TALICEE'S JOURNEY

2012-01-23T12:00:00.001-05:00

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR YEAR OF THE DRAGON

Looking forward to spending it with our Families with Chinese Children.

2012-01-20T10:15:00.004-05:00

HAPPY 22ND ANNIVERSARY

Wow! Has it been 22 years already. It just seems like yesterday that we met. On January 20, 1990, on a snowy day, Randy and I became husband and wife at 2:30 in the afternoon. 22 years later we are still together, says a lot in this world today. We have 4 beautiful children and our life goes on just like it began. I still remember every detail of the wedding. (Got to remember I am a perfectionist).

Since Randy works at night, we will celebrate tomorrow. All he has told me is that we are going to dinner at a place that I have eaten at many times before. I just don't know where. (like we can afford to eat out), but it is our Anniversary.

After 22 years, I still love my husband as much as I did the day that we said I Do.

Happy Anniversary Randy. I Love You.

Talking during the lighting (then Randy almost caught the church on fire doing this)

Husband and wife

Fairy Tale wedding. Every girl dreams of leaving her wedding in a horse drawn carriage. (even when it snows in January).

2012-01-14T16:47:00.010-05:00

FIRST UPWARDS GAME OF THE YEAR

Today we started our Upwards year of basketball at our church. Trevor and Talicee and participating. This is Trevor's last year. He will be moving on to school sports. The kids had a wonderful time. Talicee cheered her heart out. She loves to dance and cheer. She is the youngest on her team, but you would never know it. She hangs right in there with the other girls.

Trevor is one of the oldest on his team. He was paired with a player that had to be at least 5'8 or 5'9. He hung in there and played hard. By the time he was done with the game, he was sweating and red faced. Good job Trevor. His team won.

Talicee also go a special award this week. She was on the honor roll for the 1st 9 weeks of school. She is on track to get it again this 9 weeks. Trevor is doing great in school. He had his sol in History this week. Now he can move on to another subject. Taylor has been on the all A honor roll since school started. Now why could he not have done this when it really counted. Oh well, we are filling out scholarship after scholarship. He has applied for College, but we will not know anything until March. Sure hope he gets some scholarships. With 2 in school and no money, we really need it.

2012 has started off great. You know that feeling that you get when you have succeeded at something and now you get to see it grow. While that is the way I am feeling. Randy and I have accomplished something and are working our way to complete it to the end. Just keep praying for us. The light is getting brighter at the end of the tunnel and I have faith it is not another train.

Honor roll in the 1st grade

So prissy

Trevy bear

Looks like a pro.

2012-01-03T10:01:00.002-05:00

CHRISTMAS AT THE LANDES'

Well, Christmas is over for us. We visited Randy's parents over the New Year Weekend and had Christmas with them. The kids really enjoyed their gifts and their time with their grandparents. I am glad that the holidays are over. We have eat so much during these times. So looking forward to getting back to our more healthy eating habits. My body can tell that we are off of the regular routine.

The kids went back to school today and I went back to work. It was nice having time to spend with them. I got a lot done while I was off. Today the girls are ready for an early nap. So it will be quiet for a long time today at my house.

We did have a little bit of snow today. Not much but enough to say it snowed a little. It is very cold and windy here, so it will be an inside day for the girls. When one of the vehicles is gone from the garage, they usually play out there. Not today.

Not many pictures to post. Just get too busy doing things. Enjoy the ones I have posted.

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2011-12-28T15:58:00.002-05:00

SANTA CAME TO OUR HOUSE

The kids began Christmas setting out cookies for Santa. Santa only like chocolate chips at our house. All 4 of them set them out. Made my heart flutter when they all wanted to be part of it. They all went to bed after setting them out. I think they were pretty tired. They had played all day long with their cousins.

Christmas morning we slept in a little. Talicee was so excited. Got breakfast heating and then had the kids come down to see what was left for them. Everyone got what they had asked for. On Christmas, we do not get out of our pj's. It was so nice to just relax and enjoy watching the kids enjoy their new toys.

I cooked a dinner of ham, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, Christmas apples and a Birthday cake for Jesus. It was really good even though I cooked it. I got to have a relaxing bath while the kids and Randy cleaned up. Then the boys brought their girlfriends over to get their gifts from us. Just a nice and relaxing Christmas day.

We have one more Christmas. We will go to Randy's parents on Sunday to celebrate with them. It has been very nice not having to work and be able to get my house back to normal. If there is a normal.

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2011-12-28T15:20:00.002-05:00

CHRISTMAS AT THE SHAVER'S

On Friday Trevor, Talicee and I headed to my parents for Christmas. Tyler and Randy had to work Friday night so they came with Taylor on Saturday morning.

We started our day with our annual breakfast. Then it was present time. Buying for the older kids sure is harder than buying for the younger ones. All the kids loved what they got. Once Talicee opened her washer and dryer and wardrobe, she was off to play. We ate snacks all day. Then about 7:00 we grilled steaks. Mom and Dad's treat for us. Everything was so good.

I do have to say that the best part was everyone being around and enjoying each other. At times we were laughing so hard we were crying. I cherish these moments. 2011 has been one of the toughest years and being with family during the holidays really took the edge off of things.

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2011-12-25T00:00:00.001-05:00

FROM THE LANDES FAMILY

2011-12-21T14:08:00.006-05:00

SCHOOL PICTURES FOR 2011/12

I know that I am a little behind in posting these since we have been in school for 5 months now. But when the kids have their pictures made at school, the packages are so expensive. I wait and take them to Walmart. Yes Walmart and have them done for $8. The girl we have at our Walmart is great. She works with the kids and makes them feel comfortable. So $16 verse $50 is a lot better deal for me when you are on a fixed income.

Just thought I would share my little pumpkins pictures. Since the other 2 have had their Senior pictures taken, they don't want anymore pictures. Sad for mom.

Trevor

Free picture

1st grade 2011

The ones that I could not afford

2011-12-21T10:29:00.011-05:00

VISIT WITH THE MAN IN THE RED SUIT

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I took the 3 girls to see Santa yesterday. The twins came in their holiday attire and of course Talicee was dressed in one of her's. We started out with a few rules. Since I was not taking the stroller, at all times, each one of them have to have each other's hand. We had to make a stop at the dentist for Talicee. She did great. We have to go back in 6 months. Then we headed out to the mall to see the man in a red suit. I just knew there would be a long line. But to my surprise, there was not. A couple of kids in front of us and that was it. I could not afford the pictures, so I asked if I could take some with my camera from the corner. Yes, I got to take them. That is why I have pictures with Santa. This Santa looked so real. His beard was the real thing.

After the visit, we headed to the train. The girls were so excited. The were all smiles as they went around time and time again. We then headed to lunch. Still no problems with running away or disobeying the rules. Lunch at Chickie was great. Each girl got a cow watch in their kids meal. Time to head home. Of course, they have those take your money rides. What can you do with 3 kids yelling "we want to ride mom." So the girls got to ride the merry go round.

I thought the girls would fall asleep in the car, but they held on until we got home. They slept until 4:30. Quiet afternoon.

Ready to see Santa

Which is bigger? The girls or the leopard. (Dirty Santa gift)

Carly and Santa

Kendal and Santa

Talicee

Kendal

Carly

I love their smiles

2011-12-21T09:37:00.003-05:00

THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY

I am so proud of Talicee. She started dance when she was 2 1/2 years old. At first I thought that she was not a dancer. ( breaking my heart) I was a dancer and loved to dance. As the years went on, I could see a little improvement, but not much. She seemed to be very flat footed. This year she has really surprised me. She has caught on very well. She is pointing her toes and walking on her toes when she needs to. She is getting her tap down too.

This year for her Christmas recital, they did The Little Drummer Boy. They used drum sticks and played them just like they do in the song. Not one child missed a beat. It really shows how far they have come. She is in an older group, so that helps too. So proud of her.

We also decorated the tree and Taylor got to do his baking day since he worked the day we did baking day. The sausage balls were great. Not much left from baking day. I will bake some more on Friday before we head out for the holidays.

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2011-12-12T11:58:00.002-05:00

DECEMBER ACTIVITIES SO FAR

Can you say busy. Yes we are busy. Randy started his full time job last Monday and was home 2 evenings to eat dinner. The other times he went from one job to another job. But it will pay off. The light is getting brighter day by day.

Talicee has been modeling some of her Christmas outfits. She loves to model. Maybe a career in her future. We had a hayride at church the other Sunday. Was not real cold, but cold enough to wear winter gear.

Taylor has been in New York for the past 4 days, so he missed our annual baking day. I will do one with him when he gets home. Tyler and Lindsay came home on Saturday to do this. We had a nice dinner then headed out to see the Live Nativity Scene at a local church. Something that we really look forward to. Then we came back and started our baking. Tyler did his quick fudge. Trevor did his peanut butter fudge. Randy did his cheese ball (and does not like to share). Lindsay did Tyler's quick fudge with nuts and Miss Talicee baked cookies. She decorated cookies until 9:00 Saturday night. She had so much fun. You can see the spark in her eyes as she was doing them. I just helped everyone else.

Sunday we headed down town to see the Festival of Trees. I love seeing all of the trees. Sure wished I could decorate mine like some of these. Right now I have a tree up with lights and 1, yes 1, ornament on it. Hopefully, we will get it decorated this week. We have a Christmas party here at my house on Saturday. Who knows.

We also too pictures of the only 2 children that were home. What hams they are. Love to pose. Even got Randy to take a picture with me.

Enjoy the slide show.

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2011-12-03T23:09:00.002-05:00

Annual Families with Chinese Children Christmas Party

We look forward to this event every year. We love to see how much the kids have grown within our group. Many of the children have been in our group since they were months old. We have a new member. She is not Chinese, but a surprise blessing to her family. She sure is a cutie.

Enjoy the pictures of how our kids are growing.

Families with Chinese Children Christmas Party 2011 - slideshow dvd

2011-12-03T22:25:00.002-05:00

THANKSGIVING 2011

This Thanksgiving sure was a different one for our family. For 19 years I have always had my children here for Thanksgiving. This year we let Tyler go to Michigan with his girlfriend's family. But I got a call about 3:00 p.m. This is what time we usually eat dinner on Thanksgiving. It was Tyler and he was calling to wish us a Happy Thanksgiving. I had just taken out his favorite part of the whole dinner, the rolls. Yes, I cried when he called. I think he was just a little homesick for us when he called.

We had a great relaxing dinner. Randy's parents, his aunt and uncle and my parents came for dinner. I cooked everything but the dessert. If I do say so myself, it was really good. I do have to admit, I was worried about the turkey. I put the turkey in about 7:00 a.m. I knew it needed to come out about 11:30 or 12:00. This turkey was suppose to have a pop up button when it is done. Well, I could not find it, I just figured that they had forgotten to put it in. Checked the temp and turkey was ready. When it was time to cut the turkey, Randy said something is not right. After a quick searched, he realized I had baked the turkey upside down. Needless to say, it was really good. So there was really to pop up timer after all.

After dinner, we cleaned up and headed to my parents house. We were now 2 kids short. Taylor had to be at work the next day at 10:00 a.m. So there was no reason for him to drive an hour and 1/2 up the interstate to turn right back around and come back. So we only had two kids for our second Thanksgiving.

Friday, Nov. 25th was my daddy's birthday. We had an early lunch and then opened presents. The picture of the motorcycle is done by my cousin's husband. He has a brain tumor and auction off these drawings to pay for his medical care. Dad loves nut crackers, so when I find one that he does not have, I get it. This one is a music box and the arms and mouth move.

After cleaning up, Mom, my sister and I headed out for the annual Black Friday shopping. I was out to finish Randy's Christmas. And I did. We always have so much fun. We laugh so hard at times that we cry. So relaxing. Takes away all of your cares.

So Thankful for my family.

Thanksgiving 2011 - Free Slideshow Creator

2011-12-01T12:44:00.002-05:00

SO MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR

As Thanksgiving was approaching this year, I was reflecting on our year in our family. We had no idea that the beginning of 2011 we would not be receiving a regular paycheck. We had no idea that we would have to totally rethink everything in our live.

As the months went by and we wondered how we would pay our bills. God supplied all of our needs. No not the needs I thought we needed, but what He thought we needed. As of Dec. 1st, it has been one year since we have had a regular paycheck. Things did change in our world and will continue to change. We have really have learned how to budget money and spend what we need to spend. Yes, there are times when we could not do what we wanted to. No dinners out, no new clothes, no new toys, but you know what, it did not matter. We are still here and stronger for it.

Randy and I thank God everyday for letting us experience this situation. We realized that we were taking advantage of our lifestyle and this was God's way of showing us that he is in control and we need to rely on him and not ourselves.

With all this said, I am very happy to say that as of Dec. 5th, Randy will begin a full time job for the winter. He will continue to work his part-time job, which he has had since June. He still has his business and will continue working it. Just we will not be getting a salary from it as it was. He has never had a steady job during the winter, his business is a seasonal business, so this will be new to him and our family. But when one door closes another one opens.

Thanks for all of the prayers during the year. Please continue to pray for us. We have learned so much through this and are so thankful for the opportunity to experience it.

