More Tennessee Christmas

Sawyer's Christmas

(remember click and drag the bar at the bottom/side to see all pics)

Turner's Christmas
Yes he really did fall asleep in his pack-n-play that way

Ansley's Christmas

Judson's Christmas
Sadly, he was not feeling well at all.
Even More Christmas

Christmas 2009 in Tennessee-Opryland Hotel

We spent 10 days in Tennessee this year for Christmas. We had a great time! Since there are over 600 pictures, I'll post several blog updates over the next few days. The first is Opryland Hotel. Judson was sick much of the time we were gone. So if his eyes seem red or it looks like he was in mid-cough, there is a reason for it. Just click on the picture and it will enlarge to your screen.

The night shots are not very good. It's the best we could do with our little camera though.

Dad and Lad

Tonight was Judson's scout meeting. Together, he and Randy were supposed to make a dessert and bring it to the meeting. The rules were they had to use the oven and they had to do it by themselves. They also had to clean up after. What is funny about this is Randy complained about having to do it. Didn't want to do it. However, once he got into it, he wanted to WIN. Pretzels, Kisses, Rolos, M&Ms, Pecans(roasted)

They drizzled white chocolate on top and plated it on silver tray. Haven't heard if they won or not but I can say the finished product looked very good. (sorry. forget to get a pic)

Happy Holidays 2009

Wishing you and your family a happy holiday season.
Truly, Turner was excited to see Santa UNTIL we put him in Santa's lap.
Then it was not so fun.
The rest were cool with it.
You can see how Sawyer felt.
Ansley asked if he came on his sleigh. Santa said, "No, a truck"
We figured it might be too warm for reindeer.
Judson was fine too.

Hope to visit many of you during the holidays!

Christmas Stricklin-Style

Randy's parents are here this weekend to celebrate the holidays with us. They brought the kids some gifts. The 2 biggest hits were a Melissa & Doug Birthday Cake and the Halloween Costumes. Nana knew how much they loved dressing up, so after Halloween she went a bought some costumes. They loved them!


Ansley is pretty much convinced Nana came just to visit her. This is good since we went to the Karate Christmas Party last night and she was more than just a bit miffed. She thought the party was supposed to be all about her. There wasn't ONE picture of her in the whole montage! (she hasn't tested yet and the pictures were of tests, etc. There were pictures of Judson)

OUR HOUSEIn Judson's Dreams

Play Date

Our friends Alex and Makayla came over to play today. We made cinnamon-applesauce ornaments and iced/decorated cookies! The kids had a blast and my house smells all Christmas-like.

There is COOL

Then there is TURNER COOL!

This is Why

Every drawer and closet in my house is a mess!That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

XPOST FB

Yesterday, I took Sawyer and Judson to the grocery with me. Sawyer was not feeling so well and had his head leaned over. I saw a man come in who looked down and out. Not sure if he'd had a bad day or worse. I just looked the other way. (That is what you do, isn't it? Don't stare)

Not Sawyer. He straightened up and said (very loudly), "HI". The man, I think, did a double take. Then he straightened up a bit and a smile came across his face. He, too, said 'HI'. We all smiled.

Check out this blog post I found. It is a very good description of who Sawyer is. He sees things differently. He sees things most like God would have us see things, I my humble opinion. He looks past the outer shell. Just click HERE.

More Pictures

A man with a purpose

Riding a motorcycle (aka 4-wheeler)

Scorned!!! (he wanted to be first)

(I did not get pics of Judson riding the 4-wheeler but rest assured, he got his turn too)

We're Back!!!

We spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Alabama. What a wonderful time we had. The weather was fantastic. The kids were healthy. It was awesome!!! (And we ate so much, I feel like a Weeble) Here are a few pics of what we did.

Three Musketeers

Fun Times

Skated!!!

Some people enjoyed it more than others.

Fishing

Happy Thanksgiving

Great story HERE.

Seriously

I am cutting off the tags to some felt ornaments. The first sentence: "This is NOT a toy". Two sentences later, "Cut off all plastic attachments before giving this toy to your child"

Seriously, it says that.

A Christmas Story

Twas the week before Thanksgiving and all through the house, all creatures were stirring.
Oh please not a mouse.

The Grinch was all Grinchy because the lights would not work.
He threatened to cancel Christmas, causing much hurt.

Away Mom did dash in the middle of the night.
To Target to buy a new string of lights.

Now all is well on our little piece of the map
The tree is all lit
And the kids are down for a nap

Company!

We had some delightful company at our house today. Little Miss O came for a visit while her Momma moved 'stuff' from their old house to their new house. What a fun time we all had! (well, except for maybe O's mommy. Moving and bad backs just don't mix)

We read books and played tea party and had a picnic while watching a movie and lots of other stuff too. See....Lest you think 5 kids created this mess, think again. One kid was in school much of the time and the only thing O pulled out was books. This is a "3 kid mess". THIS is how my house looks many nights before 'clean up'. Welcome to my world. Don't come if you can't take it because this is how we live!

