Correa Family Portrait

Our Love Dare Lent Journey

2012-02-22T14:19:00.001-05:00

Soooooo, today is the beginning of Lent. I have never paid attention to Lent as it has never really been practiced by any church I have attended. This week I started hearing Lent was starting today and then more than one person mentioned this Love Dare book and I was intrigued. I know God good enough to know when he is speaking directly to me. So today begins day one of the love Dare. From the beginning were talking about patience, not my strong suit... It said it wouldn't be easy.... Yes Lord.... I'm listening... I will try to update as often as possible with our progress in this journey. I am blessed with a solid marriage and a husband who loves me despite my numerous faults. This should be very interesting!

The girls first concert!

2012-02-19T16:58:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we had the opportunity to spend some time with our friends from church and to take the girls to a CD release party. It was the girls first concert and how wonderful it was that it was a christian artist and church member of ours!

Here are a couple pics! They had a great time and we did too! Thanks Shannon for dinner and the perfect recipes! Fabulous!!!!

Check out Brad's band at www.bradradledgeband.com

He can also be heard on WBFJ 89.3

Woo hoo!

Here is a picture of Emily and I rocking out! She and Morgan were dancing and clapping. It is a BEAUTFUL sight to see your kids singing about Jesus! Shew, now you know it does my heart good!

Thank you Jesus for my life and family!!!

Today we are seeing the first snow of the season.... apparenly we are in for a couple inches before it stops... Good thing the kids are out of school tomorrow!

Blessed, blessed, blessed!

31 Day Challenge...

2012-01-02T23:20:00.003-05:00

So as some of you know when we go to church (we have our moments when we are good about going and then there are other times we slack off.. I know, I know... doesn't mean we don't love Jesus!!) we go to Farmington Baptist Church. It is a small and quite young church and we love the pastor. He is quirky and funny and we enjoy him tremendously.

Anyway, last year he did this 31 day challenge, it is reading one book of proverbs for 31 days. I assume lots of people do it, but last year was my first year. I LOVED it! I actually craved that time with the Bible and my thoughts. Imagine how much better the year would be if we were all craving the bible like that!!! It was a great way to start the year.... Well he and his wife have both sent us messages saying we are missed, etc and today Phillip (preacher man) send me a message again saying we were missed and that they were doing the challenge again... Well you KNOW I had to do it again! I LOVE it! It is such a great start to the new year!

Sooooo, I am challenging YOU to join me in this challenge. His website is www.phillipbrande.com and he or someone he knows always does the post for the day. All you have to do is read a chapter of proverbs per day... Now I know that I waste enough time playing words with friends a day that I can make sure I can do this for 31 days...

Don't let me hear, "I don't have time", I have FOUR kids a FULL TIME job, ALL the kids play hockey(rink 4 days a week), I am in Graduate school and I can get it done...

Who is with me???

Blaine's first WIN!

2011-12-22T21:04:00.001-05:00

Tonight when we got to the rink for practice we we informed that there was a scrimmage game and Blaine was going to be in the goal!

It was his first full ice game! Pretty stinking cool!

The score was 5-4! He got his first win! Very excited that he did so well. Scott got a great shot of him defending his house!

Proud of you Blaine!!!!

Canes!!!

2011-12-03T16:59:00.001-05:00

We took the kids to a Carolina Hurricanes game Thursday. It was so much fun!!! It was Emily's first game! If we had money we would soooo have season tickets! We lost, but it was still a lot of fun! Go CANES!!

They all got tattoos, Blaine got a shirt! Well a college kid caught it behind us and gave it to Blaine. Thanks random college kid!!

Good thing we aren't fair weather fans... We believe!!! :)

Random pics with my new blogger app!

2011-11-26T23:05:00.001-05:00

So, I have no idea how to use this app! So here we go! This is Morgan noticing the tree is up for the first time!

Ummmm.....

2011-11-22T14:32:00.001-05:00

Obviously I haven't posted in a while! The dashboard is completely new, I was lost for a second!So.... Life is currently full of ICE HOCKEY!!Blaine, Gavin and even little Emily! Soooo fun!!As soon as I figure out how to post pics from my new phone I will add them! Lol... So much for knowing what I am doing huh? :)

Better late than never?? Florida with the Lopaka's!

2011-09-19T16:59:00.001-04:00

So we took a vacation right before school started and we had so much fun! Our friends (Scott's USMC family) welcomed us into their home in Florida and we had such a wonderful time!!! We went on an airboat ride, spent 2 days in Naples and just hung out and relaxed! I even managed to get a little shopping in!! Ahhhh... So awesome!!

Here is Blaine with his LIVE sand dollar! They dove for them! When you put them out in your hand and got still you could feel them move around! It was so crazy!!!

Gavin was able to dive for sand dollars too! Scott said there were tons of them out where they were! We even brought some dead ones home. Obviously not going to kill the live ones, but it was really cool to see them!

We also saw dolphins, manatee and all kinds of stuff! Jellyfish and hermit crabs, and on and on and on....

As our tradition continues we see a pic of Scott and I self taken! Shew, what a handsome husband I have! So blessed!!! More than anyone knows.

I caught this picture of Emily and fell in love with it! It reminds me of that footprints story about God and man walking... Shew, these babies are my heart... Still gets me a little choked up to look at this one knowing how very quickly she will be will be making that walk on her own... Shew, can't talk about it... Not gonna make it!

Here is a family shot! Compared to the main pic on the blog it doesn't look that much different.... It is amazing how quickly they are growing up. Blaine isn't far from being 10 and it is all I can do not to try to stunt his growth! TEN... Shew... Can you tell this growing up thing is way harder on me than it is on them!

Here is Jodi! Digging the hat! Now here is a lady that has it together! She exercises like a mad woman and looks uber-hot! Works full-time, raises awesome kids and still has time to make sure they drink organic milk! Lord knows I have a long way to go! She is wonderful and I miss her dearly!

We went on our airboat ride and we caught this pic before boarding.... It was so FUN!! I figured I would be scared to death, but I LOVED it! The kids did too! We saw gators so close you could touch them!

Moe even left her ear plugs in... most of the time! Apparently without them it is very loud.... I was compliant... if you haven't met pap-paw...well.... living with him without his hearing aids in is enough to make EVERYONE wear ear protection! Love you pap-paw!

Finally a pic of Lope. Scott's brother from another mother. His name is Scott as well... not that my kids know that! Lope is awesome! He is an awesome dad, a wonderful friend to us and we are so happy to have he and Jodi in our lives!

Here is a pic Scott got of Reese. I LOVE this pic! She is so intense! This is very much Reese! An old soul for sure!

This is us acting a fool at the house! Babies everywhere! Moe is but a blur... per her norm... Shew that little girl! Maci is in the purple shirt! She is one of the sweetest young ladies I have ever met, but watch out boys, she is 2nd in the nation in BJJ.... Yup, will straight whoop your butt!!

Here is all but one... Matt couldn't make it and he was surely missed, but here is the rest of the crew... Lope, Scott, and Jesse. YUT!!!!!!

I had to add this pic because Lope and Moe had quite the bond... By the end of the week there was a song... Moe sang it constantly and it went like this... "Lope is the best, he is the best"... Lord have mercy! Love it!

The last leg of our trip was a stop in Raleigh for my Duke orientation! I am a three weeks in and still very excited to be back in school. It is a lot of work, but I am also learning and I guess I had forgotten how fun that can be! Scott took the kids to a museum while I did got my learn on. This is in the hotel room right before we checked out.. Shew I love those babies!!

So we had a wonderful end to our summer with a great vacation with great friends! Scott and I can't even explain how blessed we are... How grateful we are and how much we look forward to many, many more!

BIG NEWS from ME!!

2011-07-19T09:42:00.000-04:00

Well, now that I have told my boss lady I can announce it to the masses! I am very humbled and excited to annouce that I have been accepted to DUKE GRADUATE SCHOOL!!!!!!!! I can't explain how in awe of it all I am. I begin in the fall of 2011.

I can tell you that growing up I would have never in a million years dreamed of going to Duke and here I am. What an awesome experience and accomplishment! I have to thank my husband for his constant support and for being my cheerleader always...even when I wasn't sure I could do it, he always picks me up! I also want to thank Blaine for being there when I found out and telling me he was proud of me... I don't know that I will EVER have a greater accomplishment than my son being proud of me!! Shew, I am so blessed!!!!

Missing our Daddy (aka Papi)

2011-07-12T12:46:00.000-04:00

Scott is in LA this week for the National Partner Conference for Microsoft... we are missing him terribly.... He has been able to go to rooftop dinners and lay around and do a whole lot of nothing. I am happy for him to have the break.. Lord knows our life is chaos and it is nice to have a little break every now and again... Here are a couple of pics he has send us... We miss you daddy.... :(

Here is Scott with LA in the background.. It is indeed a different world from the old NC. This is his second trip out there in the past 3-4 months... Hoping this trend passes quickly...

To the right is part of the city he saw while walking around last night after his rooftop dinner.. ooh laa laa... lol!!
Today he gets to see Matt!! I am so excited for them to get some time in together. Matt is coming up from wherever he is out there... I feel sure they have grown enough by now that I won't be worried about posting bail... though from what I have heard once upon a time that may have been the case... ahhh.. glad things change!

HEY TOM SAWYER!!!!

2011-07-07T20:13:00.000-04:00

Blaine recently finished his first real play. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Blaine played Ben Rogers. He did an excellent job!!! We are so proud of him!!!! He had practice 4 days a week for several weeks and shew, that was work....

Once they started rolling he did very good! He had several speaking parts and even a solo or two... Shew, that boy is CUTE!!!!

Mother's Day and Easter

2011-05-15T21:16:00.000-04:00

For Mother's Day we did very little... Exactly what I needed... I have been going 1000mph recently with work and practices. I was very happy to do absolutely nothing... We went to church and then did very little. We were so short at work I ended up having to go in so I didn't get to completey enjoy my day, but I was so happy to have all my babies and just relax that it was a great day. I did manage to get a couple new family pics! The new front page of our blog is one of them. :) I will also add some pics from Easter on here! So sweet! The kids were so excited! My life is soooo crazy, but worth EVERY single second!

Shew, how very blessed I am.

I need to get some up to date pics of the boys alone. Will try my best to get on that! Silly boys! Blaine all about it, Gavin will take all day and I will deal with grumpy for an hour, but I will get it! :)

Is March REALLY OVER???

