Efird Kids to the Car

Making Cookies With Paxton

2012-01-25T11:32:00.001-06:00

First wash your hands.

Then drive over to Ms. Jennifer's b/c we don't have brown sugar and she does!

Next: mix everything together.

Cook cookies 8 minutes. Til they look good and chewy.

Then sample to make sure they ARE good and chewy!

Hope you enjoyed this segment of cooking with Paxton.

Crafting

2012-01-16T21:41:00.003-06:00

I have been crafting away lately! I have no pictures to show you, BUT if you look on my pinterest page you'll see some things I've made.

Had a group of ladies over last week and we made scarves out of old t shirts. They were all too cute! There were 5 of us here. Everyone made a different scarf. We had yummy 2x4 Soup and cornbread for lunch! It was a super day.

Also made two wreaths this week. I have an opportunity to start to sell a few of the things that I'm making so I've had to be on the ball this week.

AND tonight I finally got a new shower curtain made for our hall bathroom that is also Paxton's bathroom. It now looks way more kid friendly but not a kiddie bathroom. Our guests also have to use this bathroom so I didn't want to just be a kid bathroom. I took a plain black shower curtain from Target and sewed on a valance in some material that I loved and sewed a smaller border across the bottom in coordinating material. Love it! And of course, I have no pics! haha

BUT I will share the Soup recipe with you. It's delicious!

Geraldene's 2x4 Soup
2 cans rotel
2 cans kidney beans
2 cans ranch style beans with or without jalepenos
2 cans minestrone soup
1/2 block velveeta cheese
1 lb. ground meat ( I used deer meat this time I made it, but I'm sure you could use ground turkey and certainly beef)

Brown the ground meat and drain. Add to a big pot. Add everything else and simmer for 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

And that's it! Serve it with cornbread. It's amazing! Hope you make it and LOVE it! Let me know!!

Christmas Weenie Wreath

2011-12-09T16:16:00.003-06:00

Want a FUN & FUNNY finger food?? This is so easy to make and it's really cute.

Ingredients:
1 can crescent rolls
1 package mini smoked sausages
1 red bell pepper

Preheat oven according to crescent roll directions. Open crescent rolls and cut each triangle into three strips. This will give you 24 mini pigs in a blanket. Wrap the mini sausages in the strips. Arrange in a circle like a wreath, cook about 15-16 minutes. Cut a bow out of the red bell pepper and place on top of the wreath for embellishment! Too cute!!

2011-11-10T12:03:00.001-06:00

If you can't feed a hundred people, then just feed one. ~ Mother Teresa

Let's Try Halloween pics again

2011-11-03T15:25:00.002-05:00

Tried getting these to upload Tuesday! The little mermaid is my neice Kailie. We celebrated her birthday this weekend too! She's 7 years old! I also got to spend time playing baby with my sweet nephew! He came to the lake too. With his parents of course, but Brent and I got him pretty much the whole day. So tiny and precious.

Serviceman Sacrifice

2011-10-26T11:54:00.004-05:00

This week I experienced first hand the sacrifice that a soldier makes when he or she is deployed. My brother is a US Marine. Just a couple of weeks ago he was deployed for Afghanistan. Right now he's just in the training part of deployment, but since he lives an hour and a half from his base, he's been gone for three weeks. With a 9 month pregnant wife. The past two weeks he's been in CA. We knew he'd probably miss the birth of his son. BUT the night before being induced he got permission to be home. He left his base in CA at 6 a.m. Monday morning. 8 a.m. our time. Flew into Dallas and had another flight to get him to his local base, then to drive an hour and half to get to the hospital. He made it to Dallas with no problems. Knew he had a flight at 4:15. At 4 o'clock, a mere 15 minutes before takeoff, his flight was canceled. No other flights were available. He's 5 hours from the hospital. If he'd know when he landed earlier that this flight was going to be canceled, he could have left and been at the hospital. No rental cars were available. AT DFW AIRPORT he couldn't get a rental. So to get him to Texarkana, 3 hours away so he could get his car and dive to Mena to see his wife, we had to hire a car service and have someone drive him. As he was getting into the limo service car, Danielle, his wife, has started pushing. He's on the phone with her as she delivers their perfect sweet Bentley James. What a sacrifice. To serve our country. Missing the birth and first few hours of his sons life. Billy finally arrived at the hospital a little before midnight. To meet his 5 hour old son. Something that most women take for granted that thier husbands will be right there when they have their child was something that we tried SO hard to make happen. It was not meant to be.

The Lord has plans that we don't always understand for His ways our higher than ours. Thank you Lord for a country that has men and women that volunteer to serve. That sacrifice so much to serve and protect.

Flag Football

2011-09-24T15:25:00.004-05:00

Naia played her first flag football game of the year today. Well to say she played is probably a gross exaggeration...During the first game I went out on the field with her. Her crying and other parents wondering why I'm making this poor little girl in her striped tall socks and hot pink flower headband in her head, play football. It's obvious that she doesn't want to play. HA! Little turkey begged me to play. Anyways, they were playing a jamboree today, so they played two 15 minute games. She finally played in one play during the last couple of minutes or so. Poor girl. And to say she played....well she stood in the line and moved slightly when they all ran! We had a nice break between games and her coach practiced with the team and she finally got a bit warmed up to acutal play. For the second game I told her she needed to play at least 5 plays. After exactly five plays she took herself out! haha At least she did the 5. BUT when the coach called her back in she just took off! She played most of the game and did great as a blocker! She actually moved her feet during this game and looked like any other scared kid out there! All in all she had a good time. So proud of her for getting out there in the end. Hopefully by the end of the season she'll be a pro!

Consume me from the inside out

2011-09-22T07:41:00.003-05:00

My life as a glamourous mom....

2011-09-18T22:14:00.003-05:00

HA! Well I guess Paxton's not fully over his bug. He hasn't really eaten anything solid in the past two days. So tonight when we went out with friends for dinner like we usually do on Sunday nights and he drank a cup of water I guess it was just too much for his tummy. Luckily my quick super mom instincts/reactions kicked in and when he started coughing I knew it would be followed by throw up. I grabbed the empty chip bag and caught all vomit. Therefore, avoiding any mess! Look at me go! Oh the life of a mom! There's never a dull moment!

2011-09-15T18:33:00.001-05:00

So....Brent Efird has been off work the past 12 days. Kids have been healthy, slept great, no accidents, etc. He left for nightshift an hour and a half ago and Paxton has thrown up on me. Literally on me. On my flip flopped feet. In the middle of the street. Had to cancel Naia's PT conference tonight b/c of that. Now have to go back into town to retrieve Xavier from karate with a sickly baby. AND no husband to help! hahaha....never amazes me how stuff like this only happens during nightshift!

Bad Bad Blogger....

2011-08-24T10:00:00.003-05:00

Well since I've pretty much fallen of the blogging hemisphere....here are some pictures of my (unbiased opinion of course!) beautiful kiddos on the first day of school!

AND....since I'm apparently technilogically inept, there's only one pic of my bigger kids, b/c I think (well pretty sure) that I deleted all their pics except this one that I stole from Brent's facebook page, when I tried adding in Paxton's school pics!

