HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!


HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!


HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR GRANDPA MERT.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU.


WE LOVE YOU GRANDPA MERT.


MISS YOU TONS TOO.

Struggling

Wow, didn't realize how long it has been since my last post. I think about posting all the time and usually the day gets by me.

Well this week has had some good points to it. One is I finially got a Pediatrition on my side with Taylor and all that is her. We had a well child check up with her yesterday and he basically confirmed one thing I really already figured out on my own. She is developmentaly behind. Which is no surprise because she has been for a long time. When I watch her threw out the day I think she is more like a 5 year old than a 7. Well after describing things that she does, and telling him how I see the younger side of her (I guess you could call it.) the doc told me "well she is acting like a 3 to 4 year old." Which sent me for a bit of a loop. I knew she was behind by like a year or so but 3 to 4 years! But its true as I deal with her and think about some of the things she is doing she really is. Some people think she is messing with us, which on some level she a little. But things like wanting a band-aid on a 2 day old scrape because it "hurts" is a 3 year old thing. Having a sudden need to be tucked in every night. Those are just a few examples. So I am struggling with remembering the patients that I used to have for certain issues (like the band-aid thing) when she was 3 and 4. But it is so hard to not get so frustrated about things. God grant me the strength I need to help her with her needs.

Then I top of struggling with her I have Daisy coming in to her teenage years. She is so ornery so often. Today I finally told her not to talk if she couldn't be nice in words and tone. Seems like every other thing she says is mean and aimed at her siblings. Lets hope her attitude gets better not worse. But I don't old out to much hope for that to happen.

The word Love

Love,







I have been thinking about this word a lot lately. Also how you treat someone when you clam to “love” them. Looking back on my life I have had a lot of people tell me they love me, and I have told people that I love them. When you love a person, be it a significant other, or a child, or a friend, or family member, how should you treat that person? Do you respect what they have to say, or just pretend to lessen? Do you do thoughtful things for them? Do you help them out in any way you can, even if all you can do is be a shoulder to cry on, or let them fight the battles of life on their own? Do you make demands of them or do you ask nicely and then show them appreciation when they help you out.

These are all things that have been running threw my mind. Why you might ask? I have been looking at my life and the people that surround me, or have in the past. Best way to learn about yourself is some times looking at the past. I have always been the peace maker. I have let people walk all over me just to keep that “peace.” People that have said “I love you.” Then turn around and for no better of a phrase stab me in the back. I want 2011 to be different. I want to feel better about me and life in general. I have slowly been making changes in my life to feel better and less stress.

If a person loves a child do they take them to a Urgent Care center if the child almost drowns, or stay at the house because the adults had been fighting and one was drinking and they didn’t want to get into trouble for not watching out for them better? If a person says they love you and want to marry you do they sit on your abdomen insisting that the other have sex with them in the middle of a park, only getting off when you start to cry? Do they get you pregnant on a bet if they love you? If you love a person do you take what they have to say in account when making major life changing decisions? When you love a person do you constantly put work and others ahead of wife/husband and kids? If you love a child that is now an adult, do you respect decisions they make about not talking with other family members, or do you continually try and get them to talk to the person. If you love a sibling, do you see what they are struggling with and find out what you can do to help, or just make things worse by putting them down every time you see them. Calling Child Protective Services on them. Or do you help them learn and grow into the house work and child care. Most of these things have been done “out of love!”


My Mother and Father in law tell everyone how sweet I am and how much they love me. My Mother-in-law tells everyone how much help I am to her and that she thinks of me like her own daughter. Every time I hear this I think I don’t really deserve the praise. I have had so many years of being put down, and told I am not doing good enough or helped out enough, that I have come to believe it.

So in 2011 I have decided that I want to be surrounded by people who respect my opinion and me as a person. I want to learn how to love myself again. I want to see the person that my In-laws see when I look in the mirror. Not the one that all those life experiences have made me feel like. I placed a child for adoption because I loved her so much I knew I could not take care of her. Even threw that I had family putting me down over it. Telling me I shouldn’t do it, family that had not hardly talked to me the whole time I was growing up. I know that I am not with out fault. I know I have carelessly used the word love. Which for the past 12 years I have been trying to use the word love as carefully as I use the word hate. I want to be know in my life for the caring and love I show, but I am not going to be a door matt any more either. Thanks for reading this and here is to an awesome 2011!