I will post pictures this weekend. When you have 3 little ones and 3 after school kids, I do not have a lot of time on the computer. Hopefully, I will get caught up. Visit me on Facebook to see the most up to date pictures for now.

2011-11-24T07:06:00.002-05:00

2011-11-22T09:18:00.001-05:00

CHECK OUT THESE WREATHS

A friend of mine is making these wreaths. If you are interested in them, please let me know and I will get in touch with her.

Wreaths - how to create a free slideshow

2011-11-07T09:51:00.002-05:00

BITTER SWEET END TO AN ERA

Friday night was the end of the Senior year of football. What a game it was. When we left for the game, we just knew it was going to be a blow out. We were playing the best team in our district. This team had not lost a game yet. We had lost everyone but one. So it was going to be a quick night.

Well, who would have thunk. We scored first, then a tie. It went all the way to the end in a tie. We kept wondering where we got these kids. They played the best that we had seen all year. We went into overtime with this team. 3 inches and we would have beat this team. Our players do not have anything to hang their heads about. Technically, they out played this team, but the score, by one point, did not show it.

It is not about winning, but how you handle the lost. These boys handled the lose like winners. So proud of the team and the seniors. All of the Seniors got to play and had a good time at it. Very sad at the end when you see your own child cry. I think he finally realizes that his Senior year of high school is coming to an end very fast.

We could not be any prouder of our Senior. Just wished it would slow down a little bit. #2 you are #1 in our book.

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2011-10-25T20:50:00.002-04:00

FAMILIES WITH CHINESE CHILDREN FALL GET TOGETHER

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On Saturday, we hosted our Families with Chinese Children Fall Get Together. We do this every year and look forward to it. Since we live out, we can have a big bond fire and do a hayride without traffic. The children have such a great time. By the time they leave our house, they are dirty and so tired that most fall asleep in the car.

We just love seeing and loving on these children. We talk for weeks about the beautiful children. So glad we get to host such a great event.

2011-10-25T19:26:00.009-04:00

FOOTBALL, FOOTBALL, FOOTBALL

Football is our life in the fall. This is Taylor's last year to play. He may not get a scholarship or play college ball, but he gives football his all. He loves football more than life. Hard to believe that he had not played football until his freshman year. Our team has not been great this year. We did win last Friday night. Yes, it was by one. But it was a win. This Friday night is Senior Night. I keep telling myself, I AM NOT GOING TO CRY. But the ones that know me, that will happen. I have cried since June.

Speaking of Seniors, I had to order Cap and Gown tonight and invitations. Where has the time gone. Tyler has ordered his college ring and now Taylor is ordering his items for the last few steps of his High School years. Yes, I am crying right now.

We are so proud of him. He is my strong willed child. At times of his life, I have wondered if he would make it to graduation. He is very smart, just wish he would apply himself. He is now working on trying to decide where he wants to go to school and what he wants to major in. We have it narrowed it down to about 2 things. He is one kid that will succeed at whatever he tries.

Time is flying by so fast. The first semester is almost over for him. Next semester he will go 1/2 a day and then work the other 1/2. If he had Government and English together, he would be able to graduate this December. So glad I have a few more months to cry.

So very proud of my strong willed child.

Just look at #78. He is huge.

2011-10-14T10:46:00.002-04:00

PUMPKIN PATCH WITH MISS TALICEE

Talicee and I went to the pumpkin patch last Saturday while the boys went to the VT football game. We were there for about 3 hours. She had a ball just running around and playing with all of the animals and the pumpkins. She loved finding her way in the cornmaze. I was exhausted by the time we left there. I love to see her play and make friends with other kids she does not know.

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2011-10-04T20:57:00.002-04:00

BIG WEEKEND FOR THE BIRTHDAY GIRL

Miss Talicee has a big weekend celebrating her birthday. Friday night Randy's parents took us out for dinner and presents. Since my birthday, Randy's birthday and Talicee's birthdays are within 2 weeks of each other, we celebrate together. We had a great dinner and the cake was excellent. Talicee really liked her presents and her big brothers being there.

Sunday we actually gave her a few of her presents so that she could play with them all day. Mondays are a very busy day for us, so we let her open a few presents. She played with her dolly all day long. On Monday morning we had a few more presents for her. After she got home from school, she played so more.

Where has the time gone? I remember her first birthday. She was so shy and did not want to eat her cake or anything. Now, she is a go getter. She has grown so much. She is in the first grade and doing very well. She is still very small for her age. We are wearing 4t to 5t clothes. Her personality makes up for the smallness. She loves everybody and does not know a stranger. Unlike when she was little and would not stay in the nursery unless there was a man in there.

We look forward to many more years of celebrating the life of this little girl God gave to us.

Talicee's 6th Birthday 2011 - slideshow maker

2011-10-03T00:00:00.002-04:00

HAPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY MISS TALICEE

First birthday 2006

6th birthday 20111

Each year we celebrate Miss Talicee's birthday. Each year we pray for her birth mother and father who gave us one of the most greatest give of all, their little girl. We pray that they are comforted to know that she is in a loving home and is loved by everyone around her. We do not know what we would do without this precious little girl.

Happy Birthday Princess. We love you more than the world.

2011-10-02T21:36:00.003-04:00

FINALLY HAVE MY COMPUTER BACK

Am I addicted or what. I have not had my laptop for 3 weeks. Talk about dt's. I had them. Then life got in the way and I forgot all about the laptop. I have been using Randy's computer to just keep up with things. That is why there are not pictures and updates on the blog. He will not let me put pictures on his computer and download. He says that is why my computer needed to be repaired.

So many things have happened since I last was on there. My children, my children is all that I will say. They will be the death of me for sure. It is so sad that I have had my computer since Friday and now just found time to turn it on. Life is just too busy right now to even sleep.

Tomorrow is Miss Talicee's birthday and another work week. Thursday is Randy's birthday. Mine as 2 weeks ago. If this gives you any idea of how busy we have been. Then there are the other 3 boys and the dog. Oh, the dog. Let's just say she thinks she is a human.

Well, I will update more on our boring life and pictures when I get time. Maybe when I am up in the wee hours of the night.

2011-09-19T20:52:00.002-04:00

HOMECOMING 2011

Senior year is starting off with a bang. One dance down and a couple more to go. Taylor and Brooklyn looked great together. According to Taylor they had a great time at the dance. I love it when they go as a group and do things. Not so sure when it is to BWW for dinner all dressed up. But what ever works for them. They had a great time together.

2011-09-19T20:05:00.002-04:00

LORD BOTETOURT VERSES SALEM

Taylor is having a great year of football. Even though we have only won 1 game, he is enjoying playing. I can not believe that this is his last year of high school. I am trying to capture pictures of him playing each game of the season. Once I get my computer back, I will put the James River pictures up. He played a great game that night.

LORD BOTETOURT VERSES HIDDEN VALLEY

LORD BOTETOURT VERSES CAVE SPRING

2011-09-06T10:00:00.002-04:00

EARTHQUAKE, MANHUNT AND IRENE

The week of August 22nd was sure a weird week. Talicee started 1st grade on Monday. All went well. Still had 4 kids at home. Crazy but good day. Tuesday went off without a hitch, I thought. Since I only had the baby and the twins were on vacation, I thought I would take the kids to the pool one more time. Well while leaving the pool to go pick up Talicee, one of the lifeguards said did you feel that. I did not feel anything. I was walking. Trevor came out of the bathroom and said did you feel that and hear that. No what are you talking about. Someone came running up to us and said it was an earthquake. Yeah right, we live in VA. So when I got in the car, I turned the radio on. Yes it was an earthquake. 6.8 to be exact. We had had an mild earthquake a few years ago. Again I did not know what it was. I thought the kids were playing so hard that they were making the pipes rattle. Well, come to find out it was a small one and it had actually cracked my walls upstairs. So I thought, I'll go home and see what is left of my house. When we arrived, the dog came running out to us. I am thinking she was tied up, how is she off. She must have pulled something loose when it happened. Left the kids in the car and heading in to see if there was any damage. I got the life scared out of me when I opened the door. Randy was standing right there. He is never home during the day. I had forgotten that he had taken the trooper to work on that day and had come home early. Heart pounding, I asked if there was any damage. So far we have not seen any yet. He really searched the foundation, but did not find anything. Remember my house was built in 1929. Not the best built house. I guess the earthquake makes my body go out of kilter. My knees felt like they would buckle all evening long.

Wednesday, school started for the rest of the kids. So it was a really easy day. Just me and the baby here. Had another aftershock. I did not feel it shake, but my body was off again. The kids all had great days and love their teachers. Good, 1/2 way through the week. So off to bed I go. I had not been sleeping good, so I had my little pill in my hand and headed off to sleep.

Thursday morning I thought I was hearing a helicopter flying by. I prayed that if it was Lifeguard 10, that the person would be ok. We hear the helicopters and planes all of the time, nothing new. The helicopter kept circling around. I could not figure out if I was dreaming or if it was real. I actually thought we were being invaded, before I woke up. Sat up in bed and realized that the helicopter was circling my house. Why, what did I do. Flipped on the news and there was a manhunt not 2 miles from my house. Ok, what a way to wake up. Got everyone up and gathered away from doors and windows. Where we live, he could have been in our woods. Finally about 7 am they caught the guy. He had stole cars, burned a house and was trying to break into a friend of ours house. If he had gotten in the woods, it would have been right behind our house. Did not need this after the earthquake.

Then Irene was knocking on our door. The weather people did not know where she was going. So we were preparing for the horrible rains to come. Thank the Lord, they never came. That would have been the icing on the cake for the week. I need something calm to happen.

To end the week, Taylor had his first football game. It was with our rivals in the county. He played so good that night. It was a nice night for football and nothing out of the ordinary happened. We did win.

The drama that goes on in our life. I thought girls created drama, but my life in general seems to create the most drama. When my mother-in-law calls she always asked what drama has gone on this week.

I will post pictures of the game when I get my computer back. It is very sick and needed to be put in the computer hospital for a while. According to my dad, it is all of the pictures I take and store on there that makes it that way. So bare with me until I get it back. There will be no pictures for a while.

2011-08-29T21:40:00.002-04:00

TAYLOR'S SENIOR PICTURES

I can't believe that I have another one getting ready to graduate from High School. At this point he still does not know what he wants to do. I am hoping that after he takes his SAt's, he will have some idea of where he is going in life. But until then, we will enjoy him being here with us for a few more months.

Enjoy the pictures. It took a while to decide on which ones we liked.

2011-08-28T21:52:00.007-04:00

FOOTBALL SCRIMMAGE, PRESCHOOL CHOIR, 50TH ANNIVERSARY AND FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Ready for the 1st grade

My Class

1st day of 6th grade

1st day of the last day of High School

All ready to go to school

Boy has it been busy for us. Football practice started on Aug. 1st. Taylor had his first scrimmage on Aug 12th. He did a great job. On Monday, he got his report card for football. His was the highest score of the whole team. Trevor is loving being manager of the middle school team. I think he works as hard as the players.

I started babysitting Ginny and Zach. The week before school started I had 7 kids here at my house. One can say it was a little crazy. Then we had Talicee's preschool choir on Sunday. She loves to sing and perform. Watch out world her she comes.

I finished working on the posters for Randy's parents 50th Anniversary. It was so much fun going back and seeing what was popular during each decade. The party was great. Needless to say at 4:30 we were making table name tags. The party started at 6:00. Don and Carole really enjoyed it. Everyone seem to have a great time. They had not seen the timeline I had done, so they were surprised at some of the pictures. Sunday we celebrated Carole's birthday since we were all together. This does not happen much. Boy did I need a rest by the time we got home.

The week school started was an easy week. The twins were on vacation, so it was not so crazy. Talicee started on Monday. The boys started on Wednesday. Now everyone is back on schedule and ready for a great year. Can't believe that Taylor is a Senior now.

I have plenty more pictures to put up. Just finding time to do it is the problem. Not like I am busy. Enjoy these right now.

Football Scrimmage, Choir, 1st day of school

50th Anniversary Party

2011-08-09T09:38:00.002-04:00

WE ARE STILL HERE IF ANYONE IS STILL READING OUR BLOG

The summer has gotten away from us. The heat here has been so bad. It has been to hot to go to the pool and that is very sad. July was so hot that we mowed our lawn 2 times the whole month.

The boys have started football practice. Taylor goes early in the mornings and Trevor goes in the afternnons. They both are loving it. I can not believe that Taylor is now a senior and will graduate in June. I will not know what to do with myself when I do not have a child in high school.

The twins are enjoying being back with KK. Even though we spend most of our time inside, they are enjoying not spending their days in a box. The other kids have spent time at both grandparents. Talicee is gone now to my parents for a week. Sure is different at my house. So quiet when the twins leave to go home.

Randy and I have been working on his parent's 50th anniversary party. I have enjoyed looking through all of the pictures from the 60's to the 2000's. Now to just get my project done is the next goal. With Randy working at night, I have to wait for him to tell me who is in some of the pictures. I don't have a problem with the ones in 2000 but earlier, it is hard to tell.

The kids have one more full week before school starts for the year. We have our first scrimmage on Friday night. All of our Friday's are booked with football until the first week in November. Talicee will start dance at the end of the month. I get 2 more children to watch next week because teachers go back to school. The extra money sure will help.

