Sick

I've done it again...run myself ragged and now am on day 5 of my rotten cold/sinus gunk! But you want to know the upside? I missed half a day of work on Tuesday, rented a movie, bought a good book, opened a can of chicken noddle, downed some OJ, and vegged out on my couch . It was great (besides feeling crappy)! Is that so wierd that I actually ENJOYED being home sick???

Our last Hoo-Rah before school started!

I'd promoised the boys that after we were in our new house, I would take them to Lagoon before they went back to school. As you can imagine they held me to it and we set off for Lagoon the Saturday before school started! They had so much fun, and I had fun watching them. Overall they were really good, we even came home during the heat of the day and ALL took a nap then went back that evening after dinner. So glad I took them, it was well worth the my sacrifice of time and money!

Payton and Logan on the paratoopers ride, this

was thier favorite!

Payton and I on the bumper cars, he is one
crazy driver!!

THE BOYS FIRST DAY:

Aren't they so big???? I can't believe it.

The boys are now back in school. Josh and I went together to take the boys to school; they were so cute, excited and happy to be at the new school. We're so lucky have such good kids. Logan is in 2nd grade and Payton started Kindergarten. My baby is in Kindergarten!!! I cried a little over Payton starting Kindergarten, I've recovered now but I felt a little sad that week. Things are going well for them so far at school, we've got school carnivals, halloween parties, art class and much more I will be helping with at the school. Gotta love being on the PTA, Fun Fun Fun!

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On another note....

I decided that I will never post if a wait to have time to cover the last 2 1/2 months of our family's life! So, to sum it up, our Summer was CRAZY, STRESSFUL, FUN, BUSY, EXHAUSTING, SPIRITUAL, ENLIGHTENING. ETC. ETC ETC.> Things are going well, we're happy to be moved and settled. Thanks to my wonderful family and friends for all your love, help and support over the last serveral months. Love you all!

Happy Birthday Char!

Well little sister you have reached the ripe 'ol age of ...20... something! How are you feeling? I can't decide if I want to dedicate this blog to all the wise cracks and jokes I can make about you or do something more sentimental....what's a sister to do??? A little of both I guess!

Things I LoVe about you...in a very random order:

1-You can keep me up SUPER late doing nothing in particular and I still have no regrets the morning when I roll out of bed early for work!

2- You are my favorite shopping buddy. Aimlessly searching for "something" and then forgetting what we came for in the first place!

3-A fellow ipod/itunesaholic~the mixes you frequently send me are on my most played list! I love them, they always make me think of you which makes me smile.

4-You are full of sound advice and freely give it out. (even if WE don't ask) ;)

5-You are gifted and talented, no explanation needed.

6-You have a fabulous sense of humor and can make me laugh when I feel like crying!

7-Your family is so important to you and it shows.

8-You are random and fun to be around, I love that you are always up for anything!

9-You have your "own" sense of style when it comes to things you like. Whether its your clothes, shoes, or house it's all you. (as long as there is the mustard color you're good to go!)

10-I can talk to you about anything or nothing relevant and you still listen. OFTEN!

11- You appreciate my random packages I send to you and take time to appreciate all the little embellishments that accompany them!

12- And MANY ~MANY~ MANY more reasons that shall be nameless because this list could go on indefinitely!

I love you dearly my friend, more than words can say, and am so glad you are my sister. I'm glad you had a great day, you deserve it. XOXOXOXOXOXO ~Mel

SITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION!

The news of my so called life is coming! Like a lot of things in life, I do it my way. I improved the appearance of the blog~isn't it beautiful?! I love it so far... All I need to do know is write about the last 2 months! It's coming so don't give up on me yet!
~Mel

I'm Back!

Woo-wee what a month! I cannot believe it's been since June that I wrote. The time has flown by so fast and so much had happened!

Dear Loyal Blog Readers...

Hello! This blog is dedicated to all of you who find time to check up on me and the boys from time to time, I love that you care enough to check out the BLOG. Life is ever changing, there are a few things you might care to know about...

1- I'm in the preparing to move. Wa-hoo!! Therefore my blog for the next few weeks might be a little lame. But a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do!


