Blessings....

Have you ever had one of those days where you feel like God just blesses your socks off? That was my day yesterday. Due to circumstances that were more than just mere "coincidence" I had the privilege of meeting Kelly and Harper Stamps!

After praying for weeks for this sweet baby (who was extremely sick and had a lengthy stay in NICU) ....it was incredible to meet her face to face. It was seeing one of God's miracles come full circle. I think these are rare moments in life...and this is definately one I will treasure!

Harper is absolutely precious! Kelly shows pictures of her daily on her blog, but she's even more aborable in person!
I LOVED to see her look at her momma! She would just grin! So, so ,so sweet!

This was a church located just across the street from our hotel. The three crosses in front were huge.

After lunch, Michael had an appointment, so the kiddos and I needed something to do for a couple of hours. And what could be better than....CHUCK E CHEESE! Actually, by the time we got there is was nearly two....so it was practically empty. So, note to self...go to C.E.C. in the middle of the afternoon for a great time! HA!

They now have a "bowling" game. It was pretty cool!

And this is a "monster truck" ride. It was a little on the wild side!
Connor said he thought he was gonna fall out!

Even Ethan joined in on all the fun! He wasn't sure at first....

...so Kate made him ride it THREE times! By the end it was a hit!

Mason was a pro at the hoops!

All three wanted to "ride" the roller coaster!

Hang on!

Kate was screaming as if she were at Six Flags!

(Glad the place was empty!)

Another note to self....I think I had forgotten how cool Chuck E. Cheese could be! Unfortunately, I think we're usually there on a Saturday, probably for a birthday party, and it's always CRAZY!! But another cool thing I noticed this time around...is that EVERY game/ride is only ONE TOKEN!! Even the "really cool" ones that Mason likes to ride!

An afternoon of fun was only $20. That bought over 100 tokens! Many other places, like the Incredible Pizza Company, Alley Cats, etc. will cost you a minor fortune.

So, if you and your crew need some entertainment this summer, hit your local Chuck E. Cheese! (No...this is not a paid advertisement. Just a mom who values a good time at a cheap price! :)

No More Fairytale...

This whole "fairytale" blog is driving me crazy. I'm not good at pretending to be someone I'm not. Guess I'm more of a "what you see is what you get" type of person.

I explained all this to Michael and he completely understood. So, we're back to using our names. I've promised to be a little more discrete when it comes to some of the details, etc.

Anywho, hope everyone is having a great weekend. We spent some time in the pool. I think it reached 100* today! YIKES. I guess summer is here. HA!

And now it's time for my most recent soap box: I've been working on a special project this weekend and in doing so I was using some tools/embellishments/etc. that I purchased from Recollections. And it was another reminder to me that they don't exist anymore. WHICH STINKS!!

Now, y'all know I'm all for digital scrapbooking. But when it comes to the real thing, Recollections just had it ALL.

And now, thanks to the big coorporations, they've caused all the little "mom and pop" scrapbook stores to go out of business. And then, after holding 99% of the scrapbook market for SEVERAL years, they made the decision to close. SHAME ON THEM.

Now we don't even have a scrapbook store. Not in Mansfield. Not in Arlington. This STINKS.
If I had more time on my hands I would open one. But since I'll have kiddos in this house for the next 17 years, that dream will have to get put on hold. Praise Jesus that Toi showed me what was up in the digital world! Guess I'll just have to stick to it!

Something Close to my Heart

Our fourth child was born at 34 weeks and spent some time in NICU. That experience forever changed me. Although that little boy is now over a year and half old, that time in my life is not forgotten.

Since then, I feel God has given me a desire to help others in that same situation. I don't know exactly what God has in store for me, but for now I will begin with a prayer blog.

With the help of Kelly (Harper's mom) and Grabbie (my little sis) we have made: Miracles in the Making. This is a blog where we will post babies who are sick, both inside the womb and out. Many will probably be in the NICU. Some made need surgeries. Other may be diagnosed with terminal illnesses. I am commited to praying for these and I beseech you to join me. If you pray for a baby, will you also take the time to leave a comment for their parents? It is our desire that the prayers/encouragement/comments will be a comfort to their families.

We will post updates for each one when they are made available to us.

The interesting part to all of this is that this has been in the making for some time now. After praying for Harper Stamps and starting a prayer blog just for her, I knew there had to be a way to do this for others as well. It's just taken some time to pull it all together. We were preparing to have it up and running by the end of this week. And who would have known that the first two babies would be friends of Grabbie?!? Does the Lord in mysterious ways, or what?! None of us knew two days ago when we were working out all the details that two dear friends would have delivered two babies who both needed NICU? One is doing well and expected to be untied with his momma later today. The other, however, was born at just 31 weeks. He has a long road ahead of him. Will join us in praying for these?

Terriffic Thursday

It's an awesome day to be at home.

It's dark and stormy outside. The thunderstorms started last night and haven't let up yet. Normally that would send my nerves into a little panic mode. Don't like storms. Especially when my man isn't home. I think it's that whole control issue....

