Daddy and his girls....

My sister is visiting....

She is taking a 2 week class in LR, so she is staying with us. She celebrated her 20th birthday last week, and we got to throw her a party.

The first night she was here all 3 of them piled on the couch with her and didn't move.
The girls helped me bake her a cake.


Then, you can imagine the fun we had icing the cake.....(VERY bright food coloring....3 impatient kids all wanting their turn....oh, and Leah's tooth fiasco happened during all this too!)
Noah singing happy birthday to her at the top of his lungs!
Oh, and Noah posed his army Mr. Potato head toy beside the cake in honor of her husband Nick!

Pulaski County Court House

I think this building is one of the coolest buildings in downtown Little Rock. I had a bridal session in downtown LR last week, and we did a few shots there. I had to take one just for myself.

My brave girl!

To add to our drama, busy filled week, Tuesday, we took all 3 kids to have their physicals, one of the many requirements for our foster care certification. Poor Rachel was up for her 4 yr old shots. I will not go into the drama that was had last year when another girl of ours had her turn, bless her heart, so traumatic for her. And, she proceeded to instruct little sis how loud to scream when she got her shots! Rachel has always been a very calm and brave shot taker, so I didn't want her to learn a new way for the most difficult age to get a shot. So, we told her that if she did it WITHOUT screaming, and was brave, she would get a dollar.

She ended up being a poster child for shots. She had to get FOUR...and not even a wimper until the 3rd one, and then only a quiet cry when that old painful chicken pox one came in on the 4th. WOW...she was so brave!! So good in fact, her nurse told her he was going to find her a special treat. And came back with this Bratz doll, just for her for being so brave! WOW, I never knew they had prizes that nice hiding out!

The girls are growing up too quick all of a sudden!

Girls getting their ears pierced, Leah losing her first tooth.....it is creaping up on me!!! This is one part of having the kids all close in age....I don't get to take baby steps with my kids growing up....it is almost like having triplets....I don't have a baby to hang on to!

The girls had the idea to get their ears pierced. I was happy and even excited to let them do this, but I didn't begin the idea, nor make them. So, off to Walmart we went. Leah, amazingly agreed to go first. She never goes first....it had first been agreed that Rachel would go first b/c she was more determined, and didn't seem worried about it...(she takes shots with amazing grace, and no drama....Leah on the otherhand....bless her heart....shots are super duper dramatic for her). When we got to WM, Rachel backed down, so I was so proud of Leah that she jumped up and said she would go first. She was So brave.....until 2 seconds after that first earring went in.....notice....that is where the photos stop! LOL Bless her heart....she shot off that chair and started crying.....major trauma for her. And she really did want to get that other one done....she did, but she just couldn't help herself, everytime that woman came near her with the earring gun, her arm flew up, and she burried her ear into my chest...(at this point I was holding her). It took quit a while before we were able to do that second one. I was not going to hold her down like we do for shots, b/c this had been her decision. I finally told her, this was her very last chance, if she jerked away, we would be leaving with only one earring. She started to jerk, but then stopped, and let the lady pierce the other ear. I think I was squeezing her hand tighter than she was squeezing mine!!!

You would think after all that, Rachel would change her mind.....and you could tell she wasn't near as confident as she had been, but she said there and let her do it....(I could just tell....Leah did it...She was going to do it!! That is how she always is!) She cried after the first one went in, but sat perfectly still for her to do the second one. And then I had 2 crying girls.....and I felt like everyone walking around thought I was the meanest momma making them get their ears pierced! You would have never known it was something they wanted to do! Anyway, after it was over, we walked around looking at all the earrings, and they got really excited. And Leah said, "wheh....I am glad that's over!" Bless her heart!! They are really excited now!

Leah lost her first tooth!!

And it wasn't even loose! Or not enough for any of us to know it. We were in the middle of a crazy busy day, and she runs in the kitchen announcing she just lost a tooth. Well....not really announcing, but actually with a lot of panic in her voice. Well, she couldn't tell me where she was, what she was doing, how it happened, or where the tooth was. And she was so upset...not b/c it hurt, but b/c her tooth had come out...and that it was lost! She cried and cried...for awhile, we were beginning to wonder if she had swallowed it....she didn't even know, and then daddy found her tooth, and she still cried and cried. Well...finally about 30 minutes, and lots of tears later, she finally told us that she was BITING a tennis ball, and the tooth popped out! She was so upset b/c she knew she shouldn't have been doing that, and a tooth that wasn't even loose came out as a result of it. We have now all recovered, and she is excited. But it did take me 2 hours for her to finally agree for me to take a picture of her!! WHAT DRAMA!!!!!!!! Only my Leah would give us that much drama over a tooth!

And of you notice something sparkling on her ears here.....yes, she and Rachel got their ears pierced, and that is another drama filled story that I will try to get to soon!! LOL

I'ts coming, I promise!

Ha Ha...I will get this thing set to private, but I just haven't had a chance to sit down and do it yet. In case I got everyone wondering, we do still have a little bit before we are ready for our new children, but we are getting a lot closer, and I look forward to sharing all that with you. But, until then, I will still keep posting...b/c I am getting behind! LOL My life goes by too fast to keep up with living it, and blogging it! LOL

Thank you for everyone that has sent me your e-mails...I feel so loved!!! If you haven't sent me your e-mail yet, go right ahead!