The Richey Ranch

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!!!

2008-12-12T12:43:00.000-08:00

Savannah in the snow last night

Ali making a snow angel
Piper goes out for a quick look

Maveric checks out the snow

Piper picking the blanket off of the pig!

Picture from our front porch this morning

Ali playing in the snow

Savannah sledding

Piper is all ready to go out

Savannah takes Piper down for her first sled ride

Piper Loves sledding!

Maveric takes a turn

Ali and Maveric go together

Breakfast of Champions!!

We've got snow!!! Last night it started snowing and we ended up with about 2 inches which is a real treat around here!! Last night they announced that schools would be closed today, so we stayed up late and I made pigs in a blanket and we watched a movie. This moring while the kids were sledding down the front yard I made some cinnamon rolls and bacon. Fun day home from school!!

Decorating our REAL Tree!!

2008-12-10T22:55:00.000-08:00

Josh, Ali and Piper stringing popcorn & cranberries.

Ali with the finished product.

Piper-Girl

Josh with his ready for the tree.

Josh helps Eric set the tree.

Savannah pretending to be a dolphin trapped in a fisher's net!

Piper is ready with the lights.

Ali helps Eric fluff the branches.

Savannah with her favorite ornament.

Ali with the Barbie bride ornament.

Poor Maveric has a fever, so he helped from the couch.

Josh and Ali with some Disney ornaments.

Everyone decorating.

Ali hops on Dad's shoulders for the final touch!!

Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree!!!

Tonight we got our REAL tree!! We had so much fun unpacking all of our ornaments. My favorites are the ornaments with the kids pictures on them. It is so fun to see how much they have grown. We also did our annual tradition of stringing popcorn and cranberries. We did this when I was growing up and it is something that my mom and her mom did growing up too. I am sure back then it was due to the fact that they had no money, so they did this as a means of decorating their Christmas tree. The kids really enjoy it! After the popcorn and cranberries are added and all of the hand-made ornaments, it looks a bit like Charlie Browns tree, but I LOVE it!!

Savannah's Band Concert

2008-12-09T22:42:00.000-08:00

Savannah with her Great-Grandmother
After the concert

Piper brought refreshments!

Ali and Bailey before the show

Tonight was Savannah's Winter Band Concert. It was a wonderful show. Savannah plays really well now and is also in the jazz band which played two songs tonight. I am so proud of her and the hard work she has put into learning to play.

Decorating our tree!

2008-11-29T22:43:00.000-08:00

This evening we decorated our big fake tree! We got it last year after Christmas on clearance. It looks so pretty. We are still going to have a real tree to put all of the handmade ornaments on that the kids have made over the years...it's my favorite:)

First Day of Thanksgiving Break

2008-11-26T15:18:00.000-08:00

We have definitely made the most of our first day of Thanksgiving Break. Josh and Maveric had Basketball Camp this morning from 8-12. The girls and I called Viv to see what her kids were doing today and it just so happens that they were at work with her. So, we went by and got them and headed to the Goodwill. We found some really cute things there for very, very cheap. We went home to play and then got the boys from Camp. After lunch and fun time outside we headed out to see Bolt in 3-D at Smyrna's new movie theater. My mom met us at the movie theater with Bailey so that I could trade her for Piper. Everyone had a really fun day!

Bohlinger Wedding

2008-11-23T22:16:00.000-08:00

Piper found a boy to dance with!

Savannah

Ali dancing with Piper

Ali, Savannah, Maveric and Josh

A very happy Piper-Girl

Josh and Piper

Pretty Girl

Maveric and Josh

This evening we all went to John Bohlingers wedding. Eric and his family have been friends with John for a very long time. John and his wife Megan are extremely talented musicians so the kids had a really fun time dancing at the reception.

Thnanksgiving Lunch

2008-11-20T17:35:00.000-08:00

Today Eric, Piper and I went to the school to have Thanksgiving Lunch with Maveric and Josh. Here are a few cute pictures of us with the boys...

Happy Birthday!!

2008-11-15T22:27:00.000-08:00

Tonight the kids and I planned a little suprise party for Eric for his 41st Birthday. We got two new games at Target, the movie Tommy Boy, his favorite snacks and of course a birthday cake. My parents came and we spent the evening playing games and watching a really funny movie that we had to edit for the kids:) A fun night was had by all.

Happy Birthday Honey!! We love you so much and appreciate all that you do for our family. Looking forward to many, many more:)

Halloween

2008-10-31T22:51:00.000-07:00

HALLOWEEN 2008

Carving Pumpkins

2008-10-30T18:58:00.000-07:00

Here are a few shots of us carving pumpkins with Robin, Bailey and Brooklynn. Usually this annual tradition goes a little like this, each child picks a pumpkin, we cut a hole for them to dig all of the "guts" out, they pull a few hand fulls out, Eric and I really clean it out, then they pick this really complicated carving from our design book, then Eric and I spend hours carving them! But this year was revolutionary!! Savannah, Bailey and Ali did their entire pumpkins themselves!! Maveric still required some help and picked the elaborate carving from the design book, but I only carved one pumpkin. Piper was more interested in playing on Bailey's swingset. Unfortunately, we had so much going on this year that we only had today left to do it and Eric & Josh were not with us for it:(

Last Weekend

2008-10-27T09:40:00.000-07:00

I wish I had some pictures to post because I think it makes reading these posts much more interesting. Friday Ali had her first Pitching lesson. She did very well and she absolutely loved it. Savannah on the other hand wasn't as thrilled because the pitching instructor requires that we bring our own catcher so that she can stand by Ali and watch her form, so Savannah was the lucky girl that was chosen to do this task! Saturday, Savannah had a tournament to finish off their season. After a tough battle going into overtime they ended up second:( Savannah played some great games and I would hate to guess how many pitches she caught, let's just say that is a lot of squats! Also on Saturday we went to the Karate Studio where Maveric took two initial lessons and received his white belt and his loser Mommy never took him back! It is just so hard to fit everything in! Eric and I have been feeling really bad about it and he has had his little karate uniform hanging in his room for months asking when he could go back to karate, so we finally went back. He is going tonight for a refresher course and then he will be in lessons on Tuesday and Thursdays. I think he will be very good at it. He loves anything with lots of rules that he can follow. Sunday we went to church and to lunch then came home to do some much needed cleaning. Which got me thinking about the kids chore charts. We haven't done a very good job lately of keeping up with those and with so many kids in the family it is really impossible for me to keep up with everything. So, I looked online for a printable chore chart and found this website http://milo.handipoints.com where you can create chore charts and then check things off online. I am going to try this and will let you know how it works out. Josh was at Isabel's this weekend and his Grandparents from Germany are here to visit so I can't wait to hear all about it today when I pick him up from school. Piper as usual was just along for the wild ride! I will post more later this week to let you know how the karate lessons went. Also, for more pictures of Maveric's Tiger Scout's visit this website. http://www.scetigers.blogspot.com/ Love to you all!! Christi

2008-10-09T20:17:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

More Fall Break Fun!

2008-10-08T21:25:00.000-07:00

Today Maveric had his friend Zane over from school and we all went to the Skate Center. It is so funny to see our kids skating where I used to skate! This thought popped into my head when the D.J. announced that it was time for the skate races!! Ohh how I used to love to win the skate races, I don't think it happened very often! But back in the day the winner received a free drink from the concession stand. Well, fast forward 20 years or so! Both Ali and Josh won their skate races, but now you get nothing but the pleasure of knowing that you won! After skating we were off to Savannah's saxophone lesson. Then we met my sister at the YMCA where I worked out for a very brief period of time due to Piper's disdain for the childcare center. Afterward we watched the kids swim and then came home to cook some dinner. Fall Break Rocks!!!

