my names Caden."
One of Caden's funny words:
upside over=upside down

Do you think they look alike?

2009-03-07T15:38:00.004-05:00

Kinsey at 2 1/2 months.

Caden at 2 1/2 months.

This is Caden between 3 and 4 months.

This is Kinsey between 2 and 3 months.

Kinsey at 2 months.

Caden at just over 2 months.

Caden between 3 and 4 months.

What do you think? Do you think they look alike? Sometimes I think they do and sometimes I think they don't.

Some pictures

2009-03-07T15:17:00.002-05:00

Our beautiful baby Kinsey!!!

Kinsey can now grab her toys.

My wonderful kids. OK, techniqely only two are mine but I love them all and we have so much fun together Monday-Friday.

Some have asked how I take them all for walks. Here it is. They love their walks and so does Bella.

The Beach and a Nun

2009-03-07T13:39:00.006-05:00

The beautiful bridge that takes you over the inter coastal to the beach.

Trying to get the bird.

What a beautiful baby!

He loves laying in the sand.

Today my mom and I took the kids to McCarther Beach State Park. It is a beautiful place with trails and the beach. It was Kinsey's first time at the beach. She loved it and Caden liked playing in the sand.

While we were there, we met an older lady. She was there by herself and wanted some company. She is a nun and helps take care of her "sisters" who are also nuns. As we were talking, she told me about the 7 sacraments and how they are very important. She spent a lot of time talking about how we need to confess our sins to the priest. I explained to her that we believe we can go straight to Jesus.

How thankful I am to know that I have a God who I can talk to at any time. It is just like our God to want to have such a relationship with us that He sent Jesus, Our one and only High Priest.

"Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood. Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them."

Hebrews 7:23-24

"For this reason He had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful High Priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted."

Hebrews 2:17-18

I had just finished the last day in my Beth Moore study on the tabernacle the day I went to the hospital to have Kinsey. It is funny because I told Jody I didn't think God would bring her into the world until I had finished the study. It is a great study on the tabernacle and how Jesus is our High Priest. I would recommend the study to anyone.

Tummy Time

2009-03-04T08:15:00.004-05:00

Kinsey is growing up so fast! She now is pretty good at lifting up her head. Last week she started to grab at toys that are hanging in front of her. She is a content and happy baby about 98% of the time. When she is tired she starts sucking her thumb. I put her in the crib and she goes to sleep! God is so good. He has blessed us with 2 AMAZING kids!!!

3 Months Old

2009-02-25T08:24:00.009-05:00

Kinsey is 3 months old today. She is such a precious blessing from God. We love her so much! Caden is a great big brother to his sister. He loves to hug and kiss her. Kinsey likes to watch and laugh at the kids. She is a great sleeper and hardly ever cries. She is a really content baby.

Planning Meals and Saving Money

2009-02-23T20:45:00.005-05:00

I am trying to do better at planning dinners for the week and trying to save money. I have been reading a few blogs and have gotten a few good ideas I thought I would share:
*Buy what is on sale.
**Print out the weekly sale paper for the next week for the grocery store you shop at. Then use that to write your menu for the next week or two. That way you can see what is on sale and plan meals accordingly. If pork chops and broccoli are on sale, plan having that one night.
*Plan at least one night for leftovers.
*Buy meat on sale and freeze it.
*EAT LESS. Depending on the size of your family, cook 2 pork chops instead of 4.
*Use coupons.
*Don't buy junk food.
*I get the monthly coupon book for Costco. I try to wait until I have a coupon and then buy what I need. Buy in bulk when you can, it saves money.
* To keep organized, I take out the recipes I will use for the next week or two and put them on the fridge. This way I do not have to search for the recipe when I need it. I put it back in the box after I use it.
Check out http://www.frugalmenumamas.com/ for more ideas, coupons, tips and recipes. I made the Taco Soup last week and it was so good!!!
Please give me your ideas and comments.

