Ever had one of those

Nights?  Oh I had great plans all right. I told all the kids bed by 9:00 lights out by 9:30.  Sophie was even asleep by 8:30, fever and headache, bless her heart.  I even talked my mom into spending the night with me! So mom and I are laying up in the bed talking, enjoying a little rare mother daughter time...at 9:45 I hear little footsteps..it is Jax....using the bathroom then sneaking his way into my bed. So, ok he can sleep in here, how can I say no to that adorable impish grin.  I hear more footsteps about 10 minutes later, EG's finger hurts and I know she wants to sleep with me and grandma but NO.  Then mom and I turn the lights out and continue to talk...it is now 11:00pm and I hear something else.
"Mom, do you hear that?"
"No"
"It's me" says the deep manly voice of my 14 year old who can't sleep. He decides to get a glass of milk and head back to bed.
 Fast forward to 4am and it really gets fun.
 I hear little feet again. This time it is Sophie. She stands at the side of my bed.
"Who's in there with you?"
"grandma and Jax"
"dang-it"  lol she really said dang-it! I mean EVERYTHING is a competition between she and Jax and obviously he won this one!!  So I told her it was ok to crawl up in the bed and I would get her some Tylenol b/c her mean old fever is back.  So, as I am getting the Tylenol Jax wakes up and realizes Sophie is in the bed....and...he. is. not. happy.  I get back in the bed. At this point I am hanging off the edge trying to cover up with a blanket the size of a piece of toilet paper b/c my mom and the kids are hogging it all. I have to keep my back to Sophie because she has already told me at least 5 times  how BAD my breath stinks.  Well she keeps hollering out b/c Jax touches her, Jax is all scared b/c Grandma is snoring/humming...(my mom thinks she hums instead of snores..but believe me she snores) and he thinks she is gonna eat him or something.  Finally, Sophie decided she needs to go potty and tells Jax to "save her spot" and actually slaps her spot to save it.   Well, the minute she gets out of the bed Jax rolls right to her spot, I see this as my opportunity to get more blankets so I scoot him over and decide to sleep between to the two to reduce further friction. Sophie gets back in the bed, tells me one more time how bad my breath stinks and then finally falls back to sleep.
 Ever had one of those nights?

Happy Birthday Jax!!

We celebrated Jax's birthday on Saturday and it was FUN!!  He loved getting so many gifts!! He now is the proud owner of 6 remote controlled cars, he has been using his siblings like crazy and is so happy to have his own. We also bought him a train table and we ALL love playing with that. And he finally got his own Leapster he and Sophie have been sharing(against her better judgement)

                                                               Cool pirate cake

                                                                   The happy pirate!!

                                                                    The happy couple

                                                                    Sweet Baby "O"

                                                                     think he's happy??

                                        The much coveted and longed for remote control boat.

                                           Sophie was only too happy to help him open gifts.

                                                            checking out the train table

                                                      The big kids played in the rain

                                                 I think they were ready for this picture..

 Thanks to everyone who came and helped us celebrate Jax's special day!!!
                                

I need a blog makeover..

Bushel and a peck  Go to this site and you might win one!!! If you don't win there is still a great deal on a makeover and 30% of the profit's goes to Amazima Ministries!!!

Out of the mouth of babes...

As I sat on the porch swing drinking my coffee, watching my son ride his scooter, and Sophie leaning against me...I hear a whisper..

"Mom?"

"Yes, Sophie?"

"Your boobs are going "tick-tock, tick-tock"

hmmmmmmmm

Sweet baby O

My greedy sister-in-law FINALLY gave in and let me babysit my new niece! Talk about eat her up, "baby O" is the sweetest thing ever! I so loved getting to keep her but between Bert and Sophie hogging, I mean holding her I barely got a chance to hold her! Sophie loved playing the babysitter part, she fed her, and read to her and talked to her!! So sweet!

Auntie Fran this post is for you!

I had a very important message from my Auntie Fran via my mom that my most important priority right now should be my blog!!So forget this messy house, Mount WASHmore and cooking, I have a blog to update!! By the way for those of you that don't know her my Auntie Fran is ONE of the sweetest, kindest, gentlest people you will ever meet. I have so many fond memories of visiting her, my Uncle Tom and my cousins over the years! You will always leave their house with a full belly and a jar of her wonderfully canned pickles in your hand!

