Welcome to the family...

...David. No we did not have another kid (though it's been so long since I've blogged you might have thought that). David and Amy got married last weekend in Northern Virginia. What a beautiful wedding. Amy was a beautiful bride and every time you looked at her she had a huge smile on her face. She is so happy and we are so happy for her. It just goes to show you that if you wait for God's timing He will deliver - and boy did he with David. They are perfect for each other and are both so happy. It was so fun to see my oldest sister get married. It was also nice to get the whole family together. Since Adam and his family live in Oklahoma we don't get to see them as often as we would like but they were able to make it out for the wedding. They were troopers for driving from Oklahoma to Virginia with four kids (one being a newborn) and a dog. I can't say that I would be able to do that!!

Ainsley and Beckham were both in the wedding. I was a little nervous because the last wedding Beckham was in (Uncle Ryan and Aunt Christina's) he backed out. But they did great. They were adorable in their little outfits. Beckham loved "looking like a waiter" (that's what he called his outfit) and Ainsley got to wear a "beautiful dress" (her words). The kids had a ball at the reception. Monte and I saw a side to Beckham that we never knew he had. He was on the dance floor the whole night!! He didn't even leave it to get cake. He was a riot! I wish I had video of him because those of you that know how shy he is wouldn't have believed it. He'll tell you he danced to EVERY song. He even got up and sang to everyone! Ainsley had fun too but didn't have quite as many moves as Beckham on the dance floor. The kids also had so much fun visiting with their cousins. After the rehearsal dinner we were driving back to the hotel and all Ainsley kept saying was "I miss my cousins, I miss my cousins..." Finally Beckham leaned over and said, "Ains, you'll see them tomorrow." It was cute.

It was so much fun to see Amy and David begin their next adventure - marriage. They are both so happy to be with one another and they both love the Lord so much. We were so glad to be apart of their special day.

Sisters and Mom at Cheesecake Factory before all the wedding festivities

The Sisters

The Fam!

Happy Father's Day

Just wanted to say Happy Father's Day to Monte, my dad and all the other dads out there. I have been blessed with a wonderful husband who is a spectacular dad. He always puts our family first. He is a great provider and supporter. I love to watch the kids when Monte gets home they get so excited when he walks in the door from work. They can't wait to play with him. No matter how long his day has been he is always willing to play. He is such an encourager and is always pointing out the positive in everybody.

I am also blessed to have a great dad myself. Dad sacrificed a lot for our family. I really appreciate all that he did/does for us. Even though I am gone and married he still cares and loves me. thanks dad and Monte for everything you do. happy Father's day.

5 Years Ago Today...

...Beckham entered the world and joined our family. I can't believe it has been five years. What a joy these years have been. Beckham is such a wonderful son. God has truly blessed us with a compassionate fun loving son. He is my "helper boy" - always willing to help. Every time I get the bucket out that has the bathroom cleaning supplies Beckham asks if he can help. (I'm hoping this enthusiasm last when he is a teen). He is so loving with us and with his little sister. Just the other week I over heard him trying to help teach his sister how to use the potty. Which is a story in itself because I heard - Ains, it's easy you just pull down your pants and stand in front of the potty. I quickly stepped into the bathroom and explained - thanks for helping beckham but I think mommy will have to teach her because girls don't stand up to go potty. He is such a happy kid and is always bouncing and skipping around the house with a huge smile on his face. We are so glad God blessed our family with such a caring, loving boy.