Yard Sale Finds Before & After

2011-07-16T16:10:00.002-05:00

Me being Crafty

2011-07-08T21:11:00.000-05:00

Not so fun vacation

2011-07-07T14:43:00.002-05:00

SO we finally got ready to go on a little family mini vacay. Bags packed and we're off! We get to our destination 3 hours away in lovely Branson after a quick stop to play in the Buffalo River for a bit! The kids could have stayed there ALL day! They loved playing in the water and searching for crawfish under the rocks. So anyways, we get back on the road and finally arrive at the hotel. We had a bit of time before we were going to head for dinner, so we headed to the pool for a bit. All three of the kids absolutely love swimming. Paxton didn't have a floaty with him, so Brent and I had to hold him in the pool the whole time! That was tiring. After swimming we went to dinner at Olive Garen. One of Brent's favorite places to eat. Before dinner we had given the kids the option to go on to Silver Dollar City or to go see Cars2. They chose the movie, so we went there right after dinner. The movie was really cute. The kids all loved it. Paxton keeps telling everyone the line "Hey, McQueen, meet The Queen" It's too funny. After the movie we headed back to the room to get to bed since we were going to make a FULL day of Silver Dollar City the next day.

About 11 p.m. I started getting sickly. By 2:30 a.m. I was waking Brent to get him to go get me some medicine at a Walgreens that was up the road. I was miserable. I hurt SO bad. Finally about 3:30 a.m. was able to get to sleep but my early riser children had us up again at 6:45. I though I was feeling better so Brent took the kids down to breakfast while I got ready and got our room ready for us to leave. By the time he got back I was sick again. SO we headed to another pharmacy to try and find different meds. The pharmacist there told me I was the second person there that morning that had eaten at Olive Garden the night before and was now sick. YUCK! After my doctor called me in some meds, we ended up driving all the way back home. I was sick for 2 days! Oh my goodness. I have never been that sick in my whole life. Even today a week later, I'm still not one hundred percent. I'm so thankful that no one else got sick. I'm the only one that ate salad that night and my dinner. I'm so thankful that Paxton and I weren't sharing. He probably would have ended up in the hospital for dehydration.

SO that was our not so fun vacation! Brent heads back to work tonight and real life begins yet again!

Fire

2011-06-21T12:31:00.002-05:00

Monday morning I got a very sad phone call. At 6:16 a.m. my mom called to tell me that their grocery store was on fire. They didn't have any details at that point other than that one of the managers came in to work early like normal and when he got there it was in flames. The store is a total loss. The building may or may not be a complete loss. Most everything in the store has to be destroyed. Food that would have fed thousands all put in the trash. Some stuff was salvageable. People have been so kind about helping out. I know that my mom and dad are so stressed out. They've been working so hard the past couple of days. They are so upset that someone came into their business and stole from them and then torched the place. Prayers for them and their employees would be so appreciated.

Summer Summer Summer

2011-06-21T12:21:00.003-05:00

We had vbs two weeks ago! Two of our neices came and spent the week with us to go with the kids! So five kids all week! It was tons of fun! They were all really good and had a blast together!

Last week the big kids went to a camp with the neices at their church! We just switched off kids for 3 days! Their church offered a free sports camp. The younger kids went to day camp and the older ones actually spent the night. The both came home so tired, but had a really great time! Having cousins that are their age is just the best thing.

We also bought a new car last weekend. We flew into Houston on Friday night and bought the car Saturday morning and drove all the way home. We got back to our house at 2:00 a.m. Sunday morning. Then I got up and went to church since I had baby dedication for Father's Day and Brent drove to meet my dad halfway from the lake.

First Day of Summer Vacation 2011

2011-06-02T15:16:00.002-05:00

So far today we've been pretty lazy! It was so nice getting to sleep in til about 8 this morning! The kids are having sleepovers tonight to celebrate and our new ice cream maker came by way of Fed Ex today before lunch!

Xavier is already loving his treehouse and the creek. I told Brent earlier that I think this will be "the summer" of the treehouse. He and his best friend are sleeping out in there tonight! We'll see how it actually goes!

Naia is already missing school and is hard at convincing Paxton to play school with her. Most of the time she succeeds. He loves to do anything with her!

Paxton is being a turkey! It's going to be a long summer if he keeps up with his bossiness and just plain being rotten!! hahaha

We have lots of things planned for the month of June already. Not a free weekend in sight for a while. This weekend we have a family reunion. Next week is VBS at our church. The week after that the kids are going to camp with their cousins. The next week Xavier goes to church camp. And the final week of June we are going on a short family vacation! Hopefully somewhere in there we can hit the pool and nearby water parks with friends!

Many Many things going on...

2011-05-13T18:10:00.002-05:00

Must find time to write! Lots has been happening. Last week was Naia's 7th birthday! We had a great turnout for probably the first time ever for her birthday. It always falls on Mother's Day weekend and Kentucky Derby weekend! She had 16 friends here! We had a bump and jump brought to the house and the kids LOVED it! She also had her first sleepover! She's getting SO big.

I"ll have to get pics up later, but also on Easter Sunday, Naia was baptized. I'm so proud of her for her commitment. I can see such a difference in her life already. Such a sweet time for her. I have pics of this too for later!

Tonight Xavier is testing for his blue belt in karate. He's pretty pumped! We're so proud of him for sticking it out in karate. He gets a bit bored at times with it, but has stuck with it and he is definitely seeing his efforts pay off lately!

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T18:49:00.001-05:00

2011-04-23T12:20:00.000-05:00

2011-04-21T20:43:00.001-05:00

Pics from Paxton's party! We had a Toy Story Cowboy themed party! We had a horse come for horse rides, which Paxton cared nothing for! Naia absolutely loved it though!

Happy Birthday Paxton

2011-04-20T11:42:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was Paxton's third birthday! Oh what a day we had! At breakfast we put his #3 candle in his cinnamon roll and sang happy birthday to him! Before lunch, he asked if we could sing again! SO we put the candle in his grilled cheese and sang again. And before dinner he asked if we could do it again, so of course I obliged. So his candle went into his BBQ chicken. Then of course it just HAD to go into his birthday ice cream! We spent the day singing happy birthday and just hanging out! His party was last Saturday, I've been having trouble with blogger letting me post,so this is a day late and the party will be even later!

Funny things Paxton's doing right now: Asking everyone "What time is it?" Chicken time! and cracking up every time he says it! He also hardly ever potties in the bathroom! It's way more fun to pee outside!

A not so funny thing: Still not staying in extended session at church unless it's with a handful of certain people! It's a good thing his momma makes the nursery schedule....

He loved everyone calling him and getting to talk on the phone yesterday. He told everyone about blowing out candles and about his new truck and trailer and buggy!

He can count almost to 25 correctly. Doesn't know any of his ABC's though! And this boy LOVES him some gum! He sneaks it all the time from the compartment in my car! He loves going to the gym to see Ms. Lisa. I think he's just spoiled rotten by all the ladies there! HA! Favorite movies right now are the Toy Story series and he loves Dora and Bubble Guppies! Thank goodness he's gotten off his 3 Ninja's kick!

