Christmas 2009

Here is a slide show of our Christmas celebration pics as well as a few from my birthday and Daddy-O's birthday. We had a wonderful Christmas this year. We did a lot of driving back and forth to Durham which resulted in some tired little boys but we all enjoyed ourselves and made wonderful memories which is what matters! My 30th birthday was the day after Christmas. Christmas Adam, we went to Durham to spend time with Chris' side of the family and Christmas day we went back to Durham to have lunch with my side! On my birthday, I was served breakfast in bed, complete with a princess plate, cup and tiara. I did a little shopping with Mom (always fun). Came home from that to a surprise party with my boys (Jaxon's idea). Then all 4 of my boys took me to see the new Chipmunk movie! We ended the evening with dinner at Fire and Sticks (can we say YUMMO!) It was a great 30th! Chris' birthday was yesterday (he was 31, not 30). We did lots of fun things too but the best for him was probably seeing his baby Bean (or unborn baby no name as he likes to say).

It's my party....

Anyone who knows me well, knows I am NOT an easy person to surprise. Not that I TRY to find things out, I just do! Well, I must say the ladies pictured below (along with Nancy, my wonderful mom, and darling husband) actually pulled it off. I was extremely surprised tonight for an early 30th party! Oh yeah, btw, I will be 30, that's right 3-0 on Saturday! I had a great time tonight! Thanks to all who were involved!

MOPS Christmas Party

I am SO blessed to be a part of a wonderful MOPS group at my church. The ladies came to my house last night for our annual Christmas Party. It was rescheduled due to our "blizzard". We had a great time eating yummy food, having great fellowship and playing a fun game! Here's a shot of all who attended!

SNOW DAY

We have had a great time so far today playing in the snow! The boys LOVE it. They have had a blast on their new sled! We built a snowman, threw snow balls, ate snow cream, drank hot chocolate, and watched a Christmas movie! Here are some pictures from our fun-filled day!!

The 12 Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas, in my family you will see
1 very happy and sleepy Mommy

On the second day of Christmas, in my family you will see
2 stinky pets and 1 very happy and sleepy Mommy

On the third day of Christmas, in my family you will see
3 shiny toilets, 2 stinky pets and 1 very happy and sleepy Mommy

On the fourth day of Christmas, in my family you will see
4 handsome Duke boys, 3 shiny toilets, 2 stinky pets and 1 very happy and sleepy Mommy

On the fifth day of Christmas, in my family you will see
5 presents left to buy!, 4 handsome Duke boys, 3 shiny toilets, 2 stinky pets and 1 very happy and sleepy Mommy

On the sixth day of Christmas, in my family you will see
6 shiny mirrors, 5 presents left to buy!, 4 handsome Duke boys, 3 shiny toilets, 2 stinky pets and 1 very happy and sleepy Mommy!

On the seventh day of Christmas, in my family you will see
7 vacuumed rooms, 6 shiny mirrors, 5 presents left to buy!, 4 handsome Duke boys, 3 shiny toilets, 2 stinky pets, and 1 very happy and sleepy Mommy

On the eighth day of Christmas, in my family you will see
8 Christmas parties, 7 vacuumed rooms, 6 shiny mirrors, 5 presents left to buy!, 4 handsome Duke boys, 3 shiny toilets, 2 stinky pets, and 1 very happy and sleepy Mommy

On the ninth day of Christmas, in my family you will see
9 presents wrapped, 8 Christmas parties, 7 vacuumed rooms, 6 shiny mirrors, 5 presents left to buy!, 4 handsome Duke boys, 3 shiny toilets, 2 stinky pets, and 1 very happy and sleepy Mommy

On the tenth day of Christmas, in my family you see
10 emails answered, 9 presents wrapped, 8 Christmas parties, 7 vacuumed rooms, 6 shiny mirrors, 5 presents left to buy!, 4 handsome Duke boys, 3 shiny toilets, 2 stinky pets, and 1 very happy and sleepy Mommy

