#10...and #11!

I was very surprised last Wednesday when I received a call from my sister, Courtney. She is my sister who just found out she is pregnant. She calls me in the middle of the day which isn't that unusual. She tells me I am on speaker phone with her and her husband, Matt. I know something is up now. So she finally tells me that THEY ARE HAVINGS TWINS!!!!!! I just couldn't believe it! This is awesome news for them. It's just amazing. God has truly blessed them! These two little miracles are mine and Jason's 10th & 11th nieces/nephews. WOW!!! I can't believe it. Right now we have 6 nephews and 3 nieces. I am hoping for twin girls to balance us out! Once again, thank you to everyone who prayed for these miracles. I am so excited for Matt & Courtney and I can't wait until June:)

The 8's

8 shows I love to watch:
- Desperate Housewives
- Brothers and Sisters
- Gossip Girl
- The Hills
- Grey's Anatomy
- Big Bang Theory
- Private Practice
- The Office

8 Things I did yesterday:
- Took Stella to Pre-K
- Laundry
- homework
- Worked on Birthday gift for my mom
- Fed, diapered, held, changed, burped, etc, etc, etc..for my baby, Drake
- Made Beef Stew
- cleaned the kitchen
- crawled my tired self into bed

8 Favorite Places to Eat
- My grandma Stella's food anywhere
- My mom & dad's house
- PF Chang's
- Red Lobster (since that is the only seafood place we have)
- Taco Bell
- Monical's
- Camille's for lunch
- BW3's

8 Things I am looking forward to:
- My mom's birthday weekend
- Meeting the new babies that are coming soon (especially my sister Courtney's!!!)
- Getting the kids dressed up for Halloween
- Our trip to Disney World in March
- A night alone with my husband (whenever that may be)
- Being completely out of debt ( a long time away)
- Owning our own business
- Meeting God someday

8 Things on my wishlist
- A whole new wardrobe
- More income for the family
- A more nice and bigger house
- new furniture
- a maid
- new tv
- for Courtney & Matt to move closer
- boob lift & stretch mark removal

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday goes out to one of my best friends, Jill Rhodes. She turned 27 on Saturday. No , I did not forget her. My computer has taken a complete crap and I couldn't post on Saturday. I still don't have my pictures to post any, but she know how much I love her. Jill & I have been friends since junior high. We now live right by each other. She is an awesome friend and I am so lucky to have her! Here's to you, Jill. Hope you had the best birthday. I know you did;)

Fall & Family

The kids and I had a really great weekend. We went with my mom and drove to Bloomfield to visit with my sister, Meghan and her family. We drove down Friday afternoon and ended up picking up my new van friday night in Bloomington and then heading back to the Dowden's house after that. Saturday morning Uncle Steve took the older kids to the IU football game. I think they had fun but were quite disappointed in IU's performance (BIG Surprise :P)!



While they were gone Grandma Stella drove up from Paoli to visit with us. She had not met her newest Great-grandson yet. I believe he is her 13th great grandchild! WOW! Now, she has at least one more on the way from my sister, Courtney!!! We enjoyed catching up with Grandma and I think she enjoyed spending time with Stella, Will, & Drake. My Stella always enjoys spending time with her and just thinks it is so special that she is named after her! Grandma nevers ceases to amaze me. She is 88 years old and still works almost every day outside in her yard. She brought us some persimmon pudding and said she has been pickin up persimmons every day form her tree. She is quite a lady! I just love her:)



I really enjoyed watching ny nephew Will play and jabber. He just loves Drake and had to be right by him all the time. I hope they are really close as they get older. We had a great visit and can't wait to do it again.

I said I'd never drive a mini-van! haha!

Yes Jason & I are the proud new owners of our 1st mini-van. I said I would never own one, that I would be the cool mom with the big surburban type vehicle. Boy, how I have changed. With 3 kids, friends, cousins, strollers, groceries, activities, etc... it is so much easier to have a van. So we got rid of the rendezvous and I am officially one of those moms! I don't mind. I actually love the van. It is a 2008 Honda Odyssey. It is so nice to drive and the kids can easily get in and out of it. I also can fit my stroller, diaper bag, groceries and a whole lot more in the trunk. Here are some pictures of my new ride.

CHAMPIONS!!!

Riley's flag football team won the championship! Well, they actually tied for it. They played the other undefeated team and they tied 12-12. So co-champions they are! Riley did awesome:) He caught a touchdown pass and intercepted the ball on defense. We can't wait until Little Gridiron starts next year! GO RAIDERS!!!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!!

Happy Anniversary goes out to my dear friends Jill & Kody Keys. What an amazing day to celebrate. You two are a huge and important part of our lives. We are so fortunate to have you as friends and what a blessing it is to both have 2 boys the same age!!! The best of friends they will be!!! We love you and hope you have a wonderful 4th Anniversary!!!

Before you vote...seriously!

Pure Bliss

Drake is 4 weeks old today. He is such an amazing boy. He has changed so much already and is so happy all the time. He is such a miracle and a blessing! Check out the rad mohawk!

Shout it from the ROOFTOPS:)

All our prayers have been answered and Courtney & Matt's wish has come true! Yes, the Sorrells are having a baby. I am so extremely happy for them both. My sister and her husband deserve to be parents more then anyone!!! They will be the best parents in the world. Congrats to you both. This baby is going to be spoiled rotten, just as he/she should be!!! Love you guys!!!

3 weeks!

It's hard to believe it has been three weeks since Drake was born. At the same time, we are already used to being a family of 5. He is doing great and so are the kids. Stella is craving a bit more attention then usual but really she's doing fantastic adjusting. Drake had his weight check yesterday and he was 8lbs. 3 oz. and 20 1/2 inches long. Everything is perfect. He sleep about 6-7 hours straight every night and then usually 2 more after a feeding. He is so laid back.




Riley has had 2 football games already and he is doing so well. I can't wait until next year when they start playing the real thing. His team is 2-0!!!! Stella has 3 more weeks of ballet then we are going to try gymnastics for a while. She has really learned a lot in just 6 weeks. School is going great for both kids.





Recently I've been thinking about how lucky I am. I forget that all these little things that make me smile, laugh, cry in my life are all blessings from God. He has truly blessed me and my family tremendously.