Throughout the day I couldn't help but think what his birth mother was feeling. Did she wonder what he was doing? Did she say a little prayer for him? Does she wonder what he looks like? All these things go through my head and I know that the answer is yes. Because I do the same things all the time. I wonder if she thought about him, I say prayers for him and her many times a day and I also wonder who he looks like. Does he look like her or does he look like his father. Does he have his grandpa's nose or his momma's eyes? Then there are times that I think, he looks like his daddy. He has his brother's personality. He has his Papaw's eyes. His momma's dimple. His sisters quirkiness! He's so much like us....

Anways, Happy Birthday my sweet Paxton! I pray that you always have this great love for life and for your family. We love you so!

2011-04-05T16:24:00.001-05:00

2011-03-15T18:30:00.003-05:00

I think we're all finally well here. I've been fighting off the beginning itch of a stomach bug, but thankfully I'm feeling much better! I'm loving this day light savings time! Naia & Paxton are sleeping until about 7 until 5:55 a.m. and they kids are able to play outside most every afternoon! Hopefully this week the weather will hold up and I'll get to get some yard work done! Saturday Brent was home sleeping and the kids and I stayed outside ALL day! We left the house around 9:15 that morning and went to a couple of parks. They loved park hopping! Then we went and got yard stuff; mulch & flowers. After that we came home and had a picnic on the front porch. The kids loved playing outside all day. By 2 they were getting pretty tired though, SO I let them in to watch some tv and rest. But as soon as Brent got up they went right back outside! So here's to pretty weather the rest of the week!

AAHHHHH.....Efirds.....RUN!

2011-03-08T11:46:00.002-06:00

I have a feeling this is how people are going to feel when they see us again! HA! In addition to all the illnesses from yesterday's post....Naia was sent home from school today with pinkeye. Yes, you read that right. Yet another illness at our house! At least before they called I had disinfected ALL bathrooms and toys in the house! Maybe this will be the last sickness for awhile!

Sickness

2011-03-07T18:17:00.002-06:00

We've had the sicknesses around here! I had strep a couple of weeks ago. Naia had a stomach. Naia's asthma has started acting up again. We're back on inhalers morning and night and an allergy pill at night as well. She's feeling much better already. Saturday afternoon Paxton started running fever. Ran 102 all weekend. Today it's been at 102.8 most of the day. Went to the dr. this morning and he apparently has the flu. Again. Not fun. No wonder he didn't really want to participate in our photo shoot Saturday afternoon! Poor baby. He's just laid around all day. We missed church yesterday and all he's wanted is his momma and his bankey. Such a sweet boy.

Daffodils & Grass Fields & a Rock

2011-03-05T19:20:00.002-06:00

Took the kids on a little photo shoot today! It was my first and I had tons of fun! The kids did too, except it was a little cold! These are a few of my favorites!

For my friend I prayed

2011-03-02T17:29:00.003-06:00

A few months ago. Maybe even a year ago, I earnestly began praying for a friend. Someone I could call and chat with. Someone I could hang out with. That I could really consider a real friend. I few weeks ago, I realized that my prayer had been answered. In the past year, a friend has become a close friend. Something that most people would really take for granted having someone to call friend, I finally found! The Lord answered my prayer. I can call this friend for good news, bad news, happy news, sad news. She will cry with me, laugh with me and totally gets my struggles as a mom! She prays with me and my children and for me and my family. I could not ask for a better friend. For something that may have seemed trivial, the Lord knew I needed her. He sent her to me.

Isn't it funny how the Lord answers such little things? Like praying a quick prayer when you can't find you keys, or when I can't find enough hangers to hang up clothes. Somehow, I ALWAYS have enough hangers if I remember to pray about it as I'm searching the closet for empty ones! Several little things lately, that in the great scheme of things, are totally insignificant, the Lord has answered!

Tonight I have one BIG SIGNIFICANT prayer that I'd like ALL of you to pray. The man from our church who died this week was such a christian example. His best friend of over 4o years is not a christian. He is struggling with his grief and with God in wondering why God would take away this man. Please pray with me that R.L.R. would be saved. That he would see the love of Christ this week. That during the funeral services tomorrow he would be redeemed by our Savior. Today that is my prayer. Matthew 7:7 says: If you ask, it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and a door will be opened.

Sickness

2011-03-01T17:02:00.002-06:00

For the past two weeks, our house has been fighting sickness. Last week I had strep throat/sinus infection. Friday Naia stayed home with a stomach bug. Thankfully it didn't stick around too long. Nona came up for games Saturday and Naia cheered with her squad. Now poor Naia is fighting some kind of cold. She's been coughing for a couple of days and today came home from school with fever.

We're also dealing with sickness within our church. A beloved member passed away last night after a very short battle with cancer. The reality hasn't sunken in yet that he's gone. I'm sure tomorrow night at visitation, it will hit. Another member is also losing a battle to cancer that he's been fighting for over a year. And yet another has just begun her battle with lukemia. It all just seems surreal that in our small church so many are battling this disease.

As I think of these things, Ecclesiastes comes to mind. There is a time for everything. A time to live and a time to die. A time to stand still and a time to move. A time to be dormant and a time to grow. I may not understand the Lord's ways, but I do know that His purpose will be revealed in His time.

Heavy Heart

2011-02-28T15:02:00.003-06:00

Today my heart is slightly heavy. In a few instances lately, people have really made me question whether or not I make a difference in people's lives. That I'm not quite "wise" enough to make a difference. All these coming from people I consider friends or at least associates. Am I not doing enough to make a difference? Do I not pray enough? Do I not read my Bible enough? Do I not seek His counsel?

I want to make a difference in people's lives. I want them to know that Jesus can make a difference in their lives. I want my preschoolers at church to know Him and I want to make an impact on them. Am I doing enough to do this?

Apparently after some comments, that maybe I'm taking the wrong way, I feel that I'm not doing enough. That I could do better at connecting with people. But am I doing this to gain favor with these people? Or am I doing to for the Lord?

I thought I had a verse here, but apparently I've combined 2 verses to make my own in my head, SO I will post the 2 verses that keep coming to me!

Col.3:2 Set your sights on the Lord and not on earthly things.
Prov.3:6 In all ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths known.

You Are Made New In Christ

2011-02-23T21:20:00.002-06:00

I've prayed many prayers for my children. My first is always for their salvation. Xavier accepted Christ when he was 7 years old. About this time of year. And was baptized in May. That was 3 years ago. Tonight my sweet Naiabean told me that she wanted to become a christian and that she had already prayed the ABC prayer. I was bumfuzzled! Totally came out of the blue in a car full of loud kids on the way to church! We talked on the way to church and then at church for about 30 minutes "before I was sure enough she was ready to be saved"! Our pastor always says that the salvation of a person is NOT something that can be messed up! He says that first step towards repentence is all that's needed! I'm so glad that he preached this just last Sunday. I needed that assurance tonight as I prayed the prayer of salvation with my daughter! Behold, you are made new! She didn't want to tell anyone until she had told our pastor, but he's had a really rough week and wasn't there tonight. We told her Children's director and her daddy! What a special time in her life. I can't wait to watch her grow in Christ!

Xavier in Snowmagedden

2011-02-05T19:06:00.002-06:00

I think Xavier had the most fun outside today of all. Brent and he had a blast having a snowball fight. They also wrestled in the snow! He's becoming such a sweet tween boy! He loves to play but also wants to be grown half the time! Today he just played. I love most of his antics, but occassionally while driving his sister crazy, he tends to drive me crazy as well!