My Girl

So Daisy is entering a contest at school for the DARE program. She has to create her own DARE t-shirt. I am not really sure what the winner gets, but this project is the kind of thing Daisy loves to do. So for the past week or so we have been talking about ideas. We went to Walmart and saw the skull and cross bones and she came up with this idea. So this past weekend we have been working on it. I basically just did the iron work of the skull and the DARE letters. She did the rest. The picture to the left is the back of the t-shirt. On the right is the front side. I am so proud of the job she did. I can't wait to hear what some of the other kids did!

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1.03.01

Getting excited!

It is the holiday season again. Willie and my 31st birthday is right around the corner. Then you have Halloween which we have already started to get ready for.


I am thinking about have my first party this fall. A combined Halloween and birthday party. I think the kids would have fun with having some of their friends over for an evening of fun and games.
But what I am really getting excited about is not only the decorating but this year I am not working and I live right next door to my mother in law. Which means there will not be a lot of travel time to mess up baking for the holidays. It has become my favorite part of the whole holiday experience. We make all kinds of cookies and candies, and it is a lot of fun. I love how close Norma and I have gotten. Just thought I would share. Love ya all.

Glimmers Of Hope

As parents you always wonder if the things that you try to teach your children are making an impact. It seems that you have to repeat yourself so many times that they couldn’t possibly be learning. Then every once in a while they give you small glimmers of hope, when they don’t even know you are listening to them. For example we tell the kids “use your magic words” all the time. Taylor has been starting to take off with the older kids favorite toys which usually makes them scream “give it back, its mine!” She takes off running to me and says, “no! You didn’t say please!” To which the kids look at me like Mom get it back for me. I just shrug my shoulders and tell them to try asking nicely. Taylor usually gives what ever she has taken back after they ask nicely for it. I guess it is her way of getting the older kids attention. Also my small glimmer of hope that what we are trying to teach is working

Songs that make us laugh

So almost 2 years ago now I was told that my husband and I where "Backwoods UN-educated hicks." Which at the time really bugged me. But we have come to embrace that and have made it a running joke in the house with the kids and each other. When Willie and I hear these songs we laugh and say they are our theme songs. Thought I would share and hope you get the laugh that Willie and I do.









Oh and since I have not written in a while. Things are good with us. We are starting the new year out happy. Daisy is starting the pre-teen drama already. Marybeth just got glass last month and is enjoying being able to see better. John boy just lost his first tooth. Taylor is slowly starting to behave better in class. Work is going great for me. I love being up at the Service Desk.

First Snow

So I just looked outside my kitchen window while getting Tay some lunch. What should I see but a light snow coming down. I think we are in for a heck of a winter this year. Maybe there will be snow around long enough that we can take the kids sledding. We will see how long it will take for it to stick.

Been awhile.

So before the kids started school I went ad had their pictures taken. We had some much fun. The lady taken them actually took about 45 pictures because she was having a lot of fun with the kids and I. I was not a picky parent. So above is one of the group shots we took.

This is a sisters shot that I think came out really cute. Our niece fixed all the kids hair really cute. Which the kids loved being spoiled in that way.

I thought of this idea while the photographer was doing some other shots. I thought it would be really cute. Turned out I was write. I love John's face here. Taylor was all for giving brother loves too.

We let each child pick a background they wanted to have an individual picture done. Daisy is my book worm so it did not surprise me that this was the background she wanted. She tried not to smile but I stood just off to the side and tickled her a bit so she did. Daisy is in the 5th grade this year.

I love this picture of my Mar-bear. She is so sweet and loved flowers and butterflies. Marybeth is in the 3rd grade and loving it so far.

John said he wanted a background with fire. Well when he was picking out his background he didn't actually see the fire part of it but thought it was cool afterwards. John is in 1st grade this year.

We had a hard time with Tay's pictures because every time we tried to pose them she would scrunch up her nose and close her eyes. So we took a lot of candid shots of her. Which really didn't turn out too bad. I love this one. Taylor is in Kindergarten this year.

We are all doing really good. We are keeping busy with work and school and keeping up the house.

Oh what a summer

We have had a busy summer this year so far. It is about half over now and we still have some things planned.

For Willie and my ten year anniversary my Mom watched the kids for the weekend and we went camping and fishing. It was so much fun and so relaxing. We loved the alone time for 3 days.

When we got home we set up the tent and let the kids spend the night in it on our front lawn. Something would never even considered it in Arizona. They had so much fun. Taylor we wound up having to bring back inside because she just could not settle down and kept messing with the other kids.

