A LONG WEEK AHEAD............

Well I made it through my first day without the kids and it was a long one!  Raelynn and Cooper are staying with Grandma this week because we are without daycare for both of them.  Of course they are having an awesome time but it is incredible how much I miss them.  The house is soooo quiet and I have so much time to get things done but nothing seems to motivate me to do so.  I will never understand how I will ever be ready for them to grow up and leave for good but I guess I still have a little time to prepare for that.

Raelynn had her school physical and has grown 2 inches and gained 8lbs.  She is now 48.75" and 54lbs.  That puts her in the 64% for height and 66% for weight. I was shocked to hear the weight gain because she looked like she was getting so slender to me but Dr. Kelley said she was just getting ready for a growth spurt.  Again I was shocked to hear that because I think she has already had a growth spurt!  Anyway, she is perfectly healthy and ready to start 2nd grade.  Unbelievable to think that in less than a month we will be back in school.  Where does the summer go!


The last few weeks have been busy but fun.  Last weekend we helped paint Steph and Cody's new house and helped them get moved in.  It is a great house and I am so excited to watch them start their lives.  They have so much to look forward too.

We also spent more time on the soccer fields and playing blast ball.  Because of the extreme heat Raelynn's horse show got cancelled which of course she was very upset.    Luckily we have one this weekend.

Last week the kids also had VBS.  It is a tradition that they go to Perry with Aunt Bonnie and they both Love it!

Last Friday was the CCF 5th Annual Golf Tournament and it was once again a huge success.  We have to be the luckiest family to be able to help the families we do.  We get all the credit but really we are just organizers, it is friends, families and community members that make it happen.  Event after event we manage to raise money that is so needed.  I can't wait until it is time to provide funding again.  It is by far my favorite part.  Thank you to everyone that makes this possible.  Before we headed out to the Golf Course they kids joined me at my office.  They both are so good there.  They entertain themselves and never disturb me while I am with a customer or on the phone.  I am always so proud of them.  On Friday, I went in to one of the other rooms to get a file and when I returned this is who I found working.....

He looked so big sitting there and I couldn't help but laugh because that is exactly what he wanted.  Right before we left the kids said they were just so tired.  I told them to lay down and rest then.  I guess they thought that was a good idea....I had to wonder if I would fit when I needed an afternoon nap!

Only 4 more days until these cuties are back home!!!

SUMMER TIME........

I love long summer days but boy do they make the night time when I usually do all my work short.  This week the kids have VBS and have not been getting home until 9pm and then by the time we do showers and the bed routine it is 10pm before we are tucking them in!  That means I have had little time to do all the stuff I do after they go to bed but we sure are having a good time.  I actually dread school starting and the days getting shorter.  I love every second I get with them so if I can steal a couple extra at night it is great.

Things have going just a usual and everyone is keeping plenty busy.  Coop is doing great and still playing blast ball and soccer and loves them both.  He gets so hot and sweaty but didn't seem to mind it.        Every day Coop seems to be getting a little bigger, a little wiser and a little older; not to mention a little cuter as well.  Tonight when he got back from VBS we were talking about something he was trying to tell his VBS teacher during song time.  He was saying how she didn't hear him and he says, "I asked her 2 or 3 times Mom but she never responded to me."  It makes me laug she I hear him say words that I consider too big for him like "responded".  Last night as I tucked him in and mentioned that his legs were getting longer he said, "I am growing up but even when I get big I will snuggle with you, don't worry Mommy, I will always love you."  It was awesome.  I just hope he always feels that way.  The other night Raelynn, Coop and I were eating dinner.  All the sudden Raelynn says, "You know Mom Coop doesn't need his booster anymore."  I let her know he did because he was still small.  I looked at Coop and asked him what he thought.  He told me he didn't think he needed his booster at the table anymore either.  He had a huge smile on his face.  Being the Mom that I always am and being determined to show them that I am right, I said, "Ok, Coop get up", and I proceeded to remove his booster from his chair.  He crawled back up on the chair and guess what?  HE DIDN'T NEED THE BOOSTER SEAT ANYMORE!  I almost started to cry.  He could see my disappointment but he was soooo proud.  So I guess I am just going to have to accept that my baby boy is grow up fast.

