My sweet munchkin McKynsie is 7 months old today! Time sure has flown by! Hard to believe we will be planning her "1st Birthday" party shortly! We realized last night that she has a top tooth ready to make an appearance soon, which would explain the crankiness when she is left alone and not given attention. She is now rambling "da-da" and what sounds like "blah-blah-blah," and today I am quite certain she said "ma-ma!" (So far it was just one time, but it is still so exciting!)

Anthony is home sick from school today thanks to allergies and what is hopefully only a little cold/flu. He is in bed resting. It is quite hard keeping all 3 of the kids at a lengthy distance so this little sickness does not spread throughout to us all. Mother Nature and her being "bi-polar" this time of year is to blame. We had the heat on two nights ago, and the air on last night. That is as close to a season change as we get here in Florida :)

Madison is Madison...always has you smiling, laughing, pulling your hair out and on your toes! All signs that she is a perfectly normal child :) Other than that, all else is well for us. Hope you had a nice Valentine's Day full of lots of love! Until next time...xoxo!!!

"A good life is when you assume nothing, do more, need less, smile often, dream big, laugh a lot and realize how blessed you are."

She loves her Valentine's pillow from Nana & Pop!

What a chore getting them to all look at the camera at one time!

2012 has been very kind to our family and because of that, we will be enduring many great milestones this year! Anthony will be entering his “double digit” years turning ten, as well as entering the fifth grade, Madison will be starting Kindergarten, and McKynsie will be celebrating her FIRST birthday this summer!  But for me, the frosting on the cake is my upcoming birthday…the turning the big…3-0!

It is because of this milestone birthday that I have decided to start this blog. I have been not only blessed, but trusted to be the caretaker of not one, not two, but three beautiful and amazing children. My best friend Gina passed away in 2001—that was before she got to celebrate her 18^th birthday, graduate high school, go to prom, find her true love, get married, have children…all things I am thankful to say I have had the privilege of experiencing. Life is so precious and it should never be taken for granted. I am trying with all my ability to live life to its fullest and look at the “glass half full,” rather than just “half empty.” I find myself trying so hard to soak in every moment with the kids, realizing just how brittle life really is and how quickly time zooms past us. No matter how bad we want to hang on to the time, it still slips out of your hands and is out of your control.

Everyday, as I hold onto McKynsie singing her favorite song, “You Are My Sunshine,” watching her grin from ear to ear, it excites, yet saddens me to see her growing out of my arms. Just six short months ago you could hold her in the palm of your hand, or as my brother’s infamous pose with my kids when they were babies—like a football, doing the Heisman pose.  Now, she fusses when you try to hold her like a baby. She wants to sit upright, just proving how big she is quickly getting! On January 22, 2012 her first pearly white poked through on her bottom gums…then a day later, her second tooth…then the following day she decided she could maneuver around, no longer limiting herself to just her belly or her back—she started crawling and is quick as can be! Her favorite spot to go to is at the back glass door where she props one arm on the door to peak out at what is going on outside. What a great, yet exhausting week!

Madison…that little girl can wear you out just by having a conversation with her—she holds that much energy! She says the funniest things at time and hopefully I will be able to capture some of those moments and share with you, through this blog. For instance, this past weekend, Justin took Anthony & Madison outside to ride their bikes and play. To try to convince them it was time to come in, I said we can go in for ice cream “sundae’s.” Well, Ms. Maddie didn’t want an ice cream Sunday, she said, “how about a Monday?” It’s little times like that that you just want to savor—she can always make us smile and laugh.

As for Anthony, he is growing into a handsome little guy. He still is in the lead for top Accelerated Reader in his class. This is a position he has firmly held since the 1^st grade. The class’ goal was 8 points, and because of how well he was doing, his goal was 30! Now, in semester 2, he has well over 70 points. We are very proud of him. He has such a big heart and is genuinely a great kid. Right now, he has all A’s and B’s (some B’s seem to be slipping), but he is working on bringing them up and has a great incentive to work towards…visiting N.J. for his birthday/summer!

I will do my best to update this blog as regularly as the kids, work and life’s in betweens will let me. This blog will allow our family, especially those through the miles, to see what has been going on in our home. I will end this blog with one of my all-time favorite quotes from a song that I find so much meaning in the words (hence the name of the site)…until next time…many xoxoxo to you from us!!!

“Be a best friend, tell the truth, and overuse I LOVE You…
Go to work, do your best, and don’t outsmart your common sense.
Never let your praying knees get lazy, and LOVE like CRAZY!!!”