A new family member

Welcome Roxy! Another boxer always = another mess. We are in love with this lil girl but I tell you she is "my baby".

Catch up blogging

Wow six months since my last post. Can we say I suck at blogging? Well, Luke finished the first grade. He loved Buddy League baseball. Greg helped coach his team while Aniston and I cheered from the stands. She loved the ballfield and boy did it get hot. Meanwhile, Summer flew by and I still don't know where it went. Luke was ready to go to the 2nd grade. They have really been getting on each other's nerves so I was ready for some peace and quiet also. Luke is a great big brother but like to aggravate lil sister every now and then.

Aniston recently got her hair trimmed and she is always into girlie stuff. She turned 3 years old. Wow, where has that time gone? She had a great little party with family and got wonderful gifts. She was so cute opening them. She would say, This for me?" I loved the innocense. She is still a momma's girl that is for sure. She is pretty sassy also! I sometimes love her spunk and am embarrassed by it others. She will start 3 year olf preschool in a couple weeks. She will go 3 1/2 days. I am excited because it is all she talks about. Poor teachers!

We are currently talking about me doing some part time work. I have mixed feeling about it. I look forward to adult interaction but not the worry about what we will do when the kids get sick. Also, I like being the one who takes care of everyone in the house. I know the right opportunity would be a good thing for me as well as the rest of the family. Funny how people like to weigh in on when you should go back to work.

Here are a few pics from the last six months!

Random thoughts of being a mother......

This is a hard job, very hard some days. Although it is hard to explain, it is like having a "work" job outside the home. You have good days and bad days. I LOVE my job there is nothing else in the world that can compare to the hugs and kisses I get all through my working day. But, there are times that I long to watch a TV show alone. Actually, I would like a whole day to say in my PJ's and watch Lifetime Movie Network all day. These kids don't take away from my world- they are my world. Talking with other Moms I have come to understand that I am far from a perfect Mom but I hope one day they have great memories of us playing together and having fun. Aniston's schedule has been nuts lately, there is no schedule. At 1 am this morning we were dancing on my bed to songs on my phone. It was hysterical! At one point I thought if Greg walks in here he will think I have lost my mind!! Some would say it wouldn't be along trip. HaHa. As a child growing up my Mom wouldn't let me sit on the bed much less jump on it! Times are different, parenting is different.

After the fun was over around 2 this morning and I looked at Aniston as she was falling asleep I was sad. My mind drifted to the thought of having a 7 yr old asleep in another room who would be up in a few hours and off to 1st grade. My, time rolls by fast. I laid awake thinking of all the ways life has changed since being a Mom. There is a thing called mother's intutition. You sense when something is not right with your child, you feel there pain, you know you are needed. When Aniston was born and I had my hysterectomy it was bittersweet. I was thrilled to live a life without pain for the first time I could remember. I was happy to think I wouldn't have to think of the struggle of infertility and trials in getting pregnant. I also would never again face the pain of giving a new life growing inside of me up to heaven before we got to meet here on earth. I don't give thanks enough for this blessing of experiencing the journey of motherhood.

With every pregnancy before Aniston I have known I would have another child. That time I knew she would be our last chil. As I neared the end of that pregnancy I found myself feeling a bit like a kid anxious for what may be her last Christmas, at least for a very long time.

To me, the labor and delivery experience is so miraculous and wonderful and magical. It is like Christmas- double exciting when I had my first child on Christmas. There is the wonder and excitement of meeting your child face to face. It is like opening the most incredibly beautiful, wonderful,present ever.

There were so many reasons I was glad to move on from this child bearing stage of my life. And yet, now I wish I could do it again! That is until Aniston is brat tomorrow when she wakes up and I once again feel as though I should be wearing a name tag and an apron!

For friends that are waiting to be blessed through adoption or fostering, please send up a prayer for them.

We have a 7 yr old!

Luke shares his birthday with Jesus and he is fine with that. He had his actual party a couple weeks ago at the Sports Training Center. He had about 12 little boys there to celebrate with him. We are so proud of Luke and his giving heart. He includes everyone and considers the feelings of others. He is like any other 7 yr old boy in that he gets wild and doesn't always mind. But, we simply could not have been blessed with a sweeter child. His birthday is always a little sad to me because he is growing up so quickly. He loves for me to tell him the story of how he was born on Christmas and showed up too early. I know one day he won't be interested in hearing all of this but for now his is and that's great! Happy birthday big guy we love you!

