The Princess is 4 yrs old

Wow

How can she be 4?

It really does not seem possible.

We planned a Princess Birthday Party a few weeks ago.
Abbey LOVES anything Princess.

The cake was ordered, friends invited, party favors purchased.
THEN...it hit
FEVER

One week before her birthday she started running fever, coughing, congestion, etc.

Labwork confirmed a viral upper respiratory infection so no

antibiotics.

She ran HIGH fever all week long. High as in 102 degrees.

By the Friday before her birthday, she was actually worse and another trip to the doctor revealed she had bronchitis and walking pneumonia. My poor baby!

Needless to say... the Princess Party with friends had to be cancelled. She didn't complain.

In fact, I think I was more upset than she was.

I wanted to make sure she remembered this birthday as more than just "the birthday I was sick"

SO....

the day of her birthday party we dressed up, curled our hair and invited a few new guests to the party:

That's right...Belle, Princess Tiana,

AND

Cinderella showed up for the party. Jasmine, Mulan and a few other favorites helped us celebrate.

So what started off as a "not-so-happy" Birthday became quite the ROYAL event.

I think her smile says it ALL.

Happy Birthday my sweet girl. I love you more than words can say.

I hope you will always remember this special birthday!

And he's 14

Once again he is trying not to smile.
It isn't cool to smile for pictures taken by your mother.
That's what I am told.
Yes, he is 14 and life is good as long as homework and chores don't interfere with his social life.
Guess what?
He is finding out that life isn't always easy, life isn't always fair, and life DEFINITELY includes
chores and homework.
Love you Matthew.
Happy Birthday my son.

School Days

I really cannot believe we have been in school for almost a month now.

Why is it the hottest, steamiest part of the the entire United States elects to send

their kiddos off to school in August?

Growing up we never started school until after Labor Day. But now the schools all start in August when it is 95+ degrees everyday by noon. Yuck!!!

Yes, he's about to drive away as I am taking the picture.

He reminds me this is the LAST--First day of School pic I will take of him.

That's right, He is a SENIOR this year.

Doesn't he look excited? 

He tells me once again he doesn't want his picture taken and I remind him I paid for every piece of clothing on his body, SO....

YES, you will have your picture taken on the first day of school.

Matthew is in 8th grade this year.

Football player

Mr. Social

Thinks life is tough right now because his parents are making him STUDY.

Oh my,

And then there is this sweetie, 4th grade this year.

She is on the school swim team and loving it!

Finding out that school DOES get harder every year.

Recess and music are still her favorite subjects.

 And now, here is my baby on her first day of school.

 Abbey is attending preschool this year.

She loves going to "big school" like her brothers and sister. She is sooooo smart and loves to color and draw.

So, there it is...

the school year has begun and my life is not my own for the next 9 months.

My life now belongs to carpools, evenings spent helping with homework, swim practices, football games, 

etc.

Did I mention I like summer?  

New LIfe

Well, here it is almost the end of July.
We had a great 4th, we have enjoyed the pool, we have completed a few more projects and
NOW...
school is right around the corner...
can you say.. YUCK? as in NO WAY, I am NOT ready to relinquish my mornings of sleeping late.
I will just have to push this subject to the back of my mind and pretend it isn't really happening.
I do that a lot.

But there are a few other things going on around the Runner home. And these things are worthy of remembering and celebrating I might add.

My beautiful neice and her hubby had their first child last week. Exactly a week ago today we welcomed this precious baby into the world.

She is SOOOO perfect in every way! I got to hold her for only a few minutes last weekend before we had to load up and return home. I loaded the girls and Matt up in the SUV and made the trip to Dallas, TX
                                                                              all by myself!
Mike was visiting his mom in WV. so it was either miss this sweet event or load the kiddos up and take off. I am so glad we made the trip! It was worth every mile to see this precious baby and snuggle her for a minute.
There is nothing... And I mean NOTHING like holding a baby in your arms.
It made me miss holding my little ones.
I am one of those people that will still want a baby when I am old...
wait I AM OLD!
So what?
Is it so wrong I think that snuggling and kissing my children while rocking them to sleep is pure bliss?
Being old doesn't mean you forget how to love, nurture, relish, and simply absorb every little detail about your childs tiny feet and fingers or the way they smile while sleeping.
Yes I miss those days. .
Not to say that I don't treasure every stage that childhood brings, but there is something extra sweet about this precious stage of life. Thank you Lord for this precious gift of NEW LIFE.

