Time to Catch Up

I'm gonna cheat this posting since I'm behind and post on August, September and October in order to catch up on my blog. The past three months have been very busy and now we're heading right into the holidays!

Zac went to stay with grammy & grampy for a week in August. He had a nice time going fishing with grampy, going to the zoo and hanging out with Auntie Ruth, Uncle Greg & cousin Deidre. They returned him to us and were able to stay for a few days to visit with the rest of the posse. We were hoping to spend more time with them to do some fun things in the area but they had to get back home. Papa and Nana came to visit in September. We went to the outlet mall in Kittery, drove around seeing the sights and to the Maine Headlight. We were glad they were able to fit us in during their Midwest adventures to Indiana and Michigan.
October all of the kiddies celebrate their birthdays. We were so happy to see Grandma Donna, Papa Jim, Mary Jane, Marvin and Judy. They all came to celebrate with us! We were able to get out and show the tourists the town. We had a birthday party, went to the Kittery outlets, to the Maine Headlight, Ogunquit, and Kennebunk. A good time was had by all although our time together went by much too quickly.

Family and friends are so important to us. We're just sad they are all far away. We cherish the time we can spend with everyone!

Children Learn What They Live

I had this artwork hanging on my wall as a child. I loved to read it each day. Enjoy!!

How To Really Love A Child

July Beach Vacation

We braved a 17 hour road trip with our posse to Muskegon, Michigan in July. While in Michigan we attended John's best friend's 50th birthday party. We were also able to spend a couple of nights with Auntie Ruth and Cousin Deidre. We finished up our trip with a visit from Grammy & Grampy, Gma Donna & Papa Jim and a visit to Dutch World. All in all it was a nice vacation although way too short!!

June Photo Shoot

We finally got the kids in for a photo shoot. The photo shoot was a bit more difficult than in the past as we have four of them running four different directions now. Also trying to get everyone to look at the camera and smile at the same time is near to impossible. We did manage a few good shots...here is just a sample. Enjoy!

Home Sweet Home

We closed on our home in Maine on April 15, 2011. We are so happy to be together as a family again and the kids are thrilled with their new digs.

The home sits on 3.7 acres with a 100 yard driveway, has a pool, gazebo and detached garage especially for hubby! We really like it so far and are glad we held out for this home. We wanted a ranch with acreage, a basement and a bonus room.

Our time has been spent unpacking and painting. We are painting the entire house; ceilings, trim and walls. I'm not sure what we were thinking with four kids under foot as it has been a long, exhausting and slow process. I am sure once we are done we will be happy to kick back and enjoy the summer.

I hope to post some before and after photos soon. We grow to love our new home a little more each day and know that it is the love inside the walls that matters the most!

Pretty In Pig Tails

I couldn't resist posting our little ladies in their first set of piggy tails. I'm not sure they were thrilled with the hairdo or their stylist.

March Madness

Being from Indiana I know that "March Madness" refers to the NCAA Basketball Championships. However at our house "March Madness" has nothing to do with basketball!

March Madness 2011 consists of; preparing for the arrival of Grandma Donna on April 4th, followed by the arrival of Auntie Ruth on April 14th and closing on our new home on April 15th with the moving truck arriving on April 21st. April promises to be a fun, exciting and crazy month for us; believe it or not we are looking forward to the craziness. We know the month will go by much too quickly.

We'll happily say farewell to March Madness, farewell to the cold weather and farewell to the small apartment. We will welcome April, our visitors, nicer weather and our new home with open arms.

Happy Valentine's Day

I love them with all my heart!!

Christmas 2010

2010 was a difficult and wonderful year. John was living away in Maine the entire year. I was home in Michigan trying to run the household and raise four children under the age of three.

God has blessed us more than we ever thought possible with the birth of Zac in 2007 and then the triplets (Nicholas, Carli & Kennedy) in 2009. The kids were all born healthy and we couldn't have asked for anything more.

2011 promises to be a great year for us. We are finally all together again as a family and looking forward to a summer by the ocean.

McWane Science Center

Zac and I went to the McWane Science Center, Birmingham, AL in November. Papa George stayed home to babysit so that Zac and I could have a special day out.

The venue was right up Zac's alley. He especially loved the top floor which was full of train exhibits. We saw fish, dinosaurs and trains; every thing that makes a young boy happy.

The center was very nice and we had a wonderful day! We are so glad we got to have our special time and make our special memory together.

Bama Baby

Dad and Jane came to visit us in September. Shortly after their visit they called to see if we wanted to come spend a month with them in Alabama. I think they were really worried about me trying to run the household and take care of the kids all by myself while John was away working.

We decided to go spend the month of November with them. Dad flew up to Detroit and drove back down with us. John flew in for Thanksgiving and drove us home.

All in all our time in Bama was a blast! My BFF came over for a few days & we went to a new outlet mall; where Jane fainted from heat exhaustion. We went to see dad at the golf course & were rear-ended on the way. Zac had his first ear infection & trip to the urgent care. We made Indiana tenderloins; not once but twice. Zac and I went to the McWane Science Center.

Zac spent a lot of time hanging out with Ms. JoAnne. She is the nice lady that lives across the street. They would break up bread and crackers to go feed the ducks. Zac also played out in the ditch where dad had made him his very own construction site.

Dad also has another very interesting neighbor, Santa Claus! He came walking down the road one day in his shorts and red t-shirt to which Zac exclaimed, "mom it's Santa!!" Santa was kind enough to shoot holiday photos with the kids. We had a lot of fun with Santa; he's a great Santa!

We enjoyed our time in Bama with Papa and Nana. We will cherish the memories forever!!

Henry Ford Museum

We visited the Henry Ford in October. We've been to the museum a couple of times, however, this was the first time we took the kids.

Zac was thrilled with the cars and tractors. The triplets were happy just being out and being social with everyone!

My favorite part of the museum is the JFK assassination car. Every time I see that vehicle it makes me stop and think about what was lost on that tragic day.

The museum is always clean and the staff always friendly. Zac, Nic, Carli and Kenni may still be a little young to appreciate the museum. I would say children 5 and above would enjoy the history behind the doors.

Detroit Zoo

The kids and I went to the Detroit Zoo with Auntie Ruth in October. We love spending time with Auntie Ruth and miss her each day that we are apart.

The Detroit Zoo is a very nice zoo. We were a little disappointed in the fact that some of the exhibits were empty; especially the elephants. A lot of the animals didn't have a partner either which made us sad. However the giraffes were beautiful and we got to see the babies too!!

I have so many beautiful pictures of the animals; too many to post. The best I can do is post photos of my cute little animals. The girls even wore their special animal print clothing for the occasion.

October Visitors

October was a busy month for us. The kids all celebrated their birthdays and Halloween, we went to the Detroit Zoo with Auntie Ruth, then to the Henry Ford Museum with daddy and were visited by Grandma Donna, Mackenzie and Kelsey.

We were so happy that they could all come to the cowdorable barnyard birthday bash! The birthday event was a lot of fun. We also managed to get out to the mall, Toby Keith's I Love this Bar & Grill and the movies while they were in town.

Kelsey's mama Lynn sent us some good junk food. We ate it all while watching movies and sitting up late night for some good conversation and hysterical laughs. I think the teenagers thought I was cool in my day! LOL (I love those girls.)