June

I hate that June is gone, but I enjoyed it with every fiber of my extra jiggly being. We spent a lot of time sleeping, and by a lot~ I mean about 10-12 hours a night. I needed this. I love it. It has renewed my soul! We also spent a lot of time at the pool, but not as much as last year, which is positive news for Jack's feet,and my mysterious patch of sun related freckles that appear each summer, in the form of a mustache on my face. Lovely.

It's been a stormy month, and I consider that a blessing. For starters we need the rain, but the constant clouds and pop up storms have helped my kids with their thunder storm fears. Jack is barely phased by storms at this point, and that is awesome beyond words. That brings me to another point....that boy has done some serious maturing this summer......and I speak for the whole family when I say........thank you JESUS!

The fact that I am able to take a photo of him standing in the rain speaks volumes about how much he has grown up recently. I love playing in the rain. It is something I have been known to do many times before, on a whim, just because. But Jack usually won't join me because the sheer thought of rain might mean, gulp....thunder and lightning. I was so pumped when Jack stopped paying his legos and decided to run outside and soak himself in the rain. And that's not all. He is swimming in the deep end (a battle I have fought for 4 years), riding a 2 wheeler, sleeping all night by himself (well, for the most part), acting so super cool and non chalant about serious Jack-isms, showering from start to finish on his own, making his own snacks and drinks, and cleaning up after himself without being told. I know these things are normal for a 7 year old, but we have really stuggled to get Jack to be independant. This is all an answer to prayer, and has they weren't normal for Jack. Not until this summer, and it has changed our everyday lives dramatically. We aren't battling every step of our day with him. We are just enjoying him. And let me tell you....to God be the glory!!!!!! We were at a really rough point with him when summer started and I fell apart in my closet one day inprayer, begging God to help him. AMEN. He did it. Prayers anwered. And over night I might say. God, thank you!!!!!! We are all so much happier now and enjoying everyday life like we haven't in years! Jack Jack even helped me put together most of this massive mountain lego machine, PATIENTLY.

And speaking of Legos.......this massive lego machine caused quite a stir this month. Jack spent 8 weeks earning his dream lego machine by showing good behavior (the only thing that has ever worked for Jack behavior wise is bribary.....he must have an incentive) and he finally filled up his chart last week, just in time to buy this massive thingy, and just in time for Eric's worst month this year and a vacation coming up~of course, right? And to make matters worse, when we started the reward chart before Spring break I agreed to buy him this monstosity not knowing it cost $120.00 and would take me 10 PLUS hours to put together. Never gain. We now agree to his reward gift based on cost and hours of operation.

We finally finished putting it together, 12 seconds shy of my 3rd nervous breakdown in 24 hours, and his happiness was worth it. I alomst downed an entire bottle of wine when it was all done. Three days later when Kaitlin was babysitting a little boy in our house, this lovely machine was ripped apart by a toddler.....and we got to put it together again. Oh JOY.

Even Bella couldn't believe the insanity.

It made us all very tired. But we are all loving the new Jack. He has had his moments, but he has certainly reached plethera of milestones, and I am LOVING IT. We all are.

I painted a LOT this summer. We re-did Kaitlin's room completely, and painted the walls in Eric and I 's room a beautiful shade of blue. Strangely enough, I have had many dreams of painting my walls blue this year. I finally did it, and it feels good.






We took a a short drive to visit PawPAw and Yaya and I couldn't believe their house and yard. I know my dad loves to garden, but I didn't know how good he has become at it! I decided that this is my new photography location. One of them at least. I've got some work to do on my settings but this place is gorgeous. And after almost 20 years of marriage, their house is almost done too! This is amazing. Really. I still have nightmares about living in an unfinished house...scars from my childhood. My dad loves to start projects and not finish before starting another. We lived on a contruction sight. My poor step mom inherited this via marriage and it has about driven her crazy! Yvette, thank you for not killing my dad. You are almost there!

He's just so shy. I worry.

Paw Paw and Yaya

Kaitlin made him this pot years ago, and I was happy to see he actually uses it!

