Happy 4th Birthday Rhyan!

My sweet Rhyan

4 years ago today, after a solid day in the hospital trying to get to meet you, you finally made your appearance in this world! I remember seeing your sweet face for the first time, holding you for the first time, kissing your sweet face... and wondering how in the world I would ever figure out how to be a good Mommy to you!

We survived, though, and here you are today... FOUR years old! I am so amazed at all you have soaked up in the last 4 years. You are smart, Miss Rhyan! You are perceptive and can always tell if something is wrong with someone in your family. You are compassionate and nurturing! You love to help take care of people (and your baby dolls, stuffed animals, etc). You are absolutely loving and precious.

You do not like to be woken up from your naps each day. If we have to wake you, we pretty much just open your door and let the noises wake you because we're "scared" ;-). You are a GRUMP if we have to wake you!!! Naps are still pretty much a daily thing around here for you, although there are days (usually 2 a month) that you dont fall asleep and just lay there quietly for usually an hour before getting up to tell me that you're ready to get up. Silly girl. Nap time is for MOMMY! Not just you ;-)

Having your nails and toes painted is something you love. You can be quite the tom boy and love to play outside and ride your bike, climb and jump and run... but there is also a princess inside of you that requires a dress and hairbow and black shiny shoes. I absolutely love that you are not 100% tomboy or 100% girly girl... its so easy to get to enjoy a wide variety of activities with you because of this!

Every night, you and I play a little game. Idk how it started exactly? Something that you did with your "Mayer"... and we expanded on it a little. You say to me "You're my favorite... lamp" and I say "you're my favorite... bird". We continue to say that we are each others favorite random object and each respond with "nooooooo! i'm not a _____" until one of us finally says, " I know! You MUST be my favorite little girl/mommy". Then we give BIG hugs (which becomes another game... to see who can squeeze the other the hardest!) and BIG kiss (where i remind you to NOT smile and keep your lips closed b/c i dont want to kiss teeth!).

You remind us all daily that we must say our prayers before we eat. Quite the pharisee, we are raising! haha... certainly, that is exactly what we hope to avoid! You also remind me to read your bible to you each night and at your current age, I love that we can ask you questions from your night time bible and you really try to figure out the right answers. And it cracks me up that every time I ask you what is one way that we can show God that we love Him, you respond with "obey Mommy and Daddy". And every time i ask you how Jesus showed that He loved God you respond with "he obeyed his Mommy and Daddy" LOL! We've got some work to do, but you're learning ;-)

You are a really great big sister. Of course, you struggle with sharing at times with Mack, but overall you are really helpful and kind to him. You try to teach him how to say the blessing and how to ride his bike, etc... you kind of go back and forth between wanting to be a baby (and trying to talk like one) and  really taking on your role of big sister. We understand this conflict in your heart and just try to remind you of what it was like when YOU were little like Mack and all of the great things you get to enjoy now that you're bigger. Helping you see the perks of being older brings you right back to wanting to be the big sister!

We have a great time shopping together. You're such a great little buddy and always help me find nice gifts for friends, nice clothes for myself, etc.

You love Spud and always make sure he has food and water, and you let me know if he needs something. If his ears flip inside out, you fix it and tell him he's a silly boy. You're so good with him!

Lately, you've been telling me that you think we need a bigger family. Your specific requests are for 1. A cat (not happening... i'm allergic! sorry girl!) 2. A brother for Spud (not happening... i'm sick of cleaning dog hair, and trust me... he doesnt want a brother!) and 3. A sister for you. Cause you already have a brother ;-) haha... So demanding!

You have weathered the changing of church's like a champ. It was SUCH a hard decision to change from the only church you've ever known... where you were dedicated and loved for almost 4 years! But you have taken so well to your new church (Bethlehem Church) and are so sweet to tell Mack that he is a big boy and shouldnt cry and just to have fun!

This past year you have potty trained, learned to talk in full on conversation, comprehended reasoning skills, learned all your letters and can write most of them, know all colors (except gray), developed a great love for singing and all things princess's,  stopped sucking your fingers in your sleep! (thank you Mavala Stop!) and so much more! Some things I could live without is how picky you've become in your eating and the tone in which you sometimes answer me.

