Painting Instructor Job

Keira has been planning on having her birthday party at Swirlz Art Studio, but this month the kid's picture was an Angry Bird and she didn't want to do it. Melissa was trying to figure out what else to do for her party and I said, just have a painting party at home!! I'll be their instructor! So Keira picked out this painting and we had class in their living room. :) They all did GREAT!!

Keira's Cake

At Ethan's party, Keira asked me if I could make her birthday cake.. I, of course, had to say yes! I think my second attempt at fondant went pretty good and we (Melissa and I) got it done MUCH fast than it took me to do Ethan's. Keira was thrilled with how it turned out. :)

TV Dinners

We have a rule in our house that there is no TV during dinner time. But tonight, the kids were really into a show on tv and all we were having was leftovers (fajitas, grilled pork chops, or ranch chicken). I figured an occasional rule bending was okay. :)

7 kids!!!

This afternoon, I got a frantic call from Melissa asking me to come get her 3 older kids because Ashlyn was having a seizure and the ambulance was on it's way!! I ran in, scooped them up, and brought them home. Once at the hospital, they learned that it was a febrile seizure brought on by a quick rise in her temperature, they also found out that she has strep. I got a bunch of text, calls, and emails from our LIFE group asking what they could do to help. Someone wanted to run to the store, people wanted to make meals, and people offered to come take a kid or two. (We have the best LIFE group!!) But, the kids were great and all I could think was, I could handle a few more kids!! lol Today is also Keira's 10th birthday so I told Melissa she better buy some cupcakes on their way home so we could celebrate!

He says business trip, I say SKI TRIP!

Jeremy and his partner, JB, are in Reno on a business trip. Today, he sent me pictures of him and JB at the ski slopes!! I'm a bit jealous that he is out having fun on the slopes without me while I am stuck here dealing with 4 kids on Spring Break alone, but he deserves a vacation. :)

No Twins Allowed!

The twins are spending the night with Carter Jones tonight and Josey is staying over with Caleb. Caleb was super excited when Melissa said the twins were going to be gone, he enjoys breaks from them!

Too big for his britches!

We got Caleb this 4-wheeler for his 9th birthday, he hasn't rode it in a couple of years and we need the space in the garage so we decided to sell it. When we delivered it to its new owners, Ethan climbed up to show them how it's done!

Winn's House is Done!!!

We got the go ahead from the inspector that the Winn's could move into their house!!! There's still a few minor things that need to be done, but for the most part... it is FINISHED!! I ran over to take some interior pictures today before they started moving stuff inside... they plan to sleep here tomorrow night. :)

Date Night!

We went to the Jones' for games tonight and we let the little ones watch a movie together (complete with popcorn). They looked like they were on a little date! So cute! This picture will be displayed at their wedding. :)

Major Grocery Shopping!

 

We haven't been grocery shopping in over a month since we were moving... we were out of just about everything, even down to the last roll of toilet paper! We left Kroger with a super long receipt and 3 carts full of groceries. I have never spent so much in 1 trip!! Good news is we saved around $200 with coupons! I felt like we were on the tv show- Extreme Couponers because we drew a crowd!

Matthew's Cooking

Tonight, Matthew asked me if he could help cook dinner. I was making spaghetti, so I figured it was the perfect opportunity for him to cook. He cooked the whole meal by himself! He was so proud and made sure his brothers cleaned their plates since HE made it! He needs to offer to help more often!

Ethan's Hideout

Ethan has never bothered the firescreen until we moved to this house, now I find him in there several times a day. He always squats down like he his hiding... poor kid doesn't realize I can still see him!

Fun with Papa

My mom and Dave came by today to pick up my mom's car on their way back to AR from Atlanta. When they got here, Ethan hurt my mom's feelings by totally bypassing her to get to Dave. He is crazy about the guy! Anytime we talk to my mom on the phone, the first thing he says is Papa! Anyhoo, today Ethan and Papa played outside together... they blew bubbles and jumped on the trampoline. Ethan wanted to go with them when they left!

We still play when Daddy's away!

The last few nights we have played "Clue" during dinner. It was one of my all time favorite board games as a kid. I love that the boys are old enough to play with me now!! This picture was taken right after I won. :)

It fits!!!