2009-02-21T09:41:00.002-05:00

Here is a video of Caden doing some of his calendar time. It usually lasts longer when Lauren is here but today we had a short attention span. I guess there are just too many things to do today to be bothered with calendar.

Fun and learning

2009-02-21T09:17:00.003-05:00

A great thing to do with your kids every morning is calendar time. We count the days until we get to the correct day (1st,2nd,3rd and so on). We also sing the days of the week to the song Oh My Darling:
There are 7 days, there are 7 days, there are 7 days in a week. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday.
You can also go over the months of the year to the song One little, Two Little, Three Little Indians:
January, Febuary, March, April, ....Twelve months in the year!
Then we put stickers or draw pictures to make a pattern. Each day we add what comes next in the pattern. You can also make patterns with shapes or letters.

These foam shapes are great for projects. You can buy a big bin of them at the craft store. Great for graphing, patterning, learning colors and shapes and for making shape pictures.

Kids say the funniest things

2009-02-16T09:03:00.003-05:00

The sand box!!!

They love it. We play outside for hours.

Laurens birthday party last week with a few friends.

Here are a few more things Caden says:

frocks=crocks

pooter=computer

"I can't get my cry out" while he rubs his eye

"Her's to little"

"I had a busy day!"

"That be good?"

"God made our friends neat"

I asked him, "Why do we pray for our friends?" He said " 'Cause God tells us to be nice to our friends."

When we ask him what a cow says, he will say "moo" when you ask him what else a cow says, he'll say "eat more chicken"

In the van one day last week, we were talking about all the things God made and he goes on and on about all kinds of things like trees, flowers, friends, mommy, daddy, Kinsey, cars, houses and so on. Then he said, "and God made BBs (pacifier) for me to go ni-night."

One Passion

2009-02-09T21:26:00.002-05:00

We sang this song Sunday and I have really been thinking about the words. What if we all just had one passion? What if I really wanted to know and follow hard after Him? I think my life would look different. God help me run and follow hard after You. Be my passion. Help me to grow in the knowledge of Your Truths.
What if He became our only Passion and everything in our life flowed from that one Passion? Would our marriages be different? What about how we treat our kids and our families? What about our lost neighbor? When we have a passion for something we want to tell others about it and share it. God, help me to be obsessed with you.

Give me one pure and holy passion
Give me one magnificent obsession
Give me one glorious ambition for my life
To know and follow hard after You

Give me one pure and holy passion
Give me on magnificent obsession
Give me one glorious ambition for my life
To know and follow hard after You

To know and follow hard after you
To grow as your dicsiple in your truth
This world is empty, pale, and poor
Compared to knowing you, my Lord
Lead me on and I will run after you
Lead me on and I will run after you

Give me one pure and holy passion
Give me one magnificent obsession
Give me one glorious ambition for my life
To know and follow hard after you

To know and follow hard after you
To grow as your disciple in the truth
This world is empty, pale, and poor
Compared to knowing you my Lord
Lead me on and I will run after you

Lord to know and follow hard after you
And to grow as your disciple in your truth
This world is empty, pale, and poor
Compared to knowing you my Lord
Lead me on and I will run after you
Lead me on and I will run after you
Lead me on and I will run after you

ABC Book

2009-02-07T20:12:00.006-05:00

I miss teaching but I love being with my kids all day. I do get to teach Caden and Lauren though. I made this book and we love it. I lamenated the pages and the pictures with my laminater and had the book bond at an office store. You just slit the envelopes open after the pages are laminated so the pictures fit in. The office store can laminate if you do not have one at home. I use pictures from places we have been like the zoo, doctors office, park, family members, body parts, etc... and then use a permanent marker to write the letter on the back of each picture. I also am working on having two pictures for each letter so we can play matching with the picture cards.

Caden Can Read!!!

2009-02-07T18:18:00.002-05:00

Caden can either read or we have read this book one too many times.