Life has just taken over our normal life. It seems there is always some kind of drama in our house. I wish for just one day where there is no drama. Probably will not get that wish. I will post pictures when I have more. My computer is getting full and I need to move them and have them printed. I think about this stuff in the middle of the night. I think I am going to put a pencil and paper beside my bed and write everything down when I think of it in the wee hours of the morning.

Enjoy the last weeks of summer. The leaves are beginning to turn and fall from the trees at my house.

2011-07-28T12:08:00.002-04:00

ENJOYING OUR SUMMER AT THE POOLS AND WATER PARKS

Back in June, Trevor, Talicee and I went with the youth group to a water park. Talicee really liked it. She has been a little afraid of the water at the beginning, but now she is all over the place. She loved the big slides. The higher the better.

The girls are also enjoying the pool. The love to play in the 2 foot. By summer they may be ready for swim lessons. Since it has been so hot, we have not been going but about 2 days a week. That is enough for the girls.

This weekend we took a break from everything and headed to the in-laws. They have a pool. The kids love it. We swam late into the night because it was so warm. This is actually the first time we have been anywhere all summer. Our summer is ending on Sunday. Football starts for the boys and it is everyday. Taylor has his first scrimmage Aug. 12th. Time is just going way to fast.

Enjoy the slide show. I think I am finally caught up on blogging for a while.

2011-07-21T16:40:00.006-04:00

THE TWINS TURN 2

I could not wait until Saturday, June 25th to see the girls. It had been a month since I seen them. They had been sick ever since they entered day care. They were sick the last 2 days of school.

When we arrived, Kendal greeted us at the door. From the time I walked into the door until she feel asleep in my arms, she stuck by me. She was so happy to see me. I have never seen her smile as much as she did. Carly had just woke up from a nap, so she was not too happy at first. Then she realized that I was there and she was coming back to my house and she was a very happy girl.

The girls had a Minnie Mouse party. Lots of gifts. Lots of fun, hugs kisses and smiles. I am so glad the girls are back. They were still sick the first week that they came back from day care. This is the 2nd week that they have been with me all week long. I think they are on the mend.

Happy 2nd Birthday Carly and Kendal. KK loves you.

Their Aunt made the cake

Miss Kendal

Miss Carly

New toy

This is a doll stroller, not a little girl stroller

First day back at KK's

2011-07-21T16:25:00.006-04:00

SPLASH VALLEY WITH THE KIDS

Since I did not have any kids the day after July 4th other than my kids, we decided to spend the day at Splash Valley. This is a water park that is in our area. I let Trevor take a friend with him. I knew he did not want to stay in the kiddie part. The kids had a blast doing something new. They love the water. Talicee even went down a slide, I was in the water to catch her so I could not get a picture. She is getting braver and braver. She swims like a fish.

Just chillin

Watch out the water pops up everywhere

Not deep enough to swim

I love the water splashing on me

Trevor and Caleb

2011-07-21T16:01:00.010-04:00

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

I know I am so far behind on blogging. Here are some updates so far. Summer is getting away from me.

Saturday, July 16th we celebrated Tyler's birthday with a dinner out. He came home Thursday and spend until Saturday night with us. It was so nice to finally celebrate his birthday on his birthday. For the past few years, he has been out of the country or out of the state on his birthday. We had a great time just relaxing. We finished up with an ice cream cake from DQ.

Always happy

Sometimes she just doesn't want her picture taken

I think this is a fake smile

Trying to explain something to me

I am not sure about Tyler and Lindsay's relationship. I don't ask.

Not nice to whisper

The expression that she gives when she is getting her picture taken leaves me wondering

Ice Cream cake from DQ

What should I wish for

Fighting over who will blow out candles

2011-07-16T00:00:00.001-04:00

HAPPY 20TH BIRTHDAY TYLER

On July 16, 1991 at 6:32 p.m. Tyler Trent Landes was born. It was a tough labor. No one in our families knew we were in labor. We called everyone after Tyler was born. No one even thought that he would come on July 16th. He was due on August 1st. Being born 2 weeks early, he weighed in at 8lbs and .6 oz. If he had waited until Aug. 1st I have no doubt that he would have been 10 lbs or more.

On July 16, 2011, Tyler now is a Junior in college. He works full time during the summer and will drop back to part time during school. He lives on his own. Well, he thinks he does. I pay his rent, but he pays everything else. He has turned out to be one fine young man. We are so proud of him. He knows what he wants to do in life. His faith in God is so strong. I just can't believe that he is 20 years old. I only have 1 teenager now and a preteen. Now Talicee is a different story.

We love you very much Tyler. We are so proud of you. Looking forward to seeing what God has in store for you.

Happy Birthday. We love you.

2011-07-10T00:00:00.001-04:00

FOREVER A FAMILY FOR 5 YEARS

I can not believe that Miss Talicee has been in our family for 5 years now. I don't even think of her as being adopted. She is just like my bio children. She has been a joy to our family. She loves her brothers more than the world. When they are not here, she wants to know where they are and when they will be back.

So many changes have happened since the first day we held this precious little girl. When we got her, she was just learning to sit up. The pictures that the orphanage sent us of her standing were not real. Her legs were so weak. She could hardly sit up. She was one of the younger ones of our group. She would not eat for us at all. For a child who would not eat, she sure has made up for the difference. She loves fruit and veggies. Not much of a meat eater. She is a very healthy little girl. She is also very smart. She started kindergarten last year and I am so glad that I started her. On her Stamford testing she scored advanced. She will be going into the 1st grade in the Fall.

One thing that we have learned is that she is a talker. Even in her sleep. LOL. She is very different than her brothers. And yes she is very spoiled by everyone in our families. Of course, she is the baby of the family. She is very tall. She weighs 35 pounds at 5 1/2 years old. She is so excited about loosing teeth. The peds dentist said they were not loose yet, but don't tell her. Since a lot of her Hubei sisters are loosing their teeth, she wants to too.

I am so glad that God made this plan for us. I never dreamed that I would have such a beautiful China doll. I give all the glory to him.

p.s. Just a quick update to our on going problems with the IRS. According to our tax advisor, we would not know anything until after July 20th. If we got the refund, we would not get it until September at the latest. Well, to my surprise, the refund was placed in my account yesterday. I went to check what checks had cleared and I was so surprised. All in his time. Randy has gotten a paycheck from his business and we have gotten 2 paychecks from his part-time job. I get my first paycheck from the babies on Monday since the end of May. The twins have been gone all this week, so payday will be Monday. Things are looking up for us. I thank God everyday for allowing us to experience what we did. We have a new found appreciation of his faith.

HAPPY FOREVER FAMILY DAY MISS TALICEE

WE LOVE YOU MORE THAN THE WORLD

Getting ready to get on the bus. Happy girl now.

Going back to Hotel for the final adoption

She thought we were taking her back. This is Director Lee

Sitting for a little while by herself. It did not last long.

My little chunky monkey

Not sure about the water

This is Talicee right before we board the plane for Hong Kong. We had had her for 2 weeks and she was sitting by herself. This is what she thought of her bottle. Upside down.

2011-06-20T20:56:00.002-04:00

ANSWERED PRAYERS

As you know on May 26th my twin girls that I kept left to go to day care. Things changed around our household. It was quiet, not that I minded, and we got back to our regular routine. Then Randy got a part time job which takes him out of the home for about 4/5 hours a night Monday-Friday. I picked up another girl to watch during the summer. Not much pay because I am actually just the supervisor. Anyway, life was becoming a routine again.

I am sure most of you guys are aware of the the adoption refund. Well we applied for it, which I will never do again. I have gotten letter after letter from the IRS asking for more information. Well, after sending in 67 pages of proof and receipts that we actually did adopt Talicee in 2006, I get another letter stating that we are still in review and that we should know something by July 11th. How long does it take someone to read a printout, which by the way, was broken down in each catagory that pertained to the receipts. Oh, I forget this is the IRS. Anyway, I thought I should step in and get a tax advocate. Well, today she called me to get our file started. She asked questions about the whole return. She said that the IRS had entered the wrong SS# for Talicee and that was why it was taking so long. She said that she looked at two pages and figured it out. The IRS should have figured it out before her. Anyway, she fax the correct information over to them. She would get confirmation and let us know.

So after going to the pool today, we came home and I got the mail. In the mail was 2 huge white envelopes addressed to Randy and I from the IRS. I thought what do they want now. I began to read the letter. I can feel my blood pressure going up. As I read, I see that our adoption claim is denied. Reason, this is not the right SS# and you owe us $910 for the discepancy. What? Are you kidding me. This included penalities and interest. Do they think I am stupid. After loosing it for about 30 minutes, I called our accountant. Of course, they are out of the office. I then called the IRS advocate. Which by the way, was a super great person. I left her a message about what we had gotten because they only work until 4:00.

The phone rings about 5:30. It is unavailable. Do I answer it or not. I thought, I am not in a good mood, lets answer it and let the person who is not suppose to be calling my home, because I am on the do not call list, have it. To my surprise, it was my tax advocate. She said she had gotten my message. Looked at our file and there is nothing there about us owing any money and the SS# situation had been resolved. Her words were "Disregard the letter". What a blessing. Relax now.

So Talicee and I head out to walk and run. I did cart wheels and hand stands with her. You know I was feeling good that I had fought the IRS and won. Now tomorrow my body will let me know I can not do that. Anyway, we come back home and started the bedtime routine. The phone rings again. Caller ID tells me it is the parents of the twins. Their birthday party is this weekend, so I thought they were going to tell me they were sick and the party was off. Well, to my surprise they asked me if the girls could come back. They did not like day care. So on Monday, my girls will be back.

Sunday, I had ask prayer for our family because things were going to change in our family this week. Randy's unemployment runs out this week. He still is not taking a salary from his business. So I was praying for peace and what to do next. God lined all of this up. He knew they were coming back. He knew Randy would have a part time job and in July Randy will again be able to take a salary again. He has about 6 jobs to price up and a football field to do irrigation on. On Sunday, I could not see this. Today, I see his plan. Thank you God for taking care of us.

2011-06-19T00:00:00.001-04:00

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

Happy Father's day to my husband, dad and father - in - law. Enjoy your day. And to Talicee father in China. I pray that he knows that the little girl that entered the world 5 1/2 years ago is loved more than the world.

I love you all.

2011-06-12T20:17:00.007-04:00

5TH GRADE AWARDS

I am one proud mom. Trevor received 6 awards on awards day. Some I knew he was getting and others I had no idea. The biggest surprise came at the end of the ceremony.

Every year from 1st grade until now except for one year, Trevor had received the Anthony Kirby Award. This award is awarded to a student that shows care, and respect through out the school year. This award is named after a student that had died after receiving a blood transfusion. He showed these characteristics. The school usually calls me the week before to let me know that he has won this award and to make sure I am there to see it.

Well, I never got a call. So Tuesday night I sat Trevor down during dinner and told he that he probably did not receive this award because they had not called me. We talked about showing respect to the winner and to be gracious to the winner. He cried but agreed to this.

After receiving all of the awards, I thought to myself. This will soften the blow of not receiving the Anthony Kirby Award. We were down to the end of the awards ceremony. Mrs. Lingle announced the winners for the 4th grade. The she announced the girl winner in the 5th grade, and holding my breath, she announced the boy winner. We were all in shock. Trevor turned to see me int he crowd with the biggest smile on his face. He had won the award he worked hard for. The principal sought me out before the announcement to see my face when his name was called. Talk about one happy mom and one little boy.

I am just so proud of Trevor. From struggling with an illness when he was little, to loosing his hearing in kindergarten, or just figuring out that he lost it and the learning what learning disability he had, he has come a long way. He can hear now. Still trying to deal with all of the sounds he hears at once, but teaching himself how to do it. He has been taken off the help section in the SOL for reading. He has met his goal and does not need any help in reading. He stills struggles with math a little. But that is coming along to. With more work, he will over come this too. He passed his SOL's for the first time this year. This was one of the biggest goals he set for himself.

I can't wait to see what God has in store for him in the future. He did not promise us that life would be easy when raising children, but promise to help us. I am just one beaming mom.

On Wednesday, Trevor graduated tom 5th grade. Of course, I cried.

Biggest Award of all

A big 6th grader now

Proud siblings

Some of his friends

His favorite teacher

2011-06-10T20:30:00.001-04:00

DANCE 2011

Well another year has gone by with dance. This is one thing that Talicee loves to do. She is finally getting the major steps down. She loves to perform in front of a crowd. One day she may be a actress. She has been out of school since the end of May. She is now a big time 1st grader. I am so proud of her. She has been filling most of her days at the pool. I am very impressed with her swimming skills. She now goes to the deep end and plays. I caught her doing a hand stand the other day. What a year makes in her skills. She is growing way to fast. One note though, she is only wearing 24 months to 2t in swim suits. I have had to go through alot of her clothes and pack some of them up because they are too big. What a problem to have.

Anyway enjoy the dance pictures. Trevor had his big day on June 7th and 8th. Will post more this weekend. We have been very busy with school, dance, graduation and parties, parties and more parties. This is the first weekend that it will be a little slow. I will take it.

