Friday the 13th - SCARY!!!

Well, it's kind of scary that as of January 13th - Kenyon Kyle is now 7 years old!

Time is flying!

Kenyon got to go to bed for the last time as a 6 year old in our bed. Him and I woke up extra early to sneak out and get a birthday donut for his special day! He was so excited!

As usual the kids get a birthday date with mom and dad. This year Kenyon asked me if Grandpa could take my place since it is his special day also. I was kind of bummed but gave in since I knew both Grandpa and

him would love it!

Grandma Jenny and I waited at the house while they went to Casa Ramos. Aunt Rochelle's family showed up just before they came home also and we all had a fun pirate themed little shin-dig to celebrate both Grandpa and Kenyon.

A few days later we were in San Jose for another volleyball tournament and my family got to get in on the birthday action as well. Papa didn't even know we had gone with a pirate theme over here and he had Pirate balloons and everything. My dad was so proud of himself for picking out the perfect party decor for Kenyon!

Some facts about our 7 year old.

- Kenyon, at 7, is just a bit taller than both of his older sisters were at 8.

- He LOVES Legos and I buy him lots of them because every new set is a few hours off of him being loud and crazy in my home. I can't believe how long they can keep him quiet and focused!

- He is still in his first year of wrestling and has done so well! It might

be the perfect sport for him since he doesn't have to focus for too long and he is really strong!

- Kenyon is crazy and wild and does dumb boy things all the time but he is also the SWEETEST little guy with the SWEETEST HEART! He has asked me to pray with him many times and I sense a true spirit of repentance from him over his many "sad choices", he loves on his little brother so well and has SO MUCH patience with him and he is always in need of cuddle time with mom (or at least he knows I need it from him) and those moments when he doesn't stink I LOVE every second of him on my lap.

- He has done so well with our first 2 Safe family kids and has loved on both of them a ton! Both times he was so excited to have a baby to help care for and both times he was truly sad to say goodbye. It melts my heart the way he lights up over little ones.

- Kenyon loves drama and always volunteers to be in the skits at church. From what we hear he is pretty good too! Of course being the center of attention is what he lives for so it shouldn't be a surprise. We are considering letting him be in a production soon

.

- He also loves to sing and often I hear him singing worship songs with kaden in their room after lights are out. I never once have made them be quiet when that is the noise i hear. He also makes up his own worship songs all the time. Unfortunately he has not quite found his voice... it's so funny to hear him try to sound good.

- Kenyon and dad are still the best of buddies and i think they always will be since they might be the only people that truly understand the other. Kenyon is lucky to have a dad who LOVES him as much as Kyle loves on him.

- Kenyon is more vein than any of my girls have ever been. Recently one of Avery's friends came over in new jeans and I hear my son say "I love your jeans. Where did you get those?" It cracked me up. I guess Uncle Jr. has had some influence in his life after all! For his birthday his top request was to go to a real salon to get a mohawk. I took him to one and he loved it. On the way home he asked me to buy him the kind of gel that lady in their had used. I said "no way, it's like $20" to which he replied "but mom it goes on so smooth."

- The dentist recently told me Kenyon's teeth are the WORST in the family! It's looking like 5 out of 5 will need braces!

- Kenyon is a true hero! His little brother ADORES him in a scary and sweet kind of way! Recently for discussion box (our dinner questions) the kids were asked if something scary was happening who would they want with them to make them feel safe. Everyone choose dad except Kaden who choose Kenyon. So cute!

Kyle and I are so grateful to have the privilege of having a son named Kenyon. He has brought so much joy to our lives since the moment we found out he was coming. In fact, he is the only baby that when I met him face to face for the first time I laughed (rather than cried). So happy birthday to our sweet, crazy, dirty, fun, funny, handsome, amazing and super son!

January 6th

 January 6, 2012 - Adia woke up a TEENAGER!

She LOVED her siblings waking her up with a donut and a beautifuly sung Happy Birthday!

  
Then a great girlfriend showed up, dressed all cute, and told her they would be going to get some breakfast... Adia felt loved!

 On the way out the door... so fun!

The back story is that we had decided to put Adia in school over the Christmas break and found out it started January 2nd... I wasn't ready to let her go that soon and really wanted to spend her birthday with her so I told the school she would be starting a week later.  The Vice Principal asked me why and when I told him he said "what a great idea."


