Well the streak of the kids sleeping well was over last night. Chloe started crying out at 11:30. I got up and got her back to sleep and then went back to bed. A few minutes later she cried out again. This happened 4 times and I finally just got in the bed with her. She was restless all night. It started storming and Samuel got up and got in the bed with me and Chloe. About 3 AM I got up to turn the TV on to check the weather. It sounded like our house was about to blow away. As soon as I got up Sam followed me into the living room. Sam and I laid on the couch for a little bit watching the weather. We went back to bed but then Emma woke up a few hours later. She has been waking up so early and just whines and carries on. Jeremy was up getting ready so he got her settled with her drink and cereal and then I got up about 7. So I am really tired today. It is supposed to rain most of the day so I think this will be pajama day around here and we may just lounge all day. Yesterday was pretty uneventful. The kids fought a lot yesterday so that was kinda draining. Sam and Emma said they were "making a movie" but they kept fighting over stuff. I asked them if they were making an action movie. Obviously they did not know what I was talking about. After Jeremy got home I went to Curves. I have gone three times a week for the past three weeks and I am starting to see some difference. We do not have anything planned for tomorrow. Sunday after church we are going to eat at Logan's Roadhouse with the teens and then we are hanging out at the church. Sunday night we are going to Ronald McDonald House to cook supper so we have a busy day Sunday. The girls are staying with Gran and PaPa Sunday afternoon. Well I hope everyone has a great weekend, 

Well there still is not much exciting going on at our house. The kids slept great again last night. Emma woke up early this morning but she went back to sleep in our bed. The girls have also been taking great naps since I switched their sleeping arrangements. When the were sleeping in the same bed I was lucking if they slept 45 minutes to an hour but now they are taking sold hour and half to two hour naps. Chloe also seems to be feeling better. Her fever was gone this morning. I ended up keeping her home last night and Jeremy took Sam and Emma to church with them. I really wanted to get out but it was such a sweet evening with Chloe. I do not remember when I have spent a few hours just with Chloe. We cuddled and played and it was so nice. It is really nice to see how much she is getting settled into our family. Well the plan for today is to get my house cleaned. We already made a quick trip out this morning. I needed to go to the bank and I have been putting it off all week. So this morning I loaded everyone up and went by Sonic for my Diet Coke and the kids love those french toast sticks. We then by the bank and came back home. The girls are down for their morning nap so I better get going while I have a chance to get some things done. 

Chloe eating her first marshmallow Peep

Is is Wednesday already? This week is just flying by. Well we do not have any plans again today except for church tonight if Chloe is feeling better. Yesterday when Chloe woke up from her nap she was crying and that is not like her. I picked her up and she felt like she had a fever. I checked it and it was 101 so I gave her some Tylenol and the fever went down. The fever was back last night before bed and she still has a fever of about 100 this morning. She does not seem to be hurting anywhere but she definitely is not her cheerful self. All three kids slept through the night again last night. I was up twice to check on Chloe but we all slept until about 7:45 so I feel pretty good. Well I did not take any pictures yesterday but here are the girls wearing their hats. They were taken on Sunday when it was so cold. 

Well there is not much going on today. I am not planning on going anywhere and since Jeremy left the computer here today I will probably not get much done around the house today. The kids slept pretty good last night. Emma came in our room at about 2 AM and she was all over the bed so I got up and slept with Chloe. So I had to get up once but I still slept pretty good. Well I have a funny story to share about Samuel. Saturday Jeremy took him to Wendy's for lunch and while they were there they somehow got talking about where hamburgers come from. So Jeremy said to Sam, "Did you know that hamburgers are made from cows?" Sam just looked at Jeremy and said he did not know that. Then Jeremy said, "and bacon comes from pigs." Well Sam looked at Jeremy like he was crazy and in the most sarcastic voice Sam says, "and horses come from trees." Jeremy said it was so cute. Well here is a picture of the kids playing in the baskets yesterday. 

I got the camera out and Chloe actually said "cheese" and made this cute smile.

