Family is so wonderful!!!!


I am so lucky to have such wonderful in-laws. Mike's parents, Mawmaw and Pawpaw, came for a visit on Thursday and it couldn't of happened at a better time. I have been on some bed-rest for the past few days because of contractions and the kids have had the best time. It makes it so much easier knowing that your kids are happy. The weekend has been filled with soccer. Ashlyn has had two soccer games, one yesterday morning and then this afternoon. I was able to go yesterday to watch and it was pretty hilarious. My daughter is not a morning person and a game at 9:30 is not her idea of fun. I just had to laugh as she ran with her shoulders slumped down because she was so tired. I missed this afternoon's game and I hate that because she scored her first goal. Mike said that she a Trinity just squealed and hugged. She is still really excited!!!

Thank you so much,Mawmaw and Pawpaw for taking such wonderful care of all of us. They are leaving in the morning and it sure will be quiet around here. Parker wants to go with them because he is ready to go visit the horses at the barn. He is my outdoor lover and would love nothing more than to spend his life outside on the farm, playing on the fourwheeler and tractors. Ashlyn likes outside, but does not like to get dirty or sweaty, she is such a girl!!!

I had my first visit to the hospital a week ago for a few hours of monitoring. Luckily, nothing showed up on the monitor so was just sent home on bedrest. I have been very, very lazy this week and it is working. I am feeling great today, so hopefully, this little fella will cooperate and stay put for many more weeks. I will be 27 weeks on Tuesday, this has been the longest pregnancy in history. We have a sonogram scheduled for the next week to take a closer look. So far, the contractions are not changing anything, just causing a little pain. I have finally given in and am taking it very easy. I have quit Sunshine School and am doing as little as possible. My goal is to have a healthy little baby boy and to bring him home with me from the hospital. Please continue with your prayers. They are helping.

Wow!!!
It has been a very busy few weeks around here. I haven't blogged in a while because my computer had been so slow but now it is fixed so hopefully blogger will cooperate with me. Here are just a few updates.

• Ashlyn's Birthday-My little girl just turned 5 years old. She had a very exciting birthday which went on and on and on. This is the first year that she was really excited about her birthday. She had her birthday party at a place called My Gym in Plano which was so much fun. It was the most exciting party that I have seen in a long time and they made sure to make Ashlyn the special birthday girl. She loved her My Little Pony birthday cake and didn't even want the ariel statue on it that she had talked about for a month.

Her actual birthday was on Monday the 18th. We met my side of the family at her favorite restaurant, Red Lobster, for her birthday dinner. The evening was great and she loved all of her shrimp. She cracks me up, she loves that place and can't wait to go back.

My sweet Parker can't wait for it to be his birthday. He says that he wants a My Little Pony cake too. Hopefully, by April he will change his mind. He had a blast with Ashlyn during her birthday weekend. They are playing so well together. I love to hear them laugh and make up games. He does so well following Ashlyn's rules. He is such a precious boy.

• Soccer She has had two soccer games so far and I was able to make the first one which was hilarious. There are two little girls who are amazing and are able to kick the ball wherever they want. Ashlyn does a good job keeping up. Mike said that she dribbled the ball down the entire field and then someone stole it right before she was about to kick it in. She has told me that soccer is not her favorite "It is just too crazy". She does love her uniform, shoes and shin guards. Parker can't wait to play.

• Baby Carter's update-I had my first hospital visit on Saturday for some monitoring. I was having contractions and when I took my medication, they didn't fully go away. Of course, I had my last strong contraction about 5 minutes before we got to the hospital and another one about 10 minutes after we left. I was monitored for about 3 hours and nothing really showed up, which is great news. I was sent home on bedrest until my next doctor's appointment which is tomorrow. I am feeling better and am hoping that this spell is almost done. I am 26 weeks tomorrow so he needs to wait a whole lot longer before entering the world. Please keep us in your prayers.
  

I would love to download some pictures but for some reason, blogger doesn't want to let me. Does anyone have any suggestions?

It has been so long since I have blogged that I am going to back track a little.


