William's Family Blog

March fun!

2009-03-29T09:12:00.004-05:00

Addyson loved the bunny and did not want
to give it up when it was time to put it back!
She responded with a "NO!"

Addyson in the rocking chairs at
Cracker Barrel.

McKayla and Addyson playing in the water.

Samantha at the park. She thinks that she
is too old to play but she got involved for
a little while.

Addyson loved the swing.

Samantha on the way to the park.

McKayla on the way to the park.

I am really trying to update this more often so here goes....

One of my goals for this summer is to be more active outside with the girls. I want to go to the park more, swim more and have picnics. Just have more fun together and give them more memoies. That is very important to me. I want them to grow up and say "I remember when..."

I know that I have lots of those moments as an adult so I want to share that with them.

Now on to the other things that are on my mind. I am going to get my butt in gear and exercise more. I have not done well at all. I have a membership to the Summit so now it is time to use it. I waste my Saturdays and Sundays being lazy and I am going to start getting up and taking a shower and get moving. Addyson was taking a nap at around 10 am and she still does at times but normally she is not ready at that time anymore unless she gets up really early. Today she slept in until 9:00 and my other girls are still asleep and i is 9:30! That is so nice because I still get up early and I am able to have a little time to myself. No one standing over my shoulder or trying to sit in my lap while I am on the computer. That is nice! I am sad that my children are getting so big. Samantha is turning into a teen-ager faster than I want her too. Then it will be McKayla's turn. I still debate everyday if I want to have one more child. I really do but I know that financially it will be hard. I am just going to leave that up to God. The way that I see it is, if I am meant to have another child then when I decide that I am going to try it will either happen or it wont. I love my little family as it is but I can't help but want another baby. I love being a mom. That is just the way that God made women. That is what the bible says, We are supposed to get married and make reproduce! Not in those exact words but it is in there.

another one of my goals is to get debt free. We don't have that much debt but the debt that we have I want to pay it off! The borrower is slave to the lender. As I say that I know that I want to go back to school and finish my bachelors degree. So there is more debt! Kelly and Matt know all about that right? I wish that Mike would get back into school as well but I don't think that is something that he really wants to do. We have talked about it but that is about it.

So there is my update for today... hope that you all enjoyed reading it. Jennfer

Get a job!

2009-01-16T06:08:00.009-06:00

You may wonder why I would have this man's photo on my blog but what you are looking at is a mug shot of David Stokes. On Thursday morning at 4:00 a.m. Mike and I woke to banging on our front door. I get to the door and saw a Temple police officer standing there. As I regained my composure I opened the door and he asked the stupidest question... " Are these your two vehicles?" as he pointed to the two that were obviously in my driveway. I said "yes" and he said "Please came outside we caught a man breaking into cars. We want you to check and see if there is anything missing."

When Mike and I walked up to his car it was obvious that he had gone through his car. The glove box was open and everything that was in it was strewn all over the floor and seat. He also tried to get his radio but I think that the police officer pulled up right as he was trying to get that out. He did not get anything and thank gosh Mike had his golf clubs in the garage. He would have been devastated if those were taken. I would have been as well because then he would have wanted to buy a whole new set and those cost a pretty penny! So here is the story that the KWTX posted.

"An alert Temple police officer is credited with catching a suspect in a series of vehicle break-ins early Thursday morning.

Officer Paul Bench was on patrol around 3:45 a.m. Thursday in the 100 block of Cheyenne in Temple when he spotted a man crouched down behind a vehicle.

When Bench approached, the man ran, police said.

Bench caught him a shirt time later, police said.

Meanwhile, other officers in the area discovered several vehicles that had been broken into.

Property taken in the burglaries was recovered.
David Stokes, 23 of Temple was taken to the Bell County Jail.

He is facing charges that include evading arrest and three misdemeanor counts of burglary of a motor vehicle."

AND TO TOP THIS ALL OFF WITH WHIP CREAM AND A CHERRY!!!

HE LIVES ON OUR BLOCK!!!

