happy cat

Samson is a very happy cat. He loves his sweet owner and she dotes on him just the right amount. "Sammy" even meows at the window till Rach comes out to pet him. We're so happy to have this kitty and we think he enjoys roaming around and defending his porch at 3am.

Brand New Glasses!

Recently, the boys got some new glasses and we are very pleased with how they emphasize and magnify their beautful eyes! :) haha! Thanks Uncle Stacy and Randy for the fun, silly glasses! The boys look really cute in them!

Rachel Jane

Rachel Jane


Is filled with such beauty

Inside and out she is quite a cutie.



We love our precious daughter so

And are privileged and blessed to watch her grow.



She has a kind, caring, sensitive soul

And her joy for life makes our family whole.

Daddy's Helper

No matter what the weather, Trent wants to go outside. His little body requires a certain amount of fresh air and being one with nature at least once a day. Whenever Nick has a task that he wants to complete around the house outdoors, Trent wants to be right in the middle of it. One of his favorite things to do is ride on the lawn mower with Nick. He doesn't understand (or care) that it takes Nick twice as long to cut the grass with a passenger. Trent will literally pout and look extremely sad if Nick cuts grass without him. Usually, if Trent rides on the mower for a little bit, he's okay with finding something else to do while Nick finishes. Then, he usually gets his small push mower and earmuffs and pretends that he's cutting grass too. Or, he'll ride around on his jeep and pretend that he's cutting grass. Nick's loves having such a precious boys as a helper!

The Joy of Swinging

Trent on his new swing

Trent outgrew his baby swing a good while ago, but we had never replaced it with a big boy swing. I was very tired of hearing the bickering over who got to use the big swings and for how long, etc... Thankfully, Nick got a new swing a few weeks ago, and Trent couldn't be happier! He was so proud to have his own big swing and be like his brother and sister. He loves for us to push him since he's not yet mastered the leg pumping swinging action. Unfortunately, he doesn't want to share his swing with his sweet sister and brother EVEN if he's NOT using the swing. Our Trenty is quite a little mess and is growing up FAST!!

The Coolest boy I know

mohawk flat



mohawk spiked


Bradley is the coolest boy I know! His awesome mohawk just really seals the deal! He has been asking us for a few weeks if he could have a mohawk. We asked him if he was totally sure AND if he would be able to tolerate all the attention that such a hairstyle would bring. He said he wanted to do it and was fine with people commenting and touching his hair. So, this past weekend, we gave him a mohawk. Brad was sooo excited! He's really proud of it and thinks it is SOOO cool! Here's the reason why he got it into his head that he wanted a mohawk. There are 2  brothers (who were 4th and 5th graders)who go to our homeschool group and last year, they took him under their wing (as a little kindergartener) and let him play with them during recess. The oldest brother called him "little Brad" and told his mom that Bradley reminded him of himself when he was that age. They both liked Star Wars and the older boy said he looked like him in kindergarten with his short hair cut. Bradley was thrilled by all this attention. He learned how to play "Capture the Flag" and felt like a rock star. This year,(since the older brother has moved onto another school adventure), the younger brother, who is now in 5th grade, has taken Bradley under his "wing". He has been very kind and inclusive of him and guess what...he has a MOHAWK!! So, Nick and I knew immediately why Brad wanted a mohawk and honestly, we thought it was pretty cute. I'm happy that he wants to be like these nice, older boys who have set a good example for him. We love our sweet boy and his ideas about what makes him feel good and confident. And, we're thankful for older boys who have such a good heart and take the time to be nice to a young and impressionable little boy. And, did I mention that I LOVE Brad's mohawk? I think he is such a good looking boy and he gets cuter every day! We love our cool son! :)

Blue Knee Socks

Trent LOVES to wear socks...any kind, size or color. He wears them on  his hands (like gloves) or all the way up to his hips (as seen above). These are Brad's baseball socks and he picked them out to wear one morning and then picked out some dressy shoes. No pants or shirt needed! He loves trying on the MANY pairs of shoes in the boys' closet...even if they're 5 sizes too big. This boy is not afraid to start a new fashion trend. However, we won't let this trend leave the house! :)

3 years old!!

 Bradley- 3 years old (2009)

Trent- 3 years old (May 2012)

Trent turned 3 a few months ago and it's always fun for me to see how he compares to his big brother. Obviously, they don't look much alike. And, Trent is built a little differently than Brad was at 3.

Here are the (not so different) pediatrician stats to compare:

Bradley 34 lbs./37 1/2 in. tall

Trent 33 lbs./38 in. tall

The check up went great and we are VERY thankful for a healthy, growing little boy! For the first 2 years, Trent used to hate going to the doctor and would cry for the entire visit, so it's been fun for me (and Dr. McCorkle) to actually be able to talk and hear each other. Trent is a precious boy who is extremely confident and sometimes a little cocky. He thinks he's tougher than he really is and absolutely does NOT think he's too small to handle or do anything. Just the other day, Nick was working on his lawn mower so Trent had to get his push mower out and push it around the yard with his ear muffs covering his ears (for the loud noise!). We love his strong will and desire to work and get dirty. We love his spunk and excitement. We love that he looks up to and copies his big brother. We love this boy so very much!



Sleeping Cutie

Trent is a little cutie...especially when he's sleeping! Trent is constantly torn between being a sweet baby who needs his mama to sit with him and drink juice with him and wanting to be big, tough and independent. (He puts this struggle on himself...we're fine with him being a baby a little longer.) He still takes naps some days because he is so tuckered out from the day's adventures. But, we're sometimes able to skip naps too, which is nice. He recently learned how to swim (almost) by himself and he goes underwater and swims to an adult. He is VERY proud of himself for doing this and now just about refuses to wear an innertube/swim ring at all, because he thinks that's for "babies". (I sometimes have to make him wear one so that he takes a break and so do I!) The other night, Trent said he didn't want to wear diapers at night-night anymore. He said he wanted to wear underwear like Bra-Bra. Not wanting to discourage him from trying this out, we let him do it. He proudly laid in his bed with his undies on and we told the boys "goodnight". After about 5 minutes, Trent came out of his room and told me, "I no wanna wear unnerwear no more." So, we put his nighttime diaper back on him and he fell asleep fairly quickly. We love our sweet little baby and are proud of him and all of his natural instincts about growing up!

No A/C? No problem!

July has been filled with unexpected expenses! One of which was our downstairs a/c going out during some extremely hot temps! Thankfully, our upstairs unit was running perfectly, so the kids and I slept on an air mattress for one night (Nick chose to sweat it out in our bed by himself). The kids thought it was an awesome adventure, but I was ready for the a/c to be repaired quickly! Our a/c ended up being fixed the next morning before lunch, so it wasn't really so horrible. Never before have I been more appreciative for the cool air of a working air conditioner!!