December

This has been a very good month for us. We have been very very busy, but worked together to keep everything semi sane for everyone.

Jeff's parents came here this last week and we did Christmas for the Keown's a little early. The kids loved it! We had a really good visit except that all the kids got a stomach bug and took turns throwing up all over. Thank goodness for extra help from Jeff's parents.

I started teaching at Fuel Gym here in clarksville. First I was just a substitute and now I am more of a permanent employee. It's great bc/ I bring the kids with me and put them in the day care. Soon I will be looking into getting certified to be a trainer. I did get certified to teach Turbo Kick which was fun and exhausting at the same time. My Brownie troop is getting better acquainted with me and I hope to teach them as much as I can. I also learned how to make the traditional Ingro family cookie , the Goochadadi. The kids got to help of course.

Jeff has been doing really well flying. He is now planning the troops next Hail and Farewell. That is when they say goodbye to those leaving the squadron and welcome in newcomers. It's tradition here in the Cav. We had the 7-17 formal. That was fun! Jeff won a shot gun in a raffle drawing. He got lucky with that one. There was an empty table behind us so as they were calling the winning numbers he grabbed there tickets under the empty table behind us. Guess what? He won and everyone was jealous that they didn't think of it first. Unfortunately our river behind our house was so full that it took away Jeff's Kayak he had back on the river bank. We never thought the river would go up 20 feet.

The kids have been growing and developing as usual this month. Isabella is reading at almost 20 words per minute. She is in Brownies and has learned a lot about traditions and moral values. She starts selling cookies next week. Hint, Hint!

Cole is still a tough boy, but has his sweet moments. He is obsessed with Transformers now. We made him a club house in his walk in closet bc/ they kept making a fort in there so now its more organized and they love hanging out in there.

Chloe is talking like she is a big girl. She copies everything Cole does. Her hair is growing too. I can actually pull it all back. She is such a cute little thing. She still climbs in bed with us in the morning and ask for chocolate milk.

We hope you all are doing well this holiday season and I hope to see or hear from you soon. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year too.

Wow, It's been so long since I've updated this thing. September and October were so full of birthdays and stuff that I forgot.
Holloween was fun here. We spent an hour and a half taking the kids one mile up and one mile back. My mom handed out candy at our house and Anneliese walked around with me and Jeff. The kids loved it and are still eating the candy.
Isabella is doing better in school. Still gets in trouble a lot for talking to much and not following directions. I give up! She has average grades so who can say anything.
Cole is such a grumpy boy. He stomps off and growls at me. Every now and then he'll go soft and tell me he loves me and give me a kiss.
Chloe is still cute as ever and growing up way to fast. She is potty training now I guess. We aren't very strict but she does it throughout the day if we take her. She is talking up a storm too. I love hearing her talk bc/ It's so cute!
I have started a brownie troop here. I am really excited and nervouse at the same time. It's a lot of responsibility and that makes me scared. I am trying to make memories for my kids though and that's all that matters in the long run. I am still going to the gym a ton. The trainer there is trying to talk me into being a trainer myself and teach some classes there. I love it and want to do it , but I am going to wait to certify myself until Chloe is in Kindergarten. I am looking into it though. I havn't lost any weight but I do feel better and I am toning up a lot.
Jeff is doing great. He is back from all his training now for good. We are taking a vacation from the army for Thanksgiving soon in AL. No news of deployments for now but anything can happen here.
Well hope you enjoy the pictures.

September 07

Hey everyone,

This has been one great Month. Jeff came back from working on the border and training in CA. He did everything on his honey do list and then some. He had a birthday and is now 29. His birthday was sort of overshadowed by Isabella and Cole's big Party for there birthdays. We combined them into one big one because Jeff would only be here for 15 days and Cole's birthday is after he leaves again. He'll miss my birthday and our anniversary too.

The party went well. It was a little crazy but I made it through it. We did Hollywood movie theme and had popcorn and cake. There were 15 kids in my house and Jeff was outside putting together the new trampoline from Nana and poppa so I had little help until my friend Shanna from Nashville e showed up with her kids. Thank God for her! Man, the things I do for my kids! Popcorn went everywhere! The kids just wanted to run mad around the house and spill koolaid! Crazy. Then Isabella had a sleepover with three of the girls from the party. They all had fun, but when you get little girls together they get catty and whiny! I will never have that many over at a time again. They did sleep after a while. I was exhausted the next day and on top of that had to take Isabella to another kids birthday first thing int he morning. Cole got every cars movie figure he every wanted and much more. After all is said and done it was so worth it. Bella keeps telling me I am the best mom she ever had!

