Monday, February 13, 2012

Big Day

Today may seem like any other ordinary day, but it's a pretty darn big day in our house!! Today Chris starts his VERY. LAST. Clinical!! This clinical will last 12 weeks and then Chris will be done with school! How excited are we, you might be asking? Well I think I can speak for both of us when I say we are SOOOOOOO EXCITED!!! Words can't even begin to express my excitement!


Today Chris will walk into this funky looking building....


This is the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. Chris has been looking forward to this clinical ever since he started doing clinicals. During the last year of schooling Chris became very interested in the Neurological side of Physical Therapy. He had a great Professor (or whatever you call them when they are Dr.s) that helped Chris enjoy Neuro and look to it as a possible career selection. She was also very instrumental in getting the clinical set up at Lou Ruvo. We are so grateful for her and her dedication to the school, but especially to Chris. Many of Chris' fellow classmates says Chris is the favorite... I love it!!


This clinical will help Chris determine if this is really the field he wants to specialize in. This is a bit stressful for him and if it be known me too! What if he doesn't like it? What if it's just not what he wants to do? All that hard work would seem wasted, but at least he would know it's not what he wants to do. We have tried being responsible adults and laying out a plan for our family. We have included this step in our plan, maybe a possible job opportunity here, time to get specialized and Chris goes a step further by planning out other aspects of having a specialty in Neurology. What if that all has to be reshaped? This next 12 weeks will be very big and important in our families future plan. The next 12 weeks will fly by and drag by all at the same time. They will drag by because at the end of 12 weeks Chris will graduate and a Doctor of Physical Therapy. And they will fly by because at the end of 12 weeks our family will have a new direction. Daddy will no longer be a student and Mommy will no longer be providing for the family on her own... It's crazy to even think about!!!


So today is a VERY. BIG. DAY!!


Good luck Chris! No matter what happens and what our future holds, you will be awesome at whatever it is! And you have all of us standing behind you to support you!


Today for the very first time in a long time I have thought about the future and it doesn't seem so far away. In fact it almost seems too close!!!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Oh Ethan...Pink does look good on you...

Most nights we have issues with Ethan and Katelee getting to sleep. We end up taking one to our bed and putting one on the top bunk and taking away the ladder... (Judge if you will, but that is how we handle it) So one night I hear little feet moving around upstairs and I walk upstairs, ready to give a little boy a long talking to and this is what I find.... So it may not look so funny, but those are actually Ashlee's, size 6 month,PANTS.... He found them on the bed and decided to wear them. I took one look at this , turned around and walked out of the room. I had to grab Chris to see this. How could I lecture this boy when he looked so HILARIOUS??? Eventually after I stopped laughing, which was quite a while later, Ethan got a small talk about going to sleep and Chris and I got another good LONG laugh about how silly that kid is...


The funniest part is that they fit him so well, if they were Bermuda shorts, don't you think???

Great Grandma and Grandpa Rufus

Every year we go up to Salt Lake City for Thanksgiving to spend it with my Grandma and Grandpa Blackburn. I truly enjoy spending that long weekend with them and especially love how much my kids LOVE it as well! Growing up I never really thought about my kids and getting to see and know my Grandparents, but I am so thankful now that they have gotten that opportunity.


Growing up I only knew one Great Grandparent, and she was pretty awesome. We drove back to Tennessee when I was 5 or so and I can still remember her house and the way she sat. I also remember going to a park with her to listen to a bluegrass band. ( Actually us kids really didn't listen we only played... but you get my drift) Any who, my kids love spending time with Grandma and Grandpa Rufus (named after their dog) and I'm pretty sure they enjoy having them around too... (most of the time...) I make sure each time we are there to get a picture of my kids with them. This can be challenging, but I think this collection of pictures represents pretty much how hard it can be and how fun at the same time!! Ashlee is perfect in this picture. Ethan not so much and Katelee's hair is blocking half of Grandma's face...


No comment needed....


Pretty good one, if you don't mind the crazy smile from Ethan...


Well at least Grandma and Grandpa look good in this one... Who cares about the kids...


I look forward to our next trip to Utah with great anticipation each time. I so enjoy our visits, talking, playing cards, shopping and all the other fun activities we get to do while we are there!!!