2011-06-09T09:57:00.001-04:00

I AM STILL HERE

Just a little behind on updating. Too many things to get to the computer. Hopefully, I can put some pictures up this weekend. Please bare with me.

2011-05-26T00:00:00.000-04:00

THE FIRST TIME WE SAW YOU FACE

Budda Baby

Voom Voom

Believe me she could not stand or sit.

On May 26, 2006 Randy and I sat with the computer in our laps as her picture loaded on the screen. We had dial up at the time and it took forever. You will never know the feelings that were running through our body at the moment. God picked her out for us. She was just perfect. All of our babies were big babies. All of them had hair and all of them had big eyes. How perfect for our family. We have loved her even before we saw her picture. Born into our hearts May 26, 2006 at 17 lbs. Wow, can it be 6 years already.

We love you Talicee Faith LiLi Landes.

2011-05-24T10:17:00.002-04:00

FAMILIES WITH CHINESE CHILDREN SPRING PICNIC

Each season our FCC group does some kind of activity with the children. Oh, how they have grown. We have known most of them since they came home to the states. It was so nice to see them playing. We had no tears and all of the kids played nicely together. The parents actually got to talk to each other as the kids played.

We had beautiful weather for the picnic. Talicee really likes being around her brothers and sisters from China. We want to continue this. Great memories for her.

Enjoy the pictures.

2011-05-21T21:36:00.002-04:00

STRAWBERRY PICKING

We went strawberry picking today. It was so much fun. Yes, we should have been at home working on everything we did not get done last summer, but we needed this. Trevor and Talicee had a ball. We got there before it started getting hot. After picking we visited the festival. Talicee rode the horses. She was not real sure about this. Then Trevor and her went to the petting zoo. The both got pecked by a baby turkey. When we can out, Randy had a funnel cake for me. Now if you know me, this is one of my favorite foods. I wait all year for the fair to come to town to go get one. You know they are better at the fairs.

We headed home with our bounty. Because our weekend is so jammed, I have not had time to work on them. May just freeze them and work with them later.

Now we are off to our first picnic of the Spring. We have another one tomorrow. All of our weekends are packed for the next 2 weeks. At least we will be together as a family again.

Enjoy the pictures.

2011-05-17T10:45:00.003-04:00

MASKS ARE COMING OFF

A few weeks ago I opened up on the blog of what was really going on in our life. Yes, I was surprised that I did it. But I had a sense of relief when I did. I got it off of my chest. I am embarassed that life has taken this turn. In hind sight, I saw it coming. Life was too good, it had to end but I did not want to see it. Hey, it did and we are finally digging out of it.

After a few months of redoing Randy's business, we are finally on track to make the business start making money again. No we will not be billionaires, but at least we will be out of debt. Yes, we are in debt. It would not surprise me to know that 99.9% of the world is in debt, but choose to wear the mask that we were wearing. No, not real people.

As for me, my babies will be leaving on May 26th. It will be a sad day, but after weeks of thinking, crying, thinking and worrying, things will work out. God had a plan and he let me in on it a little bit. I will now have my summer's off. Something that I have missed with my kids. They grow so fast. I now can go on little trips with them, that I could not do before. I can get my house really cleaned like I need to. I can sleep in (right). I can just relax and not have to be on call all day long with my kids and the kids I keep. So see, there was a plan, I just could not see it at the time.

I do have a job beginning August 15th. I will be keeping a teacher's children. Yes, I have all the days that my kids have now off. The pay is 1/2 of what I was making, but hey it is a job. Another one of God's plans. When I sit back and take my feelings out of a situation, I can see where God is leading me. No, I will not have an income during the summer, but God will provide for us.

Randy goes for his second interview for the part time job he interviewed for a couple of weeks ago. If he passes the physical part then he will be offered the job. Good thing it was not passing mental part. I see fail for sure on that one .LOL After that he needs to get his hazmat and doubles for driving a tractor trailer and he can start getting experience to get a job where they pay the insurance and incentives. We have never had this on his side, so it will be nice for someone else to pay these things. Oh, he will have to pass TSA requirements. We should know something in about 2 weeks. So continue to pray for this. It is only parttime, but it will make up for the lost wages from my babysitting. See there is the other plan from God. Did not see that at first.

I thank God for allowing us to experience this situation. Yes, I said I thank God for it. If he had not taken us down this path, Randy and I may not be together today. Life has been rough for us personally and professionally. God took us by the shirt collar and said this has to stop. So the business was about to fail and our marriage was going right along with it. God has made way for us even though we can not see through the fog right now. We have learned to live on very little. I scope out all of the free stuff offered. We have learned to eat more at home. It is a treat to eat out now for us. We can pay our bills on time, nothing left, but they are paid and those horrible collection people do not call us. They are just down right mean people. I have come across some people in my life lately that would just be perfect for these jobs. Anyway, I am so thankful for the slap in the face from God.

I will never be a millionaire, but I will know how to live and have a happy life. Money is not everything. Life is too short to sweat the little things. God is in control and no matter how much you think that you are, which I am a control freak, he will never let you take control. Oh you may think so, but your control will end when you never think it will. So my faith is still in my God. We have a long road ahead of us, but each day the silver lining is a little bit shinner. We may never know why we were dealt this situation, but god knows. He will take care of us.

Stay tuned until the next installment from God.

2011-05-16T09:53:00.002-04:00

TAYLOR'S 2ND PROM OF THE YEAR

He is a very popular guy. He got invited to a prom of one of his friends from church. They seemed like they were having a great time taking pictures. He said that they had a lot of fun. They just went as friends and I think this made for a great time. He was home safely in the bed by 3:00 a.m.

Of course he slept most of the day. Went into work and then came home and went to bed. He is one kid that needs all of the sleep he can get. I am so glad they had a great time.

Our end of the year is about to begin. This weekend we have 2 picnics and the weekend and closing ceremonies for Awana's. Then the next week kindergarten graduation and my trip for my self.

Enjoy the pictures. I am so proud of him. Now to get him through the rest of school.

2011-05-13T19:36:00.002-04:00

TAYLOR MODELING

Taylor has been modeling for Mark Hubbard Photography for the 2012 Seniors. These are only modeling pictures. I have not seen his Senior proofs yet. Man am I going to have a hard time picking these out. I thought Tyler's was hard, now I have Taylor's.

I can't wait to see his proofs.

2011-05-11T10:23:00.004-04:00

TREVOR'S BIRTHDAY AND MOTHER'S DAY

Wow, where has the month gone? I just looked at the calendar and we are now in the middle of May. Time please slow down.

Mother's Day 2011

I had a great Mother's Day. Sure did miss Tyler here to celebrate, but he came home on Saturday and spent the day with me. Sunday turned out to be a beautiful day. The kids and Randy took me out to Kabuki's for lunch. We have been doing this for years. It is always nice to go somewhere and not have to cook and clean up. I relaxed the rest of the day. I got a 2 1/2 hour nap. So nice to have. I sleep better during the day than at night. Ended the day with a movie on the Hallmark channel.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day. I thought a lot about Miss Talicee bio mother today. Talicee is loved more than she could ever know.

Saturday we went to see my niece play soccer. She did really good. I got a lot of shots of her.

Run Forest Run

Yes, this is a mini me. She could pass as my daughter. Personality and all.

Trevor's Birthday

Trevor celebrated his 12th Birthday on April 29th. It can't be 12 yet. I remember the day he was born. I was doing all of the work and Randy was eating his breakfast. I will never forget those big blue eyes and that blonde haired little fat baby laying in my arms.

We had a small celebration at home. I made him cupcakes. He got money, lets say lots of money and more than anything he got a cell phone. We had debated and debated on when he was going to get one. The time just seemed right. He will be going to middle school next year and is the manager on the football team at school. So we thought he could use this when he needed us to pick him up. He was allowed to take it to school on Monday and then he has to leave it here during the day. He is allowed to have it after homework and chores are done. At 9:00 it goes back in the office on charge. This is working really well. Now if I could only get my 17 year old to do that. LOL

Trevor had a great birthday. He is always thankful for anything thing we do for him. Now if he will just not grow any more.

2011-05-08T00:00:00.001-04:00

I hope that Miss Talicee's biological mother knows that the baby girl that was placed at the orphanage gates 5 1/2 years ago is loved more than anything in this world. We pray for her everyday. Thank you for giving us this wonderful gift.

Happy Mother's Day.

2011-04-29T00:00:00.001-04:00

HAPPY 12TH BIRTHDAY TREVOR

On April 29th a very fat little boy was placed in my arms at 8:30 am. He was almost 2 weeks late. He had the blondest hair and the biggest blue eyes I have ever seen. He also weighed 9 1/2 pounds. He has brought many joys into our life. We love you very much Trevor Scott.

Happy Birthday.

2011-04-26T15:28:00.013-04:00

RELAXING ON EASTER

A butterfly that was on one of our trees

It would pose for me to do pictures

Trevor waiting to play

They are actually looking at a bug

Hiding eggs

One is behind the tree

I found one in the backyard

What kind of bug is this?

I can not believe how big my baby boy is getting

Me at my finest

She loves to dress up

Jewelry is my life

Waiting to go to Kemie and Granddaddy's

2011-04-25T16:02:00.003-04:00

EASTER 2011

Our Easter Holiday began on Friday. I was off so Miss Talicee and I headed out to get pedicores (as she says). She had a ball doing this. It was relaxing for me too. We did our errands and headed back to bake cookies and color eggs.

Talicee is very creative and loves stickers. So this is how she decorated her eggs. She is very neat when doing an art project.

Saturday we went to our church's Easter Egg hunt. Before they started hunting the eggs, we had a balloon release. Waiting to see if anyone gets our balloon with Talicee's name on it. I hope it makes it to another state. She hunted eggs and loved it. Then we came in to watch the Magic Show. He had a real bunny there and Talicee feel in love with it. A dog and 3 turtles are enough animals for us. We came home and just relaxed the rest of the day. It has been a very long time since we have had Saturdays to relax. Tyler came home after he got off of work.

Sunday morning we had planned to go to the early service so that we could have more time with Tyler. Randy fixed ham biscuits and empty tombs for breakfast. We headed to church and it was a great service. Lunch was almost ready when we got back. After lunch we hunted Easter eggs, which are on the other camera that I need to download. Talicee had a great time hunting and hiding them. The boys rode the 4 wheeler and we just all relaxed. Tyler headed back to his apartment and I got the kids packed to go to their grandparents for a few days.

I feel very relaxed. God's plan for us is in play. The doors are opening up more and more each day. School is winding down and I am ready for a break. Looking forward to my ME vacation at the end of May. Yes, ME vacation. Not telling anyone where I am going and no one is going but me. So looking forward to it.

Enjoy the pictures. Since the kids are gone, maybe I can download the card from the other camera and share Easter Egg hunting at our house.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter. He is risen, Yes indeed he has.

2011-04-18T10:19:00.002-04:00

PROM 2011

Wow what a week. It is getting to the end of school and we have so many things going on. And the rain is not helping. Saturday, we had a river going down our driveway and in our basement. Thank heavens it cleared up before the kids headed out for their prom.

On Friday Miss Talicee had a field trip for finishing her testing on Thursday. I did not have the girls because their grandparents wanted to spend sometime with them. So I did my pick ups for the After Prom Party. Then had lunch with my best friend Tammy. Came home and picked up the rest of the kids. Miss Talicee was so tired after her field trip. I was talking on the phone and missed her. I thought she was eating her snack at the kitchen table. But you know kids, they move so fast. I went to check on her and she was sound asleep with her head on the table. So cute.

Headed out to start decorating for the After Prom. Boy, this is a big job for the few parents that volunteer their time. Thanks to the weight lifting team for moving the tables for us. I got home about 9:30 and headed to bed. I knew I had a big day ahead of me on Saturday. Well, no thanks to my husband did I get any sleep. He woke me up at 1:30 snoring and I was awake for the LONGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG day. Headed out with Taylor for pictures and to pick up the flowers. It was pouring rain. Praying very hard for the rain to stop.

My parents came down to get the 2 little ones to stay with them while we did After Prom. They got to see Taylor all dressed up. If you know my Taylor, he is not one to dress up. He is a shorts and tee shirt guy. But I do have to say he looked very sharp. I just love those dimples of his. He is the only one that has those. He is also a charmer and the dimples do not help.

Got him dressed and over to his date's house by detour. We had a horrible rain storm about an hour before they left. It washed the main road out to her house so we had to go the back way. They looked so good together. This was her first prom too. Then they were going to eat at the mall and I heard on the radio that the mall was just opening back up after losing power. I knew where they were going to eat, they would have to wait. But gave them heads up on the details and they got right in after they reopened. Randy and I had dinner and was just relaxing before heading off to do our picks. We discussed what else could go wrong this night for the kids. Praise God they got where they we going and home safely. We all arrived about 4:30 a.m. on Sunday morning. Yes, it was a very long weekend and bedtimes came very early last night.

So far everyone got home safely Saturday night. This is the main goal of the After Prom. Once again a successful party. Now to continue with the madness of school ending. Enjoy the pictures. Had to add the one of our newest child, Roxey. She thinks she is human.

