Whitney's Skate Town Party

Happy Birthday Whitney!!!!

Today, Whitney turns SEVEN! Wow! Where has the time gone? All three of the big kids are excited about Whitney's birthday. It is a busy day of celebrating. When I asked about what she wanted for her birthday treat at school, she said "chocolate sprinkled donuts!" As always, she marches to a different beat....no cookies, cake or cupcakes for her birthday in class! The kids were sweet and gave her presents this morning and she opened the card from us. We gave her horseback riding lessons which she has been asking for for a while. John led us in singing "Happy Birthday" (with shaving cream on his face!) while the kids enjoyed the Stonecipher Kid traditional breakfast of powdered sugar donuts and milk! She was excited to open her gift from Uncle Jerral and Aunt Dilia. It was a Barbie design program for the computer. Times have really changed. That concept was around when I was her age, but we had to place the plastic design plates on the console and use a crayon on its side to make rubbings that showed our designs....wow, I am getting old and technology has taken over!
We have her skating party this afternoon. John is coming from work and will help corral kids and keep Blayne upright on skates! Fun times! Savannah is sooo excited for Whitney and her special day. (sweet!)

God's Goodness

We've had two blessings from the Lord that I wanted to share on here.



If you remember from a few weeks ago when I went to get a prescription filled, I opened my door and hit the car next to me. My door broke the back tail light. I left a note and called John. He made phone calls and took care of it. I actually came back to the car at the same time as the lady who was driving that car. It was a RENTAL and she was so appreciative. We were expecting it to be around $500 or so to fix it. We got called this week and it was less than $200.....thank you Lord!






Another blessing was that John got a speeding ticket a few Saturdays ago...the ticket wasn't a blessing, but our inspection sticker was expired and our car wasn't going to pass inspection because of a brake light. John was able to fix the brakes, get the care inspected and go to pay the ticket in person, only to find that the officier didn't mark the speeding violation (I guess just a warning) so he only had to pay a small fee for the expired inspection because he had gotten it inspected. Another blessing, as we were expecting a hefty fine.

I need to remember to praise Him in the BIG things and even in the small things!

Whitney Singing

Headed Back to Health!

We are feeling much better over here. Savannah is a new person today. She was really sluggish yesterday and I didn't know if she would be able to go to school tomorrow or not. Today she is almost hyper which is VERY active for her personalty! She has a lot of school work for this week. She has to make a Pocahontas mask and do an oral book report dressed as Pocahontas on Friday. She has to make an original musical instrument and write up a description of it and a paragraph of how to use it. She, then gets to go in front of the class and demonstrate her instrument. She named it the Disco Strummer! I don't know why she has two big projects due in the same week!

She got the book report assignment a few weeks ago....hmmm, about the time that she got the Flu! She had to read an autobiography or biography on someone, and then we knew that she had to do this oral presentation and come dressed like the character and tell the report in first person. Well, she was struggling to come up with an idea and both John and I took off with what we thought was a GREAT idea. Savannah had learned about Joni Eareckson Tada a few weeks prior in AWANA. She seemed very interested in her story. John and I both think a lot of Joni and we started telling Savannah that she could read a book about her and that she could come dressed as her and then John came up with that we could get an electric wheelchair that we have access to, and she could come into the classroom in the chair and do the report from the chair. We were both getting excited. I then, remembered that John's parents have some artwork from Joni Eareckson Tada and I told Savannah, "you could use those and fake like you are using the pencil with your mouth to draw"....Savannah was about to lose it! She had tears in her eyes and she said "please don't make me do Joni Eareckson Tada, I don't want to be in a wheelchair all day, I don't want to draw with my mouth in front of my class"....John and I looked at eachother. She was so worked up about it. Then, Whitney pipes up "hey mom, when I am fourth grade, can I do Joni Eareckson Tada and ride in the wheelchair? I won't be embarrassed!" It is times likes these that we see how differently our kids are wired!
Joni Eareckson Tada


So we are all feeling better, Savannah has been working her tail off today on homework and John and I have been tackling the housework. I was pretty much on my back for seven days...so you can imagine the amount of laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning, etc, that needed to be done!!!!
BTW....John got all the stuff that is needed for me to put video on-line, so be prepared!!!! I will put Whitney's "Favorite Things" on here and her solo from Christmas that didn't get recorded. And I will try to put up some other odds and ends that we have on film.

