pieces of me

happy birthday gramma

happy birthday gramma!  my number one fan of this blog.  i asked the kids why they love gramma and these were the responses i got.......
she is nice
she gives the best hugs
she is special and the only gramma like she is
she is someone i can look up to when something is the matter
because she is gramma
we love you gramma and hope you have a wonderful birthday!!! :)

big mess

the other day after school the kids wanted a snack, so hannah and emily sat down to eat jello.  of course, will had to have some as well.  thinking everything was under control because hannah was still in the kitchen i walked away to go check emails.  well apparently hannah had walked away shortly after i did.  when hannan did go back into the kitchen she found this and started calling for me
"i make big mess, mom".  yes he sure did!  gotta love these days! :)

catching up

as i sat down to write this post to catch up on the happenings of the holidays i started looking for pictures for the post. just going thur our pictures for the month of december overwhelmed me so much.  gosh....we were so busy.  i hope i can summarize our holiday season for you.  to start the holidays each year i have a tradition i started with the children when pat and i first got married.  each year on the day we put up our christmas tree they get to open a new ornament that represents what they have done/into that year.  when they eventually leave home they can take their ornaments with them to help their own collection for their tree.  hopefully the ornaments will bring back great memories for them.  i am getting a little sad thinking about this because this was my year to "give up" patrick's box and let him take them.  i love this tradition but it also brings home the reality that when they get their box they are grown and no longer in our home. :(  guess i should just enjoy the time i have now and worry about that later - pat would laugh at that because i can't just let it go and worry later i have to worry now!

love that they just love this!!!

in early december i was in target with will and we walked by the christmas section and he started yelling "hoUSe...hoUSe.... make hoUSe" when i turned to him he was pointing at a gingerbread house......so you know i had to get it and boy did they have a blast decorating it.  it was heaven for will because what more could a little boy ask for than to play with sugar icing and yum-yums.

next we had hannah and emmy's school parties.  will was able to go with me and loved every minute of the parties.  not only did he get his very own plate of food but he was also given the gifts that the teachers had for the students.  talk about spoiled.  it is unbelievable.

laura attended the black and white affair for the high school.  it is a fund raising dance for the prom. she had such fun.  the funny thing was when her "date" came over to take some pics with her, will was not a happy camper.  he kept going up to waura and making her hold him.  so cute.....guess i won't have to worry about many boys getting to close to her as long as her little brother is near.  maybe we should have her take him on her dates....hummmm that's an idea!


then the preparations for santa began with the making of sugar cookies and reindeer food. you know rudolph can't find the house without the magic reindeer food sprinkled on the ground.




the magic food worked because rudolph did find the house.  the kids were up bright and early dragging mom and dad out of the bed so they could open all of their gifts.  everyone was very happy except mom and dad whose fingers were very sore from all of the twist ties! :)  we chilled for most of the day and had a lovely dinner with all of the kids.                      then it happened.............everyone got sick with the exception of dad and laura.  we decided to travel anyway and boy was it miserable.  we made it to gramma's house very late wednesday night  ~ just in time for hannah to throwup her dinner.   we were so scared we would get gramma sick, but she was such a great sport.  she said if she got sick she would just be sick for a few days and then it would be over.  no big deal.  well after that mishap noone else came down with it so we were fine.  we then made our rounds to montgomery and back home in time for my birthday.   

i think i have successfully summed up our holiday happenings.  you are a trooper if you made it through this post.  :) 

a marine

yes, it is official.  patrick is a marine ~ staff sergeant morgan as of 8:30am this morning.  he is officially a member of the president's own marine band.  check out their site.  in a few weeks you will be able to see his picture in his official uniform.  we are sooooo proud!!!  he is living his dream or the first part of it as he would tell us ~ someone is paying him big bucks to play his clarinet.  he tells us after this "gig" he will move onto bigger and better things!  we will all have to sit back and watch where his love of music will take him next.  tonight as pat and i were talking about patrick and calling him staff sergeant morgan, emmy interrupted us and said (in a very sad voice) "you mean we can't call him patchey anymore?"  we explained to her that we still could but professionally he would be know as sergeant morgan.  "oh, she said, so when we visit him at the white house, we can call him patchey."  yep, you sure can!!! :)  the girls think it is very exciting that he will be working at the white house, but i think emmy thinks he will actually be "living" at the white house with the president.  patrick had actually started preparing to become a marine by cutting his hair shorter than it was when i had it cut in november.