We had a good weekend. Saturday night the teens from church came over and we had so much fun. We all just hung out playing games and watching movies. My kids were so hyper! Our friends Frank and Jennifer came and so they brought their girls and Samuel was soo excited that Sarah was coming to his house. He kept telling the teens that she was coming to play. One of the teens asked Sam if Sarah was his girlfriend and he proudly said, "No, momma is my girlfriend!" It was so sweet. The kids just played and played. Samuel was so hot and sweaty from playing so hard. After the teens left I thought I would never get the kids settled down. They finally fell asleep but all three were restless ALL night. I think I slept 3 hours Saturday night. Sunday after church we went to Jeremy's parents for lunch and then we came home and took a nap. Last night was the Free Will Baptist Bible College rally. Each year the churches of the northern quarterly have a rally to raise money for the college. The kids sat through the service pretty good but they started to get restless toward the end. While at the rally we saw our friends the Lewis' and where able to talk with them for a few minutes. I happened to have my camera so I got a picture of our kids together. The lighting was kinda bad so my girls' faces are kinda glowing. After the rally we took some of our teens to a new pizza place in our little town. It was really good and the kids loved it. I was so tired last night but thankfully all three kids slept through the night so I got a good 8 hours of sleep. Today we just stayed home and I got some laundry done and the kids then played in the laundry baskets. Emma was pretty fussy and bossy today but the kids played pretty good together. When Jeremy got home I went to Curves and then to Wal-Mart for a few things. It is pretty cold here again so I am not making any plans on leaving the house this week with the kids. 

We have had a good past few days. The girls have been a little bit of a handful though. Since I have rearranged the rooms Emma seems to of forgotten some of the rules around here. She has been getting into things that she has not touched in months. And of course Chloe will do everything that Emma is doing. Thursday I went to Curves and when I got home I started making supper and I heard Sam yelling at Chloe to stop. Sam was in the bathroom so I knew it was not good. I ran in the bathroom and Chloe was about to dive head first in the toilet. She had her arms in and her head was about to be in the water. I then went back to the kitchen and Sam wanted to show me something. He took me to a wet spot on the floor to show me that Chloe had put his remote control to his truck in the toilet while I was gone. Yesterday I went to Wal-Mart with the kids for a few items and we just walked around looking at different things. Well I was ready to go so I had the kids put their coats back on and I realized that Chloe's coat was not in the basket. I had to go back through the whole store to find it. She somehow threw it out of the buggy without me knowing. You can see from the picture that Chloe has also decided to join in the fun of putting that basket on her head. Her siblings seem to think it is fun so she is also doing it now. Well I better go. The youth group is coming over tonight. 

Not much to blog about today. I have a dentist appointment at noon and the kids are going to Gran and Papa's while I am at the dentist. The kids slept good last night. I vaguely remember getting up once or twice because Chloe cried out but she was still asleep. I would not be surprised if I just thought I heard her cry out since there is usually a child crying at some point every night. I heard Chloe around 6:15 this morning but she was still in her bed. I made her lay back down and then I laid down with her and she went back to sleep. I woke up about 7:45 and all three kids and myself where in Chloe's twin size bed. After the dentist I might go to the store but I am still trying to decide. The dentist is supposed to have my check for he overpayment today so that will be nice. I think I mentioned that I had an overpayment from all the work I had done in November. I was a little frustrated because I was told 6 weeks ago about the overpayment and they told me they would send me the check. I never heard anything else so I called them last week and asked them to have it today when I came in for my appointment. It is so crazy how these places want your money right this second but if they owe you something you have to hound them for weeks. Well I better get going. I need to get everyone ready and then I am going to try and get the girls down for their morning nap before we go. Both girls have a runny nose this morning so I am hoping they are not getting sick again. 