Perfect Water

I mentioned in another blog entry I started a new adventure. I am selling Perfect Water and other products for a company. I originally got into it because we bought their vitamins and if you buy into the company you get the products at wholesale. We are a big fan of the Nutrilite vitamins. We figured we would make up the registration fee if we bought vitamins 3 times. Even though we had bought in to the business we weren't selling anything until they came out with this new product - Perfect Water. At first I thought it was a hoax and was very skeptical but after trying it I was amazed. It is said to increase flexibility, strength, balance and hydration. All it is is water that they have put through a process to shrink the molecules, oxygenate it and ionize it. They have been working on it for 30+ years and finally figured out how to make it shelf stable. Right after I drank 2 oz of this water my flexibility increased 3 inches and my balance was unexplainably better. The results are instant. I can't explain all the science behind it - all I know is it works. I took it to some coaches and players and even they were amazed. I really got excited about it was when my trainer (the lady that trains Marines) tried it she saw a significant difference in the way she felt especially in her knees. She has had 7 knee surgeries and her knees hurt a lot. After drinking 2 oz of this water she felt great. She ran, did lunges and was jumping up and down with no pain in her knees. After all I had seen I decided to take the plunge and start selling it. If you are interested or want to learn more about it let me know. You can purchase it at my website www.americasperfectwater.com and if you want to read more about it go to www.drinkperfectwater.com

Mother's Day Weekend

We had a great time at my parents for Mother's day. It was a beautiful weekend and the pool is just warm enough to tolerate swimming (for a little bit). The chilly water didn't phase the kids. They had a ball and stayed in as long as they could followed by a short break in the sun and then back to the pool. If this past weekend was any indication I know we are going to have a wonderful summer hanging out at my parents lake house. Not that I doubted we would - The house is amazing. We spent most of the weekend at the pool (shocking I know). We did venture to Seneca for the Native American Festival. Unfortunately the festival was a bit of a flop - we were the only people there that weren't involved in the festival. After we left the "festival" we did the Art walk the town had. We saw some nice artwork and some great shops. The weather wasn't great on Sunday but we still had fun. The kids, Monte and Poppy took their typical trip to Waffle House and met the rest of us at church. We had lunch and then headed home after the kids got up from their nap. All in all it was a great weekend. (The wooden train was in a field next to where we parked for the Art Walk. I think that was the kids' favorite part.)

Soccer Star

Beckham played soccer again this spring and LOVED it. I signed Ainsley up too thinking they would have a great time together but she refused to play. That's a story in itself because last year when she wasn't old enough I couldn't keep her off the field. This year she wouldn't do anything. Beckham still had fun and got a lot better. He still likes to make up his own rules to make it easier but he's learning. The parents all commented about how he is the happiest kid out there. Running (with a slight hop in his step) after the ball. The funny part to watch is when someone tries to get the ball from him - he doesn't like confrontation and if anyone comes close to him he just lets them have the ball. He's such a good sharer!! The best part of his season was getting his medal.

Beauty Queen

A few weeks ago I was downstairs making lunch before going to pick Beckham up from school and Ainsley was upstairs playing - or so I thought. It was 12:00 and time to go get Beckham. I go upstairs to get Ainsley and much to my surprise she has turned herself into a beautiful princess - make up and all. Some how she go into my make up and decided she wanted to be like mom and put it on. 3 yr olds don't put makeup on very well. She had mascara all over her cheeks and eyes, powdered eyeshadow everywhere (not just on her face - when I say everywhere I mean everywhere), and worst of all there was cover girl color stay lipstick all over her cheeks. I can attest that when they say "Color Stay" they really mean it. I could not get it off. Since we had to go get Beckham I quickly grabbed a baby wipe and wiped the majority of the makeup off except the color stay lipstick. I scrubbed her face raw and nothing came off. We had to go - I put her in the car and got Beckham. We had to go straight to speech and when we got home she was exhausted so I put her straight to bed for a nap. When I woke her up I forgot that she still had the lipstick on her face. I didn't have time to do it then because I had to get to the YMCA to teach. So she went to the Y with makeup on her face. When we got home I knew Monte would be home any minute so I left it on for him to see. Finally after dinner I got it off with a mixture of liquid soap and antibacterial hand gel. So if you have color stay lipstick don't let your 3 yr old use it. (Notice how sad she looks in the picture. She knew she had done something wrong and refused to smile.)