Happy Heavenly Birthday!

Last Monday our angel would have been 5.  It was Kinnison's first day of school, so we were very busy. I always try to keep myself busy so that I don't have time to sit around and have pity party. Well, yesterday I went for a walk at the park while Luke went to pick Kinnison up from school.  I always listen to worship music when I work out. About halfway through my first lap it hit me. I sobbed. Not necessarily because I was sad.  I was thinking about how wonderful a birthday in Heaven would be. I was thinking about if my Grandpa Lester, Papa, Granny, Uncle Steve, Grandma Veda, Grandpa Tom or Edith are taking care of my babies. I tried to imagine what they are like and who they look like. I read Heaven is for Real over Spring Break. It talked about this very thing. The little boy describes his sister in Heaven. His parents were shocked because they never told him about their miscarriage and they didn't even know if it was a boy or girl. Very inspiring. 

Anyway, I just wanted to take the time to say Happy Birthday to our sweet baby.  You are missed and loved very much! 

Back to School.

The first week of first grade is officially over. 

We miss Kinnison at home, but I am happy to have some sort of schedule again. Her school activities always keep us very busy though.

She had a practice spelling test yesterday. If you get 100% on the practice test you don't have to take the test on Friday! Everyone in her class passed the practice test. They got an extra recess today! 

Last weekend Kinnison learned to ride a bike without training wheels! She is getting so big!

Kimber has adjusted well to not having Kinnison at home. She helps me out with Kanyon. She can write her name by herself now. She can count to 25. She knows most of her uppercase letters and some of her lower case letters. She knows all of her colors and shapes. Her favorite food right now is a Slim Jim. She would eat one for breakfast, lunch and dinner if I would let her. 

Kanyon is a mess. He is into everything. He can say mama, dada, wow, woah, uh oh, dat, dis, and baba. He is walking really well. He climbs even better. He is super strong and full of energy. He wears me out.

I want to say how proud I am of Luke. Last weekend he went to the Men's Encounter with some guys from PGCC. He had an amazing weekend and met some great guys.  He is a terrific husband and father! We are so blessed!

Laundry Saver!

On average I do about 4 loads of laundry a day. Most of our laundry is stained with grease, oil, grass, dirt, markers, ketchup, chocolate milk, cooking oil, ect.  I have tried every stain remover out there. Most of the time I can get the stains out, but there are always a few that are extremely stubborn. I also have a problem with deodorant stains.  I kept seeing a homemade recipe for stain removal on Pinterest and decided to give it a try.  It worked wonders! It is AMAZING!

Here is what you need:

1 Part Dawn
2 Parts Peroxide
1 Part Baking Soda

Example: 1 TBSP Dawn, 2 TBSP Peroxide, 1 TBSP Baking Soda
If you have a lot of stains you could do:
1/4 cup, 1/2  cup, 1/4 cup...ect

Mix the ingredients together and use a brush to rub the mixture into the stain. I use a toothbrush. I have let it sit for 30 minutes and overnight...just depends on how bad the stain is.  I have used it on white and colored clothes. It doesn't bleach them!

I'm 30!

Thursday I turned 30! And, thanks to my husband it was the best birthday I have ever had. He started planning months ago! He told me he tried to get off work, but had training that day.  He told me that Mom was going to watch the kids so I could have a day off. He made arrangements for me to get my hair done, a massage and a mani/pedi. It was a much needed break. It was so relaxing!  I knew something was up because he was acting strange, but I had no idea he had planned me a surprise party. I got home early and couldn't get ahold of Mom. Luke said he wasn't going to be home from work until 6. I was getting restless. Finally at about 5:15 Mom called from the farm and told me she had been down there working and I could come down there to get the kids. I didn't figure it out until I pulled onto Crawley Rd. and saw the signs. He put Swamp People themed signs on the trees! When I saw the first one I had to back up. I literally laughed out loud. It was so much fun driving from sign to sign. I couldn't wait to see what the next one said. 

Luke was getting nervous so he had Mom call me to come down there earlier than planned. I beat most of the guests down there. It was still an amazing surprise!

He had told my Mom and Sister about the party months ago, so they helped him with the planning. They cooked jambalaya, shrimp and even alligator! Mom made chocolate alligators to top the cupcakes with and they ordered the Swamp People Action Set to use as a cake topper! 

I want to say THANK YOU to my wonderful husband. I was dreading my 30th Birthday and you made it special. I had so much fun. It was seriously the best birthday I have ever had! Thanks for being so good to me!

I also want to say THANK YOU to my Mom and Charity. Luke told me everything that you guys did and I appreciate it. 

Last but not least, I want to say THANKS to everyone who came. I appreciate the gifts, but most of all I appreciate you being there. The most wonderful part of the night was getting to visit with my friends and family. 

I am so unbelievably blessed! 

Love,