I cant believe what this next year will bring... you will be starting pre-K in the fall, which is SO bittersweet. I know you are SO ready! You're so excited and tell your Daddy and I all the time about how great it will be and how you know that we will miss you, and that its ok. :-)

Your Daddy and you are little peas in a pod. You play together and you are always SO goofy around him!
You and your bother LOVE each other, too. I'm always surprised at what great friends you are and how well you play together. It makes me so glad that you are so close in age!

This past weekend leading up to your birthday, I went to a Christian children's ministry leadership conference. The whole theme of the conference was symbolized with a marble in a jar for each week from today till the time a kid turns 18. There were jars everywhere labeled with the ages and it was a real visual for how quickly time passes. I loved the idea and am starting a jar for you and your bother soon. I need to take a marble out each week so I can reflect on the week and think about how well your Daddy and I poured into you and made time matter. How well we loved you during that week. I look forward to that reminder, and hope that the Lord will guide us as to how to make each week of your life count as we disciple you!
 
More than anything, I absolutely adore being your Mommy. I struggle with learning how to be a good one, that much is still true. But my motive and desire is there, so I continue to trust the Lord and see Him for discernment and wisdom on how best to parent your precious heart. I treasure you, Rhyan Shlaine Ford. And I always will. Just in the way that NOTHING can separate you from the love of God, so it will be with my love, as well.

What's NOT making the news

Ok. So typically my blog is full of pics of my kiddos and family life adventures, etc. Occasionally maybe a post on some health stuff and again, occasionally some deep thought kind of posts. I dont try to avoid anything but seeing as how this blog is my "online journal" of sorts for my kids, I just tend to stay focused on them.

But not today. Today, I read an article that has me in tears. And makes me want to vomit.

And I just simply refuse to allow myself to have a voice in a blog forum where anyone might be made aware of atrocities and to not use it for good on occasion.

Anyone heard of the Dr. Kermit Gosnell trial going on right now? I have been pretty absent from the news/media forums lately so until last week, I had never heard this name.

One evening on my way home last week I was listening to bits and pieces of Eric Erickson. I heard him mention that there was some abortion case getting NO media coverage and how it just goes to show how liberally biased our media coverage is.  And then I was home and turned off my car and didnt think another thing about it.

Until today.

When I came across THIS article.

I could write for hours about the disgust I feel over this mans actions, the "blind eye" that was turned by all of the employees and the poor excuse for media reporters that we have in this country.

But instead, I'll just encourage you to read the article for yourself. Beware... it is HORRIFYING. But I think its important that all of us make ourselves aware of the evil heart of man. Remind ourselves of the diligence with which we should approach our prayer life. And help to make others aware of the extreme to which abortion is being taken in this country. And although I am unashamedly pro-life, I cannot imagine not even ONE of my pro-choice friends defending these acts. Here, we can all find common ground, liberal or conservative... no matter the background. No matter the political stance. This is horrifying and we all need to be aware of what is happening in our own back yard.

Biggest Loser winner testimonial and pics!

Advocare is doing an AWESOME give away again! Another biggest loser competition... and the winner will get $1000 cash! 2nd runner up gets $400 and 3rd place will win $200!!! With summer coming and longer days and bathing suit season, there is NO better time to start working on getting HEALTHIER and feeling your best. We will ALL need more energy as we take advantage of the warmer weather :-)

The challenge is a great way to get started but Advocare has tons of GREAT nutritional supplements! When I'm not on a challenge, I take daily the coreplex with iron (great for us women who dont get quite enough protein), omegaplex for a healthy heart (and hair and nails!) and catalyst to maintain my tiny bit of muscle ;-) And of course spark each day to keep me from falling asleep at 3pm (what IS it with the afternoons? I need a toddler nap schedule! haha)

 I wanted to share our winner from this last Biggest Loser Competition from January: Sheila Moore.
She ended up winning some cash and losing some serious weight! She was kind enough to share her before and after pictures and her story...

 I took the before pics the first day of the challenge (Jan 7th I think) and after on Feb 1st. The after pics were just after I worked out and my face is red ha. I think my beginning weight was 169 and ended was 154. 