Every angle of his yard is amazing. I was in hog heaven.....add in Yaya's spaghetti and I left with a stomach full of food and a camera full of photos.


Paw Paw was discusted with Jack's UGA shirt that he was wearing when we walked in, so he gave him one of his large GT shirts to replace the vulgarity. Jack has worn it to bed every night since he got it. It is HUGE on him, but he loves it. I love my little boy in a ginormous shirt that smells like my dad. ♥

Jack asked me to enter him in a contest on the Disney Channel for the Disney show Shake it Up. He has a huge crush on one of them girl dancers and wants to go to the set and meet her. He also wants to dance with her. He's been practicing his moves. He asks me every day if he won the contest. I am praying....

Man he looks just like Eric here.....

I found a boat load of pictures while we were painting my room....including my wedding negatives that have been missing for years! I came across the negatives to some of my all time favorite shots of the kids when they were little, before I went digital, and I had them all put on a disk. This is one of them, and it's going on canvas. Kaitlin was only 3 years old here. I am taking my top 9 favorite photos of all time and putting them on canvases for this big blank wall in my house. I can't wait until it's done. I found a website that will do a 16 by 20 canvas for 15.99!

I have been eye ball deep in photography books..... trying to start the process of fullfilling one of my dreams, and I'm finally feeling that spark again. I needed inspiration. I have been in a year long rut. I prayed for it. And I received it. And it came in the form of a side ponytail on a little brunette and a really good photography book.

I'm alive!!!!! I'm alive!!!!!

We ended the month with a bang (for me). Eric told me I could take the money out of savings to buy a Nikon D700, a 24-70mm 2.8 Nikkor lens, and some back drops and lighting equipment for my up and coming feaux-tog biz niss. . This news came as a shock to me, and I have to admit it redeemed him a little. A lot actually. He was in the dawg house. Now he's not. Funny how that works.

Now it's time for Hilton Head! We are leaving Saturday morning. Joe is keeping Bella at the house so we can rest knowing she is in good hands. I have really grown to love that spastic dog. She is Marley in every way, but I love her. She melts me.

buh by glasses!

and just like that....

she grew up.

tears formed in my eyes when I first saw these pictures all big and bright on my computer screen.

and it's not because she is so pretty, cuz we all know beauty is only skin deep....

♥ love this ♥

it's because of who she has become.

i love this girl so much....hands down the coolest girl i've ever met.

May

May was suppose to be awesome. It was suppose to be the perfect way to say goodbye to teaching, equipped with great weather, exciting kid events, and the anticipation of a long summer of relaxing at the pool and enjoying life. Obviously that wasn't the case. Losing Chad was heart breaking. It has certainly put a dark cloud over our world, and has coated every event with a layer of sadness. But life keeps going. We have two kids, and a jam packed schedule that always makes May a great bridge to June, because we are so tired from the month long race that we embrace summer with all we have. So we keep going. But we miss him. And we missed his "big reveal" Memorial Day weekend. And I keep thinking I see him everywhere, so I know he's with us in spirit. So Chad, here's to hangin with Jesus. Please tell Him thank you for everything. We miss you man!

So May continued, and I have desperately clung to every ounce of joy that my heart could soak up. I realize how short life is and how nothing really matters but Love. LOVE. So I want to give it. And I want to take it. So what did we do in May?

We taught Jack how to ride a bike.

....and he finally got it.

We enjoyed field days at school.....

(i love this picture....this is so Kaitlin)

an

and chillin at home...table style. Cuz why not?

We attended the kids Award's Days. Jack's class gave out one award per student, and the kids voted. Jack got the Sunshine Award. :) The look on his face is priceless. He loves his teacher, and he had a such great year. He made straight A's all year, and that includes BEHAVIOR!!!! Now if this isn't an answer to prayer, I don't know what is. Amazing how God can transform lives if we just ask. I am so proud of my little Red, and thankful to God.

Kaitlin's school offers awards in every academic and special area, and in usual Kaitlin style, she scooped um up like sand in a shovel.......and she had an audience, and we were beaming! What did she get?

