Clifton Chronicles

NYC for Thanksgiving

2012-01-16T23:00:00.002-05:00

A Day of Family Bowling

2012-01-15T14:50:00.002-05:00

Weekend get away to Philly

2012-01-13T16:07:00.001-05:00

Going back a bit

2012-01-11T16:02:00.005-05:00

I know I'm going back a bit but I just can't help myself.

We have two little turkeys now or will soon when our little Haitian angels get home. Noah and Beth both have birthdays in November (22nd and 24th). This year Noah turned the big double digits, 10! I cant believe it has been 10 years since this little turkey gave us one of the biggest things to be thankful for (he was born thanksgiving day). This year, we gave him the best birthday surprise by giving him his very own laptop. Clint set up a great scavenger hunt to find it and Noah's face was priceless when he opened it! We probably heard the words "thank you" over 500 times the whole rest of the day. He was so cute about it! I know it is a bit insane to buy a 10 yr old a laptop but he uses it everyday for school so that is how we justified it in our minds ;)

Beth celebrated her birthday this year on Thanksgiving Day. She turned 5! Here is a recent picture of her that some friends who went down to visit their boys took for us. We cant wait for her to be home!

Haiti is ALWAYS on Our Minds

2011-11-01T09:32:00.001-04:00

We have recently finished up all of our paperwork for our adoption! The next step is to get all of it translated into French, that process is almost done also. There are a few more steps between translation and turning everything into the Haitian government, particular papers have to be authenticated then everything has to be approved by the State Department and the Haitian Consulate. Once all that is done it becomes a waiting game. We are constantly thinking about our little Haitian angels and dreaming of the day we get to bring them home with us FOREVER!

Our Two Fall Blessings

2011-10-30T16:26:00.003-04:00

In the Clifton house, we have two September birthdays within 10 days of each other, Isaiah and Moses. It makes for a very busy month! However, next September we are hoping we get to make it even more crazy and add a third September birthday all still within the same 10 days. Our little Haitian angel, John, also has a birthday during this time. We are hoping and praying that he and Betchina will be home by next fall but until that time comes we will keep on celebrating the two fall blessing we already have to love on, Isaiah and Moses.

Isaiah Naethaniel ~ Sept. 6th

Moses Owen ~ Sept. 16th

Thankful for my little ones

2011-10-28T22:37:00.001-04:00

Camping with the Davis'

2011-09-09T13:11:00.000-04:00

Letting Our Redneck Roots Come Out

2011-09-07T15:36:00.001-04:00

Happy 6th Birthday Isaiah

2011-09-06T15:31:00.004-04:00

Today one of my precious babies turns a year older! Six years ago Isaiah Naethaniel graced us with his presence and our lives have forever been changed for the good. He is such a sweet and thoughtful little guy. Just for an example, we have a friend who lost their mother and the funeral is today. Clint gave Isaiah the choice whether he stayed home with us to celebrate or went to be with our friends. Isaiah decided that daddy should go be with his friends because they were sad, that is a sweet and thoughtful boy! I pray he continues to be sweet and thoughtful the older he gets.

The earthquake thru the eyes of my children

2011-08-24T20:54:00.002-04:00

Today during school time, we took a brief moment to write a little about the earthquake we experienced yesterday. Here are their thoughts:

Noah's ~
"The earthquake felt like Quantico was practicing their bombs. It was cool. It made me feel like a rocking chair. Moses was sleeping and I thought he got hurt."

Ruthe's~
"The earthquake felt like Dad was shaking the table. It made me feel like I was going to throw up."

Isaiah's~
"The earthquake felt like a giant monster stomping. It made me feel afraid."

Relaxing in Sunny Bank

2011-08-23T16:54:00.005-04:00

Sunny Bank, VA is in the middle of NOWHERE for sure but when a sweet couple from church, Gill and Lee Weeder, offer to take your large family to their beach house for the July 4th weekend you can't say no. They are just to cute!

We had a very relaxing trip just hanging out with each other with no other distractions. Seriously, we had NO cell service at all which meant no facebook, no emails, and no calls! There were beautiful fireworks all across the water in several different spots to celebrate the holiday. The kids played and swam till their hearts were content. A friend of the Weeders offered to take us out on the Chesapeake Bay in his new boat which was a blast! Moses did way better than we expected!

I know its late but I thought better late than never right?

Haiti Trip

2011-07-23T23:04:00.002-04:00

Jennifer and I are in Haiti now exploring the possibility of adopting two children from here. A few months ago we met a woman, we’ll leave her nameless, who decided to move to Haiti 15 years ago when her husband passed away. Having never even visited Haiti, She left her comfortable life to spend her retirment serving the orphaned children of this tiny island nation. Now, She is in her mid 70′s and is perhaps one of the most inspirational figures I have ever met. This woman supports herself, 14 children and three staff, on her own retirement and social security benefits.

We’ve only been here for two days and in that time she has entertained us with amazing stories of rescuing babies out of poverty, malnutritian and grave danger in order to bring them into her home, nurse them to health and find a loving Christian home for them. She told us one story of rescuing a baby that had been abandoned in a corn field and claimed by a vodoo woman who planned to sacrifice the child. She wasn’t having that so she bought the child from the vodoo woman for $20. While other women her age are wasting their retirement on soap opras and bingo, She is literally saving lives every day.

There are two children here that Jennifer and I pray will someday live in our home. Five year old girl “Bebe or Baby” is a tiny figure who has a personality as much like our Ruthe as any little girl I have ever met. She is rarely without a smile. We’re trying not to show favoritism to her but ever time we look her way we find her staring at us with a huge grin. The boy, “Jean pronounced John” is a tank of a boy who we are told is only two years old (although he could easily pass for four). Both kids were attracted to us right away, and us to them.

Before we came the director of the ministry told us these two children would fit into our family nicely… of course we were skeptical, how could she possibly know that? But as much as two days can tell she hit a bulls eye.

Since our arrival we have spent very little time outside the walls of the childrens home. The area is unsafe and we don’t have any transportation so we have spent two solid days getting to know these children. Several of them are “spoken for” but others are still looking for homes.

Tomorrow we go to church, we are told it will last for four hours.

The internet connection here is poor, pictures will come when we return.

The Boys New Love

2011-06-29T14:50:00.000-04:00

My new favorite photo

2011-06-28T21:47:00.003-04:00

Noah getting his game face on for football practice.
The other team better watch out!

OUR American Girl Ruthe

2011-06-21T14:55:00.001-04:00

One Wild Weekend

2011-06-18T21:54:00.004-04:00

We have been partying all weekend long celebrating Ruthe turning 7 years old. The celebrations started on Friday (her actual birthday) when her best friend Haley joined us. We spent the evening eating out then back to the house for presents and cake/ice cream. The girls stayed up late giggling and playing. Saturday morning we were up early to head to the grand opening of the American Girl store in Tyson's Corner. They were beside themselves with excitement! I'll post those pics soon but to hold you over here is a pic from the night before...