Rainy Day

2008-10-08T06:40:00.000-07:00

Today Savannah had a dentist appointment in Green Hills. So, we planned to go to the Zoo after the dentist since it is on our way home. Well, the weather had a different idea and it started to rain, but it was off and on. We decided to go anyway and take our umbrellas. When we first arrived, there were quite a few people there. As the rain picked up it totally cleared out. We virtually had the Zoo to ourselves. We had a picnic under one of the tents by the elephants and two of them came up close to where we were eating and were playing in the mud. We walked up to see the giraffes and one of them was standing very close to the fence. We laughed at another elephant trying his best to eat some leaves off of a high limb above him. We ran around in the rain looking at different animals and then we got some relief from the rain inside the reptile house which Piper loves because she can walk around looking at all of the creatures. When we came out of the reptile house the rain was gone, so they all played on the jungle gym all by themselves! But the highlight was feeding the birds. Since there were hardly any visitors that day, they had not been fed much nectar. When the kids went in with their nectar an attack ensued! Maveric was so freaked out that he dumped his nectar out onto the ground and ran! Savannah and Josh were covered in birds and Piper looked on amazed. It was so hilarious!! Afterwards we hit the Krispy Kreme for donuts and hot chocolate. A beautiful rainy day!

Fun Weekend

2008-10-05T08:13:00.000-07:00

Josh's birthday campout was a lot of fun. He invited his three best friends and the twins came over as well and they had a blast! We had a total of 11 kids here!! Maveric had his scout hike/weenie roast on Saturday. Then yesterday we went to church then to lunch and came home to do some work around the house, then we had a campfire pizza party. We ordered pizza and sat out by the fire to eat. Then we roasted marshmallows and made smores. Josh opened his presents from all of us. With all that was going on over the weekend we didn't have a chance to wrap them till today! We had a great time hanging out together and the kids got crazy dancing to some music, which we have great video footage of:) Here are some pics from the weekend.

BUSY

2008-10-02T18:56:00.001-07:00

Our family is still its usual busy self! We are getting ready for Josh's birthday party tomorrow night! He is 10!! I can't believe it. He is having a campout with a few of his friends from school and all of his sisters and brother, which is a party in itself. We are setting up tents tomorrow and making a pit for the campfire, there will be hot dogs roasting and many smores. It should be a blast. The other thing that has kept me quite busy is Maveric's Tiger Scout troop. Me and another mom are heading up their Den this year and we have 18 1st graders in our Den!! I have created a blog for it, so every time I get a chance to get on the computer I have been managing that website. I will take pics of Josh's party and post those this weekend. Tomorrow is the last day before Fall Break!!! I am so excited, once I make it through this weekend I am going to make a plan of fun things to do with the kids this week. I think we are all looking forward to just not getting up so early. The weather is supposed to be beautiful so I think we will make it to the zoo and the pumpkin patch for sure. I can't wait. I LOVE hanging out with our kids. One more thing...Here is a cute pic of Maveric and Piper. Pipers favorite thing to do is ride on Maveric's four wheeler. I made them stop at the top of the driveway so that I could snap a pic of them. They are too cute for words! TTYL

Adoption

2008-09-10T10:13:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking so much about adoption lately, which is quite insane since we have 5 children...one of which is a spoiled little princess that thinks she shouldn't really have to sleep at night. I went to Bethany's website and was looking at the Children Waiting for Families list http://www.bethany.org/A55798/bethanyWWW.nsf/0/681DD290876991B0852574B8005A7024
I read over pages and pages of descriptions of children, some with siblings, some without, but all with no parents. I cried. I prayed. I feel drawn to adopt a sibling group. I wondered if Eric feels drawn to adopt a sibling group, thinking NOT! I wondered how we would transport everyone. Passenger van or short bus came to mind. I wondered how all of the children would mesh together. Perhaps a little awkward at first but then I pictured them all playing outside, jumping on the trampoline, riding bikes, exploring in the woods. I wondered how we would all go visit Eric's family in Montana, a small fortune in airfare. All of these thoughts God has the answers to. I just can not escape the thought that there are thousands, wait millions of children who have no one. For now I will keep praying for those children and that God will make it perfectly clear the direction and purpose that he has for our family.

My Poor Sad Blog!

2008-09-04T16:06:00.000-07:00

We have had Internet issues for some time now. So I apologize for anyone who has been checking in and there have been no posts. We are all in full swing of the school year. Everyone is doing great and they seem to have wonderful teachers. Savannah is still playing saxophone and taking private lessons. She is working on pieces to try out for the mid-state band. She is also on the Smyrna fast pitch rec league and loves it. Ali is taking a break right now from softball and focusing on school which is good for her. She gets extremely tired after a full school day so I think it is really helping her to ease back into things. Josh is in between sports as well. He took a break from gymnastics over the summer so we just need to reevaluate what is going on there. Maveric still just needs to be taken to his karate lessons and is really excited about being a Tiger Cub in scouts this year. Piper girl is perfecting her walking skills! It is the cutest thing ever. I need to figure out how to post video. It took me forever to learn how to post pictures so don't anybody hold your breath! I stay busy running everybody around and taking care of Piper during the day. I have been going to the Y alot and Piper actually stayed in the childcare today. Normally she screams her head off for 15 minutes and then they come and get me, so it makes for a real productive workout! So today, I was so proud of her and excited for me!! Eric has been super busy at work as usual and has been getting up at like 4:30-yes A.M.!! To go workout at the downtown YMCA which is right down the road from his office. It works great for him because he avoids all of the rush hour traffic, but works out not so great for him when Piper acts like a vampire!! She has decided that she is not going to sleep through the night this results in a very long day for both Eric and I. Although I must give her credit, she didn't wake up last night. So today has just been a red letter day for her! I hope that you all are doing well. Thanks so much for checking in...we love you!!

So Much Going On!

2008-07-08T10:03:00.003-07:00

We have had so much going on. Brooklynn is doing great and so are Robin and Adam. We have been doing lots of fun stuff. On July 3rd we have a tradition of going to Nashville Shores. They have a live band that performs older 80's and 90's songs. The kids have so much fun swimming and dancing to the bands. Then they have a spectacular Fireworks show. We have chairs on the beach in the sand so it feels like we are in Florida. Very Cool. On the 4th we cooked out with my Mom, Dad and my Grandmother. Then we went to the Shingletons and then back to my mom's to shoot off more fireworks. The kids had so much fun. The Shingletons was great. They had an inflatable bounce house that Piper fell in love with and screamed hysterically every time I took her out. So, she was real pleasant for everyone! It was great to see all of our friends and hang out. Thanks Shawnah and Kent for hosting that. On Saturday the girls and I did girl things like the mall and the YMCA and Eric took the boys to ride go-carts and dirt bikes with Josh's best friend Bryson and his dad. Then all of the kids came to our house for a sleepover. Sunday was kindof a chill day, with church and a visit to see Brooklynn. Last night Viv and I took the kids to the drive-in movies in Watertown. If you have never been, it is worth the drive. The kids put on their p.j.'s and packed every blanket and pillow in the house. We saw WALL-E and Hulk, well actually Viv and I turned out chairs around to the screen behind us and watched Get Smart. Very funny. I hope you all have been doing well. Tomorrow, I head off to the NSCA conference. I got my personal training certification right before I was prego with Piper and I would actually like to pick that back up now. So I have been working really hard to get back into shape so that hopefully when the kids start back to school I can pick up a part time gig training people. In order to keep my certification I have to get some continuing education credits before Dec. This conference will fulfill half of what I need. Hope you all have a wonderful week!!!

Look...my first Fudgesicle!!

2008-06-30T21:08:00.000-07:00

Piper with her fudgesicle
The sisters with their fudgesicles
YUM YUM!!

Can I have another please?!?!

Today Piper fell in love with Fudgesicles. She ate every bite...well except what ended up on her face, arms, and chest!! Tomorrow we welcome our new niece and cousin Brooklynn. My sister is going in for a scheduled C-Section in the morning. Pray that there are no complications and that mommy and baby come out just perfect!! Will post pictures tomorrow, till then, love to you all.

Busy Busy Weekend

2008-06-29T21:21:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend Ali's team had a state tournament in Hendersonville. They finished 4th. Not where we wanted to be but, still good out of the number and level of teams present. Also, we attended my BFF's wedding. Vivian and Bob were married at Oakland Mansion and it was absolutely beautiful. Daniel Carr did the ceremony and it was one of the best services I have seen. The reception was so much fun with the kids dancing all night and consuming enough candy to feed an army from the Candy-Bar. The cake Viv chose was a watermelon cake that was fabulous and her dress and flowers just perfect. I don't think things could have gone any better. My only complaint was that Ali had another ballgame to go back to so my sweet husband left the reception to run Ali all the way to Hendersonville for her 9pm game so that I could stay and celebrate with my friend. Thanks again honey for being so thoughtful and once again putting me before yourself. Your thoughtfulness does not go unnoticed or unappreciated. I love you!!!