2011-03-29T17:27:00.000-04:00

So obviously life has been getting in the way of me posting.... I have a gazillion things to share so here we go.... Above are the babies a couple weeks ago! So stinking cute!!!!!

BAPTISM- Gavin accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior and was washed clean!!! PRAISE GOD!!!! 2 down, 2 to go! So proud of you Gavin!!!!!!

That pic on the left gets me... Shew, that boy is so sweet, I could eat his face off!!! He is growing so fast. He has is very own way about him though. I am so grateful for him. Shew.....

EMILY TURNS 3!!!!!- It is so hard to believe Emily is actually three! She is so sassy and so fun. She had a week's worth of activity just like the others, we did ice cream, chuck-e-cheese, the merry-go-round and all kinds of fun stuff!! She got a new bike and a new helmet as well. It was a BIG week.

BLAINE TURNS 9!!!!!!- Blaine turned NINE!! Can you believe it? I really can't! He is so cute and fun. He is silly as he can be. I am really NOT old enough to have a nine year old right???

We spend all week hanging out doing whatever it is he wanted and we had a great time. We even surprised him and took him to a Canes game. So awesome. We had a BLAST!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLAINE!!!Here is Blaine's main present. A new goalie mask. So very Blaine!

Cam Ward! Blaine was ALL about Cam Ward and it was really good to see him play!

Here is the cake I made Blaine. I am still not great at making them but it is homemade none the less.... :)

Work is great, stupid busy but great. House is getting a new kitchen then going back on the market.... Scott has a new job and chaos is in full force...per our norm.....

Hockey.... Our Newest Adventure....

2011-01-20T10:30:00.000-05:00

So... I know I mentioned Blaine was playing hockey and Gavin wanted to... Well.... last night was the first night for Gavin to take the ice. I was nervous for him...I was really impressed! Blaine does it easily, as he does most things. It is cool to watch Blaine improve... His skating is getting better, stick handling and last night he was in the goal and holy cow did he stop every puck that came near him! He only had his stick... It was amazing! Maybe a goalie?? Who knows... lol!!

Well Gavin was sweating before practice ever started... He skated over to me and said "mom, this is harder than I thought"... Like momma said Gavin...just like momma said.... :) He did really well staying on his skates though. He feel a few times of course. I thought he did much better than I expected.... He did get really, really winded though and had to come off the ice for a little bit, thought he was gonna throw up, the whole bit! I was thinking about it later and I see why. We consider Gavin the active one, but his activity consists of sitting and driving a race car... Hardly cardiac workout activity... He was pretty determined to fix that when we figured it out... So funny that Gavin, so driven....

I hope they ask Blaine to move up to a team... I hope they ask Gavin as well, but this is Blaine's thing and I really hope he gets an invitation. He seems fairly committed to practice, even in the summer so he says. There is a rink in Greensboro that is open all year, so I am sure I will be putting even MORE miles on the ol expedition... Happily!

Saturday is Gavin's racing banquet.... We will be staying at the Great Wolf Lodge in Charlotte. I can't wait!! We are gonna have sooooo much fun!!!!! I will try to take some pics!

Playing on a day off....

2011-01-17T13:05:00.000-05:00

We have been playing around today since the kids are out of school. Here is the most recent wow are they getting big....

So, here is the latest... Blaine is playing hockey.... he is in a learn to play program through the Winston Salem Youth Hockey Association... he LOVES it. Gavin has also decided he wants to play so we are working on that as well. Emily is potty trained!!!! YES!!!! I don't know what I will do when I have NONE in diapers, I think I will dance!!! Morgan is now in school one day a week. So for 3 hours a week I am "child-free"... It is amazing how quickly life is moving. It won't be long until they are all in school for some period of time.. I swear it seems like Blaine was just born and he is getting ready to turn NINE. Shew, how quickly life goes....

The Biggest Loser Challenge is going well. Lost 5.5 my first week! One of my teammates gained that and more so we have a lot of work to do but we aren't in last place so I suppose there is still hope.

Scott is working and going to school full time so life for us is in passing... We know that it will make life better and is only temporary so we just deal with it... such is life.

Other than running kids to hockey and school and such we are doing well. Always counting our blessings... ALWAYS.

The ED Challenge....

2011-01-04T10:15:00.000-05:00

So one of my friends and co-workers Kim, decided we needed to do a "Biggest Loser Challenge" at work... Well it has spread like wildfire!! We are up to over 10 teams of 3 and the competition is just getting started but it is sure to be intense!!!! I am on a team with my friends Shannon and Ken. I weighed in Monday am and then began to get it all back together.... I have gained 15lbs since September... HOLY COW and I do mean COW!!!! I am going to create a blog for the journey and I will try to update here as I can!

Craziness I tell ya, pure craziness... when you put as many type A personalities together as you can think of and then add a competition... shew, gonna be FUN!!

We are "TEAM BLACK" GOOOOOOO TEAM!!!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE CORREA HOME!!!!

2010-12-23T22:57:00.000-05:00

Wishing you all a
VERY BLESSED CHRISTMAS!

I know our cup overflows!!! Merry Christmas everyone! Remember who this is all about!!!

No School=Monkey Time!!

2010-12-17T09:06:00.000-05:00

So the kids have been out of school for 2 days due to weather... The weather has been pure ice... YUCK! Well since we are in day 2 of no school the kids are getting a little stir-crazy and it is pretty funny! I was getting more coffee and I hear some "shhhh...mom's coming" of course I laugh and duck into the bathroom to act as though I have no idea what is going on... About that time I see Gavin flying off the dresser onto his bed as if it is a trampoline... While up there I hear Blaine hit his bed and as I peek around the corner there goes EMILY! oh MY! lol!! I pop into the room to find all FOUR of them sitting on top of the boys dresser... yes ALL FOUR and yes ON TOP... lol!!! I am sure they thought I would kill them all, but instead I said, hold on to your sister... and off for the camera I went... I have to tell you, these are a couple of my very favorite pictures to date... They are my kids....just being kids.... how blessed I am.....

Thanksgiving.... Shew, Drinking From My Saucer....

2010-11-30T17:15:00.000-05:00

So Thanksgiving is always fun. We get the whole crew together and eat.... and eat... and play... and eat....and play some more... This year was no exception... there was just one thing missing... MOM....shew, now when Blaine found out Mee-Maw was going to Maryland to be with her sister he burst into tears...and like most things, my kids can't cry alone so then we were all a mess... Shew, she is the center of our family and though we did it anyway, it wasn't quite right without her...

I will give it to my sister... She cooked a heck of a meal.. I worked part of the day and the only other thing I did was peel potatoes.. I can take no credit for the beautiful turkey you see....

Our final pic is of all of the grandkids... all EIGHT of them, the funny thing is FOUR of them are mine! LOL!! Here they all are... We have so many things to be thankful for... It all begins right here!

Halloween

2010-11-30T16:52:00.000-05:00

I know tomorrow is Dec 1st, but hey, at least I am getting these up!

Blaine decided he didn't want to be something good this year so he opted for a crazy clown! We took and old shirt and cut it all up, spiked his hair with paste and then died it black with blue tips, put fake blood everywhere and off he went! He stays in character so well! It is in his nature... We all know he is still the same cute kid as always... but at almost 9, I assume he is allowed to be a little scary sometimes....

Now Gavin was a ninja... I know you can't tell it in this pic with his Kyle Busch 18 on his face and with a witch hat on his head, but he really has on a ninja suit... It had a full face helmet, something near and dear to his heart of course....

Lil Miss Princess here was at the RCR fall festival and was decorating a cupcake. Shew she is awfully pretty and I think that princess thing is going a long, long way with her.... Shew, it is gonna be a long haul... :)

And then there is Little Miss Smiles... Morgan was a fairy.. Is she not the cutest fairy in all the land??? Of course she is!!!

Holy BUSY Batman.....

2010-11-27T18:41:00.000-05:00

So it has been a few weeks since I have posted... obviously. There have been lots of changes, beginnings, and ends....

Baseball.... over... It was a great season and we finished with only one loss. The improvment seen by all players was amazing and we hope to have some of the same kids in the spring.

Racing....over (kinda)... Gavin finished 3rd in the points, only 7 points out of second place and we are so proud of him. It was his first full year and all of the other kids that finished in front of him have more than one car and this is NOT their first year in Jr. Honda. Very, very proud of him!!

Work... Well, it is super busy. I like it a lot so far. The paperwork stuff is a lot. I don't mind though. It just seems like I am digging out a lot... I am sure as I catch up that will get better... I did my first interview last night. I thought it went well. Have done a lot of things that are new and different for me so that is always exciting!

MN... Our trip was soooo much fun!!! I missed Scott and the kids horribly, but it also allowed me the opportunity to see how things are on the leadership end of things and with this position starting as soon as I returned it was really cool. Here are some pics of the events... We ate... and ate... and ate... shew, gained 4 pounds! LOL!! It was great!!!

I will post more about Thanksgiving soon! We had a good time. Mom wasn't there so that was very strange, but she had a good reason and we still managed to eat...and eat...and eat!!

A New Chapter...

2010-10-15T14:10:00.001-04:00

I found out about an hour ago that I was accepted as the new Assistant Unit Manager for the Emergency Department!!! I am so humbled and so excited! I have been a nurse for 10 years now. I have grown up in my ED. They have seen the best of me and the worst of me... I have grown leaps and bounds and to see that rewarded with such an honor as trusting me to lead is overwhelming. I have prayed God's will for a very long time, hopeful that His will was in line with mine... I was ready to accept it either way... Thank you Lord... Shew.... My cup overflows.... From the support and prayer of my husband to the encouragement from my friends, I can't explain my blessings... They are far beyond what I deserve!!

Wreck... shew......

2010-10-07T18:07:00.000-04:00

Today the girls and I were in a motor vehicle collision on the way to get Blaine and Gavin from school. This is the first time I have ever been hit and I have to tell you it was scary... I understand better now what my patients go through.... Not that I don't have sympathy for them, but when she hit us the Emily started screaming and crying and all I could think of was my babies... Emily was holding her neck and she and Morgan both have a seatbelt strap across their necks... They seem to be okay this far... (we are about 4 hours out) and my head and neck hurt, but I seem to be okay....

I was hit by a town car and bless her heart, she was shaken up as well. I feel sure her car will be totaled, though I am not a claims adjuster or whatever the formal name for them is.

It just goes to tell you that at ANY second, things can change.... I had only a week earlier moved Morgan's seat from the side the impact was on to the other side... to give Gavin more room... Thank GOD he wasn't sitting there, nor Blaine... Shew... Thank you Jesus... Not that I wasn't very aware of my many blessings to begin with... I was, am and will forever be.

