awesome feeling...

oops. things have been absolutely crazy here lately. still no excuse, just a matter of priorities. as much as i would like for the blog to be tended to each day - it ain't gonna happen!

6 more days!! HOLY COW! it is such an awesome feeling to know we are going to see eric in 6 days. he will be in nashville around 530-6p on tuesday evening. thinking about it brings back memories of childhood christmas eve's and the feeling of overwhelming excitement and pure joy. the only other time in our lives that i can compare this feeling to was when kadence was born and waiting to hear what sex she was... that was true excitement! we can't wait sweetie!

kadence turned the big 5 on the 15th. wow! we had a quick hot dog and cup cake party on the 15th with the neighborhood friends. it was a last minute thing and actually went well. she is so proud to be five. what a new way of parenting too - "five-year-olds don't cry like that kadence...five-year-olds help their little sister and brothers kadence." i know she can't wait to be six, lol.

i finished my second quilt! yea! it is kadence's quilt this time. all of her baby bedding (bumper pads, blanket, and crib skirt were used). so glad this one is finished. will start cutting ty's now!

i ran my second 10k on saturday. it was so stinkin' hot - even at 7am. dad came to rescue me due to a sudden round of throwing up from kambel, original childcare was cancelled as to not infect anyone else. so dad showed up 545am saturday morning and played with the grandkids for the morning hours... needless to say, after the race i was exhausted and i think i got what kambel had and was down and out for awhile. kadence was in her element, i totally paid her to watch kambel while i rested during ty's nap. they 'redecorated' down stairs with sheets, pillows and whatever else they could get their hands on. regardless they were both awesome. to be honest the 'illness' i think i had took a few days to get over. this was the first time i was down and out with the kids around. i am SO thankful i am feeling better.

kadence had her first sleepover/slumber party last night with her best friend from school. how cute. they had a blast. i picked her up this morning and she had different color nail polish on each finger, sticker earrings on, and lipstick on! too cute :)...

here are some pictures of the kids. enjoy!

cross those t's and dot those i's

just a few clarifications here...

eric will be coming home from korea june 30 (big grins here). he will be on leave for 30 days, but then has to return to finish up his one year obligation. he will be home from korea for good the end of november. this return is just his leave that he is taking for his 'mid-tour' break. he has been there nearly 7 months. 7 months! that is toooooo long to not see our hero.

i (gulp) will be running the memphis marathon not the half marathon in december. due to eric's timeline i felt that training and running while he is home is a better move. to have him home and have him supporting me is priceless and to be honest will probably be one thing that carries me through my first 26.2. i will keep you updated. this is one thing in my life that i have always wanted to do - strange thing to finally do - putting myself on a 'to do' list.

saying goodbye (and hello)

wow, it has been awhile, sorry for the lag in blogging. lots to catch up on, so we will do the dirty work now and will post pictures/videos for you soon.

catie - the best sister ever - came to my rescue for seven (count 'em - seven) days of pure bliss. i can't say how thankful i am. having her here was so refreshing, so perfect, so needed. i am so proud of everything that this girl has done in her life. she is so emotional and her emotions pour into her life in everything she touches - her career, her marriage, her nieces and nephews... we all miss you girl. thanks for saving me for a week... i will be at your door when you need me. i promise. (that state farm commercial just came on darn it!! lol "i will be there")

i gave my final 'four year old' bath tonight to kadence jayde gray. 5 years ago tonight i was in labor with our first baby. i am so proud of this baby girl. as is she! she can't stop telling people that she is going to be five. five! wow! so goodbye to four year old baths and hello to the next five years!

i did it. i stinkin' did it! i nursed three children 14 months for kadence and 16 months for kambel and ty. ty has basically weaned himself, but he is not interested anymore and i thought now was as good a time as ever to move on. he has gone to sleep 6 times without nursing, waking and going back to sleep with a pacifier. YEA!

three goodbyes... and one hello

welcome to the world baby liam, proud parents and sister jeremy, jill and adeline.