2- I've plan on making my blog private in the next 3-4 weeks. If you would still like to check out my blog, email me your email me YOUR email address so I can add you to my list. Nothing scary, I just want know who is reading about my life on my blog. My email is Melbelleray@msn.com


3-Logan turned 7! Holy cow! Sorry I haven't had time to write about how much fun his birthday was.... it was great, he's a great kid. There sure are a lot of people who love our Logan. Here are a few pics from the birthday marathon...breakfast with me, Dad, Payton and Kelly. he combined family party/BBQ at Josh's, we also had a Star Wars party with his cousins and friend. He was one spoiled kid this year- but he deserved it!

Party Party Party

Phew what a weekend it was! We partied nonstop from Thusday morning til Sunday night!

Logan turned 7 last thursday, man did that kid get spoiled this year!

Thrusday morning Josh, Kelly, Payton, and I met together to have breakfast with Logan. It was a great start to a fun filled day. Later we all met at Josh's house for a BBQ. We had a full house~My family, most of the Ray family and Kelly's family all came to celebrate Logan's bday with us. Although it seemed weird to most people (being that Kelly is Josh

s girlfriend), we make the best of it~not drama here. I feel glad there are so many people in his life that love and care about him. Man that kid cleanup up, lots of fun new things to play with. It was so good to see all the Ray, I miss 'em a lot. anyway....

Friday was a mix of showings on the house, and round 2 of the birthday party's

SOLD

As luck would have it, after having my house on the market for almost 5 months, I got 2 offers in the same week. But the good news is that the house is sold! WAHOO! Finally a little good news to share! We'll be moving mid-July to our new townhouse. Timing is everything,and good things come to those who wait. :)

What a blessing!

Two weeks ago the boys and I went to Jonah and Sammy's blessings.

Being my usual self I was 2 minutes late and had to squash in the same small bench with the boys, my parents and another family. As I sat there wrestling with the boys on/off my lap, I looked at Shelly and Boyd in awe.

There they sat with all 5 kids, cute, clean, well behaved, happy, and on time!

I was amazed.

Then Boyd gave the boys their blessings. It was so wonderful to hear and be able to partake of the special spirit that was there that day.

After the meeting we all headed over to Shelly and Boyd's for the BBQ. They were so organized! House clean, food ready, chairs up, perfectly calm and ready the crowd. Amazing. Lot's of family and friends came to show their love and support to the Stewart clan.

I was able to relax and let the kids play, marveling at how much more independent they have gotten in the last year. It was good to see everyone and catch up.

I must admit that my favorite part of the party was playing on the tramp with Gracie and Hudson (yes, even in my dress!)

Hudson showed off some of his awesome kicking skills and somersault skills!

I chased giggling Gracie who kept throwing her hair bow at me! She thought that was so funny, she was laughing so hard she kept falling over! So fun.

Although things have changed there are some things never will~ I love all 5 of those kids more than I can say. I have been reflecting recently on being single again (it's not my favorite thing about my life) but in retrospect I find myself feeling so grateful. It has given me the opportunity spend some quality time with my nieces and nephew.

They have taught me a lot and helped to get through the rougher times.

Love that family, what a blessing to have ALL of them!

Quote of the day...

When talking about dating with my mom earlier today, she gave me one of my new favorite quotes:

Mom "Are you ever tired of all the dead ends and detours?"

Me "Yes, I am"

Mom "Call me when you hit the freeway and then we can talk!"

This was not published for all of you to feel sorry for me! But this was something I found to be a mix of profound and hilarious! Thanks mom! Love ya!

Summer has Offically Begun!

No more books! No more school! No more teachers silly rules! Summer has begun-officially! When you have 5 heads to keep above water all at once "swimming" can seem like quite a task, but what do you do when its summer?!

Well, if you're smart like

Boyd and Shelly you

purchase an inflatable waterslide and pool~~~

The kids loved it as you can see from the photos. Although it was only about 75-80 degrees with a breeze and the water was freezing the kids had a ball! Hudson was content to watch from the "shore" but would get in every know and again and Poor Jonah was shivering so bad he was shaking! Emma hung out on the tramp to keep warm. Logan and Payton hardly noticed it was cold they thought it was a riot and want to go back every day.

As you can see in the pictures, Logan gave it 2 thumbs up!


Thanks to Boyd and Shelly we will be swimming all summer!

Not pictured: Sweet Gracie, she missed the swimming due to her nap but we'll catch her next time! (And Sammy)

Also, I'm not sure what I did on my camera to get these photos this way but it was a nice suprise when I uploaded the pictures today!

Are these the cutest kids ever?

Blooming

There is something about flowers...they brighten the world and make people happy (women in particular), not really sure why exactly but it's true just the same.

