Christmas at our house ~ 2009

Christmas at out house is ALWAYS just a bit different!

But HONESTLY we dont mind!

We Wait till we have ALL the kids together before we open our presents and its ALWAYS worth it!

AT our house we have a SEA of wrapping paper and boxes!

Lots and LOTS of things to look at!

The excitement is at its HIGHEST!

The kids have such a great time!

AND then

Mom, Dad and Big Brother get to spend the day putting EVERYTHING togehter!

This was really a GREAT Christmas! After picking up kids from the airport we gathered up the others and drove as slowly as human possible on I 440 till we got to Dennys where some of us had breakfast others had lunch, we came all the way home and then continued to delay their opening of the presents with a trip to the post office, had to check if ANY of the last minute gifts were ready for pick up!

FINALLY the kids made it HOME and we had then Check out their stocking first, gave then their Purity Rings and then let them GO AT IT!

They all really loved their gifts! All the stress and WORRY about not being able to have ANY kind of Christmas at all, it all came together!

We all came to Together!

What a WONDERFUL time to SPEND with Family!

This Holiday Season we got to spend time with ALL of our FAMILY

(Florida after Thanksgiving)

We are SO BLESSED and THANKFUL!

6 days till CHRISTMAS!

Everyone

is getting

ready

for

the

Holidays!

10 days before CHRISTMAS

The best part about Christmas is watch HOW EXCITED the kids knowing its Just around the Corner...

I love how they try to remind you of all the items they want that they forgot to put on their list...

I have to be completely honest and say YES our kids spoiled. They ask for alot of things and usually get them. We struggle alot of the year so they dont get clothes all the time and toys and other gifts only come home to stay on birthdays and Christmas.

This year will be VERY special for our kids. For the first time EVER we will be able to take VACATION... ALL of US.. ALL together! I am so excited for the kids, FINALLY being able to do it, not just talking about it and planning it!

I have deceiced this will be the year of YES (thanks Jim Carey)... It should be FUN!

Life is what I always wanted it to be!

LIVED

Dance with my DADDY

Every once in awhile you get to witness something truely

WELL.........

FUNNY!

The girls dancing with their daddy is one of the MOST drop on the FLOOR and roll around thing I have EVER seen!!!!

AMAZING how much they all LOVE Hannah Montana!

FLORIDA

So I thought I would get in the car and DRIVE down to Florida to visit with Friends and Family since I was UNABLE to make it for Thanksgiving. This was Kelsee's FIRST TRIP to Florida. First time meeting Grandma and her Great Grandparents. It was a short trip just a few days long BUT we had LOTS of FUN. Its Funny how much EVERYTHING changes and EVERYTHING stays the SAME!!

Great Friends who always have room for us at their house!

and ALWAYS knows where to go for night out on the TOWN!

Got a little PUTT PUTT action goin on! You got ONLY 5 chances to get your ball in the hole!

Goregous Day at the beach! Just spending time with the GIRLS! Nice and COOL day, 55 degrees and LOVELY

Wonderful blue sky, Beautiful white sands

Kelsee's First Visit to the Beach!

FUN with Feeding the DUCKS!

hanging around the FAMILY

BREAKFAST with Grandma!

Jay's first TRIP ... Build a Bear... LOTS OF FUN!

Once in awhile when the time is right.... I find time to spend a little something EXTRA on the kids.. When this happens I love to spend time watching them in Build A Bear. The best thing about the place (OTHER than the STAFF who is EXCELLENT by the WAY!) is that the kids take home alot more than an evening of fun, they take away these adorable bears that have part of their personality with them. Even though its a kids place and the TOY is for them, I look at it like a REALLY cool soveigner of their life! What I LOVE about Build A Bear is that the KIDS can be as CREATIVE as they want to be After they go up and down the line of bears, dogs, cats, turtles, T-Rexs, they FINAL pick their FAVORITE! This is NOT a process a parent can SPEED up or even HELP with! Then they pick out a sound This time it was "I LOVE YOU", "Jingle Bells", and some lines from "High School Musical"

Placing a HEART inside the bear is VERY IMPORTANT! The kids have to warm the heart, Make SURE the bear isnt NOSEY by rubbing the heart on their NOSE! Then they get to make sure their bear HEART is well taken care of the kids rubbed the HEART on their FUNNY BONE so that the bear could tell good JOKES, they also rubbed it on their knee so that the bear would "NEED THEM" it was FUNNY to me too!

After a good Fuffing of the bear they go on to the BATH! Where they are sprayed with air and brushed.... Jay checked with Sissy to see if he was doing it right!