Where to start? Well, Micah went fishing and caught a 17 lb striper and he was SO stoked!! Bert and the boys joined a hunting club so I see a lot of free weekends in my future.

We had to make a trip to the Eye Foundation ER because Sophie got poked in the eye when one of her brothers was playing with her in the pool. She got a really nice shiner but all is well.

Jax went to the adoption clinic for a check-up and gained 2 pounds..whoo hoo! I think I gained 4.
They are very pleased with the progress he is making thus far.

My friends have come over with their kids and they swam in the pool and then played in the mud in the pond. They love catching tadpoles and squishing mud in their toes.

Jax and Sophie started Chinese school this past Saturday. Sophie absolutely LOVED it!! Jax was more reserved and shy but they both did great!

We started school last week. The kids are doing great so far. I am doing Abeka Kindergarten math with Jax and we do several pages a day, I hope to finish the book in the next few weeks and move on to the first grade. For language we are just doing alphabet flash cards and the sounds. And of course a lot of reading, the kids take turns reading to him everyday. Sophie does counting, workbooks and flashcards and she will start 5k in September. Tyler and Micah are both going to CORE which takes a load off of me and they really enjoy it. And EG has her schedule full here at home. So far we are off to a great start! Have some pretty cool things
planned for this year.

I forgot to add on my past post about things Jax says. Well, we are Pentecostal and our church is very loud and exuberant. When it is time for church I tell Jax, "It's time for church..hallelujah". He says, (in the most hilarious accent) NO HALLELUJAH! He likes Sunday School but he is still getting used to the church service part!

Where does the time go?

Yet again I am a slacker blogger. We have been so busy I don't know if I am coming or going! We have been camping and fishing and just busy with doctor appointments and church and life itself! It is hard to believe we have had 2 months with Jax already. His adjustment has been so awesome! His English is slowly but surely coming along. I am pretty sure he understand about 90% of what we say. He can say a lot of words, and even puts some sentences together. His sentences are:
You want some?
Can I see?
My turn!
Thats Mine!
Watch a movie?.
Where's the charger?
It needs batteries.
Say cheese.
Sophie say no.
noodles, please.
I am sure there are plenty I am forgetting! But overall his English is exceeding our expectations.

Behavior wise he is also doing good. He does have his moments as we all do. But he truly wants to please us and is truly sorry when he does something wrong. He has us all wrapped around his sweet little smile!

The constant competition between Jax and Sophie is truly making me crazy. It is from the minute their eyes pop open until they go to bed. Sophie is SO worried that Jax is going to get something and she is not. If I cut up an apple or a peach they both better get the same amount or else! I try to make everything as even as possible. They both are going crazy for my attention. If I walk around my house they want to touch me and hold my hand constantly. This is only if the other one is around. If the other sibling is not right there they are fine doing there own thing without me. But seriously the tattling and competition makes me want to run out of my house screaming...or just go hide in a closet. Any hints on how to save my sanity here? I laugh at myself when I think I had it all together...b/c I so don't have it together right now...and then school is suppose to start next week.....ok I am going to my happy place now.

Ok on a side note. Do your kids come watch you exercise like you are some kind of freak show? When I get up and exercise in the morning all the kids come sit on the couch and watch me do my video? Sophie loves to tell me how I am not doing it like the person on the video. But there I am in my living room, swinging my kettlebell all over the place, grunting and sweating and gasping for breath. And there they sit staring. humph!~ It gets on my nerves ;)

Happy Birthday EG!!

Well today(that would have been Monday, see how long I have been trying to post!)is a very special day for a very special girl. My sweet EG is 11. I so cannot believe it! As each year passes it's both rewarding and heartbreaking to see your children grow up. Rewarding in the fact that she is realizing who she is and what she wants out of life. Rewarding in that she loves the Lord and has her own relationship with him. Rewarding in the fact that she will at least try to fix her own hair now, and sometimes I can even convince her to wear lip gloss.."gasp" :)
Heartbreaking to see this little girl who my heart ached for before there were any baby girls in my life, grow up and realize she doesn't need mommy all that often anymore. EG you are such a precious gift from God, you have the best laugh ever, a AWESOME sense of humor and we love you so much!!