A week of fun

We had a great week spending time with my parents at their house in South Carolina. My Grandma Belt was able to be up here from Florida to visit for the week. She enjoyed seeing how much the kids have grown. My brother was able to get a few days off as well to spend with all of us. Being a golf professional, they work all kinds of crazy days and hours.

Hang in there with me as we had a busy week of taking lots of pictures. Here is a snap shot.

This hat was my dad's when he was a young boy. We have always taken pictures in it and now the kids get to enjoy that.

Carsyn and Gramma
Aidan and Brenna had a blast making gingerbread (graham cracker) houses.

A tradition that we all really enjoy is to go ice skating. I guess it is the Michigan blood that is craving the ice! The kids are really getting a hang of it. Brenna loved the cart they gave her this year. She was cruising so fast around the rink.

One of the kids favorite things to do with Gramma....
bake! Brenna didn't even take her jammies off.

The kids taking cookies and goodies to some of my parents neighbors. (People who are in Michigan or up north reading this...it really was only about 60 degrees! Burrr!)

Christmas morning came with lots of anticipation from the kids...well mostly from Brenna. She kept coming downstairs saying that she has not seen Santa or the reindeer yet. She finally tired out and feel asleep!

Carsyn opening her stocking. She loved every minute of it!She really LOVED the tissue paper and wrapping paper!
Aidan trying on what Santa brought. University of Michigan gear for all 3 of them. Aidan just loves jerseys!

His big gift from Uncle Drew was his first set of real golf clubs. He was out later working on his chip shots.

With all the pictures I took, I didn't get Brenna opening her big gift from my parents, a doll house. She has not stopped playing with that or the ironing board an iron she got from my brother. The kids got a picture of what Mommy and Daddy got them. It was arrive this Spring. A play/swing set for our backyard.

My Grandma Belt with Carsyn.

Brad and I had agreed that we were not getting each other any gifts because we had just bought this wonderful camera for our anniversary/Christmas/birthday gifts. Yes, it was very expensive. The last couple months we had been LOOKING at new video cameras. Emphasis of LOOKING. My sneaky Brad shows up on Christmas Eve with this beauty! Boy, was I surprised!

I hope you had a wonderful week celebrating the birth of our Saviour!

See you in the NEW YEAR! 2009

Merry Christmas

In all the business of the season, I hope you take some time with just your family to relax and remember the reason for the Christmas season. We are heading to my dad and mom's for a week of exactly that. Have a Merry Christmas!

Here is a song by Rebecca St. James from her "Christmas" album (1997)

"A cradle prayer"

Jesus I love you my Lord my life

Where would I be without You

Here is the quiet, the still the night

I am in awe of you

Trials may come and friends they may go

What really matters is You, my Lord

Beautiful Savior my God, my friend

I am in awe of you

Lord I am in awe of you

Trials my come and friends they may go

What really matters is you, my Lord

Jesus I love you my Lord my life

Where would I be without you

Here is the quiet, the still the night

I am in awe of you

Why would you, Creator and King

Come as a baby for all, for me

Beautiful Savior my God, my friend

I am in awe of you

I am in awe of you

A little bit of everything

I have some catching up to do before we head out of town for Christmas. Lots of pictures..hang in there. Last Saturday the girls and I got invited to a holiday mother-daughter brunch. Brad had drivers ed, so Aidan tagged along. It actually turned out great because there was another boy there for him to play with. We had a great time with lots of yummy food and a chance for the mommy's to talk and the girls to play.

Later that evening we took the train downtown to the Georgia Dome to see the Georgia High school football state finals. Peachtree Ridge vs. Camden Co. The kids had never been to the Dome and we thought it would be a fun family outing. A perk of having both Brad and I coaching in the state is that we get into all sporting events for free. Why not go if it is free? We were cheering for Peachtree Ridge even though they lost!

Carsyn, our "go with the flow" baby ended up falling asleep in the front pack and slept all the way from the Dome through the train and back home.

The game was not until 8 pm and with the kids bedtime falling at 7 pm, everyone including Brenna got a little worn out! Daddy carried her home.

On Monday Brenna's ballet and tap dance class had their little Christmas performance for the parents. Here are the girls warming up and doing their exercises at the bar.

Then it is time for tap. Can you guess what the girls are? It was so cute!

On Monday, Aidan and Brenna also had their last gymnastics class until January. I took pictures of Aidan because this was his last class in the "little kids" class with girls. In January he is moving up to the boys team. He still loves it so much and I am excited to see this new guys coach work with him. The last day consisted of jumping in the pit off the beam and swinging on the pit bars.

Yesterday the kids had Christmas parties at their schools. Here is Aidan with his teacher Ms Autumn. He LOVES school and is learning new things everyday. He is working on a reading challenge at the school right now. If you read so many hours at home and document it, you will receive a free ticket to Six Flags. His class was all reindeer and sang "Rudolph" today. That is why his nose is red.

The evening ended with a Christmas performance at Brenna's school. I remember thinking last year that Brenna would be up there at this time. She sang "Jingle Bells" and "Happy Birthday" great. (After 2 1/2 weeks, her black eye is almost gone!)