Anyway so a little about my weight. In high school I joined weight watchers and lost 50 pounds which put me at 120. By the end of college in 2007 I weighed almost 190!! I had lost some weight since then and have been between 150-170 the past few years. I have decided that 2013 is going to be my best year ever and started researching health things. My mom had two different types of cancer, one being breast, that she was diagnosed with in her late thirties. I read several articles that link a drastically reduced breast cancer risk with routine exercise and maintaining weight. I have been working out 6 days a week since Jan 1st and am going to try to maintain around 140 pounds when I get there. Since the challenge I have been following weight watchers, doing the Brazil butt lift workout, and taking Catalyst. I have continued to lose weight and feel great. Oh and I don't have my before and after measurements :( I took the before measurements and wrote them on the only paper I could find in the bathroom which was a receipt. Of course I accidentally threw away the receipt sometime during the 24 days. 

                                                BEFORE  (Jan 7th)                                        AFTER  (Feb 1st)

I've gotta tell you, I seriously admire Sheila's willingness to share her story and her before and after pics... but why wouldnt she want to... she's looking (and feeling) AWESOME! My favorite part of her story is that she chose advocare after researching lots of health "things". Its great to know that for people who care about what they are putting into their body and who are looking not to just lose weight but be HEALTHY, that so many choose advocare!

Here are the contest details

Advocare also does kind of like a sam's membership thing where you can pay $79 and get $50 worth of free spark and slam (energy drinks) AND get a minimum of 20% off for LIFE. NO minimum orders. So I cant say enough about how great of a deal that is... plus, it sets you up to be able to make some money by sharing your own story, should you choose!

If you're interested in the challenge, you can shop HERE.

Or if you'd like to do the membership, you can sign up HERE.

If you'd like to read more about my favorite products, you can do so HERE.

I was just telling a friend today that I'm going to start another challenge soon and she said "why? you're already tiny?". First off, thats nice, but as we all know, clothes hide a multitude of sins ;-) But secondly, and most importantly, I've been eating JUNK lately (chocolate easter bunnies just MUST be in my belly!) and i love the challenge because it gently cleanses my system and then allows for max uptake of the best vitamins and minerals around! I feel better than ever, have more energy and as a bi product, yes, i usually lose some weight (and have NO issues keeping it off b/c it truly boosts your metabolism!). So I'm looking forward to getting started next week...

Who else is IN?!

Random/ Camera Dump

Before I upload more pics onto my computer, I wanted to use these last few pics that didnt seem to fit into a post of their own :-)

Jeff does the announcing for Archer Varsity Basketball. We like to go listen to him and watch the game when our schedule lets us. I'll admit that the first game I took the kids to this year, I was worried about how Mack was going to do with going to the game. He tends to like to run and play... So I was pretty impressed (and it made Jeff and I giggle) when he sat perfectly still and just watched the game. God forbid that the ball come close to us, though... he wanted to HOLD the ball and would start yelling "ball! ball! ont Ball!" and have a few minutes of disappointment when it had to go back into the game ;-) But overall, both kids were awesome! So we attended a few games this year!

Rhyan likes to watch the game a little bit, but she also enjoys climbing the stands and typically brings a babydoll to feed and pamper.

Our little spud! See?! He does still get some love around here!!!

Here, my babies were (once again) on the back of the couch. So i put them in time out together ;-) I know, not effective in terms of discipline... but I thought it was cute! Mack looks so sad! haha

Our fridge/freezer has been SO MUCH TROUBLE this year! Luckily, we have a friend who is a retired fridge repair man! So he's helped us out a ton this year! (Poor Bob!). The latest thing, we decided to not call him about. The water line started to leak. And our floor caught the water for us :-( SO glad its under the fridge... and just surface damage. We caught it early. Unfortunately, Jeff hasnt fixed it yet so I'm buying BAGS of ice to keep in the "ice maker". Hmmmm....

Our girl LOVES her bike!!! She rides it almost every day! And shes GREAT about wearing her helmet, too! Which is great b/c when we ride as a family, she's the only one with one one. We really SHOULD set a good example, but its so hard to get used to wearing one!

Hopefully i'll upload some more pics soon and keep going on my attempt to catch up!

There once was a girl

There once was a girl

 Who had a little curl 

Right in the middle of her forehead.

  And when she was good 

She was very good indeed

And when she was bad, she was horrid. 

