Patience is a virtue!

Cole is 8 years old. Kiley is 7 years old. Wyatt will be four in three weeks. I as a parent have felt very guilty over the fact that my children seem to be afraid of water. Coles baptism was eventful to say the least because he was so afraid of the water.

HOWEVER, on Monday we went swimming with our good friends the Shumways and what do you know? Our kids decided the water wasn't so bad! By the end of the day Kiley could swim a couple of feet. Really as long as she could hold her breath. Cole made huge progress by bobbing all the way under the water and by the end was sitting on the floor of the pool completely submerged. WOW!

Today I took them swimming again and on the way to the pool I had a talk with Cole. I asked him to trust me and trust that I wouldn't let him drown. He told me he could trust me so he would do whatever I asked. By the end of todays swimming adventure, he can swim a few feet too! I am one proud mama! The best part is that he is proud of himself!

They can't wait to go again but alas too much of a good thing is too much for me :) Kiley is so burnt that she has blisters on her nose. I promise that I put sunscreen on her. It is crazy how burnt we all are so we are going to take a few days off.

I am so glad that we were able to get over our fears and go into the water. Cole has a real desire to swim well so we will start again after our family reunion in Greer.

Squeaks Marie

Today is Kiley's 7th Birthday. She is an amazing girl. Such a good helper. I love her gorgeous smile and her contagious laugh. Because she is seven here are seven things great about Kiley.

1. She ALWAYS has something to say.
2. She is very entertaining. She loves to perform and tell jokes. (even when they aren't funny)
3. She LOVES being a big sister! Sometimes I think she thinks she is the mom.
4. She has the greatest dimples that makes me want to grab her cheeks.
5. She has a way of letting me know when I should have explained something to her and didn't
(for example: WHAT??? My report card grades are from TESTS? I always ignore tests!)
6. She thinks the fireworks are in her honor every single year!
7. She is my one and only baby girl and she is the GREATEST!

Random Acts of Kindness

I want to thank someone (you know who you are) for the amazing gift package on our doorstep tonight. I am amazed at your generosity and thoughtfulness. I was truly suprised and overwhelmed with a sense of love. You are a wonderful person and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. It was truly amazing and the kids are so giddy about getting their own basket of goodies. Thank you!

Life

Sometimes life gets you down. Lately I feel like I am alone and that everything I know to be true is wrong. When did my perception get so totally warped? I am now questioning everything. The two things I will never question is that My family loves me and The Church is True! I am so glad to have these things as constants. It is hard to not know what you are feeling or if it is even valid but as long as I stay true to the gospel and keep praying I know everything will turn out okay.

Oh What Do You Do In the Summertime...

It is summer vacation and what have I got planned? Nothing! I am broke and have no idea how to entertain my kids. I have them doing puzzles and their school packets and I even bought them a little pool for the backyard (on a great sale) so now what? I feel so bad for them. All the other kids are taking swimming lessons...we can't. I feel like I am keeping my kids from doing a lot of the things they want and should do. I am excited to go to our family reunion but what til then? If only....

Friends

I have gone through quite a eye opening week. Things that I thought were true aren't and vice versa. It is important to know who your friends are and more importantly to be a good friend to others. I hope that I am a good friend to those I love and I resolve to do better.

I have a real desire to have true friendships around me and to surround myself and my family with those that have a positive effect on those around me. To these people I thank you and I love you. I hope to be better about being there for them.

I love my family. Andrew is amazing. He is my rock and my very best friend. I feel incredibly blessed to have him in my life. I love my children. They make me laugh, smile and sometimes cry. I love them so much. I hope to be a better example to them and I hope that they too will build lasting friendships because they are priceless.

Motherhood

I have been pretty down lately but one thing has never changed. My LOVE for my family. I have amazing children that can make me smile no matter what! They are amazing.

Cole is a fantastic helper. He helps me with the other kids, he always takes out the trash and he loves to do dishes! He is very competitive which works to my advantage. All I have to say is lets see if you can do this faster. He is always happy to do anything to make someone happy.

Kiley is a bundle of happiness. She loves to show her dimples and her favorite thing to do is smile. She is a brave little girl. She just had her teeth pulled on Wednesday and she was so good. I was amazed how brave she was while the whole thing was going on. I was a bigger wreck than her.

Wyatt is my little buddy. Every morning he comes in my room to give me a kiss. He then immediately asks if we can go see grandpa! If I say no then he yells at me "Mom! You broke your promise!" I don't know what promises I have been making but apparently I broke it. His new thing is if you ask if you can have a bite of whatever he has he will cough all over it and then say "oops, you can't have any cause I coughed one every single one!" This cracks me up every time. His biggest accomplishment this week is that he was determined to ride a two wheeled bike because he is "hoomongous!" So he got on Kileys BIG bike and after Andrew straightened the wheel he rode it down the street. FIRST try! I don't know why I was suprised but I was. He can't even peddle the whole wheel around he just catches the other peddal. Crazy kid.

Chase is a fabulous baby. I LOVE his smiley face. You can actually hear him smile :) He is such a good baby and makes our home that much brighter. He hasn't been here that long but I can't remember life without him.

I am one lucky mom and when I feel down I just have to look at my kids and remember that I have it pretty good! I love them with all my heart. Andrew is a wonderful father and husband and I am blessed to have him in my life.