The Holidays

We had a wonderful Christmas. Once again we began our celebration at Big Cedar. The kids had a super fun time. That place is magic during the holidays. Actually, all the adults enjoyed themselves as well. Aniston got sick during the night on our last night there, so she was a little puny for all the celebrations. We celebrated with Greg's family on Christmas Eve. We celebrated with my parents on Christmas Day.

Luke is doing great in school. He is looking forward to baseball starting. Actually, he has (I think) decided to skip playing soccer. It is hard for a few weeks when it overlaps baseball games. And, 2 practices a week while still in school is hard as well. I think the biggest reason is that he can't participate in a school sponsored basketball in the Fall. He is also wanting to play Flag Football and maybe Fall Baseball. At some point they have to decide. We are fine with his decision.

Aniston is potty trained. Well as of right now not totally #2 trained... but hopefully very very soon. Two days after Christmas she said she would use her potty and wear panties and she did. The previous two attempts at "potty camp" were ruthless. They left her and her Mommy very frustrated. She is talking so much more and learning new things everyday. She loves going to pick up Luke from school and see the kids when we visit. She has matured a whole lot in the last couple months.

Jemma- is big about 35 lbs right now and she continues to be wild and pupply like. She is great fun and the kids love her. We had snow last week and she loved playing in it with the kids. I am so glad we have her to brighten our days!

Luke turned 7 on Christmas and that is just unreal. Time sure does fly by and too quickly. Aniston was 2.5 on the 11th of Jan. They are lots of work and extremely frustrating at times. But I could not image life without either of them!

Happy 2011 everyone!

JEMMA

This little Boston Terrier/??? Mix walked into our lives a short time ago but has already won our hearts. She is known around here affectionately as "big dumb dog" by Greg and I. She jumps on the slide then goes down it. She brings something wonderful to my broken heart. There is nothing like puppy breath. If she keeps going we wont be able to pick her up the next time I post. She is 10 lbs and doubled her weight in 2 weeks. She is also expensive but aren't they all. Adopting a pet has been awesome and I wouldn't change a thing about it! Instead of us taking care of her I think it is the other way around. We love her.

A catch up in "The House of Potts"

Thanks for the emails wondering if I am alive... I AM.

I am so way far behind blogging so I will give a quick catch up.

Luke is doing wonderfully in 1st Grade. We LOVE LOVE LOVE his teacher. You know, a teacher is so important in these early years.. they teach morals, values, addition, subtraction, reading. All the things our kids need to survive. It is such a comfort to know that he has a super teacher to look out after these things while I am away from him. We had parent/teacher conferences last week and he had all A's. Not sure his sister will fare the same academically!

He is about to finish up the Fall soccer season. This year is the same as years before... we are ready for it to be finished about the time it does! Ready to not have to be somewhere every Saturday morning. Can I just brag here a minute about Luke? He has the biggest heart (most of the time) and is always making things for his Dad and I. He is always thinking of us while he is at school (or so he claims). He is the greatest big brother in the world. I realize how BIG he has gotten and how much he has matured. He will always be my taterbug:(

Aniston-- Well she is the same- beautiful as ever and talking more. YES- she still has a bad attitude and I worry we will follow her to juv hall one day. She is so strong willed and so so so.... RUDE most of the time. You have to make her say please and thank you. You have to beg for kisses most days! Aahh, but she has brought so much to our family and we are all in love with her (well maybe her cuteness). She is routinely spanking her babies and toys.I am saying these thing about her and I am her fav person so imagine how others feel:)

Me- I am volunteering some at school and loving it! I wish I could be there more but Aniston is so wild that some days I question why I do what I do.

Greg-- Busy with work and Deer Hunting so far no deer heads on my walls and that my friends....is a good thing.

Sad News-- I type this with tears rolling down my cheeks Rudy is now in Doggie Heaven chasing mail people and bitting their ankles. He has been gone over two weeks and for me the pain is as bad as it was when I found his lifeless body in the backyard. But, we are all moving on and it breaks my heart. There was a point in my life that he was my best friend. He was my dog and after 10 years it is hard to believe he is no longer with me. I will give "Jemma" her very own post- she is our new pound puppy. Well, she is really Luke's and he takes way better care of her than most 6 yr olds would. She has cost us a small fortune in a short time.

I will make a promise to update more in the future.