I just wish that people like him would just get a job! I know times are tough! The economy sucks and blaa blaa blaa but what makes this guy or any other criminal out there think that the people they are robbing are any better off than they are. I am sure that this guy is probably a drug addict you can just look at the picture and tell that, but man I just don't get it. Mike and I feel so violated! There has been a lot of theft in our area and I am sure that it was probably him. I am glad that they caught him but now because I am sure that after he ran out of things to take from cars our houses would have been next. Only thing that I hate is he is probably just going to get a slap on the wrist from our oh so trusty judicial system we have in place!

Samantha's Birthday

2009-01-12T22:18:00.008-06:00

Here are some pictures and a
video of Samantha's 11th birthday
party. We went to Hanks Town and
had a lot of fun!

Putting the Christmas tree up

2009-01-04T09:28:00.018-06:00

I really struggle with trying to have the same kinds of traditions that my mom use the have for Stacey and I on the night that we would put up our Christmas tree. I remember having so much fun! She would turn the Christmas music on and make all kinds of goodies. Every year I say I am going to do that but all that happens is we get in a rush and I randomly pull all the Christmas stuff out and announce that we are putting the tree up tonight. Mike's mom always just put their tree up and never involved her children. Therefor I really have to pull Mike into the fun. I love traditions and I want to make sure that my girls all have fond memories of the things that we did together as a family. I am going to do better this year.

As you can see we did have fun putting the tree up!

McKayla got to put the star on .

Addyson wasn't too sure if she should throw the ornaments
or put them on the tree. Throwing them was much more
fun. I found ornaments all over the house.

Mike helping the girls get the hooks on.

Samantha putting an ornament on.

Addyson putting her ornament on.

McKayla putting her ornament on.

The finished product

Family fun

2008-12-02T20:59:00.009-06:00

Yesterday we went to the Temple parade. Other than freezing our toes and noses off we had a lot of fun. We got out there at about 6 p.m. and had a picnic. The parade started at 6:30 but we were at the end so we had a while to wait. Addyson was not too happy about the wait so we walked down to the bridge and watched the trains for a while. The whole time she was saying "Choo choo" it was so cute. She wants to be so independent so it makes for outings like that a little trying. I gave her to Mike and she just started crying but once the parade started she was really having a lot of fun. She was dancing to the music and clapping! I have to say, Mike was great. Usually he does not do well when we do things like this but he was calm the whole time and he actually had fun himself.

Another event that we had was Addyson's first hair cut. She thought that the hair dresser was really hurting her. She was crying and did not enjoy the hair cut at all.

Tonight we had our family Tuesday no TV night. We had a lot of fun just running around the house playing with each other. we started with dinner all together at the table which is something that we do anyway and the we also sat down and read a book that the girls bought this weekend. It is called Twilight. Each of us took a turn reading so that was nice. Mike said tonight that he really enjoyed the no TV night. The girls did not fight once! That is always nice and the house was not full of a loud TV but it was full of laughing and playing! I love it!

Addyson crying because she was getting her

hair cut!

The finished product! She is beautiful!

McKayla and me

Mike and his brother Patrick

McKayla enjoying the parade with Addyson

Samantha and Celestina

Addyson and mommy

Addyson not happy that her daddy has a hold on her

Here are the pictures.

2008-11-19T05:58:00.006-06:00

Only at our house!

Samantha and I.

Addyson and McKayla during Halloween

McKayla being crazy

Peace!

Weekend fun!

