Sherwood Sharing

My baby lost her tooth

2009-08-17T10:41:00.002-04:00

Well, I guess its official. Karessa is growing up! I can't believe that my baby girl has lost her first tooth ever. She was so proud, and she did it all her self. I didn't mess with it. I did provide apples and corn on the cob for meals, so to loosen it.. :) So now, she is wiggling all the others in hopes that the tooth fairy will visit her once more!!

Awesome web page!!

2009-06-20T01:18:00.004-04:00

Thanks to Auntie Jessica,(my lifelong bf & cousin), courtesy all the way from England, We have a professionally designed web page for Makinna! We are going to keep blogging for the up to date information, but this page is incredible. Jessica is an artistic wonder. She put her whole weekend and some of her week into making this incredible gift for Makinna. Our family is so grateful, and I just wish so badly that I could jump on a plane and give her a huge hug. Please check it out, on the web at,

http://www.helpmakinna.com/

You will see just how much effort and love went into the page. We love you Jess, you are truly one of a kind!!

The results are.........LOST! Yes, I said lost. The office either lost them (of course, they say that's not the case) or the post office lost it. Long story short, we had to express mail it so that her results could be to us before the Dr. is out of the office again. I am positive that they are good results, it would just be nice to hear that from someone with actual medical skill, rather than an overly optimistic mommy!

Surgery #2 has an official date now, it is February 2nd, 2010. That will be the outside, and brace your selves, the surgeon called me personally! I know, I almost asked her to give me her medical license number so that I could confirm that an incredibly well known, and busy surgeon called me without me asking, to discuss a surgery that is months away, and if that wasn't enough, she emailed me complete instructions on pre/post opt, and success pictures, and theres more!, she gave me her personal cell phone number and said if it was better for me, we could talk on the weekend!!! I know, and shes from California. I almost died. The great news, she confirmed for me that there isn't another person I would let do her surgery. She was humble and kind and understanding. She told me that we have to choose which skin graft site we would use, between the head and the inside of her arm. There will be a long scar on the inside of her arm, and it will never go away. The down side to the scalp is that there may not be enough good skin, in which case, they take it from the arm anyway. The arm has far less return rate then the split graft in the scalp. The scalp, when perfect, is beautiful she said, but it has a 25% revision rate because of the thinness of the skin. So we have to really pray. She cant choose, and I don't want her to be upset that she has a large scar, yet, i want the best for her ear. I guess life is a trade off sometimes. Thankfully we have until Feb 1st to decide. She said we would make the final choice in office together. Down side to this surgery, its minimum of 8 hours long!! Someone please sedate me too!! I could use a good sleep. Well, anyway, thanks for the support in reading, and praying. I have beach pictures to come. Makinna loved the beach, the water was her favorite. She wanted to stand in the shallow water and just be lifted up when the waves came to smack her, which was about every 3.5 seconds. I think we got an arm workout for sure!

I will post results next week!

Been a little busy!

2009-03-12T00:17:00.003-04:00

Sorry, we have been beyond busy lately. Makinna has been fighting her asthma really bad which means that we have been holding her and sleeping with her pretty much 24/7. It has been hard on everyone. Karessa was sick first, then me, then we went on a trip with the youth group at church to tenn. When we got back Trey got sick, and then Makinna hit with asthma from the underworld.. I have not taken many pics either. I know that I need to soon. I will look for a few to give you in the mean time. Other then the list above, everyone is doing well. Dakota had his birthday right in the middle of all of those events above as well. He had a sleepover to celebrate and we had cake two different times with friends and family. I put pics below. Hope everyone is well. We miss you all and I will post

soon!

Trey and Steph in the mountains of Tenneesee.

Mommy and Daddy playing dress up! Our favorite

Dakota on his Bday at church with all his friends

Dakota at home for his sleepover with friends and family!

This was too cute. They fell asleep bare chested together one night. I hated to wake them. The girls sure love that boy! I guess i can see why.. :0 he is pretty cute and sweet! happy birthday to Dakota!

Part 2, a little backwards and mixed up..oh well!

2009-02-07T23:11:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I am finally back to the last Christmas post, just in time for Valentines day! All of the pics are out of order which drives me nuts, but i am too tired to fix it all.

The girls get Christmas dresses from Nana and grandpa every year. These were their dresses this year. They were so beautiful in them!

Dakota opened his gifts after Christmas when he got back. He is fresh off the plane in this one. He liked all of his stuff :)

This was round two of Christmas morning. Post grandparent arrival...

"Yikes, I'm so excited, another picture!"

Karessa and Ragdaddy

This was my feast table. I hand made all of the deserts, and a lot of the food. The turkey was in the other room. It was so nice. I really enjoyed having it at our home. It was a lot of work though..

"Yay, another singing, dancing extremely loud toy that I can play at 11pm at night when i am desperate to stay awake! Just what i wanted.."

Ryan ( my brother) Krystale (obviously his wife) and Kyleigh..(I'll let you guess that one..)

Lastly, my daddy and me! It is always his favorite to have Christmas lunch together as a family. I think he really enjoyed it. We missed Delana and Corey and girls, but they had dinner as a family this year. My mom was traveling, so we were missing some, but all in all, it was a very blessed day. We ended up with, Trey, myself, Ragdaddy, Nana, Grandpa, Aunt Stacy, Arrissa, Uncle Larry, Kyleigh, Kailyn, Makinna, Karessa, Uncle Ryan, and aunt Krystale.

More Christmas posts to come in 2009...like around December 2009!

Christmas at Last! Part One...

2009-01-13T21:05:00.007-05:00

Ok, for the most part the pics will be wildly out of order. I didn't mean to load them like that. However, this is part one of Christmas. Sorry it took so long to get it this far. We had a wonderful Christmas this year and though we missed Dakota being here, we know he had a great time in Ohio. Trey and I were up quite late, and we were so tired but we pulled it together and finally finished in time for Santa to arrive. The kids got all kids of good stuff and really loved Christmas. Makinna was a present maniac. She tore into them from the moment we asked her if she wanted to open presents. She said "yyyyeaahhhsh" and hit the floor running. She grabbed the first one she could (which happened to be mine) and tore into it. She was an absolute joy to watch. Karessa was so excited about understanding that Santa had come to bring her stuff. She didn't like how we paced her so that she wouldn't fly through them. I rushed as a child, so I make them slow down and take turns watching each other open one each. We all get to see what each got, and take our time getting ours done. It really works good.

Our tree all lit up on Christmas Eve.

Karessa with her new princess bible.

Makinna tearing into her rocking horse! She loved it so much.

"I think I will kick back and read a while. Don't mind me"

The one thing that she asked Santa for. She was so relieved to see it.

Trey with his hot guy ties.

obviously excited about whatever it was..

"Now what is the meaning of this?"

" How do I look up here? Pretty good i think!"

Mommy and her amazing girls!

"Yikes, not another Christmas kiss!"

" Listen, I don't care if this is mine or not, you asked me if I wanted to open presents, that's what I'm doing!"

Another shot of the tree. The kids wanted to leave the Santa on to scare the real Santa! they snickered every time they thought of the fake Santa jumping to life in a song and dance number right as the real Santa passed by!

More to come. Love you all, and hope yours was a great as ours! Thank you to grandma and grandpa PA for the gifts, we all loved them.

Merry Christmas!! 2008

2008-12-26T10:01:00.003-05:00

Thanks to my friend Hannah, I now have my Christmas card online. I didn't make enough this year and I felt really bad because I didn't send them to everyone we love, like I would want to. Thanks Hannah, now you all can see how we have all changed so much over the last year. We didn't have anyone that could take it all together this time, so we took turns with the kids, and then Dakota ( who is getting increasingly better with the camera) took one of Trey and I. The kids were so great in theirs. They smiled and were good right off. We only took about 6 poses and 3 could have been on the card. We are so incredibly blessed to have such a wonderful family. We all are in good health and have all the things that we really need. I have heard a line in a song the other day that i really liked. I of course have dreams and desires, so i liked this line..

It was:

Have what you want, but want what you have, and in the end there's no looking back..

That is so fitting. I know we can all dream and want, but as long as what we have is what we want, we will be fine. I want my family. I know I am so seriously blessed. Everything else I get in life is just extra gifts from God. Thanks to all who are in our lives and read my thoughts and family life. More Christmas posts to come. The kids were really fun to watch this year!

Merry Christmas, we love you all!

Merry Christmas!!

2008-12-25T20:21:00.003-05:00

Sorry, I have been busy, and unable to load photos, I am in a stand off with my computer! I promise to load photos soon. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and enjoy time with family and loved ones. Ours was great, but so tired now that it is hard to type correctly. I will fill you all in soon!

Get Ready to Bounce

2008-11-18T12:14:00.006-05:00

Okay, i hope you don't mind jumping, because that is what I am going to do in this post! Sorry, i have been so busy, that I haven't had time to do many posts. I am just giving a sneak into all the different ones i would have posted if i had not been so hooked on reading the twilight series all week last week. We have had Halloween, and birthday's and parties, and Phantom of the Opera, ( which i might do a different post for) and a wedding...So this is going to combine what would have been about 6 different posts! take a deep breath...oh and they are all out of chronological order, so you can look at the date on the pic to see which came where...sorry!

( In the kitchen is Wanda ( Nana), Hannah, and Dana. I think that might be wes's little head in the front)

We had the girls combined Birthday parties at our church. They really seemed to enjoy themselves. Many of our close friends and some of our families (thank you nana/grandpa and krystale/kyleigh and kailyn) were there to celebrate. I could not have pulled it off without the help of one of my very best friends, Dana, and my awesome mother in law, Wanda! By the way, Wanda is having surgery Wend November 19th. She tore her Menicius at the gym and has to have an operation. One of our other really good friends (Tony & Susan) he just had the same surgery. Please pray that she will be fine and heal quickly.

This is Karessa and Makinna's table. We have such great people in our lives that care enough to be there with us, and the girls loved all of their gifts.

This is my sweet baby Makinna one day before she turned 2! She was very tired about 30 minutes into the party. I guess I shouldn't have planned it right in the middle of nap time! She still had a lot of fun, just a bit more cranky! I love getting pics with my kids. i am usually the one behind the camera.

Mommy and sweet Karessa! She was so excited to have her friends there.

This is Mommy and Makinna on her actual day of birth! November 2! We let her blow more candles out since it was her actual day. She loved getting to blow them. So we let her do it a few times.

bubba and sissy on daddy's birthday..She loves this boy so much! He really dotes on her as well. I think because of the big age difference. He feels protective over her.

Despite the fact that daddy already got his birthday and Christmas presents, we gave him on little gift from the kids. They would have been the upset ones had we not gotten him anything. Dakota won him a cake at church that day, so we were all set! Daddy with his three sweethearts, Dakota, Karessa & Makinna! We love you daddy! Thanks for all you do.

Karessa was in a wedding this weekend for a friend at church. She was like an angel. I know im partial, but she was the most beautiful flower girl i have ever seen. She had thick curls in her hair.

She looks like she should be famous with that face.

A little glimpse of her hair and the back of her dress. She was breath taking.

Okay this is right before Halloween. I forgot to post the ones of Trick or trunk. we got some cute ones on there. I will have to do that one later. they were digging out the pumpkin...Makinna didn't want anything to do with that part!

Look at those balled up fists! not happy about that picture!

And then we're fine again!...girls!

Well, sorry that we jumped all over the place. There were so many more cute ones to share, but not enough time to show them all!

Sorry!

2008-11-15T18:42:00.002-05:00

Okay, I know that I have not been on to post new blogs, or to really comment on others for a whole week! Sorry! i have been addicted to the Twilight book series all week, and I finally finished yesterday so that I can get back to life! I have so much to do, but I promise I am uploading pics soon. We have Phantom of the Opera and birthday party pics, and many others to catch up on, so give me a short while and I will be getting busy!

Happy Birthday Karessa...

2008-10-27T11:30:00.003-04:00

My baby girl turned 6 on October 24th. I can't believe how fast time flys. I have a ritual with her every night, I sing to her, and scratch her belly. Poor girl has to listen to my singing. I guess love inst merely blind, but deaf as well! She loves it and begs for it. I know that it has helped her attitude and behavior. Anyway, the point was that on that night before her birthday, instead of just singing, I told her the story of how we named her. She loved hearing how her name was so specially picked. It was funny, because I racked my brain for months trying to find the right name, all the ones I liked either Trey hated, or my sister hated, or my dad hated, you get the picture... So finally I wrote down 5 names...Karessa, Makinna, Ryleigh, Carmen, and Talyor, I brought them to Trey and told him to pick his very favorite, he picked Karessa, and I picked Ryleigh. We put them together, and there was her name. We decided that no one would change our minds and we kept it. It was funny that we thought about the name Ryleigh Makinna, and then had another little girl later and couldn't use it!...lol..we always loved Makinna as well. Karessa woke up to Happy Birthday and pecan swirls with candles! That night we went on a special mommy/daughter date. She picked abeulos and we sat on the terrace eating and talking, and laughing. We talked about school, and our family, and her special night. She kept repeating over and over that she loved this night, and that it was the best night ever! Then we went to the movies and saw High School Musical 3. She loved it being just us. we also went into some of the shops and looked around. I bought her a HSM3 hair brush which she thought was the greatest as well. She is such an incredible little girl. I loved spending alone time with her. It used to be just us for so long. We would lay around all day together. When I first saw her gorgeous face, I knew why God made me! I knew that no matter what career I could have pursued, I chose the one that I was meant for. I knew at that very moment when Dr.Duboy laid her on my chest and I looked into those big eyes for the first time, that I was meant to be her mommy. I still look into those big brown eyes and see all the things I wish I could be. She has such spirit, and heart. She is so strong and independent. She is so much like i was as a child. I wish i was more like that as an adult. we talk sometimes about where she will live one day, and I tell her she has to live right next door to me. She said, " well, what if you want to come over all the time, and me and my husband are trying to get dressed!" I love they way she thinks...always being so practical! Anyway, sorry to ramble on. I have so much more to post, birthday parties, and Halloween, and Makinna's birthday, so I will try to get busy! Here are a few pics from that day!

Right before we left on our date!

Mommy with both my baby girls!

Karessa with her pecan spin wheels..lol..and candles...there was no time for anything else!

It was a very great day. I also got to eat lunch with her at school that day. Makinna and I brought her cupcakes and chicken and had picnic with her in the courtyard of her school garden. She was thrilled to see the visitors.

My Little Fiona

2008-10-22T00:03:00.002-04:00

I think we are going to dress Makinna as Fiona for Halloween this year. I am not sure yet, but she looked so stinking cute in this little get up. I couldn't get her smiling her normal knock you over smile, but this one was cute too. I was trying to get her to pose, but these are as good as they will get this round.

I loved this shot of her. It was so adorable.

Okay, so thumbs up or down?

Ragdaddy's Birthday

2008-10-14T22:19:00.004-04:00

Well, My dad had another birthday this year! :) and we got all the kids together to celebrate it with him. Well, almost all the kids! We cooked dinner and cake and cup cakes. We have so many girls in the family. I feel bad for Dakota, the lone ranger! Chance isn't here enough to offset all the estrogen. The girls sure do love their ragdaddy. All the kids do. They hang on him and beg to be held. His back will never hold up under this pressure. It is so great to see them so attached to him though. I know its a lot sometimes, but he loves it too. They all have him wrapped around those little dainty fingers. Here are a few pics from the celebration.

Here is one of the best shots. Destiny and Karessa are the only ones looking, but that is our crazy funny family. The candles were melting on to the cake. It was taking so long to sing.

