Ice Bunnies

Like everyone else in this area we have been staying home and enduring the cold weather. To say the least we all have had a little cabin fever and I think the kids were even a little disappointed when they found out tonight that there is still no school tomorrow. Here is a few pics of the kids when they ventured out on Tuesday. It was pouring sleet and they did not stay out very long because of how cold it was. Dalton and Lyric were a little disappointed that they could not make a snowman because it was mostly ice. Although they did enjoy sliding down the slide that had a solid sheet of ice on it. That is until Dalton landed the wrong way and got ice burn. Owwwwww!

Today while I was feeding Samara some sweet potatoes she fell asleep! I couldn't resist taking a picture.

Loving this Baby Girl....

I just wanted to write about how much I am enjoying this phase of Samara's life. She is so much fun right now and every day brings on something new. She giggles when I tickle her, when I growl at her, and when I laugh at her. Her jabbers are becoming stronger and more like words. I do believe I heard her say "McDonalds" the other day. I don't know where that came from but I do know I had a strong McDonalds craving during my pregnancy! She has started to clap and loves to gurgle when she has something to drink in her mouth. The best is the fake cough that she has come up with the past couple of days. She is even sitting up without any support for a few minutes. I love to watch her explore new objects to see her thinking "how in the world do I get that in my mouth?" She still doesn't have much hair, and even fewer teeth. But her toothless grin is the prettiest smile I have ever seen. She is learning to hug and kiss and shake her head "no". She is all I had ever hoped and longed for. She is sweetness and the joy of my heart!

Overnight Getaway

We took the kids for an overnight trip. After church yesterday we headed to Tulsa and stayed the night. We had a great time. The hotel had an indoor pool and we took the kids swimming. It was the first time Samara had been in a pool. After swimming we ordered in some pizza, the kids watched cartoons and we watched the Steelers/Ravens game.

Sidenote: First let me just say, "GO STEELERS!!!!" Yeah, we were pretty pumped. We were also glad to hear the Cardinals won their game so either way we will be happy with who wins the Super Bowl. Kurt Warner is an awesome person. When we were in NYC he gave us 15 free tickets to take the kids we worked with to one of his games when he played for the Giants. After the game he met with all of us and talked with the kids one on one. It was awesome. After the season was over, he paid for all of us to go to Dave and Busters and provided a meal and played games with all the kids. He talked to them about how important it is to have a relationship with God. He is an awesome person!

Today we took the kids to the OK Aquarium. They really liked getting to touch the stingrays and the tunnel with the sharks. The exhibit with Oklahoma fish was pretty neat and you wouldn't believe how large some of the fish caught out of Oklahoma lakes are. Overall we had a great trip and hope to have more this year!

Working 9 to 5 ( I wish)

Wow the past week has flown by. So much to blog about and so little time. So here are the highlights....

On Friday, January 2nd we held a surprise 77th birthday party for my grandma in Elk City. It was the first time in about 15 years that all her kids and grandkids and now great grandkids were together. I was able to see some of my cousins and aunts that I had not seen in many years. It was a long day, we went to the church at 8:00 that morning to decorate, the party began at 11:00 and everyone did not leave until 9:00 that evening. It was a great day and the best thing was seeing my grandma enjoy herself so much. She really means a lot to me. She has been through a lot in her life but has been faithful to God despite everything. I love you grandma!

Here is a picture of my grandma, her kids, and her grandkids.

Happy Birthday Grandma!

On Sunday Tuffy went to his new home. Yes we gave Tuffy to a cousin of mine. We had talked for a while about giving him away to a good home. Life has become very busy with 3 kids and he has not been getting the attention he needs. It was very hard since he has been my baby for 7 years now. I especially missed him when I worked from home a couple of days. The house was very lonely without him. His new home includes a cat and 2 goats! He should have lots of fun.

On Monday I started back to work after six months of maternity leave. I was both excited and nervous. The transition has gone extremely smooth. I am back to work just a little more tired than usual! My day begins at 5 and by 9 I am usually out. Dalton and Lyric started a new daycare and they love it. Especially Lyric because they have all kinds of little critters like gerbils and mice. Every morning she tells them "good morning" and every afternoon she tells them "goodbye". My biggest relief has come with Samara's adjustment to her babysitter. She seems to have transitioned without any problems. She stays with my friend, Christy. Christy has two very cute little boys. Samara seems to love them. She does not even seem that excited when I pick her up at the end of the day. What a blessing this is. I do not worry at all about Samara while I am at work, yes I miss her but I know that she is safe and enjoying herself.

On Wednesday, Samara had her 6 month check up. She has had quite the growth spurt. She now weighs 14 lbs 13 ounces and is 25 1/2 inches long. She grew 2 1/2 inches in 2 months and went from the 10th percentile to the 50th percentile for height. She loves eating food and wants big people food so bad that anytime she sees someone eating she starts to holler. Samara has not had any "episodes" in almost 4 weeks. This is a miracle. We are so excited that she is doing better.

Today was my 29th birthday and Samara's 6 month birthday. It was a great day. I have had so many phone calls from family and I enjoyed lunch with my grandma and aunt from Colorado. We had a good time at Community Group and I am just about exhausted from the week. Tomorrow I need to tackle my list of a hundred things to do before Monday gets here so...I am going to try to get some rest.