A Blast From Halloween In The Past

Above 2008

Our household is completely ready for Halloween. Our home is being decorated as we speak, the costumes have been picked out, purchased, and received, and we are all ready for the camera to start snapping away. I cannot wait to publish the kids in this year's costumes.

Enjoy a picture of EACH year that Ty has been able to dress up so far. This year's costumes are by far the best, I think. This idea of 3 children is getting more fun and more fun as the days go by. Although I would have felt more than blessed with ONLY Tyson, I am so glad God blessed us with 2 more.

What a gift!

PS. For those of you who have ALREADY tempted my son to sin, by disobeying his mommy's request to NOT reveal what the house is dressing up as, shame on you. So far, I think ONLY one person got it out of him. He denied many other's temptations though.

Above 2007

Above 2006

Above 2005

Ty Completes His First Chore of the Day!

Yesterday was the first day of Ty's second year at preschool. Darren and I are trying to instill scripture, morals, responsibility, manners, respect, love, and kindness into his life. We began a "responsibility" chart which includes all of the above on it (except scripture - this is done throughout the day, at home, at school, at Church, and before bed). The first chore, yesterday, was to check the mail. This is a picture of Ty on his way back from the mailbox. It looks like he's having a hard time holding all of it in his hands :O)

Out of a possibility of 10 stars yesterday, Ty received 8. He lacked in "teasing" his brother/sister all day. I am not even sure he does this on purpose, he just truly has no idea what being "gentle" is all about and if he's NOT gentle, we count that as teasing. He should have received 9/10 stars, but I reminded him that just because his "teasing" star was taken away for the day, didn't mean he could continue to tease, AND if he did, another star would automatically be removed for additional teasing.

His other chore: changing all the glade plug-ins throughout the house. What's it going to be today? Hmmmm, maybe the toilet bowls. LOL! Just kidding.

A Trip to Short Pump Town Center

On Friday, we left Lilah and Jax behind with surrogate mommy Kaitlyn and took a small trip to Richmond, VA. We were able to spend the day at the Short Pump Town Center where we shopped until our feet were tired and ate until our bellies were full. We enjoyed two meals: one at the Cheesecake Factory and the other at Chipolte. This shopping center is also fun for kids. It has a train that takes them for a drive around the mall (the mall is an outdoor mall) and it also has an ice skating rink outdoors. Ty enjoyed a scoop of ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery and got to shop around a really cool toy store. Darren and I were MOST excited to shop at the C28 store. The store sells some fantastic Christian apparel. C28 stands for Colossians 2:8 which states, "See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ." For anyone interested in purchasing some items at their store, you don't have to visit the store in person, just go to http://www.c28.com/. We purchased several items from their store and then the sales associate prayed with us before we left the store. Pretty cool! This trip was certainly no trip to the beach, by any means, but it sure was a nice deviation from it.

A Few of Ty's Favorite Peeps!

The summer is slowly coming to an end for all and before it does, I just wantd to thank a few significant and FAVORITE men/boys in Ty's life.

Shawn, you have been a true blessing to our family. Tyson really looks up to you like a big brother and a great Christian role model. Darren and I are thankful that you have joyfully cared for him throughout the summer. You allowed the transition of the twins to be a lot less stressful by adding fun times into his summer. Just because the summer's over and you are beginning a new chapter in your life, please don't be a stranger. He will miss you terribly on Tuesdays and Thursdays for sure. You are going to be an incredible dad one day. You sure have gotten plenty of practice with my three children, haven't you?

Jake, although your visits were far and few between, Tyson still talks about those times with you. Your last visit with us was a lot of fun. Who doesn't have fun at Chuck E. Cheese? You taught Ty the true signs of humility by giving him your 780 tickets that you rightfully earned at Chuck E. Cheese. Thank you! It is my prayer that Ty grows up to be just like you one day. You are going to make a great husband, but in the mean time, keep up the great work of being an amazing help to your fantastic mommy.

A Night Out With Mommy and Daddy GONE BAD!

If you haven't already viewed our roller skating rink photo album, enjoy a sneak peak into the disasterous evening at the "The Skate Rink of the Roanoke Valley". Ty loves to roller skate at home, but at the rink, he was like Bambi just learning to walk.


Darren gives roller skating a test run 1st. Then, daddy and Ty give it a shot.

Personalized Pancakes

Tyson has been so wonderful with the adjustment and addition of two new siblings. I've been dealing with a lot of guilt lately because I am just spread so thin. I have 3 children and 2 hands, not to mention a hard-working husband which I want to provide a clean home and a hot meal for daily. In any event, I do my best to do special things for Ty or with Ty when I can to reassure him that just because I have two more kids, doesn't mean that I love him any less.
Last Saturday, I made pancakes in the shape of his famous nickname, "TY". He was excited to gobble is nickname right up.

