Update

Chad and I have still been hard at work paying down our debt.  If you remember, we started doing the Dave Ramsey method last year.  (Click here to see how we started.)  Well, we are not debt free yet, but we hit a major milestone.  We paid off the last of our consumer credit this weekend! We don't owe anything to any store or credit card company, the credit line has paid in full, and it feels great!  Honestly, we haven't been in this position since we bought our house.  Next, we are tackling the car and student loans, and the very last will be the house.  We still have a way to go, but we have made great progress! Yay!     

And, He Is Off!

The last few months Jack has been starting to stand and walk around things, teasing us that any day he could take off and walk, but didn't.  Well, the day has come and Jack is now walking.  It is so fun to see his joy at his new trick, even though he does seem to get into all kinds of trouble faster.  Like mascara, for example.  It was his absolute favorite thing to hold.  Too bad it didn't take him long to figure out how to twist off the cap and now I have to be careful that he doesn't see me using it so he will want it.  

Proof that he is walking.  I know that he had my mascara yet again, but I did not notice until the very end that he got the cap off.  Hence, why I quickly stopped the video, to stop him from getting another black mouth.  He is one tricky little devil.  I promise, he hasn't held the mascara since.:)

Not only mascara, he apparently can open my lotion too.  The other night while driving home he started to fuss and so I gave him my little lotion bottle to hold since he has never opened it, and low and behold, I turned around to see it all over his hands and face.  I guess I have underestimated him.  But let me tell ya, he smelled wonderful that night!

School is Out!

One big program and 2 graduations later, my kids are officially out of school. First, Keaton and the whole 2nd grade put on a very cool Patriotic program.  They sang all the America songs, and all had very short lines.  It was so great! I wish Chad could've taken off to see it with me.

I had to take a pic of Keek with his cute teacher, Mrs. Garner.  I don't know who liked her more, me or him.  She was such a great teacher and I do hope she is around for my other kids to have.

Then Sam had to wear his "fancy clothes" to school for his Kindergarten graduation.  He didn't want to wear a tie, and I thought he would probably take it off and lose it anyway, so this is as "fancy" as he got.  His program was very cute, and I was impressed at how well Sam knew the words.  He isn't usually one for singing.  Me, Chad, Jack, and Grandma and Grandpa Hunsaker were there for the ceremony.  Sam had a wonderful teacher too.  Her name is Mrs. McFarland, and I hope we get her again too.  I was so happy with the teachers we got this year.

Last but not least, my Emmi graduated from her first year of preschool.  She has one more year, and I am thinking next year I won't let her have gum in her mouth for the graduation.:)  Grandma "B" gave Emmi the gum if she would let her braid her hair as we were getting her ready, and we didn't think to have her spit it out at the program.  Emmi and cute Miss Amy.

Emmi and her best buddy Tawny, who unfortunately is going to Kindergarten next year. 

School is out.  Now what?

Yard Work

Yesterday we finally had a Saturday free to do some major planting and working in the yard.  While Chad was busy trimming and mowing the yard, I took a trip to my favorite nursery, Cook's Greenhouse, to buy my veggies and some more shrubs.  As much as my front yard needs work, I thought the backyard was much more deserving.  I was out working all day, digging stuff up, and moving things around, weeding and planting.  I have to admit though, all the hard work has paid off, and I am liking how it looks so far.

I wasn't happy with what I had planted against the house here originally, and bought these shrubs instead.  I love the color of the brown ones, especially, and hoping that in time they will grow nice and big.

It was really bare here against the fence last year, so I bought a new shrub, and moved 2 others over from the end of the yard to fill it in a bit.  Too bad it will take a couple years for them to really look nice, but already it is much better than before.

Most excitedly, I thought it was finally safe enough to plant my veggies.  This year I decided to plant zucchini, onions, peas, pumpkins, carrots, celery, cucumbers and 2 kinds of tomatoes, on top of my strawberries and raspberry bushes that come back every year.  Hopefully we will have a good crop.  I am going to be leaving much of the watering to my boys this year as part of their chores, so I guess we will see how that goes.

At this end of the yard we have been plagued with nasty weeds that just wont' die, but my friend Carolyn sweetly came by to help me dig them all up and start again.  I also didn't like what I had planted here before and took some things out.  Much better.  Now to work on the front and clean out the garage...

My Mother's Day

This  Mother's Day,I got spoiled.  Not only did I get fun gifts from my mom and mother-in-law, but I got bombarded at home with gifts and cards from Chad and  the kids.  Maybe because I have 3 now in school, or maybe because I have 4 kids total, but I got more things than usual this year.  It was a sweet, sweet day, and I cherish these little gifts.  This first picture Sam brought home from school for me to open.  It is actually based on a Picasso painting that is almost identical.  This one I am planning to frame.