The Show MUST Go On

Well, that Whitney.....I think that she is not feeling well, but that was NOT going to stop her from being on stage tonight. She did a great job and was the VERY first act. I was so proud of her and how poised she was. I was a nervous wreck for her, but she didn't waver. A lady came up to me between the first and second show and wanted to talk to me about Whitney. She told me that she "wanted her"....didn't know how to take that until she told me that she runs and acting/singing academy or something. Poor lady, she was trying to talk to me and I was needing to get in for the next show! I plan to at least talk to her and find out more about what she was
talking about. Whitney had BEGGED to take acting classes, but I have just put her off. I thought that we could just stick to the local little theater workshops....but she has asked again and again...I will keep you posted on that. Here are some
pictures from tonight:

Whitney with our new neighbor, Madi, enjoying cookies between shows


Whitney on stage performing and full of confidence as I am about to throw up because I am so nervous for her!!!


This is not a good picture, but please notice that I am TAKING a digital picture while filming the show....I am like an octopus with many arms!!!!


Nana watching Whitney's private performance before the show. (Nana was supposed to attend the Talent Show, but when I had to cancel our sitter because of Savannah being sick, she graciously offered to sit with the kids so that I could attend the show)


Whitney warming up and giving John more of a chance to work on the song!

Whitney posing (her own pose) for a pre-performance picture!


Whitney put this ensemble together and said "aw, look this is the perfect dress for this song, and oh, these pearls, they just look great...it is just perfect, my hair the dress...my lip gloss" OH MY WORD!!!!!


Savannah bought the lipgloss for her today when we went to Kroger to get Savannah's prescription and new toothbrushes for everyone....Savannah has such a generous heart and she is genuinely excited when Whitney does stuff. They have a special relationship and I hope that it will always remain that way.

I am BACK...not 100%, but BACK

I am gonna do a couple of blogs. First, I wanted to let you know that I am feeling better. I have literally been sick for SEVEN long days. I am still tired and not fully recovered, but I for sure turned a corner today. Yesterday, however was a LONG miserable day. I took the kids to school, then took Blayne to school. I was feeling so rotten while I was waiting in parking lot for the school to open, that I called John, started crying and asked if he could come home after his family lunch. I just really didn't think that I could care for the kids all day. He was gracious to agree to come home and even offered to miss the lunch, but I insisted that he go. I went home and literally laid across the bottom bunk bed and played with ONE hand with my sweet Reagan. I put her down for a nap around 10:45 and got a call at 11 that Savannah was in the nurse's office with a slight fever and complaining of her throat hurting. I wanted to roll into a ball and cry right then! I told the nurse that I, or someone else would come to get her. I called a couple of friends, and found my poor friend, Beth, at home doing laundry...she will probably start watching her caller-id more closely!!! I begged a favor for her to go get Savannah and she hung up her wet jeans and went right away. Poor Savannah, she came home and just collapsed. Her symptoms were my EXACT symptoms. So, as I called her pediatrician's office, I selfishly thought "at least they will find out what is wrong with her and then I will know what I have had ALL week!" Of course, they were at lunch when I called, and then after lunch, I was told that Savannah's doc wasn't in for the afternoon....great!!! So after a night of Tylenol and Motrin and lots of moaning and Gatorade, I took her in this morning to learn that she has STREP Throat!!! BINGO....hmmm maybe my doctor's office should have listened more intently to me on MONDAY!!!!! So, we got her started on antibiotic, got me started on NEW antibiotic that should fight Strep and there we are on our merry way.....until I received another call from the school nurse telling me "I think that she is fine, but Whitney's teacher sent her to the office because she 'wasn't being Whitney', and I took her temp and it was low grade, and I looked at her throat because she said that it was hurting, but it doesn't look red" Whitney didn't want to come home...of course NOT tonight is the talent show!!!!! So after I got off the phone with the school nurse, I immediately called the pediatrician and asked for a script for Whitney. I didn't want to end up in Urgent Care tonight....with John at a Men's retreat and me with my four kids!!!!! Ahh, my fridge is full of pink medicine all THREE of my girls are taking it....Reagan is still recovering from last week's ear infection....have I ever told you that there is never a dull moment around here?????

Still Sick...

Baby Logan....that I don't get to meet tomorrow!!!!