Beach Trip 2013

We decided several months ago to make the trip back to the beach this summer.

We had such a wonderful time last year and knew the girls would love the pool and beach again.

This year we were lucky enough to have Matthew join us. He was suppose to have a friend go with us, but plans didn't work out for that. At first he was a little "bummed" but he soon got over it once we were at the condo.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous. I was much more at ease this year with Abbey being around the water. She understood
                                    the waves "coming in'
                                                  and
                                     the waves "going out"
and she wore her swim vest at the pool so I could actually SIT and watch this year. Whewww...

Mike and Matthew soon got bored with the beach and had to find other things to keep them busy. They went in-shore fishing one afternoon on a charter boat and Matt landed a 15 lb. Redfish.

I think this was the HIGHLIGHT of the trip for him!!

The girls and I were simply happy to play on the beach and hang out at the pool.

Oh... and look for seashells. We loved looking for seashells. It didn't matter that we already had 2 buckets full, NO...

here's another one

this one is so pretty

this one is cool

aww.. look how tiny this one is.

Loved every minute of it. I know all too well these moments are fleeting and I do not want to miss a thing with my kiddos. I already missed having first-born son there with us. He had other plans back at home, but hopefully he will join us next year.

I just wish VACATIONS were longer.

Not enough time to do absolutely nothing!

91 degress and climbing

Yep, you read it right... 91 degrees today and looking at 95 tomorrow. We will definitely be at the pool tomorrow.    In the water.     The entire time.

We have completed a few more projects around the house and the girls and I have made a few cute items.


This is Abbey's planter we decorated with paint by inverting the pot and dripping different colors of paint down the sides. Again, a messy project but fun. It took a while to dry, then I sealed it with a clear coat. Hopefully tomorrow we can plant our flowers in it.

This is Madeline's planter. She had  fun adding a LOT of paint to her pot. Once she realized that more didn't necessarily mean better, she went back and added different colors to the sides to jazz up the blue. Madeline liked this project more than Abbey. After a bit, Abbey was bored with adding the colors and wanted to move on to something else. Madeline, however, would still be adding paint if I had not pronounced her pot "finished".

The next project was an idea I got from Pinterest (of course). I enlisted the help of hubby to paint and mount the board onto our garage wall.

I then used picture wire to run the length of the board.  I purchased the cute wood cut-outs at Hobby Lobby and hot glued them to clothes-pins. Before securing one end of the wire onto the board, I threaded the clothes-pins onto the wire so they are able to move freely up and down the length of the board.. The girls now have a place to hang their art work to "dry" once they are finished painting in the garage. It will make a great display for all those art projects that don't or (can't) make it to the refrigerator.

In addition to these fun OUTDOOR projects, I have finished filing that HUGE stack of papers on our bedroom desk.     Just one of my many INDOOR projects.

You know the stack I am talking about....
The one with receipts, health insurance EOB's, doctor visit charges, payment stubs, bank statements, etc.
2012 is officially filed AWAY. Good thing since it is the middle of 2013, huh?

Summer 2013

 So here it is.... Summer. Just when I think I have school figured out, the dog days of summer arrive. But believe me when I say this...we were SOOOOO ready for this summer to get here.

The last few weeks of school were TOUGH in more ways than one.

 (another blog post on that topic)

I decided a few weeks ago to come up with some creative and fun activities for the kids to enjoy. OK, so all the ideas came from Pinterest. I can take no credit for the original ideas. I can take credit, however...   

for the smiles and fun that followed.