Destiny and Karessa made cupcakes for ragdaddy. Kyleigh smiling so cute. My poor brunettes are so outnumbered. These blonde's are running the show around here. Someone forgot to tell Karessa that however, because she thinks that because she is the oldest, she can choose who will play with her at that moment, and of course that she is in complete control. Then she has that adorably vulnerable side that is so sensitive and sweet. Just like her mommy!

This was my little Mak under the table with a cell phone that she nabbed and hid with. As thought being under the table would detour me from retrieving it. She is dangerous with a cell phone. Calling China is the least thing to worry about. But look at that smile. Its hard to be mad at that!

Auntie, Destiny and Karessa making cake for Ragdaddy.

Who says you can't lick the batter?? They seemed to like it.

Makinna is loving the bakers hat. She was dumping water down my moms shirt and whaling with laughter every time. I love her hysterical laugh. I could listen to it all day.

This was one more from the birthday. I had to post it mainly because Kyleigh is so hilarious that I couldn't stand it. I am still not sure what or why she was doing?! I guess it is close to Halloween.

Sorry it has taken so long for a blog. We just got our new computer, and I have been working a lot lately. I will try harder next time.

More Mowing!

2008-10-03T18:28:00.003-04:00

Okay, so I know I have put pics on before of Makinna and Trey on the mower, but they are just so cute together that it is hard to resist sharing a few more. Makinna has decided that she should have steering privileges. Trey let her drive for a while. She was loving it. Usually when you hold her on your lap she will squirm and resist, but she is wonderful on the mower! She rides with him almost every single time he mows. If he ever trys to sneak out there, she hears it and finds a window where she proceeds to scream "stop" and "no" until he comes in to get her. I love that she likes it so well. Trey really loves that she acts that way as well. He loves knowing his kids love being with him. Here are a few shots of them having fun.

This one is hazy because it was threw a window.

She smiles with her paci in. I had to get her to take it out.

Then I forgot to zoom...so I had to do it again.

Finally, I got them both smiling...I am still working on Trey's
"spur of the moment smile"
She is starting a fake smile here lately. This one however, is the real thing! I can't even get over how adorable my babies are! its ok to brag on your own kids..its expected. I think I read that somewhere.

Christmas came early for daddy!

2008-09-28T15:37:00.007-04:00

okay, so this one has nothing to do with the topic, but it was so stinking cute I couldn't resist. Makinna ate corn on the cob for the first time ever. Karessa has loved it since this age as well. We wondered what she would do with it, so we gave her some and she liked it. It was so cute.

Anyway, the point of the actual blog, was because Trey received his Christmas and birthday present all in one last week. He has been wanting his own gun for years. He had one a long time ago but that is a long story we wont go into. I have wanted to buy him one for so long and it has just been too much extra to swing. Now he is getting to hunt more often, so i knew it was time. He rifle hunts here, so I got him a 30/06 bolt action. He was so excited he could hardly stand it. It was an ordinary night, I had bought him a gun case, and had it out in the living room. I told him i found it on sale and picked it up for him to store the shot gun of my dad's in. He has had that one here for a long time, but it wasn't his. I told him that he needed to make sure that it fit or i could exchange the case. He was hoping so bad that there was a gun in it, so he casually squeezed the case to hope beyond hope that there would actually be the impossible, and he would feel a gun. Well, being as incredibly intelligent as I am, I knew that would be the first thing he did, so i put it on top of his closet shelf where the shot gun used to be, and told him to go get it and see if it fits. Well, I had already moved the shotgun, and placed the rifle in that spot. I acted like I had to go into the bathroom for something, and went at the same time, and he said, " What is this?!" He couldn't stop holding it and looking at it all night. The kids all were a part of it and gave him each a gift that went along with it. He got a mossy oak strap, a case, bullets, and a mossy oak duffel bag. He needs one for going hunting. I was so pleased to see him so excited. It was a nice feeling to give him something that i worked really hard to earn, and that made him so incredibly happy. I have taken extra hours teaching at Plant City High School on Thursdays to ensure that I could buy it and have plenty left for the rest of Christmas and birthdays. Trey knows there wont be much left under the tree for him, but since I found his gun on sale a little, he might have one or two things to open. I hope he can kill a big dear this year. Then when he says that he brings home the "bacon" I can say I helped! Except it wouldn't be bacon. Of course he can kill some hogs with it as well.

Trey getting his first look at his new gun!

All the kids posing with daddy and his new favorite toy!

everyone on the couch with all Trey's goodies. This one came out a little dark, so sorry!

Does this picture remind anyone of a famous loony toons character? Like Elmer Fudd?? "I'm gonna shoot me a rabbit" This is what I think of when i see this picture!

A Few September Happenings

2008-09-12T22:58:00.007-04:00

Well September has been as busy as ever! We haven't really stopped since August though. Karessa and Dakota are knee deep in school, and Trey is up to his eye balls in College this semester. He is loaded with Islamic studies this time around. He has to take them for his bachelors. He is taking a full load, and I am working a lot more lately. I am getting to teach at my old high school Thursday's all the way to Thanksgiving, and I am getting to teach 4 Wednesday's at our church, so I am really excited. Really tired too. The high school one is three periods in a row with 9th graders. I was a little shocked to see how much they are already doing. I know its going on, and I know that the statistics don't lie, but its always disheartening to see it so young. I really pray that if will have an effect. I was really cool being back in my high school after 9 years though. I got to see some old teachers, and missed some as well. It was really bitter sweet. So many people had moved on, or retired. No longer was it all our pictures in the halls, but these little kids that seemed too young to be seniors! I guess we always think that they look younger then we ever did! I know we were way cooler!.. :)

Anyway, just a few shots of some fun stuff we have been up to around the Sherwood household!

This is Dakota's first year in the youth group at church and he was so excited about Rock the Universe at Universal Studios. They have christian pop bands come and put on Concerts, and the rides are all open. It was alot of fun. This was the group that went this year. We got home so late! I am way too old to stay up like that.

Dakota and Mckinsey. They are both newbies this year.

This is Karessa's first time ever having home work! I almost cried. My baby is getting so grown so quick. Both the kids have been busy, but Dakota has mounds of homework. He is in such accelerated classes, so I guess they have to have more then everyone else. he really is so smart though. He still wants to be a dolphin trainer, which has been the choice for over 5 years now. I would love that, because I have always wanted to swim with a dolphin. Maybe he can get me a deal!

Karessa really understood her homework well, and followed directions well. She has been anxiously awaiting homework for months. Now she has it every week. She is so pooed by the end of the day, we never have to make her go to bed. She will try to sneak off and fall asleep most days. I know its alot for her, and I feel bad not letting her nap, but if I do, she wont go to bed when its time.

Makinna loves to scare people with this Darth Vader mask. She wants us to shriek with fear and then she chases us all over the house. She really is so funny!

Makinna is a little stinker, she saw her sister doing this, and now she loves to climb up and stare out. She had a pudding mustache here.

Dakota eating pizza! We should re-name him, bottomless pit! I couldn't imagine having all boys!

Weekend with my sis!

2008-09-09T12:17:00.010-04:00

I guess this post is about a month late, but My sister April and her two kids came to visit us for the weekend in August. We really had a good time seeing the kids, and all the cousins love each other so much. It doesn't seem to bother them that they aren't around each other all the time, they still love each other and act as though no time at all has passed. I sure miss them though. April is very busy with the kids and work. I didn't get to see my brother-in-law but he is super busy as well. they own a pharmacy in North Carolina, and they really have to have one of them there almost all the time. We went to the Barnett Family park one of the days and let the kids play. They loved it, but there were a lot to keep up with. Here are some pics from the visit. We were only missing a few kids...

Karessa holding Journey ( aka fatty potato, she just looks like a loaded baked potato)

Dakota, Reagan, and Parker. They got all the tan skin color in the family! Not fair.

Ragdaddy with Journey, Destiny, Reagan, Makinna, Alexa(picking her nose) Dakota, Parker, Kyleigh, and Karessa. I'm surprised it held them all.

Makinna and Journey giving love...they love to do that. Until one of them ticks off the other, then its on!

Destiny with Reagan

Parker's water spout! He was so funny. He is 4 months younger then Karessa, and he is a die hard sports fan, He is very knowledgeable with sports and Olympics. He loves to watch Carolina basketball, and knows the players names and all. He is a cutie pie.

Kyleigh and Destiny with Makinna. They are such blue eyed, blond haired little girls. kyleigh is the hunting redneck girl, and Destiny is the pink girl! Destiny and Karessa are a lot alike in their girlyness, but Kyleigh and Karessa have very similar personalities. Kyleigh is very girly when its time to dress up(that is how I was as a little girl) but very southern and loves the woods. She wants to kill a deer so that she can pet it! She is very much Ryan's daughter!

I don't know how I didn't get any pics of us adults on my camera. My dad has a lot. I looked back at when April was here last, and we were at the same park, and I was huge. I didn't realize how much weight I really had on me. I want the new one so that I can put them side by side. I guess i will have to get it from my dad.

Cheetah Girls or Jane Fonda & Karate Kid's offspring??

2008-08-24T22:52:00.006-04:00

Okay, my child ( Karessa) says that she is going to be a fashion designer! Well, I want my kids to dream, so that is what she is doing..which is good. However, we might leave this out of her portfolio! She dressed herself, and Makinna up like "Cheetah Girls" note that the Cheetah Girls must be Hannah Montana fans, because of her shirt! Anyway, she got them all fixed up and presented her accomplishments to me very proud of herself. I wasn't really sure if that cute guy from The Karate Kid had met up with early 80's Jane Fonda, but it kinda looks like it. They would have obviously had to get their skin color from the Fonda side! They were really funny though. They both thought they were just as cute as can be, and of course they are! No matter what they try out.

This is my little fashion designer in the making! She also informed me recently that she would not be able to give me grand kids because she was moving away to become a fashion designer and she would be too busy. When I protested, she told me that it was ok, that she would have 2 cats, named Andree & Andres! I told her I couldn't deal with that, she must live right next door to me so that I could see her everyday. She gave in and said ok, but informed me that I would have to help pay for her house. She is way too smart! Oh and she gave in on the grand kids thing too!

Its a rare occasion when I cant get this one to smile for me, but sometimes she wont because I really want her to. This was that time. She was too cute though. Those are karessa's boots, and I cant even begin to break that outfit down. She was still so stinking cute I could just eat her up! She is a sneaky little thing, she has discovered that if I'm busy doing something that it is the perfect time to slide out of sight, look both ways to see if I'm watching, then tip toe( I have watched her when she didn't know I was) ever so gently down the hall, into the bathroom, slide the door closed..very quietly, open the linen closet, get the stool, put it right next to the drawer, and begin to paint the town red with Karessa's play make up! I cant get on to her, because when I sneak up and catch her, she grins as big as you could imagine and points so proudly to her painted face. She is so proud of her make up job, Who am I to kill that beautiful spirit?? I know I should not let her get away with stuff, but they are still trying to explore her environment, and as long as it cant hurt her, then a little mess never killed anyone! I will forever have the images of that little adorable face, with that " opps, you caught me, but look how cute I am grin" pasted within the walls of my memory. She has by the way figured out that I catch her too fast in the front bathroom, so now she waits until the right chance, to slip into my room, shut my bedroom door, then the bathroom door, and then into my cabinet. She thinks that extra door will help. She has gotten away with it for a few minutes before. I have to find the pic to go with it!

Ok, this is soooo funny, I was looking for a pic with the lipstick, and found this one. Dakota is just smiling away, and Makinna looks like a crazed lunatic that is way past due for her meds! You can't see the lipstick very good but its there. The face was more the funny part. So, sorry, back the the cheetah girls/ Fonda-"Daniel Son" photos:

See they are just gorgeous no matter what they have on! Isn't that so cute. I bet Fonda- Daniel son couldn't make babies that pretty on their best day.

Mommy's Heart Is Broken for Good!!

2008-08-18T15:35:00.012-04:00

Well the day that I have been actively dreading since October 24th 2002 is here! My firstborn little princess is going to Kindergarten. It was a hard day this morning knowing it is no longer optional. I cant just keep her home because I miss her, or want to do something fun with her. I thought that I could keep it together because I was so busy trying to get everyone out the door this morning, but as I kissed her goodbye, suddenly one of those moments you only see on TV (because they have those visual effects machine thingy's) (of the lifetime flashing before their eyes) happened to me! I saw the precious face of my baby girl lying in my arms looking up at me, so dependant upon me for her life and happiness. Those little fingers that would wrap around mine so tightly because she couldn't imagine a moment without me...those long beautiful eye lashes batting as I heard her first word (mama of course)..and then those little tiny lips that I used to kiss when she would fall asleep in my arms as a little new born. I remember the first night of her life, she slept so sweetly on my chest the whole night through, and would lift her little head to look at me( i know that is amazing, but she really did)! Now, almost 6 years later, my baby has grown into this amazing, smart, talented, little person, who is beautiful not only outside, but inside as well. She loves God, and sings with her little off tune voice, so loudly. It is the sweetest sound (even off tune). She is so full of life and energy. She is my little drama queen, and actress..( she must get that from Trey)
She woke up this morning sluggish at first and then ready to go. She dressed herself so quickly. I fixed her hair and got her breakfast. She was really excited about going. I guess I should be happy that she didn't sob, but part of me wanted to know she was just broken by my absence. However, that was not the case, she quickly found her spot, didn't seem intimidated at all. So this brings us back to the beginning of the story,...she kissed me good- bye, I tried to spit shine the brownie from her mouth and she said.."mama, I'm not a little girl anymore!" Ok, so my heart broke a little bit more after that, but I kissed her and tried to hide the silent tears that were now taking over the majority of my eyeball space,..waived goodbye and of course continued to cry and take multiple pictures of her walking, and then standing, and then walking some more...You get the picture.

This was 7:00 am on the dot! Not happening!

Still not happening!

Really not happening!

It finally happened! This is right before we left for school. She could totally represent a private school with that outfit!

Mommy trying to hang on to her! Dakota has got to be the best looking kid his age, I have ever seen! He looks so grown up and older. He started his first day of 6th grade. He loved it. These are his cool new clothes, and shoes, but you cant see those.

It is really scary that Dakota is getting so tall. He will be taller then Trey before too long.

This one was just too funny of Karessa posing like she just don't care! She was too busy eating her Brownie. We had to take another... :)

I had to add this picture of that kid sobbing.. :) it was too funny, (not for him, or his mom I'm sure) but Karessa was getting irritated with him. He was holding the line up and she pushed him in the back and said "just go!" He screamed all the way out the door for his mom. I felt bad for them, knowing it was probably hard for the mom and the kid had to get labeled a cry baby the first day of the rest of his life.. lol...j/k. I really am sympathetic...

Mommy's last big squeeze! You can tell Karessa is just devastated. NOT!!

Just one last shot of her before she led off down the hall into Independence.

They both came home really happy about school. They both liked their teachers. Dakota feels like the big man round these parts. He keeps saying, " I'm officially a middle schooler" " I actually survived the first day of middle school!" He has some classes with his friend from church and his best friend from Sikes is riding with him to school everyday, and afternoon, so he is getting to hang out with people he knows. I think science will be his favorite this year, his teacher seems really energetic and hands on! He is used to having either mean science teachers, or ones who can't waist valuable math time on science. Now he has an hour and a half every other day with him, and they get to do experiments and then break them down and understand them better. Anyway, I know this was a long one, but it was a huge day at the Sherwood house. I know that my babies have to grow up some time, and we just truly thank God for the family we have and that He has continued to take care of us. I couldn't ask for anything more! Well, except for a lower electric bill maybe.. lol

*Also thanks for all the extra prayers on behalf of Dakota's mom and family. They made it safely to Ohio this weekend and are already getting settled.