Jeff just left again yesterday. He is gone again for three weeks now doing more training in LA at JROTC.

Me I am just trying to keep the house clean as usual and trying to grow grass finally in the dirt yard. I have painted the wreck room and that is just about it. I did plant some mums in front of the house and decorated a tad for fall. I'm going to get pumpkins soon. This is my favorite time of year! My neighbor Leah also just had a baby four days ago so I get my baby fix whenever I want now. Bible study is going well to. We are doing a prenting study. We still havn't found a church home yet.

Life is good right now. I can't complain! I love my husband and my kids and love the Chaos. Oct. 11th We will be married five years. That is a big one for us! I hope you are all doing well. Until the next post then, bye.

Riding horses at Anneliese's

Isabella takes a turn on the horse and shows off.

Riding horses

End of summer 2007

Well I have had such fun this summer even though Jeff is gone for a little bit of it.
Isabella is still having trouble with her talking in school. I am racking my brain trying to figure out how to discipline her. She is really into talking on the phone already to her friend. I'd think she was a teenager! She is always worried about what she is waring lately too.
Chloe is talking very well. Everything she says is cute! I even tried to get her to say " Supercalafragelisticexpealadociouse" and she really did try to say it. She is into everything lately though and has figured out how to pull a chair up to a counter and get up and get what she wants. Chloe also got on a horse for the first time at the farm. She wasn't so sure, but quickly loved it.
Cole is still really into building blocks. He would do it all day if I let him. He is really into the movie "The letter Factory". He points out letters he recognizes and he says there sounds. Chloe is even trying to sing her alphabet too. Cole also is loving all his hoodie shirts. He can't wait for cooler weather so he can wear his hoodies.
Isabella and Cole are planning there combined birthday parties. Jeff is only back in between there birthdays so we are doing one big one while he is here. We are doing a Hollywood movie party at home. I'll take lots of pics for ya'll.
The new puppy is still a hand full. Scout has now pulled some wires out of the air conditioner unit out back and I had to pay lots of money to have that fixed. I hope he gets better before I decide to get rid of him.
Jeff is coming home soon. We are counting down the days here. We miss him so much. I just can't get it together without him. I did learn how to mow the lawn with a push mower and weed eat all by myself. I also seeded the yard with my sister's help. I hope we grow more grass this year.

First Week alone

This week we did a lot of swimming. I had so many people reach out and invite me over to stay busy while Jeff is gone. Thanks to all of you, you know who you are. We really need to get a pool in our back yard. We want t salt water pool some day.
Jeff is going to be gone for a little less than a month in CA doing some training and helping with the border patrol. He has been gone since last Sunday. I am really starting to miss him and hate him being away from his family, but that is his job. I can't blame him. He is three hours behind me and is flip flopping his schedule to nights so I don't hear from him much. We are on opposite schedules.
I am trying to train the puppy, Scout this week, to sit and lay down. Yesterday I caught him up on the couch and chased him away. Later on I went to watch TV and found my remote chewed up on the couch no longer working. No TV for me! He is going to be a lot of work.
Yesterday, Sat., Chloe started swimming without me holding her up. She realized her water wings were keeping her floating and she had a blast and couldn't stop laughing in the pool when I let her go. She is finally not scared of the water. So now all the kids are trying to swim in the pool.
Isabella had a better week at school. She gets in trouble a lot for talking to much and has gotten plenty of notes home and the teacher switched her seat. I told her she would start getting spanked if I got any more notes home and now she is doing better. She is working on reading color words and number words. She has had two test already in the first two weeks but she is getting most words right on the test. She is a real leader type of person and quite the perfectionist so it bothers her when she makes mistakes. She gets that from being a big sis. Oh by the way she helped me change Chloe twice this week while I was busy making breakfast. She is a great helper.
Cole is having fun this week. He is really getting into Leap and Tad and learning his letter sounds. He still has trouble pronouncing certain letters like S,T, L,R and P. I am going to let him meat with a speech therapist to get some ideas as to what sounds normal and what I can do to work with him on speaking more like a big kid.
Well, hope we have a better week and have lots of events to tell you about.