-Longfellow

And her name was Rhyan ;-)

A Beautiful Jan. Day (and goodbye to Newbie)

First off, Rhyan has now had 5 fish, all of which have died. But the first to go... to pave the way for the rest... the one waiting to be reunited with his fellow tank mates, was Newbie. He actually developed some kind of sickness or something. He started to get a hole in his head??! It was sad and he couldnt eat :-( And his jaw was stuck open. We took him out and tried to "work" on him (like we're vets or something?!) but he was just pitiful. So after checking the internet for answers, we decided that euthanasia was the most humane thing to do. Dr Jeff Kevorkian to the rescue.

One day when I was headed to the store, he instructed me to buy some vodka and clove oil. WHAT? Ok, so we dont even drink but he wanted me to get a whole bottle of vodka? I told him to get it from his dad. haha! And Jeff actually looked at me like i was crazy! Hello?!?! Anyone in there?!?

Idk what his plans were with the vodka and clove oil, but after consulting with the people at petsmart, we decided to go with baking soda in water. They said it was the quickest and most humane way to "help" Newbie, according to some association that protects fish. Ok.

So we followed their instructions and they said it would take no more than a few minutes. Well, after about 10 minutes we added MORE baking soda. And after 10 more minutes we put the mason jar in the freezer. And that did it.

He had a proper potty burial. I was afraid that Rhyan would be upset but really, she acted like it was totally normal and then said "We neeeeeed to go to the store and buy another Newbie". HA!

And this random pic is just to remind ourselves of how spoiled Mack is. At "Nack" time, he requires a lot!

There was one day in Jan where it was absolutely beautiful! I think it was in the 60s that day and the sun was shining... so we took advantage and took the kids to Harbins Park. And apparently, every other family in the area had the same idea... it was packed! But we had a GREAT time!

Twilight: the addiction completed

How SAD that the twilight series is over!

I'm actually NOT a chick flick kind of girl. I much prefer action or war movies or sci-fi... basically anything other than a romance. BUT, Twilight sucked me in.....

Shlaine started the whole madness when she read the books and got started on the movies. Then, she told Mommie about it who read the books and wanted to see the movies. I never read the books, but am always up for a girls night out for a movie. So I got sucked in by my vampire loving family!

And since the 2nd movie, Mommie, Shlaine and I have all gone together. Dont be fooled... Shlaine goes opening night to each one. But Mommie and I wait a while and Shlaine joins us for a second viewing when the crowds die down.

Shlaine and I are team Edward (how can you NOT be?! I dont base that on Looks... comeon.. Lautner has the looks hands down... but the love story with Edward is epic!) and Mommie practically swoons every time "Jacob" walks on screen. In fact, when we went to watch the next to the last one (we were in Pigeon Forge 2011 when it was out and we went to see it), Mommie actually made some weird noise like she was going to faint b/c Jacob came on screen shirtless. HA! I told her its not right to lust and she said (classic Mommie) "honey, i'm not lusting! I'm admiring Gods beautiful creation" LOL! Hilarious!

I'll admit that part of me was afraid we wouldnt get to see the last one all together because of all of Mommie's health struggles last year. But we did! And we had a great time! We tried out the "new" theaters in Bethlehem. Our issue is that we didnt take mommie's companion wheelchair and the long walk really was difficult for her breathing. But we just took our time getting in and really, we had left in plenty of time, so it was fine!

I wanted to try to get one pic and it absolutely cracks me up... bc mommie NEVER knows where to look when i take a pic with my camera phone! So she just stares off in the distance somewhere :-) ha....

Anyhoo, we had a great girls night and I know we were both grateful for the time together! Plus, the last movie was really good! I know the twist really threw off the book readers, but for those of us who didnt read it, wow... i didnt expect any of the end of it! Nicely done! And farewell, series that "bit" me!

Taylor's Birthday!!

Taylor is 5!!! Oh my Goodness!

The kiddos were invited to her party (a princess party, no doubt!) and we had a great time!  The party was at 3pm (i think?) and Mack was still sleeping, so Jeff stayed behind with him so he could get his nap out and us girls headed on over. Rhyan had a GREAT time!

I love this pic of the girls all watching Taylor play on her kid tablet. Rhyan looooves that thing!

All the guests (well, most?) They had a cupcake-cake and icecream with lots of toppings. Rhyan was in heaven! And so was i ;-)

 
Birthday princess!!! What a cutie!