We were afraid that we wouldn't be able to get my truck in the garage with all the other stuff in there. Tonight, Jeremy and I spent 6 hours out there getting it organized!! Woot woot, it FITS!!!  I didn't want to have to park outside. :)

Little Ducks

Christie, my photographer and friend, got some little ducklings, chicks, and a bunny to take Easter photos. She asked if I could bring Ethan over and boy did that kid have fun!! He's such an animal lover! I don't know that the ducks liked him as much though... he found it fun to drop them into their tub of water over and over. It was a high dive for them!

Matthew's Project

Here's Matthew working on a science project for school. It was hard to get him to sit down and focus, but once he got going, he didn't want to quit! He even skipped a family game to keep working!

Crazy Hat Night

Tonight was "Crazy Hat Night" at church so we decided to let the GA girls decorate big paper hats during class. See the goober in the middle?? That's our Preschool/Children's pastor, Bro. Tim. :)

Twin's Bachelor Pad

This house was on the market as a 4 bedroom, but one of the so-called bedrooms has a double glass door that opens into the foyer. We decided to use it as my craft room (cause you know I gotta have a place to work and store my junk!) and put the twins in the bonus room. They think they have the coolest and biggest room ever!! There's not a closet for their clothes, so I stuck a clothes rack in the corner. It will work till we move!

TaDa!!

Does it look like we moved in yesterday?? We have moved so many times, I've gotten pretty good at packing and unpacking. I plan to have the whole house done in the next week!! I hate living among boxes!

New House!

Here's our new home!! It's smaller than where we came from so it's going to be interesting trying to figure out where to put everything, but we love the location and we couldn't ask for better landlords. :)

Moving Begins!!

Here's the first load ready to go to our new home! The people that own this house want it back on the market, so we had to find a new place to live. The Jones' put an offer on a "short sale" six months ago as an investment property for us to rent and they finally got it this past week. Yay!! It's just down the street!

RA Racers

Jeremy and the twins went to the RA Racer Lock-in tonight at church. Here they are working on their cars. They look forward to this night all year, it is one of their favorite activities. The Corley boys are known for building FAST cars!!

Father/Daughter Banquet

We had a Father/Daughter Banquet for the GAs tonight at church. I decided to take a picture of my favorite father/daughter duo. Brian was serious in the first picture I took so I told him to smile  and this is what I got!!! Funny guy! His son, Carter, smiles just like that!!

Bye-Bye Brothers

Ethan usually sleeps late and doesn't see the big kids before they leave for school. He was up early today and enjoyed waving good-bye to them as they got on the bus. He loves to say "bus."

Old Friends!

I posted that I had 2 sale passes on Facebook and two of my college friends snagged them up. It was great to see them both!! Jennifer (in the middle) was the first person I met in Clarksville! We were on the dance team together and Jodie (on the right) and I both cheered.

Consignment Sale Finds

I didn't find too much to buy at the Little Lambs and Ivy consignment sale tonight, but I was thrilled with what I got! I almost ordered Ethan the "Castle Marbleworks" from Discovery Toys a few months ago, I am sooo glad I decided against it, I was able to get it tonight for $32 less than retail!! SCORE!! I also got him a few Elmo things including a cute little doctors kit!! And... every little boy needs building blocks!!

Little Friends

The kids spent the weekend at Jeremy's parents with their cousins and went to church with them this morning. My friend, Jenny McKinney, who also goes there, texted me this picture of her daughter, Atlee, and Ethan. They were born 3 days apart. She said Ethan didn't want to hold her hand... maybe he was worried Ashlyn would see it! lol

BIG FAN!!!

Jeremy and I were in Sams Club tonight and found this ginormous fan! I had him stand next to it so I could send a picture to Melissa to ask her if she thought it would put off much air because the dinky ones we both bought for camping are worthless. She suggested that we buy it for the upcoming camping season, but I don't think I want to spend $230 on a fan that would need it's own trailer to get to camp!

Broom Magic

I saw a ton of broom pictures on facebook today so I had to see what everyone was up to. There are many theories floating around, some people said it will stand on its own when the planets are aligned and some said it will during the spring and fall equinoxes. It amazed me how many people didn't look it up to see the real reason.... A BROOM WILL STAND UP ANYTIME! lol 

Cabbage??

The twins brought home these little cabbage plants today. 3rd graders around the country are having a scholarship contest as to who can grow the best cabbage. We will get them in the ground once we move and I'll keep you posted on their progress. Here's a link to the "Bonnie Plants- 3rd Grade Cabbage Program" if you want to read more about it. http://bonniecabbageprogram.com/