Monday, May 28, 2012

Everything is better with Daddy....

Don't you agree?

We were inspired to head down to Chamber's Bay after spending time there with the White family on Saturday morning .  The girls were dying to show Daddy all of the crabs that were hiding from them under all of the rocks.

Jeff has been gone a total of 30 days within the last 90.  At times we feel like we are reintegrating every other week or so, but this homecoming felt more like a celebration! 
We love our sweet out numbered Daddy!

Four of my favorite people in the whole world!
Doesn't this melt your heart?
No prompting from Daddy....always on her own.


Being stylish at the beach....

Poor little crabbies....they had no idea they were going to be manhandled by a bunch of girlies.

Remember my Grace...the animal and now sea life whisperer.

She looks tough but she pretty much screamed the whole time!

Look at this itty-bitty baby crab.

This picture does not do this starfish justice...it was amazing!

First sand dollar of the year!

What do you think is under there squirting water?
Here is a sight you will not witness often....sisterly love....between the two strong bookends.

And look what Mommy found!

How fitting to come across this on a Sunday....

This was even more fitting....as man lounging in a drift wood chair, reading his bible.
God's creation at it's finest!
Sassy with her walking stick!

Where did our baby Grace go?

Blonde beach bombshell...

Happy Bella....
And yes....everything is better when our handsome Daddy is with us!

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Mollee's Senior Year.....

My girls are growing up way too fast.....all four of them!
How can my Mollee girl be a senior already?  It was just yesterday when she walked into my 2 year Sunday School class and gave me a big huge hug the first day she met me.  Sixteen years later, she still melts my heart the same exact way every time i see her.

The Goertz girlies came over today for me to try and snap a shot of all them together for their wonderful Daddy Jim for Father's Day and while they were all there, a surprise showed up for Mollee.  She was invited to Cotillion.  I am not familiar with what Cotillion exactly is but to the best of my knowledge, it is when a young lady is introduced to society at a formal "debut" presentation.  This will occur in December at a big fancy-smancy party and i am secretly hoping Mollee accepts the invitation so i can take a million and one photos of her. :-)

It was a gorgeous day, so we thought we'd snap just a few more senior photos too because, two senior photo sessions are not nearly enough.  :-)

Madison, Kathy and Mollee.....which one is the Mom?
Seriously....good genes or what?



Where has this beauty been hiding?

Pretty Mamma!

and they arrive......

Look how formal this is, invitation delivered in tuxes and on a silver platter!

Handsome men Randy and Ty.

Oh, i love sisters!






Such a beautiful trio!

Kathy said Madison would not take senior photos so
these are her '21 year old' shots. :-)








The big question is....will she accept the rose?
Love you my sweet amazing girl!

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Happy Mother's Day!

I can't believe i am sitting here typing this blog in my bathing suit!  I can still smell the sunscreen mixed in with a little bit of sweat and i LOVE it!

Today has been just about perfect.  Woke up to pitter-patter of feet coming into our room, i pretended to be asleep in hopes whomever it was would go to Daddy's side of the bed.  It worked.  Lily whispers...i know, can you believe she actually knows how :-)...."Daddy, can we make Mommy breakfast"?  Jeff asks what he thinks they should make and she replies 'his eggs' and would they be able to find a tray so she could serve me breakfast in bed.  So sweet.  Wish we would've gotten up early enough to make this happen, but we still had fun and Daddy and the girls surprised me with Starbucks and donuts.  Scarfed them down and headed to church to hear the girlies sing at both services.  All three of my angels sounded angelic as they serenaded the congregation. 

We then went out for brunch at the club where i opened up cards and gifts and cried......
I know i am a blessed woman, but totally take it for granted.  God has given me the most amazing little girlies to parent here on earth.  There are lots of days where i feel like i am failing miserably as a Mommy but today, my precious gifts from God reminded me that i was not doing too bad after all.

Bear with me, i have to share what each of the girls made. 

I was certain i would stop receiving 'school gifts' after primary school ended but received the sweetest card from my fifth grader, Grace.  Hers is the one that brought tears to my eyes because i feel like we butt heads the most.  She's gotten a little snarky since she's turned ten and to be honest, i am not dealing very well with it at times.  Her card suggested that she loves me unconditionally.  Thank goodness!