Naia in the snow

2011-02-05T18:57:00.002-06:00

Naia only had marginal fun in the snow! You know she had to get wet and cold and appropriately dressed, so that takes out some of the fun! At least she came out this time! Her friend Brooklyn came over and played with us for a bit and then even took Naia and Xavier to her Poppa's house to sled behind the 4 wheeler! She didn't partake in the snow ball fight, but she did attempt a snow angel! She just liked to look cute out in the pretty snow!

Paxton playing in the snow

2011-02-05T18:46:00.002-06:00

Paxton had tons of fun in the snow! So much so, that he nearly got frostbite! When I brought him in from playing, he had welps all over his legs and wrists where his wet clothes had been stuck to him. It was kind of scary, especially after looking at pictures on the internet! HA! But all is well now!

2011-01-24T14:09:00.002-06:00

Sorry for the lack of posting lately. There's tons going on, but I just haven't had it in me to sit down and go through pictures and actually write a decent post.

We've started Upward basketball a few weeks ago. Xavier's team is doing awesome! I think they're undefeated at this point, but most importantly he's really coming along in his playing abilities! He's losing his baby giraffe look and starting to look and play like a bigger kid! Naia's cheering is great too! She's just a natural on the stage up there cheering! She loves it!

Paxton had his tonsils and adenoids out this past Friday, so right now we're recuperating from that. We had to spend a night in the hospital after the surgery but we're home now and just barely able to get liquids down him. I just keep giving him different options every little bit and hopefully he'll get better tomorrow. Right now he's still taking a nap that's going on 3 1/2 hours. I know this is good for him too! And he's still eating good. He would much rather eat than drink a ton of juice. Funny story about surgery: Before they gave him his "loopy" meds he wouldn't put on his gown or talk or anything to anyone that came in to see him. Since he was the only baby that morning everyone wanted to stop by to see him. Not 5 minutes after taking the meds though, he hammed it up for everyone! He sang the Batman theme song to the dr.s and nurses and just laughed and made us all laugh and laugh. The anesthesiologist said he'd never seen anything like it! HA!

So that's pretty much what we've been up to here. Prayers for our little Pacman would be great. That he would drink and heal!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-01-12T16:25:00.002-06:00

Epic Fail

2011-01-09T21:32:00.002-06:00

SO I did a terrible job of a daily post! HA! So here's a recap!

Tuesday we didn't have to be anywhere after school, SO I cooked a big dinner with homemade tortillas! Only Naia appreciated my efforts. Brent went looking for the store bought ones! They tasted really good, but were a little thick! I also cleaned house all day Tuesday since Brent was off Monday and we did a bunch of nothing! Early in the morning after I had gotten the kitchen clean, I put a chicken on to boil. Oh our house smelled SO good. The smell of clean with homemade chicken cooking! I used the chicken in several things throughout the week for meals. The kids love it and it's a cheap way to get a lot of chicken!

Wednesday Paxton and I went back to the gym. On Wednesday mornings I take a steps class. Awesome! That's how I feel when I realize that I'm actually going to make it through the whole class! Some weeks, I do just fine and others...well I leave at the halfway point! Although those are coming fewer and fewer! After the gym we came home and had lunch and a good nap. I had youth dinner on Wednesday night so after dropping off car pool kiddos, we went into town and got the stuff needed to make cheese dip. I have a really awesome partner and she does most of the harder food and I make the side! I had a great group of kids in Teamkids! We're learning about Moses right now and they are just soaking up everything we talk about!

Thursday Paxton and I headed back to the gym. We didn't stay too long. I was a bit sore from the day before! We came home and cleaned up the house a bit and had lunch and another nap! I've been really tired lately, SO I got back out my energy vitamins and made sure to eat lots of things with good iron in them. After just a couple of days I'm already feeling SO much better.

Friday night we celebrated Xavier's birthday with his friends. He had 3 boys over to stay the night. We had pizza for dinner and the sent them out on a scavenger hunt we had made up for them! They had SO much fun. Shooting BB gun, following a map to find treasure, having to beat Brent in HORSE....just a few of the missions they had. Some of it was even educational! After the 2 hour hunt, we had cake, which by the way, I made. It was pitiful, BUT it was my first attempt at a homemade birthday cake and most importantly....Xavier and his friends thought it was awesome! I'll do an entire post of this with pics soon!

Saturday we had our first weekend of Upward Basketball! Naia cheered at 11 and then Xavier played at 2. We absolutely LOVE our Upward group. They do such a great job of scheduling and everything and it's just SO nice to go to a church and not be the ones running around like crazy and doing lots of stuff! We always enjoy going to on of our fellow churches! Naia did SO good at cheering. She's a natural! Not sure where she gets it from! Xavier also did great at basketball. He's So tall and lanky and still hasn't quite figured out how to coordinate his legs and feet to all run at the same speed and time! He looks like a baby giraffre quite often! And it doesn't help that they play half court still! He had his hands on the ball a bit and even shot it a couple of times! No points scored by him, but his team pulled off an amazing win right at the end!

Sunday, today, we got up and went to church with the anticipation of snow in the air! All we got was cold! Until about 4 this evening, then we finally got some snow. We got a phone call from the school earlier that school is canceled, SO hopefully we'll actually have something to play in tomorrow!

SO That was our week! Maybe this week I'll do better at posting it daily!

Monday 1/3

2011-01-04T21:16:00.002-06:00

Today was our last day of Christmas Break. We started the morning off by going to the gym. I did 5 miles on the bike while reading my GW book! I made it through 2 1/2 chapters! I left a little earlier than Brent to go get Xavier new basketball shoes. This boy has got a big foot! He turned 10 last week and we bought a size 7.5 in mens! It's the first pair of athletic type shoe he's had in at least a couple of years! He's pretty much a converse kinda guy!

After shoe shopping we came home and ate lunch and ALL took a nap. Mondays are going to be crazy for us for the next couple of months. The kids had dance, karate, basketball and cheerleading last night! We weren't all finished with everything until 8 last night. It will be a long Monday every week until March! Since we're not home from 3:15ish til 8 we will be eating out most Mondays! We had Wendy's tonight. We all tried their new fries. I was a little worried that the kids wouldn't eat them with skins on them, but we all loved them! It is definitely an improvement! We'll see how long it lasts!

Brent and I actually made it to bed before midnight last night too! Thank goodness. Dania does not do well with little sleep! 6:40 was rough this morning! I even had to wake Naia up and that NEVER happens!

2011-01-02T21:33:00.002-06:00

One of my blogger buddies does this thing where she docuements an entire week WITH photos so she'll remember what her life was like that week! SO I'm going to attempt that this week! Except I may not have too many pictures to share!

Today was a pretty normal Sunday for us. We got up and went to church. We were late. Sometimes it just cant' be helped. Certainly when I stay up til midnight two nights in a row before! Super Mario Bros. for the Wii is SO much fun! After church Xavier went home with a friend for the afternoon and the rest of us came home and ate lunch and took a much needed nap! Paxton is starting to wear underwear this week and made it through naptime dry! Big accomplishment, right?! After nap, Naia and I went to a baby shower I was hosting at church. Becky got tons of stuff for baby Trystan! I can't wait until he gets here in a couple of weeks!! After the shower I picked up Xavier and we all came home. We had pancakes for dinner! Usually on Sunday nights we go you with friends after church, but tonight there was no church, and since it was unplanned, I didn't have anything on the menu to cook! SO pancakes it was!