Honor Roll

The Science Award

Outstanding Musician

Most Likely to Be Famous

Most Talented

Best Singer

Reflections State Runner Up (3rd Place- Music Composition)

Reflections County Winner (1st place- MC)

The Canton Optimist Club Honor

Citizenship Award

Leadership and Responsibility Award

I'm not kidding.....

And here I am.......surrounded by greatness.

The highlight of our Month was Relay for Life. Kaitlin had an opportunity to sing for a half hour at the Cherokee Relay, and she took it! She sang 5 songs.....2 covers and 3 of her own songs. She was so nervous, but she did AwEsOmE! She had a few friends come and support her, which made her night. Good friends are the ones who support you, the ones who are FOR you.....but I know that's hard to come by. I've always told Kaitlin that the only way to have that is to BE that. And that she is.

Jack had a ball running around with his posse, the P boys, who sadly moved to North Carolina last week. That was hard. We miss them badly!

Almost the grandparents came to cheer her on....thank you for that! Nana was on vacation and had to miss it, but she was there in spirit.

The girls made these shirts...I thought they were cute.

And that was the end of our May-hem. And so it was time to say goodbye......

goodbye to the famous 23.....my last class for many years. I will never forget this class as long as I live!

Goodbye to 5:30 a.m mornings, and way too much homework.

Goodbye to the cluttered chaos that becomes my house after just a few short weeks of school.

and Hello SUMMA!!!!!!!!

And even though we missed Chad and his big reveal, we did have a fun memorial day with friends.

I love this shot.....he is so cute in that hat!

Kaitlin sang a few songs for our guests. She has become a regular performer for almost all gatherings in the Stark Kitchen. Apparently she inspired others to break out some show tunes. This is Eric's boss.

This is Hayes. He is breathtaking isn't he?

This is Hayes' mom. She is not quite sure what Eric is doing.....maybe he thinks he is a baby whisperer? Do you see how uncomfortable her smile is? This picture speaks for itself. Need I say more?

We have joint custody of Carsyn this summer. Her brothers are in the major leauges so she spends a lot of time at our house. She LOVES the Stark kitchen. And we love her. She is a destructive little bugar. She like to paint things, color on things, break things, and hide things. Thing 1 and Thing 2......

These two are touble. They can trash the whole house in an hour, and they both melt down when asked to clean up. But they have fun, and summer is all about fun.

I love taking the kids night swimming. The pool is empty. The water is warm. And the sound of the water fall is so relaxing. Kaitlin and I have had some good talks poolside.

And so the kitchen concerts continue......

I am really concerned about Carsyn and Jack. They are so shy and unsure of themselves......

I mean really.

concerned....

Eric and I got a new duvet cover for our bed last month, and Bella doesn;'t like it. It's a down comforter, so I think she gets too hot. She has decided to start sleeping in Kaitlin's room. I was thrilled at first, but I kinda miss her snuggling with us. She uses her teeth to cover herself in blankets. Rotten I tell you! And here is a sneak peak at Kaitlin's new comforter. We re-decorated her room, and I love it. We still have some work to do, but I will post pics when it's all done.

This is a Kendoma. They come from Japan, and they have invaded our country. Every boy in our county has one, and they are awesome. I like that that they require hand eye coordination, they get the kids off the video games and moving, and they aren' easy to play with. There are all kinds of tricks to master so it doesn't get boring. Jack has 2 of them....going on 3. This one he painted himself....can you tell?

I thought I would end this post with this picture. Bella is in love with our neighbor's dog Hershey, so she often runs off and jumps into their back yard and gets stuck there. They play and have fun together, and the owners expect to find Bella there at least twice a week. She gets out because we don't have a fence, and we let her out to pee without a leash sometimes, and every now and then she darts off for Hershey's house. This particular time she decided to mud wrestle with Hershey. She wasn't gone 5 minutes and this is how we found her. It took an hour to clean her off because she is afraid of water, so we couldn't get out the hose and spray her down. I had to fill a bucket with water and wash her with wash cloths while holding her down. I was covered in mud when it was all said and done. Thanks B.