Keaton made this little card for me at Church.  You can't beat the picture of the two of us at the top, and that the card is done in his own handwriting.  So sweet.

To go along with Sam's picture, he made this card at school as well.  I love that he tried to write my name on the top of the card, even though he forgot a letter.:) 

On the inside was this info about me.  It is funny how much you learn about yourself from what your kids say about you.  For instance, all the notes the kids have ever brought home have said that I like to clean.  Hmm... maybe all they see me do is clean?  Since I have 4 little mess makers, not sure what can be done about that.

Keaton brought me home this beautiful wooden plantar from scouts last week.  I am so impressed that he drilled it together, painted it, planted the flowers himself, and I love that I can use the box every year and it will remind me of him.

 Emmi also made this cute keepsake in preschool for me.  It already has found a home out in my garden.

And last but not least, Chad brought me home beautiful roses the night before. (Yes, now they are pretty much dead, but I still wanted to acknowledge his gift).  Believe me when I say that when he brought them home they were indeed beautiful.  He had all the kids sign the card too. Like I said, I got spoiled.

Jack is 1!

Last Mother's Day I got a wonderful gift, the birth of my 4th child, Jack Brent.  Not only did I get out of making dinner, I got meals brought to me, and special one-on-one time with my brand new baby.  It was the end of another great pregnancy, and very slick delivery.  It still amazes me to think that I went in to the hospital to be induced at 10:00 a.m., and he was born at 2:00 p.m., when at the time it felt like it was taking forever.  Then after delivery, we realized that his face was bruised and a moment of panic and concern for all of us.  The nurses reassured that it was just from his positioning in the womb, and we were able to relax.  We still hadn't confirmed his name, but my mom, Chad and I decided that it should be Jack.  I will never forget later on that afternoon when my family arrived, and Chad told my dad that his middle name is Brent after him, the surprised/happy look on his face.  It was priceless.

I love this first picture.  It is the first moment that I got to hold him, and look at his face.  I also love that my mom is in the picture as well.  She was there for the deliveries of each of my 3 boys.  (Emmi came too fast in the early morning for her to arrive, but she was on her way).  I have never regretted asking her to be there with us.  Each time I didn't feel like I was really ready to have the baby until she arrived.  It also makes me sad to think that these experiences are over for me.  They have been the best days of my life, and ones that I will always cherish.  I think it is very fitting that he was born on Mother's Day weekend, because moments like these, are what it is all about.

As is tradition, I am following this with pictures representing Jack's growth this past year...

One Month Old

Two Months Old

Three Months Old

Four Months Old

Five Months Old

Six Months Old

Seven Months Old

Eight Months Old

Nine Months Old

Ten Months Old

Eleven Months Old

Twelve Months Old

Jack now has 6 teeth, only a little skiff of hair, and still big blue eyes.  He is an expert crawler and stander, and can take a few steps if he wants to.  He LOVES his brothers and sister, and is almost constantly being toted around by one of them.  He hates it when they all go outside to play and sits crying by the door until they come back.  He also loves his Mama, and loves to give me lots of squeezes, but he also gets a big smile on his face when his Papa gets home from work too.  He is a noisy little guy, and is constantly making some type of hum or sound, which does make it easy to know where he is at.  How we love our little "baby bear."  

Happy Birthday Jack!

Emmi's 4th Birthday

Yesterday, Emmi was the birthday girl.  Chad and I had spent the night before up in Midway celebrating our anniversary, but we hurried home so we had enough time to make the day special for her.  Funnily enough, she wanted to go to Chuck-A-Rama for dinner, because the boy's got a free meal coupon from school and heard it was a buffet, so they convinced Emmi that that is where she wanted to go.  She went thinking they would have watermelon,which is her favorite, and sadly they didn't, but she took it okay. In fact, all of the kids ate and ate and ate, and I don't think it will be the last time they ask to go there.

Since it was such a nice day, we also took to the kids to a fun park, and it was the first day our snow shack opened for the summer, so even as full as we all were, the kids demanded we stop and get one on the way home.

I can't tell you how grateful I am to have my Emmi.  How much I look forward to the years ahead, and hopefully having as good as a relationship with her that I have been fortunate to have with my own mom.  She is our little princess through and through.  If I was to describe her personality, I would say she is a tiny little ball of sweetness, with a huge helping of feisty.  But, she has to be feisty to survive in a house full of 3 brothers.  We love our little sister mouse. 

It is also my niece, Lauren's birthday on Wednesday, and she is 1 year older than Emmi.  The girls got to exchange gifts tonight.  Aren't they cute?  They are such good friends, and me and Abby love it. 

Happy Birthday cute girls!