On the eleventh day of Christmas, in my family you will see
11 hand washed dishes, 10 emails answered, 9 presents wrapped, 8 Christmas parties, 7 vacuumed rooms, 6 shiny mirrors, 5 presents left to buy!, 4 handsome Duke boys, 3 shiny toilets, 2 stinky pets, and 1 very happy and sleepy Mommy

On the twelfth day of Christmas, in my family you will see
12 loads of laundry, 11 hand washed dishes, 10 emails answered, 9 presents wrapped, 8 Christmas parties, 7 vacuumed rooms, 6 shiny mirrors, 5 presents left to buy!, 4 handsome Duke boys, 3 shiny toilets, 2 stinky pets, and 1 very happy and sleepy Mommy!!!!!

Christmas Crafts

I guess my boys get their love for crafts honestly. We bought some little ceramic Christmas items for them to paint and they have been waiting so patiently for the day Mommy would finally let them get their hands on them! Today was the day! After MOPS, the boys had lunch then we broke out the paints. We each painted 3. Here is a picture of the final product. As you can see, some are more...umm...creative than others! When you hit a certain age, you like for things to be the color they are "supposed" to be. Younger ages have a more free for all attitude, which I might add I think is great! So, a pink Santa and a multi-colored reindeer are "beautiful"! If you are lucky enough to be the recipient of one of these priceless pieces, I hope you will treasure it too!

Fun Field Trip

Last week we took a homeschool field trip to Sciworks in Winston Salem. The kids had SUCH a good time....and the moms did too! Here are a few pics of our day!

This poor guy lets everyone pull his insides out for a game of name that organ!

Camron playing a BIG guitar!

"the crew"

My boys taking a ride with Miss Frizzle on the Magic School Bus!

Disney on Ice

One of Nana and Poppi's Christmas gifts for the boys was to go to Disney on Ice. It was hard to get many good pictures but here is one I did manage to grab of Mickey and Minnie! The boys had a blast...even though there were more princesses than we expected!

Oh Christmas Tree

Oh Christmas Tree, How LOVELY are your branches!
I have to say that I absolutely LOVE our tree this year! We are so blessed to have friends who get their own tree over Thanksgiving from a tree farm in the mountains and they bring us one as well! I love real trees! They smell GREAT! Anyway, we had it up Saturday, the lights were put on Sunday and we FINALLY decorated it tonight! They boys always love hanging their ornaments. I let them put them wherever they want then I rearrange later....just the ones where the branches are screaming for mercy! We are pleased with the final product!
'Tis the Season!

Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:20
We are SO thankful, so grateful, so overwhelmed with joy this holiday season. I have been struggling with a muscle disease for 2 years now. I was diagnosed in November of 2007. We had hoped to be able to get pregnant November or December of that year. Well, as we all know too well, our plans are not always God's plans! We have prayed that I would be healthy enough to have another baby. We finally got the go ahead to try and WE ARE PREGNANT! Our new little bean is due the beginning of July! We are all extremely excited and are rejoicing in this blessing that has been given to us!
Please join us in praying that this will be a healthy pregnancy. A pregnancy that will go full term and result in a healthy baby next summer! Please also pray that I stay healthy during this pregnancy which is crucial for the baby! I am high risk due to my muscle disease and history of pre-term birth BUT we have complete faith that everything will be just fine!
We have had an ultrasound and seen that there is only one baby this time! We are not planning on finding out the sex until the "birth-day"!

Polar Express

Last weekend, the boys got an early Christmas present from Nana and Poppi. They took us all to Bryson City to ride the Polar Express! It was a lot of fun for all. We got to ride the train ALL the way to the "North Pole" where Santa boarded the train and rode back with us! They served us hot chocolate and candy and read the Polar Express book to us! The boys each received their very own silver bell just like the one in the book and they can still hear it jingle....so can Mommy and Daddy-O! (if you can't hear it jingle, that means you don't believe!)

Here are a few pictures from our exciting weekend!

The boys with a HUGE Nutcracker

Mommy and Jaxon

Following along while the story was read

Santa giving out bells

PTL!!!!

