Ramey Happenins'

I was thinking today that it seems like it's been a while since I've posted and after reading my last post, I see that it has been indeed.

In a nutshell our life has been pretty nuts.

The biggest news we've had recently is that our precious little princess, Taya, has become Student of The Month at school. This is a HUGE honor, especially for such a young girl. All the schools in Tom Bean have a "Junior Tomcat" and a Student of The Month. The Junior Tomcat is an award for the "best" kid in a particular class. Corbin has had this honor more than once! Student of The Month is the "best" child in the ENTIRE school. Pre-K thru fifth grade. And our Taya got this award! She was presented a plague at the recent school board meeting a couple weeks ago!

Taya, her teacher, Mrs. Clark and a school board member.

 Before we left

My babes.

I'm smitten with her.

Congrats,baby girl!

More exciting news is that ALL THREE kids are in sports. Ethan is playing soccer for a Sherman team, Corbin is in his third year of baseball for Tom Bean and Taya is in her first sport ever, softball! She also plays for Tom Bean. Even though Corbin is great at everything he does this year he will have more of a challange in baseball. He is the youngest player on the team. There is one 5th grader and the rest are all in sixth grade. Corbin is only in FOURTH! This made me nervous at first but those big boys don't got nothing on my baby. There were even 3 moms at practice one night talking about how good he is(and they had no idea I was even his mom)! Another night they had a catching and throwing contest and out of all the players he was in SECOND place! Yep folks, he's that good.

Our schedules during the week are insane! I have never been so busy in all my parental life! 

Monday nights-Corbin and Taya practice 5-6:30.

Tuesday nights-Ethan has practice 5:30-6:30

Wednesday nights-Taya has practice 5-6:30, Corbin 6:30-8

Thursday nights-Ethan practice 5:30-6:30

Friday-RELAX

Saturday-Corbin has practice 12-2 and Ethan has games throughout the day

Sunday-Rest up and get ready to do it all again!

Seems busy now? This is only the calm before the storm. As of April, Corbin and Taya will add their games into the mix!

No matter how busy we are we still try to find time to spend together as a family.

Dinner date with my baby loves at Panera Bread. Taya says they have the best mac-n-cheese around. I have to agree!

Busy, busy, busy...our crazy life as we know it...is perfect.

(Next up: Spring Break in Branson(next week)...just the five of us.)

A Decade With Corbin

It amazes me that 10 years have come and gone since I gave birth to the sweetest, most athletic little boy I know.

When I found out I was pregnant with Corbin, my heart hurt. Ethan had just tuned one the same week we conceived Corbin. To me, Ethan was still my baby. He was a tender soul that needed so much attention. I felt as if I were shorting Ethan somehow by having another baby so soon. After the shock wore off, I became excited and couldn't wait to have my baby girl. The baby girl I just knew I was carrying in my belly. I was so anxious the day we found out the sex of our second born. I'm not gonna lie, when the doctor said, and I quote, "Ethan's going to have a baby BROTHER!", my heart hurt again. A boy? Really? Why would God give us a second boy? We wanted a girl. After a few weeks of feeling sorry for myself and after the disappointment wore off, I became ecstatic. Not only would I have two little boys to love and care for but they would be so close in age that they will be best friends! Little did I know what a blessing God had in store for me and our family.

Corbin has my heart. All tied up in a pretty pink bow.

We have Ethan, our strong willed, stubborn, likes it his way and will tell ya how it is kid. We have Taya, our diva. Our won't take nothing off no one, sweet, girly yet tom boy-ish kid. Then we have Corbin. Our loving, always wants to help and will always put others first kid. This kid is truly one of a kind. I've never met a boy so athletic, so smart and so driven to be the best he can be. He aims to please. He wants to see everyone around him happy.

He is such a great brother. To Ethan, he lifts him up when he's down. He's a support that Ethan needs. To Taya, he's her leader. She follows in the foot steps of both boys but she's always had a special bond with Corbin. When she falls, he's right there to pick her up. Both Ethan and Taya are so fortunate to have a kid like Corbin to call their brother. They all have a bond that will last a lifetime.

As I hugged Corbin the other night before bed I told him that between Ethan testing my patience and Taya wearing me out mentally, that he is my calm. As I walked out I thought about that statement. How true it is. No matter how stressed the other two kids make me, Corbin is ALWAYS there to bring me back to peace. I can always count on him to make me smile...most of the time for no reason at all. His demeanor, his silliness. He lights up any room.

Here's to you, Corbin! It's been a great 10 yr ride with you and I look forward to many, many more. You will never know what a huge blessing you are to our family and what an inspiration you are to me. We love you, buddy!

Our Christmas

It's so hard to believe that Christmas has once again come and gone. All the anticipation leading up to the big day is great. The decorating, the shopping, the gift wrapping, the time spent with our loved ones. It's a lot of fun. Then, in the blink of an eye the presents are torn open and all is back to normal. I'm a big picture taker but I have to admit, I do get kinda caught up in the moment and forget to click that little camera. I did, however, manage to get a few. These are my faves.

 Taya in awe of her highly anticipated paint desk.

 

 Ripping into her life size paint-able play house.

 

 Lovin' on the bear Ethan bought her.

 

 Hugging her new MP3 player.

 

 New headphones.

 

 Daddy making sure they work properly.

 

 Very first Under Armour shirt.

 

 Bubba Corbin taking a look.

 

Mounds of gifts!

 

 

 Taya bought each of the boys new Lego's.

 

 Hugs :-)

 

 Ethan's gift from Corbin. A new Cinch bag and a Ranger shirt.

 

 Check out that face.

 

 My heart.

 

 The other gift from Corbin.

 

Melts. My. Heart.