No More Seats in the Van

2008-06-25T09:12:00.000-07:00

I love days where there are no more seats available in the van. I really think we should invest in a short bus so that I can transport more kids. My BFF Vivian had to run some errands so all of her kids came over. She has the twins Kylie and Peyton that are a year older than Maveric and he loves them. Then she has Bryson who is a few months younger than Josh and older than Ali. Our kids play so well together and all love each other so its really fun when they can come over. Josh and Savannah were not here yesterday so we had enough seats in the van to actually go somewhere. They played here at the house all morning and I asked them if they wanted to go to lunch somewhere and they all voted for Chuck E Cheese. Everybody had a great time, ate lots of pizza, played lots of games and got enough tickets for lots of cheap prizes. Here are some pics...

This picture is really funny because I said, "Ali let me get a picture of you and Bryson together"

Batting Cages

2008-06-23T10:53:00.000-07:00

Bailey batting
Ali batting

Piper sweating!

Maveric with all of his trinkets!

Savannah and Josh are not home today, so Ali decided that we would call Bailey to meet us at Grand Slam. The girls had a great time in the batting cages and in the jumping basketball shooting game. Maveric was pleased to spend $2.00 getting prizes out of a machine. Piper spent her time sweating and wondering why God put her in this family:) It wasn't that bad for her, she got to eat Cheetos so she was happy!

Where's the fun?

2008-06-20T10:24:00.000-07:00

Today we went on a field trip with much fun in mind! We were going to go to the Farmers Market downtown and then play in the fountains at Bicentennial mall. I had never done this before, but had heard that it was a really fun trip to make. All of our kids, plus Bailey and myself headed downtown, and I didn't know where to park. We end up parking in the wrong place realizing it after I fill the meter up with money. Perhaps it was to save the car in front of me from a ticket, their meter was expired so I filled it up too. A policeman helps us to realize where we need to be, we head back to the car, load everyone up and park in the appropriate spot. At the Farmers Market everyone is hungry and ready for lunch, and of course the only place that they want to eat doesn't take check cards. So I have to go to an atm that is not our bank, pay the outrageous fee for getting money, and get everyone lunch. We then went to get some fresh fruit, the peaches were awesome. Then they all wanted to get in the fountains. We walked out to the fountains which are going and everyone runs toward them just as they go off...no water. The city worker comes over to us and lets us know that they are getting them ready to run for the summer. What? It is the middle of June? Are you kidding. We then pack up the disappointed kids and headed to the library where we heard the international puppet festival is going on. I filled the same parking meter back up with money and head in for the puppet show from China. We get to the door and the lady says, "I'm sorry, the show just started so I can't let you in now." So, I take the again disappointed kids upstairs to a smaller outdoor puppet show. The kids find a seat on the carpet and of course an obnoxious brat finds a seat right in front of our kids. He is turned around waving his balloon animal in their faces, trying to take Josh's mini skateboard, up and down, on his knees talking...UGGH! And his Mommy is watching this behavior and does nothing! Piper decides she is not into this at all, so I take her to the side and attempt to keep her from climbing into the fountain. When its over, I ask the kids if they all want to go get a snow cone outside to make the day a little better. The disappointed kids are now all excited and we rush out to the snow cone stand, only to find it closed for the day!! Oh well, I tried, but the fun just escaped us that day.

Eating Chinese @ Farmers Market

Playing on the rails instead of in the fountins

Waiting for the puppet show to begin...before the obnoxious brat showed up!

Group shot in front of the fountain that Piper was trying to swim in.

Another Fun Day!

2008-06-18T14:44:00.000-07:00

Okay yesterday was so much fun we went to the zoo again! This time the girls and Bailey joined us. Afterwards we had to rush to Savannah's saxaphone lesson. Next door to the house where she takes lessons there are horses. So while Savannah was inside doing her lesson, Josh, Ali and Bailey went to pet and feed the horses. Hope your day was wonderful too. I LOVE SUMMER:)

Fun Day

2008-06-18T08:22:00.000-07:00

We had a really fun day today. The girls were hanging out with Bailey at my mom's house and didn't feel like going anywhere. So the boys & Piper and I went to the YMCA to meet my friend Shannon & her daughter Amira. I worked out for bit and the boys swam. Then we all headed to the zoo. We had a picnic in the bamboo and then headed out to see the animals. A highlight of the trip was feeding the birds. Maveric and Josh got the birds to sit on their hands and eat the cups of nectar. I had a bird land on my head which was not so much of treat for me, a little freaky! Great time with two of my three favorite boys in the world and our sweet girl!!

Never know who you will see at the grocery

2008-06-17T18:21:00.001-07:00

Last night I had about a 3 hour trip to Kroger. I stopped by after Pipers party that we had with my family. She was asleep when I got her out, but we really needed some stuff...some of the kids had boiled eggs for lunch that day!! Anyway, I walked in and saw Shawnah and Kent and I whistled at Shawnah, knowing that she would automatically turn around when she heard it. To my surprise she didn't although the man behind her thought that I was a little desperate holding a sleeping baby while whistling at women in the produce department. Anyway, I caught them admiring the bananas and we began to chat. Kent insisted that we sit down under the gazebo that was set up with a nice set of patio furniture in front of the bakery, so we did. Shawnah kicked her shoes off and we were set. About 30-45 minutes into the conversation, we see Sharon Henley from church and insisted that she join us, Kent got up at this point to go do their shopping. So we all chatted for about 30 minutes. Kent busted up our party and drug Shawnah out of the store. If we would've had some coffee I think we would still be there. Just when I got serious about my shopping, I ran into a friend that I grew up with and another 20 minutes was spent chatting. I finally said I have got to leave this store and call my husband who I'm sure is wondering what in the world has happened to me. But what a fun trip to the grocery! And that patio set is super comfy, try it out!!

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-16T07:24:00.001-07:00

We had a wonderful day celebrating our Daddy and he so deserves a day to be celebrated. He is just amazing. God blessed us with a man that loves and provides for us, so often sacrificing things that he loves for us. Weekends that he used to spend hangliding in Chattanooga are now spent cheering for our daughter at a ballpark in 90-something degree weather for hours on end or evenings that he used to spend at writers nights pursuing singing and songwriting are now spent at gymnastics practice, softball practice or up with a fussy baby and then working on things that need to be handled from the office. He works harder than any person that I know but still manages to do fun things with our kids like play video games with the boys and jump our kids and their friends on the trampoline. We all got him a mobile gps device. My friend has one and let me borrow it one day and I thought that it would be perfect for Eric with his love of all things technical! And he did. The kids all bought or made cards for him that fit their personalities. And my brother did an excellent job of cooking Father's day lunch for Eric, Adam and our dad. It was a great day!

My brother has a hamock in his living room and our kids absolutely love it!!

Happy Birthday Piper

2008-06-14T06:10:00.000-07:00

Our baby girl is one!! In celebration of her being able to face forward in the car, I thought that it would be a good idea to go buy her a big-girl carseat. Most babies love it when they can see where you are going in the car. Well, I was wrong. She hated it!! She screamed from the second her little behind hit the seat in Babies R Us parking lot until we reached Smyrna. We stopped at my mom's for a break because she would not calm down. I got her some crackers to put in the cup holder and she thought that was pretty cool, so no more screaming. We took her to Chuck E. Cheese because our other children are just that thoughtful and insisted that she would love it. After we made it through Chuck E's security gate her brothers and sisters hit the games and never looked back! Oh well, I think Piper had fun too. She loves the baby ferris wheel and would scream at any other child that thought of coming near it.

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!

We can't imagine our lives without you! We all love you so, so much.