Update...

2008-08-14T22:59:00.004-04:00

Ok so I haven't loaded all the new pics yet so I am holding myself over until I can stop to breathe. I have not taken a break yet. Dakota got home on Tuesday night about 7:30 pm, and my sister April got here about 1:30 am with her kids. We have had two orientations, new supply lists that could have been given to us before we went school shopping, a trip to the park, and family play dates at our house with all the cousins!! Whew!..I got tired just saying all that. It has been great seeing my sister and her kids though, I really miss being so far away from them. They grow so much. Dakota (speaking of growing fast) has out grown 26 pairs of pants, short, and jeans since he left for the summer 7 weeks ago. We went through his closet one at a time, and tossed them all aside. He has hit a massive growth spurt!! He is so tall now. He is almost as tall as me and trey! We met all the teachers, and I really like Karessa's. She seems very sweet. I almost forgot about Karessa's orientation. We had gone to the park with all the family, and it was almost 5pm, I called Susan to see how hers went, and as soon as I said the word orientation, it hit me that I was about to miss karessa's altogether!! "I said on her voice mail, Oh no!! karessa's is right now..talk to you later!" I'm sure it was an odd message to hear.
Anyway, thanks for all the safe flight home prayers on Dakota's behalf, we appreciate it. I will get new cute pics on this weekend...

My little Bach!

My little posing queen! She got that shirt for a penny at JC Penny's!

My little Cheeser!! Conner posed with Makinna at our friends' birthday party..that is the outfit that Karessa bought him for his birthday!

More beautiful Girls!!

2008-08-05T23:06:00.012-04:00

We have been just keeping busy this past week. We have both been working a lot. The girls are both home with me right now while Karessa is on a break from school. Dakota is still in Texas. He comes back on Tuesday. Please pray for his safe flight back. Please also pray for safe traveling for his mom and her family, they are moving to Ohio, and will be driving there right after he leaves. I'm sure she appreciates the thoughts and prayers.
I added pics of Karessa's new clothes for school. They are so stinking cute on her i can barley stand it! This is Makinna with daddy on the tractor. She loves riding it. She grunts every time she sees it in the garage. He takes her all over the yard. Trey really likes doing it with them as well. It gives him something that is fun with them that I don't do. I'm glad he gets that time with them. Plus it gives me a break while he mows! :)

Makinna with her rice crispy treat! She cracks me up! She looks like a little gymnast with her shape in this picture.

These are the outfits we got the twins. I loved them, but J-man's says fat bald innocent, I felt bad, because I didn't want to call him fat, but the pair was so cute. I guess its OK when they are babies. Susan seemed to be OK with it, so that's what i was worried about. I never realized how hard it is to sit them next to each other and get them both smiling at the same time. They seem to grab each other, or turn around. Claire kept looking at the TV. So this is the best together i could get. I was too busy to take a lot. I just wanted one in their matching outfits!! If you have never seen their blog, check it out. Susan is a pro at getting them to pose!

Doesn't it make you want twins??

Karessa was showing off her butterfly jeans. I hope she gets away with wearing them, its so hard to find ones that fit her tiny hiney!!

She wanted to pose with mommy, so despite my just worked out look, i posed, knowing one day she would probably not be asking as much!

Isn't she so gorgeous?!! That's really rhetorical, i know she is!! Just hoping everyone agrees! I can not believe that my baby girl is starting kindergarten. It does not seem possible. She is supposed to be at home with me, and being a baby a while longer!! We bought all her school supplies this week too. She is so independent. Already so sure of what she wants!

My funny girls playing outside. Makinna loves this car. I have to drag her out of it when its time to go in. I have to carry her to the van when we leave to go somewhere, because if I let her walk out, she jumps in the play car and slams the door! Try dragging her out after 3 seconds with a drink, purse, diaper bag, snacks, and keys in your hand!! Not easy!!

She decided to put on these heels and walk all over the house. I put shorts on her to leave, but before she was just in the shirt, so her adorable little chunky legs were showing, and she was just strutting around the house. I wanted to just grab her up and nibble her legs! My friends say I have a problem with wanting to eat cute babies!...i guess so..they are just so cute! ( Not really eating though, in case there are DCF workers scanning pages or something!!)

This is Karessa with Conner, it was his birthday and she picked out his gift personally and made his card. He really loved his outfit. She knew from the start that she wanted to buy him clothes. I guess she hasn't realized that girls love clothes for gifts..lol!!

July's little happenings...

2008-07-28T11:10:00.006-04:00

Well My little girl is starting to say words! This month she has started saying "Tah-dah" like surprise. She also said ball, and thank you. Well as close to those words as she could get. It was what she was trying to say and it was recognizable to us. She is starting to get a little more clingy to me. She still loves to go to others at church and stuff, but at home she really wants me. She has this personality that shines through any irritation. She can make you smile, and if I'm visibly sad about something she will lift my chin and kiss me so sweet and tenderly. Its like she understands to be delicate when someone is hurting. Both my girls have always been so loving. Both have always been incredibly perceptive as well. Makinna has broken through almost all four "eye" teeth..the pointy ones. That has been hard!! She has cried and clung, and woke up at weird unusual times. Trust me, once you get used to a baby sleeping all night, it is all the sudden very hard when they wake up off track! July has been so extra busy, with my work schedule being more full, Trey was sick a few days, Karessa is still in school, our church had Vacation Bible school for 4 days, and then my abstinence conference in Orlando. Now we are finally taking a few days break...well I am, Trey is leaving for work now. I wish we could just hide out a few days. August is even more busy then July was. I am extremely thankful to God that He is putting me to work, it just takes some getting used to. Other then that, we are just missing Dakota, ( he is still in Texas for those who missed that) and anticipating school starting. Oh and of course..the most anticipated thing of all, Trey's vacation time starts over in September!!! Woo-Hoo! I cant wait for some r&r with all my family and no body else! I want to find somewhere to go and getaway for a few days!

My smiley happy girl!

This is one of the twins I always talk about, Claire. She was so sweet with that baby doll. She loved on it and played there for 30 minutes just cuddling it. I love seeing little girls with baby dolls, I just bought one for Anna Kate, ( another baby friend) for her birthday. I can't wait to see if she likes her too.

This is the other little...well, not little little, but baby twin..Jonah or chunkamonka..

Karessa loves to hold them, of course we chose a floor spot for this one, he is only about 11 pounds smaller then karessa is!! I can't even believe that he was once a preemie!

My niece kyleigh spent the night with us this month as well. She is soooo funny. When she got to my house wearing that outfit, with sunglasses and matching flip flops, I told her that her outfit was "hot". She said, " mommy, did you herd her, she said I'm Hot!" She walked around telling me she was hot for about an hour! She is one of the funniest kids I have ever seen in my life. We have 3 in that age range with cousins, and they are all so very different from each other. Destiny is super lovey dovey, and kyleigh is the hilarious one, and karessa, she is the mildly bossy, little mommy to all the rest. She likes being the oldest I think. She thinks she can boss Dakota, but he doesn't quite see it that way!

Karessa, is almost through with summer school, I am taking her out of it early to let her rest up for real school. She is doing amazing though. I never knew that kids would or could learn that fast from knowing virtually nothing. she went in with very little alphabet knowledge, and now she knows them all, and the sounds they make. She spells her sister's name and writes words. She has really worked hard. I am so glad that she seems to enjoy going to school.

Remembering Steve Dukes...

2008-07-22T00:04:00.003-04:00

I wanted to share with you all a web page that is in memory of someone I knew. My dear old friend Crystal Dukes lost her father ( Steve Dukes) 10 years ago when we were just Juniors in high school. It was a tragic and senseless accident. I remember the day that it happened. I remember all the agonizing tears and pain that we felt for our friend who had just lost her hero. I know now that there were no words to give her, though we tried for weeks. I have never before or since seen a funeral like his. There was standing room only in a huge church. I have never seen so many people honor someone else like that. It further proved what an amazing man he was. He was a beloved member of the Plant City community. He was a funny sweet devoted dad. My father went to school with him. That was the first time that death had hit so very close to me. I still can see Crystal's face and hear her voice. I know this must be a hard time for her. This is marking the 10 year memorial of his untimely death.

I put the web page so that if any one wanted to go look at it they could. Please pray for Crystal and her brother Eric ( I also went to school with him) in this time of sadness.
Online Memorial Website – Remember Forever

Dakota's Many Awards! (June 3rd 2008)

2008-07-14T12:33:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I noticed that I failed to finish this post in the midst of going to camp and getting Dakota off to Texas. Oops! I am sorry!

Dakota received many awesome awards this year. He has finished 5th grade and not only received the principles honor roll award, but has done so all the way through elementary. He has never gotten below a 96% on a spelling test as long as I have ever seen them. He has never been in trouble or received detention. He was given an award that only 20 students in 5th grade got. In order to even qualify for this award you had to have above a 3.5 gpa, and also score above an 85th percentile for the FCAT ( Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test) see why they abbreviate it?? It is a huge state wide test that must be taken and passed to advance to the next grade. Dakota has always scored above average on these tests. The award was a special Presidents Award. He received a letter signed by the president and the secretary of education. He also received a pen with the presidential seal on it and a certificate signed by both of those people as well. He is now going to middle school and is in all accelerated classes. He is such a remarkable young man.. On top of it all he is the most considerate kid I know. He chooses his friends based on how they are as people. He finds value in someones character, not what they wear, or how important they are to everyone else. He isn't afraid to stand apart and acknowledge his love for his family, friends and especially his God and Christ! That takes a lot of courage this day and age. Most of the kids his age are so wrapped up in them selves. Dakota always thinks of others, and keeps in mind their feelings. Here are a few pictures taken from the award day and the last field trip of the year. He was with all his best friends. A few of them will be in middle school with him. He will have most all of his best friends from church with him at middle school too.

This was after the ceremony. Makinna was so tired. Karessa was proud of her big brother. Daddy didn't know he was supposed to smile right then.. :) Dakota with all his certificates, and his medal.

Here is Dakota with all his best school friends. This was at a local theme park. They were all such sweet guys who also seemed unimpressed by the "cool" crowd. We had a lot of fun with them.

All the guys again on the last day of school. The last day of elementary school!!

Dakota and Jake. He will be going to the same school next year. His sister will be with karessa in school.

All of us together. Everyone was ready to smile that time! lol...

Congratulations Bubba!!

Could be a lefty?!?!

2008-07-10T22:22:00.006-04:00

Well my little genius is already trying to write! Weird thing is, she is using her left hand. Only weird because no one that I can think of in our family is left handed. I guess she will be creative! Trey has said that Dakota used both hands for a long time until he finally went with right. Has anyone ever heard of that before? Whatever the reason, she seems to hold the pen perfectly having never been taught. It drives me crazy to hear people question the existence of God. How else would we just know how to do certain things. Our brains are incredible. She amazes me everyday. She sat there and drew with her pen and paper for quite a while. Of course she didn't mind stopping for the occasional photo shoot. We went and had the girls pictures made today in matching dresses, and she smiled for every picture they took. It was so hard to choose which one we liked the best. Usually you are lucky to get one where every one is at least partially smiling and not picking a nose, or blinking. These were so hard to decide on because Karessa smiled so great and Makinna never stopped smiling. Dakota is usually really good about smiling too. He just stands there smiling until we say stop! :) Trey gives me more trouble then any of them! Well that went way off the topic, sorry!! Anyway, I loved getting these few of Makinna writing for the very first time!

My little proud peacock!

I'm not sure if she was falling asleep or concentrating really hard!

She holds the pen so cute! So focused and determined. Just like her mommy! :)

My beautiful girls!!

2008-07-03T18:31:00.004-04:00

I have always known my babies were beautiful but these little dresses make them even cuter! Nana bought them matching dresses before we left for camp. I have always been a sucker for outfits that match! So you could say I flipped when i saw these dresses. They were so adorable all pretty for church. Here are a few of them posing. Makinna is now smiling for the camera every time she sees it. It is so funny, she will cheese it up for as long as it takes to push the button, so be ready because its gone fast!

How sweet!

This is getting framed very soon. I love it so much! they are so sweet when they want to be.

How could you say no to that face?? :)

I surely thank God for my family all the time. I know I am biased, but I wouldn't want any other.

Camp Post Is Finally Here!!!

2008-06-27T18:21:00.016-04:00

Okay, I have finally sat down to write and load pics from camp! Woohoo...It has been so busy since we got home. Dakota is now in Texas for the remainder of the summer, and Trey is back to work and Karessa back to pre-school. She is doing amazing by the way. Only two weeks in and she already knows almost all her letters. She can now write her name completely and is getting better and more determined everyday. Back to the subject at hand. Camp is something Trey and I LOVE!! Our good friends Tony and Susan have been directing a camp week for about 5 years at Central Florida Bible Camp. We started getting into it a few years ago and now we can't imagine not going. Dakota absolutely loves it and Karessa cries to be there. Many of our friends from church go as well, which makes it even more fun for the adults. I think we have as much fun or more as the counselors. It is especially awesome when you can watch adolescents become spiritually hungry and devoured in study. We had a couple of girls become baptised and it is was very meaningful to be able to watch one of them give her life over to the one who created her. I just can't wait until it is our whole family attending. The girls stayed here with Nana who so wonderfully brought them to see me for the night during the week. It was the fuel I needed to make it the rest of the way through. It started getting rough Tuesday night knowing it would be so soon but not soon enough. I have never been away from Makinna that long before. I know I wasn't the only one having to miss my babies though, Sus was missing her twins too. It is worth it though knowing that you are supporting a good cause. Trey successfully threw two people in the pool this year, however nurse Kayla almost beat him up in the process. She might be small but she can scrap. It was funny because I kept telling Keith ( another church friend) and Trey to get Susan, and they both said with conviction.."Do I look stupid?..I ain't throwing Susan in!" It was quite funny. Despite the fun we had this year we did miss quite a lot of people who normally go that weren't able to attend this year. below are a lot of pics, sorry it is so long, I left out many many pictures. I tried to choose a few that were good.

My honey and Me! This was the last day i think. That is why we look so tired.

Trey and Keith. They have bunked together two years in a row and seem to have a great time together.

This is one of my all time favs! This is our Camp director ( Tony) and his crazy eyed Joe pose! I know he will just love me sharing it with every one in blogdom, but it was too funny.

Here is Tony with his normal face on! Jon in the middle has been friends with Tony since middle school and comes down from Alabama to help out with camp. He was a lot of fun, this picture has a funny story behind it. Of course my sweet husband in the red, we really didn't mean to go tallest to shortest..that was total coincidence!

Trey and Heather. Heather is like our little sister. She was the easy one to throw into the pool, he just threw her over his shoulder and dumped her in!

Our buddies Tony and Susan. We rarely get pics together. I think the last one as a group was 3 years ago at Rock the Universe! Now we are so busy getting shots of our babies :) It really makes camp a lot of fun when you have your close friends there too.

Here is another rare thing...this many photos with my husband. I never get pics with him. Especially alone with him. It was so nice to have time with him and no distractions of work and everyday duty to get in the way. we were able to eat together every meal and see each other during team events and chapel times. It is out in nature and you really have a chance to grow out there.

Trey and Jon trying to look macho! This was after a water gun fight.

This is one of my favorites of us. This was the second morning.

