May 2011

May 1- today marks the one year mark for keeping our daily diary!, full day of church, mall for picture clothes/lunch/rides:), softball practice for cailey, choir/bible study for three oldest, lots of prayer and reflection.

May 2- school...which only lasted a little while because my sweet cailey was sick the rest of the day (so no swimming), lots of snuggling and little house on the prairie, reading with kinsey, connect four with the two youngest, lots of reading to ephram, nerf gun fight with braden, scouts then baseball game for braden with daddy.

May 3- kinsey's 5th gotcha day!!, school, clothes shopping for pictures w/kiddos (took HOURS:), extended jumpy jump time at the mall for kinsey since no one was there, pretty pretty princess and other games with kinsey for the hour we were home before going to chick fil a with the klick's to celebrate kinsey's gotcha day, solo tryouts for the oldest two for choir camp, lots of outside play for the youngest two with daddy, more singing 'happy gotcha day' and lots of snuggles.

May 4- LOVE how ephram fills his pockets with treasures (like cars, little people and rocks) or even sometimes walks around like a big boy with his hand in his pocket. School, haircut for ephram, story time with the klick's, swimming lessons for kinsey and braden, more school, meals on the go, swimming for cailey, met marsie for dinner before awana, water and sundae night at awana (SO fun for the kiddos), wordfued with friends:) (beth, eve, marsie, 'yogagrl')

May 5- school, met klick's at honeycutt park for playtime and a picnic, slid with my sweet babies, played tag with ephram, brought caden home for a playdate (and sent kinsey to play with caroline), heard lots of 'transformer boy' noises, came down to see games being played, served ice cream and brownies for snack, loved on my babies, went over spelling bee words one last time, took the kiddos to the spelling bee while kinsey was at her t ball game, watched cailey and braden WIN their bees, hugged my sweet tball girl, and got our picture stuff ready for an early morning.

May 6- COLD early morning photo shoot with laura, sad baby boy, playdate at corbett's house: happy baby boy, watched the kiddos enjoy swinging high on rings, holding chick's, eating lots, having a blast, jumping high, and exploring, came home for a quick naptime before swimming for cailey, new Golden Corral to celebrate the kiddos great job, sick/feverish baby boy, took the kiddos to target to use their spelling bee prize money ($20), and had a GREAT family night.

May 7- morning tball and softball games, trip to Home Goods with the oldest two, came home to a still feverish baby boy who took a long nap, kiddos played outside in water for HOURS while brian mulched the yard...for HOURS (can't imagine how long it would take it we had a big yard:), ate homemade chex mix...yum!, went to see Something Borrowed with Marsie and LOVED it, then went to Chili's and shared a Molten Lava cake with her...at 10:00pm:).

May 8- VERY lethargic sick baby boy, mother's day celebration with sweet kiddos, lots of snuggles with ephram who even took long naps on me (he slept a TON), watched Journey church on tv as a family since ephram was so sick, relaxed, big kids played outside in the sunshine, got lots of hugs, ate yummy food, read TONS of books to Ephram, did Kinsey's sticker book with her, and prayed for my big kid's testing tomorrow.

May 9- testing for cailey and braden, amazed at the results, brian worked from home to watch the two youngest, baby was feeling better, an afternoon of playing outside in the dirt, took the kiddos out to dinner to celebrate testing being over, finally got through to the dr. and found out i have NAFLD...which is a shock and far from what we thought it was, cried, laughed, played, prayed, cheered on braden at his tball game, researched, read books to the kiddos, crashed.

May 10- school, tball game for kinsey, met klick's at Y, worked out, hosted them for lunch, played, and hung out as a fam.

May 11- GI apt for follow up and found out it's not NAFLD but NASH instead, school, read tons to ephram and kinsey, met beth/cheryl/kelly at the library for storytime, went to swimming lessons, played, had proud mama bear moments at the awana awards night where kinsey finished her WHOLE book and cubbies, braden finished all his books PLUS SEVEN chapters of the bible (first three of Genesis and first 4 of Mark), and Cailey finished THREE TNT books including Gold and Silver all in 9 months!, celebrated, and smiled as the Eshleman's told the kiddos they were expecting a baby:).