Scout Camp

2008-06-13T06:44:00.000-07:00

Last week, Maveric had his first camp experience. He loves all things manly and outdoors, so scout camp was like heaven for him. Little did I know when I signed him up that the Tiger scouts have to have an adult with them all week. That adult was me. I on the other hand do not so much like all things manly and am pretty much an indoor kindof girl! But I love my baby boy so we were in from 8:30-3:30 for five days in the blazing hot weather shooting BB guns, bow & arrow, sling shots, (Maveric called this the dog food shot because that's what they shot out of it) fishing-which I do like, hiking, making crafts, singing songs, you name it, we did it! One of the highlights for Maveric was making a rocket that he got to blast off. It turned out to be a really great time and a week we will never forget.

Maveric Lost his first tooth!!

2008-06-06T10:57:00.000-07:00

Getaway!!

2008-06-02T10:42:00.000-07:00

Eric and I were blessed with an all expenses paid trip to Cabo San Lucas that was part of a business trip through Eric's company. We had a fabulous time. This was the first time that we had left Piper over night so, I was very nervous about leaving. I got over it real quick once we arrived as you can see from the pictures. I talked to my mom after the first night and Piper slept 10 hours. She did perfect while we were gone. It was a much needed break and I LOVED all of the time spent alone with my man.

Me about 15 minutes after we arrived in the hammock on the beach!

Me and my sweetie on a sunset cruise.
Picture of our room. Not too bad huh?
View from the porch outside of our room.

Long Weekend

2008-05-27T09:32:00.000-07:00

We have had such a busy, long weekend. Friday, I was once again at the kids school. I had organized donations from parents for gift cards for Ali & Josh's teachers as end of the year gifts. (Another mom organized the one for Maveric's teacher.)The response from the parents was really weak! I asked that they give $5 and did not receive many $5 donations from either class. I guess to me, coming off of three years of homeschooling where we had to purchase every textbook, workbook, visual aid, every copy, or scrap of paper that was used, $5 did not seem like much to give! It has been amazing to me especially with Savannah, the value of the public school system. Savannah has had an entire years worth of saxophone instruction through band and vocal instruction through choir; all free. All things that would have cost us plenty if we were homeschooling. Which also makes me wonder why homeschool kids could not join these aspects of the public school system. Obviously as tax paying citizens, the homeschooling families are also funding these programs. I wonder why they could not take advantage of the extracurricular aspects of their zoned schools? I'm sure someone a lot smarter than me has also wondered this, but just a thought. I love to support all of the homeschooling families. The sacrifice that is put into home educating your children is amazing as is the result when it is done right. Anyway, we had a tournament in Hendersonville for Ali. They played like rock stars on Sunday and won it. Yesterday we had a cookout/shower for my sister and brother-in-law. I almost cried when the monsoon came. But the rain let up and it ended up being a wonderful evening spent celebrating my new neice! We had such a great turnout and I think everyone had a really good time. I was so busy trying to run the shower while soothing my sick Piper-girl that I did not take a single picture. Hopefully I can get some from my mom. Hope your Holiday was wonderful as well.

Emotional Wreck!

2008-05-23T07:07:00.001-07:00

Okay, I feel like an emotional wreck today. Reading the news and blogsite of Steven Curtis Chapman http://www.stevencurtischapman.com/ just breaks my heart. I can not imagine losing a child. It is unfathomable to me. I think when you become a parent that becomes your number one fear. That and losing your husband (or wife.) This tragic event combined with the fact that in less than a week Eric and I will be leaving for Cabo San Lucas for four days has just gotten me so upset. You are probably thinking, yeah that's REALLY depressing! I have never left Piper over night before and I just recently weaned her. It is such a sad time for me. Breastfeeding for me is forever over and that makes me really sad. There is nothing like the time spent nursing your baby. It is such a unique and special bonding experience. It just feels like she is a little girl now and not a baby anymore. While we are away, my mom will be keeping her, and the rest of the kids, except Josh. I know that my mom and dad love our kids more than anything and that they will be safe and well taken care of. It is still just so nerve racking to me not to be able to take care of her. To be hundreds of miles away from her. I know that Eric and I will have a great time together and we really need a getaway for just us. I can't exactly turn it down. It is an all expenses paid trip from a company that Eric's company (O.C.) works with. O.C. is their number one customer and Eric was asked to come to Cabo for an awards ceremony and some business strategy meetings. Pray for peace for me over the coming days and during our trip so that I will be able to relax and enjoy the time with Eric. Most of all pray for the Chapman family.

Field Day

2008-05-20T14:48:00.000-07:00

Josh with Alex & Piper during the 5 minutes that she sat in the stroller.
Neil, Alex & Josh

Maveric at the basketball relay.

He makes it!

Ready to run the relay race.

The hula-hoop relay

Ethan & Maveric

Ali running the relay race.

Go Ali Go!!

Ali at the egg relay

Piper is always very popular with all of the kids!

Okay, I promise the end of year school events are winding down. Today was field day. Josh, Ali and Maveric competed against other classes today in 10 different events. I had a very difficult time getting any pictures because I was holding the Princess for 95% of the time. She did not want to ride in her stroller, she preferred that I get a cramp in my arm and miss photo ops while carrying her royal behind around!! So I did:) My mom was there with her camera taking pictures anyway so now I just need to get her pics. Joshua's class was in the first field day grouping from 8-10 and then Ali and Maveric were out together from 12-2. It was about 80 degrees out so my misting fan was a big hit with all of the kids. Savannah's field day is Friday. She hasn't actually invited me to come cheer her on, but I'm still hopeful!!!

Awards Day at School

2008-05-19T12:32:00.000-07:00

Miss Palmer with Ali & her Award
Me, Piper and Ali with our awards

(Piper's neck is not broken. She was throwing a bit of a

tantrum because she did not want me to set her down.)

Josh with Piper

Josh with Piper trying to steal his trophy.
(Hmmm, my legs look really strange. Maybe I should crop that.)

Today Ali and Josh had Awards Day. Every kid in each of their classes was given an award. Josh received a Perfect Attendance Trophy and the Math Award, Entertainer of the year and the Dance King Awards. Ali received Most Improved Reading Award and the Personality Plus Award. I also received an award for Volunteering that I totally was not expecting. It was a really nice day. I got to eat lunch with all of them and just enjoy being a mommy once again!

Our Trampoline

2008-05-18T16:32:00.000-07:00

If you have kids and don't have a trampoline you should really consider it. Our kids absolutely love ours. They never get tired of it. Every day they jump on it. They love it when Eric gets on with them and power jumps them way in the air. We initially got one seven years ago and had it until we moved into our condo until our house was finished. This past Christmas, my mother-in-law Sharon was trying to figure out what to get all of the kids and I suggested a trampoline since we still had not gotten another one. So, Grandma's gift was a huge success. They are so creative with it. They get the hose and create a shower over the net onto the trampoline, have dance parties on it or just sit on it with their friends. Here are some action shots of Josh from this afternoon. Of course we played softball in a tournament in Manchester this weekend. Ali's team was missing two girls so we only had 9 players, but they were beating every team we went against. The game today was called due to rain at 17-2, with us winning. I was glad to get to do some chores around the house and to get to enjoy the kids at home for a little of the weekend.

Ali's Field Trip

2008-05-15T16:08:00.000-07:00

Ali and Drew
Evidently Ali has joined a gang. Not sure which one.

Screaming at the fake T-Rex

Breanna, Destiny, Ali and Drew gather for our only group shot!

I got the stressful opportunity of chaperoning Ali's class field trip to the Adventure Science Center. I thought that it would be a lot of fun since we went on a regular basis for the three years that we homeschooled. When we would go it was really relaxing for me to let them take their time and enjoy whatever they wanted. Lunches were always a pleasure because the lunch room overlooks all of downtown Nashville. Well, this was a very different experience altogether. I was put in charge of Ali plus three other girls and handed an agenda along with a scavenger hunt to complete along our merry way. The noise level was so deafening there was no talking involved. Only lip reading with hand gesturing. The group was so excited to be out of the school building that they ripped from one exhibit to another barely grasping what was being taught. Going to the top of the tower, one member of the elite group decides that she would rather go off and experience some other exhibits. So between levels she turns around and heads down. Did I see her do this? No. Not until we were at the top did I realize that she was GONE. The rest of our group and I searched frantically for this lost child. We arrive on the 2nd floor to see her enjoying a ride in the wheel chair exhibit. How ironic that at that moment I wanted to put her in one! She agrees to stay with the group from then on. Only to have her not comply when we were all ready to head to the next exhibit. UGGGH!!! So, God bless the Saint of a teacher that puts up with this type of disrespect on a daily basis. Lord knows I could not. I did enjoy getting to be there for Ali, but not sure if I would volunteer for this type of field trip again.

