Calling All Superheroes...

So, we had a FABULOUS birthday party on Saturday!

Kyler Channing is turning 5, which I have already blogged about,

so we went ahead and his party this weekend. He will, of course,

get cupcakes sent with him to school on Tuesday (his real birthday)

to celebrate yet again.

We did a superhero theme this year. He is so into the heroes

so it only made sense. And with all the movies out this

summer, it was so easy to find superhero stuff! I went with

most of the Marvel heroes, and added a few of the D.C. Comics

in there, too. Everything ended up being so cute and the kids

had a blast. Really. All 22 kids that came. Ya. 22. And I stopped

counting adults at 37. So, we had a small gathering, HA!

Most of Kyler's class from school came, which was so fun for him!

We also had cousins Jayce, Rylee, Savannah, and Ethan as always...

Perfect weather for an outside party. It was gorgeous outside! Everyone

ran around and socialized and had a good time. It was so nice! I am

so thankful for everyone who helped and donated (HA) to this event.

D, especially, for moving everything around in the backyard hundreds of

times until I made up my mind where I wanted it all... and for

moving and loading that huge jumper we had... that thing was a HIT

with those kids. Kept them entertained the entire time. 

Ok.. here's the run down with pictures, of course!

Main set up:

Jumper!

tables with hero decor, of course. I had checkers, card games,

bingo, and coloring pages set up at tables for everyone to play.

Cape decorating table! BJ made the capes and I got stickers and

crayons for the kids to decorate their own. This was so fun for them!

I never got a full picture of the food table... As soon as I put it all out,

it was gone. Literally. We went through 60 hot dogs, 50 ham/turkey

roll ups, 4 boxes of strawberries, 3 bags of apples, 2 bags of grapes,

2 bags of mixed veggies with ranch, 3 batches of sausage dip and chips, and 9 gallons of lemonade/pink lemonade/blue punch. And we had a whole cake and Cookie Mama

cookies! All of that food was gone in about 30 minutes. I had some

hungry superheroes, apparently. 

Superhero toys!

Superhero family.

Superhero cousins.

The whole day was perfect and I had such a good time enjoying

with friends and family. My sweet boy is almost 5 years old.

Hard to believe. He is so big and "grown." And so smart. He

can count to 100 (the slow way, not cheating), speaks a few words

in Spanish, knows about 15 Bible stories by heart, has about 10 

Bible verses memorized (they learn a new one each week at school), 

adores his little sister (most of the time), and loves loves loves his daddy.

And his momma. :)

Happy Birthday (on Tuesday) to my Kyler Channing!

Terrible at this...

Geez. over a month since my last blog... how awful am I?!

I would love to say that I have been terribly busy with so much fun in my life that I just don't have the time to blog... but that wouldn't be the truth. The truth is, I just don't have time to blog because of my everyday, run of the mill, hectic life. 

My day starts at 4:45 a.m. everyday. I leave for work at 6:00 a.m. to be there an hour early so I can think in the silence for a while. The students arrive at 7:30 and I have them until 11:30 when we switch classes and I get another set of students until 2 p.m. Then I get my homeroom back until 3 p.m. I am at school for 9 hours.......... which is forever in my world. When I finally get home around 4 p.m., I just sit in the silence for a few minutes. D picks up the kids everyday and they get home a few minutes before 5 p.m. I usually have supper cooked by then and a load of clothes in the washer and/or dryer.  After supper, it's clean up time and play time outside for everyone... except me. I am usually on the computer doing something for school or folding clothes or picking up the kitchen and/or toys.  Around 7:30 we start baths and getting ready for bed. By 8:30, H is in bed and K is getting ready... By 9:30, we are all in the bed. I can't function past 9 anyways... So even if I were to blog after they kids go to bed, it would be a bunch of random words (probably spelling/vocabulary/social studies words from 5th grade.) 

And our weekends, you ask!? Well, they are consumed with doing all the things that don't get accomplished during the week. Cleaning house (although I sweep everyday, mop and vacuum every other day, and clean my bathroom every other day), more laundry, writing lesson plans, making tests, birthday parties, church events, grocery shopping, this and that shopping,  and the list goes on and on and on....

I know, I am ranting. Or I feel like I am anyways. I just think sometimes where does all of this time go by so fast? I mean, I would like to enjoy some days and what I am doing.. but I always seem to be thinking of what I need to do next, making lists in my head, figuring out the next day's schedule... When and how we will get it all done. *sigh* I guess that is why they say Rome was not built in one day. 

I know everyone has this same problem... So much to do and so little time. Guess I need to just shut my mouth and deal with it, huh?!

Kyler Channing will be 5 years old in 9 days. In 9 days, I will have a 5 year old. I can't believe it. I told him today after church... your daddy and I have come a LONG way in 5 years... those of you who know me personally, you know we have. 5 years ago, our world was turned upside down and inside out with nothing left.  But D, my sweet D, he worked so hard, and still does, to provide for us and give us everything we need and then some. We both worked and went to school, lived between two houses, and managed to get through a year and half with not many bruises along the way. A year later, we were married. Then finally moved. Then moved again. Now, things are much smoother than they once were. I can't wait to tell Kyler how he came to be one day. One day when he is WELL old enough to understand the story behind his life. His miracle of life.

Harper Layne... she is 14 months, going on about 16. D R A M A is this child's name. And her middle name, A T T I T U D E. wonder where she gets that from? ;)

Although I ranted and raved and complained and whined (all synonyms for you teacher folk) I have been blessed beyond measure in my life. I have a wonderful husband, two adorable children, and a job. Notice I didn't have an adjective for my job. LOL. But, nonetheless, I have a job. I am employed. And that is more than some can say.

I shouldn't be complaining about anything. I read this article from a college student in Alabama, and all I could think about were words to this song. Our Sunday School lesson was on this very thing today. And all I could think about in my head was this song, too. A daily reminder of why we do the things we do and how we have the chance to do them. The little things. And we should be thankful for them every minute of everyday. That is my goal.. to start being thankful for all of these things. Here is the article this intelligent and God fearing student wrote:

I am thankful for...

the wife who says it's hot dogs tonight because she is home with me and not out with someone else.

the husband who is on the sofa being a couch potato because he is home with me and not out at the bar.

the teenager who is complaining about washing the dishes because it means she is home and on the streets. 

the taxes I pay because it means I am employed.

the mess to clean after a party because it means I have been surrounded by friends.

the clothes that fit a little too snuggly because it means I have enough to eat.

all the complaining I hear about the government because it means we have freedom of speech.

the parking spot I find at the far end of the lot because it means I am capable of walking and have been blessed with transportation.

my huge cooling bill because it means I am comfortable.

the lady behind me in church who sings off key because it means I can hear.

the pile of laundry and ironing because it means I have clothes to wear.

the alarm that goes off in the morning because it means I am alive.

That's all for today. Maybe I'll be back sooner than later! Kyler's birthday pics this weekend! :) :)
Until then...