I just wanted to post a quick note to say that my levels are lower than they have been in a LONG time! We are in the 500 range! God is good! That also means my prednisone level gets to be lowered too!! Yippee!

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Things Happen

In one of my devotionals, the verse given for today was Psalm 139:16:

You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

I have read this verse many times but today for some reason I feel the need to blog about it!

I try REALLY hard to be a cup half full or a partly sunny person and I do all that I can to encourage others to be that way as well. If you read this verse and really soak it in, it is all spelled out for you. God knows the plans HE has for you. He knows what decisions you are going to make before you make them. He knows the twist and turns that the roller coaster you call life will take. Sure, fear, anxiety, and worry are going to happen. I am a VERY anxious person but I know fully well that in the end, I have no control over the end result! That is why prayer is SO incredibly important. Remember the acronyms PUSH and FROG...Pray Until Something Happens...it may not be the something you want or are expecting and Fully Rely On God...you have to have complete FAITH that everything will be okay!
Blessings to you all!

We are home!

We got home from Disney last night. It was an AMAZING time. We all enjoyed it so much! You think an 8 day trip is long enough but there were plenty of things we didn't get to do! Don't get me wrong, though, it was a perfect week. The boys did great. Of course there were melt downs here and there but considering they were going strong ALL day EVERY day, I think they did great. On Wednesday, my baby turned 6 years old. 6. Can you believe it? I really can't. I can't believe that 6 years ago, I first became a Mommy! WOW! I know Jaxon had an awesome birthday. On Thursday, my little preemies turned 4. 4. Can you believe that 4 years ago we were all praying for their survival and look at them now. I am SO INCREDIBLY BLESSED! They too had a great birthday.
A few details...we went to Sea World where the boys got to feed dolphins, pet stingrays, watch lots of shows and get soaking wet all the while! We had dinner with Pooh and Friends which was a long wait but lots of fun. Unfortunately Daddy didn't get his picture made with Pooh which was extremely disappointing..so he says we HAVE to go back soon! On Jaxon's birthday we had a Safari breakfast with the characters and they even gave him a cupcake...for breakfast! On Camron and Caden's birthday, we ate at Chef Mickey's...SO much fun! They got autographs from ALL the characters (more than once) throughout the week! We also ate dinner at the Wilderness Campgrounds for the Hoopdedoo Review. It was hi-lar-ious! I definitely recommend it! Jaxon got us VIP seating for the Lion King show on his birthday and even got to take part in the action!
Our resort was great. Our room and the pool was all decked out in pirate themes...just our style! Me and the boys got painted and sworn in as certified "employees" of Captain Jack Sparrow himself at the Magic Kingdom. There are a million things I could include about this week. It was great. What more can I say! We all feel SO lucky to have been able to take such an amazing vacation. I think Chris and I both could have shed a tear on our last day! Thank you Nana and Poppi for making it possible for us to do so much!
I am including a slideshow of some of the pictures. This doesn't even include the ones Mom took with her camera! I will post more later! Enjoy!

Tomorrow...

WE ARE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!
I am so excited! Any of you "facebookers" have seen my excitement as I have posted Disney songs ALL week long! Although I am terrified of planes, I am extremely excited about our trip tomorrow! I will post LOTS of pictures when we get home. Please pray that we have safe travels and a safe week!
See ya next week!

sleepy heads

I know, I know, I have already put a picture of Camron and Caden sleeping all suggled up but they are just so darn cute I CAN'T HELP MYSELF...sooo, here are 2 more. One from tonight...Camron is laying on top of Caden and the other is from a couple of weeks ago! I just love how they are all over each other and they don't wake up! It's SUPER cute! It must be SO much fun being a twin!