Emma is "reading" to Chloe

The word around here yesterday was cleaning. I cleaned and organized all day. It was tiring but it feels great to have my house so clean. When Jeremy got home we went to Clarksville to eat supper because I did not want to mess my kitchen up after cleaning it so much. We also needed to get a new bookshelf for the kids. When I moved their old bookshelf on Monday it fell apart. It was a pretty cheap shelf and I think I am the one that put it together so it probably was not put together properly. So we went to Big Lots and bought a new bookshelf and then we went to O'Charleys to eat. Sam and Emma slept good last night but Chloe cried out several times. Her nose is running and she has had cold on her eye the past few morning so she may not be feeling great. She cried out but when I would go check on her she was still asleep. She got out of bed Monday night at 1 AM but she actually came to our room this time. Jeremy got up and took her back to bed and she slept until 7. She got out of bed this morning at 6 and was knocking on the bathroom door. I guess she could hear Jeremy getting his shower. I put her back in our bed but she did not go back to sleep. Sam then came in my bed and then Emma came in our room. She was pushing on my head telling me to "scoot". She was trying to get in the bed but there was not any room. We got out of bed at 7:30 and then I finished up picking up around the house. I got the kids dressed and fed and then I put the girls down for a nap at 9. Our social worker came at about 9:45 and I was glad I was ready because she was 45 minutes early. The meeting went really good. Chloe is adjusting great to our family. It is so nice talking with this particular social worker because she is an adopted parent and she knows exactly what I am talking about. The kids were pretty good while she was here. Chloe stayed pretty close to me but she also showed some of her personality. Sam showed off a little but not too bad. Emma was asleep for most of the visit but was so sweet when she did wake up. The social worker left about 30 minutes ago and the kids are playing and starting to act crazy. I need to get them so lunch so I better go. It is so nice that I do not have to clean today so I plan on just relaxing a little. 

Happy Gotcha Day Emma!

One year ago our precious Emma came home. She is so full of life and she brings so much joy to our family. We are so thankful that we have been chosen to be her parents. Her first year home has flown by. It is amazing how much she has grown and how much she has learned. She is my strong willed, mischievous little girl and I love her so much. We did not not go anywhere today but I worked all day in the kids rooms. I finally made the decision switch Chloe to Sam's room. It was a lot of work but I am so glad that I did it. Their rooms look so organized and I was able to get rid of several bags full of clothes and toys. The new set up seems to be working so much better. Everything seems to just fit better. I moved all of Sam's toys and clothes into the girls closet and he loves being able to play in there. Yes the closet is actually big enough to play in. Because of the mess and chaos of moving everything the girls were into everything and got in trouble several times today. When Jeremy got home I had to get out for a while, so I went to Wal-Mart and to Starbucks. 

We had a pretty good weekend. Sam had so much fun with the trains on Saturday and he was perfectly safe the whole time. We took the girls to Chick-Fil-A and then we went to Target and the mall. Sunday we went to church and then came home and the kids and I took a nap. Last night we had a banquet at church to raise money for a team that is going to Costa Rica in June. Jeremy happens to be on that team. It was a nice evening. After the banquet the teen had a bonfire and a time at church but the girls and I came home. Sam stayed with Jeremy and had a great time with the teens. The kids slept OK last night. Sam slept on the couch and Chloe managed to not fall out of the bed last night. I brought in a crib mattress and put it by the the bed just in case she fell out. Emma cried out several times so I ended up with her in her bed. The girls then woke up at 6:45 so I am pretty tired. I have a pretty busy week. Wednesday our social worker is coming for Chloe's 2nd post placement so tomorrow I will be cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaning. Thursday I have another dentist appointment to finish up getting my teeth cleaned and Saturday we have a teen activity at our house. Well I need to get the kids to bed or I guess I should say to sleep. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

We had a good day yesterday. The kids played really good together. The girls are really starting to play nicely together. They were playing in their room and every time I went in to check on them Chloe was trying to do everything Emma was doing. Sam is all about trying to write his letters or numbers these days. I think he is ready to start school. We stayed home yesterday until Jeremy got home and then we went to eat and went to see our friend Cathy. The kids loved seeing her dogs and eating all her yummy candy. We do not have any specific plans for today. Samuel is going to a train show with Aunt Janna and Jeremy and I are taking the girls for lunch and maybe go to the mall. Jeremy brought the kids home a stuffed animal and balloons on Thursday for the Valentine's presents so no more gifts today.I realized this week that I am way too overprotective when it comes to Sam. Janna asked us Wednesday if she could take Sam today and I have been so nervous about not being with him. I just worry so much when I am not with him and it does not matter who he is with. Anyway, I know he will have fun and I know that she will be watching him. 

The kids have been sleeping better, but Sam has started wanting to sleep in the living room again. The girls slept most of the night. Chloe somehow fell off the bed at 5:30 this morning so we were up with the girls. The only way she could of fell off the way she did was if she was already trying to get out of the bed. We all kinda of dozed on and off the rest of the morning but I do not think any of us really went back to sleep. The girls are already acting like the need a nap. Well last night we were in the van and Sam said, "Mom, I love you." So Jeremy told Sam that he loved him. Sam then said, "I love EVERYBODY, even you daddy." It was so cute the way he said it. Well I better get ready. I hope everyone has a great weekend. 