Sus and me showing our love for peace. We were on different teams but we got to hang out some during meals.

This is the CFBC heartthrob and his groupies! Brandon was a counselor and the girls just loved him and his dimples. He is playing the role of Jesus here and these were the mob of people trying to get a look at him...they really were the ones that followed him around drooling all week. He is just a little red.

Me getting to make all those little girls jealous with Brandon. They were so jealous that it wasn't them. Oh to be young again! lol... I can remember those days.

Dakota and his daddy. Dakota was so excited and surprised to win Mr. CFBC! He was such a great camper all week. He has a great attitude about everything and loves camp with all his heart. We were so proud of him and the young man of God he is turning into. He slept with that plaque until Trey hung it in the living room. He didn't want it in his room, he wanted it out in the living room to look at all the time.

This is the kids from our church having to do the chicken dance to get their mail. There are all kinds of funny quirky things that happen at camp. That is one of them.

This one however was classic. Susan and Tony had mail so we had to come up with something crazy for them to do, so we decided that Susan had to preform the "This little Piggy" toe dance on Tony in the same "wittle" voice as she would the twins. It was sooo funny, right before she started Randal handed her the kitchen glove because of Tony's feet! They were both quite red before it was all done.

That was all I loaded. There were many more but I can load no more! Thanks for reading, sorry it was such a long one this time.

Camp Post Coming!!

2008-06-24T23:09:00.003-04:00

Sorry guys, we are trying to recover from camp week which was amazing as usual...I will fill it all in and post pics this week. Bear with us, dakota is leaving for the whole summer so we have been trying to cram in all the last minute time we can. I will get busy thursday night. Missed everyone and check back soon.

This is our Highlands group that went to camp. It was awesome and I cant wait to fill you in.

My Daughter! My Gift!

2008-06-12T22:02:00.005-04:00

I came across this poem again today and wanted to share it with my blogging buddies. It is something that will hopefully mean something to Makinna one day. I love it so much. Makinna is one of the most amazing little people I have ever known in this world. I love her so much and can't imagine her being any more perfect. I read a story on my yahoo group the other day about a family that adopted a little boy with Microtia and they fell in love with him at first glance. They didn't know what Microtia was, they didn't know what it would mean for their future, or financially the burden it might bring. They didn't care! They saw the face of their son, as though he had just been born of their own blood. They found out that 12 times the file had been passed up because his ear was not perfect. I couldn't imagine someone passing up Makinna because of her ear. She is love, and happiness and sunshine on the cloudiest day. She makes me me swell with pride and unending joy. I loved her from the moment I saw her and none of us even notice her little ear unless someone says something about it. I realized that God gives us each what He knows was meant for us. Makinna was meant for me and that little boy from China who was passed up due to a tiny difference, was made for that family who adopted him. He found the love that he deserved. I hope that you will enjoy this very special poem.

This poem was written by someone with a child who also has microtia. For those of you who don't understand what Microtia is, Makinna is missing most of her left ear, and she has no canal, or ear drum. She will require surgery to hear on that side. Right now she has solid bone where she should have a hole and lots of other stuff. God gives us obstacles some times and it is up to us to make blessings out of them. Makinna is so beautiful and perfect just like she is. This poem really touched me and hopefully it will touch you too!

I'm Special

On my way from Heaven,
God delayed my trip that day.
He said that I was special,
and then sent me on my way.
But not before he kissed me,
Right upon my ear
He left his blessed mark
to carry with me here.
He whispered in my ear right then,
that He loved me without doubt,
and then He closed my ear up tight,
so the whisper won't get out.
He told me both my legs were strong
and would help me stand up tall.
He told me both my arms would work
to catch me if I fall.
My eyes would catch my memories
to store within the pages of my mind,
My heart would fill with all the things I would love,
so many things, I would find.
He told me I could fall asleep
to my Daddy's bedtime tales,
and listen while my Mother sings
of seas and boats with sails.
One ear, He told me, could hear the sounds
that little birdies make.
The other ear was His gift to me,
a blessing for my sake.
For when I'm feeling sad, He said,
my other ear would hear,
His whispered words of eternal love,
left waiting for me there.

I'm special.

Makinna shortly after she was born.

This was when she was a couple of months old

This is my jolly happy baby now!

My Baby goes to Pre- school...!

2008-06-07T14:24:00.008-04:00

Well, the day has come that I have had to send my sweet baby girl to pre-school. I have never sent her before and it is almost time for kindergarten and I do not want to cause her to be behind. Thursday was her first day and she was so excited about going. Once she realized it wasn't a play date that she could control she was a little less excited, but still seemed to like the most of it. She got a lunch box and is using her old play backpack this summer. We told her she would get a new backpack when kindergarten starts. She is our "little Stephanie" who appreciates sleeping in and it has been very challenging to get her on an early bedtime. She has to be in bed no later then 8:30 pm now. She is still difficult to awaken on early mornings. I cant believe how 5 years have passed like it was nothing. She has turned into this little girl who has her own way of thinking and doing things. She can be challenging at times, but she is one of my greatest gifts. I don't know how I will stand her being gone all day. Hopefully she will still love her time with me, and daddy. I'm not ready for her to begin choosing friends over us yet. I don't think I will ever be ready for that!

This is 7:30 am. I kept saying "Karessa, its time for school" She would muster and go back to sleep.

Then she lifted her head when she heard the 3rd or 4th time. Then put it back down!

Then she finally sat up. I love this picture. She saw the camera and said "oh, that was the beeping I heard,...I thought bubba was calling the cops." I guess she was dreaming that the dinging noise from the camera was the police...I have no idea why... :)

here we are at her school. I am so proud of her. Doesn't she look beautiful??

Posing with her daddy.. how sweet!

This is before we left. She was showing off her cute outfit and backpack that is as big as her.

Finally posing alone. She wanted to hurry so she could get to class. I get to watch her on a web cam that shows me all day while she is gone. I sat there the whole first day the whole time watching. It is amazing watching her in her element. The way she talks and her body language. The way she carries herself. It changes when the parents are gone. Congratulations Karessa! We love you and are so proud of you!

Fun time with Family!!

2008-06-02T17:41:00.008-04:00

We have been so busy lately that we have been missing our extended family. Delana and the kids finally got to come over and visit one night and we all had so much fun together. Delana had Daisy a few weeks ago so she has been at home a lot more. Daisy is so precious I just want to eat her up! Here are a few shots of our night.

My sweet girls playing horsey on mommy's leg. They are so funny together. This is one of Makinna's favorite things to do right now. If she sees me with my legs crossed then she belines for me and requests in her all too cutegrunt for a pony ride...

This is Daisy sleeping peacefully with her uncle Trey. This is his favorite way to bond with young children...lol

Destiny loves to love on her family. She has such a sweet heart. They loved on each other all night long. All of the sudden they wanted to pose for pictures and all started shouting "get me auntie, get me!" Obviously even Makinna was getting in on the action.

Okay, from they left...Aunt Delana, Alexa, Destiny, Emily, Dakota, & Karessa.. We wanted the babies in there too, but there was no room, plus they were duking it out over the bouncy seat!

I finally found a picture that reminds me of Trey. This one really brings out her daddy's features...don't you think? :) This was Makinna's new shirt Ragdaddy bought her in Colorado...It says " Did You Moose Me?" hehehe..I just loved it on her!

Weekend With Our Church Family...

2008-05-30T17:34:00.005-04:00

This is from our weekend church event. We had an incredible speaker from Tennessee. It was a wonderful time. We had a girls night and a family night with Bible Bowl competitions. We also had a pot luck with the church. It was a rewarding weekend with great friends. We have been so blessed to find our church family and extra blessed to have found a few we consider our real family. It is so hard this day in age to find people you trust with your family, but we have here.

This is my good friend Susan and Jonah man and Makinna and I. Our husbands were busy playing ping pong upstairs so we were hanging out downstairs admiring our adorable children. Claire was sleeping, but we were admiring her as well...

This is Dana, we have just recently found their family and they are amazing! All our kids love each other so much and we all get along great. Makinna really loves Dana! I guess babies can sense when someone is a truly good person.

This is Conner and Dakota, Conner is Eric and Dana's middle son. These were the medals they won from the Bible Bowl. They all did great.

Finally this is Makinna and I. I don't get as many pics with the kids as I would like. This was at the family cookout. Makinna will only smile at the camera long enough for you to get ready and by the time you click it the smile is gone and she is turning her head.

I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up!!! ( Well Trey Did)

2008-05-25T13:14:00.006-04:00

If you haven't already heard, Trey took a nasty spill on Tuesday night. He (Tim the Tool Man) was trying to remove an old light fixture from the dinning room and was using an old rickety step ladder ( vs the new beautiful ladder i bought him for Christmas) and was stepping down and the step broke completely. He fell backwards, hit his right wrist on the marble window cill and fell into a huge glass candle center piece for our dining table. ( Also happened to be a gift for our 5th wedding anniversary..wonder if that's a bad sign??) He crushed the glass, slit a gaping hold in his new Gap jeans, and gashed his bottom very close to the artery, and other important parts. He was rushed to the hospital by ambulance and was given 8 stitches. He was in a lot of pain, and to top it all off I got sick with some type of 24 hr throwing up bug that had me on my back all day Wednesday. Dakota began throwing up about 10 minutes after me. Thanks to God, we have a wonderful church family to go along with our wonderful families and between everyone we have made it through and Trey is getting better slowly. He still doesn't like to sit, and it hurts to stand too long, but he is tough, so he is already back at work. He didn't want to forfeit Bible camp this year so he refused to take off the appropriate amount of time for recovery so that we could still both go with Dakota to camp. My mom was here that night thank God, Helping me get Trey taken care of. Praise God Trey was ok, and we all realized just how quickly freak accidents can happen and life can be taken at the blink of an eye.

In Lu of booty pics, i will show you his jeans after the accident.! Thanks again, for all our family and friends who helped us get through this and gave of themselves and their time to be there for us and with us. It really means a lot to our whole family!

Look right near the date on this pic. This was the glass candle he fell on. This was the night we got it. Its the best picture of it we could find. You can see it is a very tall round large glass holder. (Was)
If you enlarge the pic you can see it better.

The blood was pouring down his leg and out of this hole. Karessa was standing in the living room screaming and crying and I couldn't get her out because I was tending to Trey.

The cut is almost the same size and width. It looks much better stitched. His poor jeans will never be the same. I will have to get Thea to help us fix them..they are his favorite!

Mother' s Day and a little bit more!

2008-05-15T11:22:00.000-04:00

Well this Mother's Day was very nice and relaxing. We stayed in town and ate a late lunch to avoid the crowds. I also got to take a very nice nap with no kids or distractions! My kids got me an IPOD shuffle. It is a smaller one to take places and clip on my clothes. I like it small though. It is baby blue. I can't wait to load my music on it. I also got a beautiful necklace. Karessa picked it out, but it was from everyone. She doesn't seem to think so since she was the only kid there, but she also gives no credit to the purchaser either. She thinks that she bought it plain and simple. I have added some other pics from lately on this post so there are non- mother's day photos as well. Happy Mother's Day to all those who couldn't be with us.. Sandy, Teenge, and Wanda. Those are Trey's moms and my mom. We didn't get to see any of them for mother's day. Also to all those we love and didn't get to see as well.

My brilliant daughter Karessa took the chair box from our new table and built a castle. She was so proud of her work. They played in that for hours. Makinna will smile for the camera for a split second, after that you won't get one until next time you pull out the camera and say"smile". I was so impressed seeing Karessa tape this all together and then hang the window treatments that are already torn down by this point. Usually it is Dakota doing the creative design.

Obviously no one was in the mood to pose except Dakota. Makinna was too busy looking at everything around her, and Karessa was just goofing off. It's ok though because it is the way things are most of the time. I like real life shots sometimes. It's not easy to get 3 kids to do the same thing at the same time. This was the best shot all together. The kids made me homemade cards. I like those way better then the ones that cost. Dakota made me a cheerio necklace, and thought ahead and used non sugared ones to keep the ants away. So overall it was a wonderful yet different then any other Mother's Day. Thanks kids and Trey!

I love this little thing more then words could ever express. She is so sweet and loving. She was helping me open my gifts. This is our new futon by the way. Karessa calls it a fuuuton...if you can sound that out to hear it the way she says it. It is so funny. She says " can I sleep on the fuuuton?" I guess you just need to hear her.

This was a pic of my shiny head and Jonah and Claire. I never get pics of them with me, so I said its time for a pic. They are so sweet and lovable. I always say I want to chew on their cheeks like little pork chops or something along those lines of communicating how yummy and adorable they are. Tony and Susan tell me that their kids are not the other other white meat! Like the old Pork commercials. Jonah is the outgoing man, and Claire is so dainty and beautiful she gets your attention anyway. They are such blessings in our lives. I can't wait to get a pic of me with them that I actually look ok...lol

This was all of our family at Busch Gardens. It was such a great day. We all got wet and had a good time. We were at the new part called Jungla. It was neat. The kids really liked it.

Here is the famous tongue. She was wearing the visor that my mom bought Karessa when she was Makinna's age. It is from Busch Gardens. I had to get a pic of Makinna with it.

This is the kids at the child area. Makinna got to ride her first ride. She didn't know what to think of it first, but then decided she liked it all. Karessa also rode her first big girl ride. it was one of those big ben kind of things, where it rises you up and then drops you really fast straight down. She screamed as loud as me, and decided she didn't want to ride that again. It was a first for her though and it was neat seeing her growing up.

I just love this one of the girls. It was at aunt lana's house. I said smile and that is what came out! She loves to hold the baby too. She trys to kiss her and take her from us. Karessa holds her and acts just like me. She looks at her and says, I see Makinna in her, oh yeah I see Makinna's eyes, she is a little Makinna. I just want to kiss her little cheeks off. They all laugh at her calling her a mini me!

Karessa was pushing Makinna around in this baby stroller and she was loving it. They were laughing so hard. Makinna is the perfect size.

This was another shot of her in the stroller. She obviously loved it.

Smiling sisters.

This is of my sweetie girl eating spaghetti all by her self. I like to feed it to her but my mom let her go crazy that night. She ate 2 bowls!

Karessa has been saving this dress for a special time. It was meant to be worn by her in a wedding, but she finally got to wear it. She loves it.

This was Karessa's second Easter dress. I couldn't wait to let Makinna wear it. She had just hit her face the night before, so she is marked up, but she was so cute in it. I couldn't get to her smile for the camera, but you can imagine the dress with a big Makinna grin!

Just some random info!

2008-05-05T22:49:00.015-04:00

First up, CONGRATULATIONS Trey!!! Trey just found out that he passed his state boards and is now a licenced optician in the state of Florida! He was already one in Virginia but they wouldn't let him transfer it here. He has worked for 6 years to acquire the hours needed to take the test. He has worked very hard for this and I am so proud of him. This is a huge challenge with a family and a full time job. He has been going to school full time to help get extra hours.