The kids went to bed pretty much right after dinner. Last night after a quick 2.5 hour game of UNO they went to bed around 10. Which is really late for our kids! Tonight they were in bed about 7:30!

Brent and I played a little Mario and now he's playing one of his games and I'm working on thank you notes and party invitations!

That's it for Sunday! Hopefully I remember to do this again tomorrow night! HA!

Happy New Year's!

2011-01-01T09:27:00.001-06:00

We had a low key new years eve at home with the kiddos! I made everyone a special food for dinner. Xavier got ham and cressant rolls, Naia and Brent had cheese dip and Dallas Bean Dip, I got Missy's Meatballs and since Paxton eats it all, he hit the jackpot! We all ate dinner in the living room which is a huge deal for our kids! We never ever eat in the living room! After dinner we went outside and did fireworks. Xavier is finally old enough to do bottle rockets alone so he had tons of fun doing that. Naia and Paxton did a TON of sparklers! We had a big package firework left over from a couple of years ago, so we did that too! Happy New Years!

Happy Birthday Xavier

2010-12-29T22:15:00.002-06:00

Tomorrow my baby turns 10 years old. It's SO hard to imagine that 10 years has gone by already. It just doesn't seem possible. I don't have any digital baby pics of him, SO all the pictures will be recent. I laugh all the time, because this son of mine is definitely his mothers child. He loves to read. He loves to explore. He loves animals of ALL kinds! He has a heart for the Lord and that is truly an answered prayer. Xavier has such a tender heart and is so caring and sweet. Last week during visiting our cousins new baby, he and Naia actually argued over who would get to hold Claire again! He loved that little tiny baby SO much. He was so excited when Naia was born and yes we do have normal sibling issues, BUT he would still do just about anything for his sister. And when he would just about anything for Naia, he would do anything for his brother! There's a picture where he's just looking down at Paxton in the airport from coming back from Korea and the love on his face is amazing. I've never known another little boy to absolutely love a little brother like he does his. Sitting here typing this makes me think of how fast the past 10 years have gone and how fast I know the next 10 will go as well. It's so sad! He still loves to cuddle his momma and daddy and doesn't mind at all if we hug or kiss him goodbye at school! Xavier is ALL boy. He likes to think right now that he's so grown up. I look at him sometimes and just imagine the teenager he will be or the young college student he will be before I know it. Happy Birthday Xavier! I love you so much!

Happy Gotcha Day Paxton!

2010-12-22T08:51:00.003-06:00

Today marks 2 years since sweet Paxton was placed in our arms forever! What a two years it has been! He loves singing Jingle Bells. He loves playing with his brother and sister. They dote on him SO much, that sometimes I have to get on to them for babying him SO much! He is such a blessing to our family and we love him "too" much. (When you ask Paxton how much does Mommy love you, his reply is "Too much Mommy!"

Reminiscing....

2010-12-15T11:10:00.002-06:00

A conversation with Naia....

2010-12-14T07:47:00.002-06:00

A little background...On most Sunday nights we typically go out to eat with the same group of people after church. We've been doing this for YEARS! So this conversation takes place as we're trying to figure out where to go eat; which is a weekly dilemma. Brent had already taken the kids to the car and they are waiting for me under the awning with all the doors open while I talk with the rest of the group trying to decide.

Brent: How about Taco John's?
Me: Which one?
Brent: The corporate version.
Naia(screaming out her door) Yeah mommma, the corporate virgin!
Me, Brent, Tracy, and others: HAHAHAHHAHA!

Go Colts!

2010-12-07T16:13:00.001-06:00

Trophy Wife

2010-12-02T07:29:00.002-06:00

Brent: "Hey, my hot trophy wife."
Me: "Oh, you haven't seen me today have you?!"
Brent: I guess you're my hot homely wife today then?!

Thanksgiving

2010-11-28T19:13:00.003-06:00

We started Thanksgiving last Saturday. We celebrated with Brent's family then. There were about 20 people there. It was nice outside and the kids had the best time playing. The kids are really close with their cousins, and they were all SO good. After eating WAY too much food, the adults played Upwords and Scrabble Slam. Too much fun! If you haven't played Scrabble Slam, you should give it a try! It was so much fun. Brent hates playing it b/c you have to all play at the same time and it's a very fast and slightly confusing game! Some of the kids are even getting big enough to play. It was funny to sit back and listen to them trying to play after all the adults were done!

Sunday afternoon I dropped off the kids at Nona and Papaw's. They were out of school for the whole week and were excited to be going. Xavier went hunting every day of Thanksgiving break and did not get a deer! He had a blast though! Tuesday I went to Mena and Wednesday afternoon after playing golf with his dad and brother, Brent joined us. My mom, grandma, and I all cooked and got all the casseroles made on Wednesday so on Thanksgiving day all we had to do was cook. It was really nice. We had a huge dinner. So much yummy food and desserts! Thursday night after resting for awhile we all left Mena. Brent and the kids came home. Papaw and Xavier headed back to the lake to hunt. The girls went to Ft. Smith to get ready to shop on Friday! I just got Xavier back today. Naia was also sick all week. Finally got into a dr. on Saturday and she has an ear infection. I think it may be her first! Hopefully she'll feel better soon!

That just about wraps up our holiday break! We all had a great time. My kids are getting SO big. Xavier was old enough to hunt all week. He also played games with the grownups after the little kids went to bed. He's starting to get some jokes and is developing quite the personality!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-11-17T11:29:00.000-06:00

Xavier Efird: Expository Descriptive 11/12/2010

2010-11-15T10:39:00.002-06:00

MY FAVORITE PLACE TO GO!!!!!
Do you have a favorite place to go? I do! My favorite place to go is in my dreams. The first reason I like my dreams is because I can do anything I want to in them. And just last night I dreamed that it rained hundred dollar bills and I was the President so I got to keep it all. then I donated all $150,000,000 to a hair spray company. The second reason I like my dreams is because when I dream I have to be asleep. Personally, I love sleeping. To me, being awake for more than twelve hours is like torture. Being awake alone is like my kryptonite. The third reason I like my dreams is because I can just relax and be alone. If someone wakes me up I totally lose it. When I am in my dreams I can imagine just about anything. My mom says that I sleep so hard that i could sleep through a hurricane. I hope you can see why my dreams are my favorite place to be. When I am in my dreams, I am as happy as a cow with fresh hay.

SOME GAVE ALL

2010-11-11T10:23:00.001-06:00

Thank you soldiers and veterans for serving so selflessly. Thank you so much for the sacrifices that make every time you put on your uniform. And to my own soldiers, we love you!

Hunter

2010-11-09T07:28:00.002-06:00

We spent last weekend at the lake; Xavier trying for a deer. He looked SO cute all dressed up in his hunting gear! He didn't get a deer, but it wasn't for lack of trying! I should have taken pictures of him and Papaw ready to go, but I only got ones of Xavier. Naia and Paxton just played outside most of the weekend! It was SO cold, but they didn't seem to mind.