My mother has always had beautiful flowers. Either in her yard or her potted planters they're always spectacular. I however, have not inherited that from her. Hopefully someday but for now I must find alternate methods. So for those of us who aren't green thumbs, too busy, too lazy, too forgetful, or are just plane negligent gardeners; I recently discovered something wonderful.

~~~These are MY flowers pots~~~

Are you dying to know the secret of my beautiful flowers? They are FaKe! The funniest part is that I had 3 people stop today while I was "planting" them and ask me where I got them!!!! Isn't that Ironic? Go figure. So after years killing many innocent flowers, I went totally artificial.

I never thought I'd be a fake, but never say never. Fake as there are they still make me happy when I see them on the porch.

A Heart full of Gratitude

Isn't this picture amazing? I just loved it so much I had to post it. Look how pure and sweet that little boy is! When I saw this picture my heart was so full thinking of my new little nephews in Ethiopia. I was overwhelmed with such a feeling of gratitude. It's been quite the journey for Shelly and Boyd, but it's about to pay off because they are in Ethiopia right now picking up their boys! After a crazy last minute flight change, nearly missing the connecting flight, loosing their luggage they are with their boys at last. We are all looking forward to welcoming them to the family. It's been one miracle after another so far, let's all keep them in our prayers for another miracle that they can get home in one piece!

6 words memoir

Char tagged me with this: to write my personal memoir in only 6 words.
These are the steps:
1- write your own memoir
2. Post it on your blog and include a picture if you want.
3. Link to the person who tagged you in your post
4. Tag at least five more blogs with links.
5. Leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.
It was challenging and interesting to reflect on what my memoir would say...using 6 words. Some of the ones I came up with were quite funny but this is the one I liked the best:

~She believed miracles happens everyday, everywhere~

these are the runners up:
Strength to change and be better
Chose to change because she could
Found joy in the journey

Chars memoir was:
{lived grand dreams in simple happiness's}

Pass this along...

Showered with Love and Support

Last saturday a couple of my sisters neighbors threw  a shower in honor of the upcoming new arrivals. They are adopting 2 little boys and the SAME time from Ethiopia and are going to need all the help they can get! It was no suprise to me to see the outpouring of generosity from her friends and neighbors~we all can't help but love her and her family! They had a great turnout and received several donations for the humanitarian project (for the orphanage etc)

As you can see from the pictures theses are going to be 2 of the best dressed kids on the block! Not only are they coming to live in a loving home and family but a whole community is celebrating their arrival!

Shel's shower

Mom's little helpers

What do you get when you crack nearly a dozen eggs, milk a loaf of bread? A messy fun night of learning and laughter. The boys helped me make french toast for our "breakfast" dinner, it took a bit longer but it was much more fun!

I let them crack the eggs and stir the milk and dip the bread in the slimy mixture~they were totally engrosssssed in the process. They had me cracking up, they thought it was so cool. 

No surprise to me they both ate ALL there dinner and have wanted to help every night since then with dinner. They even are washing there own dishes! What have I done?!!!

 

dinner

Girls night anyone?

Dear sisters and mom,

I was thinking that before our lives take on a new version of crazy we should have a girls night! If an overnighter isn't possible we could still have some fun together.

I think we should make this happen before any of the following events occur: Shelly leaves for Ethiopia and goes from 3 kids under 7 to 5 kids under 7  (heaven help her!), my handsome (and well-to-do) prince charming comes along, Chars goes on a granola only eating health kick, Mom's money train rolls in, and Krystal Skye has a chance to break any more hearts we should have a girls trip!

Do you guys remember how much fun we have had on the last two? Here are some pics to refresh your memory...

 

Time is of the essence so we must act quickly!

Who's with me?

Happy Birthday Gracie!

It's now April fools...and Gracie's birthday! Wow my little darling niece is 2~ time has sure flown by.

These are the top 5 reasons she melts my heart:

1-She is ALWAYS runs and hugs me the moment she sees me

2- She loves Logan and Payton and says their names so cute

3- Has a spark about her, and a little bit of spice- So sweet and happy 90% of the time

4-She is ALWAYS happy to see me

5- Gives big hugs and says goodbye when SHE is ready to go

We are so lucky to have this little miracle girl in our family....It was a rough road to get her here (mostly for Shelly) but man is she worth it or whAT?!!!!

Love you little Gracie Mae!