The comforts of going home

We took the kids down to Monticello this evening to stay with grandparents afor the weekend. My kids got there, and were just as comfortable as if they were at their own house. They couldn't wait to get there! I had planned on taking them tomorrow, but they were so excited and I have so much going on this weekend, I decided to go ahead and take them today. They love going to my parents and Clay's mom both so much. What is cool is that they only live 1/2 mile apart, and both go to the same church, so they just pass the kids back and forth, and it is so nice. We talk about moving sometimes to the beach, but I can't imagine our kids forgiving us for that b/c they LOVE getting to go spend time with them.

Our parents live out in the country, and it is so peaceful. So different from our neigborhood where the houses are only 5 feet apart. The kids get to just run around outside, Noah loves to play basketball....they have dogs....it is very comforting to me and I always get homesick when we go down there.

And then there is Ameca.....Good ol' Ameca. My very favorite place.....we used to eat there all the time on our date nights when we lived down there. We have tried a ton of Mexican restaurants up here, and nothing compares to me. I think that is one of the things I miss the most about living down there. Yes, that is sad, but Ameca got me through 3 pregnancies when all I could eat was Mexican food. And....it is cheaper than any mexican restaurant up here. We both got a coke even, and it was only $13.00. It would have been at least $25 up here probably. I bet I saw at least 5 people I knew while we were there eating....just like always. The comforts of going home...to the small town I used to complain about, but living up here in the big city, I have really learned to appreciate all of that.

We are expecting.....

we just don't know when, how many, age, or gender! That is what one of the girls in our foster class said she is telling her family and friends. Yes, that is us too. This past weekend, we just completed a class to certify us to be foster parents. Now we just have to take a CPR class, do our home study, and wait on our fingerprints to come back from the FBI (they said this takes the longest). We are looking at about 3 months until the Draper 5 will be Draper 5 +....whatever the Lord sends us. (well...within limits!)

This explains why I have been so quiet lately. This is pretty much been consuming mine/our life lately. What an incredible journey we are on. I have been dying to post about it, but wanted to just wait until I knew for sure we would be doing this. It is like being pregnant, and not being able to tell anyone! Please pray for our family. We are all very excited about this. This will bring about a lot of change, but we are ready....I have spent so much time in prayer, and I truly believe this is the direction God has been leading us for some time. He has sent me friends as examples, given me the opportunity to see first hand these children through our photography, and has lead us to Little Rock to learn about the CALL...the group we have become involved in that is training us. This has been a dream of mine since I was in college....after having our 3 kids, I never imagined it would be possible.

I will keep you updated on our progress in getting certified. Once we have a child placed in our home, my blog will be going to private, but I promise to warn you and bring my faithful readers along with me. You are my friends, and I will need your support and encouragement. This blog is the story of our life in pictures, and how could I tell our story without being able to include our new child/children.

Going rate for a tooth these days!

So, I got a couple of surprised comments about giving the kids $2 for a tooth, so I am just curious, if you don't mind sharing, how much do your kids get for a tooth?? I thought we were being pretty cheap b/c I have a friend that gives $10 per tooth! As a kid, I don't even remember what I got...maybe my mom does. I do remember, I seemed to get lucky and lose my tooth on holidays.

I can remember losing one on my birthday.....coming back from Chuck E Cheese (back then named Showbiz) and my friend turned her head and knocked me in the mouth. Then I remember losing one on Christmas when I was at my grandma's house...I think that may have happened twice. And once, I lost one on the 4th of July....I had burned my hand on a sparkler, and we went in the house and I was freaking out....and then I started messing with my loose tooth, and then we ended up pulling it. I remember that I got $2.00 for losing it on the holidays....otherwise, it was either $1 or some change....probaby just what my mom had on hand or something.

So, not that I am going to change the amount....now I am just curious!!! What is the going rate for a tooth at your house???

More from the Museum

This was SO loud! My kids jumped a foot when it went off!

Noah lost his top tooth!

Noah was so excited that he finally lost his 3rd tooth....the first one on top! He has been frustrated b/c it has been loose for a year since he lost the 2 bottom ones and it would never come out! He is running through the house jumping up and down telling me to call everyone I know! He also told me I better put it on my blog...so here I am!

Easter Seal's

Today I was so excited to receive in the mail these cards from Easter Seal's. Back before Christmas, I photographed their representatives for 2008 for them. (Please ignore how horrible these photographs of my cards are!) I hesitated to even put these on the blog.....but I was just so excited to see pictures I had taken, on cards!! My favorite part was that the inside flap also had photos, and a story about each representative.

These 3 were AWESOME, and it was such an honor to get to meet them. Easter Seal's sells these cards as fundraisers, and they will also be using the photos for various things throughout the year.

I am so Thankful that God has given me these opportunities in the past year to use my job, as a way to serve, and give back for all the blessings he has given me.

I wish I'd had a video camera while she was walking. They told me that she had just learned to walk when she began going to Easter Seal's just a few months before. She had so much joy, and laughed the whole time. It was truly a miracle to watch.

He works at a movie theatre and LOVES his job, and I really enjoyed getting to visit with him

This one was so full of life. I took another photo of him writing letters when nobody was looking, I think that was my favorite....to me, it just represented what big steps he has taken in learning that. He is autistic, and has really struggled in finding a school/preschool that fits for him.

Museum of America!

That is what my kids call the Mid America Museum in Hot Springs. We took a day trip over there on Tuesday. Our kids love to go there. It is fun and educational, and very quiet during the week! We have a family member ship, which is just the cost for our family's admission 2 times, and we can go unlimited to the one in Little Rock and Hot Springs, and I have also heard Memphis has an awesome one which I think we will check out next. I took a bunch of pics, so I will probaby break them up into several posts.