Great Day

We had friends over to eat pizza and just talk. LOVED IT. You could not have asked for a better day. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. It's always great to catch up with friends. Didn't take too many pictures but here are a few. The kids had a blast. My tub now has a brown ring around it from all the dirt that came off the kids at bath time.

Funny anecdote: The kids were on the fort having fun, when Ansley (almost 5) came up to me and said, "Mom, the kids are going to attack the adults". Two minutes later, Parker(who just turned 5) came up to his dad and said, "The Kids are going to attack the adults". Apparently, at 5 years of age, it is imperative to be the first to tell the secret.

So Serious
Weapons of Mass Distruction
(the logs were confiscated)

Enjoying Life

Thanks, Doug. You are DA Man!

Birthday Party

If you ever want to give your little one a birthday party, try Little Gym. (Like Gymboree) Sawyer and Turner were invited to a classmate's party. They LOVED it. They were busy running around and doing games for about an hour. After that hour, not one complaint about going to eat pizza and cake. Not one complaint about leaving. They were so tired, they were ready to go. Mommy LOVED that part. Check out the smiles on Sawyer's face. (Click on pics to make them larger)

Why do I bother????

Took the kids for the Christmas pictures today. Some days, it just doesn't pay to even try. Today? One of those days! Three were amiable. One (the 'enhanced' one) was not. In the end, they(the pictures) turned out okay, not great. BUT oh the wailing that had to be, before the end product was completed.

The day is looking up. The neighbors grand kids are here and want to come play and this afternoon is a birthday party for one of Sawyer's classmates. They said I could bring siblings, so I'm taking Turner. That makes life easier for Randy, so he's smiling!

Same 'Ole, Same 'Ole

We took Sawyer for his cardiology visit today. He did GREAT. The ECHO showed that the clot was about the same size, if not slightly smaller. The doctor said he thought the clot was firmly attached. (most likely calcified) He does NOT want to go in and touch it at this point. We will go back next summer for a new ECHO. For now, we remain on the aspirin regimen. Not exactly what we would have liked to have seen but not the worst news in the world either. So there you have it, same 'ole same 'ole.

Cardiologist

Off to the doctor today to get Sawyer's heart checked out. To be more specific, to see if the clot is growing and possibly decide next steps.

Thankful for friends who are able to watch my other children so I'm not schlepping 4 kids to germ infested doctor's office. (Lest you think I'd dump all 3 remaining kids upon my friends, we're taking Ansley with us and only dumping Judson and Turner. See, we're not THOSE kinds of friends.)

More later...

Check out Judson's Camping Trip Pictures

http://judsonstories.blogspot.com/2009/11/scout-camping-2009.html

SUCKER!!!!

Yep, that would be the tattoo on my forehead!

Why? 2 reasons:

1) Judson begged to play basketball this year. We had not planned on it because of karate and scouts. But, he pleaded and being the slacker parents that we are, we gave in. Since this year, the league is more 'instructional' and not like last year where it was more 'play ground-esk', I figured they would want more seasoned coaches. Alas, I was not ON GUARD. I went to Judson's mini-basketball camp this morning, only to be approached by the league director to see if I would coach. He apparently was desperate for coaches!2) The local Golden Retriever Rescue put out a plea for short term foster parents for dogs during the holiday season. They said they needed them for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. So, I filled out the application and said we'd be here New Years if there was a dog that was good around small kids who needed short term fostering, we'd be willing. Now, in general, Goldens are great around kids. However, rescue dogs may or may not be good depending upon their situation. They have a lot of goldens who were breeders and were locked up in crates their whole life. So loud kids would not be a good fit for them. Goldens love to put things in their mouth. Kids love to lay things down. It can be a bad combination. I was thinking when I filled out the app last night, it's very unlikely they'd call us. When I got home from Judson's basketball today, I had a call. They wanted to talk to me.

So just stamp SUCKER across my forehead! (That would be me)

Possibilities

Click HERE and read this story! Love good stories....

Worst Down Syndrome

I came across this post and thought it worth passing on. If for no other reason, than some one trying to find out about Down Syndrome. Or maybe someone finding out the child they are carrying has Down Syndrome. It's a very well written post, albeit lengthy because there is lots to say on the subject.

CLICK HERE.

Take a Look

http://www.reecesrainbow.com/olderboys.html

Take a look at the older boys. Scroll down and check out Bobby.
Sounds like an awesome kid, don't you think?
He's 11.
He needs a family.
Maybe it's YOU.
Maybe it's someone you know.
Spread the word.

Christmas Tree 2009

EVERY ONE knows I am passionate about adoption. EVERYONE knows I am passionate about Down Syndrome. Put those two together and what do you have? Reece's Rainbow! This is the time of year they try to raise $1000 for each child to go towards their adoption. This money will be applied to the adoption costs for a family who chooses to adopt that child. Adoption is not a cheap way to build a family. It can be quite expensive, especially if you choose international adoption. So every bit of money that a child receives can make a huge difference in a family being able to adopt them.

No child should have to live without knowing the love of family. No child should have to live in the conditions that many of these children live in. ALL children are worthy and needy of love. Please help one of these children. Take a look at their faces. Truly look into their eyes. Please help.
Click HERE.