Piper is 11 Months Old!

2008-05-14T11:05:00.001-07:00

Today my sweet girl is 11 months old! I can't believe we are winding down to 1 year. She has been such a wonderful addition to our family. It seems like everyday one of the older kids says "I love Piper" or "I can't imagine if we did not have Piper." I can't imagine either. Everyday she makes me laugh. She is crawling everywhere but has not started to walk yet. She says da-da but flat refuses to say mama. I think she likes torturing me. I will try to get her to say it and she will either just grin or stick her tongue out and spit. She did this one time about 3 months ago and her brothers and sisters laughed so hard that she has done it every time since. It definitely paints an accurate picture of her personality. Love that sweety-girl!!

Maveric Graduated Kindergarten!!

2008-05-13T07:21:00.000-07:00

Maveric crossing the stage to shake hands with Mr. Zago (the principal.)

The Class of 2020!!

Maveric holding his Diploma with Miss Hamrick.

Me and my baby boy.

Eric and Maveric.

Maveric with Mr. Zago, who looks about 7 feet tall!

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-11T07:56:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day!!

I had a wonderful Mother's Day. We went to church and they had baby dedications today. My cousin's little girl Bella was dedicated and we also got to see Savannah Hope and her family and the Oatsvall's with Maggie. Such beautiful families! We still have not had Piper dedicated only because Josh was not able to be with us yesterday and we wanted to wait until we were all together as a family. We are planning for the November dedication. This will be perfect anyway because my new niece Brooklynn Sky will be here then, so we can have one big family dedication. After church we went to my brother's house to eat with my sister, mom and my grandmother. The kids gave me gifts that they had made and they all treated me like a queen. We came back home to rest and watch a movie together and then went to Minami for some sushi. It was a great day spent celebrating the role that I am so blessed to have as mommy to five awesome healthy children. I do not take a day with each of them for granted. It is truly a blessing that so many women never get to experience but so desperately want to. I am once again reminded of what a fabulous husband I have that will take the time to make the day special for me. Thanks E! I love you.

Saturday full of Softball

2008-05-10T06:42:00.000-07:00

Lil Lady Warriors '99
Piper covered in Gatorade
Ali and the some of the team taking a break.

Ali and Kailee

Piper is very popular among these 8 & 9 year old girls!

Ali & Piper

Elise & Piper Skylar & Piper

Beth-Ann & Piper

Elise & Kailee

Darian, Holly, Ali & Skylar

Holly, Ali & Skylar

Elise performing her "dare" putting two whole nachos in her mouth.

Saturday was full of many games of softball. Savannah had her opening tournament here in Smyrna and played like a Rock Star. Unfortunately, Ali had a tournament in Gallatin so my mom took Savannah to her tournament and Eric and I took Ali. Usually Eric and I will divide the kids when they have things on the same day but he was out of town almost all week and I was really missing him so we chose the most rigorous tournament and went together. My mom is such a trooper and always steps in when we need an extra hand. With the kids getting older and into so many sports I don't know what we would do without her. Ali had a great tournament as well and it was a lot of fun. They played 5 games that day?, (they are all kind of running together.) In between games the girls decided to play truth or dare and they would come to me for the dares. As a result of the "dares" Ali ended up with a huge piece of ice down her uniform as did the coach. Also, Keith McKnight's daughter Kailee is on the team too so her dare was to go over to her dad and polish his bald head with a baby wipe!! It is so ironic growing up with someone and then watching your kids play together. The girls ended up with third place, not where we wanted to end up but still a good effort against some great competition.

Maveric's Kindergarten Performance

2008-05-08T18:32:00.000-07:00

Maveric with his teacher Ms. Hamrick (LOVE this Teacher)

Tonight Maveric had his end of the year performance at school. With Eric being out of town it makes getting anywhere a major accomplishment, much less attempting to make it on time to something like this. I was toting Piper with the other four kids in tow, along with my camera and video camera so that I could record it for Eric. Piper was cranky because she missed her afternoon nap and started crying right when we entered the gym. I thought it was not going to go well. When the music started she was so amazed that she settled down. With one arm I held her and with the other attempted to steady the video camera all while trying to catch great footage of Maveric behind the two rows of much taller kids in front of him!! Why does this happen? Those of you who are teachers out there, please tell me why no one can look at the kids lined up and see that the tall kids should be in the back? Happens every time. Not only to my kids, to a lot of shorter kids. And it wasn't that he did not know the words or hand motions to the songs and they were trying to put the better performing kids in front. I have video! The giant of a kid that was standing in front of him hardly moved, mouth or hands!! Anyway, I did not let it get in the way of enjoying his performance he was so cute!!

Ali-Cat is 9!!!

2008-05-07T20:32:00.001-07:00

We have been blessed with Nine wonderful years with our Ali-Cat! I can not imagine our family without this girl! She is so loving, sassy, sweet, pretty and hilarious all at the same time. She loves softball and is playing for the second year on the Lil Lady Warriors fastpitch travel team. She also loves being mommy number three to Piper, behind Savannah and I. But I think she is by far the most indulgent of the three of us. Piper is not allowed to shed a tear when Ali is around. If I need to put her down to do something and Piper cries, Ali is right there saying "Come to Sister!" She is a friend to everyone and has a super compassionate heart. For her birthday she wanted to have a slumber party with two of her best friends since Kindergarten that we met while we homeschooled, and of course Bailey was here too! Birthdays are a huge deal in our family and get stretched out for days! Eric always takes them for Birthday breakfast usually at the Pancake Pantry and because of work and school it happens on the weekend. On her actual birthday, I woke her up with Happy Birthday and a gift, my mom called to sing Happy Birthday, I went to school to bring brownies and milk for the class and to have lunch with her, Eric sent her flowers to school, but we did not know that it was not allowed so they sat in the office, but she got to go look at them and read the card. Then for dinner since it was her actual birthday we went to Chuck E. Cheese. Then on the following Friday we had the slumber party, pizza, ice-cream cake, lots of movies and hair and nails being done. Since she had friends over on Saturday morning, Eric did not get to take her for her Birthday breakfast so she still has more birthday coming this weekend. We kind of go over board, but it is so much fun!

Savannah, Bailey, Megan, Gillian, Ali, Josh and Maveric @ Chuck E's

Ali (Mommy #3) with Piper

Revamping My Blog

2008-05-06T21:38:00.000-07:00

I think I've finally figured out how to post pictures well. So, I cheated a little and went back and posted some pictures. Now I guess I just need to remove my sucky blog post, cause I don't think it sucks as much anymore!! Hope it is more ejoyable now.

Cover Kids

2008-05-04T07:58:00.000-07:00

Maveric and Gillian were in the Cover Kids contest through the Parent magazine. I really am not sure why I entered him in this. To me, all of the kids there were so cute, how could you choose just two to be on the cover. And how wrong that they did choose just two. It is really just disturbing to me that two children are basically told that they are better than the other 90 children there. I suppose I should not complain since I am the one that voluntarily submitted my child to this. For Maveric it was the greatest thing ever. He had no clue that he was not a winner! He received a Gold medal and got to walk across a stage with everyone looking at him, with one of his favorite people in the world, Gillian. He also got a case full of cool stuff. So to him it was Awesome. Eric and I had a great time with Kelly and Chris, Gillian's parents. We got lunch at Macaroni Grill where Ali continued to play the Birthday card. She got cake with ice cream along with yet another serenade of the Happy Birthday song. Then Eric took the boys to see Iron Man and the girls and I looked around Opry Mills. All and all a wonderful day, even if it was laden with my beautiful boy not being named the Cover Kid!

