You need one of these

See this pretty new yellow lawn ornament? Everyone should have one. Really...it should be your new goal in life. You envy me don't you? Oh, yes and the lovely 5ft deep hole in the front yard...you need that too.




Oh look...he is making it bigger.........



Look at our hole...isn't it nice? This is where our new septic tank will be. Just beyond that, will be our new lateral field...along with several hundred dollars of our money.



Here is the dude that is digging the hole, Bryan. Bryan is a long time friend, I guess it is good that somebody we trust is digging in our yard, you wouldn't want someone that you don't trust putting in your new poop holding tank...that is a sensitive job. Look how happy he is in that big ol' toy. That is every mans dream I guess.



See..every mans dream...even little men. Look how cute he is in his little work boots and his house coat.



Speaking of feet...does something look strange here?



Speaking of lovely holes, remember me speaking of the noxious hole with the old tank? Yes..well here it is, see we have a matching pair.



nice.............



Look, it's my man :)



Uh Oh...He is off of the toy and on the phone.....there must be a problem



Yes...there is definitely a problem...

Ah..I was informed, they hit the water line...yet another thing...yay.





Well..this little face will brighten my day any day. Poor little Makayla didn't get to watch the fun digging today, she had a sick tummy and was stuck in bed.

WAIT!! Where are you going??? Don't leave!! Don't you see the BIG gaping HOLE in my yard??? Come back!!!

.................................oh...MA...are you sure? Ok...he informed me that he will be coming back tomorrow......

This story will definitely be continued.

Time for an update

It has been too long since I have given an update on the happenings in this nut house.

The results from MAs' job hunt is non-existent. He has applied so many places but there just isn't a job to be had. I know that there is a reason that God is allowing our family to deal with this, and I praise HIM, because I know that His plan is perfect. We have not once felt scared or uneasy. There is a peace that only faith in Him can provide. Please continue to pray for our family, and the many many other families in the same position we find ourselves in.

The kids are amazing, growing and ready for spring to come. They really want to play outside and, trust me...I can't wait for them to be able to.

Tax season is more than half over. It has been a great season, Praise God. Exhausting but as interesting as ever. It has been a blessing that MA has been home with the kids and has seen to their needs and all of the things that they need.

During the last big wind storm the kids swing set was broken. We had set back some money from tax season to purchase them a new swing set, however those plans have been derailed. Last weekend we found out that we have some major septic and lateral field issues. Our septic tank is in the process of being replaced. We have a hole in our back yard that you could drive a car in. Said hole is full of nasty water that is absolutely nauseating to be near. Nice huh? Yeah. So our plan to purchase the new swing set seemed to be lost until we found out that it should be covered under our home owners insurance policy. This made me very happy. I will turn this in tomorrow and hopefully we can still get the swing set. I really hope the replacement of our septic tank is finished soon and the hole filled back in and my yard put back together...it is really bad right now.

So anyway...this is our update...things are ok. We are doing fine. I have an exciting opportunity...I'm not ready to talk about it yet, just to say that if I get this contract it will pay the tuition for the kids next year. Please pray that this goes well for us. God is good and has never let us down yet...I do not expect Him to start today.

Report Card Day

It has been the tradition (can you call two years of doing something tradition?) that when a report card with straight A's (or the best representation of you giving 100% and doing your absolute best) that person gets to choose a special meal.

Today is report card day.

Makayla is the only person bringing home a report card right now, so this tradition only applies to her....see...tradition...or tradition beginning. Anyway, she brought home straight A's.

I asked her today what she wanted for her special meal...she answered "I want the Snowy Owl Webkinz"

What??? She is breaking with tradition and it is still in it's infancy.

*sigh*

Oh Well. We will go get the Owl for her and hopefully next report card day she will get back on tradition. Needless to say we are very proud of her and her accomplishment. She is a smart smart girl.

I am totally in control

As I was looking through some pictures on my computer, I came upon this shot of MA and I at his cousins wedding last fall.

As I replayed portions of that weekend through my mind, I remembered taking the kids to the Nashville Zoo, and really enjoying our day. Makayla was the flower girl in the wedding, so once we left the zoo, we came back to our hotel and dressed for the wedding. I rolled and fixed Makaylas hair complete with glitter. She wore this beautiful ivory dress and looked like a princess.

Here the kids are in the bamboo forest area at the zoo.

See princes...I told you.

As the night carried on, the family was celebrating at the reception, we ate and talked and had a very nice time. As the hour approached 8:30 or so, Cameron began to become tired.

Do you know what happens when Cameron becomes tired? Many children will get quiet and still as they begin to drift off to sleep, not Cameron...no Cameron escalates, he gets faster, louder and harder to handle.

By 9:00 pm, the bride and groom were opening their gifts and Cameron was in the floor spinning, on his belly. Then running around the house that was full of people, outside, inside and just all around getting more and more unruly.

At this time MA and I like to pretend that we have every thing under control. You see, we had Makayla, and when I told her to sit down, she sat down...see, I CAN parent. *points to child who is NOT acting like an escaped zoo monkey* Olivia....well she was an infant, so I had her under control...see...see..I told you I can parent. No, please pay no attention to the escalating 4 year old boy who is now helping the bride and groom unwrap their gifts.

It is at this point MA takes Cameron by the arm and in a valiant show of parenting power gets right in his face, nose to nose, and explains to him that we have told him 29383987 times that he can not climb on top of the counters and dance. No, you cant play in the fountain on the patio either. No you may not ask the bride and groom for the money they just received so you can go buy that stuffed alligator that you saw at the zoo today and mom and dad would not buy. Cameron you will sit down on this chair and not move until I tell you that you can.