May 12- had a sick cailey girl...pitiful, lots of movies (three American Girl ones to be exact), lots of hugs, school with the others, games, bell ringing, well cailey, baseball practice for braden, special time with kinsey, and a very snuggly baby boy.

May 13- watched sweet alex, had a HARD workout, sang songs, played LOTS, had the klick's over for lunch, sent braden to their house for hours of fun (exploring a box 'city, nerf gun fights, transformers, and star wars), had the klick's over for spaghetti and meatballs while cailey and braden went to choir rehearsal, had LOTS of talks with my baby boy who likes to scream and hit his friends, and had great fellowship with friends.

May 14- sent Braden and Brian off to a camping trip, took Cailey to choir rehearsal, worked out at the Y, ran errands with Kinsey and Ephram, came home for a quick lunch, was asked by the youngest if he could sleep in the car...so i let him...for an hour in the garage, got a call from Brian saying the overnight was canceled for weather, picked up cailey who had a blast practicing/playing/and eating a yummy lunch, did puzzles, sang, got lots of hugs,

May 15- GREAT church message, errands together, play/naptime, lots of outside play, AWESOME choir performance by the kiddos, and great family time.

May 16- met cheryl at the Y to walk, took the kiddos to get a milkshake and baileywick park for the morning, played with the kiddos all day long:) (no more school!!), and cheered braden on at his baseball game.

May 17- kinsey played with the klick's all day so she could go to her last tball game with daddy and celebrate afterwards with ice cream, she LOVED all the time with daddy she got, the rest of us went to see Laura (YAY!!), big kiddos did homeschool PE while we did the treadmills, came home while kiddos played outside in the cold rain (but loved it), caught up, and had a great time...and a sleepover!

May 18- came back from laura's in time to get my kinsey girl from work with daddy so they could go to swimming lessons, unpacked, went to a kickboxing class with cheryl, went to the awana leadership dinner, great fellowship with friends, cheered on cailey at her late softball game, came home to my new bike and enjoyed a late night ride:)

May 19- hugged cailey girl after her THIRD training run with daddy (for a 5k...she went 2.25m), went on a bike ride with her, watched alex, took the kiddos on a wagon ride, did the elliptical, school with kinsey, went to the william's for a lunch/play date, tutored A, went on another bike ride with cailey and braden, took cailey on a date with the lawley's to kanki...and had a great time!

May 20- cailey ran 2.5 with brian, sent braden with kelly to a super fun water playdate with a slip n slide, water balloons, sprinkler, etc, then he went back to their house for an all day playdate:), made a couple trips to HT triples, cleaned, got help from the girls with cleaning, read lots of books to ephram and kinsey, watched cailey teach kinsey math and phonics, and had a nice night at home with no where to go.

May 21- braden's baseball game where he hit the ball OUT of the park, cleaned, put kiddos in bathing suits and sent them outside for the hot day with new spray bottles, listened to lots of laughing, saw lots of squirting and chasing, went on a bike ride with braden, surprised the kiddos with an overnight visit from nonny and poppy (LOVE it!), had a cookout, ate outside with the fam, sent kiddos to walk the dogs with poppy, ran errands with mom, and played Phase 10 with mom.

May 22- cailey had a HARD 2.1 mile run...mostly uphill, said goodbye to nonny and poppy, great church service, had an AWESOME time with the fam at the Got to be NC fair, lots of laughs, rides, yummy food, more rides, sunburn, great family day, took overheated kiddos home after five fun hours to rest in the AC and watch a movie, had more fun time outside in the evening, found out about kiddos solos for choir camp, and laughed a lot...with the fam:)

May 23- woke up in pain from bad sun burn, brian threw out his back:(, played games, met Janet at CFA for curriculum help...kiddos had a playdate with Lindsey and Reece, spent the afternoon at HOME:), cailey and braden baked brownies, let cailey walk to Grace's for the first time where she delivered the brownies and played for a couple hours, listened to my kinsey girl read, and played with the boys.