DASH PLAYOFF GAME!

2010-09-25T09:21:00.000-04:00

Blaine's sack race on the field!

Since the boys have started baseball they are much more into it and were excited when our family surprise was a DASH play-off game. Our Winston Salem Dash were in the Carolina League Playoffs.... Now they went on the lose, but when we went they WON... and boy we did too!! Scott and Gavin and Blaine all went on the field for some inbetween inning fun!! It was great!!!

Papi and Gavin's water balloon toss.

Blaine was leading his sack race until the very end when he tripped! He had such a lead that he was able to get back up and then he tripped again.... This cost him the race, but he got a cool

ball for participating! He later caught a T-Shirt too!

Here is one of the pics from the outfield. We had GREAT seats, we were about 1/3 of the way down the first base line and only about 8 rows up! It was so much fun!
To the right is "BOLT" he is the mascot for the Dash. He is pretty funny and boy did Emily watch him like a hawk... She didn't cry or hide, but when he was near she had her eyes on him at ALL times!

Here is a family shot. A lady sittin above us got this before the game started. I love family pics!

Rain Delay Fun!!

2010-09-16T20:20:00.000-04:00

Saturday was a race day.... we never did take the track, but we had fun playing in the rain... These are void of Blaine, he wasn't there... he was surely missed...

Above is baby Moe...who is rapidly becoming not a baby anymore... The right is Gavin and Ryan. On the track they are fierce competitors, off the track they are becoming really good friends! It's really cool! Ryan is also one of four so they have lots in common! They are also less than a month apart in age. Pretty awesome!

Emily wanted us to wear our rain boots so we put them on and went stomping around! It was one of those mother/daughter moments I already cherish!

To the left is a close up of our sassy boots!!!

To the left is Daddy and Morgan being silly!! She is soooo stinking funny... She is talking in sentences and knows EXACTLY what she wants... She may be more of a handful than Emily.... God help us..

A rare moment to the right... Scott and I pausing to take a quick picture... We are so good for each other... Definitely the best man in the world for me... You can see it all over our faces! tee hee!

Here is the infamous "Mark"... Now if you know Emily, you know Emily is completely giddy over Mark and thank goodness he happens to be a really good kid...and a heck of a racer! I suppose since we know he and his family are super good people....he will do... :)

Holy look alike batman!!! Look and Emily and Morgan! Can you believe they are this big? I still can't! When I saw this I was pretty shocked!!! They are so big and they look so alike! Amazing!

To the left is Emily and mom hanging out waiting for the rain to stop... it never really did.... They cancelled the race... Gavin would have been on the pole... Oh well, we had a lot of fun!

And so it goes... Here are Scott and the girls going to the hot chute to get the "no race" call.... We shall only hope we have many more races to go!! God is so good!!!

School and Baseball and Preschool and Racing.....

2010-09-16T18:32:00.000-04:00

So it has been a while since I have posted out of sheer time constraints. We currently have the following going on.....

School has started back for the boys. A new school! They love it!

Preschool- Emily is now in preschool!! Can you believe it??

Baseball- Blaine and Gavin are playing baseball, oh yeah, and Scott is the head coach, and I am the team mom... cause we don't have anything else on our plate :)

Racing- Gavin is currently 3rd in the points with a couple more good finishes, we are fairly sure he can get second.... We are gonna keep trying for the championship!
MN- I am trying to get prepared for my poster presention! ahhhhh!
HOME FOR SALE!!- Don't you want to buy it, or rent it?? Don't ya?

So, we are a little busy! I suppose not any more busy than any other family, but holy cow sometimes I have to remember to tie my shoes.... on second thought I will just put on the ol flip flops! :)

Lauch of "Just Ask Blaine"

2010-08-11T12:41:00.000-04:00

So Blaine has been looking for his nitch... He loves his acting classes and video games, but with everyone else having a website and their own thing to focus on we wanted to make sure Blaine did as well... After lots of discussion and brainstorming we came up with an advice column for kids by a really smart and whitty kid... thats right, our very own Blaine has begun his own website/blog called "Just Ask Blaine". This thing is completely run by Blaine and it is for kids to ask for kid advice and get that advice from none other than a kid going through the same life processes.

For the website we had to take some updated pics of Blaine. I knew he was a very cute kid but boy did I underestimate the super-photogenic part! Check these out. Besides looking like he is 15 and being an awesome little guy he has also decided to share his knowledge about being a kid with the world! Check it out, send your kid friends to ask him advice and lets see where this goes!!

Toothpaste!

2010-08-06T16:41:00.000-04:00

This morning Mee-Maw was looking for her toothpaste... We often hunt anything the girls can get in their hands and run with... the recent favorite has been the toothpaste... Well, we found it..... Emily had decided to put "lotion" on... She was so proud and I thought it was so funny, I couldn't do a thing but put her in the tub... Choosing my battles, this isn't one of them! :)

Indy! Done Travelling for the Summer HOORAY!!!!

2010-07-14T09:59:00.000-04:00

So our final summer adventure and 10 hour drive was to Indy for Gavin to race... I have to be honest...I was dreading this one.... We had just returned from a 10 hour Disney drive to get on the road again for 10 more hours... We knew the only great thing was that we were going to get to see Grandpa Glenn and Grandma Loretta since we were going to Indiana....

On the road we went. I drove the entire way and when we left we didn't even have a hotel lined up... Just figured we would work it all out when we got there... It worked out perfectly! We left at 6 am and drove and drove and drove... We got to the track at 4:30, just in time to get Gavin signed in.... This race was in the infield of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway... How awesome is that!

We decided to stay in the USAC featured hotel and that too was a good decision. We had a suite and it was comfortable for all of us. We played in the pool a lot and that is always a lot of fun.

Gavin learned so much on this trip that I was amazed! His racing has improved 10 fold and he was already good! So thats awesome!

We also got to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa and have dinner as well. That, as always, is cherrished and so much fun. I am very blessed by their relationship not only with the kids, but with my parents. It is always a lot of fun!!

We also HAD to go to White Castle for Papi who had to work and wasn't able to go.... He was missed.. But we made sure to stop and grab a pic or two... and some yummy burgers...

Despite a nasty virus that ran through the family and dreading the trip it actually turned out to be a good time and I am glad we did it!! I was also very glad to get home! It was our last big trip for the summer and now it is time to focus on things like... SCHOOL! AHHHHHHH!!!!! :)

DISNEY RECAP!

2010-06-22T11:16:00.000-04:00

Lets just get right to the good stuff!!! PICTURES!!!!

This is Emily seeing the castle for the very first time in person! It was classic!!! She was soooo excited and in awe of it! What an awesome experience!

This is Blaine after getting is robe and taking the oath to be a Jedi trainee. Blaine was one of a dozen kids that got to go on STAGE and face the evil Darth Vader!!! Stay tuned to see if he changed to the dark side.....

This is Gavin all decked out in the Rainforest Cafe. He was ready to go on a safari!! Shew, what a good pic!! Disney was about a lot more than race cars for us this week!

Here we are in TREX! Baby Moe was amazed at the dinosaurs! Obviously you can tell by her face! So cute! She has really come into her own in the past week or so. "Woah" is one of her favorite words!

Here is Emily outside of Splash Mountain posing while waiting on brothers! She has now decided she likes the camera and will cheese it up quickly! Shew, we are in trouble! She is soooo beautiful!

Come to the dark side.. NEVER! Blaine here is performing his routine perfectly!! He defeated Darth with ease! GOOOOOO BLAINE!!! He is now a
"pat-o-wan"... Has the certificate to prove it!!!

Here Gavin is washing his new dino! Trex proved to be a lot of fun and thank you to Mee-Maw for the dino's. The boys love them and take great care of them!

Morgan was all grins while awaiting the rides in Animal Kingdom! This was her very first ride and she loved it! She rode lots of rides during the week and even at 1 managed to do great!!

This was one of my favorite Disney moments!! Emily hugged mickey and minnie and was so excited to meet them! Getting a pic of all of them all together is one thing I will cherish... Shew, I love those babies!

This pic is daddy and Emily on the Haunted Mansion ride! Look at that face!!! So sweet!!!!

The only ride I didn't ride with the boys was splash mountain. We had all been soaking wet everyday early afternoon and boy was I not up to getting soaking wet again.... They had a blast! We have the video of their decent down the hill! Too funny!

Here we all are at Magic Kingdom when we first entered the park! Castle full up in the background! What an awesome trip! We are so blessed by our family!

I can't wait to see what our next adventure will be!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY FROM DISNEY!!

2010-06-20T09:26:00.002-04:00

To the best Husband/Papi/Daddy in the whole wide world, we would like to say HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to Scott!
Today we will be taking Daddy to the Richard Petty Driving Experience here in Florida for some fast paced fun!!!
We love you Daddy!!!!!

Gavin & Papi @ the drivers meeting. One of my favorite pics! Papi got Gavin this hat! His first flat bill hat, he was soooo excited!!!

Above is Daddy & Emily at Hollywood Studios! It was so HOT! But we made the best of it and had a lot of fun!!!

To the left is Morgan and Daddy! We were in Animal Kingdom! Morgan has been such a trooper, with temps 100 degrees Daddy and Moe are in the mister staying cool!

The final pic is of Blaine and Papi settling a bet! Blaine actually lost the bet, but in good sportsmanship, Papi posed with Blaine for a kiss with cinderella! So much fun!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to PAP-PAW and GRANDPA GLENN as well!!! Love you guys!!!!

DISNEY!

2010-06-16T21:07:00.000-04:00

So we are ending day 2 at Disney World and we are having a BLAST!!! We went to Animal Kingdom the first day after driving ALL night to get here. So much fun though! Gavin has had practice one day thus far and was FAST!! It has been 100 degrees everyday and the heat index has been 106. It has been horribly hot, but we have had an afternoon shower that has helped each day! We have been swimming in the pool several times each day and I really think they like that part better than the other stuff! It helps that it is out the back door and it is just ours! Renting a house is absolutely the way to go!!

I hope to update at least one more time before we leave. Gavin races tomorrow! I will also post on his blog www.gogavingo.com now with racing photos so check it out!

Go LOOK!

2010-05-19T22:11:00.002-04:00

Go look at www.gogavingo.com!!!!

Soooo excited for the boys!!!!

Our Baby is ONE!!!!