I wanted to share this picture of my boys. They are sitting on a butterfly bench at Women's Hospital. Today we took Papa John's pizza and a birthday cake to the NICU staff in honor of Camron and Caden's 4th birthday. WOW, my little preemies are almost 4. Jaxon was not even 2 when I was put on bed rest and this butterfly bench is something he remembers vividly. I lived at Women's for a month before the twins were born and he came and visited EVERY day. Today when we were pushing the cart past the window behind the bench he stopped and said, "Mama, can we go out there after we take this food? I remember Grandma used to always take me out there when you were here for so long." I just think it's amazing that he remembers. I also think those doctors and nurses who took care of Camron and Caden are amazing. That's why we take them lunch every year on or around the boys' birthday. For 2 LONG months, these people took wonderful care of my babies and for that I will be forever grateful! If any of you read this blog, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts and we love you dearly!

M-I-C, See ya REAL soon...

K-E-Y, why, because we LOVE you! M-O-U-S-E.....
Yep, you guessed it, in less than 2 weeks, we are boarding a plane and heading to the most magical place on earth (so they say!)
Do you think we are excited, um, just a little bit! I have already planned school for the next 2 weeks to give me more time to pack and get ready in my spare time (oh wait, what is that? heehee!)

worried

I am a little concerned. I think my DH must be in a permanent state of confusion. Apparently, he thinks this is where his WET towel goes every morning....

for those of you who can't tell, this is the floor...beside our bed!

I know he knows where the towel hanger is...hence my concern! Let's just hope he's not losing his mind at this young of an age!

Chris, you know I had to pick on you....I still love you and I will continue to pick up your WET towel and put it where it belongs for you!

Happy Friday everyone!

as promised....

Here we have the graduating class of 2021 (and one from 2022)!

This is our class of 2023! Just think how cute they're going to look as rising Seniors holding that pencil cake...hahahaha!

M&M's on the letter Mm!

Camron and Caden LOVED their letter activity today. It may have been a little torturous to have them line up those yummy-looking M&M's and show me before they ate them BUT they didn't eat even one until they were all done!

Here is a picture of my Kindergarten graduate...yes it's a little late BUT the cap and gown HAD to be shown off...fitting isn't it...being that it's DUKE blue!

Here is a picture of our 2nd annual Pencil Cake! We like to kick of the school year with a pencil party! Stay tuned for pictures of the graduating class of 2021 and 2023!

I would also like to brag on my boys for a minute...if that's okay with you...okay, so I'm gonna do it anyway...

Jaxon's 1st grade curriculum teaches a Proverb each week. This week it was Proverbs 9:10. I am proud to say that ALL 3 of the boys can recite the verse all alone and are SUPER cute in doing so! YAY...go Duke boys!

Gearing up for 1st Grade!

We are starting 1st grade next Wednesday! Jaxon is getting excited and so am I! Camron and Caden will be doing some "preschool" work and they are excited about that as well! We have been talking about our "new year" and doing a little prep work lately with reading, writing, etc. I have been getting things prepared as well. We have also been talking about having another "pencil party" like we did last year to kick off our year. Well, Jax just came in here and said the sweetest thing....He said "Mommy, how 'bout instead of making a pencil cake this year, we make a cake that says 'our teachers are awesome', or we can still make a pencil cake and just put 'our teachers are awesome' on it." I said who? and he said, "You, Shannon, and Holly and Amber"....AWWW, my baby is SO SWWWWEEEEEET!

How Stinkin' Cute

Being a twin must be the greatest thing. I see Camron and Caden interact in ways that just amaze me! I just went in to check on them and this is how they are sleeping. It's not uncommon for them to snug up to each other. I think it's comforting...how could it not be considering they've been like this since they were in my womb! I just love it and wanted to share!

Last Friday we took a summer field trip to Lazy 5 Ranch! The kids had a great time! There aren't as many animals as there used to be but it's still nice to take the wagon ride through the park and feed the ones that still live there! Here are some pictures of our fun!

ice cream party!

I am VERY behind on posting...sorry! A few days ago, we had an ice cream party with our neighbors, the Brewers. They have 3 boys as well so there's NEVER a dull moment when we are together! As you can see from the pics, the Daddy's were having more fun than the kids with the rocket!

Cow Appreciation

Each year we like to dress up like Moo Cows and go to "chickalay" for some yummy free food! The boys love it and to be quite honest, so do I! Here is a cute pic of them all decked out! This year, they got to pet baby calves and have their picture taken by Sears Portrait Studios....all for FREE...we like free!