A Visit to Clifton, VA

2011-06-05T00:11:00.001-04:00

New house means new rooms

2011-05-27T11:07:00.000-04:00

The kids loved remodeling their new bedrooms! This was the first time they were allowed to solely pick out their own bedding and paint. I have to say they did an excellent job!

The boys went with their favorite sports team while Ruthe with total punk princess.

Every little boys dream ride

2011-05-25T10:48:00.000-04:00

a very late Easter pic

2011-05-24T15:28:00.002-04:00

I know its late but I couldn't resist! All four are smiling in the same photo! Now if I could just get that one to look at the camera it would be perfect, oh well...

I won't lie!

2011-05-11T15:27:00.003-04:00

I won't lie! I won't tell you I neglected my blog because it was Easter and I was taking the month (ok, ok, it was a month and a half) to reflect on all the undeserving things God has done for me. Instead, I will give you a list of the top 10 excuses :) That sounds more fun, right? Plus it lets you know what we crazy Cliftons have been up to.

TOP 10 Excuses:
10. We sold and were packing up our Lake of the Woods house (it was bitter sweet).
9. We were cleaning our townhouse in Dumfries because the tenant that moved out left it trashed.
8. We were painting and having new carpet installed at our townhouse.
7. We spent some time at the Stafford ER because I had a gall bladder attack.
6. We moved back into our townhouse Dumfries.
5. We have been unpacking the millions of boxes.
4. The kids and I took a trip to Florida and left poor Clint to finish at the townhouse.
3. Some dear friends gave us their time share week in Williamsburg, VA. which we loved!
2.We have been trying to catch up on school work.
1. Did I mention we moved? Yeah, we are finally living in DUMFRIES!

Edible Class Project

2011-03-31T16:48:00.003-04:00

Today, the kids and I wrapped up a study on Egypt. For a fun review of the interesting facts we learned we made an edible map of the country.

Then Moses wanted in picture...

A whirlwind of a morning

2011-03-28T12:52:00.002-04:00

Mondays are hard days in the Clifton house. It's mine and the kids day to try and recuperate from a very long Sunday. Poor Clint is gone from early in the morning til late at night every Monday. We get school done but we usually start late. To help with the recuperating, we have deemed Monday "Pajama Day." Now, to make things even more interesting, lets throw in selling the house and we have a whirlwind of a Monday.

So this Monday morning... Our normal routine of school started then a home inspector showed up. OK, we can deal with that so we continue on. Then our buyer's realtor shows up for a few minutes and mentioned she AND the buyers would be back at 10am. OK... we might can deal with that so we continue on. 10 o'clock comes around and they are back and LOUD all while we are still trying to do school. We continued attempting the whole school thing while trying to stay out of their way, so why does the realtor feel like it would be ok to interrupt us SEVERAL times?!?!

Come on people, important learning lessons are going on... I'm not sure if we are getting the carpets cleaned before closing! Yes, we can leave you the extra lattice in the garage! That's great you are going to take care of fixing the corner gutter!

Then, as if we are not aggravated enough, the realtor has the nerve to tell my boys that they are to loud! SERIOUSLY WOMAN!!!! Thankfully (before I lost it) they wrapped up their business and left.

Yeah, so that's our whirlwind of a morning!

Boxes, Boxes... everywhere!

2011-03-25T21:19:00.003-04:00

Let the packing begin! It is official, the Clifton family is moving back to our townhouse in Dumfries! God blessed us in a very big way by selling our house with the first people to come take a look at it. We are all sad to be leaving our "lake house" but we are excited to be leaving behind the 45 minute commute to the community we are trying to minister to.

Mini Winter Vacation

2011-02-26T20:34:00.004-05:00

In mid-February, we took the family on a mini winter vacation to Massanutten Ski Resort. While there we took advantage of their indoor waterpark, tubing slopes, putt-putt, and aracade.

Moses' 1st haircut

2011-02-21T17:58:00.002-05:00

Getting some fresh air

2011-02-04T13:25:00.000-05:00

Wintery fun

2011-02-03T17:26:00.003-05:00

Children's Museum of Richmond

2011-01-27T09:07:00.000-05:00

Every third Friday of the month Target sponsors $1 night at the Children's Museum of Richmond. This past Friday we took advantage of Target's generosity. We could hardly keep up with all the kids. They went from one exhibit to the next and were quite disappointed when it was time to leave. Moses even enjoyed himself. Of course, it was very helpful this was the kind of museum you were suppose to touch everything.

Getting back into it...

2011-01-25T21:26:00.003-05:00

While sitting in the family lounge of UVA hospital with the beautiful Annie Garman and looking at her digital scrapbooks, I was inspired to get back into scrapbooking. Jennifer Davis was there and we were discussing about how it had been so long ago we had forgotten how to use our programs. On our ride home, my determination grew. I was going to figure it out... again! I worked on it all that evening downloading templates and checking out the last pages I had created so I knew what had been done and where I might could start. Needless to say, I got no where that night. The next day, however, my knight in shining armor was home working and he helped me remember what I once knew. So, hopefully, here is the first of many.

Thanks, Annie for getting me back into scrapbooking!

Cultured by Epcot

2011-01-12T17:58:00.005-05:00

The kids and I had the wonderful privilege of being internationally cultured by Epcot on this last trip to Florida thanks to my cousin Lynn.

We love you, thanks for making this happen!

We did not tell the kids that we were going until the night before and they could not believe it. They thought we were playing a joke on them. Once they realized we were being truthful the excitement began! I had no trouble waking them up extremely early the next morning. My mom (aka Nan) and sister in law, Kelsy, joined in the fun and we meet Lynn and my aunt, Sissy, at the gates. The kids loved all the rides, well, most of the kids, Ruthe is turning out to not be much of a daredevil like we had thought. She spent most of the ride time shopping with Nan and Moses. However, they did all like the different countries and shows.

I loved that some of their Christmas decorations were still up!

Proving that they are world travelers!

Nan could not resist getting Moses Disney's new teddy Bear "Duffy"

Ruthe made sure she got everyone's autograph!

Christmas thru pics

2011-01-11T16:29:00.006-05:00

Christmas Eve 2010

Christmas Eve present

Papa's first experience with shoveling snow

Traditional Gingerbread cookie making with Nan

Official SEC Florida Gator helmets worn by real Florida Gator players last season!

