First Verse

Jamison has memorized her first Bible verse.

"These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts." Deuteronomy 6:6

This is so exciting to me. I did not grow up in church and so I didn't learn a lot of the stories of the Bible and didn't memorize a lot of verses. That is what I love about our church, they make learning the Bible fun. Jamison just moved up to the Kindergarten class at church and the discussion and teachings are a little more in depth than her other classes, understandably. So now she is supposed to memorize verses and this was the first one. She learned i overnight and is so excited about, especially about saying Deuteronomy (I had to look up how to SPELL it and here she is reading it!)

It just makes me very grateful that God led us to New Life.

Say It Isn't So...

Sad, but true...one of our favorite places is closing, the Iacono's on Sawmill. We have been going to Iacono's for years (they know us there). We usually go on Tuesdays when they have their all-you-can-eat pizza buffet. We usually go with our friends Lyndsey and Josh and their kids, Quinn and Drew. Quinn and Jamison are the same age and have been playing together since birth...well you know what I mean.

So, in honor of the closing me, Ron, the kids, and Lyndsey and her family got together for one last pizza hoorah. I know I can say that I ate until I was stuffed. I'm really going to miss that place. Our waitress said that she's been working there for 22 years. Talk about loyalty.

Here are the pics I took from the night (Lyndsey was making fun of me asking if these were going to make the blog...OF COURSE!!!):

Lyndsey, Jamison and Quinn

Mr. Caleb, he had quite a few pieces himself and was drinking from a straw. Go Caleb!

Ron, Jamison and Toshianna

After pizza Rondell, the kids and I went for ice cream. Good way to top off the hot night. Afterwards the kids came home and were pooped.

NOTE: I am so mad at blogger right now because it is not publishing how it looks when I type my post. I type a space between paragraphs but when it publishes there's no space. And this post is acting really crazy with words between the top two pictures. AAAAHHHHH!! Can anyone help with this?

I Think She's Ready

Jamison is starting Kindergarten in the Fall. I'm so excited for her and she's very excited to go and meet new friends. I recently bought her a book bag from here. They were having a great sale and I was able to get the book bag with her name on it. I love buying almost anything with my kids' names on it. I think it goes back to when I was little and because my name was spelled differently, I loved anything I saw with my name on it. Well it seems to have continued on with my kids.

Anyways, I gave Jamison her book bag and she was so excited because it's red (her favorite color) and it has her name in pink (her other favorite color). She showed everyone who she came in contact with that day. The next morning Rondell heard her talking in her room. He looked and saw that she was putting things in her book bag. He asked her what she was doing and she told him that she was getting ready for Kindergarten. She was putting in her princess dresses, books, etc. Rondell took the moment and took this picture:

Princess dress, check. Books, check. Ready for Kindergarten, check!

Fun Weekend!

We had a really great time this past weekend. My sister is here for a week and I went to pick her up on Friday. She had just gotten back from gymnastics camp. Yes, she's a gymnast! She doesn't just do gymnastics, she's like a pro. I'm so proud of her and she is really excelling.

After picking up Toshianna at the half way point (my dad/stepmom have a half way point where we meet to exchange children. Usually it's MY children going but this time I was picking up one of theirs!) we went to our friends Katie and Josh's house (sorry, no pictures because I forgot the camera). They have three boys and the kids had a great time with them. Katie made some really yummy manicotti (sp?), I've gotta get the recipe. Then we went outside in their backyard to make smores over the fire pit. That was so much fun. Jamison ate TWO smores! The kids even played with sparklers, and if you know Jamison you'd be surprised that she joined in on that fun. After dessert Josh took each kid around in his motorized scooter. They had a blast. Rondell even got to go for a drive (without any kids!)

On Saturday we hung out around the house and then went to a local Spray Park to meet up with some friends from our Small Group. Have I said how much I love our group, because I do. They are just a lot of fun and it's nice that we all have kids. Here are some pics from the Spray Park:

Daddy and Caleb playing in the water.

Baby girl Jocelyn ready for the water. I could just eat her up she's so cute!

Jam and Sweets

Jamison and her new pose

Jamison and Abigail AKA Little Bear

I left the water early to go to my friend Lyndsey's for a Mary Kay party. Lyndsey has a great group of friends and it is always nice to get together with them. We had fun playing in makeup and eating. The next day I woke up and realized I had an allergic reaction to the eye shadow but I still had a good time (just needed some steroids to make the swelling go down).

Sunday we watched Mila all day, which means we had fours kids total. Whew! It really wasn't bad at all. Caleb was the only one that gave us a challenge and since we can't send him home at the end of the night we just dealt with it (smile). We also cooked out and my mom came over. Food on the grill always means good times.

Mila in the baby pool. She really was having a good time, the just is just in her eyes.

Mila and Toshianna playing in the water.