Happy Halloween

2010-11-01T19:38:00.002-05:00

Pumpkin Carving and Decorating

2010-10-26T07:50:00.002-05:00

Ten Years Later

2010-10-25T12:34:00.001-05:00

Telling My Age

2010-10-21T11:06:00.002-05:00

This weekend is my 10 year High School Reunion! I can't wait to see everyone. Even though tons of us keep up on FB it'll be SO different to actually see everyone in person! The best part of the weekend is that my best friend from high school AND still today is coming all the way from Florida! We'll also be getting to see the other third of our trio! Should be a fun weekend! SO here are some pics from HS for all of you to laugh at with me!

Something I think Men Don't Get

2010-10-17T21:17:00.003-05:00

This week in church our Sunday School lesson was from Beth Moore. We've been studying the Psalms of ascent. Being at the bottom of the hill waiting to get to the temple for our chance to worship and make offerings. The being at the temple and just praising God and thanking Him for getting us there safely. Well today's lesson was from Pslam 130 & 131. About the Lord being our hope. Redeeming us. Like a weaned child sitting in his mother's lap.

Mom's is there ANYTHING better than sitting down at night with a sleepy, bathed, lotioned, sweet baby. There is nothing better than that feeling. David distinctly says like a weaned child, b/c that child isn't in your lap to be fed. He's there because he KNOWS that there is comfort there. That this is where all is right in his little world. Safe and peaceful in momma's lap right before drifting off to sleep. AND how many of us mom's spend that time praying over our child, praying for him. Certainly is he's sick and not feeling well. In Judges 13 Manoah "entreats" to the Lord. Praying over and over for Samson, his unborn child. There's just something about a freshly bathed, cleaned diapered, pj's on, little baby cuddled in your lap.

All the men in our class just sort of looked at the mom's like we were a little off. But all you mom's out there....don't you just crave the days when your babies were little enough to do this?!

2 Years

2010-10-06T16:17:00.004-05:00

This post is a few days late, BUT I did think of it then, just didn't post.

On October 2nd it has been two years since we first heard about our sweet Jeong Sol. Since that day, that phone call, he as been ours. We just knew. On the day of, I just knew that that day would be THE day. That Thursday Oct.2nd, I would be getting a phone call from Ed. I just knew. Call it a mother's intuition.

Also, on Oct. 1st it has been 1 year since finalizing Paxton's adoption.

And on Oct. 4th, we received Paxton's citizenship certificate in the mail. What an amazing two years it has been!

Paxtonisms

2010-10-05T16:33:00.002-05:00

Last week in church we were talking about Jacob & Esau and I asked the kids who the brothers were. Jacob &....Yeehaw! HAHAHA! The other teacher and I laughed SO hard. He was completely sincere in his answer!

He's also saying funny things like, Cowabunga dude. Excuse you when HE burps. Which he also thinks is hilarious! He's started telling us love you too when you tell him you love him.

Such a sweet boy!

2010-09-27T09:51:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posting lately! We've just settled into our school routine so well, that I just take time to read and then move on! Hopefully I can remedy that.

The weather has been really great here lately. We've had good rain so maybe our leaves will be really pretty in a couple more weeks. We've been really busy at church the past few weeks. We had Back to Church Sunday a couple of weeks ago and we hit a record high of attendence. About 230 people in our church! It was awesome. We had a great turn out for SS and certainly for services. Afterwards, we fed everyone! I got "stuck" (haha....pun really wasn't intended!) making cotton candy! The kids loved it. We had hamburgers, hot dogs, popcorn, drinks, and cotton candy for everyone that came and even a few people from the community that heard we were feeding people for free! Last week we had youth led Sunday. They did a really great job with music, skits, and our intern preaching.

I love watching to see what the Lord is doing in our church! It's exciting to see His people excited again! I love seeing all the new people that are getting involved.

Blogger won't let me upload pictures, SO that's it for today!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-09-15T13:53:00.001-05:00

Brownie Making

2010-09-13T13:48:00.003-05:00

The boys helped me make brownies for a Ladies' Luncheon at church a few weeks ago. They loved getting to do all the work by themselves.

Perfect Day

2010-09-13T13:38:00.003-05:00

This is how we spent a perfect day last Saturday. Daddy has been working a lot lately and we were ALL really happy that he finally had a day off. And the weather was beautiful!

Do You Remember?

2010-09-11T13:19:00.003-05:00

I knew that today was coming up. I knew that this weekend it would be Sept.11. However, when I woke up this morning and turned on foxnews, I had completely forgotten. How easily I forgot. Now as the day is going on, I start to remember where I was. What I was wearing. How I heard about it. I remember a certain few pictures of President Bush from that day. Images that never leave me. Poignant photos of a man that new his country would never be the same.

On September 11, 2001 I had bowling class. I went to class in sweats. When I got home, Brent came out and said "You've got to come see this!" Planes are crashing into the World Trade Centers. I couldn't believe what was happening. It still seems so surreal. That someone had the audacity to come into our country and take what was ours. Talk about a thief in our midst.

Today as I remember that day, I pray for our President. I pray for the families, that may never have closure. I pray for all of our service men and women that are fighting still today for this country.

Where Two or More Are Gathered in HIS Name

2010-09-08T10:40:00.005-05:00

Today this sweet little boy goes in for a cancer scan. Please pray for him and his family! They have fought cancer so hard with such faith and courage the past few months. Today they find out if his cancer is gone if the chemo has worked. I know they would all covet your prayers as they find out results!

Update: JED IS CANCER FREE!!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-08-25T17:15:00.001-05:00

First Day of School Pics

2010-08-23T16:14:00.002-05:00

Paxton excited about the kids leaving!

1st Grade Extraordinaire

Do I really have to take a picture on my first day of 4th grade?!

Good News

2010-08-17T11:27:00.003-05:00

I love reading about good news! I've read a couple of blogs lately about suprise good news and it's so fun to read about! I don't have any suprise good news or really any good news at all, but what about you!? What good news do you have?!

Calling ALL Parents....

2010-08-09T14:40:00.003-05:00

I need help. Actually Naia and I need your help. She can't sleep. She won't sleep. Therefore I don't get to sleep. I don't know what to do. She's 6 years old. She cries, screams, moans, for me ALL night long. She cries b/c she can't get to sleep even though she's been asleep for a few hours. Then she won't go back to sleep in her bed. Last night Brent and I were up with her about 30 minutes before I caved in and put her on the couch with me. I just held her close so she'd quit crying and actually go back to sleep. She did after about an hour. I haven't had a full night of sleep in over a month. Between her and Paxton (who's finally sleeping in his own bed, but wakes up a couple of times a night) the nights are VERY long here. I need prayers. I covet your prayers. I also covet an ideas that would help us! Let me tell you a few things I've tried. Spanking...never works for her! Sticker chart. She didn't really care. We've tried taking away privileges. It doesn't effect her at all. I have made her a pallet in my floor. She does sleep there but not very well. She wakes up with dark circles under eyes. I know she's so tired. I'm so tired. School starts back next week and I'm worried that this will effect her there as well. Nothing catastrophic has happened to her. She's not been away from me much at all this summer. We did watch Old Yeller and this started the night of that. I don't know if it's just habit now or what....