May 24-super proud of my cailey girl who ran 2 miles by HERSELF (at spring forest park while brian watched) because brian threw his back out, listened to piano lessons, relaxed with the kiddos and had an 'at home' day, lots o' playing, went to chili's for kids night, cheered braden on at his last game, and snuggled all of my babies.

May 25- hugged cailey after a HOT 2.3 mile run with her daddy, ran errands to get ready for swim team/camp/the beach, last swimming lesson for kinsey and braden, had a quick visit from cheryl, packed, organized, danced with ephram, sang with everyone, played tag, and read books.

May 26- homeschool conference for the day with tricia c. and kelly, laughed...a lot!, great girl time, bought lots, listened to Narnia with the kiddos on the way to the beach, did a ton of driving (to and from winston, to the beach), got to Cherry Grove late with kiddos for Nonny's birthday, and crashed with the kiddos.

May 27- packed lunches and took the kiddos to the beach from 7:30 am until 3:30, sweet ephram napped on the sand, burnt my feet, watched all the big kids make friends (braden dug for sand diggers with his friend, kinsey played with a group of girls making castles and cailey spent her time out in the ocean) brought the kiddos home for showers in a HUGE shower, explored our great beach house nonny and poppy, took the kiddos to the pool, played with nicky and abby, caught up with matt and leigh, played phase 10 with mom and leigh, greeted brian who came this evening (YAY!), went to get mom ingredients for a hot fudge sundae, and went to bed early.

May 28- cailey had a HARD 3.1 mile run, LOVED having brian at the beach with us, played until 1 with all the extended family, watched the cousins jump in the waves and have a blast together, watched poppy play in the ocean with the kiddos, took lots of pictures, cailey spent MOST of her time out in the ocean...scaring her mama:), sent the big kiddos to the pool with daddy, went to Benjamin's to celebrate nonny's birthday, surprised her with an ipad, ate yummy crab legs, kiddos got face paint, went to the playground with everyone until bedtime, and played more games with leigh and mom.

May 29- cailey and brian went on a GREAT 2.5 mile run, played on the beach with all the family, cailey spent most of her time playing out in the ocean, braden caught lots of hermit crabs/fish/sand diggers, said goodbye to my sweet Cailey who went to New Life Camp (overnight) for the week (brian took her), kinsey and braden spent the afternoon playing games with nonny, all the kids went swimming with uncle matt and aunt leigh while ephram napped, poppy took kiddos to feed TONS of turtles in the pond, hung out and talked till late, laughed a lot...about a dog and a wooden spoon:), and talked with mom.

May 30- can't stop thinking about my cailey girl at camp:), took kiddos to the beach for the morning, made castles, played beach tag, chased, dug pools, and made drippy castles, watched them 'down' ice cream sundaes nonny made them at home, sent kinsey and braden off to play putt putt and ride rides with nonny and poppy while i stayed with napping ephram, played ping pong with poppy, watched k and b play ping pong, went on a walk to the turtle pond and saw hundreds with everyone...amazing!, helped mom with her 1000 piece puzzle, and put a VERY sleepy girl (plus happy boys) to bed.

May 31- said goodbye to nonny and poppy after a quick game of old maid with nonny, drove home from the beach:(, unpacked with super helpful k&b, surprised the kiddos with a new TRAMPOLINE in the backyard that brian put up yesterday while we were gone:), jumped with them until it was too hot, made another care package for cailey (2nd) with the kiddos who both wrote letters for her, caught up with friends on the drive (b,k,l,and e), k&b did puzzles and read during nap time, took braden to his first swim team practice, swam with the family..yay!, jumped on the trampoline with everyone, and said goodbye to diapers because potty training starts tomorrow!!