2011-04-07T08:43:00.002-04:00

A FEW DAYS TO COMPOSE MYSELF

A little over a year ago two precious little girls entered my life. They we just tiny babies. Over the months they begin to grow and develop their personalities. One is a drama queen and the other one is very laid back. I have watched them grow from just laying around to running around. From no hair to hair, no teeth to teeth and to be able to just smile to hug and kiss me. (tears are flowing)

On Tuesday, I got the horrible news that May 26th will be the girls last day with me. Since they are twins, they were born 6 weeks early. Which means that they are behind on some things. One of the areas is their language skills. They should be saying about 50 words by now. They are only saying about 5. Since I am with them all of the time, I understand what they are saying. The Dr. feels that putting them in Day Care with other children their age will develop their language skills.

I know how much one and one time I spend with them. I have taught them what is right and wrong. Sign language, how to put puzzles together and feed themselves. One of them does not eat well, so I spend time with her so that she will eat. I hope they will get this time in day care.

I have cried and cried. These girls are part of my life and my family. We do everything together. I will miss them so much. Like my mom said "when God closes one door, he opens another one." So now I am waiting on him to direct me where I should go now. I really enjoyed watching these girls. But not sure if I want to do it again. I am getting the feeling that I need to be in the school system somewhere. I am just confused right now. With Randy not having a job, this has been even a bigger blow.

Say a prayer for me as I venture out into a different career. I do know that I will take the summer off and spend it with my children. Who knows after that. Really pray hard on May 26th. (tears flowing) cause I will cry all day and not let the girls out of my arms.

Carly and Kendall, KK will miss you more than the world. I love you just like my own children.

2011-04-04T09:38:00.002-04:00

GOD IS GOOD

Due to live in general, I have not had time to blog. Life is just getting in the way of my plans. Things are beginning to calm down around here. A few post back, I opened my heart up on the blog. Yes, things around here have been very bleek. You really learn how to adjust your life when you do not have a job.

Well, Friday was the turning around point. I had the day off. I spent the day shopping (window shopping). Since Randy had been gone for so long and is now home, I thought it was his turn to take care of the kids. You would have thought I asked him to build a house. All of the questions. Hey, you used to do this, so what is different now.

Anyway, I get up very early because I was going to a sale that takes about 2 hours to get there. I thought I better check my e-mail just in case something had happened in the middle of the night. You know while a girl shops, she does not check her e-mails. While I was on the computer, I thought I better check facebook. I like to wish my friends on facebook a happy birthday. If you are familiar with facebook, you have to click on most recent to see the up to date stuff. Before I clicked, I saw "Tyler and Lindsay are engaged" What the heck. I had to read 3 times. I yelled to Randy, Do you know what your son has done? So after loosing it for about 5 minutes, it dawned on us It is April Fool's Day. Anyway, Tyler does not have money to spend on himself much less on a rock that they were showing on facebook. So got my breath and took off. I finally realized he as trying to get a rise out of me.

I spent the day in Lynchburg shopping. I had to meet Tyler before his last class to give him his rent check and some hamburger. This went really well since I knew it was an April Fool's joke. Good thing or I could be in jail right now. Dumb kids. Stopped by Lil Cucci's and brought home the most amazing pizza. When I got home, I asked Randy if his unemployment check had come through. I had written checks on this money. Not like it is a lot, but at least it is paying some of the bills. He said no. So I went into the bank account to see what was wrong. To my surprise, our tax return had arrived. I checked the status the other day because I had to send in adoption items with it and it stated that I would not get it until April 26th. I was so happy. Then I looked at the amount. It was not the amount that our return had said. IT WAS LESS. Why. Did the math and came up with the adoption part was not there. Went back to the status update. They are sending us a letter about the adoption part. I sent them everything that they needed. So I guess I will wait and see what happens. I am not looking to receive this amount. This is just how the IRS works. Trying to get unemployment has just about made us crazy. I guess it pays to be a bum and drink beer and smoke. These are the people that get government assistance without any trouble. Off my soap box now.

Saturday, I spent all day cleaning my house and putting my Easter decorations out. I finished up about 6:30 when I had finished mopping all of my floors on my hands and knees. What a job, but doesn't it feel good to have a clean house? Not sure about the weather on Saturday. One minute it was sunny, next it was raining, next it was sleeting and then very cold then warm. Oh well, Sunday was beautiful.

Hope to get some pictures up soon. Just too busy to take the camera out of the bag. Next week is prom for us. So should have some great pictures of Taylor and his date. Of course it means a long weekend for me because I work the after prom.

I knew that God would not let me down. Even though life has gotten in the way, faith in him has shown through. He is providing all of our needs. No we are not rich, but the needs are being met. Thanks for all of the prayers. Keep them coming. They are working.

2011-04-01T00:11:00.001-04:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MOM

Happy Birthday to the most wonderful Mom in the world. We love you very much.

2011-03-31T09:52:00.003-04:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY GRANDMAW

Randy, Kim, Tyler, Taylor, Trevor and Miss Talicee wish you a very Happy Birthday. We love you.

2011-03-17T10:19:00.007-04:00

HAPPY ST PATTY'S DAY

My very first trophy

Always my happy boy

I love my sister. I love my brother

Seth Franco Harleem Globetrotters

Celebrating with his team

Mom forgot her pom poms

On Saturday we had the Upwards Grand Finale. The kids really enjoyed it. Seth Franco with the Harleem Globetrotters was the entertainment. He was really good.

Not much is going on here. Trevor has had SOL's last week. Not much homework with these test. Talicee has just been her drama queen self. Taylor is just Taylor. I do have good news. After opening up my heart in a few posts back, things began to turn around. Randy is receiving his unemployment checks. Not much, but will buy groceries. He is still looking for a full time job. His business is still running. He will finish a huge project this week or the beginning of the next week. He has been on this job for 10 months. Now I know why our state does not have money, they do not know how to manage a project. He will still be out of town, but not for this job. He has 2 more residential jobs in the area and then he can come home for good.

We filed our income taxes. Was a little unsure about the adoption refund for this year. Lets just say, we can't wait until we get our taxes back. A big praise to God for sending it our way. Since we own our own businesses, our taxes have to be done by March 15th. We mailed them on March 10th. What a great relief.

Spring is beginning to pop around here. I see more and more trees and flowers budding. Just checked my flowers and it will be about another week of warm weather. It is a little colder where I live than in town. The twins are growing like a weed. They are just so happy to be here every day. They never cry unless they are sick. I am looking forward to the warm weather so that they can go outside and play. I want to plant spring flowers so bad, but you know the weather in VA, it could change within hours. So I guess I will wait until April.

I have started Zumba classes and I love it. We are burning so many calories every time we do it. I guess when they take a break in April, I can work on my yard.

Happy St. Patty's Day to everyone. I made shamrock pancakes for the kids this morning. I made shamrock peanut butter cookies for the kids and cooking a beef noodle dish for dinner with green tea. Should be a lucky Thursday for us. Yall have a great day.

2011-03-08T08:52:00.006-05:00

AWANA GRAND PRIX

On Sunday Trevor had his Awana's Grand Prix. He was so excited. Since Randy has been out of town and Trevor's grandparents live out of town, Trevor asked Freddie King to help him with his car. They worked for weeks on it. I think they just enjoyed being around each other. After each Saturday the worked, they rewarded themselves with a dinner out. Trevor was very proud of his car. He told Freddie what he wanted on it, and they did it. Trevor designed the car and did all of the work. It is amazing to see the cars. You can tell the ones that parents do and the ones that kids do. This happens with projects too. I think if it is a kid thing, then parents should let the kids do it. But what do I know. I am just a parent.

Trevor ran in several heats. His car was just not as fast as some of them. But that is ok, because he had fun at doing it. We have tried to raise our kids to have fun at things and not take everything to heart. It breaks my heart to see a kid get mad because they do not win all of the time. Believe me, we hardly are on a winning team. But afterwards, you will always find my kids encouraged to try harder. No sad faces.

Trevor is a winner in my heart and also in God's. That is all that matters.

Hardly could wait to compete. It took everything I could do to get this shot. Not a very good one.

Lining it up just right. Can't remember what heat this one was.

Waiting to see who wins this heat.

Trevor's car is on the far left. I think he won this heat.

2011-03-03T08:20:00.008-05:00

RANDOM PICTURES

Could this be considered child labor?

Learning to use a spoon

I think she has mastered it

Where is Roxy?

Happy Birthday Miss Lucy (Hubei sister)

Miss pouty britches

2011-03-01T09:49:00.004-05:00

UPWARDS BASKETBALL AND CHEERLEADING SEASON ALMOST OVER

Next Saturday will be the last game of upwards. This is Trevor's last year. He is too old to play Upwards. Talicee will continue to do cheerleading. She loves it. She came home last night and said that in order to be a cheerleader, you must be able to do a split. Guess what mommy, I am a cheerleader, I can do it. I think she could do anything she wants. I can't believe how time is flying. School is getting closer and closer to ending. Taylor is modeling for a photographer this week and then he will have his senior pictures made. He has already registered for his senior classes. What a Senior. Talicee has already been told that she will be going to the 1st grade. She is doing amazing. She can write in cursive, read, speak Spanish, do sign language and math. Trevor will be registering for 6th grade very soon. Tyler is registering for his Junior year in college in the next few weeks. I just want them to all be at home again so that I can just take care of them.

2011-02-22T09:24:00.002-05:00

PITY PARTY FOR ME

I know this blog is about how adoption has affect our lives, but sometimes I just need a pity party. So today is my day. It is cold, once again, and gloomy outside so I am declaring this my pity party day.

I just need to vent. 21 years ago I married my husband. As like most marriages we have had our ups and downs. I worked until my first born was ready to go to school. I then became a stay at home mom. My husband's word where, I will provide for us, you take care of the kids. For years this has happened. Now we have one in college, living on his own in an apartment, a junior in high school, a 5th grader and a kindergartener. Yes, I should be grateful for everyone being in school. Times have changed. Jobs have changed and the economy, well what can I say.

My husband has owned his own business since before we were married. He started out in mowing and landscaping and then went into irrigation. Everything was rolling along just fine. We were not rich, but we could pay our bills and still have a little play money. Then the economy bottomed out. Well, you know where I am going with this. Yes, things got tough. We struggled and struggled. We thought we were back on our feet and then his accident. Then one thing after another. So I am going to say this. As of Dec. 1st, we have had no income coming in except for the money I make babysitting the twins. Talk about struggling. You don't know until you are at this point. I hear people talking about scheduling their vacations and I am jealous. I have not had one of those for about 5 years now. I hear people talking about not having money for the movies, clothes. If they only know, sometimes we do not have money for food. But I smile and just go on. One of my facebook friends sent me a message saying, I never see you without a smile on your face. I guess I wear the mask well. I would love to be able to take the mask off and really smile from my heart again.

Randy has been working on State job since June. Yes, as organized as I am, I am still wondering why it is still not complete. I think they needed a women managing the job. As of today, Feb 22nd, he is still on this job. The thing about this job is that it takes him out of town for a week at a time. So I have been basically a single parent for 9 + months now. Not what I signed up for. Then in January, Randy takes a CDL driving class that takes him out of town for 5 more weeks. The weather shut his job down for about 6 weeks. Ok, I am still here raising the kids and keeping things together.

In the mean time, the furnace went out, the trooper broke, the oven burned out and long with everything else that breaks when you are all by yourself. To add to things, I have been sick since January. I had the stomach bug then the head stuff. I thought I was getting better other than my cough that caused me to cough up a second lung. Now I am sick again. Can't afford to go the Dr., so will just have to wait it out. How much am I suppose to take? I am tired, very tired. I am not one to ask for help, but I have sucked up the pride and done it lately. What else am I suppose to do?

And to add to things, Randy applied for unemployment and was denied. Why? They said that when you are an owner of a business, you quit. He still has the business, but no work. How can that be quit. So we are appealing the decision. But in the meantime what are you suppose to do? I am out of answers. I have applied at all of the 24 hours stores for work in the middle of the night. But when I fill out the applications, I always seem to be over qualified. I just want to bring in a little extra income. I did not know that that many people wanted to work in the wee hours of the night.

Anyway this is my pity party day today. I am feeling sorry for myself. I am out of answers. I have prayed, cried, prayed, cried to no avail. I feel like my prayers are hitting the ceiling and falling back down and smacking me in the face. I have so many things to be thankful for, but life seems to be blocking my view on these things.

Just need to vent what I have been holding back for months now. I know things will get better, but when will that ever happen? I have faith that God will not let me down, but today I feel the faith is not here.

Please pray for our family. We need to find some answers and some jobs.

I AM TIRED, VERY TIRED.

2011-02-07T10:16:00.001-05:00

CHINESE NEW YEAR'S 2011

On Saturday Talicee and I headed out to celebrate Chinese New Years. We met at the Red Palace. It was so nice to see so many of our local group there. I think Talicee enjoys seeing all of her sisters and brothers from China. I love to hear the laughter and see the smiles on all of the kids faces. We had a great time celebrating.