Adia didn't know but her dad and I had planned a special day for just the 3 of us.  While she was at breakfast I dropped all her siblings off with Grandma & Grandpa.  When she got home and I told her it would be just us for the day she sounded like a tired mom "oh, maybe we should just stay home, relax and enjoy the quiet."  Made me laugh.  She was so thankful for that gift and G'pa Paul and G'ma Jenny should know it was probably one of the biggest treats of the day!


But instead we opted to go get our nails done... she got gel nails and they looked great!  She also got her eyebrows waxed for the first time and loved it!  She wasn't thrilled that they were red for hours after and wished I would have warned her.  

Adia had been asking her dad for awhile if he would take her to Sushi on her big day but he kept acting like he would have to see how his day went.  Truth is he has been way busier at the office than we are used to so it was believable that he might not be able to.  Of course, he wouldn't miss such a big occasion though and planned on meeting us for sushi then taking the rest of the day off to hang out with us.  After our lunch we walked across the street to see the new Sherlock Holmes... I was bored to death.  The two of them loved it!

After the movie we had one more surprise up our sleeves for her... my parents were waiting at the mall to take her shopping for new school clothes and get her a nice steak/lobster dinner (she's been spoiled in the food department from Papa for way too long).   But getting her to the mall was harder than we planned.  She wanted to stop at Target to spend some money she had... she was shopping and shopping and shopping and kept talking and talking and talking.  


Finally we got her to the mall where my parents were hidden inside and when she found her Papa she was over joyed!  A few minutes later she saw Grandma and was so happy!  Here is a shot of her and the boys who can't get enough of her!  I think she felt very loved!  

The next day she had her first tournament of the season and ROCKED it!

And then, 2 days later, my baby girl went to school (a public school I might add).  I had prayed so much about the decision I knew it was what God had for her.  I had been so strong and at peace about it...

But then I saw her walk out the door and LOST it!  I couldn't believe she was doing this.  I couldn't believe how old she is, how amazing she is, what a great head she has on her shoulders, what a confident little thing she is, how beautiful she is and so much more.  


Her dad called after dropping her off and said she looked so nervous... that was the longest day of my life.  I couldn't wait to pick her up and hear how it went.  My stomach hurt all day and the tears were ever flowing.  But when I saw her walk to the car at 2:04 I could see it in her eyes - she liked it.  She got in the car and with a huge smile said "I LOVE it".  


And I LOVE her - my teenage daughter who has defied the odds and turned out AMAZING!  She is a gem of a lady and I am so proud to be her mom.  This past month of having her in school we have learned so much - we learned mom is too hard on her, she is even smarter than we thought, she has no problem standing up for her beliefs, she is well liked, she is tall for a 7th grader and more.  It's been a journey for sure and she continues to make us proud for so many reasons.  I can't wait to see what else God has in store for this crazy girl of ours who seems to think she is already all grown up.  

Family Bike Ride

This year for we got the big 3 kids and ourselves new bikes! We have been wanting to do this for a while but getting good bikes for 5 people is NOT cheap so we have waited and waited. As much as we are opposed to Black Friday and the ridiculous consumerism it represents we used it to our advantage this year and got half off all the bikes - plus we got humbled a bit in the process of taking part.

So the day after Christmas we took the new Christmas bikes, Adison's new birthday bike and our little Kaden monkey (who just kind of wraps his legs around his dads bike) for our first official family bike ride! It was so fun and so tiring and all of our butts were sore for days to help us remember the wonderful family event.

Ready to ride!

Here are some pictures of the kiddos who were not only thrilled with the bikes but enjoyed the new helmets almost as much,

Best shot I could get of Kaden in the helmet... he was SO EXCITED about the shark fin.

He seriously just holds onto Kyle's bike like this the whole time... it looks so funny!

Princess Adison!

Who is a TROOPER and can handle her own out there!

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Crazy Kenyon!

Beautiful Avery!

Annoying Adia who tries to ruin all of my pictures!

We took a ride around Lake Natomas in Folsom and it was SO BEAUTIFUL! I think we stopped and played by the water more than we actually rode bikes but hey - it's still considered a bike ride! And I LOVED the chance to snap some shots on my new camera! That was my Christmas present from Kyle and I am so thankful he is giving me another chance to take care of a camera! I have such good models that love to pose and make the me feel so talented!