Moses' new wheels

Noah congratulated them on their DS'. He was just as excited as them simple because now they wont ask to play his

Christmas in Florida with Gran, Papa and cousins Sami and Jake

Christmas Recital

2010-12-24T00:29:00.004-05:00

Noah and Ruthe's piano teacher had to cancel their recital due to some health issues so we decided to get creative and have our own at home. Since we were now on our own time schedule, we waited until Nan, Papa and Uncle Jared got here so they too could enjoy the kids playing. To make it even more exciting for the kids, we invited the Davis' over and Cody played a few songs on his tuba. All three of them did a great job on their Christmas songs! Anyone who has ever been to any kind of a recital knows that every recital has a reception full of sweets so of course we stuck to that tradition with more than plenty yummy sweets to reward the kids.

Ruthe couldn't stop smiling while she played "We Wish You A Merry Christmas!"

Cody showed us his mad tuba skills with three Christmas carols.

Noah played "Jingle Bells" while Kale sang the words. We were very impressed!

Moses was VERY interested in Cody's tuba!

Moses playing with Nan

Clint and Shawn sang "Mary Did You Know" just for Isaiah. This has become his new favorite Christmas song.

The trio leading us in Christmas carols!

Loving the Snow

2010-12-16T16:36:00.005-05:00

They had a blast playing out in the snow and were covered from head to toe by the time they decided they were freezing enough to come in. I had the hot chocolate and marshmallows ready to go for them when they did. Moses did not get to go out and enjoy the snow because he hasn't been feeling well but there is always next time.

Baking Cookies

2010-12-16T09:54:00.003-05:00

The kids were very excited when Aunt Shawn came home early yesterday and got to hang out with them all evening. There was pizza, baking of cookies and wrapping of presents. Fun times!

We have been mummified

2010-12-13T16:01:00.004-05:00

What was the one thing that fascinated the kids the most today during our lesson on Egypt? Maybe it was the pyramids - how did the Egyptians move those huge stones and lift them on top of each other like that? Maybe it was that Upper Egypt was in the south and Lower Egypt was in the north? Could it be the longest river in the world, the Nile?

Well, heavens NO! It was the nasty mummification process where we got to talk about people taking out the king's liver, stomach, lungs and intestines keeping them in special urns for the afterlife!

This lesson, of course, ended with the schoolroom floor covered in toilet paper and paper towel because mummies don't just carefully take off their wrappings... they shred them to pieces!

The Recreation of Stonehenge

2010-12-08T15:04:00.002-05:00

In history class this week, the kids have been learning about the mysterious Stonehenge. They were fascinated by all the details of how it was built, the huge rocks, its intriguing shape and that there are similar megalithic structures in other parts of the world. After studying it, they all decided to create their own Stonehenge and declared our next family vacation needed to be to Wiltshire, England!

What are your families Thanksgiving traditions?

2010-11-27T15:23:00.005-05:00

Our families Thanksgiving traditions are probably much like everyone else. There is turkey, stuffing, something made of pumpkin, football and family. Now our Thanksgiving family is not blood related family members but our very special close friends who are as close to family as any blood relative could possible be. Ever since we moved to Stafford, 8 years ago, we have had the privilege of spending Thanksgiving with one particular family, the Pelts. This too has also become one of our family traditions. It hasn't mattered where either one of our families have live (U.S. or Iceland) or how many children we have (a number which is forever growing). This has definitely become one of our favorite Thanksgiving traditions!

A fun new element that has been thrown into the festivities is a Jason Pelt Production. Since the kids are older now Jason has been perfecting the Thanksgiving play. This year the kids acted out the first Thanksgiving. They did an excellent job and had a blast.

Narrator, Cami
Producer, Jason

The Pilgrims

The Indians

Happy Thanksgiving!

Football Fanatic

2010-11-23T15:42:00.003-05:00

Noah has become a football fanatic so naturally his birthday celebration was football themed. They had a football cake, football oreos, football goodie bags, football decorations... if it was for the party it had some kind of football something on it.

Ruthe and I were kicked out of the house for several hours while the men folk got their football partying on from watching to playing to trading of cards. When we got home they were all sugared up but having a blast.

9 yrs ago

2010-11-22T10:55:00.005-05:00

It was 9 years ago today that we met Noah for the first time and he has had our hearts ever since!

Today, we celebrate this special boy and all the amazing things God has accomplished in the first 9 years of his life. I can't wait to see what happens in the next 9 years. Hopefully the next 9 wont go by as fast though!

Happy Birthday, Noah!

Come Home Soon

2010-11-15T09:53:00.000-05:00

My brother, Jonathan, is leaving today for his second deployment. Praying he comes home safe, soon and that time will pass be quickly for he and his wonderful wife!

Come Home Soon Uncle Jonathan!

my brother, Jonathan, and my new sister-in-law, Kelsy

We love you both!

Football Practice

2010-11-12T14:00:00.000-05:00

My dad is an Athletics Director/Youth Pastor at our home church's academy. The kids love it because they get to practice on all his equipment when we go for a visit. This trip Uncle Jared took them out for a little football practice since we had recently acquired some football pads.

Happy Veterans Day!

2010-11-11T08:28:00.000-05:00

On this special day, I would like to thank my brother for all he does for me and our family. Thank you for being willing to risk your life so that we may have freedom. We will be praying for you as you deploy again that God will protect you while in a foreign land and that He will protect your beautiful new bride as she is without you. We pray, also, that God will give you opportunities to be a shining light for Him while you are serving our country. We love you!

Me and Jonathan after his boot camp graduation almost 3 1/2 yrs ago

Cliftons at the Corn Maze

2010-11-10T16:49:00.003-05:00

Who knew you could get so dirty at a corn maze! You can see the good ole' Florida black dirt all over their faces. Also, another lesson learned is flip flops at a corn maze is not a good idea.

Nan and the kiddos on the hay ride

Blue Angels Airshow

2010-11-08T22:59:00.000-05:00

We saw the most amazing airshow at NAS Jax in Fla. The Blue Angels preformed and it was utterly amazing! I don't know how those pilots do all that they do without wetting themselves, vomiting, or having a heart attack. They fly so close to each other, its crazy! Isaiah screamed a few times because he thought they were going to crash into each other. The kids enjoyed the show but were not to excited about all the noise that came with it. They did, however, love all the planes and helicopters that were there for them to climb a board.

It's great to be a Fla Gator

2010-11-07T22:25:00.001-05:00

While on vacation we had the opportunity to tailgate with my extended family at one of the University of Florida's football games. The kids thought it was the best day ever. They got to play with cousins and see the Gators stadium. They thought they were in heaven! We ate yummy food, played football, watched football, walked off all the food we did eat so we could eat more then repeated.

Noah was given a ticket to the football game and loved every minute of it. Poor Uncle Jonathan and Aunt Kelsy had to answer his one million questions during the entire game.

Our new nephew ~ Jacob Michael

2010-11-06T22:17:00.002-04:00

The timing of our recent trip to Florida was perfect because not only did we get to see ALL of our immediate family but also the newest addition to our family, our new nephew, Jacob Michael. He was absolutely precious!