The kids loved watching Mom play her games. They loved having her here in general. They really didn't want her to leave. She took John boy to see the new Transformers movie. He loved that.

The 4th of July weekend we went camping for the Snow Family Reunion. We had so much fun with that too. It rained off and on all weekend. This is a picture Daisy took of Taylor and I roasting marshmallows.

This is a picture of Willie and Aunt Carol making breakfast Saturday morning. We have a few more things planed too.

I feel blessed!

I really feel blessed today. I have a wonderful man who loves me for a husband. For almost 10 years now! I never dreamed that I would have as great of in-laws as I have, but I love them all so much. I have 5 wonderful kids in all. Who are all achieving great things in their life. We have a roof over our heads, and Willie and I both have jobs. Just thought I would share.

Can't believe it has been so long again.

I really do try and write a blog more often. I think about doing it just about everyday. But with four kids a job and a house time seems to slip by. The picture above and below are from March 17th. Taylor's green shirts where all dirty so she just had a green shamrock necklace. But hey it worked.

John has the afternoons with me. He is a good kid and I find him playing in his room a lot. Well this time his room looked like a tornado had hit it. He was just chillin on his mattress that he had pulled off his bed to roll his monster trucks down. He looked really cute had to snap a picture.
This picture is from Taylor's birthday. I wish I could have gotten a better picture of her face. I will have to see if her Grandpa has one. But we told her to smile and hold still (she was having problems holding still long enough to get a picture.) Well she scrunched her eyes shut and wrinkled her nose and finally held still. She was such a character that night.

On the 11th the city had a fun egg hunt at the park that we went too. We took our niece with us because her Mommy had to work. The kids had a lot of fun again this year.
Well for the first time ever I think the kids dyed Easter Eggs. They had fun doing it.
This cute little guy is Cloudy. He/she is the latest addition to our family. The kids named him/her Grey Cloud, but just Cloudy for short. The kids and I are having a lot of fun with Cloudy.

Daisy's cat also had another litter of babies. She had 3 this time. One Grey one and 2 Black ones. They are really cute. They are a couple of days old.

I have been really proud of Willie. Monday will mark 4 weeks with our smoking. He told me it is to soon to be proud of him. I don't agree, I know how hard it has to be to quit. Also he has done really good this time with his temper. He says that there are times where he has to work at it really hard. But none the less he is doing it and I am really proud of him.

With a bit of Sadness

Well, once in a while I look at the kids and think, "They have grown again!" I have thought that lately with Marybeth and Daisy. John has become more of a bean pole. Taylor... I have been noticing that all her 5T clothing is starting to get too tight. It didn't really hit me until yesterday afternoon while passing the baby/toddler section. I am out of that section now all together. I had a bit of sadness over this fact. I don't know why... because I so don't want another kid. I just guess I came to the realization that they are all really growing up. Some times it is hard to think of Tay as almost 5 with all the problems she has.

Well, I just thought I would share that.

Twilight

So I have become a Twilight fan! I did not think at first that I would like the series because I am not a big Vampire fan in the first place. But I had a friend let me borrow the first book. She swore I would love them. And she was right. I loved reading and talking with friends at work about the books. I think Stephanie Meyers did a really good job on these books and I am so addicted now! Just thought I would share.

