Monthly Update

... And just like that... A month passes by.  We are all doing well, and continue to be so busy.  The kids have school for another week and a day until our 13 day Christmas Break.  I'm looking forward to a chance to slow down a little over those days!!!

Tonight we have Avery's 2nd Grade Christmas Program, and he looks forward to being an "elf" in the program.  I'm excited to see what he has been hyping up! :O)

I thought I would include a link here to view the calendar that I made for Christmas.  With how busy life is right now, I just made one this year instead of making a different one for each side of the family.  Here is the link:

2011 Calendar

Well, I hope to be back soon!  Love to all!  And if I don't make it back before MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!  Blessings to you and yours this Holiday Season!!! :O)

Weekly Update

I can call this a weekly update, because, well, it has only been a week since I last blogged.  Hard to believe that I used to find time to blog daily!

We had a busy week, but mostly because Momma was sick :O(  I've dealt with bronchitis and possibly stomach ulcers.  Whatever it was, I'm feeling much better now! Unfortunately,  I missed 2 1/2 days of work this week, though.  I hate having to miss work!

The kids and Steve have been congested too, but they've kept it manageable with decongestants and tylenol.  I'm thankful that they haven't felt as terrible as I did!!

A highlight from our week, on Tuesday, the 8th... SILAS LOST HIS FIRST TOOTH!  Actually, Grandma Darlene pulled it for him, but it was extremely loose.  He was very excited!  And Nolan kept telling us, "only 3 more years!" and he finally explained that since Silas is 3 years older than him, he realized that he only has 3 more years until he loses his first tooth.  Too cute!  Here is a picture of Silas missing his first tooth:

The house is still a work in progress. I've been sorting through boxes, but this week has really been kind of a "just keeping up" kind of week.  With all of the laundry and dishes and kids' school work, that's enough to keep you busy when you don't feel well.  Maybe this coming week will be more productive and we can finally say we've unpacked the last of our stuff (and we can begin painting the walls any color but white!!)

One other picture from this week that I want to share:

     Silas is reading very well.  He is bringing home books from school to read.  One nigh this past week, I asked him to read to Steve and I, and he ended up with a crowd to read to.  Oh, how we are so incredibly proud of our children!  They are growing so fast, and we adore each and every phase!

Thankful :O)

Hello, all!  We have moved and, as of yesterday, have our Internet installed.  So... I hope to be updating much more frequently now.  I have to warn you that I am not posting interior pictures of the house just yet.  All the walls are white and the downstairs lacks window coverings.  It is very "unfinished" and lacks color big time!  But I am very thankful for this new home, and thankful to be moved and "settled" to an extent.  We plan on staying here for a long, long time (barring anything unforeseen!)

The move went as smoothly as we could have asked for.  I was on fall break Wednesday through Sunday, October 19-23.  We closed on the house on the 19th, and finished moving stuff on the 22nd.  Things are mostly put away, with the exception of our office stuff.  We had a built in desk at the old house and now have no desk at this house.  So, we'll eventually get that stuff put somewhere!  Otherwise, we have stuff in and put away, and are enjoying the walk-in closets and linen closets that we gained at this new home.

The house only came with a stove, as far as appliances go.  We were excited to pick out new and matching appliances.  Anyone that has talked to me since the move knows that I am in LOVE with my washing machine.  It makes catching up the laundry an easy task.  If LG ever needs a spokesperson for their washing machines, I'd do it in a heartbeat.  :O)

Okay, since there is NO WAY I can catch up on everything that has happened in the last 6 weeks, I will just share pictures from a few fall festivities that I had on my phone.  Then, I'll try to do a better job of keeping up on stuff!  Enjoy the pictures:

Cowboy Nolan at his class Halloween "Party."  They did some craft activities, trick-or-treated around the school, and had a special snack.

Avery in his costume at school.  They went for a parade through the older kids' classrooms before their class party.  Avery was Clone Trooper Rex, from Star Wars.

Silas at his class party.  He was a Ninja!

The boys had their first ever "sleep-over."  I found it sweet that they even let Nolan and Chaille play with them.  They enjoyed the big bonus room for the sleep over.

Our school PTO put on a Fall Festival the weekend before Halloween.  I was very involved in helping before, during, and after the festivities.  The boys enjoyed being there all evening and waited in line for face painting.  Avery made a cute puppy, and his friends loved teasing him about sticking his tongue out at them :O)

Such a cute little tiger.  He was sad when the paint wore off overnight.

Grandma Darlene and Papaw Bobby were keeping Nolan and Chaille while Steve and I worked the festival.  They brought the kids up, and Nolan was very excited to be painted up like a Tiger too.  We were very thankful for all the help.  It was a busy night.

Princess Chaille and her sucker.

Trick or Treating our new neighborhood.  We had a fun night as a family.  The people in the neighborhood were very friendly too.  Nolan couldn't decide whether he wanted to wear the skeleton shirt or be a cowboy, so he told people "I'm a cowboy skeleton!" lol.  Chaille didn't know what to make of the scary costumes some of the kids wore.  She still tells me "that boy was all BLOODY!"  He came to our door and she hasn't forgotten!

Avery and Silas were so excited and enjoyed themselves.  I couldn't keep up with them for pictures! 

Yesterday, Nolan and Chaille climbed up in the chair together and sat this way for a long time.  I thought it was too cute to pass up the photo opporutnity.  I'm so thankful for children who love one another.  My world is a happier place because these children love me and each other!

Friends, I'm sorry that I haven't done a good job of documenting all that is going on in our world.  It has been a time of great transition in so many forms.  I am thankful to be moving on to more stability in our lives.  I hope to be blogging more frequently now.  Have a blessed day, and I'll be back SOON :O)

We're still here! :O)

After many requests to update the blog... I'm HERE :O)

I'll do the best I can to update you briefly, but I will say that our life is no less busy now than it was before.  It's BUSIER!