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. We are pretty routine people, so we have a decent summer bedtime routine.

SO much going on...

2010-07-30T12:26:00.002-05:00

We have been so busy. I haven't had time to sit and write forever!

So following our "emergency" on our anniversary weekend, Brent has had lots of follow up appointments. Hopefully our last appointment will be Tuesday very early! Brent has vasovagal syncope. Meaning he faints. Not an issue for his health but possibly for work. SO prayers for this would be greatly appreciated. We've already gotten answered prayers, that he does NOT need a pacemaker for this and that it doesn't effect his health.

We spent a week at my parents house. The kids had swim lessons every day. Naia is doing awesome! She can do a backstroke across the pool! Xavier can do awesome things too! BUT he was more interested in goofing off instead of doing what the girls wanted him to do. Paxton only went to lessons twice! He can efficiently blow bubbles in the water and LOVES to be dunked over and over and over....well you get the point!

This week we've just been playing catch up! Catching up on laundry, DVR, friends! I gues that's it again! Lots going on before school starts in 2 1/2 weeks!

Wordless Wednesdays

2010-07-21T13:18:00.001-05:00

Eureka Springs

2010-07-13T15:39:00.003-05:00

Brent suprised me with a trip to Eureka Springs for the weekend of our anniversary. We were married there 10 years ago and stayed there for our honeymoon at the Flat Iron Hotel. We stayed there again and LOVED it! On the drive there we stopped at the Buffalo and put our toes in the water and walked around a little bit. If you ever go to Eureka, consider the FlatIron. It's right in the middle of the historic downtown. It's beautiful. It's close to everything. We even had an emergency and the owner came and made sure we were okay! We had a goody basket in our room when we arrived with two mini bottles of wine(we don't drink, but they were nice anyways!) fruit, candy, chips, sodas, all kinds of stuff! They were awesome! It is a little noisy but it calms down during the night sometime!

10 Best Things about the past 10 years

2010-07-08T07:09:00.002-05:00

10. You have given me three beautiful children. They may not behave most of the time, but heck, it's pretty funny hearing blah blah blah from a 2 year old sometimes!

9. You let me be who I am.

8. You've loved me through it all. Through happy and sad, chubby and less chubby, funny and not so funny, you're there for me no matter what.

7. You try things that I make for you to eat even if you know you're really not going to like it! You've come a long way in foods that you'll eat though!

6. You're still the one that I kiss goodnight. Someone was talking about kissing a couple of days ago and I thought....it's been over 10 years since I'd kissed anyone but you. You're the only one I want to kiss goodnight or any other time for that matter!

5. You and I say this all the time, but it's true. I'm so glad that I don't have to date anyone or try to date anyone. Being married is work sometimes, but I can't imagine having to go through the effort of dating again! Definitely a best thing about the last 10 years!

4. You don't always buy me flowers by the dozen! I like getting just 10 roses from you or 10 daisies. And I love that you don't always get me roses b/c you know that I love gerber daisies!

3. You are my best friend. We've been friends for so long now, even before we dated, but you are truly the best friend I've ever had.

2. You lead our family so amazingly. You always put us first. You always try to make the best decisions for us. God certainly knew I'd need you to be the kind of man that you are.

1. You're still the one I want for life. Life the past 10 years has been fun, sad, crazy, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. It's been astounding....For the next 100 years you're the only one I want by my side. I love you.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-07-07T08:37:00.001-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

2010-06-30T12:18:00.002-05:00

Soda & Mentos

2010-06-29T17:54:00.002-05:00

Xavier with our gear...

Pulling the trigger.

Lulu checking it out up close and personal

Getting far away...

It was a dud. The Mt. Dew was from Thanksgiving! I found it hidden in the back of the pantry!

Blah, Blah, Blah

2010-06-26T21:19:00.002-05:00

So Naia has been doing this thing where when she gets mad at me or gets into trouble, she's stomps off and (usually) yells to me "BLAH BLAH BLAH!" Well it's only mildly funny when she does this and of course she gets into trouble when she does this. It's usually followed by her going to her room and slamming the door. I try to just ignore that, because for her it's just an attention getting scheme! She usually come out and apologize if I do nothing, but if I go in and spank her or get onto her for that it just escalates the problem. Anyways....Naia has apparently started doing this often enough that Paxton has picked up on it! AND he uses it in the correct context! When he does it, I scold him, maybe put him in time out, BUT usually I'm trying so hard not to laugh in his face! It comes out a little more like Bwah Bwah Bwah instead which makes it funnier! Funny on a 2 year old, not so much on a 6 year old!

Yummy Push Pop!

2010-06-16T15:21:00.001-05:00

I've been saving these for a Wordless Wednesday for awhile now!

Cousins

2010-06-15T15:33:00.002-05:00

My neices also stayed with us last week for VBS. We had a blast with them. Here are some pictures of all the cousins hanging out!

Saddle Ridge Ranch

2010-06-15T15:22:00.002-05:00

We spent the week Rounding Up Questions and Driving Home Answers with all the kids at church! I use to not be a big fan of working VBS, just kind of hanging out and visiting with everyone, BUT for the past two years, I've taught the toddler class. I LOVE IT! They are so stinkin' cute and really love everything about the week! Here are a few pictures from the week!

Memorial Weekend

2010-06-07T12:25:00.002-05:00

These pictures are from Memorial Weekend at the lake! We had a great time tubing and swimming. We also celebrated my dad's birthday. Paxton got a front row seat to all the cake action!

Okay....

2010-06-07T12:15:00.002-05:00

These are pictures from Naia's kindergarten graduation. She was so cute! I love that our elementary school does this! I also found out that they have 4th grade graduation so we'll get to do that with Xavier next year as well!

Long Time No Write...

2010-06-02T08:32:00.001-05:00

We've been so busy lately. I haven't had time to blog appropriately, SO until I do, this will have to suffice! Hope you're all enjoying the first week of summer vacation!

Manic Monday

2010-05-24T20:18:00.002-05:00

Today was house cleaning day in the Efird household. I got up WAY too early, courtesy of Naiabean and just got started. I did about seven loads of laundry today. Along with sweepind and scrubbing all of our hardwood floors. Mopped the kitchen floors. Cleaned the kitchen. Dusted. Put up all said laundry.

Favorite part of the day....listening to my kids play in the water hose with each other! They all came in soaked, but oh they had a good time! Paxton took a turn with the hose and while I had my back turned he squirted me good! So I too was soaked! It was all good though. Now all my babies are sleeping. Paxton is still not sleeping real well, SO hopefully he'll sleep the night away tonight!

Wordless Wednesday: My roses

2010-05-19T11:15:00.001-05:00

Sad Sad Day

2010-05-17T11:38:00.002-05:00

Last week our sweet Kooper was run over. I think I've cried a little every day since then. Especially when I think about Paxton calling him Koopatroo. I miss him every day. Our house is a little quieter and definitely a little cleaner without him around! We loved him for the short time that we had him and will miss him for awhile still.