Love you Grandma and Grandpa and can't wait to see you soon!!!

B-Mets Fall T-Ball

This fall we signed Ethan up for his second T-ball season and Chris and I decided to help out with the team. I was technically the "Team Mom" and Chris, my Dad and Coach David were coaches. I was not the typical "team Mom" and was out on the field with the boys A LOT! It was a lot of fun but a whole lot of work and time!!! This crazy group of boys was our team, missing three...

The boy on the far left was three at the beginning of the season, which gave us a challenge to keep him engaged. At the beginning of the season all he wanted to do was play Mario, but by the end he was actually having fun and doing very well. Ethan LOVES baseball. It has been fun watching him mature in baseball. From the beginning of the first season to the end of this season he has improved well....


Being the Team Mom I was also in charge of calming upset or crying kids, encouraging the boys to keep their head up, put their strong arms on and try. try. and try again to get them to pay attention to the game instead of teasing each other. Another job was planning the End of Season Party and getting the kids' awards. We just had a small picnic and luckily our sponsor, Gary Reese, paid extra for our team so that each kid and the coaches got awards and there was no out of pocket money needed! Yeah!

Ethan getting his award from Coach David and Coach Grandpa...

Look how happy that boy is.... (He takes after me sometimes and keeps his emotions inside instead of openly expressing them. We are working on this... )


Here is a good picture of all the coaches and boys. They were a fun bunch of kids, sometimes a little crazy, but I really enjoyed getting to know them each and being a part of their lives!!!


Here's to next season... Starts next month...








Christmas Tree Decorating 2012....FINALLY!!!

This Christmas season seemed to sneak up on us and we were a little late doing everything. But we eventually got the tree out. We set the tree up one night and then a week later we decorated it when we finally found some time all together. The kids helped Daddy fluff the tree this year and he was so thankful for their help! When we did finally decorated the tree we decided to let the kids do the majority of the job...(I'm not anal about the tree and the decorations... Maybe one day I will like a nice tree, but with kids this young I just don't think that really matters...)


Of course with the kids doing all the decorating only parts of the tree actually got decorated...


As you can see below, three of the same decoration got put pretty much right next to each other...



Ethan and Katelee were very proud of their decorating job.....I love Kate's look in this picture, like she just got done doing a big job..


And here is our finished tree... Pretty pathetic, I know, but I LOVED it! It's perfect for our Christmas this year!!


By the time we took the tree down most of the bottom ornaments were moved to the top to stay out of the quick hands of our very own ornament monster Ashlee....

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Peaceful... Night-Night

I cannot get enough of my kids when they sleep. When they sleep they look so peaceful and calm. They don't talk back and they make me smile! I just had to give you all a glimpse at what I get to see every night before I go to bed!!! You never know what position Ethan is going to be in... He is all over the place!



Kate loves her babies.... Such a good mother!!

And this girl, she loves to sleep on her knees, I don't know how it can be comfy for too long, but she makes it look comfy!!!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Ethan is 5... How Did That Happen?

Ok, so I cannot deny that I have REALLY slacked in the Blogging business. I have my reasons and they will be posted later. However I need to write about Ethan since he is now five. I can't find my memory card with pictures so this will just be an Ethan update and I'll do a birthday post later when I find my camera


Ethan is growing like a weed and I don't know how to make him stop. The kid is getting so tall and skinny. Because Ethan's birthday is past the cut off for school he didn't start Kindergarten this year, but he will next year. Instead we enrolled him in preschool with an old friend on Monday, Wednesday and Friday each week. This school is out in Henderson so Grandma Snickers takes him on those days. This has been a nice break for Grandma Jiggs, who at times has five kids all day long. Ethan loves school, most of the time. A lot of times he will say he doesn't want to go and when I talk with him about it, he really just feels like he is learning too much. He will say, "it's just hard learning so much, it makes my brain hurt!" I love that he thinks this way, such a boy! He always goes no matter what and he never gives Grandma any problems with it. Everyday they either learn a new letter or review the letter they learned the previous day. He already knew his alphabet, but now he is getting more familiar with them and learning how to properly write them as well. There are five other kids in his class and he gets along with all of them. For Ethan's birthday I got off of work early and as a family we took donuts for his class. He was so excited to see us and it made us all feel special.