March for Babies UPDATE

I got a final count today for the amount raised by the Darling Dukes team this year! We raised $1, 895!

I am SOOOO appreciative to all who donated, walked and in any way supported us! Mom and Joanna, and extra special thank you to each of you for creating your own mini team and raising money for us as well! Looking forward to next year!

4th FUN

Here are a few pictures from our 4th of July cookout. It was LOTS of fun! You can see the fireworks from Oak Hollow Lake perfectly from our driveway! Of course we had a few of our own from our trip to the beach ;)! The kids had a blast!

Captain Camron

The week before we went to the beach, the little boys had an eye dr. appointment. For those of you who don't know, they have seen an opthamologist since birth due to ROP (retinopathy of prematurity) and Camron is extremely near sighted in his left eye. At their appointment, Caden was released on an as needed basis (praise the Lord for that!). Camron, who has worn glasses since 7 months old, did GREAT on his vision screening. The best he's ever done (praise the Lord for that!). He also is wearing a patch over his stronger eye to make the weaker eye work harder. We got some of the sticky patches at the dr.'s office to wear under his glasses. He likes to choose his patch each morning. A friend from church also sewed batman fabric and Duke fabric over a "pirate" patch which is great if he needs (or just wants) to take the sticky patch off before his "time's up". I also ordered one on ebay (which we haven't gotten yet) that hook onto his glasses. We'll see how that works! Anyway, I just wanted to share a picture of Camron wearing his patch! He is doing great wearing it! I took him shopping yesterday to get a reward for being so "big". He tells me every morning when he's choosing his patch..."Mommy, my eye is getting STRONGER" and he holds up his arms like he's showing his muscles when he says it! ADORABLE! You'll notice in the beach post that he and Caden are both wearing one..Caden just wanted to wear it!

Our Beach Trip

I am getting a little slack on my posting...so sorry! We went to the beach last week and had an absolute blast. Chris surprised me with the trip for our anniversary and was planning on NOT telling me. Good thing he re-thought that one. Can you EVEN imagine what would have been packed for all 5 of us if HE had done it all alone?? I shutter to think...anyway...we went to Myrtle Beach and stayed at Ocean Lakes. My dear friend Holly has a place there (well, her parents do) and they graciously let us stay at their "Sanctuary". It was AWESOME! We swam in the pool, mostly the 2 foot kiddie pool but it was the best and coolest anyway. We layed on the beach, well, I did while the boys played in the sand and water. We rode on the golf cart even though it is painted in Wake Forest team colors ;). We ate at an expensive restaurant Jaxon likes to call "Lobsters". We spent time doing a little of this, a little of that and sometimes a little of nothing...just the 5 of us! It was perfect! Here are a few pics from our trip!

What's in your bag??

The game is called "what's in your bag tag". I think this stuff is fun! Plus I know I have random things in my bag so of course I wanted in! Thanks Karen! Here's the bag...nothing too fancy...a goodwill bargain of course!

Here's the loot. I posted the pics sort of small! Sorry!


Here is my "small" bible in it's own bag of course, a small bottle of sunscreen (should always be on hand, a mini tape measure ( you never know!), my Sony Webbie, hand sanitizer, 2 pens, a mini first aid kit, and leftover candy from vbs.....

Now we have my sunglasses bag (which never houses the sunglasses of course), some icebreaker mints, 2 free passes to the ice rink (?), a receipt from the seafood place where we ate at the beach, an extra patch of Camron's, and a list of the things I needed to pick up before we left for the beach, and my wallet (which holds my mini calendar)....


Finally, we have my scripture memory cards, my digital camera case ( I was using the camera, DUH!), a post it I need to give to Holly, a button that fell off of...something, a straw, 2 tampons, 2 peppermints, and a pack of gum!
I think that's all...of course there was some trash in there that I didn't photograph although it did cross my mind!
Let me know if YOU want to play...or just consider yourself tagged!