My silly son

I have about 1000 just like this!

This little guy wanted to stop and have a snack every 2 minutes... it's amazing how excited oranges can be!

This is where little boys belong!

Gosh I love these girls!

Bit I don't love how old they are looking... Adia needs to just stop!

Kenyon doing his norm - showing off!

Avery planned this shot and although it isn't all that great it makes me smile since I remember how much Adison and her wanted to take it and how not cool Adia thought it was.

Plus it shows off my Adia's super oober strong arms! The girl really is SO STRONG!

Since this trip the kids have gone on a few more with Kyle while I have been at classes and things. I think our family might just make a lot of GREAT memories on these bikes! So glad we finally gave in and bought them.

Christmas 2011

This Advent season our family enjoyed a trip through the Bible and it's key events that led up to our promised Messiah! Each morning (that we could) a child would open in prayer, we would read a part of God's Big Story (as we like to call it around here) and the kids would all color a little image to remind us of that days reading, we would sing O Come O Come Emmanuel and then usually the dad or I would close us in prayer. My mom is in the process of making me a cute Jesse Tree but even when I have it we might keep up the coloring.

It was a precious time!.

Christmas Eve we did our usual church service at Oak Hills and then came home for a Birthday party for Jesus. Because I had a fussing baby on me I was not able to get as many pictures as I would have liked. We had a great time playing birthday party games, singing happy birthday and ending the evening by sharing about why we have chosen to give the best gift ever - the gift of our heart to our King.

Here are just a couple from Christmas Eve

The party table

Party games

In case you are wondering - Kyle won!

Party Food

Party pooper -

Kaden was so tired he couldn't make it around to hear why and how everyone is giving their hearts to Jesus.

And then it was Christmas morning and we tried our best to keep it slow and fun. The kids have such a good attitude about waiting patiently for gifts. This sis Avery waiting for everyone to get up so we can finish off the Advent book (that same one we have been doing since Adia was 2).

Still waiting for probably Adia!

Usually I make omelets on Christmas morning but in an effort to simplify I tried this egg dish I was able to prep the night before and then just add a few things and throw in the oven on Christmas - so yummy!

And finally we dug into the stockings. For our sibling exchange each of the kids draws one sibling they will buy a gift for and one sibling they will get to fill the stocking for. We really like how this has turned out!

After breakfast, Advent and stockings we headed out to church. It was nice that we were able to wear our Christmas Pajamas - made the whole getting ready part much nicer! You will notice the boys who end up always being dirty wore junky pajamas to bed and I laid the cuter ones out for church... I felt like I was cheating.

Group shot before church

I LOVED being with my church family on Christmas! It was so fun and felt so intimate. Half the people came in pajamas, the kids sat on the floor in front, making messes and drinking hot chocolate and yet we still felt a real sense of worship as we gathered together to celebrate the birth of our Savior!

When we got home from church we each opened one gift before Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle Ty and Aunt Christie came over. We had got the older 3 kids new bikes and wanted them to get to enjoy them while the sun was still out. I have more bike pictures to come when I show our first family bike ride!

And of course we found time to practice a little volleyball - yes this weird contraption was build by my wonderful hubby who LOVES having a little volleyball star!

Then finally everyone showed up and we were able to show off our new bikes and open the rest of the presents. We love being local and getting to have the grandparents join us for Christmas most years. The kids really love an audience while they open the gifts and friends to play with them right away. Here are some random pics of the rest of the evening

Adia and Avery playing with a new toy!

Grandma and Grandpa playing our new Just Dance game - Grandma WORKED IT!

and so did Uncle Ty I might add!

Since Ty and Christie were going to be in our home we got them a little gift too.

Not sure why Christie wouldn't open it and looked so nervous... it's not like I would give her lingerie in front of her in-laws and all my kids - oh wait... maybe i would! :)

Kenyon playing tag with Grandpa Paul - thank you cousin Holyoak for the fun game!

Adison with her gold gift... she had just gotten a new bike for her birthday a few months before.

I feel like this didn't close off well but oh well! The celebrations were full of JOY and awe over what an awesome God we have to send his only son for us! I guess I like that this doesn't end well since Christmas isn't something that really ends...