2011-02-07T09:30:00.002-05:00

TAYLOR'S BIRTHDAY

We celebrated Taylor's birthday with Randy's parents on Friday night. Taylor chose to go to Logan's for dinner. We have not been out to eat in I could not tell you when. It was really busy. We had a great dinner. The acknowledged Taylor for his birthday. Then we came back to our house and had pie and opened presents. Taylor got his letterman's jacket (which is on order), movies, clothes, a dehydrator (so he will quit using my oven) and of course money. Never really got to see how much money he got because it all went into his pocket. I can't believe how fast the kids are growing up. Taylor went for his meeting for his senior pictures and now we are getting ready to take SAT's. Wow, one in college and one not far from it. Thank heavens I have a few years in between the rest of the kids.

2011-02-04T00:00:00.000-05:00

HAPPY 17TH BIRTHDAY TAYLOR

Can it be 17 years ago that I gave birthday to this little boy. Taylor you are the sweetest person. Even though you have tried every nerve that I have, I love you more and more each day. To be 3 days late, you sure do things the way you want too.

2011-02-03T09:52:00.000-05:00

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR (YEAR OF THE RABBIT)

2011-02-02T09:52:00.007-05:00

SNOW AGAIN, LAZY DOG AND BIRTHDAY PARTY

Once again we had snow last week. As big as the snowflakes are you would have thought that we we have a ton of snow. It all melted away. We did not even get to play in it this time. The kids did miss 2 days from it though. Once it would melt, the temps at night would freeze it up again. It sure was pretty watching the big snowflakes coming down.

Lazy dog, lazy dog. Roxy is becoming a very spoiled dog. She will pull the pillow over to her and lay her head on it. She will growl when someone tries to wake her up. Reminds me of my kids. Last night she came into my room on her own and laid down on her bed and went to sleep. Now if we could get her house trained life would be good.

Miss Talicee fell asleep while we were going to the birthday party. She had already had a big day. She had upward pictures taken, a ballgame and then time with grandparents. So on the way, she fell asleep in her car seat. She really needed a nap.

Her dolly was even invited to the party. The party was a Tea Party. She loves going to birthday parties.

Birthday devotion. Never had a devotion at a birthday party. Miss Talicee talked about it all of the way home. She kept telling me about the treasures in her heart.

Birthday girl Miss Isabella

We had a great time at the tea party. Our weeks still continue to be really busy. I will be so glad when Randy is back home to stay. I am tired of being a single parent.

2011-01-21T10:42:00.004-05:00

DARE GRADUATION AND HAIR CREATIONS

The kids have been home for a few days due to some Federal Holidays. So Talicee and the girls played hair for 2 days. These are her creations in each of the girls hair. Now note, the girls barely have enough hair to call hair.

Thursday night, Trevor graduated from the DARE program at school. This is a program that teaches the kids about drugs and alcohol. Each student had to write a paper on what they learned. Trevor's was very good. It is so great to hear that from this class, a student convenience their parent to quit smoking. I am so proud of Trevor. He is doing great in school and over come his learning disability and is learning to live with his visual dyslexia.

Carley's hair done by Miss Talicee

Talicee creation on Kenall's hair

Deputy Garrett

Trevor getting his DARE certificate

2011-01-21T10:17:00.010-05:00

BASKETBALL AND CHEERLEADING BEGINS

This week we began basketball and Cheerleading. This is Trevor's last year of upwards and Talicee's first year. She loved cheerleading. I think she is a natural. We will see. I have been sick since last Thursday. First I had the stomach stuff, then I thought I was feeling better and Sunday I got the head stuff. Randy got the stomach stuff on Sunday. So we were a pretty sorry bunch for a few days. Randy was here on Monday and felt good enough to take Tali to dance and practice for me. As the week went on, I got worse. Today is the first day that I have been able to be on one medicine and not 3. I still have to rest after I do something. So my house is a mess right now, but I need to get my strength back. Good thing we only had one thing to do this week was dance and practices. Hopefully, I am on the mend. Just in time for the weather to turn cold again.

Love the boots

Carley will not take her boots off

Ready to play

Miss attitude is ready to cheer

Here she comes (you would have thought that she was a pro)

Getting my groove on

Taylor's gymnastics team entertained during half time

He is really good. Maybe I should have put him in gymnastics when he was little.

Here comes Trevor

Got the foul shot

2011-01-20T00:00:00.001-05:00

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

I find it hard to believe that 21 years ago Randy and were married at 2:30 in the afternoon on a snowy day at Virginia Tech War Memorial. We left for the reception in a horse and buggy. I still can remember the day. Snow was blowing, but I was not cold at all. Many things have happened since that day. We now own a home, have 4 children and are about to have a major career change. But one thing that will never change is the love that I have for him. There are days that I would choose not to love him, but God brought us together and we have to honor God's wishes.

Happy 21st Anniversary. I love you.

This picture was taken while we were in Hawaii a few years ago. Sure wished I could go back there. I love Hawaii.

2011-01-13T10:05:00.002-05:00

SOME DAYS ARE WORSE THAN OTHERS

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited

island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him. Every day he scanned

the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.

Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood
to protect himself from the elements, and to store his few possessions.
One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut
in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky. He felt the worst had happened, and
everything was lost. He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger. He
cried out, 'God! How could you do this to me?'

Early the next day, he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the
island! It had come to rescue him! 'How did you know I was here?' asked
the weary man of his rescuers. 'We saw your smoke signal,' they replied.

The Moral of This Story:
It's easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we
shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in
the midst of our pain and suffering. Remember that the next time your
little hut seems to be burning to the ground. It just may be a smoke
signal that summons the Grace of God.

I have felt this way all week. I sure hope God shows me what is in store for me and my family soon. I am at the end.

2011-01-10T08:43:00.009-05:00

MANY CHANGES IN 2011

Our new year has started off with a bang. We have had snow and warm temps. The kids are back in the swing of school. I was so glad to see that big yellow school bus appear last Monday. They were too. My babies were on medical leave last week. Talicee, Carley and Kendall all had impetico over the holidays. Carley's lead to more and caused her to be in the hospital over the holidays. She is on the mend now.

Randy has begun a new career. He is working on his CDL license. Owning your own business in this economy is not good right now. So at night he will be driving a truck and work on his business during the day.

Tyler has made the move to become an adult. We moved him into his first apartment on Friday. He had his wisdom teeth cut out on Wednesday and we moved and rearranged furniture all day on Thursday. Taylor finally has his own room. He has not had his own room since he was a baby. He is enjoying it. Tyler is enjoying living on his own. We pay his rent, but he is responsible for all of the other things. His roommates are very nice. I thought all polite kids had left the universe. They sure were polite or just putting on for us. (just kidding). I will say that while I was driving on Friday, I cried all of the way there and back. Hard to believe that he is big enough to be on his own now.

Taylor surprised us on Thursday. He texted me and let me know that he was going to be a little late. Since he just got his license back, this is the rules. Having a driver's license is a priviledge not a right. Anyway, he stated that he was picking up Tyler's going away present. I thought what has gotten into this kid. He got me a Christmas present and then getting Tyler something. He does not like to spend money on other people. While waiting on him, I was on the computer looking for bed rails for Taylor's new bed. We had a full and needed a queen set. Not planning on having to do this. I was stressed. My window of rearranging was limited.

So Taylor arrives home. He comes in and gets me. In the mean time we had backed the trooper out of the garage and had all of Tyler's things in it's place to be put on the moving trailer. I come out to the garage and I see these solid black puppy dog eyes looking up at me. What, where did he come from? Taylor preceeded to tell me that it was free and SHE was his dog. What? I thought you were getting Tyler a going away present. His words, "I just told you that so that I could keep the dog." Now who would say no to this cute little girl.

Lets just say life has been changed around here. My readers that know me, know that I am not an indoor animal person. I like me house clean and a puppy will not keep my house clean. She has been doing good. We are training her to use the bell to go outside. Only a few accidents. Yesterday was the first day we left her for anytime. We put her in the bathroom with the gate up. Well, when we got home, she was upstairs. She had jumped over the gate and roamed all over the house. No accidents. Thank the Lord. Sleeping the first couple of days has been rough. It is like having a baby. So last night, Taylor put her in his room with the gate and newspaper and she slept all night long. I did not realize how much sleep I needed just from missing a couple of days of full rest.

By the time Roxie is big enough it will be warm enough for her to stay outside. She is a black lab. Her feet right now are as big as her body. She is 8 weeks old. I think we will keep her. Dang you Taylor.

The girls are back this week and on the mend. I sure have missed them. How could one person become so attached to these little girls. I love them like they were my own.

2011 is turning out to be a much better year that 2010. Last January we did not know which way we were going to turn. Now we have a plan and are sticking to it. God has answered many prayers for us. There is a brighter light at the end of the tunnel.

Miss Roxie

Moving Day

Tyler's living Room

Tyler's dining room/kitchen

Tyler's bedroom

Tyler's bathroom

The roomates (Tyler, Mike and Emory)

Happy to be back (Kendal)

Miss Carley my miracle baby

2011-01-02T00:00:00.002-05:00

GUESS WHO IS 50

December 31st was our great friend's birthday. Happy 50th birthday Tammy. We did a surprise party for her at Abeluo's. She really enjoyed it. Her family, coworkers and her friends were all present. We enjoyed great food and fellowship. What a great way to celebrate a 50th birthday.

NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY

After our birthday party we headed to Tammy's for another party. We always get together for New Year's at each other's house. This year it was Tammy's turn. The kids had decorated while we had the dinner party. She was surprised about this party too. We had a great time. We actually got to catch up on each other. We all wrung in the new year with party hats, horns and kisses. All was in bed by 12:30. 2011 is looking like it might be better than 2010. I am not sad to see 2010 leave. It has been one of our worst years so far.

P.S. Please pray for one of the twins that I keep. She has spend the last week in the hospital. She is now home and recovering. She has a long road ahead of her.

2011-01-02T00:00:00.001-05:00

CHRISTMAS AT THE LANDES'
On Monday we left for Randy's parents to celebrate Christmas with them. We needed to get there early because his parents had a surprise for the kids for the day. The kids had made their list of what they wanted. They got what they asked for. Miss Talicee loved the horse that goes with her doll that Grandmaw got her. All gifts were welcomed.

After opening all of their presents, the kids were presented with their stockings. Inside the stockings was a tin with a note in it. It read:

"This Christmas you will find your stocking dry...

without toys, We hope you don't cry.

Go jump and splash and have some fun...

but remember you should not run.

For Monday to the water park you will go...

Kemee and Granddaddy say "ho,ho,ho."

They all got to spend the day at the indoor water park. They left about 10:30 and headed to McDonald's for lunch and then to the park. We finally saw everyone again at about 6:30 that night. All of them slept well that night. Even Randy slept will. He got to play with them too. What a great treat since we have had snow for a month.

On Tuesday, Randy's mom wanted to have a dinner party for some of their friends and family. Since we are always in a rush when we visit, it was a nice time to catch up with them. We had 29 guest for the evening. Dinner was wonderful. The fellowship was great. It was so nice to just sit down and talk and get to know our friends again. All of the kids had a great time playing. My mother-in-law does a great job at entertaining.

I got to spend some time shopping. A little retail therapy does a girl good.

2011-01-01T15:42:00.054-05:00

2010 REVIEW

JANUARY

Lets just say I am so glad 2010 is over.

January came with a big snow. Not that we just had one in December, but got just as much in January. The kids loved it. All 4 were home so they could enjoy it. We also became TV stars in January. Our local TV station came and interviewed us on our adoption. So many people saw us on tv.

Randy and I celebrated 20 years together. Where has the time gone? We did not do to much in the month of January due to the snow. We played a lot in the house and in the snow. I think Miss Talicee finally learned how to sled by herself.

I try to update at least once a month. These are just some of the pictures that I pulled just to do a year in a review. You can always go to older post and find what we did that month.

Tali being Tali

20 years together

The TV star

Our house in the beautiful snow

FEBRUARY

February turned out to be a very long month. We had quiet a bit of snow. The kids were out of school a lot. Taylor celebrated his 16th birthday. He chose to stay home for a home cooked meal and an ice cream cake. This is one of his favorites. He got a pair of Ray Ban sunglasses. To this day, he still has them and they are still in tact.

No much to do when you have snow and live where we live. It is days before we get out. so Miss Talicee and I had a spa day. We rolled our hair, painted our nails and had facials. We also baked cookies.

Of course, in February we celebrated Valentine's Day. We had a quiet little dinner at home. Chinese New Year also fell in February. Miss Talicee and I went to our annual Families with Chinese Children luncheon. We always have a great time.

Finally going down by herself

Happy 16th Taylor

Spa day (I have a picture of me in curler, but I would never put it on here)

The reason to celebrate Chinese New Year

MARCH

We never know what the weather will be in March. We got a light snow at the beginning and end of the month of March. Didn't have much going in March. Basketball has ended and baseball had not started yet. So it was a little break from sports. Miss Talicee has a few birthday parties she went to during the month. But not much was happening for us. Thank goodness we get a break for a while.

First snow of the month

Perfect dress for a birthday party

Second snow of the month

APRIL

April brought about Easter early in the month. So when picking out outfits, it is hard to pick when you don't really know what the weather is going to be. It could be snowing on Easter in VA.