First Day of School
The first day of school was on Monday, August 28th. The morning didn't start off very well. I got up early so that we could all be ready and get donuts before school. We never do this, so I thought it would be fun. Let's just say that we didn't make it. Miss Ashlyn was oh so tired and wouldn't get out of bed. I finally got her up only to have the hair argument. She wanted it is a french braid, which I don't do, and I was just going to put it up quickly. That led to tears which led to no donuts. After going back to her room, she came out and was ready to start again. Such drama!!!!

We finally made it to school and both kids went right into their classroom. Each took a gift which Parker thought was his and opened it. They each have some very special teachers. Parker is all ready in love with Mrs. Beca. He can't wait to go to school again. I was worried that he would be a handful but he did great. He even slept on his napmat, I wish he went down so well at home.

Ashlyn's teacher is Mrs. Kristen who I just found out is moving to Keller. She will be very missed this year because I know that Ashlyn was going to learn so much. I know that God will bless her with another wonderful teacher but we will miss Mrs. Kristen.

Parker's new skills
Last Sunday, let's just say that Mr. Parker shocked me. He did so many boy type things.
1. He spit a very well formed loogie on the ground before church.
2. He let out the biggest man burp I have ever heard at lunch with about 12 people watching.
3. He blew his nose into his fists. We were in the car and he put one fist to each nostril and just let himself go. We couldn't help but laugh because it was the most abnormal thing. We finally stopped when he started to do it again.

I am a little worried about what is to come.

Ashlyn's first soccer practice

We had our first official soccer practice last night. Ashlyn has been so excited about it. She has been wearing her cleats and shin guards for days. Mike is the assistant coach and Trinity is also on her team. Parker also took his new green soccer ball to watch. He was very excited for her.

The practice started out great. There are eight adorable little girls on the team. During the first kicking drill, Ashlyn started crying. When I asked her about it she said that she was too slow and was last. I had no idea how competitive she was. After some encouraging she went back out there and had a blast. The scrimmage was hilarious, their were eight little girls running around in a pack around the ball. There were two girls who were pretty fast, so the rest of them just followed. We are all looking forward to more practices and games.

IT'S A BOY!!!

We went for our 20 week sonogram today and everything looked great. The little guy is not nearly as active as Parker was. She could only get a few pictures. He is growing perfectly and everything seems to be perfect. Mike and I met my mom and the kids at Cheddar's for lunch to tell them the news. Let's just say that I have been preparing Ashlyn for a brother. Since I was 12 weeks, I told her that it might be a boy but she insisted it was a girl and her name was going to be Ariel. When she was told, she cried and cried and cried. We told her that she is so lucky because now she is the only special princess. Her reply to that was "If I am the princess, who will be the angel?". It took about 10 minutes for her to calm down and then she blamed me. She said it was my fault because I said I wanted a boy. I just smiled and told her that God gives us what he wants us to have. Parker was excited. Now he will have someone else to pick on.

After lunch, Ashlyn and I went to Toys R Us to buy the baby a present ( and one for her and Parker, of course). She picked out a ducky blanket for the baby, a green soccer ball for Parker and a My Little Pony hair salon. When we left, I asked her if she felt better about having another brother. She informed me that "No, I still want a girl but I love my new My Little Pony toy". She is such a hoot. When we pulled up in the drive way she said "Mommy, you are my sister. You are my sister is Christ". That made me smile so big. She is such a precious little girl. I am happy to know that she will always be my princess.

ASHLYN'S STORY

Ashlyn and I decided to create a story together the other day. I wrote as she dictated. I thought she did a wonderful job. I smiled several times. Where did she come up with snakes. Her grammatical mistakes were also pretty adorable. She had to finish her story abruptly because she was at the end of the paper. Otherwise, it would of gone on and on and on.

Once upon a time their was a beautiful princess, her name was Ashlyn. And then Ashlyn had a ball in her castle. But she was locked up in her tower. She had to get a key from the witches pocket. She put her hair down that had snakes and the snakes grabbed the key. She got out of her tower and then she danced at the ball. The next time she had to get back in her tower and the witch was really mad. Then the witch grabbed the key and told her to "Don't get out of the tower" and "Don't try to sneak up and get the keys". In the meantime, she had to clean up her room because the witch broke things with her power. The better time, she had to dance at the ball. And the even better time, she married the prince. She fell in love with him, but the witch was pretending to be Ashlyn. His bride turned back into a witch and the girl who was locked up in the tower came to the ball. the prince fights the witch who turns into a dragon. The prince wins the fight. Meanwhile, the dragon became alive again. Then the princess had to fight. The dragon winned this time. Finally, when the princess woke up, the dragon was still alive. And then the prince and princess fell in love. THE END

When she was finished, she said, "Okay, now I get two check marks and a smiley face". She carried around her story for days.