First, the house situation:  We closed on the old house, and things went as smoothly as we could have imagined.  We currently live in the office at Randy and Deb's.  The accommodations are fine, for temporary.  But it feels a bit like camping... AND The new house is in the works.  We've had our offer accepted, had the home inspection, and begun the loan paperwork.  We have to close the loan by October 21st, and will receive possession at closing.  Yay! So, here is a picture of the new house:

The new house has 4 bedrooms, so Avery and Silas have agreed to share.  It also has a huge bonus room upstairs that the kids are very excited about.  For more details... call me :O)

The school year has gone very well so far.  The boys are playing youth league basketball, however, Silas broke his left wrist (the opposite one from last November) and so he has to sit out :O(  I LOVE my job, but I have to admit, it has me itching to be back into the gym teaching.  I still enjoy what I am doing now, but I know that my niche is physical education.  Hopefully I'll someday be back to that position!

Well, I really need to do much more catching up, but it's not going to be right now.  Moments to relax are rare, and I'm going to take advantage of this rare moment of quiet (kids are already in bed) and relax with Steve!  Hope y'all are doing well.  I'll try to catch up more soon!

Another "Catching-Up" Post

Sorry that I haven't updated more frequently.  Our lives have remained just as busy as they have/had been!  To put things in a nutshell, the house is still "in the process" of being sold.  We have no closing date as of yet, and we are trying to be patient, as we are really in no hurry.  I have recently accepted a position in the boys' school.  I will be working as an assistant.  My job will be multifaceted, and I will spend my mornings assisting the preschool teacher, noontimes in the lunchroom doing supervision, and afternoon working as an intervention specialist, working with students one-on-one.  I'm very excited for this job!  I will be with Nolan while he is at preschool each morning, will see both boys at lunch, and will be able to take them to and from school each day, because I will be going with them! :O)  I do feel sorry for Chaille, because she is going to have the biggest adjustment to make.  But, she and Nolan will be staying with one of my best friends, and they will be close by.  So, I know she will be in great care.  It will just be a big change for her, after 2+ years of life, having mommy at her disposal 99% of the time!

So, here are some pictures of some of our fun, crazy lives.  I've got to admit, I've not done well this summer at taking pictures! Oh, and as usual, they are in somewhat RANDOM order...

Daddy/Daughter Kisses... Nothing sweeter!

Our monkey, Silas, enjoying the rope swing at gymnastics open gym.

Avery is a monkey too!

Nolan LOVES the gymnastics place!

Avery, Bayleigh, Silas.  These three are quite tight!

Nolan enjoyed the rope swing too :O)

Aren't they so cute???

Chaille even did the rope swing!  Not bad for a 2 year old!

My 3 son, swimming at Grandpa's.

It has been a hot summer! 

I LOVE these children :O) :O) :O) :O)

Funny faces.  They melt my heart!

Silas was being silly in his underoos and his daddy's boots!

He tucked himself in bed one night.  We couldn't find him, and this is where he was!

They were enjoying cups of ice and "shooting the breeze" on a hot hot day!

Daddy's HOME!

The boys enjoyed the Reds game, and a BOYS night out!

Chaille after playing in the hose.  This is a new app on my iPhone. Photobooth.

Avery and Bayleigh when we went to see the Smurf movie on Silas' birthday.

Silas' photobooth, from his 6 year check-up and kindergarten shots.

Brothers, being sweet!

Nolan's Photobooth

Avery's Photobooth

Grandma Darlene & Chaille out at papaws work.  We went for lunch.

Avery and Silas at the camp too.

Silas' 6th Birthday cupcake for breakfast!

Another House Update

Things with the house have moved very smoothly so far.  We countered the offer given to us, and the buyers accepted it without any further countering.  The home inspection was last Wednesday, and we were asked to do 3 VERY minor things to help the home pass the FHA inspection.  So, we are awaiting an appraisal, and the FHA inspection.  After those two steps, we will schedule closing.  It seems that God has His hand in this, as so far we have not had any issues to overcome.

We are getting excited about finding our next home.  But, now that ours appears to be almost "sold" we are starting to look more seriously (we've been looking since the winter, but not seriously.)  It is funny how what appealed to us before, suddenly has us unsure, now that we CAN look.  I kept telling myself not to fall in love with anything until it was "time" to buy.  Now that it is, it is HARD to decide what we want.  We are still apprehensive as to when to make an offer, because we don't want this deal to fall through on our house.  And we really don't want to have to make contingency offer.  We allowed our buyer possession at closing though, so we will have a "lay-over" between selling and buying.   Thankfully, Mom and Dad Frye are willing to let us stay with them for a stint.  We pray that it won't be too long or too overwhelming.  Imagine... going from just the 2 of them to having our big, busy, noisy family around all of the time!!!

We are blessed to not have to rush to find something.  Please pray for us to find the perfect home where we canspend the next SEVERAL years!  And please pray for Randy and Deb.  They aren't going to know what hit them! LOL ;OP

House Update

For those of you following the house situation... The people who came on Saturday came back yesterday and made us an offer.  I'm not going to disclose that info, but we are pretty happy with it.  We've got some fine tuning to do to clarify some things.  This appears promising and we are a little floored to have such interest so quickly.  I'm not sure I'm "ready" for this to be happening.  But... Here we go!  :O)

We've done so much work on the house in the past 2 1/2 years.  I'm very proud of it.  I'm proud enough to show some pictures that we used for the realtor, if you will let me "brag" a little: