The TY and Mom show....

Tyler was home sick today with STREP throat and we are being lazy, playing on the computer, watching TV, and just being silly together...

Been awhile since we had a light hearted fun post, so we thought we would have some fun with the flip and video ourselves.

The lighting is bad, we have not had showers and we look rough...and I am pretty sure we might smell too, good thing there is no smellavision yet!! but we are having fun...Thanks to my friend Dianne's blog for the idea..

No making fun of us..but please feel free to laugh with us and have a good time watching them...

* the video with Tyler reading the words, answering the questions and flipping his hair like Justin Bieber...is not downloading..so stay tuned for that...that boy is a mess!!

Too precious for words...

Meet Anderson Knox Spears...he is my precious nephew and I can not tell you how sweet this lil guy is! He is smiley and cuddly, and really is just the best baby there is. He has an amazing story, and you can check it out on my sister's blog the spears family on the blogs I follow list to the right.... He is a blessing to all that know him...love this lil man!!! I wanted to introduce him to you all, I hope you take the time to read his story and see along with us that God is more powerful then any DR, and only he knows how things will turn out ... oh yea and stay tuned for a fun post with me and Tyler (if I can get the video to download..it is taking forever!!!!!)

Right place right time...

Do you ever feel like God had a hand in where you are at a certain place and time?? Well that happened to us today. We were on our way to the grocery store after Tyler's bball game this afternoon and as we pulled into the parking lot I saw the SUBWAY restaurant that is in the same shopping complex and I said to Warren " yum SUBWAY sounds good today." He agreed so we ended up changing our plans and headed into the restaurant. When we walked in we noticed it was super hot in there, and it was kinda hard to breathe. As we were ordering a young girl (probably 19-21) walked in and you could tell she had been working out, work out clothes, red face, sweaty hair. She got into line behind us, we were done ordering and was paying our bill when she sat down to wait for her food to be made, and us to get out of her way. In a second of sitting down she went into a full grand mal seizure! Warren and I ran to her, Warren grabbed her head and held her shoulders while I got down and got her bottom half (we know not to normally touch a person other then to make sure they are not injuring their head, but she was sitting in a chair..so we were not holding her down we were barely holding her just enough to keep her from hitting her head or hurting herself) we knew what to do, what to watch for, if she stopped breathing and to look at the clock and see how long it lasted, and most importantly how to stay calm. She came out of it pretty quickly, and refused the ambulance the employees had called for. We sat with her for a while, got her a drink, and a cool rag, and paid for her meal. We shared with her how our children both have epilepsy, and asked if she had ever had this done before, she said only once and that it had been when she had gotten too hot. We offered to take her home, because I really knew she shouldn't be driving, but she said she lived just around the corner, so we told her we hoped she felt better soon, and to make sure to let her dr. know what had happened. She was embarrassed and hated that we had already paid for her meal, and was just ready to get home. I have thought about her the rest of the day, I hope she made it home, I hope she doesn't live alone, I hope she called someone and I hope she follows up and calls the dr.. I cried when she left, and I really was a bundle of nerves. I was shaken, it was scary and we had handled it calmly, but afterwards I couldn't stop thinking about Emily Klair and Tyler being that age and having a seizure in a public place and how I hope there are people there that now what to do. I thought lots of things after our visit to SUBWAY, and I do believe with all my heart that we were meant to be there today.

Can breathe again...

So Thankful, Grateful, blessed beyond words...that is how I am feeling this morning, with a little bit of sadness, and a little case of the whys thrown in. I am so happy to have a diagnoses and for it to be one we are already familiar with, not to mention the best possible outcome of what it could of been. I am going to be honest here for a minute,I am a little sad, mad and frustrated that my children have to go through this. YES I know it could be much worse, YES I know that I need to count my blessings, YES I know that this is not the end of the world...but I can not stop the momma in me from wanting to take it away from them. For them to not even know the word epilepsy and what it means, for them to not be scared, or have to take daily medication. But this is our life and we will settle into a new routine, and we will take care of business. Tyler is being a man about it, and by that I mean he is not talking about it, says he isn't scared when he clearly is, and acting as if everything is normal, like I said he is being a man about it.HAHA I know when he is ready he will ask questions and want to talk about it, and we will be here when he is ready. So last night I went to Zumba, with a new friend.....and wow, after hearing the good news, jamming and dancing my tail off to some great music I felt soo much better! It was a great night!! and if you have never tried zumba you should....it is full of laughing, dancing, twisting the hips, and just having a overall great time!! Tonight Tyler has a jump rope performance at a basketball game, it is always so fun to see them jump, nerve racking but fun! so stay tuned for some video clips to come... IT feels so good to be able to breathe again...

soooo.....the verdict is......

well I wish I could tell you!! I wasn't going to post till we knew forsure but well we still don't know!!! We got a call from the dr. on Monday night that said the one test was read and the results of that was either an epilepsy disorder, legions on the brain, or a tumor and without the MRI he couldn't tell us exactly which one it is.... So we wait, till he gets the full MRI report and we pray! None of the options are the best but with the epilepsy we have knowledge in that area we know about the meds, the way it effects our daily life and his, it is the best options! One I wish Tyler didn't have to deal with at all but one that we know about!! I shudder when I think about the others, and really I am trying to not worry, bc it is happening whether I worry or not, right?? But it is soo hard!!! Fingers and toes, arms and legs crossed we hear from the DR. today!!!

Waiting really stinks..

Well we don't know any details about yesterday yet?? What we do know is this..his eeg showed something in the left hemisphere of his brain, we were told that they were going to fax his test to Vandy as soon as possible...that they had already tried calling over there to get the Dr. to read the test while we were there, but he had stepped out so they were sending the test for him and he would read it yesterday and send the results to our Dr. yesterday afternoon...so if we didn't hear from our Dr. over the weekend, we need to call him Monday morning. It could be anything from a seizure disorder like EK, to something abnormal in that part of the brain..we just have no details right now so we know nothing!!! Other then we know that there is something going on... The MRI went smoothly and of course they are not allowed to say anything..not even do a wink and nudge, or nothing so we have no idea of knowing what that showed, the tech just said we should hear something first of the week.... so we wait, and really we are trying not to let our minds wander, we know that God is in control and no matter what we will take this challenge on just like we have every other challenge that has come our way...with God on our side, trusting in him, and believing that with him all things are possible. on a side note the tech (along with lots of people) think my lil man looks like Justin Bieber...she just kept on and on about how cute he was, she even wanted to take a pic of him and send it to her niece who loves "Jason Beaver" (the tech kept calling him by the wrong name..haha) I know he is a cutie pie, but it is nice to have others tell me how handsome he is... but after the night of beating mom so bad on the Wii and a morning of hearing how cute is he..it really is a wonder that ole head of his fit into the mri machine :)

CRZY FUN..

so me and Tyler have been up most of the night and we are sooo tired but wanted to share some highlights..ahem ok maybe just some silly moments.. Tried to play charades but he after his..Avatar The last Air Bender....(umm yes he did what you think...all I could do was laugh and laugh..he is a nut!!) I couldn't compose myself..so done with that game.. He kicked my tail at Mario cart, basketball and sword play....on the wii..can you believe he actually told me he was done because he needed competition!! I mean really?? He is his father's son!!! We got on FB and played a little family feud..and price is right...we laughed so hard bc well momma is tired and can't type well and we had answers that were what the word here..outta of this world!! crazy answers with crazy spelling equal not doing so well but laughing so hard you cry!! haha Well it is 5:18 am and we have about 5 hrs left...will have a full post on his test later probably after we know something...but for now I am off to try and beat him at something or his head is going to get sooo big it won't fit in the MRI machine :)

Some of my other kiddos...

Back to back District Champs...2010 VolleyDawgs!!

having fun after a week of two-a-day practices in the dog heat of summer...

we start the season in July...well our gym has no ac..in the summertime it can be over 100 degrees in that gym..and you will still find us in there sweating it out...our girls work very hard and we are always very proud of them!

We try and make it fun, we have crazy hair day Wednesdays, team bonding parties, we dress alike for practices and to travel, bc we are a team..we are one!

I love volleyball!! I love the sport, I love the family feeling we have as a team, I love everything about it!!

These are some pictures of some of my other kiddos...I love working with teenagers, whether its church, or coaching.

They are in a world all there own and if they let you in, you better treat it with care and treasure every moment of it...

I have coached for 6 seasons now and have been through lots of fun, hard, trying, awesome moments, that I wouldn't trade for anything!! My kiddos have grown up in the gym with me, I take them to every practice and most games just depends on how far we travel and what is going on with them (ie..if they have practice themselves or gymnastics or something)the girls are very sweet to them and love on them!!

I am lucky enough to get to do this with one of my best friends in the world, we are very similar and try and make volleyball more then just a school sport. We try and make it a family with lots of fun and having each others backs no matter what is going on. I think very few people in their lives get to experience the type of friendship we have with one another, she truly is a part of my family!

I just wanted to show off some of my other kiddos...I am one proud momma to a team of wonderful young ladies....past players and present players, looking forward to many more seasons to come.

Random Ramblings.....

I have started lots of post lately and have not finished any of them?? Why, you ask?? Well, I would love to give you an answer but I can't...I start out great and the post is coming along nicely and then POOF I lose it, no thoughts, no flow, and then all of a sudden the post no longer makes any sense. So please excuse this post if you can not make heads or tails out of it...I have lots of things on my mind right now. Some positive, some negative, and some are just deep thoughts or better yet ramblings of a crazy person. Today was the first day back to school for us since the snow days and lets just say I was not curled up in the corner of the room, rocking and singing Jesus loves me at the end of the day...but it is not because I didn't want to do it!! It was a crazy day in my classroom! I am not 100% sure on why that was, I just know that I said over and over today..."sit down please, please take your seat, one at a time please , sit down please, please stop banging your markers on the table...."and on and on it could go!! My little class of sweethearts are great and were just excited to be back at school, but seriously I hope that Thursday is a better day, but in case it isn't just look for me in the corner rocking and singing to the top of my lungs! We are going Friday for some testing for Tyler, and we have done all of these test before with EK so we are not new to the process. Although there are some things that are new to us because with EK she was so little that while it was hard to keep her awake for hours it was easy to get her to go to sleep. They want us to put Ty to bed @ normal time then wake him up in the middle of the night and keep him awake, no problem, I am a night owl so it should be easy...well they threw in a new twist, they not only want him just awake they want him to be active, really?? active?? in the middle of the night??? So what in the world and I am going to do to keep him active and not wake up the whole house, or neighborhood for that matter? The lady at the Dr.'s office suggested taking a walk, playing bball, ummm you do know its winter time outside right?? and it is going to be the middle of the night right?? I think I actually laughed at her, but do you blame me? I warned you this post was going to be all over the place..that is how my brain is functioning right now..I feel like the dog on the movie UP... squirrel, back to normal conversation..squirrel.. haha Warren survived another upgrade at work this week (I think it was an upgrade?? I just know it was crazy busy and he had to be there early in the morning/late at night whichever way you look at it..around 2:00 am) and EK is doing great!! I am really blessed to have such a great family!! I love them all so much!! Well, I hope that I can get some of my post I have been working on posted this week because one of them for sure is part of my story...it is a recent one and one that not alot of people know about...it is the story from MY view point and how it effected my life, and those I love so dearly. It is my opinions, my reactions right or wrong, and it is all true, it opened my eyes to somethings that I never thought I would have to deal with, you know the saying NEVER SAY NEVER?? This particular story showed me that there is not a more true statement then this!!

Training day 1....

So the training for the 5k is getting started today. I am nervous, excited, and really just ready to get started. I am nervous for lots of reasons, one being I am only 8 weeks out from my shoulder surgery, I am still in PT and still not allowed to lift more then 5 lbs and well lets be completely honest here...I am getting better and back to normal but still have some pain...but I am the most nervous because I was running when I tripped and fell, that hurt my arm so bad! To say I am nervous is an understatement! I am going to try the couch to 5k running program since I am fairly new to how this all works. So today is day one...wish me luck!!What was I thinking???

10 yrs old...double digits..when did this happen?!?!?

Tyler is turning 10 on Sunday....double digits, really?? when did this happen???

He is such a special boy, and I look forward to many more birthdays with this lil man!!

He is really into sports..football, basketball, and Soccer!! He is a handsome one and very tenderhearted!!

So Happy Birthday to my lil man!!!

Just a little video of his game last Saturday...not sure which one it is...so I hope it even has him in it..haha my computer has a mind of its own some days!! haha

I wrote about his birth story last year it is a 4 part series..it is called Remember when...so if you have some time take a look at it...this boy is a miracle..I know every child is but Tyler has a little extra miracle thrown in!! Its a good read and a even better story!!

Family time is the best...

I have never lived under the same roof as my two youngest sisters, I was already married when my parents adopted them. I am so very thankful for them, and I love them very much. They are my sisters and I can not imagine my life without them! They have loved and cared for my kiddos, and they are the best sisters anyone can ask for! *my sister Krysi and my mom..

*above picture is my sister Krysi and my dad..bottom picture is of my sister Jesi and EK...

I love spending time with them and as they get older I hope they feel the same way about me, and my little family. My kiddos love them and they have learned so much from them...I am very big on family time and usually that comes first before anything else!! I am thankful to have a big family with lots of sisters, because it is wonderful whether it is baking cookies, playing on the four wheeler, or just hanging out, family time is the best!!!

Sledding and playing in the snow...

Here are some pics of us sledding and having fun in the snow...we had another great day of it today !

SNOW!!!!!!

* view from our front door....

*our humble abode

Well, we are out for a snow day today and have big plans of getting all decked out in our snow clothes and headed out to play and sled the the day away!! Warren had to work today so that is a bummer but fingers crossed he won't be there all day as it is suppose to start snowing again this afternoon!!

So later today I will have a great post with lots of fun pictures of the kiddos and I out playing in the snow, but for now I will just leave it with these pictures of some really beautiful snow..that is just begging us to come and play in!!

*one view from our back door...

His sparkle is gone...

It is hard to think that this perfect looking child about gave us a heart attack 2 nights ago. This lil man is getting back to himself, but still afraid and wants to sleep with us, which we are allowing till we know more about what happened. You can see in his eyes he is still wore out and still quite pale, but he is doing well. Although because I am the mom I still say he doesn't look good, he looks different then he normally does, if you know him you know the sparkle that is in his eyes, I think that is missing right now...but that is just me!

Here he is getting some advice from the coach...aka daddy!! Basketball season is always so fun because they get to spend some quality time together...Daddy and his little me!

We let Tyler play basketball Saturday, thought it would be good for him to get back to doing normal things, that he loves so much (anything sports!!)...he is still really tired, but feeling fine.

We have to wait on the peds clinic here in town to call and let us know when our appt. with the nuero is, but since we are already patients there bc of EK I am not going to wait too long on them. I will call them myself if I have to. I want to get some of these test going, because this waiting and watching and wondering if it is going to happen again or not is whats the word I am looking for here???? ummm well it just really really stinks!! for a lack of a better term.

I am having a hard time turning my brain off right now. I have a horrible case of the what if's?? I know I said I am not going to worry and I am not going to be negative and I am trying, really I am. I am thankful I heard him, I am thankful that it only lasted 2 mins and he came out of it on his own, I am thankful that all the test so far have been normal. I am however having a hard time not picturing him all contorted, his eyes rolled back, and the twitching, convulsing all of that won't leave my mind. Every noise he makes in his sleep I am up and looking watching and really just holding my breathe till I know he is ok....this is all normal I know but right now that is how I am feeling...he of course knows nothing about how I am feeling towards him, his parents are being normal, loving him, playing with him, and making him do his chores and really just being the normal annoying parents we are right now..I mean he is 10 yrs old so you know how that goes.

I am thankful for friends and family and all the prayers that have been said and are being said for Tyler. I know that his sparkle is gone right now but soon it will be back and shining brighter then ever!!!

Just another chapter..

Well, we added another chapter to our life tonight...

I refuse to be negative, I refuse to be a worry wart, I refuse to imagine how our life is going to be after tonight because we know nothing yet...and really what good could it really do?

My Tyman has been having migraines that have been getting worse and even resulted in him throwing up at school the other day because of the pain. All week he has just said he doesn't feel good but he is isn't sick, just different. He has complained of belly pain, and headache, but has went to basketball practice, church, school and ate just fine.

So last night we go out to eat and have a GREAT night, the kiddos and Warren kept me entertained with being silly and doing some funny impressions of the movie "Despicable Me" it was SO funny, and really it was a great night!! We get home and get the kiddos ready for bed and after they had been in there for about an hour I hear something.

I look at Warren and say " I hear choking, is Tyler choking?" in which he replies "no, I don't hear anything" at that point I think why am I arguing with you I know I hear something...so I ran to Tyler's room as I got there I notice he is moving, then I flip on the light because he still sounds like he is choking, and that is when I see that he is not just moving he is convulsing. Eyes rolled back in his head, face distorted, drool/spit up (is he too big for it to be spit up yes, is that what it looked like though yes)and white as a ghost. He was breathing but was struggling, it lasted about 2 minutes, but in real time seemed more like an hour.

I screamed for Warren, and he got there in a flash picked him up, I got EK and out the door we went for the ER. By the time we got to the car he was alert and scared but was breathing just fine.

Now we have experience with seizures, EK has had them since birth and is on 2 different meds right now to help control them, but to turn that light on and see Tyler having one is ummm well I can't write about it, it is a feeling I can't describe, it was one of the top 5 scariest things I have ever seen. We are headed to his reg Dr. today and then probably on to Nashville to see EK's ped neurologist for more testing. Everything they did at the ER last night was normal..and we are thankful for that!!

Tyman has already overcome so much, spina bifda, dog attack, scoliosis this is just another chapter in his story. He is a strong smart athletic wonderful little boy that we love SO much and are SO proud of!!!

So as I said earlier I refuse to worry...yeah right who am I kidding?? ok well I am a mom that is my job!! But I am dancing it out today..praising God that he was laughing and being his silly self by the time we got home last night and that every test was normal last night...

Fear is different then being scared..

Do you ever come home from being out and look around your house and say something along the lines of "hmm I don't remember that being there??" Well, I come home and I check everything, every time and I know whether or not something has been moved or out of place, in pretty much one glance around the room. I have this sick sense about this type of thing, I am not proud of it and wish I could turn it off. When I was around 4 yrs old our house was broken into, more then once and one time my mother, sister and I were home. One of the nights my family and I were returning home from church on a Sunday night, I was the first one through the door, I stopped looked around and all the kitchen cabinets and drawers were open, I asked why did you leave all the doors open mom, at that moment my father pulled me back out the door by my little ponytail and put us all back in the car to wait on the police. I remember going through the house with my parents, looking at everything, the front door had been kicked in, making a list of everything that was gone or broken, and being scared of the police men. I really don't remember much about the one incident where we were home, just stuff that I have heard from my mother about that night, but I think it is in my head and I some how refuse to remember it. Because, I have horrible very real images in my dreams of being in bed and people coming into my room and my house at night. That feeling of being watched, or just the sense of other people touching my things, sometimes these feelings happen while I am still awake and it is soo horrible. I have woke my hubby up numerous times and made him walk the house with me to prove there is no one there. Now don't get me wrong I am not a scaredy cat that is afraid of every little bump in the night, I have a fear and a fear is different then being scared...it is much worse. I can not fully tell you how paralyzed with fear I get some nights, I can tell you for the many times that I have woke my hubby up there are a dozen more times that I lay there scared but don't want to bother him yet again. Just about a month and a half ago our vehicles were broken into while they were parked in our driveway, I knew mine had been touched before I even got in the car..they got my purse and spent around 900 dollars on my debit card, and got my camera (that had vacation pictures on it and a ton of other things on it I wish I had now), and some other things that weren't important but was mine not theirs! Since that break in I have had a horrible time sleeping, I am fearful of every noise, the anxiousness I get before I open the door after being gone for awhile is getting worse, because I just know someone is going to have broken in my house. I wish I could turn off the looking and making sure everything is in its place, I have started doing it every where at home, my room at school, my vehicle...everywhere. The people that broke in to my vehicle had nothing on their minds but getting money or goods they could sell but with that one night they have made me feel just like that 4 year old fearful little girl all over again....