Another Last Supper

2010-10-12T21:56:00.005-04:00

Monday night we had our last supper (again) with the Long family before they move to Florida. We have become very fond of the Longs and they will be missed dearly. The good news is when we go down to Florida to visit our family we will get to visit with the Longs also!

Save us a spot on the sleeper sofa!

Moses new ride

2010-10-05T22:11:00.000-04:00

Moses thinks he is as big as his siblings. He took to riding Ruthe's scooter and thought he was the man!

Trained and ready

2010-10-04T22:01:00.003-04:00

Today, Isaiah decided it was time to let go of his training wheels. Daddy was happy to prop the bike up on his work bench and take those suckers off. After a bit of a lesson of what to do and what to expect, he was off down the driveway. There was a tad bit of sadness in my heart as this was all happening because it further proved that my babies are growing up to fast.

A Little Photo Op

2010-09-23T09:34:00.000-04:00

Here is our little one year old! I cant believe how fast he has grown!

Apple Pickin' time

2010-09-21T20:57:00.007-04:00

It's that time again... apple pickin' time! The kids have been counting down the days til we could go pick apples. Last year, we were afraid we would miss our chance to get these juicy things due to Moses putting us on bed rest but then he came early. At about a week and a half old he went on his first Clifton Family apple pickin' trip.
This year, he was eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, drinking whole milk, has eight teeth and is walking around trying to eat the rotten apples off the ground. A lot has changed one year!

We hit the orchard on the weekend this year (usually we go during the week to avoid the crowds) and got to see the farmers making fresh apple cider and apple butter. The kids loved watching them take the apples from the trees and create other things to eat.
Our bag was overflowing with juicy apples to bring home and so the feast has begun.

The Cliftons heart Hartland Orchard!

Two Brave Mommas

2010-09-14T21:09:00.004-04:00

To help the day go by faster since our hubbies are gone, Jennifer Davis and I decided to take the kids for a picnic and hike at Lake Anna. It was a beautiful day with perfect weather. After lunch the kids teamed up for a little game of football before hitting the trails. We found a great trail that started out following the edge of the lake but, not to far into it, the trail just disappeared. There we were two Mommas, Aunt Shawn and eight children in the middle of the woods with NO trail to follow. We had seen some people go this same route into the woods but apparently somewhere along the way we were led astray. It probably had something to do with the seven children leading the way. Eventually we just decided to turn around and retrace our steps out of the woods. Thank the Lord we made it out! The kids loved our little adventure and are itching to do it again except this time we will stick to a real trail!

We are THRASHIN'

2010-09-11T08:56:00.000-04:00

at least that is what the kids say "Hey Mom! Come watch us thrash!" Before Clint left on his adventure he bought them a skateboard and gave them lessons on the proper way "to thrash." He says he was a pro at thrashing back in his day. So all week I have heard "Mom can I go outside and thrash?" I don't really know why they can't just ask if they can go out to skateboard, guess that is not the cool thing to say. They have been practicing so when Clint returns he can take them to the skateboard park in our neighborhood. It has ramps that they have been drooling over for days now. All of them actually do very well keeping their balance and stopping before running into something or someone... at least so far, we will see what happens when they hit the park. Daddy better be ready!

First week of a new school year

2010-09-10T16:56:00.003-04:00

It's that time again! This week we completed our first week of school. The kids were actually excited about it with the new classes we are doing. Starting this week was great because it gave us something new to keep us occupied while Clint is out of the country. So far things are going amazing! However, it usually does the first week, its the second week and all the ones that follow that cause us trouble.

Moses is our class clown!

Early B-day Celebrations

2010-09-04T22:09:00.010-04:00

My two youngest munchkins hit major milestones this month; Isaiah turns 5 and Moses turns 1! Unfortunately, Clint is going to miss both of their birthdays so we decided to celebrate early so daddy would not miss out. We usually would not celebrate their b-days together but there was major time issues getting Clint ready to leave the country. With daddy feeling bad about missing their b-days the boys (well, really just Isaiah) were able to con daddy into a Chuck E Cheese party. Everyone had a blast! Moses did not know what to do with himself with all the noise, music, and lights; he was going crazy.

I think Moses really enjoyed his cake, what do you think?

One step at a time

2010-09-01T10:19:00.001-04:00

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Prov. 22:6

When Mom's away...

2010-08-31T21:05:00.005-04:00

You have heard the saying, "when the cats away the mice will play" I think you can say the same for when Mom's away. While I was away this past weekend, the kids were in complete Dad zone. What does that mean you ask? It means there is a long list of things you purposely do not ask; for instances, did they brush their teeth? is the house clean? what did they eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner? did they eat breakfast, lunch and dinner? I have found it best not to ask questions like these until I am home and can see all four children with my very eyes. It doesn't take long for them to start spilling everything that went on while I was away.
This weekend they had a marvelous adventure hiking in the woods with Dad! They even got to take a dip in the river. Dad earned brownie points here with them and me. He had thought far enough ahead that the children had their bathing suits ready to swim!

The Finished Project

2010-08-20T17:00:00.004-04:00

My hubby is an awesome handyman!

He has finished our garage project and everything is in it's new home.
It's all nice and organized :)

Garage Renovations

2010-08-15T17:33:00.000-04:00

I have been telling Clint for a while now about this extra storage idea I had for the garage. I even saw into someone's garage in our neighborhood and they had the exact thing I had been telling him about. Finally, he was convinced of the space it would save us and that it was a necessity! So here we are amongst a garage renovation.

Along with building the storage shelves, he decided the floor also needed to be painted, which now that half of it is done, I agree it looks much better. This project also helped with decluttering the garage since we had to move everything out.

The Big Turn Around!

2010-08-14T21:25:00.004-04:00

Well, Moses has made the big turn around in the car seat. He may not be one year old yet but he definitely is over 20 lbs and has been since is 9 mon check up (he is 11 mons this weekend.) In his infant car seat, his head was hanging out one end, his feet were kicking against the van seat and he was about breaking his neck to turn and watch what ever movie was playing. We figured it was about time and he was so excited about the new direction he would be looking from now on!

Being Floridians

2010-07-28T23:09:00.006-04:00

We have spent the last several days hanging out with many different family members. Some of Clint's family from Mississippi are here visiting his parents. We have not seen them in a really long time and it has been great to reconnect.

The kids, Nan and I drove down to South Florida to visit Jared for a few hours. We got to see him in action at his new job and then he treated us to dinner at the Thristy Turtle. He introduced the kids to calamari and it was a big hit. Ruthe and Isaiah could not eat enough of it.

Today was spent at the beach. Clint taught the kids how to surf and they absolutely loved it. The waves were small so the kids felt very successful in their surfing attempts. I think they have found a new hobby. It was also Moses' first trip to the beach!

Not just for the dog anymore!