Top Ten Reasons Why I Love My Mom:
1)  I love you mom because you take care of me mostly every minute of the day.
2)  I love you because you help me think better when I am doing home work.
3)  Third, I love you because every time I do something bad it comes out to be a life lesson.
4)  Fourth, I love you mom because you cook us dinner whenever we need it.
5)  Fifth,  I love you because you are always patient and wait for me.
6)  Sixth,  I love you because you love me whenever I am being good or bad.
7)  Seventh,  I love you mom because you do things for me when i don't.
8)  Eight, I love you because you buy me whatever I need for school.
9)  Ninth,  I love you because I am always forgetful and you remind me all the time.
10)  Tenth, I love you Mom because you pack me good lunches every day.

This is what i received from Bella:
A Mother's Day Book from A to Z
A:  is for apple.  Mom helps me pick apples.
B:  is for baseball.  Mom plays baseball with me.
C:  is for careful.  My Mom says I should be careful.
D:  is for Dad.  My Mom likes my Dad.
E:  is for everything.  My Mom is good at everything.
F:  is for funny.  My Mom is really funny.
G:  is for girl.  My Mom is a girl.
H:  is for hug.  My Mom likes to hug me.
I:  is for American Idol.  Mom likes to watch American Idol.
J:  is for jog.  My Mom likes to jog a lot.
K:  is for kind.  My Mom is very kind to me.
L:  is for Love.  My Mom loves me.
M:  is for Mother's Day.  My Mom loves Mother's Day.
N:  is for never.  Mom says never give up.
O:  is for only.  My Mom is the only Mom that loves me.
P:  is for pretty.  My Mom is very pretty.
Q:  is for queen.  My Mom is a queen.
R:  is for respect.  I respect my Mom a lot.
S:  is for sweet.  My Mom is very very sweet.
T:  is for terrific.  My Mom is terrific at everything.
U:  is unique.  My Mom is unique.
V:  is for vacation.  Me and Mom go on a vacation.
W:  is for we.  We like to go to the park.
X:  is for example.  My Mom gave me a example.
Y:  is for you.  You are a wonderful Mom.
Z:  is for zippy.  My Mom is very zippy.
I wish you could see all the pictures she drew for each letter.  It is priceless!

Lily's kindergarten teacher always makes your child's hand print on a tile for Mother's Day.  I now have three and cherish them more than anything!  This is what Lily's card said:

My Mom by Lily
My mom is nice.
I like when my mom drives me to school.
My mom has short blackish-brownish hair and brown eyes.  She only wears a little stuff - maybe two things, like earrings, a necklace, a watch and a ring from her wedding day.  She wears red lipstick.
My mom is happy most of the time.  She is sometimes grumpy if my dad is not at home.
My mom likes to go shopping with her friends.  We like to go shopping at the mall together, too.
I really like my mom's macaroni and cheese.  It's kind of a little bit of peppery stuff, but not too much because pepper gives me the sneezes.
I like her clam chowder, too.  It takes her too long to make clam chowder - probably about 10 minutes.
My mom gives me hugs and she tickles me.
I love my mom and she loves me, too.
I love the part where i am grumpy when Daddy is gone. So true! Hey..i miss my sexy co-worker! :-)

I will tuck these treasures away because one day they will not come anymore.  Not because my girls don't love me, but because that's just what happens in life.  Teachers, thank you for taking the time to make us Mommies feel so special today.  You're helping teach my girls the joy of giving.  What a gift in itself that truly is!

This day would not be possible if i did not mention the three selfless woman who helped give me the cherished title of "Mommy".  I feel so blessed that they trusted me and chose me to parent our girls.  These women mean the world to me.  Love you all, my wonderful birth-moms and birth-grandmoms too!

Lastly, today i am missing my Mom....but so thankful that she is reunited with her own Mother, and what a wonderful celebration they must've had.

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

Love these hands so much!

My cards and yes....you're eyes are not playing tricks on you....
i'm going back to the naked lady spa!

My oldest daughter Mollee surprised me and brought me tulips yesterday to
 go along with the lilys and roses Jeff brought home. 

Pinterest inspired Grandmother's Day gifts.
I am so pleased with how they turned out and the girls LOVED making them.

Pinterest inspired calligraphy with just a plain old Sharpie.

Grandmother's gifts inspired me to do something for teacher appreciation last week.
Surprised the teachers with the children's hand prints from the class. 
The best part was, the kids kept it a secret until we presented the gift.
Way to go children!