Cousins at Christmas

This year, Deborah and Joe hosted the Milligan side of the family for Christmas. Between Joe and his 2 sisters, they have 6 kids who had 11 grandchildren. The family gatherings are fun and the kids have a great time playing. From left to right: Evan, Elle, Sophie, Carter, Trent, Bradley, Rachel, Jordan, Shelby and Lauren. (Not pictured: Johnathan and Stephanie)

Single Mom Reflections

little hands
sweet kiddos!



I'll admit...when Nick had to go out of town for 4 days for work, I was very worried about how I/we would live without him. We all love him so much and I sure do depend on him for so many things. Thankfully, we survived and I think we gained a greater appreciation for our sweet husband/father. Days were still filled with school and other activities, but nights were hard. I missed my husband's snoring, his reassuring presence, his help with the kids and the fact that I was "alone" to handle everything...from locking the doors and putting up Dixie to making sure the temps weren't cold enough to turn on the well-house light. It felt like alot by myself. All 3 kids missed daddy, but were so cute about stepping up to help out. Especially Rachel. She was determined to sleep with me for at least 1 night...and she ended up sleeping with me for 2 nights. She helped me put the boys to bed each night, giving them a kiss and then closing the door and turning off the light (as Nick always does) while I rock Trent for a little bit. She is such a precious child who intuitively knows when and how to help when needed. So, we learned that we don't want to get used to daddy being gone on a trip, but we can survive when he is. Anyway, all that to say, one of the things we did one evening was do this cute cat puzzle. It was actually more me and Bradley than Rach and Trent. He's quite the puzzle-solver! And, I guess we'll be ready to handle Nick's next business trip in March. I have a few more puzzles that we haven't solved yet.

Our favorite cheerleader!

sweet JuJu

Let's Go, Flower Girls!!

Juj is a tried and true (and talented) little cheerleader! We love getting to watch her cheer at each game. It's also especially sweet when she's cheering for Rachel's team! Juj is the prettiest, sweetest little "Flower Girl" on her squad!

Go Lady Titans!

Excitedly running onto the court!
Go for it, Rach!

ready and matched up with her opponent

The 3 stinkers!

Rach made the switch from cheerleading to basketball this year and has LOVED it! She is having a great time and really getting the hang of the game. Our sweet girl is not naturally aggressive, so that aspect of the game has been hard to learn. However, she's really enjoying herself and she sure does get alot of exercise running up and down that court! (I never realized how much was involved in playing basketball!) I am so proud of her for trying something new and even (gasp!) doing something different from her favorite cousin, Juj! Luckily, since I'm in charge of scheduling the cheerleading, Juj does cheer for Rach most games. Go Lady Titans!!