Ethan is still a caring boy, he really does try to be sensitive to peoples feelings. If he sees someone not happy he will ask them if they are ok. He also has a very, VERY good memory. He can remember what color trucks were, what kind of truck they were and what he was wearing when he saw them. He remembers what you have told him, if it is in him favor. He loves his Little Little sister and just adores her. Ashlee can get mean at times and grab faces and pull but Ethan never gets upset about it. He always just lets her do it, much to my dismay. He will laugh at her and she in turn with do the same. Anything Ethan does is funny to his Little Little sister. And he just EATS. IT. UP!!

Ethan and his little sister Katelee have a very rich love/hate relationship. One minute they will be best friends, playing so nicely together and being polite to each other and then the next they are yelling, wrestling and not being nice at all. They both know how to be mean and they do it very well to each other. However, at the end of the day they both love each other and don't like it when someone else is not nice to the other. Ethan will often times tell me "don't talk to my sister like that!" It cracks me up because at times when the kids yell or say something mean to Chris I point out that Chris is my husband and I don't want them to talk to him like that. Kids really do listen to anything you say!

Ethan will be moving on to CTR5 next year in Primary and he is very excited for that. I think he might be more excited about Katelee being in Primary with him though. He is making quite a few friends in primary and even knows their names. He takes after his dad with respect to that. The other day at dinner Ethan was telling us some stuff that was going on in primary and he said, "oh and those two boys that look alike, their birthday is this month and they are turning 8!" Those two boys happen to be a set of twins in our ward, but I knew exactly who he was talking about. He says little things like that, that just make my heart smile. His CTR 4 teachers were very good to Ethan, and knew how to handle his crazy spirit. They even came to one of his t-ball games as a family. Ethan really liked that! Ethan and his parents will miss the Fabians and hope his next teacher is just as AWESOME!

Ethan is a mama's boy and I love it. He loves to hug me and talk with me. He loves to play with my hair as we talk and I try my hardest not to get annoyed by it. We have many "deep" for a five year old conversations about things. One example of this was in regards to the passing of my cousin recently. Ethan, Chris, Grandpa Jiggs, Uncle Matt, Cousin Brian and I went four wheeling not that long ago so Ethan really knew who Brian was. (he remembers special things extra well such as four wheeling, Jeep adventures or cool trucks) One day on our way to Grandma Jiggs for the day Brian was brought up in conversation. He asked again why Brian had died and I explained again that his heart had stopped beating. Then he said "well I sure hope he is alive the next time we go four wheeling!" I was a little choked up so it took a minute to reply, when I did I said, "Sorry buddy, Cousin Brian died, he wont be able to do that with us again on earth." Without skipping a beat my little guy said, "well Jesus came back to life in three days, when will Brian?" So we talked about the resurrection and then out of nowhere Katelee said, "Cousin Brian died?" Ethan kind of hit his forehead and said "duh, a while ago!" it was so funny, and really brought laughing in a time most needed! Ethan thinks things through and wants to know why, how, when and what in all cases. He is usually never satisfied with the answer, "that's just how it works." He wants to know why.

Ethan is a typical boy and loves BIG TRUCKS, sports, hunting, guns and anything boy. He has learned how to climb up to the top bunk with no ladder and how to get down as well. He thinks he is pretty cool when he sneaks into bed with Katelee and I can't find him. He is a big help cleaning up after dinner, most nights. He loves to ride his bike and go as fast as he can. He doesn't really like to do his school homework and kinda pitches a fit every time I say it's time to do school work. He would rather be playing with his cars or tackling his sister than do anything close to school work. He constantly asks me when I'm going to have the day off forever. He loves when he asks if I have the day off tomorrow and the answer is yes. He will jump up and down and be so happy! He knows how to make me one happy mother!

I know I say it all the time, but Ethan is so special to me. He made me a mother and he has loved me from the very start and I, him! He can drive us all crazy at times, but he can make us all laugh and be silly too!

The day Ethan was born will always be a great day in our life! We love you bubby!!