Taylor chose to run track this spring. Well, let me rephrase that. We made his run track. We needed to keep in occupied before he got his license. He actually did a great job. I have now sat through football, baseball and track with it snowing.

Our weather was great for spring break. The younger kids got to wear summer clothes. They enjoyed playing outside. Trevor celebrated his 11th birthday at the end of the month. I can't believe that he is growing so fast.

This month I started watching twins. They are a joy to watch.

Taylor ready for track (he hated the shorts)

He really does love her

Actually had flowers blooming to pick

Birthday boy

MAY

May is the month for the closing of the school year. Sol's have finished, preschool graduation and final plans for the end of the big boys school years. During May, since preschool ends before Father's Day, preschool had a Daddy day. Miss Talicee really enjoyed this day. She then had a Mother/Daughter Tea for Mother's Day. It was very formal and we had a great time.

Tyler got a new car and handed the first car down to Taylor who did not get to drive by himself until after school was out in June. Now I am second guessing this decision of letting Taylor drive. Finally Miss Talicee graduated from preschool. I can not believe that she is getting so old. Kindergarten is just around the corner. So much happens each month, I have a hard time keeping up with all of the activities.

Daddy Day

Mother's Day Tea

Tyler's new car

Preschool graduation

JUNE

June brought around the end of the school year. The boys where really excited about that. Taylor does a weight lifting program all year and he got a lot a awards for all of his hard work. The twins turned 1 on June 25th. And the worst day of my life was June 24th. I got a call about 5:30 saying that Randy had been in a truck accident. Praising God everyday that he survived. God was protecting him that day.

The twins birthday party

Awards Banquet

I hope I never see this again

Truck was totaled (he crawled through the windshield)

JULY

July turned out to be a very hot month. I had to turn my air on. Many of you know that it has to be really hot for me to do that. Summer is in full swing. Tyler is on vacation. Taylor is headed to Florida with the youth from church. Trevor, Talicee and I headed out on a very short vacation. Randy was in full swing on a job out of town. Seems like even the summers are as jammed packed as the other months of the year. July is the month of my first born's birthday. Hard to believe that he will be leaving the teens and headed to the 20's this year. I am old.

Headed to a wedding

Headed to Florida

On vacation

Tyler's 19th birthday

No body touch me (in grandparents pool)

AUGUST

August is the month at football practice begins and school is not far behind it. The boys started practice on the 1st. So it was just Talicee and the twins and I at the pool. The twins were still not walking so it was a little tricky with them. Now they are all over the place. The pool should be fun next summer.

Miss Talicee started kindergarten. She loves it. She is learning to write in cursive, Spanish and sign language. My boys did not learn much of this until late in school. She must wear a uniform everyday, but we make up with tights, socks and of course bows. The boys started 3 days after Talicee. Not much excitement from them. They are just concentrating on football.

Carley

Kendall

Ready to meet my teacher

Please take my hand

First day in class

SEPTEMBER

September seems to be a whirlwind too. With football, dance and school our time goes fast. Once football season starts that is our life for 3 months. Our weather has been so warm. I know come December January we are in for it.

All smiles

Taylor my big boy football player

Little Trevor the big football player (43)

Basket babies

OCTOBER

October was a very busy month for us. We are still in the middle of football. We had field trips and parties to attend. Miss Talicee turned 5 years old. We gave her a fancy tea party. The girls had a great time. We visited the pumpkin patch and did some trick or treating. Taylor had his Paris Hilton smores day.

Cute little pumpkin

5th birthday tea party

Paris Hilton smores

Ready to trick or treat

NOVEMBER

During the month of November, the kids were busy. We finally had finished football and were on a resting period. Hunting season kicked in and things went wild again. for 3 weekends, the boys hunted. Randy, Taylor and Trevor all killed deer. Tyler has school or work and could not hunt this year. Didn't think it mattered to much to him. We had our annual Thanksgiving dinner with Randy's parents and his aunt and uncle. then headed off to my parents for Thanksgiving and Black Friday shopping.

Such a happy girl

My handsome Tyler

Taylor's awards for football

One of Trevor's deer

DECEMBER

December came up on us really fast. It seemed we just finished Thanksgiving and Christmas was here. We had a month of snow in December. The kids had a short month of school. Talicee and the twins were all sick. Carley ended up in the hospital. Kendal and Talicee are fine now. We traveled quiet a bit in December. I had a vacation week the last week of December. The kids got to swim in the month of December. They were treated to an indoor water park by their grandparents. What better way to come in from the snow and go to a water park and feel like it is summer again.

The twins and Talicee talking to Santa.

She gets prettier and prettier everyday

Great bunch of kids

2011-01-01T12:06:00.002-05:00

2010-12-26T15:38:00.007-05:00

GRANDMAW'S AND PAWPAW'S CHRISTMAS GIFT

Great looking group of kids

So loving

Handsome Boys

Beautiful girls

Looking good guys

My beautiful nieces

2010-12-25T19:30:00.002-05:00

A WHITE CHRISTMAS

We woke up to a white Christmas this morning. It has been snowing all day. Tyler went out and came back in and had to use 4 wheel drive. So we may be traveling in the trooper next week. I just looked out side and I do not see any grass as I have this morning. I haven't heard the weather, so I am not sure what we are in store for.

Yesterday we had Christmas at my parents house. We did breakfast, then had a great steak dinner. This kids played with all of their new toys and things. My mom got what she has been asking for since Miss Talicee came into our lives. We went home one Sunday and had all of the kids pictures made together. The last one was a few years back. We put it on the wall and it took Mom a while to see it. I have a dvd of all of the pictures. I will load them tomorrow.

We actually slept in today. We were all so tired when we got home last night. Talicee had a hard time keeping her eyes open to put cookies and milk out for Santa. Once she went to bed, I walked out of the room and she was sound asleep. Taylor and Trevor were right behind her. Tyler and Randy tried to put Talicee's vanity together. I don't know why it took 2 to do it. Oh yes I do. They are males. Finally got into bed about 11:30 last night.

The kids were trilled with their gifts. Tyler got a lot of things for his apartment. Taylor got an Ipod touch. Trevor got a flat screen TV. Talicee got a vanity for her room. Randy got a computer and I got an Ipod touch nano. Still learning about it. Of course they got a few more things, but this was their big things.

Today we have done nothing. We had a late breakfast and then a late dinner. Since it is snowing, we probably will not go anywhere tomorrow either. It has been a very relaxing day. We have a very busy week of traveling and New Year's coming up. We sang Happy Birthday to Jesus today. Jesus is the reason for the season.

Merry Christmas everyone.

2010-12-25T00:00:00.001-05:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE LANDES'

2010-12-20T10:01:00.002-05:00

CHRISTMAS ACTIVITIES

The kids were out of school on Friday, so Tyler, Talicee, the twins and I headed out to see Santa Claus. It was still pretty icy when we left. I let Tyler drive and he did a little bit of sliding. When we arrived at the mall, it was not busy. Most of the stores where open. We headed right to Santa. He was walking up right when we arrived. Since the pictures are so expensive, I had Tyler go to the upper deck and take pictures, as good as he could, from there. The twins did ok for a while, but then wanted nothing to do with him. So we rode the train. They really enjoyed this. We had lunch and bought our very last gift. When we left, the mall was getting very crowded. Glad we went early.

Saturday was a big day for us. Miss Talicee had her Christmas dance recital. Boy was it crowded. I guess all of the Grinches came out. There were so many grumpy people that we left right after her performance. We had a party to attend at our friend's house. It was so nice to just relax and enjoy the friends that we have.

Sunday was another big day. We started the morning off by getting pictures of all of the kids. With school and work schedules, it is hard to get everyone together. Everyone cooperated and it was quick and painless. Miss Talicee was singing in her preschool choir. Last year it was snowed out. She did a great job. I did think that she was going to hit the little girl next to her in the head when she was doing her motions to the song. But she didn't. I could actually hear her sing this time. We took pictures after church. The boys either had to work or had to do something for Awana's, so it was just Miss Talicee. Guess they are getting to big for pictures.

Randy and I took Talicee to see the festival of trees. She really enjoyed this. She loved looking at all of the differently decorated trees. There were a couple that just took your breath away. We headed home for a very short nap. We then went back to church for Christmas caroling and a hay ride. Lets just say, it is not very warm here right now. It was a very cold ride. We came back and enjoyed some warm hot chocolate. It was pizza night in Awana's. So we were not lacking on any food. It is our last meeting until the new year. We exchanged gifts with our friends and wished our friends a very Merry Christmas.

Lets just say by the time we got home, all of the kids we in bed less than 15 minutes after getting home. Randy and I actually sat down and watched a movie on the Hallmark channel. It was a big weekend.

Today, I gave the twins their Christmas present. They got pillow pets. They love to pull the pillows off of the couch, so this was a great gift for them. They have been laying on them all morning. This is a 4 day week for me. We leave on Thursday for my parents and sister's house for our first Christmas. I could use some relaxation. I enjoy the holidays, but they are a lot of work. Enjoy the many pictures I have taken in 4 days. I had to empty my card because it was almost full. There are alot of pictures, so grab you a cup of hot tea and sit back and watch the Life of the Landes'.

2010-12-17T15:43:00.003-05:00

ANNUAL BAKING DAY AT THE LANDES'

Every Christmas we do a day of baking our favorite Christmas items. We began at 9:00 am and I finished up at 9:00 pm. The kids had a great time working on their item. Our regular scheduled day for the baking day was Saturday, but due to the snow day and everyone being home, we did it on Thursday.

We had our second snowfall in the month of December. If this is what winter is looking like, then we are in trouble again. Talicee and Kendal played in the snow. Carley would not have anything to do with it. Kendal cried when she had to come in for lunch. Kendal loves the snow. Trevor and Talicee played for hours in the snow. They had friends come up and play with them.

We have a packed weekend. I will post pictures of the weekend later. Enjoy the pics for now.

2010-12-13T09:34:00.002-05:00

FAMILIES WITH CHINESE CHILDREN ANNUAL CHRISTMAS PARTY

We had a great time at the FCC Christmas Party. We ate and the kids played musical Santa chairs. It is like musical chairs, but once you are out, you get to go to the tree and get a gift. Once they learned how the game worked, they all were eager to get out and go to the tree. The kids ran around and just enjoyed being with one another. This gave the adults time to catch up on our lives with our sweet children. All of the children are growing way to fast. We had a new member join us. Judy just came home with her son. I have forgotten his name, but he is so handsome. He is 11 years old. He already understands English.

Regina was missing from the party. She and her son are in China getting their 2 daughters. As of today, she has Miss Alyssa. She seems very happy to have her forever family. She is 7. In a few days they will travel to another province and get their second daughter Miss Mandi. She is 12. Can't wait to meet them.

Our partying time has started. We have another party today at dance. Then Friday at school. A party on Saturday and Sunday and a dance recital to attend. Then the next week we have a few more parties. This is what the holiday season is all about. Celebrating with friends and family.

I have a sick child today. Hope it is only the 24 hour bug. We do not need to be sick before the holidays. Enjoy the pics.

2010-12-11T12:19:00.002-05:00

DECORATING THE CHRISTMAS TREE

We are trying a real tree this year. We haven't had a real tree since Taylor was 2. Trevor and Talicee have never had one. They were so excited last night when we went to get our tree. I am a little picky. I know you can not believe that. Anyway, since Taylor works at Country Corner, I put my request in. Yesterday on my way to pick Miss Talicee up from school, I noticed a truck with fresh cut trees at the store. Well, I texted Taylor and told him to pick us out one.

Taylor texted me about 5:30 and said that they were not going to unload the trees until Saturday morning. Big disappointment. I knew the ones on the lot were at least a week or 2 old. We needed a tree, so I grab my big girl britches up and headed out to get the tree. To my surprise, as we drove up, I saw them unloading trees. Yeah, a fresh cut tree. We looked and looked. We could not have a tall tree. It could not be very fat. Finally, we found the perfect tree. Taylor tied it up and loaded it on the trooper. We headed home.

The 2 little ones were so excited they were bouncing off the wall. Randy got the tree set in the stand and Trevor watered it. I put my tree trimming baskets on the tree. Some are a little heavier than others, so I needed to place them in the right place as not to fall. The kids finished the rest of the decorations. I think I will wait until the week of Christmas to put the away gifts under the tree. My twins are very nosey. I think they would find their gifts. I do have to say, the smell of pine is very relaxing. After my week, I need the relaxation.

Miss Talicee and I are headed out to our annual Families with Chinese Children Christmas Party. I look forward to this every year. I love seeing all of the little ones that have found their forever families. Look for pictures to come soon of that. For now enjoy the tree decorating party.

2010-12-07T18:06:00.006-05:00

BREAKFAST WITH SANTA

Well, the running has begun for the holiday season. We are booked every weekend in the month of December. Saturday morning Miss Talicee and I had breakfast with Santa. I think this is the prettiest Santa I have ever seen. He looks so much like a Santa. After breakfast, we went home and began the decorating of the house. It took all day. Of course, I cleaned as I moved and put new stuff out. I finally finished at 9:30 p.m. with the mopping of my floor on my hands and knees. The house looks great. Not too much out, but enough to make it very seasonal.