Cleaning Tips and More

2009-02-07T11:59:00.006-05:00

*To clean the inside of the straws that are in the kids cups use a pipe cleaner. (The ones you use for craft projects). They work great and can be used again or thrown away.
*After you have used the juice or rind from a lemon or lime, throw the rest in the disposal. It helps freshen it from odors.
To save money:
*Cut your kitchen sponges in half or even fourth. You won't even notice the difference.
*Instead of buying small snack size containers of jello, applesauce, fruit, etc... buy large containers of the items and fill small plastic baby food containers. It saves money and recycles all at once!
*Save the extra plates and napkins from birthday parties. You can put them in the kids lunches for a special surprise or use them on a fun friday or play dates.

A cold day...

2009-02-07T11:50:00.004-05:00

in Florida. It has been pretty cold down in sunny Florida. I know all our friends up north are laughing but to us it is cold. Aren't my boys so cute!

This ones for Caden

2009-02-02T10:10:00.004-05:00

I am not a journaler. I do this blog for my kids. So when they ask me what they were like when they were younger this can help. This entry is for Caden.

He loves to do puzzles and is very good at them. He did this floor puzzle a couple weeks ago all by himself. He loves to read. We read all day long. Among the many of his favorite books, here are a few:

The Three Little Pigs

The Giving Tree

The People House

Highlights Magazine for his age

Curious George

and any Bible Story

Here are a few of my favorite words that he says:

Poo-Poo Train=Choo-choo train

airbow=elbow

bonetie=daddy's tie he wears to work

seatbelt=the belt you wear around your waist

wion=lion

girapp=giraffe

edephant=elephant

He also likes to say: actually, plenty, and lets think

Two nights ago he prayed for bears and train tracks. He usually prays for the food and family about 5 times in a row then adds a few random things.

Kinsey found her thumb today! She was going to town on it when she found it. I was so excited for her. I know it will be hard to break but Jody and I sucked our thumbs so I think it was inevitable for at least one of our kids. I think if she could get the words out she would be talking. She tries so hard to move her mouth and then sounds come out.

Kinsey loves to talk

2009-01-30T16:10:00.002-05:00

Here is another video of Kinsey talking. I just can't help myself. She is so cute!

Useful Tip

2009-01-30T16:06:00.002-05:00

Useful tip:

To get the sand off of the kids after the beach or the park, use baby powder. It works great. Caden loves to play in his sand on our porch so I just use baby powder to get the sand off before he comes in the house.

Cleaning the fans

2009-01-29T13:49:00.002-05:00

Cleaning tip:
The ceiling fans
I use one of Jody's old white under shirts to clean the fan blades. You just slide the blade in the shirt and then drag the shirt with your hands from the beginning of the blade to the end. It traps all the dust in the shirt so it does not fall everywhere.

The 3 Little Pigs

2009-01-28T13:05:00.003-05:00

Another goal of mine is to spend more time with my kids. A great thing to do with your kids is have them retell and act out books they like to read. Caden loves The 3 Little Pigs so we used the blocks and animals to act the story out. The three little pigs are by their house and the other thing of blocks is the wolf. Here is a little clip...

Get organized

2009-01-25T14:47:00.004-05:00

One of my resolutions is to get organized. Here are a few tips, that I did not come up with, if you need to organize also:

1. Put all of your hangers in your closet backwards. After you wear something, hang it in the closet the way you normally do. If you still have hangers backwards after a month ( or whatever length of time you decide) give them away. You probably will not wear it or do not need it.

2. Plan your dinners for the next two weeks instead of day by day.

3. Make a to-do list with three sections. To-do today, To-do this week, and To-do this month. You could even add To-do sometime in this lifetime.

4. Plan out your day. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. If you don't plan your day, by the end of the week you will realize you did not get done what you wanted to get done.

5. Put the dishes in the dishwasher right away. I promise your kitchen will feel cleaner just by doing this.

If you have any good tips please share them with the rest of us.

Kinsey is 2 months old

2009-01-25T14:37:00.002-05:00

I know the picture is sideways but she is just too cute!