First Days with Emma

It is hard to believe but one year ago today we were on our way to Korea to finally pick up Emma. We were so relieved that the nightmare with all her paperwork was over and she would be home in our arms very soon. It is also hard to believe that 5 years ago today I sat in my oncologist office and the doctor was telling me that there where no more treatments for them to give me. Surgery was my only option to get rid of the cancer. It is weird because both events seem just like yesterday. I am so glad that now when November 12th rolls around I have a happy event to remember. It is a little bit hard for me around this time a year. I do not think much about my cancer and surgery, but this time of year I feel the scar has once again been reopened. It gets better every year, but I still go through a grieving of sorts. I would not go back and trade any of the grief knowing what I know now but I still feel the loss when I think back to those dark days. I guess it sounds kinda depressing so I hope you do not mind me sharing. 

Well the kids have been sleeping much better. I usually am up just once a night and it is usually because Emma wants a drink. Chloe has not been walking around any more at night. Yesterday we just stayed home until church time. Today I need to go pay a few bills and go to the bank. We got our adoption grant in the mail yesterday:) I think I might also go to Target just to walk around. Well I better get going. I like to get out in the morning so the girls get both of their naps during the day. Jeremy took the camera because his class is going on a field trip so I do not have nay new pictures but here are a few of Emma those first few days. 

Not much going on today at our house. Today is laundry day so I will be spending most of my time on the laundry room and my room getting the laundry washed and put away. I have to run a load almost every day but today I try to get everything washed and put away. The kids slept pretty good last night. I was up once with Emma but nobody was up walking round the house so that was good. The kids slept until 7:30, but the girls are already acting sleepy so I will put them down for a nap in a few minutes. Well that is about it for the day. Here are a few pictures from last night. The kids got some new pj's from my mom. They arrived yesterday in the mail and the kids were so excited. They wanted to put them on yesterday afternoon. Well the girls wanted their picture taken in them but Sam said he was embarrassed to have his picture taken in his pajamas. Well Chloe is almost asleep on the floor so I better put them in the bed.

We had a pretty good day. I got a little bit more sleep last night. Emma was crying out at one point in the night yelling for a drink but I will admit that I did not get up to get her one. I had taken some Tylenol PM to help with my headache and I was kind of out of it to get her one. I heard Jeremy tell her to go back to sleep so I guess he took care of it. At 3 AM I heard Chloe and I realized that she sounded really close. It was strange because she was not crying she was laughing and sounded like she was playing. I got up and she was in the living room leaning against the couch. I picked her up and put her back in the bed and she went right back to sleep. It is almost like she is sleep walking because she acts like she does not know what she is doing. I ended up going back to sleep in the girls' bed to make sure she did not escape again. We all slept until 8 to that was nice. Sam is still doing great in his own bed. After we got up we all got ready and went to the grocery store. I usually go to Wal-Mart but I went to Kroger today and I think I will start shopping there for my groceries. They have these amazing buggies with a little car on the front that Sam and Emma rode in and then Chloe went in the from of the buggy. All three kids could ride and I still had a basket to put the food. I also spent a lot less because I was not tempted to buy clothes or toys. After groceries we went to McDonalds and got the kids some lunch and then we headed home. The girls took a nap and I got the kitchen cleaned up and some laundry done. The girls woke up and the kids played for a while and then I put all three kids down for a nap. When Jeremy got home I went to Curves. I got home about an hour ago. Jeremy and the kids are putting a puzzle together. Well that was our day today. The weather is beautiful again today but I think some storms are coming tomorrow or Wednesday, but maybe the kids can play outside some tomorrow. Well I better go get the kitchen cleaned up. I will try to get some pictures up tomorrow.