Our Week

The last week of February had John's birthday in it. My little man turned 6 this year. I can't believe how big all the kids are getting. When he first woke up I gave him a couple things I had found walking around work, one was a Transformer cup. The other was the shirt he is wearing in the picture. He had been asking me for a Batman shirt. So when I found this one on clearance I could not pass it up. After he got home from school Willie took us to a birthday lunch at Wendy's. (That is where John Boy wanted to go.) After we got home Willie gave him the scooter. He was very excited about it.
We went to Grandma's house for dinner. John wanted a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and stars. So Shania (our niece) made this cake for him.
We had to remind Taylor not to blow out the candles. She gets over excited and on Daisy's birthday she blew them out for Daisy. But John seemed to have trouble this year blowing out his own candles. He had to take several big breaths.
John is becoming a big time lego fan. He likes the kits and makes the actual kit a couple of times. Then he takes them apart and makes his own planes and boats. (This past weekend Daisy and John spent a lot of time making there own trucks and boats and playing together. They are the 2 really creative ones. Mary tends to stick with the instructions)
We got John a new Leapster. He had one that we bought him about 3 years ago. But it is getting pretty hammered and sometimes does not work. But it was well worth the money spent. He has learned a lot from it, and he loves to play it. I got him a new game to go with it too. It is a Tomas the Train game... it his helping him work on time as well as other things.
John is a boy of many likes. Being a cowboy is high on his list of likes. Shania got him his first cowboy hat. He was so excited because he has been wanting one really bad. I am going to go get his picture taken on my next pay check. I will post them as soon as I do.
Taylor has just gotten threw another ear infection. It burst again, second time since Christmas. So the doctor is thinking that tubes would be a good idea for her. Because she will not tell me for a long time that her ears hurt so that she does not have to take medicine. So in the picture above you probably see a sweet angle. Don't let her fool you. One day this week John started calling for me from the kitchen. When I went in to see what was going on I saw sparks coming from the microwave. Then I saw flames. I found out that Leapster games can survive being washed in a pair of pants but they do not survive the microwave or being on fire. Not sure what she was thinking when she put it in the microwave... but I am laughing about it now that its been a few days.
My comic relief this weekend was this little cat chasing the big dog in the picture below. Tigger really does not like dogs being in our yard. In fact she even stalks dogs that are on a leash being walked by our yard. I have seen her chase littler dogs out of our yard a lot. But yesterday I saw her chasing this big dog down the street. She doesn't even come up to the dogs knees.
Oh by the way. This is Jaw. He lives around the corner from us. Last summer while we where working in the garden we would pet him threw the fence. His owner actually took one of the kittens we had last summer too. He is just a big puppy. He is a really sweet dog. Who needs to get their own big dog when you have one like this come to visit all the time.

Pics from Feb 8th

Well, my girl is now one year older. Daisy turned nine on the 9th of this month. She had a great birthday. She got pretty much everything she wanted on her list. She is still my little reader. Which I love. She comes out and tells me what is happening in her books all the time.

In school she is doing really good. She is still struggling on some of the math. But we are working together on helping her understand it. She also has been pushing the limits a bit to see how far she can go before she gets in trouble. Well, it was not far. Her teacher is a bit of a softy but Mom is not. I guess she and her friend have not been in the areas that they should be while at school. She is getting so big. I can't believe it some times when I look at her.

Daisy is becoming quit the artist. She loves to draw. She is learning how to shade in pictures and make things look 3d. It is really neat to see her talent grow. Also she has become really interested in Soft Ball. This spring I am thinking about signing her up.
Marybeth is doing great. She is well liked and quit out going. She can do great in school when she wants to. The teacher says she has those days where all her work comes in looking great and then there are those days where she does not apply herself and the papers do come as good. She has done better at her spelling test than I ever did that is for sure.

She is growing up fast too. She struggles a bit with reading. But she reads enough of the story that she knows what is happening. She does like reading so we are working on getting her skills up. She is so sweet and makes me smile a lot. Right now her biggest interest is Horses. She loves horses and is still trying to talk her Dad and I into getting one.
John boy is my cowboy. He is doing great in school. He is ahead of most of the class. He is doing really good in math and he is starting to read. He likes doing both. He loves to draw as well. He is not too bad either. I can already see that Daisy and him will have different styles. Which I fill is a good thing. John is turning 6 on the 25th of this month. He can't wait. But what kid can right. John is all boy. He loves getting dirty and teasing his sisters. Today he told me I needed to get Daisy to turn of her music so that he could concentrate of getting her to let him play with her. I heard Marybeth call him Johnny today and he told her that only his Great Grandma Erickson and Grandpa John could call him that. I thought that was really cute. I could not help but laugh.
Taylor is a little stinker most of the time. She loves getting her own way, and works pretty hard at it. The other day in the middle of the day she decided that she wanted a shower so she went potty in her pants. (Daisy had told me the last time that she did that because she knew I would give her a shower.) So when she asked I told her no. She cried for a bit the next thing I knew she was undressed and had spread pudding from head to toe. I have had my fingers crossed that none of my children would get the curses of being left handed like Willie and I. Well Taylor is a lefty. She is doing a lot better with talking. We can understand what she is saying most of the time now. Actually so can other people that don't spend as much time around her. She is such a sweet spirit when she wants to be.

I love all the kids and I am having tones of fun watching them grow up. I am still working nights at Walmart. I really do enjoy it. There is the drama that is always in the work place. But I still love having a job again and getting that little bit of out time.

Well, I must be off to bed. I will try writing again soon. Maybe post some of John's birthday pics.