Tribute to Aunt Val

Valerie Marie (White) Monk

August 25, 1950-December 10, 2008

Our family is mourning the loss of a wonderful woman this past week. Brad's Aunt Val who lost her 1 year battle with pancreatic cancer passed away on December 10th. I was blessed to have met her 9 years ago while at a family wedding. She was Brad's mom's middle sister. For those of you who don't know, Brad's mom was taken from us suddenly as well in July of 1995. We know without a doubt that Aunt Val is dancing with her sister Carol along side our heavenly father.

Over the past 9 years I have gotten to know Aunt Val, her husband Chuck (married for 35 plus years) and their 2 daughters (Brad's cousins), Aimee (21) and Angela (16). After moving to Chattanooga from Houston, TX in 2004, we have got to spend many occasions, celebrations as well as the hard times with her and the family. It has been great for Brad to have this part of his family so close and to have someone that loves him like a son and for her to get to know his children. After being diagnosed December, 2007, we have prayed along side her and the rest of the family.

We were able to go to a memorial service in celebration of her life on Tuesday in Chattanooga. It was so much more than a celebration. The church was packed worshiping and praising God. Though many tears were shed, we all know that she is better where she is now. Just a bit of the service included a women signing "I can only imagine."

Here are a few pictures over the last 4 years....

These two pictures are taken from Aidan's 1st birthday party over 4 years ago.

This is the last time the kids were able to see her walking around this summer.
We took dinner up to them and she was able to hold Carsyn. Although no pictures were taken in November when we went up to see her one last time, we were able to take Carsyn into the room to see her and to show her how much she had grown.

We will miss you Aunt Val!

Birthday party and birthday weekend

We had Aidan's birthday party at Chick-fil-a last Wednesday night. I was trying to find a place that we be able to hold lots of kids (besides my house), have lots of food and be CHEAP! Thanks to our wonderful Chick-fil-a who reserves a spot in the restaurant for us with balloons for the kids, free ice cream and a great playground all for FREE! I ordered the food early on in the day and brought cake and plates. Aidan had a great time. Here are some shots from the party.

My parents came into town on Friday and we celebrated Aidan's birthday into the weekend as well. He has been wearing his new gift that they got him day, night, in the shower and everywhere else. Since he has been telling time he likes to tell us all the time what time it is. So they decided to get him a watch. The best part is that it is not digital and it just has the hands on the clock, so it forces him to really tell time! On Saturday morning we all went to Aidan's school for breakfast with Santa. Carsyn and Aidan were all about it. Brenna kept her safe 20 foot distance minimum.

Yes, I forgot to mention..Brenna got a black eye playing at the playground at Chick-fil-a. A little girl (not from our party) kicked her in the face. OUCH! No, I do not beat my daughter!

5 YEARS OLD!

Happy Birthday to our Aidan Bradley who turned 5 officially at 12:24 pm today. Time has flown by today just like the last 5 years, but I had to post a birthday message about Aidan! It has been a sort of surreal day for me thinking about my first born and only son being 5 years old. It really seems so old to me.

5 means you can show your age with your whole hand, 5 means kindergarten, 5 means you can ride your bike a little bit farther down the street, 5 means you can stay up a little bit later on Friday nights, 5 means you learn to love more and have more interests and 5 doesn't mean that you can snuggle less with your Mommy!

Here are 5 things (among many) that I love about Aidan.....

1. I love the way he loves his sisters.

2. I love the way he tells stories.

3. I love the way he gets excited when he sees his Daddy come home after a long day.

4. I love that he is so determined and driven to learn something and never gives up.

5. I love that he loves to try new things and goes at it with out hesitation.

There are many nights when my children are asleep that I go up to their rooms after they are fast asleep and pray at their bedside. When I enter Aidan's room, he is still in the same position we left him in when he went to bed. His arms are up over his head with his cherished "Ro Ro" at his side and he never flinches when I walk to his bedside. He looks so peaceful! I am so thankful that God has put Aidan in our lives. We are so blessed!

Happy Birthday my little man!

Monday Memories

Two post in one day! I just had to post this picture because our sweet boy is celebrating his 5th birthday this week. (Aidan playing on the Jersey shore at 18 months.)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY week Aidan Bradley!
Have a great week!

It's beginning to look a lot like winter.....

There are two things down in Georgia that are a sign that it is winter time....

1. SNOW? Aidan has kept saying that the first day of December is the first day of winter. Of course you associate winter with snow. Now all you northerners must be laughing. I am to as I am typing this, but down here in Georgia it really is a big deal. We have told him many times that it does not officially start until the end of the month, however it proved me all wrong today. It starting snowing this morning in the North Georgia mountains where we live. Of course the ground is to warm for it to stick, but never the less it was snowing! It continued to snow all day even while we were down farther south of here where we spent most of our day. The kids enjoyed sticking their tongues out to try to catch all the big flakes of snow. Lets just say it was fun while it lasted. It will be back in the mid a 50's by the middle of the week.