It's all about me......

So where do I start with my story?? All I can think of right now is that song from the " The Sound of Music" ... (MHMM clearing my throat)......Let's start at the very beginning, the beginning is a very good place to start... The only problem with that is, well I am not sure what beginning I want to start with?? (*me at Christmas..and looky that is my new way to sit..holding this stupid shoulder bc it hurts all the time..propped on a pillow bc really is there any other way to hold it?? no not for me...I am soready to feel normal again!!! atleast I am finally out of the sling though..there's a positive!!!) So instead I am going to start with how I feel right now, go from here and try and get some of these thoughts together and more coherent before I dive in... First off I am tired of this shoulder surgery crap!!! I am tried of not being able to put my own bra on, get completely dressed by myself, put my own hair in a ponytail or my favorite the messy bun!! I am tired of not being able to lift anything, to making it till about 3o'clock then feeling as if my arm is falling off, and having to take my pain meds, that I am trying desperately hard not to take because of a whole other reason...I am tired of kicking around the laundry baskets from room to room bc I can't lift them and having a hard time doing even the simplest of chores bc I have very limited use of my arm..tired of a house that looks like a tornado hit it, and tired of feeling like poo!! And I feel like poo because I still can't sleep, unless it is in the recliner or on the couch with lots of pillows...I feel like I am barely keeping my head above the water and honestly on most days just want to cover up my head and stay in the house. On a more positive note, the hubs and I are talking with another couple about running our first 5k in April...I am so excited. I have never talked about this here but I have tried over and over to get my skinny hubby to help me work out, to be my partner in this, and it has never worked out. By that I mean he has never agreed to do it, his comments are always "I am content with being lazy.." well good for you Mr. you can eat what ever you want and be skinny, well I can't and I have never been skinny (ever I mean it, earliest memory I have is at church, and being told you by an older lady that I would be so pretty if I were not so plump so I should quit eating potatoes..)and I want to be!!!!!!So for him to agree to go through the training and run it with me words can not express how excited I am!! I have always been the big girl, ok maybe a better way to describe myself is the funny fat girl. I was funny because I thought I had to be to have friends and such. I really truly thought that was the only reason people hung out with me, if I was funny I had no room to cry, or be sad, or even think about how big I was/am. You see I am talking about this like it is in the past, well its not! I am still the big girl, I am still the funny fat girl...guess what I am tired of being the funny fat girl!! I would love to try on the funny skinny girl that is comfortable in her own skin. I know I embarrassed my parents, sister, grandparents. I feel like an embarrassment, a failure, it is hard for me to describe how I feel about myself...I am not blaming anyone here because I am the one to blame, but being called Shamu, chubby, fatty, and constantly being told to lose weight did not help matters. I can not describe it, I can not explain how I feel about it...all I know is I am tired of being an embarrassment, tired of thinking there is nothing I can do this is my life, I am tired of pushing myself to work my butt off and losing nothing!!!not one pound!! that is what happened 2 summers ago, went to the gym 5 days a week, watched what I ate, only drank water...so on and so forth for what....nothing!!! I didn't even drop a size in clothes, my work out partner did she lost almost 25 lbs and a sz in clothes...me nothing nada all I did was improve my endurance and prove to myself that I could do an hr on the elliptical and not die..hahaha! I want to teach my children about living healthy, I want my daughter to be happy in her own skin, I want them both to have the confidence I never had. I want them to have a mother they can be proud of. I want my hubby to have a wife he can be proud of, he loves me no matter what, I mean he married me knowing I was a big girl, but he deserves better!! This post is negative and I am sorry for that because that is not my style, but that is my thoughts today...and no it is not a poor pitiful me kinda feeling, it is a sick and tired kinda of feeling!!! Ready for a change and trying to figure out how to do it...so sorry for negativity and know we will be back to our regularly scheduled blog post tomorrow!!!