Random May Pics

LOVE LOVE LOVE that kinsey girl can read to her baby brother!
she loves it just as much:)

sharing ice cream and smiles with daddy

THIS was braden's hair after he had a shower one morning. I just had to take a picture:)

ephram LOVES to play outside and loves to dig. Add some rice and corn kernels and he's a happy guy for a LONG time!

requested pics:)

sometimes ephram will say, "take picture" like he did one evening when he was in his bed:).

reading "dear zoo" for the 5th time:)
he LOVES to hear it 'again'

ephram LOVES to be outside and got a chance to walk all around the ball fields about six times a week for games and practices. he is so sweet and even brings me flowers to put in my hair.

typical school days

the older two have been great with 'teaching' kinsey over the last couple of months. they help her with reading, word wall words, phonics, and counting. this is one of the many blessings in having a large(ish) family and homeschooling.




hugs from baby when school's almost done...
he still LOVES to stand behind whoever is in the chair and play with their hair

journal...kinsey has a 'letter' for handwriting every day and will make a list of five words that begin with that letter then draw a picture of each one. cailey and braden either make up stories on their own or are given writing prompts.

braden was reading to me outside when all of a sudden his baby brother came out to give him hugs and listen too. precious:).

cailey LOVES doing as much as she can in the laying position. (listening to history, science, reading, etc.) in this pic she was laying down to do the flashmaster and ephram went over to join her with his snack.

handwriting and more flashmaster...with crazy bed head

journal again...this is a very typical picture because kinsey often wants to spell e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g they are writing.

park evenings...ball games:)

all the ball fields have playgrounds nearby. after cheering on their siblings they would sometimes go for a 'play' break:). this was one night during braden's game at Millbrook Exchange Park. They LOVED their park nights and each got a turn several days a week:) Amazingly I only brought my camera to a couple of games...I was to focused on cheering on my babies to take pictures!


so many nights I'd find ephram's pockets FILLED with rocks...and he'd always find a stick to carry:).


Cailey did a GREAT job of taking her brother to play on the playground (though we only had her do it when SHE wanted to...otherwise he stayed with us)

kinsey found quite a few friends of siblings on braden's team!

Phillies

Cailey started out not being too crazy about softball and wishing she had done spring soccer but after a couple practices and a few games she LOVED it! She was great at hitting the ball, cheering her team on, and getting people out on third.

Unfortunately her team didn't have many practices so she wasn't able to master catching fly balls, etc. but Brian worked on that at home. She's looking forward to playing again next year:)!

This was after the only SUPER hot game and she had ice cream to celebrate. I was worried that we'd fry at all the games and practices but we were blessed with a cool spring and cool evenings this season.

Cailey's favorite position was third base and her least favorite was outfield. However...when a ball was hit out she would RACE as fast as she could to get it and was always focused on where the ball was.

the bulls!

T ball is over but Kinsey had a great experience playing her first organized sport! She was on the same team as her buddy Jackson which was fun for her too:). Kinsey's favorite thing about t ball was batting and not knocking the t down:).

the lookouts!

RUN! Safe!

Braden LOVED baseball (much more than soccer) and had a great season which ended on Tuesday night. He played coach pitch and learned how to hit the ball really well...mainly bunting and making the players run in to get it:). One time he even knocked it out into the outfield!

This was our first experience with baseball and signing all three up at the same time was quite an adventure (because it meant at least 6 times of practices/games in one week usually at different fields...and sometimes at the same time or back to back!) After getting used to it the first couple weeks we loved cheering on our guys and look forward to doing it again next year.

the neat thing about this league is that there is no keeping score, 5 swings (i/o 3 strikes), everyone gets to bat every time, each player gets to play different positions, parents weren't overly crazy (except at one game cailey played), and the most important thing was for them to have fun!

braden with daddy and his AWESOME coach!

braden's coach was definitely the most dedicated and organized of the three teams and planned lots of practices and games. he was GREAT with the kids...and braden LOVED the fact that he's a police officer.

the baseball clothes were HUGE on all of our kiddos and when the shirts were untucked they reached the kids ankles...seriously.