2010-04-30T19:19:00.001-04:00

Little Miss Morgan celebrated her FIRST birthday Tuesday surrounded by family! It was quite the event complete with grandparents all the way from Indiana burgers and a homemade cake! :) There is so much to see I will just get straight to the pics!!

Having my first bite of cake!

Morgan's Cake!! Thanks to Crocker aka April, I was able to make it very cute! I made it, she was a telesupporter/instructor.

Morgan's personal cake! I made this one too... She made a mess of it for sure!!

Daddy and Baby Moe!!

Craft time! All the kids got a craft and their own paints! Glitter was everywhere!!!

I think Morgan had a great time! In this pic she had her cake, opened her presents, and was ready for bed! As usual, she still had a smile for us all! Happy Birthday Baby Morgan!! We love you!

Fishing With Pap-Paw!

2010-04-13T11:05:00.000-04:00

Since you guys know we have our house on the market and ours is completely staged, we are here with Mom and Dad... For us that is a big blessing but a big change so we are making the best of it at every turn! My poor mom and dad! :)

One of the coolest things about it is that Pap-Paw gets to teach the boys all kinds of stuff and they ALL love to run around with Pap-Paw, be it a mule ride or fishing they all are crazy about spending time with him and it is pretty cool for us too. Here is there latest adventure... Fishing in the Yadkin River.

Blaine caught the fish in his picture! So proud of that little thing!!! He is good at everything he tries!

Now Gavin didn't catch a fish, but Pap-Paw said he NEVER gave up... Which is exactly Gavin's personailty! He has to work hard at everything but sure doesn't mind the work... So he looks like he caught a whale! Too cute!!!

There are challenges here but there are also a lot of rewards! I know we will always cherrish being able to have the kids spend so much time with their Mee-Maw and Pap-Paw. I know that we are blessed by our family support and I know that mom likes that I cook a lot because she is WAY too busy to do it all though she is absolutely the definition of "super mom"!

Emily's First Haircut!!!

2010-04-08T01:22:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Emily got her very first haircut!!! I was pretty nervous that she would not allow me to be anywhere away from her so we talked it up all day, we watched brothers get haircuts the day before and by the time she was ready to get in the chair she did GREAT!!!

We just had it trimmed up so it would grow well, but we are so proud of our big girl!! Good Job Emmys!

Easter

2010-04-05T14:36:00.000-04:00

This Easter was really fun... All the babies are up walking and could get in the fun! Blaine and Gavin got great presents from the Easter Bunny and Emily and Morgan loved being outside hunting eggs!

We are so very blessed! From the talk about what Easter was really about to seeing all the kids tear into their baskets and be so excited! God is good and I am blessed beyond anything I deserve!!!

Running Crazy and Curious George!

2010-04-02T11:52:00.000-04:00

So I suppose by my lack of posting things are per our normal... completely CRAZY!!!

We are in the full swing of spring... Our house is for sale! If you or someone you know may be interested PLEASE leave me a comment! We are going all over with Gavin's racing, Blaine's acting classes are in full force with this time giving him a full production being done with other classes!! Emily is soooo 2 years old!! She is independent and we are working on the potty! Morgan is walking and popping teeth through all the time! She will turn one at the end of this month! Can you believe it!!!!

We took the girls to see Curious George Live the other day and they were so cute!! Every time every one else would clap the girls would stop and clap and giggle! Very cool!!! Here are some pics!

TWO in a ROW!!!!

2010-03-14T22:27:00.001-04:00

Gavin won his second consecutive race this weekend at our home track NCQMA!!!! GO GAVIN GO!!!!!! Proud of ya Rowdy Jr.!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMILY!!!!

2010-03-07T14:43:00.000-05:00

Emily turned 2 on Friday! We took her to Chuck-E-Cheese and she had a ball! She even put the tokens in and brought me the tickets! So big! She is so funny! She is talking all the time and laughs at herself constantly!

She loves to try on clothes and play with her brothers and sister. She is so fun! She is also very opinionated and doesn't mind telling you what she thinks! It is so much fun. She is a true blessing to our lives and our family!

GAVIN WON HIS FIRST RACE TODAY!!!!

2010-03-07T00:24:00.000-05:00

Gavin won his first race today!!! We are so proud of him!! He got the lead and never looked back! For more details visit http://www.gogavingo.com/

CONGRATS GAVIN!!!

GO GAVIN GO!!!!

I'm covered up!

2010-03-04T10:40:00.001-05:00

I can't explain how busy life is right now. I promise I will try to post very soon! Emily turns 2 tomorrow! Can you believe it?? Gavin starts racing Saturday, Blaine's acting debut was last night and Morgan is walking all over the place.... Scott is loving work, I am so busy with work I need a nanny and we are loving it all.

Trying to get the house ready to sell. Hope to be on the Market by March 15, holy cow..see I need to be painting right now.... Lord help!!!! LOL!!! Will try ASAP, promise!!!!!!

What We Have Been UpTo!!

2010-02-08T17:16:00.007-05:00

So busy has become an understatement yet again in 2010!! Blaine has acting and piano. He is our artsy one! He just got his script and is excited to have 5 lines and be the one everyone follows off stage.

Gavin now is geting cranked up with racing. Meeting number one is done, USAC in, QMA out and lots of traveling ahead! He will probably go up a class this year as well. Big things are on the way!

Emily is heading straight into the terrible 2's like a run away train, and all we can do right now is stand firm and deal with the fits... Shew, some days are long and others are perfect...She is such a sweet little girl...she is also a very strong willed and independent little girl... Here we are at the rodeo in King. One of our favorite family acitivities

Morgan has 2 teeth and takes a step at a time here and there completely unassisted... she is only 9 months old!! She smiles and smiles and smiles. She is a really sweet girl. She also looks just like Gavin! Too funny!

Scott has a new job that he really likes,it has normal hours!! We are like a real family again.... Thank you Jesus!!

I have a new hair-do and am completely covered up at work with extra stuff... all is well with the world...

Moving on UP!!

2010-01-19T17:08:00.004-05:00

So recently there has been some forward movement in our lives!! It has been a long time coming, but we have remained faithful and God is good!!!

Scott begins a new job on Thursday and we are really excited about the opportunity. He will be heading up the IT at a company that is near home!! I won't have to be a single mom anymore as his hours are "normal" and it will allow many new opportunites for us!!

The first "new" opportunity is that we are really making some progress on our land!! We will be completeing the survey next week, then the permit for septic, and then before you know it we will be ready to really get the process started to our new home!!! We have the home picked out... We agreed on it right away so we knew it must be the right one!! Now to just keep the momentium going!

The above pic is of our new road! Tesh sounds good to me!! The pic on the right is a view looking down the road. Our land is on the left. It is 4 acres +/-. We are so excited!!! I told Scott that I felt like 2010 was going to be a good year for us!! I had no idea how soon that would come to pass!!

Welcome 2010!!!!!!

2010-01-03T01:44:00.009-05:00

Scott and I were able to ring in the new year much differently than we ever have before (Thanks MOM!!!)... We went to St. Mary's, PA for Matt and Kasey's "wedding". They have been married for over 3 years now, but no one was there the first time so they came "home" (Kasey is from PA) and had a wedding. Imagine putting that many Marines in one place.... Yeah, it was a gooooood time!!!

Scott and the guys have not been together since 2005 so this trip was very special to them all.. One thing that Lope pointed out was that this was the first time that all of them have been together that they were ALL fathers. My, my, how things change!!

This was one of the most G-rated photos I had of the boys.... It only got worse from here! LOL!!!

Then there was "club 101".... This was Chris and Betsy's room that became the place to be after midnight.... The stories rolled... It was a lot of fun!!! It was an great way to start out 2010!!!

Christmas Blessings!

2009-12-27T17:08:00.007-05:00

We had a wonderful Christmas and hope everyone else did as well!! Glenn & Loretta came down and that completed the whole family being together! Emily was all about Grandpa and that was very cool! You would hear "I love you Gam-pa" echo through the house over and over. It is so nice to get some time in with them!

Everyone gets new jammies on Christmas Eve so we had to snag a picture of them in their new jammies! They were excited!

Scott and I had a quick second to grab a shot which is rare these days...

Morgan is 8 months old today!! Here is a shot of her and grandpa... All grins. With her big dimples shining!!

Emily got a kitchen and fridge from MeeMaw and PapPaw... She was so excited and played and played and played... Morgan decided to see what all the fuss was about...She pulls up on everything now... She also lets go....for a second or two!

Here big cousin Blaine is showing Cooper how to use the DSi he got for Christmas. Cooper and Blaine are good friends!!

We only took 88 pics this year... There was so much going on it was a full time job just chasing youngins!! Again we are so blessed to have a wonderful family and lots of little babies!! Thank you Jesus!! :)

VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!!!!

2009-12-24T10:32:00.002-05:00

You guys know how much I LOVE my photographer JENNIFER FARRIS... Well she has been nominated for PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR!!! How about her!!!! What I want you all to do is GO VOTE!!!!

Here is the link!! She was the photographer of the month for May. When you click the link scroll down and choose her!! Come on people, vote, vote, vote!!!

http://blog.photobiz.com/featured-photographer-of-the-year

Lots of Santa & Our Songbird

2009-12-18T10:49:00.010-05:00

We have been running around completely crazy lately... We are here and there and Santa here and overtime there and it is amazing we haven't lost a child or parent somewhere! :)

We have had 2 visits to Santa. The first came at Blaine's beautiful Christmas program. We have the video, but is is WAY to big to upload. He sang "Happy Birthday Jesus" in front of over 100 people. Never messed up or even appeared the least bit nervous... To Blaine the world really is a stage! We are SOOOOO proud of you Blaine!!! It was also Emily's first time in a fancy little dress so I got a little crazy with the pics!

You know ANYTIME I can get all of them still I am going to be snapping pics!! This took about 1o pics to get even close to right! I love those babies!!!

Emily was scared to death of Santa up close but wanted to see him so badly that we got her to sit on Blaine's lap. She was watching every move that ol man made!

Our second breakfast with Santa was at RCR. I couldn't resist posting the pic of Emily looking like she is posing! She was again eyeballing Santa and though she wanted to be near him there was little to no way she was gonna get too close!

Daddy and Morgan are happy to watch the festivities unfold. Morgan was just happy to be up and around! So big!!
Though Ems didn't want anything to do with Santa she made great friends with this snowman!! He was just her size!!

With some encouragement from mom, Emily finally got on Santa's lap. I tried to scoot out of the picture but she would have NONE of it!! NONE at all. We took it as it was and had a great day!!