Battle of the Bands

2008-05-03T07:42:00.000-07:00

This picture is very significant because Piper will normally go to NO ONE when I am around, which is pretty much all of the time. She went to my friend Danna and actually looked like she was enjoying it! We went to Rocketown to see the Battle of the Bands. Ali, Megan, Gillian, Josh and Savannah watched from the stairway so that they could get a good shot of all of the bands over the crowd on the floor. The kids loved it and had a really great time. A friend of Danna and Steve's had one of his tour buses there so the kids were taking breaks and going into this super nice tour bus to watch a little Zac & Cody then going back in for the live music. It's cool that the majority of our kids are at an age that we can do things as a family that Eric and I actually enjoy too. We topped off the evening with a trip to Chik-fil-A to grab some dinner and discuss all of the bands.

Maveric's Field Trip

2008-05-01T08:11:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from Maveric's field trip to the zoo. It was a beautiful day, perfect weather for the zoo. We were paired with two other moms and 6 kindergarten boys. I think we made the quickest trip around that zoo that I have ever experienced. They were so excited that they just ripped from one exhibit to the next. Of course the gigantic playground was their favorite part, go figure!

Savannah's Poem

2008-04-27T18:57:00.001-07:00

Savannah was given an assignment at school to write a poem. They could write about anything that they wanted and would get extra credit if it fell under the heading of "hopes and dreams for the future." I think she did a wonderful job and wanted to share it...

Hopes and Dreams for the Future

“Alone No More”

Sitting and waiting for help today.
Hopeless, unloved, crying out, and Alone.
There, day by day while I go on carefree.
They are orphans and are alone all over the world.
I am in America; land of the free.
While they don’t have any idea what love is.
I go to bed full and warm while they go to bed hungry and cold.
They are orphans all Alone.

But one day I dream of adopting.
No longer will she sit and wait for help.
No longer hopeless, unloved, crying out, and Alone.
Here, day by day she will go on carefree.
No longer an orphan across the world.
She will be in America; land of the free.
She will know the feeling of love for the first time.
She will go to bed full and warm, no longer hungry and cold.
Alone No More.

Montana Guests

2008-04-27T18:48:00.001-07:00

On Wednesday, my mother-in-law Sharon and her husband Gary arrived from Montana. I really enjoy having Sharon visit. She is just a wonderful person and a pleasure to be around. She is so type A like Eric! She loves to be doing something and often enough that is my laundry or cleaning something around our house!! She had a great time playing with the kids and catching up with them. We also went antique shopping. Awhile back she had given us her antique French clock. It is gorgeous but we did not have anything really nice to set it on. So we were on the hunt for an antique table. Like my friend said, "If you give a mouse a cookie..." We found the perfect table for it. I wish I was really good at posting pictures cause I would sure take one of this table and clock. Thanks to Sharon for giving us this beautiful gift and to Gary for enduring the antique shopping!

Maveric's first day of being six!

2008-04-13T19:03:00.000-07:00

Maveric in front of the door to his classroom with the birthday sign and the amazing birthday cake hat that he proudly wore all day and to bed!

I LOVE this boy!!!

my blog sucks

2008-04-13T18:42:00.000-07:00

My blog just really sucks. I visit other blogs that are so amazing and mine is just blah! So I want to appologize to those of you who are looking at this. Sorry:) We had another busy weekend with softball, but managed to sneak out for a date night with a couple of friends for dinner Saturday night (Kevin and Karen). Ali had a tournament in Cookeville and it was unbelievably cold, like drizzling sleet and rain cold. Saturday wasn't as bad and our girls played great but today they played not so great. We won the first game somehow but the second game was a disaster. One of our girls was catching a pop fly in the first inning when it hit her directly in the eye with a very loud thud. Her eye was completely swollen shut. It was terrible. But in true Warrior fashion she only sat out the remainder of that inning and wanted to finish playing the rest of the game!! We lost and were sent home. I was SO ready to go. I love watching my kids in any sport and love to win, but wrestling with a baby and an umbrella while keeping track of other kids in freezing temperatures is not my idea of a good time. We got home early and have been lounging in our messy house observing the Lord's appointed Day of Rest. I am going to bed in hopes that I will be full of energy and ready to get a lot accomplished tomorrow. How was your weekend? Thanks for reading the sucky blog!!

I LOVE SWINGING!

2008-04-10T14:26:00.000-07:00

These pictures also showcase Piper's first "Boo-Boo." She was at my mom's and fell over and whacked her eye. She looks like she went a couple of rounds with Mike Tyson.

The Cardinal Chase

2008-04-07T12:19:00.000-07:00

Maveric taking a break after the run.
Maveric stops for water

And he is running...

and running. I don't think he knew he could stop.

Ali & Piper

Me, Ali & Piper

Ali slowed down & I got a picture. She is SO fast.

Ali getting her lap marked.

Josh's Teacher Mrs. Wallen & the entire class doing some crazy faces.

(LOVE this teacher!!)

Josh & his friend Austin

Run Forrest Run!!

Josh, Ali & Maveric had a fund raising event at school, well, I shouldn't say a, this was about the 7th fund raiser that they have had. But this was by far the best. I shouldn't even get started on the fund raisers, but I am going there. A couple of the fund raisers that the school does are in partnership with companies that basicaly get rich on us "pimping" our kids out to sell all of their over-priced but cheaply made crap and the school only gets about half of the sales. They get the kids worked into a lather about getting to some absurd level in which they will receive a Wii or an X-Box and we all know that the only kids who make it to that level are the ones whose parents "pimp" themselves out to their co-workers and sell the over-priced but cheaply made crap themselves. So, all that to say that this fund raiser I really like. The kids get donations or sponsorship to run laps outside the school. 100% of the funds go to the school and it is great fun for everyone. I got to see all of our sweet kids run their hearts out. I even joined Ali for a few laps. It was a really great day for a good cause.

Bad Hair Day!

2008-04-03T13:32:00.000-07:00

Piper wakes up with the wildest hair sometimes. It was especially out of control this morning, so I had to take some pictures of it before I washed it.

Chik-Fil-A

2008-03-29T15:53:00.000-07:00

We Love this Place!

Priorities of a 6 year old

2008-03-29T08:53:00.000-07:00

I was sitting here at the desk trying once again to figure out how to post pictures to my blog. (I seriously need lessons.) When Maveric came in with a piece of paper and a marker needing me to help him spell a few things. He was making a list of what he was going to accomplish today and I thought it was so funny. Here is how his day is stacking up...

1. Fishing

2. Eat skittles

3. Rest

Maveric Richey

I wish my list was always that simple! Hope your day is as wonderful as Maveric's!!

2008-03-28T23:34:00.000-07:00

Okay, so maybe I will just attempt to post monthly. That seems to be a more realistic goal! We had a wonderful Easter. All of our kids were beautiful and Piper was especially adorable on her first Easter. We have had sick kids for 2 weeks. First Maveric, then Piper and Ali. Today was the first day that someone has not been sick. So we made the most of it. My mom offered to watch Piper so that I could have some fun with the other kids. We had a blast. We started at Walmart where Savannah, Ali and Maveric had some gift cards to spend. Then we headed to Opry Mills since we have not been there much since we moved to Smyrna. We had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe, ate ice cream from the Marble slab, adopted new animals from Build-A-Bear and obtained a new picture casing for Maveric's wallet! Just to let you know why this is significant, Maveric is a little O.C. (Obsessive Compulsive) He got a wallet from one of the kiosks in the middle of the walkway@ Opry Mills several months ago, most likely because I needed to buy something from that one kiosk since I can not resist products from these strategically placed carts. Anyway, he loves this wallet. It is filled with 31 one dollar bills, 30 of which my mother-in-law sent him for his birthday. He likes to carry it in his back pocket like Eric. Not long ago, Eric needed to get a bank statement that was missing for our taxes so he was in the bank managers office, when Maveric who was sitting in a chair next to her, pulled out his wallet, opened it up and inhaled deeply, then stated that he loved the smell of money! Back to the story; our children have chores, and have to do their own laundry. Maveric and Josh put their jeans in to wash and Maverics wallet went through the heavy duty cycle. The wallet survived along with the 31 ones, but the picture casing did not fair so well. His picture of his "girlfriend"d Jillian, his picture and Josh's picture were ruined and the front of it was ripped. He was distraught to say the least. I promised him that we would get a new one and he reminded me of it at least 50 times. So, it was with great relief to us both when I explained the situation to the man at the kiosk today and he pulled out a new picture casing and gave it to Maveric! Awesome day. I am so thankful that I was able to spend this time with them. It is really difficult to make that happen because I have to be so focused on Piper most of the time. It was such a blessing to have so much fun with the older kids. Hope you had a wonderful day too!