Our little girl is two months old today. We love her so much and are so thankful that we get to be her parents. She loves to try to communicate with you and tries so hard to talk. She is a great sleeper and she loves to watch her big brother.

My Sick Boy!?

2009-01-21T09:40:00.002-05:00

We are all sick this week. But overall it has not been too bad.

Boys will still be boys. Even though Caden is sick, he still has lots of energy. I think the medicine makes him hyper. The day before this he just wanted to lay in his bed so he must be getting better.

Trying to talk

2009-01-19T09:48:00.005-05:00

Kinsey loves to try to talk to you. She has also started to smile on purpose instead of just from gas. I think she will like talking just like her dad.

Obeying God

2009-01-16T09:19:00.004-05:00

Caden likes to tell us what God says. We explain to Him sometimes that God has us as His parents and He teaches us things and that Caden needs to listen and obey us so He can learn to listen to and obey God. So now when we tell him something that he does not want to do he will tell us that "God needs to tell you something." For example: I asked him to put on his pants and a jacket on to go outside (he hates to wear long sleeves and pants) and he said "God says to tell you I don't need jacket or pants."
Another cute thing: Caden does not want to go potty on the toilet. When I see him starting to go (his face gets red and his eyes water and he may go to his room), I will say lets go to the potty. Today he said, "3 minutes mom" That's his way of saying I don't want to go on the potty. He would rather sit in his #2 then find out how freeing and less messy it would be to go on the potty.
As I think about Caden and the potty, I think about us. Sometimes we are so comfortable with where we are at that we don't know how good it would be to let go and let God work. Maybe we need to let go of that sin, or maybe we need to move on from something, or maybe it is just making that first step. Whatever it is, we get so comfortable in our "mess" or in what we know, that we don't step out and let God work in us. We would rather sit it our, #2 then find out how much better it is to step out and go on the potty!

The Poo-Poo Train at Lion Country Safari

2009-01-15T15:09:00.004-05:00

Caden asked if I could put the picture of the lion up. They were making all kinds of noises when we drove through.

Such good friends. They really are like sister and brother.

The Poo-Poo train as Caden calls it.

He wanted to sit right up front on the Poo-Poo train.

Lion Country Safari

2009-01-15T14:55:00.004-05:00

Jody had the day off on Tuesday so we took Caden, Kinsey, and Lauren to Lion Country Safari. We had so much fun. I would recommend it to everyone.

Kinsey slept the whole time. She is a very easy going baby.

The Zebras walked right in front of our car. We were surrounded by them at one point.

The kids looked a little frightened on this ride. Lauren looked like she was holding onto Caden for dear life and Caden just looked plain scared. When we left though Lauren said this was her favorite ride.

The best part was feeding the giraffe. It was amazing. The kids were a little unsure but they each tried to feed the giraffe.

This Year...

2009-01-11T11:55:00.003-05:00

This year I will:

1. Get in God's Word everyday Romans 12:1-2
2. Save money Proverbs 31:16
3. Exercise Hebrews 12:1-3
4. Take 15 minutes a day to clean out something (a drawer, a closet, clothes, toys...)
5. Get organized Proverbs 31:27a
6. Play with my kids more Proverbs 22:6
7. Give more James 1:17 Everything we have is His anyways Proverbs 11:25, 19:17
8. Be quick to listen and slow to speak James 1:19
9. Not complain ! Thessalonians 5:16-18

These are just a few...what are you going to do this year?

Thought for the New Year

2009-01-04T12:58:00.003-05:00

In church this morning we sang this song and it made me think about this coming year. So many things can can make us worry and become fearful. But be reminded, God has not given us a spirit of fear. Trust Him this coming year with everything, your children, your marriage, your friends, your family, your emotions, your struggles, your fears, your finances, everything.It's all His anyways, He just gives us the chance to be good stewards.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus.
Look full in His wonderful face
and the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His Glory and Grace.