These storms have been loud. And very colorful. Tons of bright lightening. (Infact, the newscaster said earlier that we've had over 3100 strikes...now, someone please tell me how they know that. I'm amazed that technology can now COUNT each INDIVIDUAL lightening strike. Wow.)

I made the kids breakfast. The oldest requested a shrimp omlet. This was made possible b/c we actually had left over shrimp from a few nights ago. The others had homemade biscuits and eggs.

It is now almost one o'clock and we're still in pajamas. WHOHOOO!

Each child is taking turns on the computer. And since the satelite is out, we're watching a movie. I've gotten to catch up on High School Musical 3! (That's something to get excited about. No, not really.) But I'm hanging out with my kids on a rainy day. And I'm super thankful that God has blessed us so I can be home with them.

I must catch up on laundry today because we're planning a week long trip next week. I'm sure I'll have some great pics to post. Until then...

Birthday Celebration

The Princess of this royal family turned FIVE last Wednesday and I feel like we've been celebrating ALL week long!

On her actual birthday we had a small celebration at home. She asked for shrimp for dinner and I openly admit that I went to the store and bought a little birthday cake (gasp). But it was all good and we let her open one gift...

I don't know if you can tell or not...but the king's eyes still look a little glazed over. He was still heavily medicated at this point. (but smiling none the less, thank you)

Too sweet! I wish they were this cute and cuddily all the time!

Little Miss got a cinderella CD player/karioke machine. It works almost too well. We can hear it VERY well downstairs...much better than we anticipated.

Thursday was the last day of school for the boys. It was a day full of great joy and a little sadness, too. The Prince received some INCREDIBLE awards this year. I think the one I am most proud of would have to be the three medals he earned by making "commended" on all three of his TAKS tests. He was only one question away from having a PERFECT score. WOW! It is unbelievable to think that he no longer will be in elementary. Next year he will begin at our Intermediate School.

And there were more than just a few tears shed when we had to say Goodbye to the Duke's teacher. I truly believe that ocassionally children have a "light bulb" year, for lack of a better term. A year that just absolutely stands out above all the rest. And this was THAT year for our #2 son. I just cannot give his teacher enough praise and thanks. To say that she touched his life isn't putting it mildly.

On Friday, the king was feeling much more like himself. Praise the Lord! Because I basically had that one day to prepare for the birthday party on Saturday. We had it at a local gymnastics gym and the kids had a blast. WARNING - there are more than just a "few" pics...

The princess showing off some new "moves" on the trampoline.

This would be my firstborn in process of completing a flip.

This is my second born who is just having a sweet time.

More crazy trampoline action

Here is my cousin's baby...she is only two weeks younger than "Big E"

Big "E" a.k.a. Little Fatty

Here is #1 swinging from a rope. After a few swings, they would let go and fall into a "pit" of foam blocks.

Here are the babies playing in one of the foam pits.

Do they look too sweet, or what?!

The Princess landing in the pit.

It was time for some cake. Due to the request from the princess, herself, and a little guilt over the store bought, I ended up making TWO cakes for the party. One chocolate. One vanilla.

Happy birthday to you...happy birthday to you...

Now blow out the candles.

My niece is sharing a bite with her daddy. Cute huh?

Before she could open gitfs, they presented her with a little gold medal. Only the person with a medal can open gifts (smart)

"Oh my goodness!!! I got belle flip flops!!!!"

Now THIS is just too cute! These two are two peas in a pod at church.

"Oh no you didn't....a Hannaah Montanna CD"!!!

Its a bit hard to tell, but she got a pink bean bag from my aunt.

Some of my buddies..

This was taken outside (hence the squint)!

Happy birthaday, sweetheart. I love you!

Update

This post is mainly for all of our family. I've received messages/text/emails from several trying to inquire about my "king". So here is the scoop in a post it note form.

He's been very ill since last Thursday. Instead of getting better he was getting progressively worse. On Monday night he noticed some "lumps" that started forming on his head. They appeared to be possible fluid, were extrememly painful and he said they were causing a lot of pressure.

We went to a doctor last night. He was given a shot as a short time fix to help him sleep. He had a decent night rest but woke up in even worse shape this morning.

We were put in contact with a friend/business partner of my father who is an ER doctor. After speaking with him on the phone he insisted that we get MJ to the hospital immediately. He had already spoken with his staff and when we arrived we were taken back immediately.

Long story short, they worked quickly and efficiently. The doctor was GREATLY concerned that he had meningitis. Unfortunately, they had to perform a lumbar puncture (a.k.a spinal tap) to drain fluid. After waiting several hours for the tests, everything came back negative for meningitis (Thank you, Jesus!) It has been ruled that he has an acute viral infection that caused some of the limph nodes in his head to swell.

He's on several meds that are keeping him a bit loopy but without pain. He is so happy to be able to sleep pain free. I've been given strict instructions from the doc to keep him medicated every four hours for the next day or two to insure a good speedy recovery.

The king is in his own bed, at his own castle, resting. Thank you all for your prayers. OH - and a HUGE thank you to my friends, Jada (her daughter, Ashley), and Angie. They completely helped me with the kids today while we were at the hospital. I DON'T HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT I WOULD DO WITHOUT THE TWO OF YOU! Your help was PRICELESS!!! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!