Merry Christmas everyone!! I hope that your holiday is as full and blessed as ours!!

So, I will...

2009-12-16T20:02:00.000-05:00

Okay, So I know it has been WAYYYYYY too long since I have posted... I have some stuff to post, I just have to take a break from overtime to get to it... I am working 4-5 days a week... Don't hate me, I promise I will get to it ASAP!!!

FALL NATIONALS & THANKSGIVING

2009-11-25T19:32:00.004-05:00

So Fall Nationals is the biggest QM race of the year and it starts Friday morning with qualifing and will go to the "big show" on Saturday. Gavin has to qualify top 4 to get into the big race...if he doesn't get top 4 he has to race his way in... This means he will run a "B main" and if he finishes in the top 4 of that he is in the "A Main" or main race.... Shew, it is complicated and makes me so stinking nervous!!! He is so excited and he loves racing so much that I can't imagine how things would be without it right now, even if it is chaos at our house!! Wish him luck!! There are several things going on Friday. There is a bake sale... Well we decided we didn't want just any ol brownie so Gavin and I decided to do Chocolate covered apples. We got all the stuff and decided to do a trial run on Tuesday.... Here are the results... We have to figure out when to put the M&M's on there so they don't run, but so far so good...and they are TASTY!!!! We are going to make them all on Thanksgiving night. Should be a crazy night!!

Speaking of Thanksgiving... wow, how greatful am I for my many blessings?? We have tons of family in town, we have 4 beautiful healthy children and a marriage that is perfect for us. Shew, drinking from my saucer.... Will try to update as soon as I can, no promises before the beginning of next week. I have tons to do! Happy Thanksgiving all!!!!

How about that husband!!!

2009-11-20T22:21:00.003-05:00

I have to brag on the husband for a minute!! Today I was at the racetrack with Gavin when I got a picture from my wonderful husband and I had to take a minute to brag on him, he is gonna kill me for this by the way! (Tee hee!! I love you baby!)

Scott works hard as you all know and puts up with a LOT of BS from people and as much as it drives him crazy, he has chosen to rise above it and rock out the TOP sales person for last month! Take note that he isn't in sales...he is in support!! That's right... Can you tell I am proud of him!! I really, really, am!

He got this award and some cash.. THANK YOU JESUS!! We have been needing that for Christmas for our 4,000 children!!! LOL! We have also been praying about it and God as usual provides!! In the craziest ways!! Woo hooo!!!!

So though you are gonna kill me, I am proud of you baby!! Congrats and I love you!!!!

Where did my babies go??

2009-11-10T18:36:00.004-05:00

So today I took the boys for a LONG overdue hair cut to Maestro, the best barber that we have ever been to by far.... He has been cutting the boys hair for what seems like forever and he always delivers... http://www.maestrohairstudio.com/-.php if you would like to check him out. There are even a couple pics of the boys way at the bottom of the "customer" pics. Holy cow how they have grown and changed!!

Blaine is quickly approaching 8 and we are still wondering where the time has gone... Wow.... Such a handsome young man!!! He is still into fantasy and games. He is smart as a whip and more caring than anyone I know @ his age.

Gavin is horrible about letting you take his picture unless it is of him in a race car. So here he is acting silly, silly!! But still a great haircut and a good looking little man he is!! Gavin is more amazing everyday... he is whitty and funny and less quiet than he was. His quiet confidence is pretty cool!!

Shew, I love my boys!!! I love them all of course!!

RCR Fall Festival

2009-10-27T22:58:00.006-04:00

Today we went to the RCR Fall Festival (Thanks Ginger!) We had a great time, as we do every year!! It was also a lot of fun to get all the kids dressed up and get a group picture!! I was excited, even if Gavin had on a helmet and Blaine's face was GREEN! Shew, I love these things! :)

Blaine wanted to be "The Mask", remember that movie with Jim Carey? Yeah that one... Finding something to even come close to that was hard, but I think we did a good job!

Gavin was of course, a racer... He started off the night with the helmet, the gloves, the whole get up, and ended up with no shoes on, a paw print on his face, and lots and lots of baked goods... Too Funny!

Emily was the cutest little duck you ever did see!! When I would say "Duck", she would say, "quack!", it was so funny! She loved being dressed up! This picture can't begin to capture how cute she really was in person!

Morgan was a monkey, though she looks like she has just seen a ghost, it is only the flash that gets her to have that "deer in the headlights look". Pap-Paw also gave her the very first sucker she had ever had and though she was a sticky mess, she really, really, seemed to enjoy the evening! We all did! What a great family we have!! Thank you Jesus! :)

A Strong First Showing!!!

2009-10-21T18:58:00.001-04:00

So this weekend was Gavin's first ever Quarter Midget race. He had batch qualifying and qualified 2nd out of 4. He then got into the race and because it was so cold they got a 30 second warm up... Well Gavin jumped right out in front and we were so excited we couldn't see straight!!!

Well they had to throw the yellow and line up double file... so he did great getting lined up and away we went... It was 20 laps and Gavin did an excellent job of holding his own. He never could catch the first place car, but got really close. First race ever in Quarter Midgets, we will take a second place!!! So proud of him!!!

I caught this picture when Gavin wasn't looking at me...I got 3 of them and they are all really good. Shew, that is a good looking little man!! Doesn't he just look like a driver!!

SECOND PLACE!!!!

2009-10-18T03:14:00.001-04:00

Gavin finished first in hs very first quarter midget race today!!!!!!!! GO GAVIN GO!!! I will post pics as soon as I can.

All in a week's work....

2009-10-05T23:59:00.003-04:00

So I haven't posted in a week or so and I have to tell you between running crazy, working a crazy schedule trying to just keep up I wanted to share with you what happens in a week at our house... Hold on, it is a crazy ride every week!

As some of you know we have a family bracelet. We ALL wear them and each person has a color... We have our initial in the middle and we have been having trouble getting our bracelets to stay together. Here is my newest try... Hemp. I know it is durable. I think it will stay on easier and it will be both girl and boy friendly! This was my second attempt at making one of them.

You should have seen me trying to learn how to do this on You Tube... A lot of determination and even more pausing and here is the result of my first attempt!!! I was pretty excited!! Then I added beads! (above)

Where oh where do I find time to do such things... I have no idea, I just do it!

This picture was just too cute not to post... It is a little blurry but it is very, very cute!! And of course we were working on the karts....

Here Scott and I were changing Blaine's engine. Dad helped us understand what we needed to do but did really good letting us do it!! Turns out it was probably the carburetor that was bad, but it was fun none the less!! (and BTW, that man is H-O-T, isn't he? Scott that is! LOLOL)

This is a typical week, now throw in 2 full-time jobs, 4 kids, and at least 2 hours of homework a day and see what you have... LOL, for me you have sleepy but oh so fulfilled. Thank you Jesus!!

BUSY!!!

2009-09-26T22:18:00.003-04:00

We have been busy, busy, busy... We couldn't get to the quarter midget track so we did the next best thing... We went to Ronnie Bassett's track and practiced, practiced, practiced!

Gavin's kart is in a million pieces so we took Blaine's kart and they ran it. It was also Blaine's first time in a kart!

This was his VERY first time in the kart!! Think he looks nervous?? He did sooo good!!!!

Even Emily got in the mix... She put on Brother's helmet... She couldn't hold her head up by herself, but loved wearing it!! She kept yelling, "race, race, race!" I have no doubt she will be next!!!

Here Uncle Todd was giving Gavin some pointers about how to get around the track. Gavin turned some pretty fast times by the end of the second day of practice!

When Blaine got in the kart for the first time he asked Gavin if he had any pointers. It was so cool!! Here Gavin is giving him the run down... Pap Paw is taking care of the kart! Such a great team...

INTRODUCING......

2009-09-22T23:06:00.001-04:00

So I am on the website for 1/4 midgets and see there is a "drivers" area. I click on it and there is information on all the drivers and a link to there personal websites... PERSONAL WEBSITES! Now listen, this family does websites, as you all know and we won't be out done on such a thing.. So I am a mad woman texting Scott and we came out with this.... www.gogavingo.com. It currently goes to a blog because we haven't gotten the site completely set up yet, but you better know it is coming and it is gonna be good. (the blog looks pretty good as it is I think..)

So feel free to check it out! www.gogavingo.com... Shew, that boy can race!!

Also, Todd got Blaine a kart so Blaine will be making is debut very soon! I may have a stroke with both of them out there racing, but I am willing to give it a try! We haven't seen his kart yet... I am sure it will be in the next day or so... Will keep you updated... Sign up to follow his blog if you can... it would get him all kinds of excited!!

Labor Day

2009-09-15T12:36:00.003-04:00

It has taken me forever to get this posted, but here it is finally! Labor day was spend at the lake and we had a lot of fun. We played and ate and took a family boat ride. It was a full day and it was a lot of fun!!! Here is the slide show....

Gavin's wreck....

2009-09-13T06:31:00.001-04:00

So Gavin had a huge wreck today, one that ended us up with an ambulance ride and a ED visit in Randolph County. HE IS OKAY, thank you Jesus... I will post pics when I can.

Gavin's First RACE....

2009-08-31T22:34:00.004-04:00

So Saturday was a HUGE day for us!!! Gavin was in his first race... Yes, RACE...He told me several months ago that he wanted to race... I called uncle Todd and said, Gavin said he wants to race... What do I do now? Uncle Todd says..."all you have to do is say he wants to race"... Out of that, this day was born.

A couple weeks ago I got a call to go to CKI (Competition Karting Incorp.) and get Gavin fit for his seat... Okay, so off we go... We show up to find Lewis waiting on us with a brand new kart and lots of guys willing to help get him set... We left excited and still with a lot of questions, but we were happy that the process had started and that was just REALLY cool!

We got the call that we were going to our first race soon after...I did some quick changing and got off work (Thanks again Crystal!) and before you know it we were off to Ramseur, NC.... Coleridge Speedway... (www.coleridgespeedway.com) Gavin has at this point NEVER sat in this kart with the engine running. He has NEVER been in a real race, and he has NEVER been in a real kart beyond a Nascar Speedpark.

Lewis told me that if Gavin didn't get lapped TWICE his very first race he was doing good and we may have something to work with... I had to lower my expectations right then...

He also told me that he "knew I was a Berrier and I better not yell at that younging..." he told me that "if I thought I could do it better they made suits and karts my size and I could race too." Put me right in my place off the bat! Ha! He has known the "Berrier family" for quite some time! LOL!

