Jacelyn's birthday Party

We had Jacelyn's birthday party this past Saturday. Her actual birthday isn't until the 22nd but Carlie will be gone the whole weekend of her birthday. She had a "Beach Monkey" Luau party. We just served snacks that had a tropical theme to them. I made a fruit tray that had kiwi, strawberries, fresh pineapple, bananas, and mandarin oranges. I carved out a fresh pineapple and put canned mixed tropical fruit chunks in it. Then I got a coconut and cracked it open and put the fruit dip in it. (BTW, rotten coconut milk smells REALLY bad when leaked all over counter tops and kitchen floors). We also had tropical trail mix, colorful goldfish crackers, macaroon cookies, and tropical punch with pineapple in it. The kids got to make their own leis and monkey faces. The girls all got a grass skirt and EVERYONE got a lei! I made name tags for everyone with their names translated to Hawaiian. Mine is "Lala" which also happens to be one of the names that my nephews calls me (that or Yaya. lol). There was a 60% chance of rain but thankfully it held off until after the party was over! All of the kids had so much fun!

My little Lilo

We even had monkeys in the trees!

The food spread

Hoola Hoop Contest!

Getting ready to blow out the candles!

All the kids "helping" with the presents.

Jacelyn and her monkey friend.

He's Home!!!

This is my 100th post and I couldn't think of any better way to celebrate than to announce that my little nephew Keenan was able to go home with his mommy and daddy on Saturday at 4 weeks and 1 day old! My step sister said that their first night home was GREAT! She got the best Mother's Day present ever!

Pictures from Kris Allen parade!

My friend/co-worker was able to go to the Kris Allen parade/concert today. Here are some pictures! She said that he was in so much awe by the amount of people that were there and the support that he was receiving. They are saying there were about 13-15,000 people! She also said that it looked like he was having to fight back tears! Simon may be annoyed by his humbleness but I think someone like him is exactly what our children need for a role model! Be sure to watch and VOTE for Kris on Tuesday night!

Vote Kris Allen for American Idol!!!

Kris and his wife Katy

I know that everyone is sick and tired of American Idol. I was until this year when one of the top contenders turned out to be from my small home town! Kris goes to the same church as my boss and our receptionist. He is SUCH a great guy. I think sometimes on the show it seems like it's just an act but he really is genuinely caring and longs to help people. Kris leads worship at his church and on campus at University of Central Arkansas with Chi Alpha Campus Ministries. He has traveled on mission trips to Spain, Morocco, Thailand, Burma, Mozambique and South Africa. He can sing pretty much any genre and can play several instruments including guitar, piano, viola, and ukulele. I haven't had the pleasure of meeting him but from what I have heard from people who know him, he's the most nicest, humble, caring, giving, deserving guy ever. He is someone that any child would be able to look up to and want to be like. He is a great role model. If you don't already have a favorite to win, please vote for Kris. He is totally deserving of the title "American Idol".

Here is a story that someone from his church wrote about him from a mission trip to Thailand:

"We heard a story about Kris that we felt we just had to share. As some of you may know, Kris has been on mission trips across the world to Spain, Morocco, South Africa, Mozambique, Burma, and Thailand. While the most predominant story that has circulated on the internet has been Kris’s near death experience in Morocco when he fell gravely ill, this story is heart-warming and telling of Kris’s character. Please circulate this to your friends and family.Before traveling to Thailand, Kris decided that he wanted to bring along his new $700 guitar, a beautiful Takamine, that his parents had recently given him. Of course, Kris’s parents thought he should leave his prized-possession at home and go without this guitar. Promising to keep it safe, Kris chose to take the Takamine.During his trip across Southeast Asia, Kris managed to transport the guitar unharmed. But one day, Kris attended a worship service at a large refugee camp in Thailand. There was a local girl leading worship playing a guitar, though her guitar wasn’t compatible with the plug for the amps and most of the crowd had difficulty hearing. Without complete knowledge of why or what he was doing, Kris began to cry; and, feeling moved to act, he approached the stage and the girl. He laid down his guitar and plugged in his new, expensive guitar into the amp and walked away. Kris later called his parents, worried that they would be upset with him for having given away his new Takiname guitar. But, of course, the Allens were simply moved by Kris’s gesture and proud of the man they had raised. Now, on American Idol, Kris has received many free gifts from clothing designers and from the show, but none of which are more meaningful than a number of new, Takamine guitars."

The story was confirmed and looked over for validation by his campus minister who was also at the mission trip. He said: "The guitar that they had at the Karen refugee camp outside of Mae Sot Thailand was missing pegs and I think it only had 4 strings. Also, they were unable to tune it. Definitely a great story that speaks to Kris' character."

Bad words

We are still working on house breaking our puppy, Cooper. He peed in the girls bedroom floor and it was the WORST time for him to do it. Rick had been working crazy hours at work so I was pretty much a single mom that whole week. I was beyond stressed out and I had had enough of the girls AND the dog. As I was cleaning it up, Carlie walked into the room and said "What are you doing mom?" I told her "Cooper PISSED in the floor again and I'm cleaning it up!!!". Jacelyn then walked in and said "Piiiiiisssed OFF!" I glared at her and told her not to say that word and that mommy shouldn't have said it either. She looked right at me and said "Pissed". OMG!!! I taught my child how to cuss! I bet I win the Mother of the Year Award this year!

When we moved into the new house, the girls decided that they would rather share a room and then have a separate play room. A few nights ago, after I put them to bed, I hear Carlie saying "Mom, Jacelyn is saying a bad word". I was actually sitting down for the first time all night so I just yelled into the room "Girls, go to sleep! Jacelyn if I hear you say another bad word then I'm going to wash your mouth out with soap!!!". Carlie yelled in there again that Jacelyn was still saying a bad word and that she was getting on her nerves. lol. I muted the T.V. to see if I could hear what "bad word" Jacelyn was saying since she's a cusser now and all and so that I could decide if it was an actual cuss word that would require a good punishment or something like "crap". All I could hear was Jacelyn's little voice saying "bad word, bad word, bad word, bad word" over and over again! Ha! She wasn't even saying an actual bad word...she WAS saying bad word!