Next up is a little info on Karessa. She has been growing a changing so much. Everyone who knows her knows she is our little diva. She is very outspoken and head strong....I wonder where she got that from?? She has really come out of her shell though. She used to prefer being with just me, but now she is wanting to do more with her grandparents. Friday she talked to my dad and told him " Hey Ragdaddy, I have to spend the night with my Nana tomorrow night but I have some time before that, why don't you pick me up and go see a movie?" She then milked it even further when he went into the mall to buy some shoes. She said i think I need some clothes..( FYI, she has more clothes then Hannah Montana) so he bought her a dress, and then she decided that she needed to buy me and Makinna and Nonny something too. She of course took all the credit for picking it out and buying it. Ragdaddy found that particularly humorous.
We have also decided to enroll her in summer time preschool. She has never went to any type of school other then Sunday school. I have always kept her home with me. I dread the moment when she leaves me for school, but she is going to kindergarten this year and they want them to know more information then when i was a child. In my day you went to kindergarten to learn your letters and numbers. Now they want you to know all of that plus be able to write your full name. So after much pressure from friends and family, I have signed her up. I know she will love it. She has been bent out of shape since some of her friends from church got to go to school a year before her. I was actually worried that I would be called the first day of school informing me that she told the teacher that she was agitated or irritated, or frustrated with the way she is teaching. For a child that doesn't know her letters, she has quite the vocab. She told Dakota to "Be a man" the other day when he was trying to kill a spider without actually getting close enough to it to kill it. He got so mad at her, I had to go in private to laugh. I later told her not to say things like that to her brother!

Something she said funny the other day...We were at my dads and my mom was with us. That doesn't happen much, and she finally asked.." If Nonny is your mom, and Ragdaddy is your dad, why don't they get married?" We explained that had already happened, and that they were now divorced. She is now beginning to understand that all her grandparents are divorced. She also tells Bubba all the time that he was never in my belly like she was....and that she has the same blood as he does but I don't. It is really actually funny to see that she is getting the way life works.

Mommy and my sweet girls. We went to Clearwater for a wedding and this was taken while all the candy from the wedding was being devoured.

This picture has such a great little story. This is Karessa's "boyfriend" Conner. She and he both openly profess their affections for each other. She tells everyone about him. They even bought each other Christmas presents. I think they have lasted longer then any relationship i had in school! He is really cute the way he protects her, or helps her get down from somewhere. I teach abstinence education and one of the things we go over is how men are more compartmentalized in their thinking. They don't want to think about girls when they are playing video games and sometimes they might make the girl feel like they don't like them anymore or don't care while they are playing. I have seen it first hand in 5 and 6 yr olds now. I couldn't believe it starts so young. Conner was playing video games and was trying at first to be attentive to her desires to play too, but soon became tired of helping her amidst trying to play himself. She of course got upset and cried. Then when its time for bed, he reads her a bedtime story. Trey and I don't usually want to encourage boyfriends and girlfriends with just anyone, but this is too cute to break up. Dana ( Conner's mom) and I know that chances are they wont actually get married, but just in case we are taking lots of pictures for their potential slide show! :)

This is my little angle Makinna. She was posing for me with lots of outfits Karessa once wore. I am still working on the past and present blog so I am gathering photos. Makinna is getting the most amazing personality. She loves people, something her sister never did. She loves to kiss every baby in sight. I think she has something for cute little boys though, she always jumps for Jonah, and little Eric. She kisses all the others too, girls included, but she favors those boys. Eric loves that she likes him so much. Jonah has no idea who she is yet. Its so awesome to be at home with my babies as much as I get to be. I have always wanted to be a mom, but never thought it would end up being the most important job I ever had. I don't think I could stand being away from them all day. I so respect those women who work full time and are still such wonderful moms. I work a couple of days a week and think I have ran a marathon. I want to get my schooling done though so that I can have a degree and when they are grown more I can work more.

This little cutie loves to show her tongue. I have never seen someone who sticks it out so much. She loves to show it for the camera especially. I try to catch it when I can. She loves to play that game. She trys to feed us all during eating time. She will also try to give me her paci, if I take it and act like I am loving it she will snatch it from me faster then anything. She does that wither her blanky too. It is so funny, she will let me hold it with her as long as i don't rub it the way she does. If I act at any time like it is soothing me, or I am holding it near and dear to me she snatches it right from me and rubs it in front of me almost like she is saying "its mine, don't get too attached!" She is now going to sleep in her bed all by herself. She actually tells us when she wants to be laid down. She will get her blanky and her paci and hand it to us. Then we take her in her room, lay her down, pat her head and tell her good night. She almost never cries and she really sleeps better now. I am sad though, since starting that she wont let me rock her to sleep very much. That was our special time for 17 months. I am having separation anxiety.

This was at Dana and Eric's house. Once again sticking her tongue out to show the world.

I love her smile almost more then anything, she is so happy and jolly. It is weird having such an agreeable child. Karessa was not very friendly as a baby. Makinna actually wants to go to other people when I have her sometimes. I have had a hard time dealing with that. My friend Dana is one of her favorite people. Andrea is another. She dives for them. I am glad though that there are people that I know she would stay with and be happy. Trey and I waited 18 months before having an alone date after Karessa was born. That was still hard for her.

I cracked up with this one, I said "smile" and she stopped what she was doing and looked right up with a great big grin and then right back to playing with the sand.

Posing again with her nana's sunglasses on. She had a mouth full of Reece's cup so she couldn't open up to smile. She has started playing peek a boo with us and the bathroom closet. She hides in there and shuts the door and waits for us to start frantically looking for her. Finally she will make herself known and laugh so loud and joyfully. She is so proud when she thinks she has tricked us.

Another shot of her in a Karessa outfit. This was one of my favorites. It is hard to get her to stand still for a picture. She runs around the house.

The kids were watching animal planet all together in the chair. I tried to get one without them knowing, but they spotted the camera. Obviously it was something interesting.

This was after the wedding on Sunday. I was so tired. We had been up so late and up too early.

This was at the county science fair. Dakota won third place again. He got third in the school and third at county. He was so excited. These are the other people from his school that placed, and his science department head.

They worked on his board and got it ready for county and put it on a bigger board. This is the final product and his ribbon and certificate. He wanted a medal like the first place received, but they only gave them to first place. We are wanting to surprise him with a trophy for it. He said he has never won a trophy and I think this warrants one. He has been busy too. He has been learning to shoot his BB gun. We are going to be going to Georgia to hunt this year and he wants to be ready. Trey is so excited to bring him out there. Ragdaddy also had him mowing the yard with a lawn tractor. He thought he was king of the hill doing that. Uncle Ryan told him he would pay him $20 to do the whole thing and he said.."Nay, its ok...its way too hot to do this whole yard" so he liked it, but not for the whole yard. :) He also got drive the 4 wheeler this weekend. Ragdaddy let him drive them up and down the dirt road at Ryan's house. He had to tell him to slow down though. He was stopping and then stomping it...he almost threw Ragdaddy in the ditch.

Congratulations Dakota !!!

2008-04-18T00:45:00.003-04:00

Congratulations on 3rd place with the Science Fair! Dakota is such an amazing student. He found out that he received straight A's and 3rd place in the whole school at the same time. I guess you could call it a good day...He had been saving his birthday money for some time now and he always gets $20 from us for straight A's so he added it all together and finally got his Nintendo DS. Granted there was no money left for a game to go with it, :) I think Melissa is working on that for him...Dakota has been wanting to work on the science fair since the day he brought home the assignment. I do not like them however, since I didn't like them in school either. I was surprised though as I got into it with him it was actually interesting. Dakota came up with his very clever title all on his own, we were brainstorming for what seemed like hours and he just spit out, "Get Ready" Get Set"...Gelatin! His project was based on the set time of gelatin based on the color. I thought it was wildly creative. We used his favorite color blue and we picked red b/c it stands out. I wish we had thought of a few more last minute things, but since Dakota spent spring break in Texas we were running short on time to get it done. I guess it was loved the way it was though, b/c it is being brought to the county to compete with all the top three in 5th grade from each school. It is a very rewarding chance. Please leave him a comment about it if you can.., he is very proud of this project and I know he will love your remarks.

This is Dakota with his brilliant science project board and journal which took about a year to do..., we accidentally thought he was supposed to type that too, and on the contrary, it was to be handed in in sloppy copy! He had typed for over 6 hours to get 3 paragraphs. I ended up typing the rest just to later find out there was no need at all...! :(

We took these later to demonstrate what he looked like doing his experiment. I put these on the board to show the set up. We were in a hurry to develop them, so I wish I would have gotten more. He looks so proud huh? He was squeezing 12 drops of each color into the bowls that were so graciously offered for this project by my dear friend Terri from church. Thanks, Terri, they worked more perfectly then ever imagined. They were pre-marked for just what they wanted.

Keep Dakota in your thoughts and prayers as he goes to county. There are a lot of students going to that round, so no matter what, all his parents, and grandparents are proud of his great job!

Spring Break 08'

2008-04-16T22:52:00.010-04:00

Every year for 4 years, Susan, Hannah and myself (give or take some other girls) have been going to Lake Mirror for a spring break picnic. This year we were missing a few regulars and added a few new gals. Andrea, Vincent and Victoria came this year for the first time, along with a few others. It was a nice day but very warm. Last year Susan was pregnant and we knew it was twins but didn't know what kind. Hannah was pregnant with Anna Kate, and I had just had Makinna. This year Anna Kate was here and the twins Jonah and Claire were enjoying their first spring break in the park. Some how no one can find the picture of Hannah with Wes and Anna Kate. I thought Hannah and Susan got the pic and they thought I got it. Hannah's mom joined us this year as well, but also not pictured b/c she spent a lot of time chasing Wes down! They both looked wonderful though. I placed a single pic of Anna Kate in place of the group one that is still missing in action! I have truly been blessed with such great friends whom I consider family. I love their kids like they are my nieces and nephews. It just shows that when you are friends through Christ, your blood doesn't always define your family, its the blood of Christ that ties you. These gals are some of those in my life.

This was before we left for the park. The hat never made it out of the car!

This was during Spring break, but not in relation to the park. ( it was just too cute to exclude) Trey and I went to Olive Garden with the girls and Makinna was loving the sweet tea!

This is me and my sweet baby girls. Claire and Jonah are just hanging in the background being cute!

This is Anna Kate representing for her mother, grandmother and brother who's picture has disappeared. She was loving the outside.

This is Andrea and her kids Vincent and Victoria. They all look very hot! They got so many compliments from passer by's on their beautiful red hair.

These are our sweet baby twins. Claire and Jonah with their mommy Susan. They seemed to not appreciate the hot as much, but this time next year they will be running around like the rest of the kids.

The following three pics were funny b/c it is all three girls stuffing something in their mouths.

Makinna is cramming a chicken nugget. I really didn't want Makinna to get hooked on them, but they are so easy on the run!

Poor Claire was having to eat her bib...i couldn't slip her anything..lol

Finally, Anna Kate eating her first french fry! I am always teasing Hannah that I'm going to slip her something good to eat. I just joke because I was trying to breastfeed only with Makinna until she was 2...! okay, not that long, but I held her out for table food a very long time too.

Also, I have a special request. Please everyone pray for Trey. He takes his state boards for his Optician licence on Friday morning. He has already done all this in Virginia, but Florida made him suffer for 6 years to earn it here. They didn't grandfather licenses and refused to let anyone challenge the board either. He has very broad marketing power with his licence b/c they are very few in this state. He should have no problem, but please pray anyway. Sometimes when you don't practice the simple stuff everyday you can forget. This test is very expensive and so we need a pass this time around...lol! Good luck Trey! Please leave him comments even if you don't comment very much. I know it will help him on Friday.

"Hoppy Easter!"

2008-03-29T15:36:00.013-04:00

Well, Easter has come and gone, and there is only candy wrappers and extra weight to show for it...and a few pictures! Here are some from Easter and a few extra that looked too cute like spring time to pass up. We spent Easter with Trey's parents after church and It was so nice outside. Everyone really enjoyed their day, and I was even able to squeeze in a short nap on the porch.

This is what sunshine is made of. Makinna is just the most beautiful and happy baby I know. She has her moments like all other 16 month olds, but she loves to laugh and dance, and hum. She smiles so big that you just want to eat her up. This is one of of her new spring outfits. She had a matching head band but she had removed it by this picture...

This outfit used to be Karessa's. I almost cried when i saw her in it. I can remember my sweet Karessa wearing that same thing, and being so little. Now my baby girl gets to wear it.

Makinna posing for the camera. I never catch the perfect smile in time.

Daddy helping Makinna Easter egg hunt. She didn't really like the feeling of the thick grass. We had to hold her hand the whole time. She was so cute though.

Makinna had to taste the egg, see if it was good or not.

Dakota and Arissa hunting eggs.

My sweet princess. I love matching the girls when I can find the right sizes. I guess since I never got twins to match I will just have to do this..lol. I think Karessa however likes looking different from Makinna. Sometimes she will like it, but she mainly likes picking her own clothes.

Daddy with the kids and their new Easter clothes. I thought they were so adorable in them. I loved Dakota's shirt and Trey's almost matched. I was almost in trouble. I bought Trey the same size shirt he wore 10 years ago, so we almost didn't wear the beautiful matching tie that morning... :)

"Bless You", Dakota was about to sneeze. But that was the best one of us. I loved my dress, but it was a wee bit tight. I have lost some weight, and I am between those sizes....I didn't take a deep breath until it was unzipped about 4 hours later...

We had to teach Sunday school that morning, so we couldn't linger long over our baskets from the Easter Bunny, but this was Dakota right after he found it in it's hiding place.

Makinna had just woke up, so this was the best one with her basket we could get. She just wanted chocolate. She didn't care who gave it to her...

Karessa found hers hiding behind the chair. She was excited. She said that the candy grass was nasty, but it tasted good too. I guess she was scared to offend the Easter Bunny. Personally I think it tasted worse then regular grass.

We didn't even get a family picture for Easter. I don't like it when we get so busy, but it was such a fast paced day that we could barley get anything done extra. I didn't even get to pose with the kids while hunting eggs. Oh well, maybe next year.

More from Vacation!!

2008-03-21T10:43:00.011-04:00

Well this is more from vacation. We took some family pictures at Trey's dad's house. It was so beautiful with the snow everywhere. We didn't stay out here long dressed so lightly, but we wanted to get some without big jackets.

We have such a good looking group huh?

I was so happy to see these swings up again. This is my favorite spot there. I love to swing and listen to the snow falling and seeing the untouched snow. It makes things look so pure and whole.

We got to stop in with my sister April on the way home. This is our kids with Reagan and Parker. They got along so well and really hated to leave each other.

We also got to visit with Trey's brother William and his wife and kids. They haven't seen each other in ten years. The kids were so stinking cute and sweet we hated to leave them. They were so loving and gentle. The baby was like a free kissing doll, she just sat there and let you kiss her all you wanted. Makinna was mauling her. It was so funny. Makinna loves to kiss kids and babies. Makinna was very bad there that night on the whole though. We didn't know that it was because she was coming down with some type of terrible stomach bug that would cause her to have explosive diareah and foul vomiting the whole long drive home. It was not fun. She had a terrible session of it about 3 hours into the drive. We were in the middle of no-where and it was snowing and freezing. She puked and had diareah all at the same time all over the place and her adorable pink jog suit. We pulled over and it was leaking from all sides and ends. We ran into a modular home builder and used their bathroom. It was not fun to say the least.

This is Trey, Dakota and Randy, ( trey's dad) when Grandpa was giving Dakota his first buck knife. He also made him his own walking stick and antler rack. It was fun for Dakota.

This is grandma with Makinna. This is the outfit that grandma bought for karessa when she was a baby. It was special to me. I wanted to get a picture of Makinna wearing with her. Makinna has really come into her own. She is running around chasing the other kids. She was holding her arms out like Frankenstein. She loves to find stairs anywhere she can. It scares mommy very much. She did so well on this trip. All the kids did great and really enjoyed the time together.