When it was time to practice, I thought I would die... I was shaking and tearful and had a very heavy feeling in my chest... Here I was the mother, protector, putting my baby boy in a kart that goes 50mph (yes, 50!) and saying, I know you have never done this before, but go for it! Lord, I thought I would die.... He made it through his first practice and did very well. Then he went out for the second practice, and did well again...

There is a lot of down time at the track so we ate and hung out and watched Jessica and Jordan qualify, she got the pole and won the race! (GO JESS!) Then it was race time... Shew, to think about it makes me upset...but we put that little thing in there, prayed for him and let him go... He started off a little wide in the corners and as the laps clicked off another kart got into him a little...that seemed to ignite something inside of him and off he went!!! He went through the traffic like a bullet (a kid kart bullet) and finished third!!! That little thing didn't only keep from getting lapped, he lapped a couple kids and finished THIRD!!!! Shew, I suppose this is it... The boy said he wants to race... and race he shall... Good job Gavin!! We are so proud of you!

Baby Moe....

2009-08-23T03:11:00.002-04:00

So I wanted to share a really sweet pic of baby Morgan. She is getting to be a lot of fun!! She is smiling and happy, thought she sure has an opinion... Shew, she can scream. LOL!! Here is a cute bath pic! awwww I wanna bite her!!!

Fun with Fake Tattoos!

2009-08-21T11:45:00.004-04:00

So we are hanging out at the house, something we rarely get to do as a family these days and the boys want tattoos... No big deal, we get started....well they decided that like many things, if one of us does it then it becomes a family thing and we ALL have to do it... Of course, we are game so here we are...our family tattoo session!
Here you will find Emily with her flames! Gavin picked this out for her!

Scott chose the always classic skull and crossbones... his on the back of his left arm.

For me a couple of stars! Small and tastefully done of course!

For Gavin a motorcycle on the leg... He picked a much bigger one to start but I forgot to take the plastic off and ruined it... oops! It really was a cool tattoo...I felt bad... :(

Blaine wanted the guitar with the skull... He also HAD to have it where Papi has one of his real tattoos! That was a BIG deal to him. He was so proud to show his Papi!

Even Baby Morgan got a tattoo... one for all and all for one of course! This one says "Born to be Wild"... I am sure that has more truth to it than we know.... :)

Potty Time!!!

2009-08-15T00:36:00.003-04:00

So we got Emmy's her first potty! She has a lot of interest in it so we thought though it is a little early, we may as well go with it.... She is so funny with it!! She goes right in the bathroom and sits right down. She has yet to actually use the potty, but she is super excited that it is there and it is hers! We will take what we can get! She will kill me for this when she is a teenager, but here she is sitting on her potty right out of the box!

Been too long....

2009-08-11T22:09:00.002-04:00

Sorry it has been so long since I have posted... We have all been SICK! I came home a couple hours early from work last Wednesday because I was vomiting... I was gonna try to tough it out until Scott called and Emily was vomiting too. So home I came... Emily and I proceeded to vomit through the night and then in the am all seemed a bit better... We went one day thinking we were out of the woods and Morgan started vomiting...

2 more days passed and dog gone it if Blaine and Gavin didn't get it!! They threw up all night and Scott thought he had missed it... well.... he didn't... it caught him a full week later and now we are DONE... So I will begin to post again now that we are all well again... Shew, it was a rough one!

More Beach FUN!!!

2009-07-31T17:58:00.008-04:00

So here is more fun from the beach. We had such a great time! You should have seen Pap-Paw racing! He was having so much fun and we were so excited to see him running around with the kids! We had a great week and though being back in reality isn't the most fun we are glad we have opportunities to do things like this... God is good!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Ahhhh.....The BEACH!!!

2009-07-29T08:50:00.004-04:00

We are at Myrtle Beach and are having so much fun! I wanted to post a couple of the pics!

Gavin is avoiding the camera so far this week!! I will get him! Today it is my mission!!

Blaine all grins!! He spent hours in the water and digging on the beach!! We had a blast yesterday at the beach, we spent most of the day there.

Morgan sitting in my lap under the canopy on the beach... Look at those lashes!! WOW!!!!

Emily in a rare moment where she let me take her picture!!! And she is smiling!!! This was her first real time on the beach.

Daddy taking Emily to the water for the first time!! She LOVED it! She squealed and clapped and danced in the water!! It was so cool! She wasn't scared at all....

Our Condo at the beach. We are on the 8th floor and the view is awesome!!

The view of the pool from our room!!! isn't that awesome!! It is a salt water pool so it doesn't stink like normal pools, but it is very subtle so it is really cool!!

Ahhh lazy days....

2009-07-18T22:59:00.002-04:00

So we are hanging out around the house a couple days ago and I decided to just grab a few pics.. I have to tell you I have some BEAUTIFUL kids... I know they are mine and of course I think they are beautiful...but man, they really are... see for yourself!!

The first one is Morgan, this is her first time in her bumbo seat. She is big enough now to sit there for about 10 minutes before her head gets too heavy and she starts fussing, Gavin was making her smile... I want to bite that little thing!

Next up is Gavin...my mini me... He has been rocking out the mohawk all summer and I have to tell you, he really pulls it off well... For the child that use to hide behind my legs, he has developed quite the little personality! It is so fun to watch him grow...

Then there is Blaine.. Shew, that boy and those dimples are going to make me beat some young fast girls... He has such a sweet spirit...You can really see it in every picture he takes... I hope he doesn't get his heart broken as often as I think he may, I will be in jail! :)

Count this down boys and girls, Emily is looking at the camera!!! She has gotten into this thing where she doesn't want her picture taken... It is funny because she is so stinking cute you would think she would eat it up... But we will take what we can get.. We are BLESSED BEYOND MEASURE!!!!

Our Trip to Indiana

2009-07-12T17:55:00.005-04:00

We recently took a trip back to Scott's old stomping ground. His parents still live there so we went up for a visit. We did lots of stuff and had a lot of fun. Loretta was under the weather and didn't get to go on our adventures. We hope she is feeling better. I would have posted sooner but came home to Emily having a fever for 3 days...Here are some of the pics we got while there!

Here Grandpa is showing the boys the new baby frogs!

To the right is Gavin driving me around at Six Flags!

I loved the little frogs...Emily, yeah, she didn't seem to care too much!

The last time we did the bat factory tour we only had 2 kids! Who would have know we would have FOUR!

Baby Morgan...getting so BIG!

Grandpa playing with Emily on the playground at the zoo.

Papi and Blaine on the bumper cars!

All the monkeys!

Grandpa talking to baby Moe! She is all smiles!

Here is a pic of the whole crew minutes before we headed back home!

July 4th 2009!!

2009-07-05T12:07:00.004-04:00

July 4th was so much fun for us!! Scott had the day off and we headed off to Todd and Ginger's for an all day swim and cookout! I will let the pictures speak for themself!! Here are a few of my favorites in a slide show!We played in the water, set off fireworks, ate and ate and ate! It was so much fun!

Camera MIA!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-06-30T16:00:00.001-04:00

we can't find the camera so I can't post... believe me I am NOT happy about it... So.... will post as soon as I find the camera... Have lots to post...

Our Girls...

2009-06-19T22:24:00.005-04:00

So today we thought it would be a good idea to get a pic of Emily holding Morgan... Scary as it is to think about a 15 month old holding a 7 week old, we were very, very close by so we thought we would go for it! Glenn and Loretta gave us some frames for Christmas that are for the boys and another for the girls so I thought it would be good to see how things would go... I have to tell you.. it was so funny!!! Emily first looked at us like we were going to leave Morgan in her lap or like she was doing something wrong... Then we began to cheer her on and the rest, well you can see for yourself... TOOOOOOO CUTE!!!

Surviving our first week out & finally caught that smile!

2009-06-18T11:35:00.009-04:00

So we are surviving our first week out of school fairly well. We have been to walmart a couple times, we have made it through 2 days of rain, rain, rain... Shew, life isn't as easy to do with them all in our little house! :) Now listen, that is not to say that there aren't times (see picture of Gavin) that it gets a little too crazy or there is someone not listening... Gavin has decided now it is the time to test momma... yeah, not a good idea so far....But all in all, it is already pretty fun!!

Emily LOVES to sit in Blaine's lap and play xbox with him. She loves to sit with Blaine for just about any reason... He reads to her and chases her. She loves him!!

Trying to get Emily to look at the camera and smile is pretty much impossible...she wants to see what you are taking a picture of, not have her picture taken... I thought this one was pretty cute though...

We also FINALLY caught Morgan smiling on camera... Shew, it has been a work in progress!! She has been smiling for a couple weeks now but catching it was pretty hard... She is really interacting with us and especially with Emily. She smiles her very biggest smiles when Emily climbs up beside her and talks to her.

Shew, that thing is cute!! She gets a little more interactive everyday it seems... So sweet!!!!

SCHOOL IS OUT!!!!

2009-06-14T16:58:00.009-04:00

School is out for summer and we decided to get a jump on some summer fun!! The boys last couple days of school were full of programs and field day. We were there to watch and capture some memories.... I wanted to upload a couple pics that were of the kids and then embed a slide show for the others.... We are so blessed by these kids!! I am sure some days this summer will be frustrating and stressful as having 4 at home all the time can be a challenge for even half the day, but we are looking forward to a busy summer. We have lots of activities planned!! Don't worry, I will be sure to have the camera in hand!!!

LIVESTRONG.COM

2009-06-14T10:06:00.002-04:00

So I suppose you could figure out that I am on a mission for a pre-pregnancy body and weight... I am close, but of course in my normal fashion I have to try to go smaller than I was before that... Well I have found a website that has really helped me with that goal and it is FREE to use!!

www.livestrong.com is the site and it is really cool!! It makes keeping up with weight and foods eaten very easy. I so wish getting up at 0630 to learn to run was so easy.... Shew, up at 4 every morning with Morgan has warped my motivation, but I haven't given up on getting going.... I will take off soon and boy will I be excited to actually get out there and run... It will be the "me" time that I have none of at this point.

Anyway it is a great site for tracking things from weight to exercise to foods eaten. It has a huge database of foods so rarely do I have to add something from the back of a package.... So cool!!

Morgan 6 Weeks Old.....