 

 

 Realizing he just got his VERY OWN cell phone.

 

 That face!!!

 

Taking it all in. I ADORE this pic. He had tears in his eyes.

 

After we opened our family gifts, my parents and brother came over to open even more loot. It was a bit rushed because we were off to the Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine. It was so much fun. I recommend going to anyone...but be ware, you need LOTS of money!



 

 The view from our fifth floor room when we checked in.

 

 View from the same room when we checked out.

 

 That's the Gaylord Texan across the way.

 

Comfy, cozy room.

 

 

Check out the website.

http://www.greatwolf.com/grapevine/waterpark

 

 

Christmas was amazing. The gift getting and giving was great but the best part was being able to spend the entire day together...just the five of us. Swimming, laughing, soaring down water slides, chasing each other in the "silly" river. As we were walking down the hall in the hotel to the water park, Taya grabbed my hand, looked up at me and said "This is the best Christmas ever!". I'll never forget that. While we were playing in the water Ethan told me he was having $420 worth of fun. Corbin said "This place is awesome". I wanted to make awesome memories with our kids. We did just that.

 

We're already starting to plan where we're going next Christmas.

 

Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus! It's because of your love and sacrifice that we are able to celebrate!

Christmas Happenin's

With the holidays fast approaching we have been busy bee's around our house. Two weeks ago was Ethan's Christmas dance at school and last week were Corbin and Taya's Christmas programs at school. Well, this past Sunday was the church play. It was called "Christmas Idol". Corbin was a middle aged rapper named Andy and Taya was an angel(of course she was!). Ethan was part of the props team and in charge of the lighting. They play was so sweet.

 (My angel blinged out in her "boots with the fur")

 

 (Corbin was an awesome rapper!)

 

Saturday night my folks, brother and I took the kids to see "The Real Santa Clause" in Fairview, then to Raising Cane's for dinner and then to look at Christmas lights(Matt was working). We went to Allen in a division called "Deerfield". It was AMAZING! We had so many huge laughs(someone may or may not have fallen out of the car...totally sober. Totally almost pee'd my pants. Love you mom!) My abs still hurt from laughing so hard! We had such a good time the kids and I decided to take Matt back last night. Still as awesome the second time around. I HIGHLY recommend it to everyone. I promise, the drive is worth it!

 (This house was great! The radio station was in sync with the lights)

 

 (This Santa moved and was talking to us)

 

(Please notice Santa in the balcony!)

 

This video is pure greatness!

 

 

(These reindeer started on one side of the street and "flew" in mid air to the other side)

 

(Look closely-Santa is hanging on to the sleigh and the presents are flying out the back)

 

Love!

 

Corbin and Taya have a "Christmas store" at school so we gave them each way too much money and they bought us all stuff. I have to say my favorite thing was hands down the Santa hats Corbin bought me and Matt.

 

No Peeking!

 

 

It's feeling more and more like Christmas everyday...







Tragedy in CT

I have been thinking about kindergarten students all day. Five and six year-old kids….with no cares and with eyes on Santa Claus coming soon. I see kindergartners every day at our elementary school; you can always spot them, because of their book bags. They are small, innocent and love the world…and they give the BEST high fives, ever. They high five with love and eagerness….unaware of this nasty world we live in and the fact that monsters really do exist, in the form of killers, like the one who showed up at a school in Connecticut yesterday.

As I explained to all three of my kids what had happened, the boys asked a few questions and Taya just kept saying she didn't want to be killed. I assured them all they are safe and that particular bad man in gone now too.

As we talked I turned the TV on and we all watched and listened together. The compassion my boys had was so remarkable to me. This is them watching it all on the news.

 

I believe in Heaven. I believe in Hell. I also believe that everyone has the right to meet their maker and ask for forgiveness. I'm torn with this issue. I pray that this lost, broken soul will be forgiven and be given some peace, yet at the same time I see him only as the devil.

This tragedy hits a little too close to home for me. My niece, who is six, in the first grade and lives in CT, attends school just 10 minutes away from where this massacre happened. Not only that but I have 2 children who are in elementary school, one of which is a kindergartner. I can't even fathom dropping off my children for school and never seeing them alive again. The horror.

So….we had another mass killing at a school. Innocent children….angels…. gone. It is time to make our schools secure. There should be NO one in the building during the school day except for staff, students and police. Dedicate a secure room/vestibule near the entrance for conferences or meetings with parents. Set a perimeter of cameras and locked doors, so these kids can be safe….the teachers can be safe….and the building can function as a school and not a murder scene.

I've been talking to Matt a lot lately about our kids growing up. The thought of this terrifies me. It excites him. He loves to think about the people they will become. I want them to stay who they are now. The fact is, the world will continue to go on. The kids WILL grow up. This is inevitable. This bothers me. Or at least it did, until yesterday. As I was sitting there feeling sorry for myself and the fact that my babies are growing up, other parents thousands of miles away were  preparing for a life without their kids. Kids they will NEVER see grow up because their little lives were stolen from them. And from their families.

I think the thing that bothers me the most is that all the victims remain in the school, where they fell, alone, until the police department decides they can be moved. I heard that would be at least Sunday before that happened. How do you, as a parent, go to bed knowing your innocent child is laying in a cold, dark, mean place that they once found joy and happiness in. A place that was supposed to be safe.

As I watched, listened and cried, this little angel fell fast asleep in my arms.

Count your blessings everyday. Even if they seem so small. Never take one day for granted and never assume there will always be tomorrow.

Lord, I pray for peace and mercy for these families. I pray that these little children will now soar the skies as angels, watching over their moms, dads and siblings. When we look to the Christ child let us be reminded of our desperate need to embrace the hope of Christmas. Come, Lord Jesus, Come...