Out of Town Visitors

I have been meaning to post these other Thanksgiving pics, but haven't gotten around to it yet. . . Oops! here it goes. . .

Over Thanksgiving we were so excited to get to hang with some of my family as well as some out of town members of Rob's family. My sister Caroline & her hubby Nick came in town the Monday before Thanksgiving. We got to go over to Nick's sister's house in Wylie and play Tuesday morning.

They had a swing that all of my kids loved! Hanging down from a tall tree which allowed really high swinging!

And then we got to see them again after Thanksgiving along with my parents. So fun to just relax at home with Mimi, Papeaux, Aunt Kiki, and Uncle Nick.

wrestling with my babies. . .


We also got to hang out with Amy and Andy Davenport (Rob's cousin) and their kids. Charly & Anna Gray had a blast dancing to the music of Kung Fu Panda.

Preparing for the performance of the band of the year. Presenting Two Princesses, Superman, and Diaper Boy Band.


Charly loved holding baby Ayla. She is dying for a baby sister!! We told her she could pretend Baby Mia & Baby Ayla are her baby sisters.

The girls:


Cobb was pretty star struck too. Sweet little Ayla.

Another Dance Clinic

Charly participated in another dance clinic today through Dancing Angels. This time her friend Selah Butler did it with her.

They had a great time while Brandy, Josiah, Cobb & I met Jessica and her boys at the mall. Not sure why I didn't take any pictures! oh well.

Afterwards we celebrated the dance clinic with some yummy Sprinkles Cupcakes. Selah & Charly both took a surprise cupcake to their daddies afterwards.


We took over! Sorry to any others in Sprinkles at the same time. . .

"Hi Truck"

Ridge and I were helping out at Trisha & Marc's new house the other day. I unpacked the dishes and Ridge unpacked, repacked, rolled, & "put away" the canned food. Ridge also played with all the toys that Trisha had there. He especially loved the trucks.

When Baby Mia started to cry, Ridge said, "Oh baby Mia! Wanna #%&@??" He was showing her a truck. If you can't figure out what he actually said, see the below video. . .

Craft Area

Yeah! I'm so excited that our playroom projects are finished!

(click here to see the post about the gutter bookshelves; eventually I'm going to put a gutter underneath the chalkboard to hold the eraser & chalk).

Here's the wall before & after:

(click on the pics to enlarge them)

Here's what I started with:

Letters: from Hobby Lobby (99 cents/letter)--painted red with borrowed paint

Clothesline: bought the clothesline at Lowes & tied it around screws that then were screwed into the wall. I put a yellow star (47 cents each) on top of each screw with hot glue. Also hot glued the little boys & girls(39 cents/applique) to regular clothespins (50 cents).

Magnetic Chalkboard: Primed & painted a 24 x 36 sheet of metal with chalkboard paint($10.98) and I cut, painted, glued, & caulked screen mold to make the frame for the chalkboard.

All in all, it was a fun project & I'm glad I did it. The clothesline & letters were easy and inexpensive. On the other hand, I will probably not make the chalkboard again. Here's why:

1. It took about a week to complete: one day for priming, four days for painting because the chalkboard paint has to dry for 24 hours pior to sanding & adding another coat (the directions say it works best if you have four coats), one day for gluing the frame on & caulking, and one day for touch up painting & hanging.
2. The screen mold was really difficult to cut exactly so it would frame nicely. I ended up needing Stacey's dad to help me with his heavy duty machine that cuts precise 45 degree angles. Thanks Papa J!
3. I'm assuming I could find a 24 x 36 magnetic chalkboard for less or slightly more than what I spent because I saw a chalkboard (not magnetic) on sale for $12 at hobby lobby. My cost was only $25.84: sheet metal($7.08), Screen mold($3.30),Primer(4.48), and chalkboard paint ($10.98). I had borrowed the gorilla glue, caulk & red paint, and I already had the screws.

Modeling 101

Rob and I went on a date last night. Our first activity was shopping for new clothes. Rob had some birthday money he wanted to spend and some shirts he needed to buy. While we were there, we ran into this male model. Not sure who he thought he was, but I thought he was pretty handsome. Here's some pics I took of the model. . .








I think Rob was inspired. I'm so proud of him for buying something other than t-shirts (his trend for the past 10 years). Hopefully Rob will look just as great in the shirts as the guy in the above pics :)

The Thomas Thanksgiving

We had a blast yesterday celebrating Thanksgiving with family. We enjoyed Martha's new dining room. Here's the table where our generation sat (19 of us!):

The cousins:

The cousins plus spouses:

And we had twenty kids ages 5 and under plus four more ages 16, 14, 12, & 8. (So 24 total for those who are counting)
The littles (Ridge & Bo loved their turkey cupcakes):

The middles & the bigs:


Here's the whole crew:

The blue family (poor Sam was done with pictures, and my clan had resulted to screaming "cheese"):


I thought I took some pictures of all the kids playing in Nana & Pops' backyard. It was a sight to see for sure. But I guess I took those with another's camera. Oops! I did get one representation of play though:

Hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving!

Putting the kids to work

Haley has had a vacation this week as the kids have done ALL the housework, including preparing the green beans for Thanksgiving.

Here's the proof:





I gotta go... the kids are asking for all my dirty clothes so they can wash them.

Happy Birthday Rob

Rob is 35 today, and I thank God he was born. I was thinking about everything my husband is to me and to others. He’s pretty hard to describe.

When he was younger he was often called unique and interesting. I think I would continue to use those words now, but include loving, talented, compassionate, sincere, humble, entertaining, imaginative, inspirational, dreamer, empathetic, passionate, encourager, wise, thoughtful, visionary, artistic, witty, joyful, tender, magnetic, driven, and strong. I’m sure I could come up with many more.


I fell in love with Rob by watching his actions with others. He encouraged others, and he didn’t hesitate to care for those difficult to love. Kids were drawn to him, and he always stopped to play with them on their level. He was talented, and he used his talents to glorify the Lord. He was a leader, and he lead humbly & with compassion. So you can see why I fell so hard. . .

Now I can say that I love him even more. My love for this man, my husband and the father of my kids, continues to grow deeper and stronger. I not only see the characteristics I fell in love with, but I see both strengths and weaknesses. I see him use his talents well, and I see him struggle well in his failures, depending on the Lord for strength. I am drawn to my husband more as I see him persevere in trials, face conflict with humility, pursue advice before acting, accept success with grace, and give God the glory for all.

I am looking forward to continuing in the study of my husband for years to come. Thank you Lord for giving him to me, for he has made me better.

Happy Birthday Daddy!!!

To the best daddy ever, here are your kids:

Indescribable

Sweet, kind, sensitive, empathetic, visual, entertaining, goofy, competitive, social, imaginative, content, hugger


Spunky, tender, artistic, vivacious, serenading, joyful, zealous, fashion-minded, funny, observer, independent, nurturer


Cuddly, sly, easy-going, charming, caring, witty, animated, playful, loving, pleaser, big-hearted, spirited, determined