2009-06-08T20:39:00.002-04:00

So little Miss Morgan is 6 weeks old today.... I don't have a ton of time to post as she is finally asleep and I just fixed supper so I have to finish feeding Emily as she passes by and then get the kitchen clean... But I wanted to add a pic I took from my phone, it is a little dark, but I love the look on her face... So sweet.... Also coming up next.... the basement... Oh yes, me and 2 nights of 3am and it is CLEAN!!! Yes, I said MY basement is clean... Miracles do still happen!!!

FREE DOUGHNUTS!!!

2009-06-04T16:50:00.006-04:00

JUNE 5th!!!! June 5th is national doughnut day and Krispy Kreme is giving away one free doughnut to everyone that comes in or drives through!! I don't know about you but with 4 kids anything free is worth talking about!!

God has blessed me with not liking doughnuts! :) i see it as a good thing, but I will surely take the kids...Krispy Kreme has also added some coffee stuff and ice cream!!

Swing by or stop in Friday, June 5th for your free doughnut!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GAVIN!!!!

2009-06-03T08:27:00.003-04:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GAVIN!!!! Today is Gavin's 6th Birthday!!! I can't believe my baby boy is 6!!! He is an awesome little boy with a huge heart and a willing spirit. He is doing excellent in school and loves baseball!! He has always been a huge blessing to me and our family and we are very proud of the little man he is!!! We love you Gavin!!!!!!

The Family Visit!

2009-05-31T12:19:00.003-04:00

We had the pleasure of having Scott's parents in this week! We LOVE it when they come in. They have run the roads to us.... So awesome they are!!!! Next time we are coming to you Mom and Dad!! :)

Here they are with ALL our kids! LOL....
Bless their hearts!! :) As Scott has gone from 0-4, so have they!! Always with open arms... it means so much to me!!

Jennifer Farris captures our Miss Morgan....

2009-05-18T16:23:00.008-04:00

So, it is no secret that Jennifer Farris is our family photographer... I have raved about her many times and will continue to do so. Feel free to check her out at http://www.jenniferfarris.com/ , tell her I sent you! She came to the house and took a few pics of Morgan in early May. It would have been ideal to have Morgan asleep, but of course she wanted to see exactly what all was going on and stayed awake the entire time, even after being fed in the middle... GEESHHH!! Nothing less from one of ours! (we were also very short on time so we didn't even get to attempt some of the props and shots Jennifer wanted... foiled again...

The shots she did get are of course wonderful!! We expect nothing less from her! Here are a couple of them... Emily wasn't going to be in any of them, but of course she made her way in too... I actually think it is one of the best ones...

Morgan is 3 weeks old today and is doing well. She is at times more fussy than the others but who could blame her... With all the chaos going on around her... Bless her heart having 3 older siblings... :)

As Scott and I approach our 2 year anniversary we had to stop and laugh at the changes that have occured in our lives so quickly.... We were looking at some old pictures, from our Disney world trip and it was really funny to us how relaxed we looked!! LOL!! That was way before we had job changes and 4 kids and were still just happy to make the drive back and forth to Wilson!

My, my, how things change!! It is sooo much fun, despite the chaos, it is a lot of fun. We make a pretty great team!! All of us!

For the last couple pics I wanted to show you some of the cute stuff!! These prove that Morgan is really ours!!! (tee hee hee)

GREAT PLACE TO EAT!!!

2009-05-13T12:14:00.005-04:00

So on Mother's Day Scott asked me where I wanted to go for brunch... There is this place downtown that I have had my eye on for quite some time now so I said... NOMA! Noma is an "urban bar and grill" and looks very cool from the outside so we decided to give it a try. Scott and I LOVE downtown and believe it has so much potential to be great that we support it every chance we get....

It was also our first adventure with all FOUR kids! Off we went... They were busy, of course, it was Mother's Day, but it was a beautiful day so we waited in the very comfy area right out front. They are on the corner of 4th and Marshall St so you get to people watch which is always fun downtown...

So, lets get to the good parts! We were seated in a very large booth and to our surprise there were small flat screens mounted on the wall in the booths!! The even better part is they had already put the TV on Noggin for us!!! What a cool personal touch!!! The boys thought that was super cool!! So did I considering taking all 4 of them out for the first time to a restaurant was kinda scary!!

They have an excellent brunch menu. I got shrimp, scallops and grits... I have to tell you I order this everywhere we go and NOMA by far has THE BEST!!! It was a huge plate and came with potatoes and fruit... I couldn't finish it all and never even made it to the fruit! Scott had a B.A.L.T (A=avocado) There is only one thing he likes better than a B.L.T.... now it is a B.A.L.T!! The boys got onion rings, (also super tasty) fries (Blaine said they were better than Bojangles and that is quite the statement from him) and quesidillas Gavin was crazy for them....

I have to tell you I loved it!! We have decided to go to all the cool looking places downtown but I have to tell you they have a tall order to beat NOMA... Definitely my new favorite!! Check them out!!! http://www.noma-ws.com/

Busy....

2009-05-12T21:56:00.004-04:00

Sorry I havent posted for a week or so... Life is so stinking busy right now I just havent gotten to it... by the time they are all asleep I am so exhausted I can't see straight...

Here is a very cute pic from my phone of Blaine singing to Moe. She was screaming until he sat down and begn to sing to her...both of the boys are a tremendous help!!

It is 2207 and again, I am worn out!! I am going to get Morgan fed soon and out I will be too... shew... lol!! So this is four....Wow!! :)

2009-05-01T23:01:00.004-04:00

So Mom has been keeping the kids most of the time so that Morgan could get settled in and we could do some recovery before I was thrown into the fire. All the kids have been here everyday. I took this opportunity to snap a quick pic while they were all together... The reality of that... Shew, WE HAVE FOUR KIDS! Lord have mercy!!! I never in a million years thought I would be the one that would have 4 children. Imagine the feeling Scott has! LOL!!! He is such a wonderful man!! How he goes with the flow so easily I don't understand but am grateful for!
So if I haven't said it we have been completely

shocked by Emily and her reaction to Morgan. We assumed that she would attempt to throw her in the floor to get to me... However from the very beginning she has done just the opposite! She LOVES her!!! She hugs her like you see here. She kisses her and says, "sis-tr". She even tries to give Morgan her own "pa" when Morgan cries. I am so glad to see Emily react so openly to the baby. It is soooo cool!

A GREAT BIG THANKS to MOM for pretty much raising my other three this week! As usual I couldn't have done it without you! I love you!

Welcome Miss Morgan!!!!

2009-04-28T15:28:00.008-04:00

Morgan was born at 1945 yesterday. She weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces and is 21 inches long.

Labor was hard and long and we were on the brink of a c-section. We were told we had one hour to make progress... well we did... We went from a 5 to complete in less than 30 minutes and with one tiny push, Morgan entered the world. Thank you JESUS!!!

Scott and I were scared to death but sure that we would do the best for her and that God would take care of us... so we prayed and it all worked out... Shew, again I say, I am blessed. I am trying to figure out how to add a slide show to this thing...as soon as I do I will have more pics up....

INDUCTION!!!!

2009-04-26T21:54:00.001-04:00

0830!!!!!! We will begin the process of meeting baby Morgan at 0830 Monday morning.... Pray for us and for her... Will update as soon as I can! WOOOOO HOOOOOO!!!!

Teething.... shew.....

2009-04-24T18:31:00.002-04:00

So I was up ALL night last night with Emily and as morning approached and she was still fussy and I was still pregnant things were a little tense.... She took a really long nap today, of course, I couldn't sleep a wink and then this afternoon after seeing her put her glow worm's hat in the back of her mouth to chew, it dawned on me to feel back there and low and behold there is a molar coming in on the right side... NO WONDER!!!!

She is typically so pleasant and the past couple days have been rough... She has been wanting her pacifier, which she normally does without more than with... has been cranky and not sleeping.... DUH MOM!!!

I don't know why I didn't think of it... I have looked up nutrition and sleeplessness and everything else to try to figure out what in the world was going on... Shew, I am glad it is just teeth. I had myself pegged as a horrible parent for not feeding her 3 very square meals and 2 snacks... I am still planning to work on doing a little better in that category....

So Emily is cutting her first molar as Morgan is preparing to enter the world... God really believes I can do this right?? He won't put more on me than I can handle right?? Shew.... :)

Morgan Update....

2009-04-23T08:26:00.003-04:00

It looks as though Miss Morgan is going to be as stubborn as her brother's and sister.... Though we are due on Saturday, we have a scheduled induciton for Monday. I am not sure of the time yet...I get that call on Sunday night. But so far, despite some progress, still no baby~~

Above is a picture of her little face... It may take a minute to figure out exactly what you are looking at. She is looking at the "camera".

They expect her to be fairly small... I was measuring small a couple weeks ago... Small for me is sub-seven pounds. Since I am going past my due date I am sure she will hit the seven pound marker though...

I set up the ability to blog from my phone so I will get pics uploaded as soon as I can get them taken and done.... Pray for all of us to be safe and healthy please!! We are so excited to meet her and complete our family!!

Scott and I just shake our heads and laugh when we think about really having 4 kids! Shew, it is gonna be an adventure, though it always is with us!!

On a side note, we are planning on moving the cribs into the "completed" (minus the letters and flowers, still waiting to get letters, are in the mail) room today!! finished closet yesterday and cleaning floors and getting rug today hopefully!! I will post pics! I am soooo excited!! Again thanks to Glenn for sleepless nights and hard work!! It would have never gotten done without you!!

Will keep you all posted!!!

Easter!

2009-04-13T12:07:00.002-04:00

Easter was a lot of fun!! They boys ran around crazy and Emily who is doing very well with her land legs was on a mission!! We are very, very, very, blessed!!

When the Silly string gets completely out of hand!!
These cans are way too small!! I think you wouldn't have been able to see their faces after much more!
Emily loving being up high on Daddy's shoulders! Her favorite place to ride!
Gavin on a mission for some eggs... They all had money inside!

Scott and I on a MISSION!!!

2009-04-01T23:01:00.006-04:00

Okay so this is kinda silly but pretty funny to Scott and I. I have been on a mission to find a certain shade of lipstick that I LOVE...

It is Max Factor Toffee Shimmer... Here is the problem... IT IS NOWHERE.... I can't even find it on ebay!!! Scott and I have been on a mission to find it and the other day we actually got pretty tickled about it... He would pull up to a store, I would run in full of hope and come out full waddle with my head down in defeat... This went on from Walmart, to CVS, to Kmart, to Wallgreens and then we ran out of time....

So when Scott was little his dad always use to buy Mister Mustard....