Sweet Shelby!

And Jeff and Mack arrived a bit late, but in plenty of time for junk food ;-)

We had gone shopping earlier in the week for Taylor's gift and Rhyan had picked out a Merida dress up outfit... which is funny to me b/c at the time she had not yet seen Brave. Its amazing to me how many of the disney movies she's NEVER seen but she's in love with the characters... ariel, belle, etc...  Anyways, she was all excited and proud to have picked out the dress for her and Taylor seemed to like it (although i think a couple of other people picked up on my fb feed to melissa where i asked if Taylor would like some dress up play clothes b/c she ended up getting a few! HA! With 2 girls i'm sure they dont go to waste!)

We LOVE our Taylor and Shelby and always love spending time with them! Happy Birthday Tay Tay!

New Years Day

New Years day started off with my kids sleeping in LATE. WAY late... like, we got Mack up at almost 9am! Whoa. For kids who are ALWAYS up by 7:30 at the latest, this was just unheard of. And normally we like to stick to a wake time of 7-7:30 am but occasionally you just gotta sleep in :-) So, we did! What a NICE start to 2013!

 We enjoyed our leisurely breakfast together and I snapped a couple of rough pics of me and the kids :-) wow... rough indeed!

We actually had some sick family on the first day of the year, although I dont remember who? This is the downside to being SO far behind in blogging :-( Someone had a fever or upset stomach or something... so we avoided going to Mommie's house for the yearly new years dinner together. Wait, maybe its because Mommie was sick? Thats possible. Anyhoo, my Mama cooked the greens and I took on the making of the black eyed peas and homemade cornbread. Yum...

The kids wouldnt eat the greens, no surprise there. But the rest they gobbled up.

I cant say that it was a great start to the year. Because I dont remember much about the day.... it WAS 4 months ago! haha... :-) I do remember thinking that in terms of goals or whatnot for the year, I have none, really. Only hope and optimism.

Hope that Mommie's health will improve and we will enjoy the year with her
Hope that we would make some decisions regarding church (we made our decision to leave Oak Hill towards the end of Jan)
Hope that our family would work together as a team and support and love one another
Hope that we would have patience and that the Lord would give us wisdom/discernment in parenting
Hope that spiritually, 2013 would be a year of renewing and growth...

So far, so good!

Random!

I came across a couple of pics to finish off 2012! 

Mack loves to be carried around in a Rubbermaid container! Its so sweet to me that he's short enough to fit... for now. Obviously, these days will be short lived!

 Rhyan and I always like to talk about the pretty pink clouds at sunset if we are outside. This evening she wanted me to take a picture of the pretty clouds. So I obliged :-)

 How many blog posts and fb pics have we seen with this little fella on the back of my couch?! Heres the thing, our couch was expensive. And the cushions are removable and therefore they can become misshapen if you lay on it... THATS why I dont allow it. And clearly, he doesnt care what is "allowed" ;-)

 Rhyan LOVES her bike! And she's even been really good about wearing her "hat". The only thing is that she tends to stop every few minutes and rest on the curb because her "legs hurt". Mine too, baby... looks like both Ford girls could use some working out! LOL

 This was actually new years eve!!! We went for mexican for dinner. And thats about all the excitement for that night... seriously. Mack was BAD at dinner and Jeff and I were both exhausted and we were grateful for bedtime for us all!

 This might be from Jan. but regardless... Rhyan got her first nosebleed! At naptime! And it didnt even scare her! She was at tracy's house and just came out of her room and said she needed a tissue. When tracy went to investigate, she was amazed... it looked pretty gruesome... and this was AFTER tracy had cleaned it up some!! YIKES! Helpful hint... hydrogen peroxide takes blood (if fresh and not washed already) out of anything! I used about 1/2 a bottle on this mess but its completely white now! Beware though that the process actually smells pretty bad. As the peroxide lifts the blood out of the material, you can smell it and it honestly really bothered me :-( Just a heads up... 

But doesnt she look proud?! HAHA!!

 And one last one of Rhyan in a sweater and pants her Aunt Gaye gave her for Christmas... so sweet! She loved this shirt because it was purple!!! :-)

And just like that! ITs only April and already we're finally to 2013 on the blog! HA!