2008-11-16T21:53:00.007-06:00

Our weekend filled with laughter and saddness all rolled into two days! I am always amazed at how fast the weekend flies by and also at how much we squeeze into those two days. Friday night I went to my mom's house to make sure that she was okay. I am convinced that she is just fine just a little freaked out because she did not have a fix while my dad was home. I think that she was really ready for him to leave so that she could tear the house apart looking for more pills. I also just do not think that she is ever going to get better. That is very sad. My mom could very well not be here for my girls to graduate high school and that is so sad. Both her and my dad have always been a huge part of my families life. No matter what was going on I always made sure that I called her just about everyday and I always made sure that my girls spent plenty of time with her. Now I only call to make sure that she woke up that day. She cannot carry on a conversation that is worth making the effort to have so I usually just spend about a minute or two on the phone with her. Man that sounds so mean but literally that is how it feels. I did not hear from her on Sunday and around 12 noon I thought that I better call to make sure that she answers the phone. All I could think of is what if she is dead and no one knows it. I hate that feeling but I feel that any day she just may not be here. I am not sure if the rest of my family feels that way but I know I do. I hate it. I feel like I am too young to have to babysit my mom. This is something that I thought I would have to do after my children were in college or starting families of their own. But here I sit with the burden of making sure that my mom just eats something and does not just drink a shake. She seems to be determined that is all the food that she needs. She is never going to get better! She does not want to do what it takes to do so. She only takes her medicine correctly after we catch her taking it all wrong. She is still taking pills that she should not and I know that is just out of my hands. No one can make her stop killing herself. She cries to my dad that she does not want to die but yet continues on doing the things that are going to kill her. I now know that all I can do is live my life and take car of my family. She is an adult and can make her own decisions. We as her family have to either live with those decisions and take her as she is or withdraw ourselves from the situation. I do not hold a lick of hope that she is going to get or stay clean and I am never going to set myself up for disappointment again. Why should I when I have a family of my own that needs me.

Anyway, after leaving her house I picked up Samantha's friend Isela and took her to our house to stay the night. The girls had a lot of fun. Isela stayed all weekend. I will post some videos that they made outside on the trampoline. Viewer beware they might cause motion sickness! They also took some great pictures. Sunday was Mike's birthday so we went his mother's house which is always great fun. I am glad to have at least a normal mother-in-law. I am also glad that she stepped up in being there more for the girls when my mom stopped being able to have the girls over at her house. Below are videos and pictures. Enjoy!

Being sick sucks!

2008-11-10T20:46:00.004-06:00

Well today I was not the least bit productive. I have been sick since 4 a.m. and just now starting to feel better. I have been in bed all day thinking of all the things that I could be doing with a day off and no one at home but instead I slept most of the day away. Dang Whataburger! I think that I am going to steer clear of there for a while. I should have known that we were not supposed to eat there when (a) we had to wait in line at the drive through for 15 minutes (b) They did not give us the right order and I had to go in and tell them. When we were leaving I told Mike that I am not going to go back to Whataburger because they take too long and never get things right for us. Anyway I am feeling better but still very tired. It is 8:51 and I am already ready to go to bed.
Our TV is broken so that is fun! Not that we can't go without TV but I do have a few shows that I really like to watch. Yesterday was the first day without TV and I told Mike that it was actually nice and he agreed! We got some stuff done that we needed and the house was quiet! We are going to start having one day a week that the TV stays off.
This weekend was nice but busy like always. Samantha had a softball tournament that lasted all day. Her team lost their first game but then came back to win 4 in a row and claimed first place in the 10 and under. They played two games back to back and then we went home for about 3 hours and went back out there for 3 games back to back. The team that they played got a long break before playing them and I think that even though our girls were tired they were warmed up and ready to go so they had the advantage. They won 12 to 0! We are so proud of Samantha and her team. Tomorrow they are being treated to an ice cream party at Maggie Moo's!
McKayla is doing really well. Math is really getting better and that is a blessing.
Addyson is getting funnier and funnier everyday. Today she slapped me and then said "Sorry hit you" It was in the cutest tone. She can say thank you now. Yesterday Mike took her plate for her and she told him "Thank you!" It is amazing how fast they grasp everything. She knows what to do when I tell her go find your cup. She is so smart. I know that all parents say that about their children but it is true!
Well, that is all that I have to update on as of right now. Well actually I have more but I am ready to go to bed so I am going to end.
Hope that you all have a great week.
Jennifer

2008-07-16T21:38:00.003-05:00

Here is some video of Addyson trying to walk.

McKayla's Birthday Bash!

2008-07-16T20:23:00.006-05:00

For McKayla's 9th birthday party we went to Austin's Park and Pizza. It was alot of fun. Lots of pizza was eaten and lots of fun was had by all. It was a very long day for us because we were there from 11:30 until about 4:30 and then we took Samantha to camp. McKayla had a lot of fun and I did not have to clean anything up afterwards which was really nice.

One birthday down..... One more to go!

2008-06-15T22:04:00.005-05:00

Isn't she cute!
Lots of cool present!
She loves to share her food.

This was a post that I started and never finished so I thought that I would go ahead and get the pictures added and post it.