PARKER'S TOP 5 CUTE PHRASES

1. "Daddy, I am dissappointed in you
2. "Hug, hug, hug"
3. "No, Mommy, say yes sir"
4. "I do it by myself"
5. "Daddy, I ride motorcycle 5 minutes"
   

SUMMER FUN!!!

We had some great family fun last week. We went to a waterpark, had a small barbeque with friends and went to a Rough Riders game. Here are a few pictures from the weekend. The Ownby's and Brantley's came over for a spontaneous barbeque and it was so cute watching the kids swim. Brooke and Trenton loved the slip and slide. Cute Brooke just stood in the spray. Parker gave his first black eye to Emma. They ran into each other on the slip and slide and she just waxed. She is one tough little girl and kept on playing. Ashlyn would of cried the entire night. Friday night was Parker's first baseball game experience. It was our first time in the outfield sitting in the grass. The kids loved it and we had a blast, even in the 105 weather. The kids ate hot dogs, popcorn, and ice cream. What could be better. Next time I know to take a change of clothes because Ashlyn tinkled in her panties laughing and Parker spilled his entire red drink in his lap. I am also turning into an old soul. I kept telling other peoples kids to be careful, I am not quite sure where their parents were. One kid was leaning over the rail to the field and almost fell over.




Apparently, I over did it this weekend because I am now having some pretty severe contractions. I went to the doctor earlier today and she has decided to start me on progesterone shots until I am 37 weeks pregnant. A nurse is going to come to the house once a week to check the baby and give the shot. I am not on full bedrest, but I am suppose to have limited activity. We are just trying to keep our spirits up. This has been a very eventfull pregnancy. The babies heartbeat was strong today and my stitch is still in place. I will have a sonogram next week to check my cervix to make sure it hasn't thinned. Please keep us all in your prayers.

Life is back to normal!!! Finally!!!!

I got back from Alabama on Thursday night with the kids and my neice, Erin. She decided to come and spend the week with us before school started. She was so much help on the 11 hour drive back from Alabama. I am not quite sure how I would of survived without her. Here is an quick update on what is going on with us.

• No more bedrest, YEAH!! The contractions have been gone for about a week. I am finally feeling normal and am so excited. I am actually ready for school to start.
• The kids loved spending time in Alabama. They went swimming, rode 4-wheelers, played with the horses, went to the kiddy carnival twice and went to see Cars at the drive-in. I was able to go with them to the movie and it was so much fun. I wish we had a drive-in around here. It makes seeing a movie with a two year old bearable.
• My mom is now back from Virginia and Florida. Her brother passed away this past week and the funeral was on Saturday. It was a military burial, with a 21 gun salute. What is crazy is that they pointed the guns straight at us and fired. Definetely, wasn't expecting that. I think that my mom is staying in the area for a while, which is great.
• No more dog. Life is so quiet without KOTA. The kids played in the backyard for hours yesterday without any tears.
  
• Ashlyn is going to start soccer soon and can't stop talking about it. She grilled Mike and I for details last night at bedtime, both of us have no idea about soccer except that you kick the ball and run a lot. I am hoping that Mike will be the assistant coach, he will be so great at it.
  
• Parker figured out how to use a pedal on his big wheel. He doesn't have to scoot around, even though he is faster that way.
  
• My son has become a hitter, he has spent more time in time-out lately. He really loves to hit my big bottom, gotta love that.
• I have finally figured out that if my kids do not watch morning cartoons, they will actually play with their toys, amazing huh!!! It only took me four years to figure out that one. I am a quick learner.
  

That is about all I can think of right now. We are going to swimming with my mom, aunt, two neices and the kids. It should be an adventure!!!