We had the chance to spend some time with the great grandparents and they seemed to really enjoy the kids. Karessa talked great gram's ears almost off. It was really quite humorous though. She told her about her birthday party and her friends, Destiny and Avery, Adaline and Ronnie, Bailey and Mackenzie. She told everything she liked and disliked about each one. How someone stole her makeup, and she was so passionate about each little tiny detail. She talks so fast you can barley understand her if your not me, and so grandma was dazing in and out of the conversation. Finally Karessa had gotten to the end of her 30 minute monologue and said, " I was just flat out irritated!" That obviously got every one's attention. She has such a huge personality. She can be feisty but she is actually so soft hearted and easily hurt. That is very much like me. I may seem very strong or sassy, but I am very easily hurt and embarrassed. Anyway, this was our visit to there house.

This is them again at one of our favorite restaurants there. It's called Sprages. It has a down home feeling. We go there every time we visit up there. We also got to go to a restaurant that Trey used to visit with his dad when he was a kid. It was bitter cold that day and we had the kids all dressed up matching and cute, and no one told me that it was 1.5 hours away. I thought it was up the road. So I didn't bring any change of clothes and Karessa fell asleep on the way and peed in her car seat all over her clothes and pants and underpants and panties. It was a mess. We were 2 hours from a store, so we brought a towel in with us and trey was trying to dry her clothes in the bathroom under the hand dryers, and I was checking in the itty bitty gift shop for sweat pants, when the woman there asked me what I was needing. I told her the embarrassing story and she said, well give them to me and I will wash and dry them while you eat! I was so blown away. So we wrapped the towel around her and she ate with her bottom half naked under the towel. It was really funny and stressful. We ate all you can eat buckwheat pancakes. Trey really enjoyed going back there. It is neat for me to visit places that meant so much to him as a child. We also got to eat at his favorite high school hang out called Texas Hot. We ran into someone he graduated with. I later found out that he and his old high school sweet heart used to go there all the time! :) He didn't tell me that before we went.

This is Karessa with Great-Gram. She really liked her extended family.

I know I tease Hannah and Susan for not kissing their kids on the lips, but Trey's family is like that too. It is funny because Makinna caught GG off guard and gave her one right on the mouth wet and wide open. It was so funny, b/c GG said, " oh she kissed me right in the mouth" She had to eventually wipe her mouth with a tissue b/c the slobber was getting excessive. I love it though. It is just sweet baby lovin!

This is Karessa with Great- Grandpa.

Over all i am so glad that we were able to take this trip. We have missed everyone and was so excited to see all his family and cousins too. The drive was not as great as I would have liked, but it was worth it. We really appreciate our home though, and bed and 10 pillows. Sorry it was so wordy this time, but there were lots of memories to document.

Happy Birthday Dakota, 3 times!!

2008-03-16T00:46:00.007-04:00

Ok so this post is incredibly late, but we have been so busy with work and kids, and family that I have had a hard time even loading them all on the camera. We celebrated Dakota's birthday 3 times over 3 weeks. First was in New York on vacation, then with Nana and Grandpa at our house and cracker barrel, and then once more with our family and a few of his close friends. Dakota turned 11 this year and is almost as tall as me, he is taller then his grandma, and he will be taller then his dad soon! Trey's entire family on his dad's side are incredibly tall, except for Trey, and Melissa is pretty tall too. So I guess he gets it honestly. He is going into 6th grade this year. I know I speak for all his parents, and grandparents ( b/c there are a lot) that he is an amazing young man, who loves the Lord and has just an enormous heart. Happy birthday Bubba!!!

This is bubba with his cake.

Dakota, Emily, kyleigh and Destiny all being silly with the cheetos!

Trey and Dakota went together to order the cake and Dakota picked out how he wanted it to look. The 11 looks like a 4 unfortunately, but it was still ok

This is with nana and grandpa. They brought Dakota his own cake too. It was a very nice night. Dakota got to order anything he wanted from the menu and he picked grilled fish. He ate like a grown man.

Karessa and Dakota. She may drive him nuts, but she adores him. He really puts up with her Diva routine very well!

This is all the kids with Nana and Grandpa. Makinna wouldn't look b/c she wanted more ice cream and was staring grandpa down until he gave in!

Well that concludes our 3 weeks of festivities, thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate.

10 things I learned from being a mother!

2008-03-08T20:17:00.003-05:00

ok so I have been tagged. Susan a friend of mine did a great list of things, and since I don't know how to put up her link, you can see her list by finding her name on one of my comments sections.

1. I absolutely never imagined a love like this.

2. No matter what the Dr. says, your baby will almost always get a fever and runny nose when teething.

3. Baby fluids are more tolerable when they belong to yours.

4. I realized that no matter what phase your child is in be it no teeth, or hair, or chubby stage, or the all unloved "zit" stage they are still way cuter or prettier then anyone else's kids!

5. You can always re- paint walls, but you cannot re-paint couches!

6. Watching your sleeping baby slowly and peacefully breath in and out can be the most comforting feeling.

7. You never sleep with both eyes shut ever again.

8. It is awesome that you can wake up with your hair a mess and un-brushed teeth and you are still beautiful to your kids.

9. When your babies say your name for the first time you think you it is the most beautiful sound you will ever hear.(it really is one of the sweetest sounds I have ever heard, until "I love You mommy")...

10. I never really understood terms like, "Eat your own food", or "this hurts me worse then it hurts you" or of course my favorite, " Can't I pee in peace?"

Ok so I have learned way more then just that, but those are 10. I have way more posts to do very soon, like the rest of vacation, and Dakota's birthday, and some other random ones as well. I guess we can add that to the list. I would love to see other peoples lists, so let me know if you do one.

Thanks for reading.

opps, I forgot the picture!

2008-03-08T20:00:00.000-05:00

oopps, I was supposed to post a picture with that blog, so here it is!

Dakota, Karessa, and Makinna 08

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow.....

2008-02-22T11:13:00.013-05:00

Well I am up to my elbows in snow..! Well i would be if i were laying down. But close enough! It is absolutely amazing! I would love to live in this weather all winter long. It has been snowing and very cold all week. I have put on a few pictures all in opposite order, but I was in a hurry to get back out to the snow, so just be grateful. It was -3 degrees the other night and I was in Eskimo heaven. There is about 8 inches on the ground with more to come. I love to just sit out in the snow and listen to it hit the trees and ground. Driving in it is a different story! It has been icy and scary. I like staying here and playing. We have all had a great time making snow angles and snow balls. Dakota made a small snow man the first day we were here and by the afternoon when we were going to make the family huge snowman it was too cold and the snow wasn't right for it anymore. We were all bumbed. I guess I don't know proper snow etiquette. We have gotten to visit with lots of family and Trey has gotten to spend some good time with his parents. We still have lots of family that we haven't seen yet and we might not make it to everybody because of the weather. We did get to take the kids to the house where trey grew up. It was really cool. We also went to some of Trey's favorite eating places. We ran into one of his old friends at an old hang out called Texas Hot. Trey is really excited to be seeing everyone up here. I also must put out a disclaimer for anyone planing on viewing the pictures below...I am not a beanie wearing person by nature, but when your ears are at risk for freezing off your body, you kinda throw fashion out the window and look like this! So viewers beware. And no teasing. !!!

This is mommy and my baby girl. Makinna doesn't appreciate the cold like her mommy does. We have been getting her dressed up just to take out for a few sled rides and pictures and then its back in by the nice warm fire. This is our little snow man that could...i know its a bit limp by now, but we thought there would be time for the big one later!

Daddy and Makinna after sledding down the hill. I don't think she likes it too much, but she had to try it a few times. It was snowing quite hard right then. The camera doesn't even show how great it really is out there.

Makinna is all bundled and ready to go outside for 5 minutes and then come back in and have to take all these layers back off! She was sitting there so sweetly. She couldn't move on her own so as long as I was standing right there she would be content.

I guess the beanie isn't so bad when you compare it to Trey in this picture! We were about to come in because the sun was down and it was single digits by then. Karessa so far loves the snow and cold. True mommy's girl!

Karessa getting dressed for sled riding. She has to wear all kinds of layers too. She was only half way done at this point.

Mommy and Karessa in Grama's kitchen

Mommy and Daddy in a rare picture together. We are usually taking pics of each other with kids, so it was nice to have one together.

I just love this pic of Karessa. She was out sledding and stopped for a quick pose.

Dakota has been snow boarding a lot this week. He is getting better. He went all the way down without falling.

This is all of the kids and me. You can see our van is covered in snow. That was so exciting to wake up and see.

Ok so you can barley see eyes and faces, but you can tell this is the kids in the snow. Karessa has been pulling her hat down over her eyes when she sleds down so that she doesn't get blasted with snow like before. It is really cute. They jumped the driveway almost into the road. Another time I had to fall on the sled with the baby in my arms to keep Karessa from ramming into the van!

Ok last but now least. This was supposed to be the first pic..but I loaded them wrong. This is Dakota with is Birthday brownie and ice cream made by grandma. We had a lot of fun and we are not down yet. More pics to come when I have more time.

Count Your Many Blessings....Name Them One By One...

2008-01-30T23:17:00.000-05:00

My list seems to be so long that I could list it for a week and still have more to add. We have been doing something latley that is really cool. When we are at a stop light, instead of being mad that we are having to wait, we all take turns listing one thing that we are thankful for. One blessing each. We go around the van and we all give something different. It is weird because when we do that game, we all actually look forward to the stop lights instead of dreading them. I also like it so much because it is impossible to have a bad attitude while doing it. I have been listing my blessings in my head a lot lately and of course God, and all things divine come first, but I can't help but realize what awesome things I have all around me. I am taken back everyday as I watch the kids grow and change. My little baby is walking now, or at least trying to, Karessa is this little woman who already wants rights and power...Dakota is almost as tall as Trey, (which we all know isn't saying he's a giant or anything) but still he is not a little boy dressed in woody costumes anymore. Someone said at church the other day that we should be thankful for each thing that we have instead of wishing we had what others had, and it is so true. I am a rich person. I may not be as finacially rich as some, but I have amazing family and friends, and a church family that is welcoming, and loving. I love my home and everything in it...except the occasional spider, or anything else that could be hiding that isn't known about! Here are a few of the people that I love. No specific theme, just a few recent pictures of us!

These three are as cute as they come! Those girls love that guy so much. Karessa gives him a terribly hard time with her diva routine, but she thinks he hung the moon!

This was new years eve, we were on our way out to a friends from church, as you can see I had still not taken down Christmas.

Daddy and Mommy, getting a rare picture together. Dakota took this of us. Not bad! :)

Incase you were wondering, yes she is sound asleep. I asked her a question and she didnt answer, so I got up to see why she was ignoring me, and this was why! It was so cute

Another one of the three kids, Makinna had been practicing her walking. They all stopped for a pose. I guess I have trained them to love the camera.

Makinna went from only standing to taking 15 steps at once that day. I was so speechless. It is still so cool to watch her. It was like she had been walking for a month in private. She looked like a pro.

Makinna was off walking some where during this one, but it was so awesome I wouldnt pass it up. There isnt anything I can say that i havent said before about these two. Dakota has that great big brother attitude I guess, his brother Galen adores him like that too. I need to get a pic of them together to put on here. I haven't gotten a recent one of the two of them, but I will during spring break. Sorry I was so late posting. I know some of these are from December 30th. I am still working on the big post. I don't think there is enough time in the day...

Last but not least...This is of our 6 year anniversary! I can't believe we have been married 6 years. It hasnt all been a breeze, but we have had some great times too, and we have done it together. I can truly say that I think God put us together to both challenge us and strenghten us. We know how to bring out the best and worst in each other. But no one can comfort me like he can and where ever he is feels like home to me!

Now for the details... Trey took me out to Maggiano's and had reservations and vallet parking for us. He had a corner booth reserved. We ate amazing food, and had no room for dessert, so we skipped it and thought of getting coffee afterwards, but were just too tired, so we headed home and Trey's mom had a cake made for us and a beautiful gift waiting. The kids all decorated our cake and we blew out candles and cut our cake together...then we fed each other a piece. It was really sweet. I have such an incredible mother in law...it was a great night and we were so appreciative of the child care and dessert. Thanks Nana!

Sherwood Look-alike Meter

2008-01-18T23:49:00.000-05:00

Ok, I put my maiden name in case they tried to steal my identity. I bet once they got it they would want to give it back.. lol...
I did this same one with my dad's picture and it was turned out that she looked equally like us. It was funny putting all my other family's pictures in there. I of course had to put Karessa's in with Wanda just to see what it said. We too came out equal. What is funny is that Trey lost both times, so I guess they look more like me and their grandparents. :) No offense hunny, I know that it couldn't have happened without you! I will say that I see obvious facial expressions on all the kids that look just like trey. I should have become a geneticist b/c I love the way DNA works. I love that I can see a little bit of everyone in my children. Emphasis being on the little bit! j/k. I will post Karessa's next, so scroll down.

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Ancestry search

I kinda think that Makinna looks more like me then Karessa. I guess it is the picture you pick. I know its all for fun, but I can't say that I didn't like the results... :)

I guess after you bear them for 9 months and throw up uncontrollably and feel as though death is imminent, you claim the right for them to look more like mommy!

Sherwood Look-alike Meter

2008-01-18T11:47:00.001-05:00

Okay, so I really thought this was funny. I guess boys are supposed to look more like daddy! Karessa obviously had a strong resemblance of her Nana as well. I look at pictures of me as a little girl, and see both my girls, but there is no denying that there is some Wanda floating around in this girl!.. :)

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebs - Collage - M orph

I am trying to get together a really great post, of the past and present of all of the kids and us. I am still trying to gather some kid pics. I have to find some of Trey as a little boy, so stay tuned, hopefully I will get it done soon. I was so shocked going through pics from Karessa's baby hood. I never thought they looked like each other, but seeing some of those pics, i had to stop and remember who I was looking at. I think it will be neat to get feed back on everyone elses thoughts.

My baby girl's first steps!!

2008-01-06T23:32:00.000-05:00

It is funny to me how your baby's first steps are just as exciting when it is the first child or the 5th. Makinna took her first steps right after Christmas. She is 14 months now and it is so neat to see her work up that courage and step her way toward me for the very first time. It was great because our whole family was there all together in the play room playing play station, and we were just messing around with her getting her to stand on her own (which happened all in the same day), and there it was, one, two and three...then she realized what she was doing and sat down immediately. These are from a couple nights after, but she is so proud when she does it because we all jump up and down and make a huge scene. She knows that crawling is still the fastest way to move right now, so I am not pushing her. I have had such a different view on raising Makinna then I did with Karessa. I know that Makinna is my last baby for a while and I wanted to savor the baby hood a bit longer. I pushed Karessa to hurry her way to that next phase so that i could see it, and this time I have probably slowed Makinna. Everyone says that I baby her, but oh well...we have such a short time with them as babies and I want to enjoy it as long as i can. Makinna is doing the most incredibly funny things, she mimics everything we do. I make these growling sounds at her and she will do it back at me. I quacked tonight and she tried to quack back. I am amazed at how you can fall in love with your kids everyday over and over, deeper then the time before.

This is her standing, trying to muster the courage to walk!

very proud of her success.

This one is just of her new blanket her mommy made her. I made the other two kids one a few years ago, so i thought it was time for her to have one. Plus she didn't receive a homemade blanket from anyone else like Dakota and Karessa have, so I wanted her to have one just for her. she really seemed to like it. She sleeps with it every night now. I made it extra big for when she grows. I am working on a great post of past and present of all the kids. I am comparing all their looks to see what everyone thinks...so I will be wanting those opinions, as long as they are about how much they look like me...lol

"It ain't as easy as it looks..." !!!