Then The BEST part of getting a BUILD A BEAR is to get to PICK OUT THE CLOTHES! There is so much to choose from! My kids LOVE being able to dress them right there in the store! Lue Lue helped the young kids get their bears dressed SHOES and ALL!

To end an ALREADY great night we went to dinner, Chilis a FAMILY favorite! They talked alot about how they couldnt wait to see their Lee Lee and Butter Bread! Thats the ONLY thing that WOULD have made the NIGHT WONDERFUL!!!

Bubbles

When you have a bad day and you feel like CRYING and I mean CRYING HARD I only have to take a few steps and I will run right into the most loving little girl I have ever known. Now I am NOT saying that ANY of the other girls in my life werent loving BUT there is SOMETHING different about this little one that takes my breath away on a daily basis.

Maybe its because she has the sweetest giggle

or she tells methat I am "THE BEST MOMMY I EVER HAD",

maybe its becasue she twists her tongue around in her mouth when she is nervous or thinks she REALLY is a PRINCESS,

or maybe because she says I love you when she FORGETS what she was gonna say

maybe its because she loves to sing "e,i,e,i,o"

or maybe its just because she still a LITTLE GIRL who still wants you to hold her when she wakes up,

When you have a bad day she will hold your hand and hug you as long as you need her there, she doesnt have any where else to be.

Lil B & Lee Lee

Okay so having a large family that is combined of LOTS of Extended members and Children from different relationships is VERY difficult. We have 2 that live with us ALL the time, 2 that live with us some of the time and 2 that visit us NOT OFTEN enough.

Yesterday was hard, We went to a football game of one of our older 3 and we got to spend no TIME with her at all, one of our younger 3 didnt want to hang out with us and his sisters. I really feel like we are part time parents. WE LOVE ALL OF THEM!

When the kids are with us its GREAT! We have fun, I try to make it as NORMAL family life that I can. They have their bedrooms, their own stuff, clothes... EVERYTHING. I dont know if I am doing the right thing or if they will grow up ANGRY at us. It was important for me for the kids to fit easily into their life here with us. Not ROlling out a hide away bed or gathering up a sleeping bag and laying on the couch.

Lue and Jay dont EVER call while they are with their mom, NEVER! When the organization og OUR family was new they did. NOW they DONT.

Lil B and Lee Lee were with me half of the time, for their whole life. I guess it isnt much different for them. It is for me. I use to get a phone call now and then and once in a while a letter. Now not so much. They know they will be here for the Holiday so they dont have much longer to go. Thats how they usually do.

I keep trying to figure out how to be a BETTER mother, for EVERYONE.
Trying to figure out how to GRAB hold of each child so that No one is left behind or FEELS like it.

Too MUCH time on our HANDS!

Okay so the kids were saying this OVER and OVER while at the dinner table (they were SUPPOSE to be eating) It was part of a VIDEO they saw on www.YOUTUBE.com and they were practicing the lines. SO, I found the camera and started to recorded it, they acted like I wasnt there at first. I think I may have an ACTRESS or TWO on my hands, by the last ACTION they were REALLY into IT!

I find them VERY talented and FUNNY!

Reason I live in NC

When I moved up here it was VERY easy for me to do so, I fell INSTANLY in LOVE with the view.

There is so much GOODNESS here in North Carolina, the air is clean, the grass is soft and deeply green, and the COLORS of the FALL are something you cant see in Florida without looking through the pages of a magazine. The are no COLORS to see outside of the BLUE sky and the Blue water. Its beautiful in a different way.

The girls are happily awaiting for the next season to come about... WINTER brings snow! But for now they will ENJOY the leaves, the COLORS and the COOL weather.

favorite days

Just a few pics I took in the middle of the day!

kids just being themselves


No Saying "CHEESE"

Just enjoying the day with each other

LOVING EACH OTHER

No fakeness

The TRUE them

with NO color to take away from them

letting you see the color of their soul

It was a good day.

MOM ARE WE DONE YET??

Ha ha




I wanted to take a moment and capture the children just being themselves, with nothing but them for the CAMERA to see

My favorite Time with the kids is when they arent doing ANYTHING at all but just being themselves. I catch them all the time being FUNNY, SWEET, GIGGLEY they LAUGH alot... And when they dont think you are watching they are just PLAIN crazy.

More than JUST happening!

With all that has happened where are we NOW

~ Church ~

The Worship Center International Church.