Destruction by AniPoo

Aniston has struck again with the remote control. This time Luke was her victim. He has a knot on his forehead, a bruise, and a small cut. He cried and so did she. She cried because of the spanking she got from daddy:( She needed it because she is out of control. I see a juvie future for her!!! An ice pack and he was on the road to recovery.

First Grade

So, we made it through the first week of first grade! Luke cried a little the first morning which really shocked Greg and I both. Actually, the big shocker was that I did NOT cry for the first time in....oh.... 4 years when dropping him off. Now, I have not ever cried in front of him.

He is loving school once again and enjoying having friends to play with and the snow cones rock! I am happy about once again having a routine down. I just wish Miss A. would cooperate and go to bed like a good girl! Then, I could have a couple hours to myself. I am not liking trying to potty train her or getting up early. Especially after long nights.

Luke went in late to school yesterday because he had to have his yearly allergy testing. This year he was ONLY allergic to 47 out of 50 things. YEA Whoo Hoo!! Just kidding. He was allergic to too much for shots because it would take about 5 yrs to build up an immunity to all those things. So we are trying bumping him up to adult doses of Claritin, Zyrtec, Singular, Patanase, Omnaris, and a new med called Alvesco. We are hoping for good results as is our bank account!

I have been having a steady stream of interest in my photography photos. I have a couple newborns on the books for when they arive. I am loving it!! I entered a photo of Aniston (which is probably my fav that I have even taken of her) in a NWA based contest. There were over 3500 entries and we placed 5th. There were no prizes for 5th and I REALLY wanted that camera for first. But, I was happy to have placed that well.

Greg is still up to work and working at school to get in our volunteer hours. He stays very busy with those things. But, he has been looking forward to deer season and taking Luke out in the woods some.

My photo blog:

www.julieslens.blogspot.com

Summer is just about over

I take Luke tomorrow to drop off school supplies he is a 1st grader. Oh my where has the time gone? I felt so sorry for him over the weekend. I was missing him and went to his room. He was on his bed watching TV looking all pitiful. I asked what was wrong. He went into a story of how sad he was that he didn't get to go anywhere fun or do some of the things he wanted this summer. Some of that was because of the weather being so hot. I reminded him of some fun things and he felt better then. He has had lots of time with Papa, time with his cousins, and lots of video game playing. He seems so grown up at times and I have found myself missing my little boy. However, he has asked me for biscuits and gravy a bunch this Summer-just like when he was little. It makes me happy to see his goofy grin when I say sure I will make you biscuits and gravy.

Aniston went for her 2 year well child visit. She has regained all and some extra weight from her surgery. She was 80% in height and right under 40% in weight. She checked out well. I need to commit to potty training. I honestly think I am struggling with letting go of diapers... I know crazy huh? But that will end all things "baby". She is doing her 2nd pageant tomorrow night and it should be lots of fun.

Everything is else is the same nothing new to report! I have been doing some photos for people this Summer and am very excited where that path seems to be taking me. I have a separate blog for that www.julieslens.blogspot.com

A few Pics

Blog Guilt

Yes I have it! It has been about 6 weeks since I have updated. So I will do a catch up post then a photo post.

Luke- Finished Spring Soccer and had a blast. At least we didn't have a bunch of rain outs to make up. Started T-Ball which actually overlapped Soccer. His last game will be tomorrow night. He has been great this season. I love watching him play. Greg has been an assistant coach again this year. They only have 6 games so season goes by really fast. Luke has enjoyed the batting cages and that practice has really helped him. I am looking forward to next Spring.

He lost his second tooth exactly 7 days after his first. He was very excited. He is enjoying riding his new bike and it is shocking how good he is at it too.

He graduated from Kindergarten- I don't have any photos yet because I couldn't manage a camera and Aniston (more on that below). Also he received a 50 pt AR award which means over 100 books were read since January. Some he was able to read entirely and some we read to him. He was tested on every one of those!


Dad- just working and helping with Luke's activities. He had a business trip and the kids, my friend, and I had a good time while he was away.

Mom-same stuff here. I did complete an on line camera class and managed to walk away with a few awards which landed me free tuition!

Aniston- she has had lots of activity. She seemed to be sick the entire winter with ear infections or some type of tonsillitis or fever--- constantly. She had her tonsils and adenoids out on March 24th along with PET Tubes for her ears. We discharged to soon and ended up being readmitted two days later. Which was the afternoon of Luke's graduation. Once again we got dehydrated and had to readmit for a third time. What a rough road for our little Mouse! She is currently suffering with a sinus infection right on the heels of recovering from surgery. We pray this ends soon and our sweetie returns.