Raelynn is doing great as well.  She continues to get wittier day by day.  As we drove home after work at the other day she starts giving Coop and I her "running for president" speech.  She says "Vote Raelynn for President and I will make sure you don't have to pay taxes, your money will not go to taxes.  And I will have health care for everyone!"  Now not only was this funny because she was bellowing it out just like a presidential ad but what really shocked me was that she knew about these issues.  When I asked her if she even knew what taxes were she sad, "Yea it's what you pay every time you buy something."  I asked her what she knew about health care and her response what equally accurate, "Yes Mom, health care is all the stuff the takes care of Cooper's heart defects and my teeth and no one can agree who should pay for it."  I asked her where she learned this stuff and her response, "The news Mom, I don't just watch Disney XD!"  Oh when did my little seven year old get so smart and Oh how I am going to have to start reading up on my politics."

This week we are dog sitting for Steph because they are finally working on moving into their new house.  The kids LOVE dog sitting Gus.  He really is an easy to take care of but he keeps messing things up.  Tonight when we got home this was how we found Raelynn's bed and of course, when we left this owning it was a perfectly made bed!

Earlier this week I received the following email and I was so taken back by it I couldn't help but share.....

 Just askin'

          Me: God, can I ask you a question?

         God: Sure.

          Me: Promise you won't get mad.

          God: I promise.

          Me: Why did you let so much stuff happen to me today?

          God: What do you mean?

          Me: Well, I woke up late.

          God: Yes.

          Me: My car took forever to start.

          God: Okay.

          Me: At lunch they made my sandwich wrong and I had to wait.

          God: Huummm.

          Me: On the way home, my phone went dead, just as I picked up a call.

          God: All right.

          Me: And on top of it all, when I got home I just wanted to soak my feet in my new foot massager and relax, but it wouldn't 

         work!!!   Nothing went right today! Why did you do that?

          God: Let me see, the Death Angel was at your bed this morning and I had
          to send one of the other angels to battle him for your life. I let you sleep through that.

          Me: (humbled): OH...

         GOD: I didn't let your car start because there was a drunk driver on your route that would have hit you if you were on the road.

          Me: (ashamed)

         God: The first person who made your sandwich today was sick and I didn't want you to catch what they have, I knew you couldn't afford to miss work.

          Me: (embarrassed): Ok...

          God: Your phone went dead because the person that was calling was going
          to give false witness about what you said on that call, I didn't even let
          you talk to them so you would be covered.

          Me: (softly) I see God.

          God: Oh and that foot massager, it had a shortage that was going to throw
          out all of the power in your house tonight. I didn't think you wanted to
          be in the dark.

          Me: I'm sorry God.

          God: Don't be sorry, just learn to trust me.....in all things, the good and the bad.

         Me: I will trust you.

         God: And don't doubt that my plan for your day is always better than your plan.

          Me: I won't God. And let me just tell you God, thank you for everything today.

          God: You're welcome child. It was just another day being your God, and I
          love looking after my children.

I used to always wonder why God let bad things happen but since I have had children I never think like that anymore because even with some of the "bad" things that have happened soooo many good things have came from the one little "bad" thing.  But I never really thought about things like this.  Anyway, I hope everyone will think twice when they think they are having a bad day.

ANOTHER WEEK AHEAD....

I wrote the last post on Friday night on our way out to Western Kansas but I guess failed to post it.  Anyway, we had a good weekend it was just a lot of driving and not much time.  Raelynn struggled a little this weekend with not feeling well, feeling tired and having a few disappointments which lead to wining which lead to me getting a little short with her.  When we got home she and Coop both ran into the house and even Coop said, "I am happy we're home."  I just think we all need a weekend at home and hopefully this upcoming weekend with be just what we need.  However, we have a whole week to make it through first!

Besides we having a long weekend, Cassidy's 15th Birthday was a good one.  It was nice to just hang out with family.  Cassidy is growing up to be a beautiful girl and I think she really had a good time which is what the weekend was really all about.  I hope she had a great 15th Birthday!

Tonight as I was putting things away and vacuuming our car from our long trip, Raelynn walked her brother outside and introduced him as Cooperlina!  It was pretty funny and definitely lightened our day a little.

He went from Cooperlina to Sleeping Beauty :)

4th of July Week......

What a quick week!  Of course Monday and Tuesday seemed to last forever but then Wednesday arrived and we had a day off in the middle of the week!  The 4th was a pretty great day.  I started with a hard workout with some friends, followed by making homemade blueberry muffins and then pool time with the kids all afternoon.  We finished up with fireworks at the park but we were all exhausted by then.