This year so far

has really been a BLESSING,

The Womens Conference at

Faith Harvest in Wake Forest, NC

was AWESOME

even with the hurricane!

Even got me a shirt to remember it!

Not that I would forget,

God Himself was really working on the women.

It was simply WONDERFUL!

Pastor Linda Mangum

brought all the ladies and young women with her

allowing us MUCH needed time together!

The 4 out of our 6 kids performed

several times during this past year.

Brett, Halee, Alexis and Kiara

along with several of the other youths

in our church.

Their perfomances INCLUDED the much anticipated

Family and Friends day in the Park in Burlington, NC.

It was TRUELY a great time.

With the

HELP of a VERY SPECIAL

young woman they continued to perform during

regular church services also.

~ Family ~

Doesn't get to get together as much as we all would like

so when we are together we try to spend all that time as NORMAL as possible!

back row: Alexis, Brett and Halee/center: Kiara/first row: Jayden and Kelsee

Brett...

Where to begin! he turn 14 this year, wants to date ( yeah.. NO!) Is taking drum lessons, is part of aART CLUB at school, Runs Track, LOVES PIE!, Hates ANY KIND of SHOPPING, Like to tell his aunt about a NEW GROUP he HEARD the OTHER day called BON JOVI! Thinks hes STILL the FUNNIEST guy HE KNOWS! He dresses in all Black almost ALL of the time, Is growing LOTS of FACIAL hair. Likes to ride his 4 wheeler, play video games.. Oh yeah Did you see HE LOVES PIE! Torta Torta Torta

Halee..

Is almost 12 .. and you know going on 30! She is smarter than most adults! She is a mini verison of myself, except SHEs ALMOST taller than ME!!! She loves poka dots, HATES the color PINK! She is testing to be a BLACK BELT just like her brother. SHE HATES PIE, and CAKE, and PUDDING, and YOGUART! HATE is saying it nice! Chinese food is a way to WIN her HEART! She has LOTS of nicknames but her favorite is SUSHI with a side of SOY SAUCE! I like to call he lee lee. She Likes Middle School alot, and plans on playing every sport she can, that is between BAND practice, she plays the Claironette.

Alexis....

a 10 year old with a LOVE for SHOPPING! Since she came into my life there was NEVER a day that she hasnt asked me to buy her SOMETHING! The GIRL can DRESS! NOW in my clothes! She is happiest just hanging out in the kitchen with you... that is if I already told her NO to the SHOPPING! She enjoys cooking, baking just all the way around helping out. She is in the 4th grade and LOVES being with her BEST friend.. Saraquess, yeah.. umm shes named AFTER that BIG COLLEGE city in NY.. ( SPELLING NOT REQUIRED TO BLOG). She is Cheering for her Second year, and is currently getting ready for to compete!

Kiara...

almost 10 ALSO in the 4th grade, Kiara looks at life a little different then her older sissies! Kiara is ALL about the MONKEYS! She wants a MONKEY ... YES a baby monkey for Christmas. She thinks that a baby monkey is not at all a strange request, we've had a rabbit, a hamaster and now 2 cats. A monkey will fit in well. She loves riding her bike, wants to be an artist. likes to help with SCRAPBOOKING.. minus the clean up! She loves TV..... WHOBOB bROWN PANTS, picking tomatoes, drinking hot cocco, laughing till she cries!

Jayden... aka CORN DOG! Enough SAID!

No really this boy is some funny stuff! Like real funny, like SNL funny back when Eddie Murphy was on it FUNNY. He is in Kindergarten now and has MADE such BIG changes! We are so proud of him! His baby days seem so LONG ago now! If only he would tie his own SHOE! The boy could live on FRENCH FRIES and French fries ALONE! Thinks the day isnt complete with having a SNACK! Jayden Keeps you honest! Him and HIS trusty little side kick......

Kelsee..

at 4 years old has found that the world DOES REVOLVE around her. She is the blowing breeze that tells you the season is about to change. She is NEVER sad, ALWAYS laughs at your joke no matter how dumb (or even if she doesnt get it). Shes a very old soul wrapped up in a head holding the cutiest brown curls. She makes you want to be a good mother, because you dont want to take away from ANY part of who she already is. This is a girl WHO FAKES her smile for the camera ONLY to keep her real ONE for you. She doesnt give you a moment to admit to BREAKING anything, shes already told on you, not to be mean... just because something has happened and she is the NEWS REPORTER. She blows Bubbles when she sleeps. Giggles when she awake...

She makes you want to take the 6 you have and make it seven maybe even eight.