Welcome Lillie!!

Welcome to our family Lillie!!

Surprise! Its a baby shower

I never imagined myself with another baby. After 9 years and my age I honestly thought it was impossible. Then, there was this day in May (sitting at Zackery's baseball game) I had that feeling but couldnt really believe it. It couldnt be! We were comfortable with our living situation & I had already been blessed with Zackery, Katie and Chloe and well, its true we are having another baby. She is a girl! Her name is Lillian Grace. My bestfriend (who I have known for 20+ years) helped us come up with her name and we love it!

Sunshine, Casey and Katie threw me a surprise baby shower. I honestly didnt expect it (because it was my 3rd kid). I guess they thought since it had been 9 years & I had already given all my baby things away they thought I needed it. I have to say I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family! The cake is a huge thanks to my husbands Aunt Jackie - she is a great cake maker & this cake was so rich & delicious!



Then the food and the people!

Baseball/Softball Season

This is going to be one of the shortest blogs ever! I must just brag as a parent about how amazing my kids are. Katie plays softball like a natural! (I have no idea where she gets her wonderful talent, because I was a volleyball player) And, then there is Zackery - we told him if he hit the ball over the fence we would give him $50 well, that boy isnt playing around. He is amazing! The ball hit the fence but didnt make it over, but he isnt giving up. He cut his finger open when he was up to bat and still ran like nobody's business!

I love this time of year. My kids are amazing and wonderful and everything I have ever dreamed of!

Riley Hospital Miracle Ride

About 2 years ago my husband decided to purchase a Harley Davidson Sportster. After lots of money and about a year of riding it, he decided to trade it in for a Harley Davidson Road King (which is much bigger and more comfortable for those long rides).

Last year was our first opportunity to ride our motorcycle for the Miracle Ride. The children at Riley Hospital eagerly anticipate the Miracle Ride and the arrival of more than 7,000 motorcycles outside the hospital. Throughout the year, thousands of Indiana's most seriously sick and injured children benefit from the funds raised through this event.

Since 1994, the Miracle Ride presented by Bob & Tom, the Indianapolis Colts and Lucas Oil has donated an incredible $1.7 million to Riley kids. The funds you raise this year will help children from every county in Indiana who travel to Riley to receive life-changing and often life-saving treatment in the pediatric burn unit and pulmonology program.

You too can participate in this wonderful event by making a donation (large or small ... every penny counts) at www.firstgiving.com/ridinforkidz

The Miracle Ride is a 2 day event on May 30th & 31st, but donations will be taken until August.

I really appreciate all donations. Stay tuned for pictures from the event.

Thank you so much! Riley Hospital for Children appreciate every penny donated.

A trip to Disney World

So we decided to take our kids to Disney World for Spring break. We drove....I hated it. The ride was so long! We stopped about 100 miles south of Atlanta and stayed in a hotel. We arrived at All Star Sports Resort at about 1pm and our room was ready to go. Since half the day was over we decided to unpack everything and venture off to Downtown Disney & Paradise Island (we had to visit the Orlando Harley Davidson)! The nightlife at Downtown Disney was awesome.

The next day Zackery woke up with a rash on his face, ears and neck area. I'm guessing it was from a new shirt he was wearing (this must be why they ask you to wash them before you wear them) so I had to go down to the shopping area at our resort and get some Benadryl cream. That stuff works wonders! We got ready and went to Hollywood Studios. All the grass was so green and the flowers were bloomed - it was so pretty. We had a blast at the park. The kids made me shed a little tear though because all they wanted to do was go back to the resort and swim! If they only knew how fortunate they were to be in such a wonderful place.

Then....getting ready to go to another park on a different day, Katie decides to fall and trip over some of the landscaping that was so beautifully done. She cut her head open on the concrete, we had to call the paramedics.....yeah, nicely done. She now has a scar down the middle of her forehead that looks just like her moms! ~ She is okay though...They might have put a stitch or 2 in it, but we just closed it up and stuck triple antibiotic ointment on it and a bandaid and we went on our way! (She seemed to be fine)

And not to bore everyone but we of course went to all the other parks. The weather was so nice. It was a little humid one day, but nothing we couldnt handle. The last day we were there it rained and rained and didnt seem to want to stop so we decided to start the long long long drive back. We stopped off in Kentucky and made it back home on Saturday about 1pm.

Next time we are flying!

I have been trying to get Lester to go to Disney World for so long and he thought it would be so boaring and he wouldnt like it. Well, when he finally "gave in" because I couldnt let it go after so many years...we finally went and he loved it. We will definatly go back. I feel so glad and furtunate we are able to do the things we do as a family and the things we can do for our children.

There is no possible way I can put all my pictures on here, but here are a few I would love to share with you.

Celebrating life

If some of you do not know, my mom received a phone call from the Lawrence Police Department on Tuesday March 17th, my Uncle Terry had been found dead in his residence. Uncle Terry was my moms closest family member. He passed away (what we know) 3 days after his 54th birthday. They say he most likely went into a diabetic coma. My mom seems to think he had a heart attack. Both of her parents died from heart disease at their young age of 54

Uncle Terry was a well known person. He did a lot of interior design and a lot of yard work. I was amazed at how many of his neighbors showed their respect over the weekend. Not only neighbors but many many people from his work (he worked at Dick's Sporting Goods - the warehouse).

Uncle Terry was liked by everyone. He worked hard for everything he had. He was close to his family. He is going to be missed dearly by many many people.

We love you Uncle Terry - Rest in Peace.

My Uncle Terry's dad, my Aunt Tammy, Uncle Larry (his twin brother), Aunt Carolyn, and Aunt Sandy

This is my Uncle Larry and my mom

Just getting started

So, a very good friend of mine inspired me to create a blogspot. Not that I have a life as interesting as hers or anything but thought the idea was great to let friends I do not talk to as much keep up to date on what we have been doing with ourselves.

Until I do something exciting I will let you know what upcoming events I have to be excited about. First, I must say that we are getting ready to go on our first vacation as a family to Disney World. We are leaving on March 28th, so several pictures will be coming when I get back (on my wonderful new camera my husband just bought me).

Another thing I'm excited about is....well, its almost time for baseball & softball to start for Zackery and Katie (as soon as we get back from Florida), which means its spring! There is nothing I love more than to watch my kids play sports and they both do great at it. This season also brings rides on the motorcycle. I love to just ride with my husband, we dont have to have a destination, we just get on and go where the bike takes us. It is so peaceful. I must say that some of the greatest people ride motorcycles!

Something I'm not so excited about is school, "yes...I'm still trying to get through school". I am working toward my Masters Degree in Healthcare Management. I will not be done until July 2010. I know time will go by pretty quick, it just seems like it is never going to end.

But other than that, I am the happiest person around. Sometimes I wish I could spend more time with friends who mean a lot to me, but I realize that with life situations, some having kids, and jobs and so on it is not always possible, but I really wish (and I think I'm going to make it happen) we can all get together and do it at least 4 times a year!

So, keep posted (if you want), as I will be sharing my wonderful life with you all (well parts I feel like sharing)