Scary

Today I had lunch with two very dear friends, Lyndsey and Dave. We worked together at the City Attorney's Office a few years ago. We try and get together for lunch about once a month to catch up.

Anyways, we were eating and Dave told us that his wife just got laid off. How devastating! Not only because that's hard to lose a job, but she was a very dedicated paralegal for a large law firm. It's so scary to know that no one is safe anymore in this job market. My heart goes out to Dave, who is very positive, and all of the other families that are victims to the changing times.

This also makes me nervous about leaving my current place of employment. I'm not now, but in the future I think I would like to do something else with my career. This is where I really need to rely on my faith in God and the smarts that He gave me to take risks or really make the right career move, whatever that may be.

Kids Say the Sweetest Things

I'm currently re-reading a book called the Five Love Languages of Children (great read!). In the introduction it talks about asking your child if he or she knows you love and them and why. The book says that usually how they answer the questions should give you an indication as to what his or her love language is (ie. if they they say because you tell me I'm pretty, then her love language most likely is words of affirmation).

I wasn't sure if Jamison was going to get the whole concept but I've come to realize that I need to stop underestimating her. So, here's how our conversation went:

Me: Jamison, do you know Mommy loves you?
J: Yes.
Me: How?
J: Because you give me lots of hugs and kisses.
Me: Anything else?
J: And you do lots of things.
Me: Like?
J: Color with me.

I thought I would cry for two reasons. 1. She really knows that I love her! and 2. because she could express that to me through words. She is really coming into herself.

So, when Rondell came home I told him about it and here's their conversation:

Ron: Jamison, do you know Daddy loves you?
J: Yes.
Ron: How?
J: Because you play with me.

I LOVED that it was a different answer that really pertained to Rondell. He plays with her all the time. It also showed us the things that are important to Jamison and we will be sure to continue to color with her/give her hugs and kisses and play with her so that we can "speak" to her in a language that she understands!

Finally...well almost

Caleb has been going to our church's nursery since was about 6 months old, so about a year. We are regular church attenders, so you would think that it would not take that much time for him to adjust. Wrong. He has always cried. In the beginning we would get paged to come and pick him up because he was crying for so long. We don't get paged anymore, so I guess this is some improvement. But now even when we pull into the parking lot he cries because he knows where we are. I try and talk to him and pray with him but he still cries.

This summer I've been doing a summer Bible study at my church on Wednesdays, Beth Moore's Stepping Up. Rondell is also doing a study on Wednesdays too so luckily our church provides childcare with my study so we can both attend our respective studies. Well that means another day for Caleb to cry about being in the church nursery. I was really hoping that going more often would help the crying situation. Um, no. He still cries.

Well we had a slight breakthrough this week. On Sunday our friends Robert and Amanda (they are in our Small Group with us) were in Caleb's room in the nursery. Apparently they had a great time as you can see in the pictures below (Robert took these):

He was happy the whole time!

"Look at me, I'm not scared of the nursery!"

Is he preaching? Perhaps a future minister?

Then on Wednesday he cried again in the parking lot but he went right to the caretaker (tears and all). When I picked him up they said he was so happy, dancing, laughing and having a ball.

Whew! We'll see what Sunday brings, but I think we're having a bit of a breakthrough!

A Visit from a Sweet Girl/My "New" Family

This past weekend my sister Toshianna, who I lovingly call Sweet Pea, came to stay with us. It was an unplanned visit. My parents and siblings spent the night this past Thursday so that my brother could visit OU (Ohio University) on Friday. Toshianna stayed at my house with my aunt, Jamison and Caleb. They had a really fun day. My aunt, God love her, took the kids to the splash pad and they loved it, even my aunt! It was decided during the day that Toshianna would stay and spend the weekend with us and then we'd meet my parents half way on Sunday. Everyone was excited about that! This is the first time that Toshianna has ever spent the night with us, without her parents.

Once Rondell and I got off work we packed up the kids and went to our local water park, Zoombezi Bay. We had a blast. The water there is surprisingly really warm and that was nice. We pretty much crashed once we got home.

Saturday we just hung around the house and the kids played. Caleb showed us that he is now in love with Toshianna. She plays so well with him and takes really good care of him. We ended the evening with watching Alvin and the Chipmunks and having pizza.

On Sunday we went to Springfield, Ohio for the last part of Rondell's family reunion. It was at a park on a lake and the weather was absolutely beautiful! We could watch the people out on their jet skis and boats. It was very nice. I met a lot of Rondell's family that I did not know and they were so welcoming.

All in all we had a great weekend and are looking forward to Toshianna's next visit!

Me and Ron at the reunion - Aren't we cute?

Me and my "new" cousin Lauren. She is so sweet. She lives in Florida so I need to go and visit.