2010-07-21T15:45:00.002-04:00

Well, it's official! The baby gate is not just for the dog anymore. Moses is on the move! Last week he turned 10 months old and decided to celebrate by crawling which means he is into everything. His favorite thing to get in trouble for right now is playing in the dog bowls. He also likes to torment her when she is in her kennel. Moses is growing so fast! It won't be long before he is walking. He is already pulling up on anything he can get his chubby little hands on. Better rest up why I can!

Not quite as fast as a Torpedo

2010-07-10T22:35:00.005-04:00

Ruthe is trying out her swim team legs this season. We are not quite as fast as her team name Torpedos but she is giving it a try. She has learned and is working to perfect her strokes along with trying to build up her confidence in herself that she can make it all the way down the swim lane. She may not be the fastest Torpedo on the team but she is definitely the cutest!

Coach Maggie giving Ruthe some pointers

Her friend Chloe cheering her on

Family Friendly Flying Squirrels

2010-07-03T12:10:00.003-04:00

Since Clint and I returned from Mexico our lives have been a bit chaotic so he declared Friday Family Fun Day! Taking his Mac to the Apple store was the only thing we absolutely had to do yesterday. We thought we would try the one in Richmond since it was a holiday weekend and we did not want to be anywhere near DC. So our next task, what family fun is there to do in Richmond? After googling for a few minutes we found exactly what we wanted... Richmond Flying Squirrels were playing baseball! Clint called in hopes that they were playing and they were. We got to watch them play the Erie Seawolves. The kids were having a good time cheering them on and when they pulled through in the bottom of the 8th inning to take the lead it got even better. By the top of the 9th, it was three up and three down WE WIN! The kids erupted and were extremely excited that the Flying Squirrels had pulled through.

FCA Powercamp

2010-06-30T20:36:00.005-04:00

This year was the first year Noah has been old enough to attend FCA Powercamp. Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) puts on a sports camp every summer to teach kids skills in certain sports along with teaching them about Christ and how we can honor Him while playing. Noah was a bit nervous the first day even though his best friends the Davis boys were going to be there doing the same sport as him but it didn't take him long to warm up.

For his first experience of camp, he chose to do baseball. All week long they worked on throwing, batting, base running and playing the field. Every day Noah came home with tons of stories about what they had learned that day. It was great to see him so excited! On Friday they played a scrimmage game against the softball girls so we went out a little early to watch him play. He did amazing!!! He got a hit, a RBI and managed to get two outs. We were so proud of him!

His Huddle Leaders

His Baseball Coach and Keegan

My baby girl is 6!

2010-06-27T10:01:00.000-04:00

On June 17th my Ruthe Elizabeth turned 6 years old! She is growing up way to fast for my liking! This year she celebrated by having a American Girl Tea Party so she invited her girlfriends over along with their dolls for some "tea and cake." There was lots of squealing and giggling happen but they were having fun. We ate, made hair scrunchies, and had some cupcakes. The dolls also enjoyed chatting with one another!

Our Trip to Paradise

2010-06-23T15:31:00.012-04:00

Clint and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary by taking a very relaxing trip to Cancun, Mexico. My Mom and brother, Jared, were up for the challenge of taking care of our four munchkins so we knew they would be in great hands. On our first day we arrived by lunch so we had the whole rest of the day to get the lay of the land and chill by the pool or beach. It was absolutely beautiful! Day two was much of the same, chillin' at the pool and beach, trying some amazing restaurants, and I had a mani/pedi.

Day three started our adventure tours. The first adventure tour was to zip line across "Extreme Park." The course was to zip line from tower to tower, zip line three times then walk across the top of some telephone poles, zip line two more times then walk across a very tiny bridge only as wide as my foot and then zip line two more times to the last tower. It was AWESOME!

The second adventure/day four was to boat to the Isla of Mujeres were we AGAIN chilled at the pool and beach then shopped at some Mexican markets for some treasures.

The third adventure/last day was by far Clint's favorite. We took a Jungle Tour where we got to follow a tour guide in our own small speed boat out to the coral reefs where we were able to snorkel before heading back to shore. Not my favorite but I did it, I survived, and it made my hubby happy.

The whole trip was amazing! Maybe we won't wait another 10 years to do this again :)

What we did in Cancun today...

2010-06-13T22:56:00.002-04:00

Enjoying the lake

2010-06-11T09:15:00.000-04:00

The kids and I got to enjoy the lake the other day with Miss Becky Castle, the Davis children and the Garman girls. Everyone had tons of fun playing together, looking for fish and searching for seashells. Miss Becky even got in the lake which was a tad to cold for me that is why I stayed behind the lens. Moses was very excited to be at the lake. He couldn't stand not get in the water so Miss Becky took him for a swim plus it saved her from being chased down again.

10 kids + 2 adults + no one drowning = a great afternoon!

Welcome to the Torpedos!

2010-06-09T22:02:00.004-04:00

Ruthe is officially on the Lake Wilderness Torpedo's swim team! She has been going to practice every night since last Wednesday and absolutely loves it. She will probably drowned because she can't seem to stop smiling. She loves the new friends she has made, she loves her coaches, she loves the new strokes she has already learned and most importantly loves the new bathing suit she had to get!This is Moses cheering for Ruthe... or maybe he is trying to eat his way through the bars...

Playing Tour Guides

2010-06-01T21:13:00.008-04:00

My parents along with three of their high school seniors came up last week to tour DC. The kids and I got to play tour guides for them. It proved to be a very busy week, site seeing from early morning til late at night but it was very fruitful. We showed them sites from the Marine Museum, Ford Theater, Hoover Building, Arlington Cemetery, Old Post Office, all the memorials and some Smithsonians. By the end of the week the kids were completely exhausted and had sweated off any fat there might of been on their little bodies.

Ruthe showing them how to ride the metro.

Noah getting a history lesson from a true hero.

Ford's Theater was Isaiah favorite place.

Hoover Building was Noah's favorite. When asked why, "Mom, that is classified information!"

Praying for Jennifer, Delaney, Jake and AJ

Being Tacky Tourist

Enjoying our freedom that so many have fought bravely to protect.
Thank you soldiers!

My bestest's little man

2010-05-26T11:29:00.000-04:00

My best friend and her family live in Florida so whenever we are down we make sure to spend some time with them. Their little boy Micah is absolutely adorable! He is walking all over the place now and he just thought it was hilarious to follow my kids around. They all played so well together and enjoyed each other so much, it was great! Every time we are together I tell Wesley he needs to bring Amanda and Micah up to Virginia and he is says "I know, I know!" Well, this time when I mentioned it Amanda piped in and gave his secret weakness away.... Punch Bowl dessert! So I promised Wesley I would make him however many Punch Bowl desserts he wanted if he would just bring them up... hopefully he will fall for it!