2. Crazy drivers! Having read #1, you probably know where I am going with this. A southerner sees snow or anything resembling snow and they all of a sudden don't know how to drive. (Now I know some of you are just overly cautious.) As I am driving to Brenna's dance class this morning with both my girls in the car, I had stopped at a red light to take a right hand turn. I had a yield sign, but a red light on people going straight. I was looking at oncoming traffic and the person behind me decided that he was not going to stop and hit our car. I had my break firmly pressed already so I thankfully did not move much. The car that hit me was also in a SUV and hit our SUV's spear tire holder on the back of the Monterro cracking it in half. Thank goodness for that or it would have been a worse impact, especially for Brenna who sits in the back. Everyone is ok, but I totally was shaken up because of the kids in the car Their car has a bit more damage. Yes, I know you may say this could happen in any kind of weather, but it just so happened to occur while it was snowing!

Happy WINTER y'all!

Happy Thanksgiving week!

Have a wonderful THANKSGIVING week! One thing I am so thankful for is to have 3 beautiful, healthy children and a husband that loves and supports all of us! What are you thankful for?

(Here is a placemat the kids made for their Grandpa in Michigan.)

Day to day with a 7 month old

I (Carsyn Joy) am 7 months old today. Here is what I did today...

6:30 am-I wake up in my crib and start to talk to my sister. I try to tell her that Brother and Daddy are awake and that they are about to leave. We need to get Mommy in here so we can say bye to them.
6:35 am-Mommy finally comes in and gets me. I am much happier. She takes me downstairs and I give my big brother a kiss goodbye before he leaves for school and kisses to my daddy before he leaves for work.
6:45 am-Mommy feeds me. I am much happier now!
7:15 am-Big sister, Mommy and I go upstairs, get dressed, and do our morning chores. I really just pull all the books off sisters shelf, but mommy and sister make beds and clean toys up.
7:45 am-We go downstairs and I play with my toys in Mommy's bedroom and bathroom while she gets ready for the day. I love to hide under the bed.
8:30 am- Today we leave to take my big sister to school. I miss my brother and sister while they are at school, but I love hanging out with Mommy.
9:15 am- When we get home, Mommy lays me down for my morning nap. I am so tired!
10:45 am-I yell for my mommy to come get me. I am hungry! Mommy comes and gets me and then I eat.
11:30 am- We are off to pick up my sister. I can't wait to see her. She makes me SMILE!
12:15 pm- We get home from picking up Brenna from school. We eat lunch. I have bananas. I make a mess all over my hands, but they are so yummy!
12:30 pm- Sister and I go upstairs and play in the playroom while Mommy works on some projects. Yesterday, I played with my friend David. My friend Elise and Joshua slept the whole time. Here is my friend David and I playing...

1:30 pm-I am so tired..I crawl over to Mommy and tell her that I am ready to take nap.
3:30 pm- When I wake up from my nap, I feel much better. I also get some milk.
4:00pm- I play with Brenna downstairs while Mommy cleans up. I like to play with the silly noise makers behind the doors. (the door stoppers)
5:30 pm - We eat dinner. Daddy and Brother are going to be home later tonight. So it is just the girls eating dinner. I had chicken and broccoli. Yummy!
6:00 pm- I play in the kitchen while Mommy cleans up.
6:15 pm- I get to take a bath with sissy tonight. I love to play with my toys in the tub!
6:40 pm- I get some milk before going to bed. I am exhausted!
7:00 pm- Good night everyone. My big sister is in my room with me to keep me company.

7 random things

I have been tagged by my friend Amber to come up with 7 random things about myself that you may not know. Here it goes....
1. Most of you know that I grew up in Michigan, but I was born in Appleton, WI. Yes, I am a cheese head.
2. I have naturally very curly hair. If you see me in the summer or days I don't feel like doing my hair, then you will see my hair curly. Most of the time it is straight.
3. I have a reading disability called dyslexia. I have worked really hard in my life for this to not make a huge impact on my life.
4. My first broken bone was in middle school when I broke my wrist doing gymnastics. I was in a silly contest at the end of practice to see how many back walkovers you could do and it was my 3 or 4 one and the whole gym heard the crack. Ouch!
5. I hate to clean! Yes, I know many people say this. I do pride myself in a very clean, organized house, but I HATE cleaning!
6. I ran the disciplinary board in my sorority Pi Beta Phi at WMU.
7. I have wrote in a journal everyday since 1994. For the most part, it is not really that personal. It just gives you a snapshot of my day and what is going on in my life.

So here are the rules:

*Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.

*Tell seven random facts about yourself on your blog

* Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs (I am only do 5)

*Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

Ok - tag, you're it:

April
Kate
Stephanie P.
Karin
Lindsey

See..that was really not that interesting!
Have a wonderful week. Try to stay warm!

First teeth

If you look closely, you can see what I see....

Yes, her first two teeth came in late last week.

No more gummy smiles, but I have to say that this smile is just as cute!

Election night

Brad and I did not know that our sweet girl had snuck out of her room and down the first flight of stairs to watch all the excitement on the TV and then fall asleep in exhaustion!



With all this craziness of the election stuff for the last 2 years..I think this picture says it all!