Tonight the kids and I are headed out west again this time with Aunt Steph.  I love seeing my family but truly despise this drive.  Cassidy's 15th Birthday party is this weekend.  She had called on Monday and invited Raelynn to join in her birthday celebration so we could celebrate both their birthdays with the family.  It should be fun time.  It is hard to imagine Cassidy is 15 but it is also hard to imagine Raelynn is 7!

This week Coop has been a little fire ball!  He and Raelynn, in general, get along so well.  However when Raelynn gets a little tired she also gets a little sensitive.  This week she spent most of the time "tired" and Coop had fun with that.  One night on the way home Coop was making some sort of noise.  Raelynn says, "Mom, Cooper is annoying me."  I respond like most loving parents, "Raelynn just ignore him."  So Raelynn was trying to ignore him which made him even more eager to annoy her.  Finally it started to annoy me so I said, "Coop that's enough, stop annoying your sister."  To which our ornery Cooper replies while laughing, "Ok, but it's so funny!!!!"  I think I find Coop so hilarious because that is the stuff I used to do to my sister all the time.

On Thursday there was a grass fire in Lawrence, It got pretty close to some houses and was a pretty big deal.  On our way home I asked the kids if they had heard about the fire by Langston Hughes.  Raelynn had not heard and Coop was more informed about it that I was.  He went into great detail about how the people were evacuated and how the firefighters wet down the roofs of houses and on and on.  I asked him how he knew all that and he said they watched it at Mary Beth's.  It was awesome for him to sound like a little reporter!

Cooper has became so much more independent lately as well.  Coop still struggles a little with wetting the bed at night time.  As long as I wake him up around 1am he is good but he just doesn't wake up on his own.  So Wednesday night the kids didn't got to bed until 11pm so I thought it would be silly to wake him a few hours later so I didn't.  About 2:30am I woke up to several lights on.  I got up and there Cooper was.  He had changed his PJs, had a towel and wash cloth out that he had wiped himself down with, had all the wet clothes were in a neat pile and he was in his room stripping his bed.  When I enters the room he said, "I got a little wet."  I told him I would take care of the rest and to go crawl in bed with Daddy.  I wondered if he would have actually put everything in the wash if I hadn't woke up. He is just such a cutie.

THE PERFECT BIRTHDAY SURPRISE.....

Well we did it!  We pulled off the best surprise ever for Raelynn's 7th birthday.  Thursday Karli picked Raelynn up from BGC and treated her to a pedicure and manicure which was all a surprise to Raelynn. When I arrived at home after work, with her best friend from preschool, Paige, I asked her if she liked her surprise while Paige hid in the kitchen.  Raelynn was so excited and said she loved her pedi and mani!  Then Paige entered the room!!!  Raelynn was so excited, it was incredible.  Then we told Raelynn she had another surprise and gave her an early bday gift that consisted of water toys and water shoes.  She guessed the pool and then we let Paige tell her we were headed to Tom and Jan's lake house in the Ozarks.  Raelynn was so excited she knocked me right over with a hug!  It was awesome!

We finally made it down to the lake late Thursday night.  Friday we surprised her with a trip to Miner Mikes which is this fun place with games and rides.  We spent the day there and then headed back to the house and did some lake swimming.  Then Saturday we spent the day on the lake.  It was a fantastic weekend.  The kids had so much fun!  It is by far there favorite place to visit and each year just gets a little better.  Coop really enjoyed himself this year too.  He is becoming quite to boatman.

Sumday we once again surprised Raelynn with a birthday party complete with gifts, cake and noise makers!!!  The fun just never seemed to quit.  Tonight as I tucked her into bed, she said, "Mommy, I don't want my birthday to end!"  I didn't either but we both knew it had to.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET PEA!  I hope I can show you each and every day just a glimpse of how much I love you.  In 7 years you have changed me in a way I never knew possible.  I love you more than I ever knew possible and each day that love grows stronger.  You have introduced me to things I would have never encounter and you have made me love things I never would have even tried. You have more strength than I ever knew you would have and you teach me knew and exciting things daily.  Even the challenges you present to us bring me more joy than anyone could ever understand just by knowing that as each challenge that passes, you and I are stronger together.  I love you Raelynn more today than yesterday and will love you even more tomorrow than today!  Thank you for being the most amazing daughter anyone could ever dream of!


With all my love, 
MOM
XXOXXO!