She loves "mouse minnie" or that is what she calls her anyway. I can't believe she is 23 months old. Man time has flown. Many days I wish her back to a baby and some I look forward to college! I cried at Luke's graduation those kids were so precious. His teacher cried and that was moving. We realized during Aniston's illness how fortunate we were to have Luke in a school where they prayed for all of us every day. Parents emailed to ask how she was. We believe in the power of prayer! Luke did so well being shuffled during the hospitalizations. I stayed with Aniston and Greg and my Mom rotated being with me. Greg worked as much as possible. This surgery was very difficult because of her age but was necessary. We are also very fortunate to have a world famous Children's Hospital 35 minutes away.

She is stringing words together now and says, "I see you" and "do own self" quite a lot. Also, she says "get away" and "go" to her brother when he bugs her.

Hopefully, this caught you up on A HOUSE OF POTTS!

Lil Miss Priss

Miss Sassy Pants is high maintenance. She has been sick for over a month. Her being so demanding is getting annoying especially in the weee morning hours. She will say, "Mama cup, Mama pa-pa, Mama nuggle, Mama kiki one right after the other. When I can't get it to her quick enough she yell ok ok ok. I try to keep her at bay since the boys are sleeping which is not easy sometimes. She is talking more and more and I must say she has the sweetest voice!

All about Luke

It has been an exciting couple of weeks for Luke! He earned his 25pt. award for Accelerated Reading, learned to ride his bike with no training wheels, and lost his first tooth! You are growing up way to fast buddy.

The sad that brings joy!

A friend suffered a miscarriage this morning. She called me not long ago devastated. I didn't even know that she was pregnant. She knew I would understand. And, that I do. I hung up thinking about her saying she hopes soon she won't hurt- but that never totally goes away. In a few days I will wake up and realize that it is my Angel's due date. I will feel very sad even though it has been 2 years. No one will even remember but me. Many times I have wondered why it still makes me sad when I have Aniston. I wouldn't have her had that baby survived. But, what I know now is that no matter how brief that baby was a part of me, Aniston never has or never will replace that child in my heart. Although between Aniston and Luke there is much joy in my heart!

Turn Off the TV

For the last 10 days L. has not watched TV, played video games or used his Spongebob Laptop! We are extrememly proud of him. This was all part of a school program. Kids could participate but it was not required. At the end, if your parents sign off that you did stayed away from all the above you get a huge prize. I hear the prize if a Luau outside and you get a 2 hr recess! Sounds good huh? Oh, you also get to eat lunch outside. Greg and I were talking this morning about how hard this is. Also, we did crafts each day to fill up some of the time. Our weather here in AR has been beautiful and that helped. GOOD JOB LUKE!

What a great Easter we had! The weather wasn't quite as sunny as predicted but at least it wasn't raining in cold. That Easter Bunny really outdid herself this year! She showed up a day early and brought both kids perfume/cologne, crocs, sunglasses and some of the usual junk. We went to Mass in Morrilton so we had to get up early. I always enjoy being there though. The kids were looking forward to playing at Noni and Papas. The had 3 egg hunts. First, Papa's. Second, Uncle Robert's and lastly at Aunt Joy's. We all had a great day. It was very special to hear Luke talk about why Easter is special. He loves his Jesus!

Back from Spring Break Vacation

We had a great few days in Memphis, TN. The kids were very well behaved and we crammed lots of fun activities in. We went to the Children's Museum to meet Spongebob! Aniston was not afraid at all and kept saying Bob over and over. We spent a few hours there cause there was so much neat stuff. Luke got to be a bug inspector for Terminex! They had part of a FedEx airplane that had a slide we all loved that. The kids enjoyed the virtual surfing and the grocery store. Everything was just their size and they got to check out and bag their own groceries. It was great we planned that for the rainy day. It was cold everyday but we still had a great time. This was actually our first trip just the 4 of us. We ate a a wonderful restaurant I think the name was Firehouse. Beautiful inside and the prime rib was the best ever. Aniston was close to getting us thrown out I am sure! I guess it wasnt really a place for small kiddos.

We took a 45 min drive to the Tunica area for one day of shopping. Once again the kids were good. Greg saw a sign that said fried bologna so like true Southerners we stopped in for some lunch.

The Zoo was great and I took lots of pics there. It was so cold though. Most of the animals were out and about thankfully.