Week 1

I found water beads at our local Wal-Mart on clearance. Just add water to these tiny(and I mean tiny) beads and they begin to "grow". Pretty soon you have marble size water balls that just beg for you to squish, roll, play, toss, etc.

The girls played with them for hours the first day. The next day I put them outside with paint and the water beads for a little "art" therapy and they loved it.

Week 2

Next we made "snowballs". I took advantage of the kids playing outside in the sprinkler because I read that this was a "messy" project.



A box of cornstarch and a can of shaving cream mixed together, lo and behold... snowballs. It took a few minutes of playing and kneading the mixture into a moldable consistency, but it paid off.

Yes, it was Messy, Yes, it was all over the place, and Yes, it was FUN!!

And what do you do with snowballs... you have a snowball fight of course!

This is Abbey in the "snowball" fight. Put all the kiddos on the trampoline, let them toss their snowballs at each other, then cranked up the sprinkler attached to the trampoline and "WHOOSH"...

all clean.

My baby girl is "3"

Look at that smile... does it get any better than this?

It certainly melts my heart everytime I look at this picture of Abbey on her 3rd birthday.

We celebrated on her birthday, September 14.

She is such a happy girl and smart as a whip!

Loves Minnie Mouse, puzzles,coloring and playing outside.

She is sweetest and happiest little girl. Says thank-you, yes mam, no mam, and please much to this mama's delight!

She keeps us on our toes with her climbing escapades and overall energy...

 but I have resigned myself to the fact this is simply God's way of keeping me young.

I am so thankful God brought her into our lives.

I am the luckiest mom in the world to be "Abbey's mom" 

I am forever grateful to Abbey's birthmom who brought this amazing gift into the world. I think of her often and wish there was a way she could see the beautiful and loving little girl Abbey has become.

 Especially on this day... her birthday.

School Already?

Yes, it came too fast this year. Come to think of it, it comes way too fast every year. You know... the back-to-schoool blues.
We love summer around here and the thought of schedules, homework, running from one activity to the other, etc. just makes me want to bury my head in the sand.

Don't get me wrong... there are days over the summer that I can't wait for school to start. You know the days when the kids have asked you one to many times "what can I do?" or "can you take us to so-and-so?" The days when I relish spending just one minute of time right by myself. Sigh... and then it happens.
Back to School is here.

Of course, Abbey had to get in on the pics for the beginning of school.

 She sooo wants to do everything the "big kids"  do!

Cody is a junior in high school...( I still can't wrap my head around this)

Matt is in the 7th grade--- in junior high

Madeline is in 3rd grade

And Abbey will be attending MMO this fall 2 mornings a week.

What will I ever do with all the time on my hands you ask?

Oh, trust me... I'll find something quiet and relaxing.

Hah!

Beach 2012

We had the the best beach trip this summer to Perdido Key, FL.

 I have been begging to vist the beach since we brought Madeline home in 2005. Mike is more of a "mountain" type of guy. He likes to hike, camp, explore.

 So we have visited the mountains several times.  

My idea of a vacation is lying on the beach, listening to the sound of the waves, eating seafood and just doing as little as possible.

 

So finally this summer I convinced the hubby to make the trp. Matthew was at church

camp this week with his friends. Cody had to work and really didn't want to hang out with his boring(?) parents. So we loaded up the girls and off we went!

 

And it was perfect! Just like I knew it would be. The smiles on the girls faces and watching them play on the beach was priceless.
There were no schedules. No plans from one day to the next.
The only decision to make was... pool or beach?

I could have stayed all summer long. We made some wonderful memories and even met some new friends. I have a feeling this wil lbe our new summer vacation trip... THE BEACH

Summer 2012

This is our summer in pictures... in no particular order. Hope you enjoy!

Mike and Matthew run 5K for adoption awareness.

That is quite a turkey leg Matthew! One of the many cook-outs of the summer

My fisherman!

Teaching Abbey all about baseball

Swim Meets at the pool. Go Madeline!

Cody gets his 'official' Drivers License. Watch out!