We will get our tree on Friday night. We are getting a real tree this year. Hopefully, no one is allergic to the tree. If so, we will be doing Christmas morning on the screened in porch.

I finally received my camera back after being in the shop for a month. Don't get me started on why it took so long.

This is what Santa looks like in my mind

Santa and his sleigh

Why she is crossing her eyes, I have no idea

Make sure you read the shirt

This is true (mostly is pushing it)

First snow of December 2010

2010-11-29T09:40:00.008-05:00

THANKSGIVING VACATION LANDES STYLE

We hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We sure did.

We began prepping for Thanksgiving on Wednesday. I made everything except the mashed potatoes on Wednesday. While doing this, I had 7 kids under my feet. Thank goodness for great helpers.

Thursday morning I got the turkey in and worked on setting the table and getting everything ready to bake or cook. In-laws arrived around 1:30. Tyler had to work, so he missed seeing his grandparents. We had a great dinner. Then things began to fall apart.

We were cleaning up. So I fixed Tyler a plate and sat it on warmer on my stove. In the cleaning process, I set my plastic cutting board too close to the warmer. You guessed it, the corner melted on the stove. While trying to move it, I broke my spoon rest. No big deal with either one. So the in-laws leave and we get everything in the car to get ready to go out of town. Tyler finally gets home about 7:00. He eats and we head out. Tyler had to work on Friday, so he drove. Taylor rode with him. Last words to the little ones: GO TO THE BATHROOM. No one went. So we are loaded and ready to go. We have yellow jackets in our basement, so we set off a bomb in the house hoping this would work. So no one could go back in for 2 hours.

We are heading down the road. The little ones are enjoying a movie. Then I hear I HAVE TO GO THE BATHROOM. Now it is Thanksgiving night and we are on the interstate. We find a place and go in. Of course everyone had to go then. Get back into the car and head to my parents. We are just cursing along and we come into the county that I grew up in. Every time we get near I tell Randy to slow down. Cops are really bad. We are coming down a hill and Randy is braking a little. That is when we see blue lights. Now just a few hours earlier, I had read my cousin's facebook page and she had gotten a ticket for speeding and a crack windshield. Happy Thanksgiving right. So we get to a safe spot and pull over. First thing Randy says to me is YOU KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT. Me say anything. I am in my hometown. I probably know who just pulled us over and went to school with them. So I sit there. The police officer comes to the window and asked if we knew why we were being stopped. Randy said I have no idea. The cop says we were doing 71 in a 55. NOT, because I had just looked at the speed and noticed it was just over 60. We could see the 60 miles per hour sign in front of us before we saw lights. So Randy gives him his license. I go for the registration. Wouldn't you know, I could not find the current on. So I handed him the 09 one. Our tags proved that we had renewed. The 2010 one was stuck to the 09 one. So we wait for him to return. In the mean time, Talicee is sitting in her seat saving Daddy are you going to jail. I don't want to go to jail. I guess we all could have gone because we had 3 guns under the seat. The boys where going hunting and the gun cases would not fit in the van. Glad he did not search the vehicle. Get our wonderful Thanksgiving ticket and head on. You know if Randy would have let me lean up and see who was giving us a ticket, we might have gotten out of it. See I know people that he does not know. But he told me not to move. So now he has a ticket.

We get to my parents and the first thing the boys ask us is where have you been? Of course Talicee pops us and say daddy was going to jail. By then it is 9:30 and we are all tired. We head to my sisters.

My sister has a new house and we are not familiar with it. So we are making our way to our bedroom. Our old bedroom was on the living floor with lots of windows and light. Our room now is downstairs. We finally get ready for bed. Talicee is upstairs with Morgan and Trevor and Madison are sleeping on the futon. Randy and I get into bed and turn the light off. It is dark, very dark. Not familiar with the new area, we are afraid to get up and go to the bathroom. We finally go to sleep. While trying to go to sleep, I notice that there were 2 blinking lights on the ceiling. Not much light there either.

Randy was getting up to go hunting. I heard him get up and get Trevor and Maddie up. They turned on every light that had to be in the basement. Finally, I heard them go upstairs. Good, I can go back to sleep. I was almost asleep when this motor sound went off. Scared me to death. It was the furnance. No one told me that the furnance was right beside my room. It actually sounded like an airplane ready to take off. Well, I guess I am up for the day. Before Randy, Michael and kids left for hunting they needed to get breakfast. So the 3 of them went upstairs to wait on Michael. He was not up yet. Some great white hunter he is. Melissa says that he came out of the bedroom and looked in the living room and there were 3 sets of eyes staring at him. Michael went back into the room and told her that they were all sitting out there waiting on him. This would have been a kodak moment. Just another clue of how our vacation is going.

We did our family Thanksgiving as lunch on Friday. We had planned to go shopping. A tradition that mom and my sister do every year. We used to go in the morning, but with 6 kids, we can't do that any more. So we go in the afternoon and shop until the wee hours of the morning. While warming up the lunch items, Michael put the rolls in the oven. My sister has 2 ovens now and wanted to use one to warm stuff. We said we did not need it. I began to smell something burning. We checked once and did not see anything. The smell continued. Finally, we realized that all of the racks where full and Micheal had put the stone directly on the burner in the oven. That was what was burning. So needless to say the rolls were burned. We have lunch and it was great. Since my Dad's birthday was on Thanksgiving, we gave him his gifts after we ate.

My sister and Mom and I headed out for shopping. We had our sells papers in tow. We had a plan. We were going to shop all stores that we needed to until everything closed and then head to Wally World. We could not remember how we did it last year. So we started at Target. Wrong move. We only got to shop at 7 stores and did not even get to the mall. Last year we must have started at the mall and moved to other stores. Needless to say, we did not get the shopping done we wanted to. Better plan next year. So we were home before 11:00.

Saturday VT had a home game, so we knew we had to stay away from Blacksburg. My sister's family was going to the game. Not that everyone wanted to go. Lets just say I would not have wanted to be in the same car with them going to the game. Mom and I went to her Wally World. We really didn't get to shop because we knew we needed to head back home before the game was over to beat the traffic. I get a text message from Taylor saying that the game is in 3rd quarter and we needed to leave now. It was only 1:00 and the game did not start until 12:00. I am a little confused. Head to my parents. Now I am thinking, the guys have loaded the car and are waiting on pins and needles for us. We arrive and guess what. NOTHING HAS BEEN PACKED. I started getting things packed. Remember that Taylor texted me to let me know we needed to leave. Was anything of his packed. No. I do a one last walk through and guess what I find. Taylor's bag in his bedroom. He had not even packed. I feel like I am stuck in mud at this time. We need to leave but nothing is done but everyone is ready to go.

We make it home safely and without any more tickets. We unload and put away. Grab a quick bite and Randy and I head out to buy a leather sofa I saw while shopping. We get there and they are offering 6 months no interest. What a great deal. We can do this. So we apply for it. The girl calls it in. After a 45 minute wait for someone to approve us, we decided we would just pay cash for it and head out. Now why would your company offer something like this and not be available for credit check. Just another notch in our vacation. We stop at Starbucks for a coffee. So looking forward to a warm drink since it was cold. Took a drink and burned my tongue. Dang it. Got the new sofa in and the old one out for Tyler to put in his apartment. Now time for bed. Hopefully, Sunday will be a better day.

I felt like we were the Griswald's. Everything we seem to do, something would go wrong. We have laughed and cried all weekend. It was so nice to special a little time with my mom and sister. I look forward to this every year. Even though our Thanksgiving vacation was the Griswald one, we had a great one.

Flower arrangement from my mother -in-law

Stand up napkins

Stanley's 80th birthday

Stanley

Don

Happy girl

2010-11-25T00:00:00.001-05:00

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

I have so much to be thankful for this year. God has everything thing to do with my thankfulness. He gave my husband a second chance on life. I am so thankful for my husband, children, family and friends. I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving. Always thank God for the good and the bad experiences.

Happy Birthday to my daddy today. I am so thankful for him. Enjoy your day daddy.

2010-11-18T11:03:00.006-05:00

TALICEE'S CHAPEL THANKSGIVING PROGRAM

Since Talicee goes to a private christian school, she has chapel everyday. Today her class presented the program. The sang in sign language and in Spanish. She was also a turkey in the play. Her speaking part was Gobble, Gobble. They all did a great job this morning.

After the program, we all enjoyed snacks in the room. I am getting to know more of the kids and their parents. We all had a great time this morning.

Heading to Taylor's football banquet tonight and then Trevor's tomorrow night. Taylor has to wear a shirt and tie. Not to happy about this. When I was growing up, when the varsity team played they had to wear shirt and tie to school on Friday. Times sure have changed.

Singing in Spanish

Gobble, Gobble

Singing in sign language

Snack time

2010-11-16T10:21:00.002-05:00

I CAN NOT BE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF

Last May, Miss Talicee, Trevor and I had a dentist appointment. Everything was fine. Talicee had gone to the local peds dentist to get a cavity filled and another major fix. So May was our 6 months check up. We already knew she had a cavity on the other side, but thought we could have it filled in the office and move on.

So in June we went back to the dentist to have it filled. Lets just say she is Dentist phobic. Needless to say we did not get the tooth filled. So he sent us to another peds dentist. Now remember that we had just gone to the dentist in May and the only thing that was wrong was the cavity that we already knew she had and tried to fill. Well, this peds dentist proceeded to tell me that she had 5 cavities on top, 5 on bottom, needed another major procedure and had some kind of mouth disease in her mouth. Now, I am standing there with my mouth hanging open thinking what happened in 4 weeks. RED FLAGS were flying up everywhere. He proceeded to tell me that in order to have all of this done, she would have to go to the hospital, be put under and the estimate was only for what he saw now, not what he would find once in there. Now we are talking about an estimate of $5,000 for baby teeth that will come out in a few years. He also said that I had to pay cash, check or credit card. They do not take insurance. What? I was so uncomfortable with this. I came home and talked to Randy about it. We decided that if her teeth are this bad, they are going to fall out earlier than expected and the big teeth will be ok. If it was her big teeth, we would have done it in a heart beat.

Fast forward 5 months. Talicee had a dentist appoint yesterday. I was so nervous. I just knew that the regular dentist would tell us the same thing. We went in and she was very good for the dentist. Which I expected drama. I began to tell her about our last experience. She checked Talicee's teeth 3 times to make sure she did not miss anything. THERE WAS NO NEW CAVITIES EXCEPT THE ONE WE ALREADY KNEW ABOUT. Her comment was, she has excellent teeth. Need to get that one fixed and they will see her in 6 months. Music to my ears. Those words took a boulder off of my shoulders.

It really makes me mad that there are dentist out there that will take advantage of people just to put money in their pocket. I have since then talked with several people and they have told me the same story that I was told. Glad I listened to myself and chose the route we chose.

Off subject: Have you missed seeing pictures? Well, my camera is in the shop. Last year when they put the new software in there, they did not sink the lens with the new software. I thought the camera would adjust itself after uses. Wrong, so it is in the shop now being fixed. I am really missing it. Hope it gets back soon. I am using my little one in the mean time. Will post pics when I get a chance.

2010-11-03T11:13:00.002-04:00

TRICK OR TREATING AND CORN MAZE

Halloween sure was busy in our house. Miss Talicee was out of school on Friday. She had parent/teacher conferences. By the way, she made straight A's on her report card. So we decided to carve our pumpkin. I am no artist so mine looks like it was butchered. I love the fancy ones, but I can't do that. I think it turned out pretty good considering I had 2 babies and a little girl to watch while doing it. Later we headed to Trevor's Harvest Party. Kids always like a party. They made slim. Right down my kids alley.

Sunday Miss Talicee wore her dress that Miss Becky had made her to church. It is so cute. Thank you Miss Becky. We then headed to Lexington to pick up the boys. Needless to say, Sunday naps were out of the question. We then headed back to church for Trunk and Treat. We were lazy and did not decorate our trunk, but had a great time handing out candy. Trevor and Talicee enjoyed all of the candy. Dentist appoint in 2 weeks, so we will see how much damage the candy has done.

Monday, Miss Talicee and her kindergarten class went to the corn maze. These kids had a ball. They road the hay ride and found pumpkins. We then headed to the slide. Talicee rode with her teacher. Off to the cow train for more fun. Then to petting zoo to pet the animals. Lunch was shortly after that. They played in the kids corn maze. The babies tried to go in the big corn maze. They enjoyed the day also. After a good nap for all three, we went to dance and then came home and crashed.

Holidays seem to be getting busier and busier. Enjoy the pics.

2010-11-03T07:32:00.001-04:00

GIFT WRAPPING FOR THE HOLIDAYS

I will be doing gift wrapping in my home until December 22, 2010

Prices include: Boxes, tissue paper, paper and bow.

You can choose to use your own wrapping paper.

Contact Kim at:
540-977-3956 (home)
540-529-4570 (cell)
KSLBASKETS@AOL.COM

Prices available upon request

2010-10-30T16:31:00.009-04:00

TIME FOR CHRISTMAS SHOPPING

Don't have time to go shopping. Sit back and shop with me. We have some awesome deals coming up in the next few weeks. Everyone loves a piece of Longaberger. Visit my website for more ideas. www.longaberger.com\kimlandes