16 days!!!!!!!!!!!!

say what?

true stories

while picking up my room i told the girls to get all the toys off my floor and out of my room. kadence says "ya mom, you are too big to play with them."

at my doctors appointment the girls stood in the doorway while i was getting my vitals done. after finishing and walking to the doctors room, kambel said "did they look in your ears mom?" i confirmed her suspicion (they were taking my temperature) and she squeezed my hand and said "you are so brave mommy."

trying to expand our food choices in our home, i cooked pork one night for dinner. kadence clearly let me know "this pork tastes like sticks." when did she eat sticks??

while trying to keep my cool with the kids, i calmly (i think i was calm) told them that they had better listen, because i was starting to get angry. kambel asks "like hulk smash?" yes dear. and i turn green.

finally, kadence has quite the imagination. she is always making up other names for herself or her babies. she came to me while i was doing the dishes and said "mom, i want a different name, a fancy one, what one can i have?" i was patient and honestly told her that i liked the name victoria and she could go by tori. she liked it and wanted me to pick a middle name, but before i could spill one out she had one. she picked secret. my daughter wants to be named victoria secret. what have i done...

13 minutes

that was all it took. from the time i handed ty over to the nurse until the surgeon returned with the news it was a total of 13 minutes. wow! he is doing fabulous... like nothing happened. he is a bit tired, napping on and off, but other than that you would never know he had tubes put in today! i am so thankful for all the prayers and well wishes. i am most thankful that the lord has blessed eric and i with three healthy children, and simple things such as having tubes put in are minimal to what many families face. thanks y'all!

paper chains, surgery and friends - oh my!

the girls and i spent ty's nap time today making paper chains. each link represents one day with each chain having 33 links on them. the girls then will take one link off each day, making it all the way down the chain until daddy comes home! in the picture i linked too many together, so we had fun taking those off - we aren't waiting any longer for you to come home eric!!

many of you know that ty has really had a difficult time with his ears. initially it was just his left ear, then it was his right, then both - on and on and on. we finally went to see an ENT and an audiologist this past week. they both agreed that ty does have some hearing loss, although not permanent, he does need tubes in both ears to relieve the fluid that is trapped behind his ear drum. he will go into surgery (sniff sniff) monday morning at 630am. the actual surgery only takes about 5 minutes on each ear, but he still has to be sedated. all in all only about 35-45 minutes from beginning to end. i am sure he will feel so much better, but please still pray for his recovery and for the tubes to do the job they are supposed to. plus for his hearing to return to normal - that way there will be no excuses for him not to hear me in the future!

it seems here lately i have really just lost my mind. what else is new, right?? i know i don't need to apologize, but i will - i am just sorry that i can't seem to carry on a conversation on the phone to anyone!! including eric! it is nearly impossible for me to speak to my friends without a dramatic situation occurring (usually a toy MIA or someone using extreme force to get something back). please know that i would love to sit and chat with no kids bugging me, but it just isn't happening anytime soon. my deepest apologies to my girlfriend from graduate school, who just so happens to have the same name as my next door neighbor, who i accidentally called at 1030 at night georgia time to ask her if she could help me with something!! did i mention she is still in her first trimester of her first pregnancy and is probably exhausted and i bothered her that late at night!!! what a gooooooober! sorry chick! but seriously, i have good intentions with trying to chat with my friends and family, it just never happens. so until it does - happy reading!

not a minute too late

yesterday eric and i celebrated 11 years married. 11 years. wow. i posted a sloppy love letter to him, but quickly deleted it - thinking of all those who may read it may think it was too personal. but you know what, i love my husband. our family is what it is because of what we have been through, good and bad. eric has always been right there by my side since 1994. CRAZY! i still feel like that same 16 year old girl who was looking out the living room window waiting for him to come pick me up. time apart sucks, more than anyone can imagine who hasn't been in these shoes, but it makes us stronger. it makes us appreciate our time together (at least a few months at a time :) ). so - i love you eric jay gray and can't wait to see what the lord has in store for us for the next 11 years. 39 more days!!!