Ty's 4-Year-Old Check Up

Tyson had his 4 year old check up yesterday with doctor Delaney. It was long overdue, as are his 4th birthday party pictures. Here are few stats on our first born:

• Ty is in his 75% percentile for his weight and height
• Ty passed his hearing test
• Ty passed his vision test
• Ty weighs 40.5 pounds
• Ty is 41 inches tall

Ty was such a Big Boy yesterday. He got his finger pricked and didn't even cry. He also peed in a cup and didn't make a mess :)

Tyson's best described as a rambunctious, show off. He is very loving and really enjoys being a big brother. His favorite thing to do is to play with his best buddy James. He has found a "big brother" in Shawn Belcher, his "manny". His favorite food is still watermelon. And his favorite color is still green. His favorite movie is Shrek. He loves to go to Church and learn about Jesus. Often times he teaches us a thing or two about Christ.

Thanks be to God for Ty's health and happiness.

Kids Say the Darndest Things!

You gotta love kids. They are just hilarious. They really are. Every so often I will submit a post titled, "Kids Say the Darnedest Things!" I have compiled just a few things from the last week (it doesn't take long) and if you want a good laugh, don't let this post slip away.

1. Darren and I have been doing a very strict workout routine now for 1 week. It's called the p90x. Just an aside, it kicks BUTT, so if you are in the market for something to get you in shape, this is it. I've dropped 5 pounds in one week. YAHOO! Anyway, this morning, I had on a workout shirt that showed my lovely belly (I'm being sarcastic - as you can imagine having twins really stretched my tummy skin. I've heard it been called "twin skin"). Ty was touching my stomach and he goes, "Hey mom, why isn't your belly squishy anymore?" I said, "Yes it is!" He said, "No it's not!" I guess the "ab ripper X" video is working for me :)

2. The other day, Darren and I were bickering about who was going to get in the shower first. I had a baby shower to attend and only 40 minutes to get ready. Tyson also needed to get in the shower. Darren ran upstairs and beat me to it, so in a bit of an irritated tone I said, "Ty go get in the shower with daddy now!" He replied, "Mom, hold your daughter!" I was on the computer at the time and I thought Lilah was napping in the pack n play, but I guess she woke up. Nothing worse than your 4 year old telling you that you're not doing your job. LOL!

3. On Friday, we were hanging out on the main floor of our home. Lilah was babbling at bit and Tyson must have thought she was whining. So, he yelled at Lilah saying "Lilah, stop whining!" I think he had yelled at her several times, so I finally said, "Tyson, please do not yell at Lilah. That is not your job." He immediately turned to me and said, "Mom, when daddy is not here, I am the man of the house." He's definitely part Italian because he was talking with his hands too. I responded, "Oh really. Well than what am I doing here?" He said, "You are the lady of the house and I am the man of the house when daddy is not here." TOOOO FUNNY.

4. This morning, I asked him, "What would you do if you didn't have a brother and a sister to play with?" He said, "I would go to the store and buy one!" AHAHAAHAHAA

5. Last week, Tyson and I were showering (yes, that still takes place - not for much longer I am sure). Anyway, I am loosing quite a bit of hair. It happens after pregnancy. I think we go through a "molting" process. I said to Ty, "Boy, I sure am losing a lot of hair, aren't I?" He said, "Yeah!" I then said, "I'm sure glad I have a lot of hair otherwise at this rate I could be bald soon." He said, "Yeah, I might go bald." I said, "No honey, you normally have to have a parent who is bald to go bald and I don't think mommy or daddy will ever be bald!" He said, "Oh, then I guess Jake and John-John will definitely go bald!" For those of you who don't know Jake and John-John, they are 2 of our pastor's sons. Our Pastor is bald. HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE

6. We had another hilarious conversation in that same shower :) I'm not entirely sure what exactly we were talking about, but I think he said something to me like, "God is bigger than the ocean right?" And I said, "Of course. If he wasn't, how do you think he could make it. He has to be bigger than the things he makes!" He said, "Yeah, I know." I said, "How do you think the ocean was made?" He says, "I'm sure God filled it up with a hose." TOOO CUTE. Shower conversations are the best.

Actually, conversations with kids are the best. They are so innocent, yet so hilarious all in one breath.

The Butterflies Have Arrived

If you haven't viewed the pictures I captured from the entire butterfly experience, be sure to. It's really remarkable. In the meantime, enjoy a few video clips as Ty plays with and releases the butterflies into the real world! Supposedly, these types of butterflies can live most anywhere. We sure do miss them :)

Saying Goodbye to the Butterflies

Saying goodbye is hard to do, but we promised to let him experience this again sometime soon. Maybe next time we will "grow" a preying mantis.