Cameron....Cameron...I said sit down...*sigh*

Now I, being the parenting expert *snicker snicker* that I am makes the astute observation that we probably should make our exit. What caused me to reach this decision? When I looked down as we were saying our goodbyes and Cameron was sitting on my foot with his arms and legs wrapped around my leg. Did I mention I was in heels? No? Well I Was. So picture this exit...me with Olivia on my hip, purse on my shoulder, 4 year old kid wrapped around my leg.

Yep....totally in control.....

Tax Season Begins

The insanity is in full force.



And by insanity...I truly mean insanity.



If you could only hear the questions that I get asked on a daily basis.



If it weren't for the laws that guard privacy I would write a book. However the government frowns on that, so I will keep the craziness to myself.



Just know that we are working 50-70 hours a week and doing 30-80 tax returns a day. Come join the insanity.




Since I can't share the insanity of tax season with you in detail, I will share the insanity of the weather. The state of Kentucky has been declared a disaster area....here is why;

umm..Christmas??

Does anybody remember Christmas? It was a week or two (or 6 ) ago? Yeah... Since I promised I would show you the family Christmas pictures, I will do that now....then we will move on from Christmas...since...ya know...it's almost February.

Here we have Makayla inspecting Pepaw Dickens Christmas tree....she is inspecting really looking for something that may have her name on it.

Olivia snuggling with Memaw Dicken, Michaels' grandmother. She is 86.

All of my babies together :)

Look at that face...how can you turn away from those eyes?

Oh, here she is being bossy to her cousin at Memaw Phillips' house.

Cameron *patiently* waiting for gift opening time.

*SO* patient.

My man and My girl at Mamaw Mardis' Christmas meal.

How many singing animals does one house need? Just this many as far as Olivia is concerned.

Look at these three....what do you think they are plotting?

Christmas: Part Two

Umm....so....it has been a day or two, and I guess I should move ahead with another Christmas post, since it is now the third week of January.


So...I will do that now. Okay?


CHRISTMAS MORNING!! Let the carnage begin!


After the gifts arrived! That Rose Petal Cottage is the cutest thing.

Another tree shot.

Not only is the Rose Petal Cottage adorable...it is a HIT!

Ripping into the red and white packages with much anxiousness.

The kids had a GREAT Christmas morning at home. They each got what they asked for. Including an Ipod for Makayla and a video camera. Cameron got his Nintendo DS that he had been so excited to get. Along with much more than they need, but it is only Christmas once a year. I just love watching them open their gifts and their eyes light up each time they rip the paper. It is a feeling I wish I could keep all the time.

Still to come....Christmas with the extended families....

Christmas: Part One

As I transferred the pictures of Christmas from my camera (which is NEW by the way...more on that later) I realized that I had taken roughly 500 pictures. So tonight we will take an in depth look at each and every one. I will have Ashley, my photographer friend, come in and do a guest editorial and critique the aperture and iso and focus and shutter speed and a lot of other complicated words of which I have no idea what they mean, of every picture...wont this be fun??? Yes it will! Say it with me...."yes Nicole, it will be FUN".

Stop...come back in here, DO NOT run away from my blog, I will come find you....yes I will...don't test me....I mean it.


Ok...ok...I won't have Ashley guest editorialize...ok? Better?

No?

What more can I omit from this blog!?

Huh? OOOOHHH....you want me to omit 490 pictures from this blog?

I don't know....that is a tall order.

Ok! Ok!! If it means that you will read on, I will only make you look at a few tonight...but that means MANY more Christmas blogs.


So, since you forced my hand, we will focus tonight on the school Christmas play.



See Olivia...so excited. Just bouncing as she anxiously awaits the start of the play. She can not stand the anticipation of seeing her brother and sister on stage.

Speaking of her brother; here is my little man on stage. Look how handsome!


Singing...isn't he the cutest thing?

Oh, she woke up! Just in time to see her sissy and her part of the play. See how happy she looks?


There is my big girl. She is getting so big.

Uh oh...Olivia says; no more singing! This is all of the Christmas cheer I can give in one night...you made me dress in red...what more do you want???

I love that they sign during their songs, it really is amazing to watch these kids sign and sing at the same time.

And one last picture, just because I think it is cool. (and my new camera ROCKS...I am still learning how to use it)

Take a look at The Huckleberry Patch!

A fantastically talented friend sent me a great Christmas gift. One that she made with her own two little fantastically talented hands.

She has recently opened her own store on etsy. In her store you can see the apron she sent me. She will be adding more of her talents soon. Including the shopping bag she sent me for Christmas...yes she spoiled me.

Also included among her talents are; pillow case dresses (TO DIE FOR) (pppssssttt...Cindy...get them on etsy...NOW!!), produce bags etc...

Take a peek at her store and then make an order!

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6014743

It is hard being two

It is a rough life for a two year old.

You have to deal with that big brother, the one who will sneak you a string cheese and juice box from the fridge, who loves you so much that he shares his Saturday morning blanket and couch camp out in front of the cartoons...yeah...that has to be rough.

You can scream and cry and make the meanest face you can come up with and all mommy does is giggle and tell you that you are cute.

You just can not relax ANYwhere. It is so hard to get comfortable.

You have to get angry at mommy again and scream GRAPE loudly to get your yummy fruit.

But the one perk of being two is that once you get your grapes...you look adorable with a little tear while you munch them down.