2007-12-30T14:15:00.000-05:00

For those of you that think taking Christmas pictures for a card is fun, rewarding and easy...let me introduce you to kids! Maybe when you are first married and you are only trying to make your husband smile, but not with three who seem to be interested in everything but taking a picture. Karessa kept looking at Makinna, Makinna kept crawling off the scene, and Dakota just smiled at the camera despite everything else! We have had quite a few years of training Dakota to smile no matter what when being photographed. It was funny, because karessa is having her hair pulled right out, and Makinna thinks its hilarious! Karessa doesn't, and Dakota didn't even know it was happening. It was quite a chore to get them all done. Dakota was busy doing his hair when I was taking a few with Karessa and Makinna, so they got all their sweet smiles and attitudes out of the way before he got outside....Lucky me. Trey was at work so he missed out on all the action. He was so bummed to see that I had bathed them all, fixed them all up, took the pictures, developed them, stuffed all the envelopes and addressed them all before he made it home. Maybe next year I will let him do it all alone. However, I might be scared to see which picture he would pick. Something tells me that it would be the first and last picture he snapped. Guess I will hold the reins on this one.

I almost used this one on our card to show what we are really like most of the time..! :)

This was that sweet cooperative attitude I was speaking about earlier.

I did get a few more out of them, Karessa was so kind to let her baby sister use her matching baby doll to hold. Makinna was taking good care of it for her. She was kissing her and hugging her so cute.

This was before we went outside.

And for all of you who think I can't cook,...I made this lovely cake before Christmas, and I was told to take pictures for proof of my culinary masterpiece. We had some friends over from church and this was our desert... Of course everyone asked so surprisingly if I had actually made it. By the way, it was from scratch and the icing was homemade as well...for those of you thinking Box cake!.. lol

Christmas Eve

2007-12-29T22:51:00.000-05:00

We spent this Christmas eve a little bit different this year. We still did our usual making cookies for Santa, but we went to Trey's parents house for dinner and a few early gifts. It was really nice. There was almost no traffic, and we really enjoyed being with Nana and grandpa that night as well. We got very spoiled by them. I am so blessed to have such amazing in-laws. I know so many people who are not very close to their in-laws, and I am so pleased to have found a mother in law that I love and enjoy being around. When people make mother in law jokes I laugh because they are so untrue for my life. Here are a few pictures from our Christmas eve.

This is the first picture with all three kids with Nana and grandpa. They love their grandparents so much. They are close to all their grandparents on all sides. I love that they care so much for them all.

Nana out does herself on gift wrapping every year. They are so beautiful that we hate to open them. She spent 12 hours wrapping all the gifts. She was up until 5am... We finally gave in and opened them all...glad we did! Of course Karessa and Dakota needed no convincing to tear theirs open..

Almost caught nana in a blink. This is her with the girls. Opening yet more presents...

This is our annual cookie making time. We decorate cookies as a family every year for Santa. This is some thing that I wont miss doing. It is my favorite part of Christmas eve. We always open one gift that night as well. Since we went to Nana's house they opened more then one. We also always leave Chocolate milk for Santa as well. He thanked Dakota for that in his letter this year. The kids got their letters 2 days before Christmas and they were great!

This is one of my favorite pictures from this Christmas. Karessa was sleeping with her brother on Christmas eve and wore her new sleeping mask to bed. I walked in to check on them and laughed out loud. I didn't know she wore it to sleep in. She is a true girl. I hope for her sake she marries a rich man because I have a feeling she is going to be a bit high maintenance. I don't have any clue where she gets that... :)

Christmas Day at The Sherwood House

2007-12-26T01:11:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas from the Sherwood's. We had a wonderful Christmas together with almost our whole family. We were missing only a hand full, but it was so nice having as many as we did. We all got way more then we needed, but we all know how incredibly blessed we really are just to have our family together and healthy. It was my dad, my mom, and 2 of my siblings and all our children. It was the first Christmas we have spent with all of us in close to ten years. It was an emotional day. We then went to Trey's parents house and got spoiled some more. I will post more pics from our trip over there next. We got so many amazing things, and lots of great photos. So that will have to be its own post!..It was a great day and we hope that everyone else had an incredible Christmas too. For all those who we could not be with, we miss you and love you all. Here are just a few of the 200 pictures we took.

This is all of us this morning. We don't get the chance for many all together ones. They really mean a lot to us when we get them.

This seems to be the story every time we attempt to get all the kids with Ragdaddy. Kyleigh is picking her nose and Kailyn is melting down. It was really funny. We thought we had gotten them all, when we realized that we were missing Alexa. She was no doubt into something in the other room being very quite.

This is my sister Delana, and her family, Husband, Corey, and daughters, Desiny, Alexa, and Journey. They are three of the sweetest little girls you would ever meet. Genuinely sweet hearts.

This is our three, they were just about to open all their presents. We made them go extra slow today. We tried sitting all in a circle and watching each other open one at a time. Karessa did not like that system. I did though. It gave us the chance to savor each moment and see what everyone got, and them the chance to realize how much there really was.

Karessa may be a pain in Dakota's butt, but she loves that boy like I have never seen. Makinna is the same way. They adore him so much more then I ever imagined. Dakota's brother Galen is the same way. They all follow him around. Everyone who meets him says he is amazing.

This is my brother Ryan and his wife Krystale, and their daughters, Kyleigh and Kailyn. As you can see, poor Dakota is very out numbered. Parker is the only other boy but he is so far away, he can't help Dakota out of the sea of girls very often...lol

For those of you who see what I see, I am not 6 months pregnant like I look. Delana is, but for some reason that shirt made me look like I am due any day..Funny thing is, Ryan looks pregnant too..lol..Delana is the only one that actually is...It didn't make me very happy to see that...lol...but this was a difficult picture to take. This is my mom and dad and all of their kids together in one picture. This hasn't happened in so long. It was nice to be all together even for just a day!

Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas Parade with our Pals

2007-12-16T00:29:00.000-05:00

Well this was the Sherwood's first time at the Christmas parade. We have wanted to go every year but something has come up every time. We went with our good friends Tony, Susan and their twins and our other good friends Hannah, Michael and their two kids. We had a great time all being together, but I have never felt so space violated in all my life. Safe to say that everything we had with us, ourselves included got bathed in germ-x. We did get a lot of good pictures and got to spend time as a big group which hasn't happened as much since we have all had so many babies. I forgot how many flashing lights and sirens there are at parades. Tony pointed out to me that parades are a bit of a lost cause for me since I cant look at flashing lights.(they cause migraines). The part I saw was nice... with some neat floats. No candy though! I'm used to being pelted with pieces of Christmas candy. I guess that is actually a good thing, there were about 50 kids standing all over and around us, if free candy stared flying we might have been trampled...lol

Its getting very hard to get a good family picture anymore, either one of us is taking the picture or someone is crying or sleeping. This one was cute though, because it Is truly us, (well except if you haven't noticed Trey is kinda holding another baby! That is Jonah, that was Trey's first time holding one of the twins. He wasn't willing to give him up for the picture). But it was nice to get away with our whole family and do something festive. It was actually not 85 degrees that night either...! Yippie!

This is Trey with Makinna and Michael with Anna Kate. They are a few months apart, but Anna Kate is gaining size on Makinna fast. Its cool to think of them being little friends when they get older.

Trey has makinna now, and Tony has Jonah.

I loved this picture. These are my best buddies, Susan and Hannah. We all have kids now and we have all went through something hard to get them. Whats really nice is that we saw each other through those times and now have such beautiful little families and I truly look forward to seeing them all grow up together as little class mates, and best buddies.

These babies are not only the center of attention with their mommy and daddy, they are everywhere they go...its funny to see people ask.."oh are they twins?"..."no, they are just born the same day and dressed the same with matching car seats and happen to be riding together....Duh!" I was holding little Jonah man and Susan has Claire.

This is one of my favorites of the whole night. All the kids were being their cute selves. They are such amazing little people. They all are completely different in incredible different ways. Then sometimes you will see them do something exactly like the other.

This was of me and my precious baby girls. They actually both looked at the camera at the same time. Tony and Susan look like they are just deep in a conversation about how much they love each other,...i noticed that later. I think maybe they were avoiding looking right at the camera... :)

This one is of us girls with all our little baby ones. Poor Jonah surrounded by a sea of girls.

Trey loving on Makinna while we were waiting for the parade.

This picture of Wesley cracked me up so much! He is looking at Dakota like what is this guy doing?...it was priceless. Wesley and Karessa both sat nicely next to Michael staring at everything that went by. I think they liked it the best.

Well that was our parade night. I have lots more pictures, but I am so tired that they will have to wait for another day. We finally got our Santa pictures done, so they will be next.

Spreading some Sherwood Cheer...

2007-12-06T10:49:00.000-05:00

Okay so I have been somewhat busy, so I know I'm a bit late getting some new pictures up, so I am trying to make up for it by putting a lot on at once. We have been all getting ready for Christmas. Dakota made it back safely from Texas. He had a great time. Thanks to everyone who prayed for his safe trip there and back! Trey just took his huge college finals and now he will have more time to relax. We have taken a few pictures that are just random, and not really theme related, so hope you enjoy them. The kids are growing so fast and I can't believe that it is already time for Santa's big visit. We haven't even gotten our pictures with Santa yet. We will go on Trey's next day off so that we can get our wish lists put in. One wish was already granted, though not by Santa, we got a new van last night and it is amazing! I will post pics of it next time. We were so blessed to find this one. God really works through so many different people when He wants to get something done.

Makinna finally noticed the Christmas tree! it was so cute how she was reaching to get this ball. She is just such an amazing sweet hearted little baby girl.

Still sweet hearted, but a bit mad that I was wanting her to pose and smile! Now that she is crawling everywhere she has no interest in staying in one place for a picture. It is hard to get a good shot unless she is strapped in somewhere...

This is me and the girls before Church a few weeks ago.

Daddy and bubba eating dinner. Such handsome guys in my life! I can't believe that when Dakota came into my life he was still just a toddler, and now he is this pre-teen who is almost as tall as his daddy. I'm sure he will be taller before its all over with...lol

Makinna's first time feeding herself eggs. She liked doing it for a few minutes and then decided that it is so much more fun when you throw your plate across the kitchen! But it was cute while it lasted. I think I will feed her myself for a bit longer...

This was my Karessa helping me cook eggs for her and Makinna. She really loves to help in the kitchen. She always tells me that she is a good cook just like me. It is so great when you have worked so hard through their baby-hood and now they get to spend that bonding time with you where you get these little glimpses of their souls...very good feeling for a mommy!

Makinna wanted my soda so bad, so I let her hold it herself. She drank as much as she could hold. resulted in frequent diaper changing the rest of the night!

See I actually put my babies in their beds. Now this wasn't a sight often seen with Karessa, but mommy got a little smarter with number 2! She loves her bed.

This was on Sunday before Church. Trey was leading communion so he was all dressed up. I wish we had one with us all in it, but when one parent is in it, the other is taking it. We need to get a timer so that we can get more family shots. We are going to get our new family pic done very soon.

Ok, for all our northern family looking at this, (grandma & grandpa..ect) It was a high of 70 that day and Karessa decided that she needed a hat and sweater, so we all dressed for the weather and looked like true Floridians! Of course its is back to 80 today...so if anyone has room up north I am ready for a visit. I want some snow and freezing temps! Grama, don't you want meet Trey half way to get us!...lol

This was that same Sunday morning. I am the only one that is way off season on clothing. I realized that when we were at church and I had 2 little girls all dressed in Christmas, and Trey and Dakota dressed in warm clothes as well...lol...oh well, when your still packing baby weight a year later, you have to wear what hides the most! :)

More Birthdays, Thanksgiving, and House pics

2007-11-26T23:36:00.000-05:00

Okay so it took 26 days to get some house pictures on here, but I have managed to get just a few. We also took a couple from thanksgiving and my birthday which happened to be on the same day. Happy birthday to me!! My wonderful husband bought me a pumpkin cheesecake and I'm afraid i gained 5 lbs from it alone. We had a great thanksgiving though. This was the first holiday in a very long time with all of the Florida bound kids present. If my sister April and her family were here then it would have been almost all my dads grand kids together under one roof. It really went great and the food was wonderful as well. I made my first homemade pie this year and I thought it was really good. Unfortunately Dakota wasn't here for Thanksgiving this year, he was in Texas, but he had a great time there. He did get the flu and was delayed getting home until next week so keep him in your thoughts and prayers flying back. All together we had 18 people here in our house. It was much better in our new House then our old. We fit everyone comfortably and everyone seemed to have a great time.

Okay for some weird reason we only took a picture of the kids table with actual people at it. I guess we were so hungry we didn't take one of all the adults. This is Emily, Karessa, Destiny and Kyleigh. Alexa is wandering somewhere else in this pic. They are in our computer room at their own special table.

We did get a pic of the table alone, and Alexa is peeking from behind the bread. We had more food then we could have eaten in a month. We finally had to give up on the leftovers and call it quits. We have eaten it every way we could stand. Its time for everyday food! You might be able to see that my house is already decorated for Christmas. That is my thing, I know it looks funny to most people, but I enjoy Thanksgiving with Christmas all around...it makes me feel like it is cold outside...I wish!

This is my beauty. She was helping me undo all the cleaning I was doing. She is very good at that. But with that face its hard to get upset. After all they wont mention my house cleaning skills on my tombstone...

This is my deli delicacies pumpkin cheesecake my husband surprised me with. Isn't he great!

I am just about to blow out the candles on my cake. Karessa and Kyleigh helped. Actually Kyleigh had about half blown out before I even took in a breath. She is very good at getting to the cakes first! :) Destiny and my dad are also in the picture.

This is my kitchen. I absolutely love my new house and we were so blessed to have found it.

This is the living room. We also have a sitting room to the right of where this picture was taken.

This is perhaps my favorite room of them all!!! The play room. I no longer have toys littering my living room and bedrooms. Of course the kids want to play everywhere but here. It really works great with all the shelves and storage.

Another view of the kitchen. I haven't taken any of the bedrooms yet, they are still getting perfected...

My aunt got the girls these beautiful dresses and they looked so pretty on Sunday for church.

And finally, meet our newest neighbor...Mr. I will eat you like a fruit snack! He was just laying on the side of the lake like whatever, and did i mention this is about 10 feet from Dakota's bus stop. Yes, this will no longer be his bus stop, because I am calling the county with this picture on hand and arguing that with all these alligators they should just drop him in front of the house. This is just one of many like him in our neighborhood. Trey wanted to get out of the van to see what he would do. Safe to say I said NO!!!!! Karessa saw him and screamed a scream worthy of a horror flick! I'm surprised it didn't send Mr. fruit snack running, but he just laid there waiting for an innocent golfer to stray into his hungry path!

Ninja's, Fairies and Pop Stars oh my.....!

2007-11-13T18:24:00.000-05:00

Okay this Halloween post is a bit late...sorry

Well Halloween was a bit of a drag this year. Since we were moving we didn't get to decorate, so it didn't actually feel like it happened. We did however manage to do some trick or treating at our church and dress the kids up as well. It was alot of fun and the kids got lots of candy. Makinna loved her suckers and half of every Reece's she got.I disposed of the other halves..lol...Dakota decided he wanted to be a ninja this year so that he was. Karessa of course, being the Diva she is decided to be Hannah Montana. Makinna could be no less then a pretty little fairy! I have posted the pics of them in costume on a previous blog, but since it was on a birthday post we didn't post Dakota in his costume so here he is...