Working Hard for the Money

2010-05-24T11:11:00.000-04:00

Noah is wanting to attend FCA's Powercamp this summer so he has been trying to earn some extra money to help pay for it. While in Florida, he had Grandma come up with some chores for him to do around her house to help with his fund raising. She had him wash her car and plant some aloe plants and a poinsettia in her yard, of course, with siblings around he had extra help but he worked hard and earn his money. I was very proud of him for working so diligently to help out.

A Mother's Day Surprise!

2010-05-23T18:34:00.000-04:00

For Mother's Day, the kids and I drove down to Florida to surprise my mom. It was a bit of a last minute idea (a week before) which is good because I almost blew it so many times. After two different times, Noah started reminding me not to blow it every time I got on the phone with anyone. The drive down went by really fast (if you can imagine 12 hrs in a van alone with 4 kids going by fast.) The kids were amazing; probably had something to do with being so excited to surprise Nan and surprised she was! Papa, Uncle Jared and Aunt Kelsy helped the kids sneak up on Nan at the ballgame. When she realized who the strange kids were giving her the popcorn she ordered from the concession she let out a HUGE scream so much so it scared Moses and he started crying! We had a great time seeing our family and swimming in the pool every day. Also, while down in Fla we got to meet "in human" (that's Isaiah language for in person) my "soon to be" sister in law! We have skyped and facebooked for a little while now but it was great to be able to hang out and let the kids interrogate, oh, I mean get to know her :) She is awesome and passed all areas of inspection! Welcome to the family, Kelsy!

Camping with the Metz

2010-05-22T22:15:00.006-04:00

At the beginning of the month, we drove down to Bristol, Tn. to meet up with some very good friends Brian and Kim Metz and their little girl Leeann. We spent our days there at the Lakeview RV Park. The pool was good, Bristol Motor Speedway was awesome but I think my kids would say their favorite was the pontoon boat we rented to take up the lake. They liked to call it the "Party Boat." It was a very relaxing time just hanging around with no schedule and catching up on life.

1 Fifth wheel + 9 people = priceless

Another one gone!

2010-04-30T20:21:00.004-04:00

Ruthe is losing her baby teeth left and right! She can't seem to lose them one at a time though. They fall out in droves. There have been a few that have not had the chance to be pulled but have come out while she has been eating. Of course, she has not realized this until later and by then she has swallowed it. This happened again this week! At the rate she is swallowing her baby teeth, the tooth fairy is going to have to sign up for unemployment!

Suffering

2010-04-28T10:46:00.003-04:00

In Bible class today, we were talking about suffering and how it is not always a bad thing. We were trying to teach the children that God uses our suffering to bring glory to Himself and to teach us important lessons. Several ways that we might suffer were discussed and, of course, many of those scenarios were straight from a scene of Star Wars.
Clint gave this example and here is how things went:

Clint: What if Daddy got very sick and people said to me God doesn't love you anymore. What do you think I could say to them?

Isaiah: You could punch them in the face!

Moral of this story: If you are suffering, please do not come see Isaiah!

When I grow up, I want to be...

2010-04-24T19:57:00.002-04:00

As we rode to the coffee shop today this was the conversation going on with the older boys.

Noah: When I grow up I want to be one of three things: a pastor, a police officer or a movie director.

Clint: Wow Noah those are great ideas!

Noah: Don't worry Mom! I'll give you a free ticket to my movie.

Mom: Thanks Noah! Can I come to the premiere also?

Noah: What's a premiere?

Clint: It's the first public showing of the movie. All the actors and actresses come and everyone dresses up real fancy.

Noah: I guess I'll give you a free ticket to that Mom.

Isaiah: When I grow up I want to be a police officer, a date person or a paddle boat person.

Clint: What's a date person? Someone who goes on dates all the time?

Isaiah: NOOO! Someone who works at Chuck E Cheese or some place where you go on a date.

Hiking at Alum Park

2010-04-10T08:47:00.000-04:00

With the Davis' being on Spring Break this week there have been many sleepover nights, picnics and parks happening. One day we ventured over to Alum Park in Fredericksburg to picnic and hike the trails. The kids loved it! They quickly all had some kind of walking stick and were off before we could even tell them which direction to go. They, of course, automatically picked the trail that followed the water to the swimming hole. Luckily, no one fell completely in but there were some wet shorts by the time we left. All in all, the kids had a blast and we will definitely do it again... next time we will bring bathing suits for sure!

The Grassy Dam

2010-04-09T22:55:00.003-04:00

Tuesday evening was so beautiful we couldn't help but stay outside. Usually we go to the park close to our house but this time we took the kids to the grassy dam. The hill is ginormous and they just love to roll down the thing as I inwardingly freak out about all the grass stains they are getting. Princess Leia got to run free while we were hanging out. She is so tiny we could almost lose her in all the lush grass. Everyone being exhausted from playing so hard = no fussing at bed = a very happy Momma!

A late Happy Easter

2010-04-07T18:39:00.000-04:00

Hope everyone enjoyed their Resurrection Sunday!

Please excuse Moses' facial expression. He had not had his morning coffee yet!

What's new with Mo?

2010-04-07T09:43:00.000-04:00

Moses is growing by leaps and bounds and entirely to fast! At his 6 month check up he weighed right at 18lbs. He is in the 50% for his weight and 75% for his height which is excellent, maybe he will get some of his Uncle Jared or Uncle Jonathan's height. He is so happy all the time. He very rarely cries so if he does you know there is definitely something wrong! He loves to laugh at any one of his siblings or the dog. Some of his new tricks are babbling, smiling, rolling, sitting up, holding his own bottle, eating baby food and teething.

Our flag was still there...

2010-04-06T20:26:00.001-04:00

The kids and I are really enjoying history class right now especially living where we do. Its great to be able to teach the kids something from our past then a few days later go visit the place the event actually happened! Recently we were reading about how Francis Scott Key was inspired to write "The Star Spangled Banner" during the war with England at Ft McHenry in Baltimore, MD. After studying for a few days, we field tripped to the American History Smithsonian to see the actually flag that had flown over Ft McHenry the day that Key penned those famous words that our country now holds so dear. It was amazing to see how big the flag was and to read about how it was past around for years before the family decided to place it at the Smithsonian. Unfortuantely, we were not allowed to take a pic with the real flag but we did get one in front of a display telling us all about the bomb holes that remain in the flag to this day. We have really come to enjoy walking through history!

New addition to our family

2010-04-06T08:57:00.000-04:00

Our family has grown by one in the last couple of weeks while we were offline. We now have a 4 month old mini dachshund girl who we named Princess Leia. Some of you may be thinking, "Didn't the Cliftons already do the dog thing and it did not go well?" To answer your question, "Yes we did!" It has taken me many years to get over our first dog experience but some how I was convinced to give it another go around. Now, this caving in on my part did not come with out some conditions.

What were some of my conditions? Here were the top two...