(see picture) I had no idea what this stuff was but Scott and I both like spicy mustard so I put it on a sandwich and low and behold was HOOKED!!! I wondered why I had gone almost 31 years and never had it before... where have you been Mister Mustard??? Well now I have a new crack habit... Mister Mustard...That and chewing ice and all is well with the world!! LOL!! Scott had gotten it while he was working on his lunch break... We went through a jar in a few days and now... WE CAN'T FIND IT EITHER!!!!! OHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

We did find out today that you can buy it online from the retailer in the case!!! Yes we are almost willling to buy a case of it!! We actually discussed it and when it said that some Sam's clubs sell it we were sure if we found it there a case it would be!! So here were are... Me... NO LIPSTICK...us NO MUSTARD.... and on a mission for both.... We have to stand back and laugh... We often do. How greatful I am that our biggest worries right now are lipstick, mustard, and the girls room getting finished.... Amazing how awesome life can be!! :)

NINE months and counting....

2009-03-28T07:13:00.000-04:00

So, I am officially 9 months pregnant today.... LOL! I have to tell you this thing has flown by and I can't say that I ever thought a pregnancy would fly by.... We went to the MD yesterday and if he would have told me I was ready to have this baby I may have asked him to make sure I stayed pregnant for just a couple more weeks.... I have a MILLION things to do to get prepared for Morgan's arrival... Not that I don't want her to come. I am ready to see her and kiss her and get through labor... we just have a TON of things to do before she arrives!!

The room isn't finished yet... Emily still has her crib in with Blaine and Gavin... the changing table is between the living room and dining room, the recliner in the living room where there is NO room for it... Shew, laundry and labor and babies, oh my!!!

So here we are excited about Miss Morgan's arrival yet amazed at how quickly it has come about and even more amazed by the fact that we are going to have FOUR children!!! LOL!! I will try to keep the blog updated over the next couple weeks but I make NO promises... I have work to do!!!
Paula

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLAINE!!!!!

2009-03-20T03:27:00.007-04:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLAINE!!!! Today Blaine turns 7!! I can't believe that he is already 7 years old... My how the time flies!!! We have had special activites all week that Blaine has chosen, today we will suprise him with one that he isn't expecting but really loves!
Ice Skating!!

Getting ready to blow out the candles....

Another of the weekly activites chosen by BIG B!

Another of the things Blaine chose made him a complete snaggle tooth!! Scott and Blaine and Gavin went to Bounce U on Thursday (I had to work) and during one of the activites Blaine lost his other front tooth!!

Again HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLAINE!!!!!!

EKC turns ONE!!!!!

2009-03-07T00:52:00.006-05:00

Little Miss Emily is officially ONE year old!! Hard as it is to believe!!! She had a great time. Grandma Loretta & Grandpa Glenn came in from Indiana for the event and it was so awesome to have them here!! Maybe one day we will talk them into coming on down, but for now we will take every visit we can get.....

Emily took full advantage of all the attention and had a great time smearing cake all over herself!! She even helped open some presents by the end....

She is very close to walking and talks up a storm, some things we understand, others she understands, but we will all get it soon enough!!

I still can't believe she is ONE! Wow.... time flies.....

They many faces of Emily....

2009-03-03T11:38:00.003-05:00

So this past week has been full of crazy weather and new experiences for Emily... She has gone from a baby to looking like she is 2 all with a couple rubber bands... Her hair is finally long enough to put on her head and you know as soon as I could get it up there I was all about it!

The weather has gone from beautiful 65 and sunny to 3+ inches of snow... This is one from the good sunny weather.. We were taking a walk down the road. She was squeeling and loving the wind in her face!!

Here is one shot of Emily's first updo! I was amazed at how differently a small change in her hair could make her look. Best part is, she doesn't mind me messing with it a bit!!! WOO HOOO!!!!

Anytime we want her curls to stand up we spray her hair with water and they magically appear... This is her chewing on the water bottle right after the updo... So stinking cute!!!

This is one of my very favorite pics I have ever taken of Emily. I really shows her personality. She was so excited to be outside riding in a wagon!!! Brothers were riding their scooters and she was so excited to be there with them. She would flap her hands and scream with delight. A very cool moment to catch!!

Now we are waiting on the snow to melt and the 70 degree weather that is suppose to be here on Sunday!! Come on SPRING!!!!!

Just an update....

2009-02-23T13:09:00.003-05:00

Just thought I would check in... Lots of activity going on in the Correa home this week... Blaine and Gavin had baseball tryouts last weekend... They did SOOOOO good!!! Scott and I were awfully proud of our boys!! Gavin is trying out to move up with Blaine into single A. A big deal for Gavin considering he can still play t-ball due to his age. He rocked out his tryout though. I see no issue with him making the cut! Blaine also did a fantastic job. He runs like lighting. We have been taking them to a local baseball field practicing with them and it is really fun for the whole family. Emily chases the balls around and loves to feel the wind blow in her face. She too is a complete joy!! We are so blessed!!!

Morgan is less than 9 weeks away now... I know, I can't believe it either, but before too long we will have our complete family. I can't wait to meet her!! I wonder if she will look just like Emily or if there will be more of me in her... Emily is a mini version of Scott and I love it! Maybe with Morgan I will get a little input! LOL!! We shall see... soon, very soon!!

Remember that remodel that we started before Christmas... Well, it isn't done yet, but it is a LOT closer than it was... Scott is still mudding after the kids get to bed and wiring and putting up lights and whatever else goes with it.... We are ready for paint and trim in the foyer.. That is progress!! We are grateful for the opportunity to make our home a little more of "us".

Emily is very, very, close to walking.. She has taken 3 steps on her own, but prefers to crawl or hold one of our hands and walk all over. She loves the wiggles and LOVES to dance. She says tons of words now. I think her favorite is "stop" and boy does she mean it!!! She definitely has both Scott and I in her... Sassy... shew, gonna be a ride!!

Scott started a new job!! He is now a Time Warner Cable employee!! WOOOO HOOOOO!!! Thank you Jesus!!! We are finally back to a 2 family income and we are very blessed to be considering the amount of people losing jobs right now. We also get free cable and Internet out of the deal and that is a blessing in its own right. We have been down a rough road with employment but God promised He would provide and we held fast to His promise and in HIS time, He delivered!!

So all in all, we are doing fabulous!! What hasn't come around yet will. We are faithful. Hopefully I can take and add some new pics soon, that is if we can find the camera! LOL!!!

WE WON!!!!!!! BUD SHOOTOUT!!!!!!

2009-02-08T10:25:00.003-05:00

Last night was the first race of Speed Week in Daytona and guess who won???? WE DID!!!!! WOOO HOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

There were a lot of reasons Kevin shouldn't have won, but in the end he and the guys pulled it out! Hopefully this is a sign of things to come for Todd and RCR this year!!!

(AP Photo/John Raoux) - AP

SNOW and a missing tooth??

2009-02-07T12:20:00.005-05:00

Well it snowed here as though there was a blizzard on the way... LOL!! We may have gotten a little over an inch. We learned quickly you have to make hay while the sun shines (as my mom says) so out in it we went!
The family shot even includes Morgan! I am in my 8th month already! Can you believe it? It is going to be no time and our family will be completely complete... and I mean it! :)

We took lots of family shots... We never seem to have enough..

The boys were so stinking excited!!! This is sooo them. Gavin is a bit wild and somehow shy at the same time. Blaine is just Blaine... sweet and sometimes in another galaxy... He lives there with the Star Wars crew...

Then a tooth went missing!! Blaine pulled out his first front tooth... He wanted Papi to do it, but said he would give it one try... Well, that is all it took and here they are...snaggle 1 and snaggle 2. They were really cute being excited for one another. Shew, they are growing up...

Changing things a bit...

2009-01-31T22:36:00.001-05:00

Thought I would change the ol template a little. Simple.... there is a lot to be said for simple... I am the last one awake, babies are sleeping, Scott is in NYC, so it is just me... I can't explain how very blessed my life is at this point... Morgan is growing in my belly, Emily is going to walk any day now and learned to drink through a straw today, Blaine is so stinking sweet and really growing and changing, and Gavin continues to become his very own little person. We have so many things... We are blessed.

Jennifer Farris Photography

2009-01-25T14:22:00.005-05:00

Just wanted to actually take a few minutes to talk about one of my dear friends and our photographer Jennifer Farris. Jennifer has taken all of our pics for over 2 years now! Engagement, wedding, family, kids, and we are so blessed to have her capture our life moments. The below pics are some that she took in Mid October. Amazing talent!! With the remodel ongoing I haven't had a second to sitdown, still don't really...on the way out the door to work...

So, if you are in need of a photographer for any part of your life look Jennifer up! www.jenniferfarris.com... Tell her we sent you!!

Making Progress!!

2009-01-03T01:50:00.004-05:00

Well I have to tell you I was soooo excited to get these pics from Scott tonight!!! As of this evening the drywall is up and the reconstruction is done... Now there is still mudding to do and lights to hand and even some can lights to be placed but there is a LOT of work already done and the worst of it is DONE!!! WOO HOO!!!

Now let me tell you what you are looking at... the cut out area will be the closet that didn't use to be there... to the right of that you will find a wall that was a doorway!!! To some it may seem like very little but to us it is one more step to make our house a little more "ours"... a way to welcome the 2 precious little girls into their very own space. I am sooo excited!!! Now it is on to the fun part... decorating.... :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2009-01-01T10:15:00.006-05:00

So it is 2009.... How amazing it is that time can go by so quickly... I am not one to make New Year's resolutions, matter of fact right now I am simply hanging on for dear life...

The beginning of the year is always a time of hope and renewal for me. I can say that every year I am suprised by what has happened the last year... I suppose it never really has gone as I expected. I am sure this year will be no different. Though I hope it is filled with more joy than tears and more smiles than frowns.

We are still at moms while the remodel continues to take place, though I do believe we are at sheetrock today (Woooo Hoooo!!)

The boys were gonna, "stay up all night" and I invited them to do just that... as you can see Gavin never even made it to midnight before passing out in the floor surrounded by his weedeater toy....

Emily made it a little longer than Gavin!!

And of course Blaine made it the longest of all as usual... He said he was going to stay up all night and watch movies but quickly decided that when everyone else went to bed, he would too. He is still recovering from pneumonia, thanks to everyone for their prayers. He is feeling MUCH better.

I have no idea what this year will bring, I am sure it will be full of suprises! I hope for each of you a blessed and calm year. I plan to hold tight to my family and my faith and enjoy the ride. Happy New Year!!!