Sorry this costume doesn't show much face...but you get the idea

here is our little fairy... I know... too cute!

Okay so these aren't of fairies and pop stars, but you have already seen those, so we put cute others instead...

Trey got a kick out of this one....

Karessa making a cake with duma...

We are almost moved in completely. It has been a very long tiring process. We are left only with those little things that you couldn't throw away, but you have no place for. I dread doing them, so I have avoided them instead. I have gotten my Christmas decor up instead. I am late getting it done this year because of the move, but It is finally up! Our ceiling is so high it makes our tree look like a bush. I will have to get some pics of the decor posted soon.

On a different note, I saw a huge snake slithering in my yard yesterday...I almost died. We are going to put some moth balls out to keep them at bay, we live on a golf course so there is a pond behind our house. Any good ideas about keeping the snakes away let me know. Hannah this is a good time for your husband to lend some advise. I know he is a bug man, but maybe he knows something that will work. I have been having nightmares about snakes every since...I was swatting them in my sleep!

Last thing..Dakota is flying to Texas on Thursday, so please pray for his safe flight there and back. I know how scared I was to fly to Boston. He acts likes it no big deal...I guess that is a good thing.

Happy 1st Birthday Makinna!!!

2007-11-05T15:44:00.000-05:00

My baby girls are growing up! Makinna turned 1 on Novemeber 2nd. My other baby just turned 5... It seems like yesterday I was laying in a hospital bed looking at my beautiful baby girl...she doesn't seem a year to me, but that probably has a lot to do with me babying her so much! She seemed to really enjoy her party and Karessa too. Karessa had a slumber party following the regular party and all the girls were great and had fun. Many of our good friends and family came to help us celebrate. We had just moved in this house 24 hours before the party so a lot was not done, but we seemed to pull it together at the last possible second.

Mommy with Karessa and Makinna

Daddy with Karessa

I stressed more about these cakes and what to order and should I only get one cake or two...it was more exhausting then the move into our new house just 24 hours prior. We ended up getting Sam's to do them and I loved them. They did an amazing job. I think they over charged me by a little but with one hour before guests would be arriving, I wasn't saying a word. Plus they turned out so great I didn't even mind. Hopefully you understand Karessa's cake, she had a "Hannah Montana" birthday and we decided...(actually it was my mother in laws idea) that we would dress her up like Hannah instead of doing the picture of the real one...so 3 hours of make-up, hair and dress-up, my mom took about 1000 pics of her in every pose and look possible...this is the one we liked the best. So pretty much I couldn't have had this turn out without the help from my mom and mother in law...Thanks ladies!

Both girls cakes

This was the full shot of what went on Karessa's cake...

This is the before picture when we were getting her ready for the cake!

Bite number 1...

Bite number...?

And we're Done!!!!! This was after being stuffed with cake and sticky and about 30 people in her face..it was like the paperotizi( I know I didn't spell that right) was after her...she had enough...

Then Makinna decided to share...how sweet!
After her bath she was ready to share my piece of cake with me again...! She did so perfectly. Anyone who knows me knows that I love to see babies rip open their first cake..especially my own babies! She made me so proud!

Happy 5th Birthday Karessa!

2007-10-21T18:56:00.000-04:00

Well my baby girl turned 5 years old today! I can remember her being a new born like it was yesterday. I wish my albums weren't packed because I would love to put on some of her new born pictures to show the change. I remember the way she smelled when I first held her. I can still feel that feeling that you get when you have a baby and get to take it all in that first moment. And it makes you feel really old! I cant believe that I had a baby 5 years ago. Not to mention that my baby baby is turning 1 next week! I am so blessed to have such amazing kids, and such a great husband! Some new things are happening around the Sherwood house, we are moving next week and then the very next day we are having double birthday parties in our new house. I think I can get it all done...by their next birthdays! We are really excited but we are very stressed trying to get it all done. We have lived in our house for 4 years, Karessa had her first step in this house and her first birthday. So much has happened here that it is a bitter sweet parting. This was our first real house and It will hold a part of us with it forever. But I know that we have lots of memories to make in our new house and I am so thankful that I am able to enjoy them with the people I love so much!

Karessa, born 10-24-02...1:58pm
7lb 1 oz 19.5 in

Happy Birthday! I saw this shirt and knew that they made it with Karessa in mind! I have never seen something that better summer up what she thought of herself! I had to buy it..

Dakota attempted to put this hat on Makinna, funny thing is that it is backwards...! But the picture was so funny. I cant figure out what this reminds me of, but it made me think of something I had seen before, maybe a jet pilot. Makinna loves her brother so much! She always wants him to hold her. He is so good with her. We did turn it around for some with it on right...

Not sure which one is better!

Ok this is a Hannah Montana test run! I guess the eye brows are going to pose a bit of a problem..but hey its Halloween not Hollywood!

We all know I have been trying to capture this face on film! Well this isn't exactly the perfect one but it will do for now. She is just so funny when she does this.

I have so many of her walking with this walker but this determined proud face was just too cute to pass up. She is almost a year old and I don't think she will be walking by then, but that is ok, I have babied her so much she can just stay in my lap a while longer!

FINALLY.....!!!!!

2007-10-16T20:58:00.000-04:00

Finally... Jonah and Claire are here! Susan and Tony had their twins on Monday and they are absolutely perfect. Claire was the oldest and weighed 4lb 11 oz and Jonah weighed 3 lb 15 oz. They were both 18.5 in. They are completely different in coloring. Jonah has black hair and is darker and Claire is fair with blond hair all the way to the lashes! Susan and Tony are doing great and are super excited about the babies. Thanks for all those prayers, they have been answered.

This is Claire!!!

Trey and I with Claire

Tony with Jonah

Susan and Tony with Jonah

Susan and I eating her first post pregnant meal!

Birthdays, babies, and a little more....

2007-10-12T19:33:00.000-04:00

Makinna is now 11 months old and i cant even tell you where the last year has gone to. It feels like yesterday I was giving birth and holding this tiny baby in my arms. Now she is almost walking and she is crawling everywhere, and eating everything she can reach! She has the most gentle sweet personality. Even though she is growing up, I still get to baby her sometimes. I haven't given up nursing yet, and I am afraid it will be a bit longer. I nursed Karessa until she was 18 months and wouldn't mind doing the same with Makinna since i know it will be so long until I can do it again. We have been trying to catch her funny face on camera, but so far I cant get it so i will just have to describe it instead. She will scrunch up her nose and squint her eyes, and huff really loud and fast from her nose. It is the funniest thing i have ever seen. What is even more funny is that she has her baby cousins doing it as well. It is amazing how they begin copying at such a young age. Makinna will copy anything I do. I was rubbing Trey's arm in Boston just standing there waiting on the subway, and out of the blue, Makinna leaned over and did the same. Then i patted him and she did the same again. I then took just one finger and poked him and she followed suit again. it was so funny to see her mimic me like a big person. Please pray for her as well though, she is going to have to get a tube put in her good ear due to a continued ear infection that is proving difficult to treat. That is probably going to happen soon, so keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Also keep Tony and Susan in your thoughts since in less then 72hours they will have 2 beautiful babies with them. This blog is probably longer then usual because it has been so long since I uploaded pictures and wrote to you...so beware!!

Ragdaddy (my dad) bought Makinna this very vibrating doggy for Christmas and she has never really figured out on her own what it does. I always used to vibration to lull her to sleep, but she finally found out what it does. She climbed up on it the other day and sat there for the longest time. It was so funny, she sat there like she was getting a message or something. Just relaxed and would not get off for any reason. Then she saw the camera and hammed it up for me

The funny part to this picture is that there are still 6 grandchildren missing from this picture. I don''t think my camera is big enough! I was so upset that we tried to get this picture so many times and Karessa ends up wiping her eye! It was still cute, and just a taste of the ciaos that comes with that many kids in one half packed house. For those of you who don't know we are moving to a bigger house in the same neighborhood. So most of what we have is packed in boxes. My dad turned 57 on that night, pretty handsome guy for his age! I see a lot of my dad in Makinna. She makes faces like him sometimes that freaks me out. Of course I think she looks most like me! lol..

My dad's birthday was October 5th and we had 15 people in our house! The real kicker is that the kids out numbered adults and the girls out numbered boys by far...We all have baby girls very close in age, Kailyn at the top, Makinna, and Journey. Makinna is the oldest, then Kailyn and then journey. It is funny because Karessa is the oldest of the bigger girls, then Kyleigh, and then Destiny. Kailyn and Kyleigh both belong to my brother and Journey and Destiny are Delana's. It seems that there is always someone pregnant together in this family, so since Delana is 11 weeks pregnant, Krystale and I are both being extra careful. Plus our church has this 3 pregnant women minimum and that isn't being fulfilled right now either since Susan is having her baby twins on Monday, there is bound to be someone turning up pregnant soon! Not me though for all those worried parents reading right now.

I decided to go through Karessa's old clothes so me and the kids sat on the floor and played baby dress up! I loved this hat on Karessa when she was a baby and I came across it and almost cried. Makinna wasn't very fond of it, but i managed to get some pics with her in it. I can't wait for cold weather. These were also Karessa's old clothes she is wearing as well. I guess you can all tell i like purple...

Ok keep scrolling down!

2007-10-01T14:23:00.000-04:00

Sorry everybody, i thought that i could make the original post go on top and the series of pictures go second.....! That didn't happen, so make sure you scroll down to the next post after the one with all the pictures...thanks and sorry it is so backwards!

More Pictures from Boston!

2007-10-01T11:28:00.000-04:00

This was from a boat on the harbor. It was breath taking!

This is Mass Eye and Ear, these are all glasses from the 16th, 17th and 18th centries. Thought it was a fitting picture for an eyewear maker!

My mom and I with Makinna on that anchor.

This was infront of a huge bridge that I was way too chicken to cross!

Look at how well Makinna sat here on this anchor! J/K my mom was standing behind her holding her clothes!

This is on the north end, at the ship yard. This is a huge anchor we are standing at!

This is my mom, Makinna and I infront of down town near the Mass General.

Home Sweet Home

2007-10-01T10:28:00.000-04:00

Since I am still new at this I messed up the order of pictures, so I will post this blog then go back and put all the other pictures on a second blog...so Make sure you see them too!

This is the medical center where the conference was held.

Well everyone, we have made it back safely! I have never been so happy to see hard warm ground in all my natural life. We had an amazing, yet very tiring time in Boston! We have changed our entire plan of treatment since listening to all the surgeons speak, and we feel that we have made a great choice. Makinna will be able to start kindergarten with no problems and most likely with good hearing on her microtia side. We were very pleased with the conference and staff and we are so thankful to all of our family who helped to make it possible. It was so incredible to meet other kids who also look like Makinna. There were so many kids and babies that you feel connected to. We also know how incredibly blessed we are, there were so many kids that had such worse situations to deal with then us. We also took part in a research study especially for microtia and atresia that will help discover why this happens and hopefully give the medical community more information on how to stop it. Or at least know if it is genetic or random. They did have to draw our blood, but I think that minute of discomfort will make makinna proud to know that she helped Harvard Dr.s and scientists to figure this out! I am so proud of her already. The head of Harvard ENT pediatric surgeons came in to draw Makinna's blood personally. They were amazing. I have taken all sorts of pictures and will be posting a few now, and maybe more later. Makinna did great on her first airplane ride. She was wonderful while in Boston too. She flirted with every single guy she came in contact with. She would smile so big and then bury her face in shyness. It was so cute...She would do this everywhere even the subway. Most people on subways either stare into space with an ipod or they read the paper. They don't look around like I did the whole time. Then you get the see the weirdos who look like they came straight off of law and order...Which funny story dealing with that..my mom, me, trey and the baby were walking to the north side to see the constitution and we had to go down a twisty pathway vs. the stairs. We get in the freaky looking part of the park and that's when i said this place reminded me of law and order "special victims unit" then she said..."Stephanie., theres a dead guy in the bushes!" I looked closer and it was a homeless man sleeping in a beach chair and his buddy was right next to the spot we had to get through. It was very empty and it went under and overpass and bushes everywhere, so we turned around and drug makinna all the way down the stairs.

The harbor was awesome! I really enjoyed seeing the city and all of the buildings from the water. I wish we had more time because we didn't do even half of the stuff i wanted to get done. But we ate at Cheers, and got to see a lot of really pretty stuff. I found some kick -butt Lobster soup, which i ate 2 times in one day. We say Fenuil Hall and the market place, and about 500 starbucks! They are literally on almost every corner. It felt a lot like New York would look. The park was nice until the crazy lady started cussing out her imaginary friend and screaming as loud as she could coming straight at us! Well I will put up some pictures now, and maybe i can write more later, but thanks again to everyone who prayed for us. It really helped.

This is the view from the 7th floor! it was awesome

We're Leavin On a Jet Plane.....

2007-09-24T20:55:00.000-04:00

Getting ready for the cold Boston air!

Well Thursday morning is the day! Trey and I are taking Makinna to Boston for some very important appointments. She will get the chance to meet with the top surgeons in the world and we will get to spend a whole day listening to them all lecture. I am super excited, but super nervous. We are leaving two other kids behind and we have never been this far away from Karessa before. I get freaked out going to the grocery store...I always kiss them and tell them to never forget how much I love them :) .... I know its a bit dramatic, but you never know. So we need your prayers that I can get through the plane ride without passing out or having to be sedated. I think I will be fine when we are there until its time to leave again! We have lots of things that we plan to see on our down time. The people in Boston that I have talked with must think I am a complete weirdo, but I am so country Florida that I don't know the difference between the train, trolley and subway. I had to keep telling them that I had no clue how far a block was, that in Florida we drive to the corner store. So we are in for quite a surprise. I am really excited about having some time with just Trey and Makinna. We have had our alone trips with Dakota and Karessa before, so I am sure this will be just as great. Karessa isn't very happy that we are leaving, she has spent a great deal of time begging me to let her go, or begging me to stay. Dakota on the other hand is ecstatic, he knows how to work his nana and can count on that being a "nana pampered" weekend. She is already asking what types of food they would love the best...haha...Nana, I'm sure your reading this, so just know I would love to have a nana just like you!
So that is it, please pray and I will have lots of pics from Boston when we return!

This one was taken this weekend at a garden and was too cute to not add.

We were wanting her to smile at the camera, but this turned out much better. The picture might be too small to see the rain drops in the fountain. It was very pretty!

On the Move!

2007-09-20T18:12:00.000-04:00

Well my sweet baby girl is crawling! She just started and I am actually really glad she waited longer to get moving. I loved being able to baby her. I know it will be a while before I have another so I tried to keep Makinna a baby as long as I could. The whole family has become involed in the picture taking and video taping of Makinna in action, so almost every night we get on the floor and play together. Of course we have 2 camera hogs, and they seem to be in more of the crawling pictures then Makinna does. Makinna is also standing holding things! She started it all in the same week. She gets so excited when we make a big deal of it all and smiles from one side to the other!

Very New, Very Green!

2007-09-20T00:48:00.000-04:00

Hello All,

Ok so we have joined the Blog craze and I have to say it is very confusing and I am quite green at it so please give me time to get better. Hannah is sure to teach me a thing or two soon. I am sure you all know these good looking kids! Dakota is 10 and "a Half" since that "half is so important" until you are our ages and then you would like to take that extra half away...Karessa is the oldest girl, she is almost 5 and Makinna is my sweet 10 month old. They keep us both very busy, but our life isn't complete without them. I hope that you will check in to see what new things are happening in the Sherwood house!