A tribute to my husband and our marriage

Kirk lost his arm just about 7 yrs ago (actually in just 3 more days), so now there are lots of things I have to do for him and even though I have to do them now (because there is no way he can do them), I still do them for him with love. I have to tie his shoes, cut his meat (usually in restaurants we have special knives here at home), hold things for him while he is working on them and the list goes on. It's doing it out of love and not because I am required too. We'll be married 20 yrs in Feb and we've been through more than most folks in a marriage, and we are still going strong because we work out of love for each other at it each and every day. You have to learn to adjust to the new things a marriage brings you and be thankful for the beautiful things that brought you together in the first ... you usually find even more beautiful things that bond you together as you grow together in your marriage.

Feeling Old Today

Today my "lil" Reggie-Roo-Roo turned Sweet 16. Where in the world has the time gone? I remember when I was her teacher in daycare and she was only about 23 months old. She was so drawn to me and we formed such a bond. She was in my class for over a year. I was the lead 2 yr old teacher in the room. She got to the point where she didn't like when it was time for me to go home, she would try to go home with me. Sometimes she succeeded and did get to go home with Ms. Rae-Rae (that was her name for me). We had fun together. In about October of the following year the director started moving Reggie-Roo-Roo up to the 3 yr old room without her parents knowledge or permission. Of course since this was my job and I couldn't afford to loose it, I really couldn't tell her folks how often this was happening (in about 4 to 5 wks time she was in that class every day even though she wasn't 3 yrs old yet). The director said that part of the reason she was doing it was because of Reggie-Roo-Roo's attachment to me. You see, not only did I care for her at daycare but I also became her families primary sitter. So she did spend sometime with me and of course she formed a bond with me, which was natural. Well, one day the world exploded in the 3 yr old room so to speak. The teachers in that room watched Reggie-Roo-Roo walk back and forth across the room with cassette tape after cassette tape and up into the loft with each of them. They never got up to see what the child was doing until about her 18th or so trip. When they did get up to investigate, they discovered that she had been pulling the tape out of the cassette tapes. She ruined alot of them. The lead teacher was furious. She stormed into the office and called Reggie-Roo-Roo's mom at work demanding that she replace all the cassettes. The first question out of the mom, was why was her daughter in the 3 yr old room and not her own classroom? Well this opened up a big ole can of worms so to speak. I was to work for the family that night, I was invited over for dinner prior to them leaving. We were sitting around the table and the mom blurts out (I don't think she had talked to the dad about it first) that she wants to know if I would be willing to come and work for them full time as the childrens Nanny. Hmmm, not a big choice for me. I would have to take a slight pay cut but it was worth it to me ... 1 set of parents to answer to instead of 24 plus parents, 1 assistant director, 1 director, 1 regional director and the government official who come and check daycares out ... basically a win, win for me. I said yes right away. I start at the beginning of the New Year (which was just over a few weeks away from the time I was asked). Being Reggie-Roo-Roo's and Conman's Nanny was very life changing for me. It taught me so much and I loved every minute of it. I worked for them until Reggie-Roo-Roo went into the 1st Grade (she turned 3 just a few weeks after I became her Nanny). Reggie-Roo-Roo is now officially able to be licensed driver & Conman is 18, a Senior in High School, a licensed driver and is headed off to college in the fall. Since I am sharing about my Nanny Families, I worked for a second family. They overlap each other for a little bit because the 2 moms worked with each other. I cared for both families in the 1st family's home for the most part during the overlap period. My "Ee" is now 12 (he'll be 13 soon and in Jr. High, I started taking care of him when he was 18 months old). There was about a year that I didn't care for him but then he came back to me. His little sister "Jj" was only a months old when I started caring for her. Today she is 10 and such a sweetheart.

Edward's 7th Birthday at T-Rex Cafe with the Kimmel Family

What a Birthday Face!

Randy and Jj, being silly

Edwards best Dino Roar Face!

Here Comes the Birthday Dessert (the Chocolate Extinction)

Lighting of the candle!

Preparing to enjoy his Birthday Dessert

Ee and Jj digging for Dinos

Edward dino diggin

Blasting a Dino Skeleton (he got a Triceratops)

Ee, Edward and Jj...all so grown up!

We met up with the Kimmel Family at T-Rex Cafe in Kansas City for Edward's 7th Birthday celebration. It was so great to see them and spend the evening with them. The kids had so much fun. None of my babies, are babies anymore!

Edward's Trip to Great Wolf Lodge

The Birthday Loot!

Coming down a waterslide

Surfing on the snake in the pool area

The Great Wolf Lodge Water Tower (it dumps every 5 minutes...gallons of water)

Going down the Lazy River with Daddy

The Obstacle Course, this was Edward's favorite thing

Posing for a picture with Daddy

Posing for a picture infront of the Great Wolf Lodge Wildlife Display

Hanging Out in the Kid Kamp Room!

We took Edward to the Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City for this 7th Birthday. We stayed in one of their Kid Kamp Rooms. It was a weekend all about him. I think that he had fun....well he at least seemed to be having fun.

Christmas 2009

Our Fireplace Mantle decorated for Christmas

Edward infront of our tree Christmas Morning
(the gate is to prevent Lollipop from destroying the presents)

Our Mantle Christmas Morning...stockings for all.

Edwards stockings (yep 2)

Edward opening his gift from Grandma Bev, trust me he needed this.

A Great gift for him, he had been eyeing them everytime we went to the store.

Edward opening his gift from Nana.

A homemade blanket. He loves it, it's one of his favorite snuggle blankets.

Opening his big gift from Mommy and Daddy

A Flat Screen with DVD player....lucky duck he got the first flat screen in the house.

So Sweet!

Took these last night. Two very tuckered out little people! Need I say more?

Gingerbread House

So excited about building our first Gingerbread House together

Chef Edward

All the components laid out.

laying the "glue" for the walls

Four Walls Up!

Look Mom red hands!

Finalized House (didn't stand for long)

Enjoying the fallen house!

Hangin' With Grandma Bev

Playing with the Playmobil Egyptian Playset with Grandma Bev

Playing with Grandma Bev and the Egyptian Playset

Building a birdhouse with Daddy

hammering the the nails into the birdhouse

Daddy making sure that the nails are set nice and tight

Painting the birdhouse with Grandma Bev

Grandma Bev doing some painting

Edward directing the painting Grandma Bev is doing

Autumn

This is the tree out front of our house. I just love when it is in is full fall coat. This year (maybe because we are all home sick with the H1N1 Flu) I remembered to get a picture of it before all it's slender was gone and on the ground. God is just so great and this is a wonderful way for him to remind us of how much He loves us and is in control.

Look Mom, A Mustache

Edward got this "mustache" from a vending machine, you know the kind that you get plastic rings and tatoos from. Just had to take a picture of him wearing it. To cute!

The 2009 Kansas State Fair

Edward had so much fun at the fair this year. He was able to do a lot of hands on activities which just thrilled him to pieces.

There was a barn where you could do some hands on activities and Edward decided to shovel up some hay into a wheelbarrow.
There was a construction site set up for children to do hands on construction related activies. It was the neatest and most educational thing that I have seen at the fair in a long time for children of about all ages. Edward is checking out the drill and learning how to use it (little did the man know that Edward already knew how to use it...LOL!)

Screwing screws...this is cool, must go home and try it (and trust me, he did).

Learning to get the aim just right.

Driving a remote control front loader.

Driving a Simulator and learning how to work a back hoe.

Helping to build a play house for a children's center. He even got to sign a plague that will be hung by it there.