i love it.  they may cut it shorter when he gets to d.c. - we'll have to see. 

so it has been a couple of weeks since i last posted.  i was actually proud of myself for posting on my birthday and not a day later.  i just knew that would get me off to a great start for the new year.  well......it didn't work like i thought it would.  i promise to be better.  my sweet MIL informed me tonight that i has not blogged in awhile.  you know you are behind when your MIL has to tell you that you need to blog! :)  maybe i should come up with a goal of posting everyday to see if that will help me.  ben had actually suggested that awhile back ~ i guess it is never to late to take advice.  i promise to catch you up on our holiday happenings and such.  good night for now!

happy birthday to me

yep, not only is it the first day of the year it is my birthday.  it was a great day.  just hanging out with the kiddos.  pat did manage to get laura to watch the little ones while we snuck away to enjoy a nice lunch just the two of us.  that was fabulous!  pat fixed us a great dinner and afterwards we had chocolate birthday cake, of course!  this year i had help with blowing out the candles.

really i am not sure how i ever did it without his help. :)  great beginning to what we hope is a great year.  happy new year to everyone! 

early christmas

i know this post seems a little out of order since it is already after christmas and i have not posted about our christmas adventures, but i have wanted to share with you our early christmas from the kids.  funny thing is that they didn't even know that their little adventure was such a present to their parents.  it all began when laura decided to have all the siblings (expect for will) go ice skating together.  so on saturday before christmas mg, patrick, laura, hannah, emmy and ben loaded up in the van with ben driving and headed to knoxville to go ice staking.  hannah and emmy were sooooo excited since they had never been before and have been dying to go for years. (i know, we are such bad parents for not taken them)  well from the report and what little pics that were taken a great time was had by all. 

patrick and ben helping emmy

laura helping hannah
what more could parents ask for than for all of their children to love each other and want to spend time together.  my christmas was complete at that moment.  our children could never give us such a wonderful gift as they did that day.  the knowledge that they love each other and will always be there for one another is the most precious gift a parent could ever ask for.  thanks kiddos for making our lives complete!!!

our angel

he has been trying to tell us that he is in fact the "perfect little angel".  i guess no one was getting it because on sunday night right before family prayer he went and got emmy's wings and put them on.  after prayer he "flew" around the house. maybe we will realize now that we have a visual that he is a "perfect angel".  of course, all my children think they are "perfect little angels". :) 

finishing up

so i am slowing but surely finishing christmas cards.  i love the design of this year's card but it has been very time consuming putting them together.  (i know, pat, every years have been time consuming). there have been some major re workings along the way which usually doesn't happen, but because of postage constraints (or the lack of wanted to pay $1.30 a card to mail) we have had to reevaulate the design.....not something you want to have to do at this point in the game, but oh well.  so hopefully, these babies will be in the mail tomorrow.  be watching for the "cutest" christmas card envelope ever to grace your mailbox!  hope everyone enjoys them!   

much......

it is so funny how all of the kids have their own way of communicating a "i love you" back.  when hannah was a baby and we would tell her we loved her she would say "me too".  emily would say "you too".  so will has finally started answering us when we tell him we love him.  a few weeks ago i said to him, "i love you sooooo much".  and his response was "much".  how cute it that!  it makes perfect sense to him.  you love me much and i love you much.  wow, if only life was that simple. 

invented

last night while pat and i were getting supper ready to be put on the table, em was filling the cups up with ice, when she noticed a picture on the refrigerator of me and pat with the older kids and his nieces.  em asked, "was i invented yet in this picture?"  of course, trying not to laugh i said no not yet that was before mommy and daddy were married.  how cute is that to think you are invented.  so i got to thinking about it and i am sure that all of you would agree that it would be very nice to "invent" our children.  i know that i would use a lot less "sassy" components and a whole lot more "obedience" components........oh well, gotta love them anyway! :)