Maveric Learns to Shave

2008-03-24T14:42:00.000-07:00

Maveric received a shaving kit in his Easter Basket. This is his first shave!

Easter Pictures

2008-03-23T19:43:00.000-07:00

Here are some of our Easter Pictures!!

Ali being Ali with Savannah

Me with two handsome boys!

Best Buddies

Piper's first Easter Pictures

One cute group of kids!

(Josh, Maveric, Bailey, Savannah, Ali and Piper)

Piper Learns To Clap!

2008-03-11T17:57:00.000-07:00

Catching Up

2008-02-26T05:50:00.000-08:00

We have had a busy couple of weeks. It started with the Sacred Gathering at church. We were fasting and I sort-of did a fast from technology as well. I did not really get on the computer or watch tv, just wanted to listen for God's voice and be as "undistracted" as possible. It was an amazing time of worship at church, I loved it! Lots has happened. My sweet baby boy turned 6 on Valentines Day! I will have to post some pictures of that later. We had a party for him here at the house and invited some of his friends from school. It was a Transformers party and he and his friends were wild. No one can get excited about something like Maveric. I always have a weepy moment on all of the kids birthdays when I think back to when they were born and how tiny they were. The night before his birthday, I went in to tuck him in and he was already asleep, so I kissed my 5 year old boy for the last time, yes another weepy moment. Another big event that occurred was Savannah getting her hair cut. It is just below her shoulders, but layered with some long bangs. She is straightening it and it looks beautiful! She looks so much older. Savannah is also starting private saxophone lessons and is auditioning for a solo in her choir at school. Joshua just started gymnastics over the weekend at Tri-star. He took gymnastics a couple of years ago and then retired to go onto his other careers in multiple sports...baseball, soccer, swim team, karate (well, one lesson-he said he learned everything he needed to know) and cub scouts. Who knows maybe gymnastics will be his thing, he seems to be very good at it. Ali is still doing the fast pitch travel softball team, which becomes all consuming when summer gets here. And Piper girl is just along for the wild ride! With the activities they have chosen for now they all actually work out well scheduling wise. At one point all four of the older kids were doing ball: baseball and softball. That was nearly impossible to do scheduling wise! So I am thankful for this. Hope all is well with your families. Posting pics soon!!

Something Funny

2008-02-01T06:18:00.000-08:00

My dad received an email about a teacher that had given her class the first half of famous proverbs or sayings and her first grade class had to complete them. Some of them were hysterically funny. My dad thought that it would be fun to do the same thing with our kids. So, he printed off the email and made copies of the paper without the second half of the sayings so that our kids could fill them in. Josh and Ali over thought this exercise and were frustrated that they did not know the "right" answer, like they were taking a test that they were going to fail. They just did not get that the point was to answer wrong and that is what made them funny. Anyway, Maveric's answer were quite funny. Here is what he said...

Strike while the...animal is still.
It's always darkest...before it rains.
Never underestimate the power of...lightening.
Don't bite the hand that....is yours.
You can't teach an old dog...not to dig in the trash.
Love all, trust...Jillian and Chandler. (His two best friends!)
A penny saved is...so you can buy something.
Don't put off till tomorrow what...you can play today.
Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and...somebody's going to tell the teacher.
If at first you don't succeed...erase it.
When the blind lead the blind...you might have to feel goo. I'm thinking that he got this idea from the haunted house experience in Gatlinbug when Savannah said that she couldn't see anything and she was feeling the walls and it felt like goo.
A bird in the hand...poops.

Savannah knew a lot of these but some of hers were funny too...
If you lie down with dogs, you'll get up with fleas.
Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and...they laugh at you.
there are none so blind as...blind people.
When the blind lead the blind...there's trouble.

Hope some of these made you smile...have a wonderful day!!

2008-01-31T10:15:00.000-08:00

This morning I went to Stewarts Creek, the school that all of the kids are attending to help their teachers out. I started in Ali's room and did all of her teachers copying and cutting, then went on to Josh's class, where his teacher works herself silly and did not have anything there for me to do! I just love her, we spent a few minutes catching up and I got to hear a little about her wedding, she got married a week ago. Then it was on to Maveric's class where she always has a ton of stuff to do. I finished her things just in time to have lunch with Maveric and Ali. I love going to their school. When each of our children see me come into their class room they light up. It makes them feel so special to have me up there and I really enjoy being able to do that for them. I brought cookies today for Ali's class and she is going to get to pass them out at their snack time. I love being their mom. Which make me think of Eric. He works so hard for our family so that I can be available for them. I get all of the credit for being a great mom, but if it weren't for him I could not do what I do. I am SO thankful for him... he is really HOT too...I love my man!!

Savannah

2008-01-30T14:04:00.000-08:00

With five children, sometimes I don't feel like I adequately concentrate on each child individually enough. I mean, I am with them all of the time, but I am with ALL of them together all of the time. It is a challenge that takes planning to overcome. I think that they all enjoy being a part of a large family and wouldn't want it any other way and I also know that they really enjoy time spent one on one. I thought it would be nice to have a special blog for each one.

I don't think I could ask for more in a daughter. Savannah is our leader. She is one of the most mature and responsible children I have ever seen. When we were homeschooling, Savannah made that job extremely easy. We were a part of a tutorial and I rarely had to even look at what she was doing. She handled the classes and work like a college student. Now that she is in public school, each time I have been up to her school her teachers track me down to tell me what a wonderful student she is and how much they love having her in their classes. This year she is playing the saxaphone in the band, which makes Eric really proud since that is what he played in school and Savannah is using his sax! She is also in the choir and the Jr. Beta Club. Next Tuesday they are having their school softball team tryouts and she is going out for that. She is a friend to everyone that she meets and is crazy about horses! Not long ago, Eric and I came up with some new family rules with a list of chores that they have to complete everyday and of course Savannah has not missed any of them. She helps me out so much with the other kids, sometimes too much. I will open my mouth to discipline someone and Savannah's voice chimes in! She has it all, she is beautiful, smart and talented. We are so thankful for such a wonderful girl and so proud of the young lady that she is becoming!

Pictures

2008-01-30T04:37:00.000-08:00

My genius husband helped me with my flashcard. So he posted the picture of Piper underneath and hopefully I will be able to add pictures now that he showed me how. I love that man! Gotta get the kids to school, have a great day.

That's one adorable baby!

2008-01-29T19:33:00.000-08:00

Piper busted at 2 am skinny dipping in our sink! We're going to have our hands full with this one.

Baby Wise and Random Phobias

2008-01-29T11:12:00.001-08:00

What a rainy day! Piper and I have just been hanging out today. She took a very long nap because she stayed up almost all night. I think I need "Baby Wise." Does anyone have a copy I can borrow? I don't know why she has started doing this lately. She wants to sleep on top of me or nurse randomly throughout the night, like a 24 hour all-you-can-eat buffet! If she stirs a little and I am not there she starts crying. I have made the transition from her co-sleeper beside our bed to her bed in her room, but she is still doing the same thing. Which has just made it harder on me because now I am up and down all night. I have heard a lot about Baby Wise but have never read it. I have heard that she will sleep through the night with this magical method, so please if any one has a copy that I can borrow, I would be very grateful. None of the other kids did this, well Maveric did enjoy sleeping with us and still occasionally pulls what I call the ninja. He can get in between Eric and I without us knowing until morning. It's quite impressive. While Piper was taking her nap, I did a lot of cleaning. I mopped floors with a cleaner that left a film on them and so I got to mop them again. I also realized that cleaning sponges are really disgusting. Really, you can only use them one time and then they just look like they are harboring millions of bacteria! Yuck! You know the other thing that really freaks me out? Public swimming pools. I take my kids to them but I can not stand to get in them, especially small ones. I just look at everyone and try to figure out who has bathed and who has not and how long it has been between baths. Then sometimes, there is the creepy couple hanging all over one another in the pool:o This was especially bothersome when we were living in our condo at Nashboro Village. I would take the kids swimming there and just pray that no one needed my assistance in the water. At first, Eric made fun of me, like, "You're crazy!" Then he started thinking about it too, and suddenly was finding excuses not to get in the water. I said, "what's wrong honey, dive in!!" He had to admit it...it was grossing him out too. Got any phobias to share?