We had a pretty good weekend. The kids slept all night again in their beds Friday night so that was nice. We left Saturday morning and went to the zoo for a few hours. The kids loved the animals. They were so cute trying to make all the animal sounds. Chloe fell asleep in her stroller so she got a good nap in while we were at the zoo. We left around lunch time and Sam and Emma took a little nap on the way to my brother's house. We went shopping at a few stores. Jeremy found a good deal at Old Navy on shirts and pants and I found two cute dresses at Ross. We shopped for about an hour and half and then we got tired of shopping. I guess we were already tired from walking around the zoo, so we decided to see a movie. After the movie we went to Olive Garden to eat and then picked the kids up. The kids had so much fun being spoiled by Uncle Kevin and Aunt Kelli. Well the kids did not get their second nap in so they all fell asleep on the way home but it was only 7:00. So it was a pretty rough night. Chloe was restless all night and cried out too many times to count. She kept getting out of the bed and wondering into the living room. I finally got in the bed with the girls but did not sleep much. I am hoping to sleep tonight. We do not have much planned this week. I need to get to the grocery store tomorrow so that should be a fun trip with the kids.  

Well the kids are all doing good. Emma continues to surprise us with her growing vocabulary. The other day she was naming the colors of her blocks. I did not even know she knew her colors. She says "orange" so cute. She kinda sounds like a pirate when she says it. Sam is also becoming this little man. Tonight at church he was doing this workbook and he was counting these pictures and writing the numbers. I had no idea he knew how to write his numbers! I was trying to pay attention to the message but every time he wrote a new number I was in complete shock. Chloe is starting to try to say new words and she definitely comprehends what we are saying. She is funny to watch because she wants to do everything Emma is doing. She has finally mastered using her spoon/fork and she still wants to eat ALL the time. OK, just a side note, Sam just changed Emma's diaper by himself, is he growing up or what?

Well I need to get the kids ready for bed and I think I will head there myself.

At the zoo

My plans got a little off yesterday afternoon when Jeremy's mom and sister wanted to come over and see the kids so I did not make it out yesterday afternoon. I did however get my house cleaned. The kids slept all night last night. Yes, all three of them did not wake me up one time! I woke up when Jeremy's alarm went off and jumped out of bed to check on them. There has not been a night that all three slept all night in their own bed. Today we made a trip to Target and then we played outside for a little while. It was so nice here today. It is also going to be nice tomorrow so we are planning a trip to the zoo in morning and then the kids are going to my brother's house for the afternoon. We are going to do a little shopping. We are just hanging out at home tonight. Jeremy brought home some Chinese takeout so at least I will not have to clean the kitchen up tonight. Well I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Well it has been a pretty boring week. We have just stayed home the past few days except for church last night. I need to get to the grocery store but I am not getting out in the cold with the kids. I am going to go to Curves when Jeremy gets home and then I will run to the grocery store. Well the kids are wanting something to eat so I better go. Here are a few pictures form the past few days.

Sam and Emma wore these buckets from their play kitchen on their head most of the day on Monday. They were cracking me up. 

Emma's hair is finally long enough to put it in a pony tail. It looks so cute. 

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There is not much going on today. I think we are just staying home. The girls have not been sleeping good at night. I am not quite sure why. Emma cries out and then wakes Chloe up then Chloe will cry out and wake Emma up. Chloe woke up at 6:00 this morning. I tried to get her back to sleep but she just kept playing. I was going to try to switch Chloe to Sam's room and let Sam sleep in Emma's room since Sam was not sleeping in his bed. I thought that might help the girls from waking each other up. Well when I told Sam what I was going to do he did not like that idea so I told him that he needed to start sleeping in his bed or I was going to give Chloe his bed, he has slept all night his bed the last two nights. I wish I would of thought of that earlier. Well yesterday the kids just played at home. Sam played his Leap Frog computer most of the day yesterday and is playing again this morning. He does really good on the games. Jeremy came home at lunch yesterday because his stomach was hurting again. When he got home I went to Curves and then did some grocery shopping. It was nice to get out of the house by myself. We do not have much planned for the week but my sister-in-law and brother are keeping the kids on Saturday so Jeremy and I can have a date, whatever that is:) Well I better go the kids need a refill and I need to get Emma on the potty. Emma has done really well on going potty. She would probably do a lot better if I was better on my toes. I try to put her on the potty every 30 minutes but I will get busy doing something and forget. 

 I have another copy cat. Chloe has started to copy everything Sam and Emma are doing. The other day Sam was laying down with his feet up on the couch. A few minutes later Emma joined him trying to lay the same way. Chloe saw Emma go over to the couch so she followed Emma and tried to do the say thing. Her legs are not quite long enough to get them on the couch, but she sure was trying.