Back to reality...

Well, today was the first day back to school for the kiddos....

I went back to work today....

and all I could think about all day was my precious kiddos and how much fun we had over break.

We didn't do much, we played Wii games, watched movies, and was, well just plain lazy in every sense of the word!!!

I have always loved having my kiddos with me, I always dread school starting in the fall, and hate when breaks are over and they have to go back...but as they get older I am hating it more and more because I feel like they are growing so fast, I have very limited time with them as it is.

Today was the first day back to reality, and man I wasn't ready for it...but then again when am I ever???

* the pics are of us being lazy having a movie fest one day..don't I have the most beautiful babies...love them soo much!!!

Trash Bags that seem to Smile Smugly...

I know I have mentioned this before but here it goes again.....I hate to wrap presents!! No it is not because I am lazy, and no it is not because I am not gifted in the wrapping department.. (no pun intended "gifted" haha get it..oh never mind..just leave me to my dorkish ways ) This picture is prime reason..#1...top of the list why I despise it soo!!! Lets think about this for a minute, shall we??? Time put into wrapping vs. time it takes to get unwrapped!! Hmm no question it is not even close...I mean there is the cutting, taping, folding down of corners just right, putting the bow on just soo, using different paper for each gift so it is beautiful under the tree, finding the space and time when no one is going to be trying to sneak a peek, to always running out of the right size paper with only one more gift to go! Then it comes to opening them..ready, set, go.....cue the smile, the thanks, and the wadded up ball of paper thrown toward the trash bag!! TA-DA!! I will always wrap my gifts, I will always hate it but I will always do it. Why?? you ask??? The unknown, the surprise, the shock value!! In this day and age there isn't much of that left. Kids are growing up faster and becoming less and less innocent at an earlier age. But all of us turn into little kids when it comes to a wrapped present. I know I do, I start thinking what is it? What did I ask for that could be that size?? Will I like it?? (screaming even if it is only in my head What is it?? what is it??over and over again) I Can't wait to open it!!! So even though the trash bag at the end of all the festivities is all full of the disregarded paper and seems to always be smiling smugly at me every year... I will never take away the innocence that comes with a wrapped gift!!

Picture taking is fun....

Tyman and his best bud Evan!

me trying to be artsy with the box from my camera

with the tree in the back ground....

my favorite antique Santa face that hangs at my in-laws every yr..

trying to be artsy again, mirror with tree in it, please remember I had just got the camera and was trying anyting and everything!!! hahaha I am a dork I know :)

my tired , sweet Emily Klair...

This post is just some random pictures that I have been taking with my new camera, still learning all about it, and having fun (maybe driving my kids and family crazy in the process!!) snapping away at anything and everything!!!

HMMM? Looking at these photos I am now thinking how can I get someone to buy me a photo shop program for my computer so I can edit and play with all these great photos I am going to start taking????

Dancing in the New Year...

We went to some friends house and rung in the New Year with some fun times dancing it out on the Wii with Just Dance 2...fun times and some really great memories!! I think that is going to be my motto this yr... "LIFE'S NOT ABOUT WAITING FOR THE STORM TO PASS... IT'S ABOUT LEARNING TO DANCE IN THE RAIN.." -VIVIAN GREENE I am going to dance through 2011, do I think that some days are going to be harder then others? YES I DO!! Do I think that some days I am not going to feel like dancing it out much less going through the motions?? YES I DO!! But I am going to try my hardest to dance it out!!! I love new beginnings and am looking forward to what 2011 has in store for me and my family. This blog is about my family and as I have stated before, this year I am going to be writing some of my story and how God is working in our lives, with that being said I am going to be raw and honest and some of it may be negative, but all of it is true and all of it is how and why I am the way I am...right or wrong! I hope that this year brings all of you much love, much happiness, and many blessings!!! I hope that you all will join me in this new year, new journey and most of all I hope you all will DANCE IT OUT WITH ME....BRING ON 2011!!!