Today we had Addyson's 1st birthday party. It was so much fun! We had a combination birthday/Father's Day party and invited all of Mike's family and our family. We started out with a great lunch. Chicken, that Sherry has perfected down to an art. Everyone else brought a side. Addyson was great! She did not care too much for everyone singing happy birthday to her. She started to cry. I guess it was just too loud for her. She got a lot of great gifts from everyone. I got a lot of great pictures. I just cannot believe that she is already one. The time just flies by. She is starting to stand up from a sitting position and has taken a few steps. Before I know it she will be walking everywhere. God really made human beings amazing! First the process of reproduction and then the gestation period. Amazing stuff happens with-in those nine months. There is nothing else in the world that can ever compare to being pregnant. Knowing that a person is growing inside you and that they depend on your to take care of your body and help them grow is a lot of pressure but once it is all done and you have a baby to show for all your sacrifice it is worth it. Then you get your body back (sort of) ;) wink, wink! Men will never get to experience what God has bless women with! I know that I am blessed to have three healthy, beautiful girls! I thank God everyday for that.

Sorry got off on another subject! Back to the birthday. It was so much fun. I have posted some pictures for those of you that were not there so that you can share in all the fun.

Jenn

Our first big scare with Addyson

2008-05-31T21:44:00.016-05:00

This is funny mommy because you have to clean this up!

Let me put some on you!

What are you looking at?

Pick me up please!

Laughing because she tore the paper.

She really thought that is was funny.

Today while shopping at Wal-Mart Addyson fell out of the shopping cart. Samantha always stays with her while I check out but today she was up by me and the next thing that we heard was a thud on the floor and crying. I have to tell you we were all really concerned if she was okay. No one saw her fall so we had no idea if she hit her head or what. I have to say God was really watching over her. She is fine. I cannot find any bruises on her body or bumps on her head. I called the PAN nurse at Scott & White and told her how I checked her out and she told me that I needed to just watch her and observe her behavior. She is fine though. Talking just like she was before and being just as silly as ever. She does not act like it hurts or cry when I pick her up. I am going to be watching her very closely for the next few days. But as you can tell by the pictures above she is fine.

I actually slept for five hours straight!

2008-05-30T05:49:00.001-05:00

Addyson woke up at 12:30 and is still asleep! I am so happy! It is working.

Exhausted

2008-05-27T05:47:00.002-05:00

I am exhausted! Addyson slept in her bed all night but woke up 4 times! At 10:30, 1:00, 3:00 and 5:00. At least when she was in my bed I did not have to wake all the way up to tend to her. I now have to work on not nursing her every time that she wakes up. That is what she wants and she really gets upset if I try not to let her. I wish that she would take a pacifier or suck her thumb. I tried not picking her up and just patting her butt, that did not work. I just hope that this gets better. I do not want to let her sleep in my bed. I just have to stand firm.

So far so good!

2008-05-26T21:40:00.003-05:00

I put Addyson down in her bed at about 8:30 and she did not stir! She is still asleep and I am so happy. I know that tomorrow may be horrible again but for tonight I am enjoying the peace of a sleeping baby. After we got home from my mom and dad's house tonight we went straight outside and I hung up Addyson's johnny jumper in the tree while the girls played with water guns with Abby from next door. She loved watching them but when they got out of sight she would just cry. Mike mowed the yard and I was busy cutting some bushes that needed trimming. I think that she was just worn out and that is why she went straight to sleep. She did not eat well for me all day though and I hate that. She just wanted to nurse which is fine but I am trying to get her use to eating three meals a day. This morning I made her oatmeal and thought I would just sit in the living room floor to feed her. As soon as I got down on the floor she threw Mike's cell phone in the oatmeal. She did not want to eat that so we just breastfed. Then lunch she ate pretty good. She loves sweet potatoes. Dinner was the same issue, she just was not interested at all. Oh well, I know that she is not starving so I guess that I just need to stop worrying about it. I am going to get back on birth control pills when she turns one. I have not done so because I feared that it would dry my milk up. It has in the past with both girls. I am very ready to get back on them because it is no fun having to worry if what you are using is going to be effective. That may be more than any of you want to know but it was on my mind so I put it in here.
Seems like now I am posting more than Kelly... What is up with that Kelly? I posted three times in two days. Yes count them
1 2 3 !!!
I am off to bed. I hope that you all have a great week.
Jennifer

Restful nights sleep... NOT!

2008-05-26T07:49:00.000-05:00

Well, it went okay with Addyson sleeping in her own bed but she woke up at 1 am and I realized that she threw up on herself. Must have been from crying so hard. I felt really bad after I found that out. She did however go right back to sleep and slept until 3 am. I got up again and she nursed and went right back to sleep until 6:30. I have noticed that for some reason my Blog states the wrong times. So last night she went to bed around 9:30. She took a late nap and went to bed later than normal.
So there you have it. The nights life of sleeping like are just around the corner. I am not sure who first made that comment but they must not have had children!

This is horrible!

2008-05-25T22:44:00.000-05:00

As I sit here and type my blog I am listening to my baby scream her head off in her bed. This is the worst that she has ever cried. It is so hard to listen to. It breaks my heart. I know that it is mine and Mike's fault because we have co-slept for so long. She is having withdrawals and so are Mike and I. Mike enjoys having her in the bed as much as I do. She likes to creep over to him and snuggle with him and he loves that. I also enjoy the company of her being in bed when Mike leaves to go to work. I know that it is silly to say that an eleven month old baby gives me comfort and makes me some how feel a little safer when she is there. We have enjoyed her sleeping with us but the time has come to move her to her bed and she is really upset to put it lightly! I have been in there for about 40 minutes. I fed her and rocked her and then put her in her bed. She was good for a few minutes but as soon as I stopped patting her butt she would move around and cry out. I picked her up and got her back to sleep again and did the same routine as before. This time I patted her butt for about a minute or two and walked out thinking that she was asleep. No such luck. She is still crying and I know they say to let them just cry it out and they will go to sleep...... Nothing!!! I hear nothing right now!!!! IS SHE ASLEEP????? Waiting to hear her again right now...... Well, I just peeked in on her and she is just sitting in her bed. But no crying! That is some progress right? We will see. All that I know is that I am ready to sleep through the night! It has been eleven months since I have had a full nights rest. That is way too long. So far still no sounds coming from her room. Maybe I will go get in the bed as well.
Now on to something else. Samantha and McKayla both cut their hair off. They both look so good. Samantha did not get a new hair style but McKayla did and she thinks that she "looks fabulous" In her own words! She is just excited that it is going to be so easy to take care of and wash. I will post pictures soon.
Well, I am off to bed now to get some sound sleep! I hope!
Night to all.
Jennifer

McKayla

2008-05-22T05:56:00.000-05:00

I am so proud to announce that McKayla passed her math TAKS test. Her teachers are so proud of her. We have not yet heard about Samantha but we should hear today. I also found out that the Temple school district is changing the math program this year. I just do not understand what took them so long to figure out that the math they were teaching was horrible.

Softball

2008-05-15T10:45:00.000-05:00

Getting ready to play

In the dugout

Last minute coaching

Up to bat!

Samantha started softball this year and let me tell you it is time consuming, but a lot of fun. She has had two games so far and they are 2-0! On Tuesday they beat a team by the skin of their teeth. It was "The team to beat" the team name was the Crush, and well, the Angels "Crushed" them alright! Samantha was so happy that they won.

She was a trouper at the last game stepping into a roll that she was unfamiliar with. Several of their team mates did not show up and she was randomly picked to play hind catcher. That is a very hard job. I just felt so bad for her but she did just fine. She got out there and put on all the gear and pretended to know what she was doing. She hasn't ever practiced in that position before! Poor thing was dripping wet with sweat! You all know how hot natured she is... But she persevered and made several good catches and throws. I was more worried for her than she was for sure! I did not like my baby being thrown out to the wolves! Plus I know that she wants to be a great player and does not want to disappoint her teammates.

Samantha really enjoys softball and I am so glad. I wanted to find something that she would like and could be good at. I think that we found it. Now we just have to work on getting McKayla into something that she will like. She wants to ride horses and I have not ruled that out but I know that she likes dancing. When I ask her if that is something that she would like to do she always says no. I think that she is afraid that she will be made fun of or have to compete against other people. She is really hard to figure out. I think that she is competitive but she is so afraid that she will not be the winner so therefore she chooses not to participate. I hope getting her involved in something will break that cycle for her.

Addyson's surgery

2008-05-12T12:14:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday May 6th Addyson had a surgery to put tubes in her ears. She did so well. We had to be there at 7:30 so we still had time to do our normal routine with Samantha and McKayla. They were at school just about 10 minutes earlier than normal. Both were really apprehensive about Addyson's surgery and really wanted to come to the hospital with us. I assured them that everything was going to be okay and that Addyson would be at home in the bed taking a nap long before they even went to lunch. Actually the whole process was so fast that we were eating breakfast at 8:45. Scott & White has a Child Life Specialist that comes in and talks to each child about what is going to happen during the surgery, no matter the age. They bring in things that the child will see in the operating room and let them touch and play with it all. Addyson was so cute. She just kept on smiling and laughing. She is such a pleasant baby. The Child Life Specialist said that she would love to use her as an example. I do not think that we will be doing that though. I do not want to expose her to anything that she does not have to be exposed to. When it was time for her to go back I put her down in the little red wagon and off she went. She liked the wagon a lot and if you know Addyson you know the smile that she gave as she was going down the hall. Everyone stopped and looked at her. (You know, because she is so pretty!) When we got to the door where no family is allowed she went on like a big girl. Didn't even look back at us. I was so shocked that I did not boo hoo. Only just a little teary eyed. I was proud of myself!

When Addyson came back into the room she was still asleep but woke up within about five minutes. She cried then and threw herself around a little. I tried to put my booby in her mouth thinking that would comfort her but no such luck. She was really upset about what had just happened and was not sure where she was. The nurse took her a little later to check her out and make sure she was ready to go home and when she went to give Addyson back to me she did not want me. She cried as though I was a stranger. I was surprised that I did not cry about that either. Guess I was a big girl that day too. We tried again with the same result! The nurse actually walked us all the way to the doors. I could tell that it made her feel good that Addyson wanted her. Maybe God knew that she needed the love of a baby that day. Who knows.

All in all it was not a bad experience at all. Addyson seems to be doing so much better. Still grabbing her ears but we are not sure if it is just out of habit or if she is still having pain. Now my fear is that I will get water in her ears. I put Vaseline on cotton balls but the cotton gets so wet that I worry. I am almost scared to give her a bath!

Now in just one more short month she will be one year old. I cannot believe how fast time flies. I hate it. Kelly, just wait until you are at the one year mark with Camille, you will not believe how fast it goes by.

Could of, should of would of!

2008-04-23T21:13:00.000-05:00

When I think back at my life there are many things that I feel I could of, should of, would of done! I love my life right now but there is one place that I feel such a void... That is in the area of education. I am one of the only people in my department that does not have a Bachelor degree. I know that it would help me advance in the area that I am working and I really want to go back to school. I am really struggling with wanting to work and wanting to stay home with my family. I know that staying home is not an option so I feel like the best thing for me to do is to go back to school so that if I have to work then I can really help support my family better. I am still trying to figure out if online will be the way that I will go.
I love the job that I am doing but I just feel like I should be doing something else. I have a supportive role right now and I am tired of being in the back ground. I keep saying that I don't always want to be the assistant but at some point I would like to be the one that has an assistant. I have a bunch more on my mind and I will try to keep this updated at least once a week so that Sherry will have some light reading to do. I have a lot of pictures and video that I need to put on here and write about. My family is changing so fast and I will keep pictures on here to show Kelly and Matt what is going on with us. I hope that everything is going well for you guys.

Love you all,
Jen

Trying...

2008-04-05T22:54:00.000-05:00

I am going to try to keep this blog up better than I have been. I am always on Myspace but I have a few people that I know do not like to get on there so this will be the place that I will make for them to keep up with my family.

Saturday june 11th 2005

2005-06-11T16:50:00.000-05:00

Well today has been a day. Started out by going to the mall and shopping with my girls. They normally make me very angry when I take them with me but today I have to say that they were really great. This is my first entry in here and I am not really sure as to what I want this to all be about. Well, that is all for now I will be back to make another entry.