1. It needed to be a small, tiny dog.

2. I was not going to be the one taking care of the dog. I already have a 6 month old to care for not to mention the other three (four if you count Clint).

This surrendering did not come quickly. Clint and I had discussed it on many occasions but one night after dinner discussing it with the children we thought we would just look some pups up on the internet. I was doomed from there! My whole extended family is hooked on dachshunds so naturally we checked them out first. We found a mini dachshund breeder nearby who had some pups for sale so we asked for them to email us pics of a few. It was love at first sight! We were all gathered around the laptop opening the emails and when the one of Princess Leia opened we all knew that was OUR pup! The boys were jumping and running around excited and Ruthe was balling her eyes out in desperate need for that dog. It was hilarious to see their reactions! It was one of those moments that we knew there was no way we were getting out of buying them that pup. Clint got all the details worked out and we picked her up the very next day! It has not been easy house training her but she has definitely been a great little pup!

OH MY!

2010-04-05T22:02:00.004-04:00

It has been waaaay to long since my last blog but I have an excellent excuse I promise! You see my Imac has gone crazy and is doing weird things so I have sent it off to Dr. Andy Wire to hopefully be fix. Now, I know Clint has a laptop I could use but that requires him to be around. You see, Clint takes his computer everywhere with him or is constantly on it so sharing with him doesn't really work very well. Also, all my pictures are on my Imac and I know those who read just want to see pics of the kids not read whatever I have to say. So dear Clint, in trying to help me not go insane without my computer, busted out our very old Toshiba laptop so I would at least have something to get on the internet with. I feel like I am working with a dinosaur however I am grateful that I have something to get on. Hopefully I will be able to catch everyone up on wants been going on in the Clifton house. Thank you for your patience as we muddle through our techinical difficulties!

Not much in LaGuardia

2010-02-20T10:53:00.003-05:00

Wednesday after watching the weather on several local NYC channels, checking for emails from the airline and having the front desk check if the airport had been closed, we decided to go ahead and grab a taxi to the airport. There had been no indication that anything had been canceled so why it changed during the 20-30 minutes it took us to get to the airport we shall never know. When we pulled into the drop off area the lack of people concerned us all. Mrs. Terri ran inside to check on our flight while the taxi driver quickly threw our luggage out and left us. She came back with very bad news! ALL flights that whole day had been canceled. The good news (if you want to call it that) was they had already rescheduled our flight... the three of them would leave SUNDAY and Ruthe and I would leave on MONDAY! Are you serious? This is what we all were asking the poor lady dealing with us. As much as I would like to stay another five days and hunt down the "purse man" again staying for five more days is not possible. Of course she could do nothing and advised us to call the 800 number for more help.
My next thought... "Oh stink! I have to call Clint and tell him my flight has been canceled but no worries they rescheduled me for MONDAY!" Yeah that was not going to go well! This was his response, "Monday, you can't stay five more days, Monday, wow, MONDAY?!?!?! (a long silence) I need to think through this and I'll call you back in just a minute." As promised he called back not long after and said he was dropping the boys off at the Davis' then driving back to NYC in another blizzard to pick us up. At this point we had figured out that Mom, Mrs Terri and Brittany could change their return flight to leave from Richmond so we scoped out some food and tables and were hunkering down for about 10 hours.
Yep, we hung out in the LaGuardia airport for about 10 hours while we waited for our hero to arrive. We watched the snow turn into a complete white out then let up then get heavy again all the while feeling bad for Clint and praying for his safety. We had come up with a great plan to pass the time. The first thing was to get lunch then we would go to Borders and read all the books. Well, that plan was quickly squashed. While getting our lunch, we noticed the stores closing. Then, of course, we went into a panic wondering if all the food places were going to close also. We were going to be there a long time and if we had no food it was not going to be pretty. We went to one of the little food places and stocked up on some snack foods. One by one, we watched the food places close up. By dinner time, there was only one place left open and it just happened to be the same place we had eaten lunch. Oh well! When you are hungry, you will eat what you got, right?
I talked to Clint periodically through out the day and it was not good. The storm was way worse than he thought. States he was driving through were shutting down the roads even for the snow plows. Thankfully these decisions were made as he was driving out of them or after he had already gotten past them. It took him about 9 hours for what should of been about 5-6 hour trip then the poor thing had to turn around and drive back. The good thing was, by the time he picked us up and we were headed back, the blizzard had slowed down tremendously. He drove long enough to get us back out of the city then pulled over for me to drive. I didn't mind considering he drove through all that mess to rescue us. Mom even got to experience what it is like to drive in the snow. Now that is something very few Floridians have done! We pulled into our drive way about 4:30 am and were so glad to be home!
Because of the blizzard, we had an extra day to spend with Mom, Mrs Terri and Brittany since their flight was not until Friday. We rested up that morning then took them to see Coffee with a Cause. Both families have been supporters and heard up dates so they were quite excited to visit CWAC. Later on, the kids got Brittany out in the yard to build a snowman and I have to say she did pretty well for a Floridian!
It was a bit crazy trying to get to NYC and then home again but it was worth it. Ruthe and I made some great memories that we will never forget!

NYC adventure continues

2010-02-19T09:16:00.000-05:00

Bright and early (maybe not so early to some of you) Tuesday morning we headed to catch the ferry that would take us to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Unfortunately, the elevator at Lady Liberty was being repaired so we had to climb the 156 steps. Ruthe did great! She counted the steps all the way to the top. There was a museum to walk through before we headed up. As Ruthe and I walked through reading all the info about where Liberty came from and how she got here, I felt very proud of myself because I had thought far enough ahead to check out and read to the kids a book on the Statue of Liberty. A lot of the info Ruthe was like "That's what we read in that book!" Definitely a proud moment for me :)
After seeing how small Lady Liberty looked at the Empire State Building I was beginning to wonder how big she actually was. Yeah! She is not small at all! My comprehension of size/measurment... way off! About the time we finished Lady Liberty the ferry was arriving to take us to Ellis Island. It was interesting trying to explain why Ellis Island and Lady Liberty are so special to a five year old but Ruthe did great soaking it all in and asking questions.
We caught the ferry back to the main land to check out Wall Street, Ground Zero and to sniff out some great deals on purses in Chinatown. As we walked through Battery Park towards Wall Street, Mom thought it would be a great place to take a pic so we all sat down on this bench smiling all nice and then it happened.... this squirrel comes out of no where and jumps right on my shoulder. Of course I screamed and ran off a little ways completely freaking out myself and my daughter. Mom, Mrs Terri and Brittany were left laughing there heads off at me! After gaining my composure, we finished taking the pic (which now instead of a cute little smile Ruthe has a very scared look) and quickly go out of there.
God must of known I was in great need of some retail therapy after that stupid squirrel attacked me and that I needed it way before we would ever get to Chinatown because it was at that very blessed corner we found "the Purse man." I will not go into details about how our deals went down since it makes my husband cringe very time he hears the story but if you would like to hear it just ask and I will gladly tell.
At Ground Zero there were signs and pictures up of the memorial they are building in honor of those lost on 9/11 and we were able to walk through St Paul's Cathedral which is kinda like a museum now with pics and info up about how people would come in to pray or rest during that terrible time. Ruthe and I read lots of the info and she asked all kinds of questions about what had gone on during that time. It was a big change in our attitudes after walking through there and not only remembering what had gone on but kinda seeing it ourselves... very sad.
Our feet were very tired after walking about 2 1/2 miles that day. We finished up the evening by eating at the Olive Garden overlooking Times Square and picking up the last few souvenirs. The next challenge was to get all the stuff we had bought over the last few days to fit in our suitcases. Due to our bus cancellations on the way up, Clint let us purchase plane tickets for on the way back. I did not want to get stranded in NYC all by ourselves. We had the same flight as mom and our friends so if we got stranded at least we would be stranded together. According to all the news channels we had been watching, we would be able to get out before the storm hit. Boy were they wrong! More on that adventure in the next post :)