Church n stuff

2008-01-27T09:50:00.000-08:00

We went to the Blend today at church. It is a new "old" service! The music is more traditional such as hymns. I really really enjoyed it Somebody asked me if it was better. I wouldn't say better, but there were things about it that I did like better. Like Ron leading worship, I miss him in the other service. He is immensely talented and a gifted servant. I think what he brings to worship is irreplaceable. He truely ministers to so many in our church, including our family. When my grandmother died a year ago, Ron drove to East Nashville to sing and play at her funeral. When Piper was born, he (and his daughter) came to the hospital to see us and pray over her. He and Eric connected early on in our marriage and he has had a huge spiritual impact on Eric. We love Ron. Anyway, I really liked the intimate atmosphere. I did not like watching Pat on screen, but Piper gets rowdy when he gets up to speak anyway so I always end up watching him on screen from the "nursing moms lounge", so I guess that was not much different than any other Sunday. I would definitely recommend it. The most important aspect of any service is to come expecting to meet the Lord and to give him your attention and praise. Not to be entertained. If a certain style of music helps you to better express your love to God then go with it. Well, I need to get ready for Zumba. If any of you have not tried this class at the Y, you need to. It is so much fun. It is Latin dance for exercise and on any given Sunday, you can find half of the ladies of our church there. This little Latino woman leads the class and I don't know how she keeps her composure while she sees all of the southern ladies attempting her moves! Too funny. A word of advice:Do not stand in the back because you will not be able to see what she is doing and everyone in front of you will be doing something different! Have a wonderful day!

Really Fun Girls Night

2008-01-26T08:06:00.000-08:00

On Thursday night, my friend Vivian invited the girls and I to go out and celebrate her twin girls birthday. Her sister-in-law Debbie, her daughter Meg and Viv's friend Christy and her daughter Skylar also were along for the fun. She had extra High School Musical tix and had rented the Sweet and Sassy hot pink limo! We met at Macaroni Grill for dinner and then the limo pulled up outside to get all of us. I have never seen a group of girls run so fast. We were getting our cameras ready for a picture and the girls were gone, already in the limo. We made them all get back out for a shot in front of the limo then we were off. It was Hannah Montana blasting on the sound system and girls dancing everywhere! We had the video camera rolling so we decided to get in on the dancing action. You know, there are just moments when you are reminded that you are no longer cool, ie. It was my turn for a dance in front of the video camera and as I am breaking it down in unison I hear "MOMMA STOP!!!" from both of my girls. Yep, no longer cool. That's okay, being cool fell to the bottom if not off of my priority list a long time ago. Say, about the time that I was happy to own and drive a minivan. Back to the evening. High School Musical was awesome. Towards the end, Viv decided that she was going to sing along with the songs which was hysterically funny, but borderline humiliating all at once. I just knew the people around us were going to have us thrown out due to her singing and our laughter. The girls kept asking when they could get back in the limo. It was a super fun night. Savannah had fun while Ali decided that this was definitely the life for her. I'm thinking Saint Cecilia's all girls school for that one! I will try to add some of the pix later.

Reviving My Blog

2008-01-22T07:25:00.000-08:00

Okay this is really sad that my last post was in July! Well, we moved and unhooked our computer and did not get reconnected until about 1 month ago, well I was able to use Eric's computer when he got home from work, but that is not really connected. Yes we finally moved...HALLELUJAH! So, I am going to attempt to keep the blog up and keep pictures posted of all of the kids. Thanks for stopping in!
Christi

Happt New Year!

2008-01-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

Savannah, Bailey and Ali ring in the New Year!

Happy 2008!!!

Busy Summer

2007-07-28T10:55:00.000-07:00

I was telling my sister that this has not even seemed like summer! Summer is about going to the pool every day and sleeping in and having fun with the kids. I think we have been swimming 6 or 7 times this entire summer and a lot of those have been in the evening so that Piper is not so hot. It has just flown by. Most of our weekends have been spent playing softball. Other than the weekend spent having Piper!! I was waiting to post again until I had the pics from the tournament but I do not have them yet. I went to Walgreens to make a cd from my flashcard and their machine was down. The Warriors played awesome and got 3rd place. This weekend we are packing! Yes, Thank the Lord, we are finally moving. It has been a horrific experience building this house, I would never do it again. Our house is going to be beautiful, but NO house is worth what our family has had to endure. Anyway, I'll save that for another post! Gotta get back to packing. I hope everyone has a great weekend. I will be posting more pictures very soon.

Softball Anyone?

2007-07-19T19:01:00.000-07:00

It has been a very busy week as usual. Right now I am just preparing to leave for Bowling Green KY tomorrow morning at 5:30 am. Ali is on an 8 & under fast pitch travel softball team and they are headed to the World Tournament. She loves playing on this team and has learned so much. The girls she plays with are great and they have awesome coaches. Thurman Bailey is the head coach and he truly has a gift of working with these girls. I love that he always incorporates his faith, like praying with the girls before they play, in the pep talks before and after the game and giving God the glory. He is such a great witness to these girls and to us as parents, I am so thankful to have a godly coach in our daughters life. I still have a load of laundry drying that has to be folded and I am sure Piper will be waking up soon for a midnight snack! Hopefully I will have some good pictures to post after the weekend. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend too!!

Blogging

2007-07-12T21:24:00.000-07:00

Okay, I am just trying to figure out how this blog thing works. I was having trouble earlier today uploading pictures to the site. While I was looking for my pictures, I came across this old family picture. It is one of my favorites, I just love it! When I saw it I was shocked at how much they have all grown. They are all so little...and so was I! (HEE HEE) I thought that it would be a good reminder for me to enjoy each day that I have with them. They really do grow up so fast. We had this picture taken on Maveric's first birthday and now he is headed to Kindergarten, and Piper was not even a thought, literally we had absolutely no intentions of birthin' any more babies! I am so thankful and crazy in love with each one of them!

Introducing the newest Richey!!!!

2007-07-12T06:18:00.000-07:00

Eric with Piper, Jimmy holding Ali and Mark with Alibeth. Jimmy and Angie do not have children yet, so Jimmy borrowed one of ours!!

My cousins Amy and Angie and my Aunt Ann came to the hospital to see the new girl. This is a picture of Angie and her husband Jimmy.

The SISTAS. Piper is 1 day old.

Pa-Pa (my dad) with Piper.

Savannah holding her new sister...She is a PRO at this!

Bailey with her new cousin...Okay, that was going to be all that I put with this picture, but I am going there! We should also have a picture of Bailey holding her new Brother or Sister along with this one! My sister Robin and her husband Adam were "trying" to have a baby, so I said "Oh, let's have babies together! So, Eric and I "try." I get a positive test and Robin tells me, "Well, I've decided to go back to school, so we are going to wait. I say, "WHAT!?!?" So, Robin, Adam, Piper is still waiting for a cousin to grow up with!!!

Ali holding Piper for the first time.

Maveric is so excited to finally get to hold Piper and to be a Big Brother!

Josh with his new little sister.

The kids brought Piper a birthday cake to the hospital so we all sang Happy Birthday to her.

Piper with Grandma Richey.

Piper with her Great-Grandma.

"Four Generations" My mom, and Grandmother, and Eric's mom Sharon in the Red were all in the room with us when Piper arrived!

Here is the newest member of our family, Our fifth child, (YES...F-I-V-E) Piper Monet Richey. I wanted to start a Blog before now, but better late than never. She was born June 14, at 3:23 pm and was 9lbs 7oz! She is so beautiful and we all just love her to pieces!