Madeline finally masters riding her bike and Abbey can finally reach the pedals on her tricycle. Biking on a hot and muggy evening!

Sink or Swim?

And we would rather swim... A LOT!

 Madeline decided to try

the swim team this summer and loved it!

We had practice every morning at 8:30 (ugghh). Here she is practicing diving off the board. By the end of the summer she was diving off the side of the pool, but still a little nervous on the board.

She only participated in the Home Swim Team meets and won 1st place in her second meet in the 25 yd freestyle. Boy, was I proud of her! I wanted her to do well to help build her confidence. She has always been a bit shy about trying new things, so I have really encouraged her to try this because she loves the water and swimming so much!

1st place ribbon in her event!

                                        Getting ready for the backstroke!

School's out for Summer!

Woo-hoo... it is official. The last day of school was back on May 23, but I am just now getting around to posting this. The pool opened that last day of school and boy was it crowded! Once again, Abbey is loving the water and Madeline is simply "the little mermaid".

We went to Memphis over Memorial Day weekend to visit the zoo and to visit friends/family. The Memphis Zoo is awesome! Of course, the China/Panda exhibit is our favorite and we love to watch the pandas. It was HOT... I mean 95 degrees hot! We survived with lots of water and breaks. Thank goodness for the double cart we rented for the girls. They were able to ride in it when they were tired of walking and it had a shade to keep the sun off.  It was a really great trip and Abbey loved seeing all the animals up close. We even bought a membership so we can visit more often and not break the bank account.. ha:).

Happy Mothers Day

I finally made a video of our trip to China to bring Abbey home.
I  am not the most computer savy person in the world, so it took me an entire day to complete.\
But, now that it's done I am so glad I took the time to make it.
I tear up looking at this sweet baby's face and see how far we have come since the day she was placed in my arms. My sweet Abbey... oh how I love you,

All I ever wanted to be was just a MOM.
I will forever be amazed at how God has "grown" our family and allowed me to be called "mom" by my 4 beautiful blessings. I am so grateful that HE placed the miracle of adoption on my heart and wouldn't let go.
I am humbled by the fact HE gave me the opportunity to carry my boys during two very hard pregnancies and experience the miracle of childbirth. I  am so blessed!

Thank you Lord for bringing these 4 precious people into my life and making me a better person simply because they love me as their Mom...nothing more, nothing less.

Easter 2012

What a beautiful sunny day for a Easter egg hunt!

Abbey loved our hunt at the church this year. She ran (of course) from egg to egg  and showed me her basket of treasures. Prior to the egg hunt, we were having story time inside the church and lo and behold...

Abbey dear has a nose-bleed. She has these occassionally, but was totally unexpected on my part.

So...

the red splattering on the front of her shirt is from her nose-bleed. I gave up long ago trying to dress up the kids for events, because it never lasts. They either find mud, chocolate, markers, cheetos, or in Abbey's case: a nose-bleed, to mar their precious clothes. Thank heaven for Shout!!

Sunday was also a beautiful day. The boys actually put on ties without me having to beg them to do so.

A miracle within itself.

The girls were precious in their PINK dresses. Madeline is getting so grown-up and loves to accessorize. The Easter Bunny brought her a necklace with a Bunny on it with a pink stone. She wore it to church and showed everyone. Abbey was her normal, bubbly self and loved the attention from all.

Our pastor and his family joined us for lunch at our home, as did mom and dad. Swinging, jumping on the trampoline, and hiding and finding eggs filled the afternoon. Before we knew it, the day was almost over and we had 2 tired girls, 2 restless boys and an exhausted mom. Dad was fine.

And yes, that is another cast on Abbey's arm this Easter. She had her 3rd hand surgery on March 29.

Maybe it is the fact that we have done this now 3 times now that it seemed to be less traumatic for all of us. We were able to control her pain much better this time. Bathing is no fun since she can't put her arm in the water... and this girl loves the water!

Enjoy the pictures of our wonderful Easter weekend. We are so blessed. Thank you God for dying on that crosss so that I can live for you and be the mom I always wanted to be.