Sweets and Jamison at the reunion

That Caleb is such a ham in front of the camera

Cousin Lenora, Paw Paw (Rondell's stepdad), Maw Maw (Rondell's mom) and Jamison

The family!

Toshianna twirling Caleb around and Caleb loving every minute!

I've Been Replaced

I'm officially getting older. I am no longer the apple of his eye, his one true girl...my brother has replaced me with another girl...Jazz. Note: His mom is course is always number one, but I was a close second.

Evan and I both have Facebook pages and on his page the profile picture used to be a picture of me and him (him and me, however you're supposed to say it). Now, there's a picture of Evan and Jazz...his "friend." It's actually a cute picture because it's one picture made up of two. One side is a picture of them when they were three (they've know each other since preschool) and the other side is a picture of them currently.

He's cute because when I told him I had been replaced he said only on his page but never in his heart. He's going to make some girl very lucky one day!

So, sniff, sniff...Evan is growing up and soon will be grown and married (I know I'm dramatic). My baby!

Family Reunion

This year on the 4th of July we had our family reunion (my mother's father's side of the family). It was at the zoo/Zoombezi. It rained in the beginning of the day so Rondell, the kids and I didn't get there until it was time for lunch. Luckily we had a big shelter to sit under so it didn't rain on our lunch. They weren't the best circumstances be we made the best of it.

Jamison made a new friend (I never did find out how we were related), Marcus. Jamison almost always finds a friend wherever we go where there are other kids around. Such a social butterfly (I wonder where she gets that from, wink).

It was really nice to see everyone because I don't get together with my family often enough.

Here are some pics of the event:

Father and daughter going over some family history, my Uncle Butchie (technically my mom's cousin but I've always called him Uncle) and my cousin Fashun

Jamison doing a pose with our reunion T-shirt on

My Aunt Charlsia (again, technically my mom's cousin, but you get the picture), my mom and a sleeping Caleb

The cousins: Fashun, Angel (Charisse's daughter), Charisse, baby Cloe and Ebony. We're all about the same age, just a year or so between us.

Jamison and her new friend Marcus

Little Rondell

Rondell has been cutting Caleb's hair more recently basically for financial reasons and Ron does a really good job. Well this past Friday Rondell cut Caleb's hair and then decided to put his do-rag (as I call it)/wave cap on Caleb. Caleb loved it and as you can see immediately went into the bathroom to look at himself in the mirror. I told Rondell that he's turning my baby into a thug.

NOTE: We have a running joke that I turned Jamison into a thug because I listened to 50 cent while pregnant. But I tell him that I don't have that much thug in me to do such a thing.

***Do you think we have enough toothpaste???

Two Great Reads

Over the past couple of weeks I have read two great books. The first book is Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World. My friend Karynda recommended this book to me and it was wonderful. The book is based on the story of Jesus coming to Mary and Martha's house in Bethany and how very differently each sister responded. Martha was busy arranging everything, food, bedding, drinks, etc while Mary was at Jesus' feet listening. Basically the book talks a lot about having an intimate relationship with Christ. It is a must read for all of us busy woman who are trying to accomplish that goal.
The chapter that stuck out to me the most was concerning worrying. I am a HUGE worrier (shh Ron), so this chapter really hit home for me but with improvement, which is important!
So, if you're looking for a good pick me up, with a little conviction this is the book for you.

The other book that I read (in two days I may add) is Sail by James Patterson. I love almost anything he writes. He's the author for Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider (both made into movies). His books are very quick reads and if you're into suspicion and "who-done-its" then this book is for you. It's about a family who leaves for a two-month long vacation on their family yacht. Then mysterious things begin to happen and they are lost at sea, thought to be dead. But a message arrives (via a Coke bottle in the mouth of a huge tuna) that they are in fact alive...but how, and how did they end up in the dangerous situation that they are in. Dunh, dunh, dunh...


I love to read. It's relaxing and it also keeps my mind sharp (I truly believe that). So if you have any good suggestions out there is blog world let me know.

Blogs...

I'm sure I've said this before, but "my name is Kelli and I stalk, I mean read, other blogs. I've come to realize that I'm not the only person who does this. Sometimes in the comments (because yes I read the comments too) I'll see that someone will say that they too do not know the person but read the blog anyways. NOTE: See Ron, I am normal.

I like to read other blogs because a lot of times it gives me ideas as to what to do with my own children (crafts, outings, discipline), or house (organization, decorating), etc. I also like to read blogs about multiples because I just think that is so amazing and those families are HUGE troopers.

I repeat all of this information also to say that I need to clean up the place. And by "place" I mean my own blog. People have such interesting things to say and I learn a lot by reading..about parenting, politics, cooking, vaccinations...all kinds of stuff. So, I think I'm pretty interesting so I need to spice things up.

So, stay tuned...hopefully soon I can say "it just got interesting." From Friends!