I just love taking pics of the kids with this thing. I think the light is so cool!



This is my favorite one of the day! I laughed everytime I looked at it on my camera!

Where's Rachel!?!?

I think this is just about all the animals they own....all on top of Rachel!

Braiden is 1 !

Yesterday, Dena and Braiden came by the studio to get some pictures. I have been photographing him since he was in his mommy's tummy, so I love to see how he has grown! My it goes by fast!

new blog friend...

I know some several current and previous members of Monticello Church of Christ look at my blog, so I wanted to pass along that the Cundiff family...(formally Teresa Minter) now has a blog, and she has to adorable kiddos! I thought some of you (and I know many of you are my silent readers! LOL) might want to cruise on over there and send her some love! I am going to link her from my sidebar. http://thecundiffs.blogspot.com/

My gymnastics girls

The newest thing for our family is the girls are taking gymnastics. THEY LOVE IT! I have never seen my girls so interested and excited in somthing! Everyday they ask me how many days until class...and the day of class, all day long they are asking when is it time! This is super exciting for me b/c I was never able to turn a cartwheel as a child, and I always wished I could do all those things. We have to watch the kids through a glass window that isn't very big, so I hate that I miss watching half of what they do. They are in different classes, and I was worried at first how Rachel would do....but she just marched right in there the first class like it wasn't anything!

She flew across that balance beam. We were amazed! The girl that literally falls several times a day, was fearless and had great balance on there!

She stopped to grin at me through the glass when she saw I had my camera.
1st day of class.....She was SO EXCITED!

Leah is much more cautious. This is the highest she has made it so far. What she does good on....is the bars....she has a lot of strength in her arms and upper body.


This is Leah's true outfit, we were just borrowing the red one until the other came in.

The Blankets are GONE!

This was a HUGE deal at our house. The girls took these blankets everywhere, and slept with them at night.....Rachel sniffed it when she sucked her thumb. It was rediculous. At bedtime NO ONE could go to sleep until we had searched the whole house for these blankets. If we went somewhere, they would insist on having them in the car....I would have to fight Rachel to not take it in with us. I have been pretty relaxed about it, b/c I myself was attached to a blanket when I was a girl until I was 4. Well, we decided the time had for them to go to "Blanket World".

If you don't know where "Blanket World" is, it is right beside "Passy Land" that my sister's pacifer went to when she was about 4. A fairy comes to your house to pick these things up when you are a big girl so that new little kids will have them to use. Yes, I am a big fat liar.....but it worked! Clay told them that if they would be willing to give them up, then we could go to Build A Bear to spend some of their Christmas money. You know, Rachel carried her blanket with her a lot more, but Leah was more upset to get rid of hers. Yes, I am a MEAN momma for taking a picture of this....but I just wanted to document it....it is a big part of their life, and then we went inside an rocked for a long time. And....proceeded with the story about the twin girls that these blankets would go to....how our blankets were perfect for the twins b/c they were just alike! Yes, I need to repent! But, after they got over being upset, we had no problems at all putting them to bed that night. We have been without blankets for a couple of weeks now, and they have only asked about them a couple of times. Wheh! Too bad I can't do the same thing with Rachel's thumb she sucks! I had thought getting rid of the blanket might break the thumb habit, but it hasn't. She just picks up something else to hold!

We put them in the recycle bin so that the fairy could find them. It is a good think that fairly came and got them as soon as we left the garage, b/c not even 5 mins later the girls ran back out there to try to retrieve them, and they were already gone!
Yes, I really did feel bad.....and for a few minutes thought that maybe I would have to call the fairy to bring them back, but thank goodness they got over it pretty soon.
And, b/c it isn't fair to Noah that the girls got rewarded when he hadn't been attached to a blanket to begin with, then he got to spend his money too!

Cleaning out a T.V.

Last night we were rearranging the girls bedrooms, and I moved their t.v. They have one of those small ones that have the DVD player in the bottom.....we have had this since Rachel was a baby and rotate it now to each room. Well, I can never remember to take out the DVD before I pick up the t.v. and shake it all around. I have wondered before if there were DVD's lost inside it, and this time I picked it up, and it made a loud noise. So Clay took it apart, which I didn't even know you could do, and found a playstation game....(which should have never belonged in there), a Dora movie....that they didn't even remember we ever owned! A Justice League movie that Noah was SO excited we found b/c he has really missed it. I think all of these things have been lost at least 2 years or more. And then, we found som unidentified food! I think it used to be crackers or cookies....but it was hard to tell! Our whole family got a kick out of it, and now we are wondering what could be lost in out other player!?!?!

"My brown eyed girl"

Well, one of them anyway. On my computer, her brown eyes just really stand out in this picture. Have I ever said how much I LOVE my daughters' brown eyes that are like their daddy's??? I have always been in love with his eyes....and that was my biggest wish when I was pregnant that my kids would have brown eyes. I absolutely love them.

Happy Valentine's Day!

This was my Valentine's present from Noah. Today I asked him what he got me for Valentine's day, and he was like hmmm I haven't bought it yet, but I am going to get you some flowers. And I said, well you know, you don't have any money....and they cost some.

So he came in so proud a little later on with this...Just for me! I love the innocence of children picking flowers as a gift for their mom...I remember the pride I had when I used to do it for my mom. It's the best gift I could have gotten from them! And now, as I am sitting here typing this, all 3 of them keep running in the house bringing me more and more.

If you look very closely, you can see the stains on Noah's hands from his pink Valentine's cupcakes I got them!