NYC Adventure

2010-02-18T16:16:00.004-05:00

Our travels to and from NYC were definitely an adventure we will never forget but it was all worth it! Ruthe and I had sooo much fun! We did get there a day and a half late but Mom had adjusted the schedule where we didn't miss much. Before Clint and the boys left Sunday night we went out for some yummy pizza then took the them to Times Square and the M&M World as a special treat for braving the blizzard.
One of the things we missed was visiting Carlos' Bakery where TLC films the show Cake Boss. We surprised Brittany with a birthday cake from there and Ruthe and I were so thankful that they waited for us before eating the cake. It was amazingly delicious!
Monday was Ruthe's big day at the American Girl Place. Before our big trip to NYC some wonderful family from my parents church decided to bless Ruthe with her very own American Girl doll. They bought her the doll named Ruthie which made it even more special. This family wanted to remain anonymous so if you read our blog I want to say a big fat THANK YOU for your generosity. You made my little girl so very happy! She was absolutely hilarious in the store. There was so much to look at and to many things to chose from she did not know what to do with herself. Mom and I got a kick out of watching her run from one section to the next screaming with excitement over what she had just discovered. Because she was so stinkin' cute neither one of us could help ourselves from buying her lots of prizes for her doll. There was a trip to the hair salon, ears pierced, and outfits purchased.
The rest of our day was spent at Tiffany's, the Plaza, Macy's, Rockfeller Center, FAO Schwarz, a horse drawn carriage ride through Central Park, and the Empire State building. We made sure we timed our day just right so we could be on top of the Empire State building to see the sky line during the day, dusk, and evening. It was absolutely beautiful! We could see the Statue of Liberty and she looked so tiny from way up there. It was incredibly windy. Ruthe was almost blown over several times and when trying to take pics we could not help but crack up laughing about our hair blowing everywhere. After seeing NYC all lit up we headed back to the hotel to rest up for another day which I will share with you in the next post!

Happy Valentines Day

2010-02-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

On this day in 1996 – in the Burger King parking lot in Palatka, Florida, I very nervously asked Jennifer Goodwin if she would consider going out on a date with me. She said yes and now 14 years,9 houses, 4 kids, and 37,500 diapers later we are still loving every second of it. Happy Valentines day Jenny. You want to read more about her awesomeness check THIS out.

Sledding With Dad

2010-02-08T13:06:00.007-05:00

Above and below are Noah and his new buddy Brandon.

This is Izzy!
No children were injured in the making of these photographs.

An attempt

2010-02-06T16:36:00.002-05:00

My husband, in an attempt to win the "husband of the year" award, decided to drive us to NYC yesterday. We made it all the way to Laurel, Maryland before the storm got so bad we had to stop. At this moment, we are stuck in a Super 8 hotel with only junk snacks to eat. The snow has significantly slowed down and there is a glimmer of hope for getting out tomorrow. We may even be able to catch a bus to NYC.

P.S.
Clint definitely wins "husband of the year" award just for trying!

Moses bed at the hotel!

Our room on the 2nd floor!

Our lunch and dinner!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Please! Please! Please!

2010-02-04T21:59:00.003-05:00

Ruthe and I our New York City bound on Saturday! Well, that is if the snow does not mess everything up. We will be sooo very disappointed! Ruthe has been marking off her calendar for about a month and she has had her clothes packed for several days now. We are meeting up with my Mom and some very dear friends to celebrate a birthday. When people have asked Ruthe why she is going to NYC she tells them "for a birthday party!" Its hilarious and scary all at the same time because she sounds like some little rich snobby girl.

My Mom has the itinary all set and our course all mapped out. So please, please, please Mr. Weatherman let this be one of those times you are wrong and we only get 2-8" instead of the 20-28" of snow you are calling for!

Another Foot

2010-01-31T16:28:00.002-05:00

We got another foot of snow this weekend but the kids did not seem to have the same thrill and enthusiasm as with the last 2 feet. They eventually went out to play in it today but it didn't last very long.

Air n Space Museum

2010-01-21T20:34:00.002-05:00

We took a field trip with two other families to the Air n Space Museum in DC last weekend. We caught the metro in Springfield and rode to the Smithsonian stop where all 18 of us successfully got off. It was a short walk to the museum where we started on the top floor and worked our way down. The bottom floor was a bit rushed because it was close to closing time but the kids saw all the exhibits they requested. Some of the things my kids were intrigued with were Amelia Erhart and the Tuskegee Airmen. That probably has to do with them watching Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonians, however, they did enjoy reading and seeing more about those famous people.

Next month we hope to take a trip to the American History Museum!

Favorite pics

2010-01-07T00:10:00.003-05:00

I am in love with these two pics right now!!!

Is this a family reunion?

2010-01-06T09:05:00.000-05:00

Every year on the Saturday after Christmas, my Dad's family has a big Christmas lunch. Really its a christmas/birthday lunch since my grandmas birthday which is shared with my dad is two days after Christmas. Anyways, we all use it as a chance to get together and catch up. Noah asked me this year, "Is this like a family reunion?" and I answered him, "Well, I guess it is." The last couple of years my uncle has rented a huge moon bounce slide to entertain the children. It has become quite a hit with the young and the old.

Moses' 1st Christmas

2010-01-05T18:00:00.002-05:00

This Christmas was particular special to us since it was Moses' first. How did he spend his special moments you ask? Well, I'll show you because I got a great pic of him in action!

Moses and Micah meet

2010-01-04T20:06:00.003-05:00

While we were home for Christmas we finally got to meet my best friend in the whole wide world baby. I say finally because Micah is 9 months old now but he is as cute as can be. He will be walking before to long so watch out Amanda!