Naia's Party with friends

2010-05-10T19:28:00.001-05:00

Naia's Birthday

2010-05-10T19:21:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday Naiabean

2010-05-06T07:47:00.002-05:00

Today is Naia's birthday. I can't believe she's 6 years old. This morning for breakfast she wanted her pancakes cut into heart shapes. We looked at her baby pictures this morning also. She wanted me to sing Happy Birthday to her b/c no one else was up yet! So I sang and she just sat and basked in it! Today she took 6 box tops to PE. She is such a sweet little girl. She can also be a stinker, but today's her birthday so I'll just say sweet things! She loves both of her brother so much. She is so good to Paxton. She wants to do everything Xavier does. She loves to smile. She is always loud! To her there is no indoor voice! So to my sweet little Naiabean....Happy Birthday sweet girl.

Dillon Day at the Farm

2010-05-06T07:37:00.001-05:00

Truant Day at the Zoo

2010-05-02T20:35:00.003-05:00

Last week Brent brother, Uncle Aaron, called to see if Paxton and I wanted to go to the zoo with him and Karter, his youngest daughter. She had missed her field trip the week before b/c she was sick so he was going ot take her the next day. Then he said, well heck, Let Naia skip school and come with us! So we did and the next morning bright and early, we took off!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-04-28T10:38:00.002-05:00

2010-04-26T10:44:00.003-05:00

We are so lucky to have a great Marina here at the local lake. They have huge aquariums full of fish found in the lake. They have an actual working bee hive where the kids can look at the inside of a honey comb. They have all kinds of neat stuff there for kids to do and best of all it's FREE! The pics are from Saturday when Brent took the kids while I was at the Beth Moore Simulcast at church. The pics of the nuclear plant is where Brent works and is across the lake! Pretty cool pic of the cooling tower on a cloudy day! Enjoy!

2010-04-20T14:59:00.003-05:00

My baby turned 2 yesterday! I can't believe how big he's gotten lately and how "big boy" he's talking! Just a couple of weeks ago I was a little worried b/c he wasn't saying any sentences yet, but then overnight he just jabbers away! He will tell us "Momma, daddy work?" Xavier, school? Koopachu(our dog kooper) outside? He loves boats, trucks, car cars, and everything Elmo! Or Lala as he's called in our house! He's such a sweet baby. He loves okay, he tolerates giving his momma lots of smackers! And he's starting to "wipe" them off so I'll do it again! So sweet. We are so blessed by this sweet baby boy! We thank the Lord for him every day!

Happy Birthday Paxton!!!

2010-04-19T20:16:00.003-05:00

Toddler Bed

2010-04-12T12:18:00.003-05:00

We moved Paxton into a toddler bed today. We've not been sure for a while what to do about him needing a new bed since he wouldn't sleep in his crib any more and has been sleeping on a mattress on the floor for 4 months now! Well I finally just made a quick decision and bought him a toddler bed. HE LOVES IT! We also bought Elmo bedding to go with it, SO it was a double LOVE! He's even asleep in it right now. Not on my living room couch like he has been the past 4 months! So far I'm loving this toddler bed. Even if it did take me 2 hours to put it together!

Chicken Pox

2010-04-10T08:02:00.003-05:00

So if you know me in real life, don't panic as you read this! We weren't around the church or anyone when he ran fever last week.

Last week on Monday I got a call from Xavier's school to come pick him up he was running fever. So off Paxton and I go. We pick him up and take him to the dr. He has strep. It's been going around town fairly bad. Wednesday, Paxton starts running fever. Off to the dr. we go. He doesn't have any symptoms of anything, just the high fever, so they assume that he's got strep like Xavier. Antibiotics started, two days later, fever gone, just a cranky baby. Come all the way around to Monday. He breaks out in a rash of white dots. I don't really think anything of it, b/c of all his drool, he sometimes has a rash on his chest/belly area. So by Thursday he has the rash and several other spots on his legs and he's itching horribly. SO a week after his fever, we figure out he has the pox. Friday, off to the dr we go again. Yep it's the pox. He's not contagious any more. You're good to go.

I've never had a kid with chicken pox before. It was a little weird even for our dr b/c he hardly ever sees chicken pox. So yesterday I cleaned house. On my birthday to rid it of infectious disease smells! I cleaned earlier in the week, so I just opened doors and windows and scrubbed floors! Now at least it doesn't smell like a hospital and in my mind there are no more chicken pox here! Hopefully neither of the other kids will get it, as they were the only ones around Paxton during his contagious spells. Thank goodness we thought he had strep and kept him home all week last week!

Stay tuned to see what other kind of illnesses pop up around our house in the coming days! Hopefully we will get rid of ALL germs around here!

2010-04-06T07:42:00.001-05:00

SIckness

2010-04-05T21:22:00.002-05:00

Aren't you ALL tired of reading how sick we've been?! It's hit us hard the past couple of weeks. FIrst I was sick then Xavier and Paxton had strep all week last week. What a fun week leading up to Easter with 23 people at OUR house! I would post pictures, but I'm on the small compuer so it will have to wait. I have some cute ones of the kids hunting eggs! We hid about 200 eggs for the 9 kids that were going to be at our house Sunday. We had kids from ages almost 2 to 14 and all the kids hunted eggs and had a blast doing so! Pictures to come soon!

Four Nights of Totally Uninterrupted Sleep...

2010-03-25T17:38:00.002-05:00

can spoil a momma quick!

My mom had the kids for four nights! At first I was a little nervious spending all night alone (Brent's on nights) BUT it was fantastic! I went to bed early. Slept late two days. Shopped during the day! Had lunch with a friend. It was simply amazing. And let me tell you, it spoiled me quickly! I'm now sick again hopefully just with allergy/sinus stuff again, but it's kicking my booty hard this time around. Yesterday I made myself get up and go workout, today not so much! I'm still in my pj's from last night! I've gone through about a box of tissue today and been taking meds like crazy! I haven't run fever in YEARS! And last night and today I've been running a steady 101.7. Even with the meds....SO please pray that I get over this quickly. I have about 20 people coming to our house for Easter and would really really love to not still be feeling poorly!

Satan Ain't Nothin' but a Punk...

2010-03-14T21:20:00.002-05:00

Several times lately I've been in circumstances, whether preaching, conversations or Sunday School where the topic of salvation has come up. I was saved when I was 15 about to turn 16 at a youth revival. I remember being broken, knowing I was a sinner, and accepting Jesus. But lately, I've been doubting or questioning if that faith was real. I know that I do several things at church, I pray, I read my Bible, etc...all things that christian should be doing. (AND please don't think that I'm doing these things perfectly! B/C I'm not!) BUT I do know that I love the Lord with all my heart. Tonight during nursery I had a good heart to heart with a lady I knew I could trust to assure me of my salvation. She told me that YES Satan can attack you when he knows your weak spots. Through the year of emotional ups and downs he has tried to trick me time and again to believe that my salvation is not real. He's such a punk! I thought that he was God trying to tell me something, that I wasn't really saved then. That my salvation wasn't real. BUT IT IS REAL! Just by talking to a friend, I've been reassured. I prayed about it all the way to church that I'd have the nerve to talk to someone tonight. That I would NOT leave church without knowing FOR SURE! The Lord put me in the nursery on a Sunday night when I never have nursery knowing that I'd need Deby tonight. That I'd need her to talk to, to ask questions and get answers with scripture. I needed it and the Lord provided. He's been providing all along. He takes care of his children. I am who He says I am. I am a child of God.