I called the doctor today and it took them A LONG time to call me back. When we finally connected, I was told to give my antibiotic a couple of more days to work. I don't feel any better. My throat is on fire and my ears feel stuffy. I have times during the day that I have a little more energy and my throat doesn't hurt, but I just don't feel right. They acted like it was no big deal. The nurse said, "well, if you want to come in, we will see you, but your symptoms are the same so we won't do anything differently!" So, I guess I will just wait and see. It was mentioned to me that maybe this could be Mono!!!! I called my friend that has had Mono and we talked about how bad it would be if this IS Mono....when you look at what a patient should do with Mono, it says that you should have 24 hour complete bed rest....okay, that is funny! I don't think that will be happening around here. So, I wait. I have canceled getting to meet John's cousin's new baby tomorrow at my mother-in-law's house. She had invited us (John, me, Blayne and Reagan) over for lunch to meet the new cousin. Blayne was really excited to go because I don't think that we have ever been invited to come for lunch during the week like this. I don't want to risk exposing Baby Logan (new cousin) to whatever bug I might have! John is going to go without us as he will be going during his lunch hour.
So I hope to lay low for the next couple of days and hopefully start feeling better. I MUST feel good on Friday. Whitney is singing in the Talent Show at school!!!! If you remember, she has been working/planning since OCTOBER for this. She is singing "Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music. She is really excited. I am nervous on her behalf...she isn't, though! I will try to take some good pictures. I tried to talk Savannah into accompanying her...she wouldn't hear of it. She does NOT like to have attention like that....Whitney THRIVES on it! It ought to be a fun night.
Okay off to rest (ha..ha...)

Momma Ain't Got Time to Be Sick

Well, I went to the doctor for the first time in FIVE years....well except for going to the OB for baby visits. I tell you, I rarely get sick...anyway, I have this very sore throat and my head is all stuffy and making me feel light headed. He said that my left lung "didn't sound too good" and that there was "stuff" in my head....hmmm don't know if I like how that sounded! So, I got my favorite...a Z-pack and some high powered decongestant. Hopefully, I am on the mend. As I often say, "I don't have time to be sick!" Even with everything seemingly ready for the kids, I am still needed. I have hair to fix, folders to sign, swimming gear to pack (for a field trip), grocery shopping to do and a house that needs to be cleaned!!!! I am trying to rest as much as possible. John is home today since the office is closed for President's Day. He is gone to Home Depot with Reagan and Blayne. I am going to go rest my head that is filled with "stuff" and try to fight this bug that I have!!!!

Whitney's Sketches (age 6)

These are pencil sketches that Whitney drew on scrap pieces of paper. At school, they are studying drawing faces and she has been practicing! Thought that I would share.

Whitney's Picture of Daddy


Self Portrait (Whitney)

My Four Little Valentines

Last Year



This Year

Valentine's Day...part one

I have just a minute, so I wanted to post this slideshow. This is from the party in Whitney's class. My friend, Beth, and I are the room moms. It is a GREAT group of kids. This was a perfect year to do room mom!!!

Whitney's Birthdays....

Whitney's birthday is at the end of the month. Instead of having our usual family party and friend party, we are splitting up the family party and having THREE celebrations for Whitney. She is thrilled...I mean THREE cakes, who wouldn't be??? Here are pictures from her first celebration with Bee and Grandpa. And a picture of Reagan in her "Grandpa's Sweetheart" shirt!

Yesterday's Outing

Presley, Avery, Reagan, Madison, Blayne and Preston


Michelle and Jenn

The Two Jennifers

Yesterday was a real treat for me. I got to venture out for lunch with two really good friends from DBU. My friend Michelle lives in Dallas and our other friend, Jennifer, (you know it was the most popular name in the 70's so what can I say?) lives in Houston. I figured out that I have not seen the other Jennifer since Michelle got married....TEN years ago!!!!!! Michelle and I talk pretty much daily, so I know just about what goes on EVERY day at her house. I keep up with Jennifer through occasional e-mails and yearly Christmas cards. She was the sweet friend that offered for me to stay with her during my visits with Libby to Houston. I ended up needing to stay closer to the hospital, but that just tells you what kind of friends these girls are!!! It is so neat with good girlfriends, because even after years of being apart, you just pick up like you saw them yesterday! We had a nice visit with our six kids (two of mine were at school!) Michelle's kids crack me up and like I said I see them and know what is going on with them, so I know their little day to day life. I will include a picture on this blog of one of her children's day after we met yesterday....
Anyway, it was a real treat to see Jennifer's girls. She has twins that will be five on their birthday next week. They are miracle girls. They were born at 29 weeks and had lots of drama following their birth. They were so tiny and they had some complications, but seeing the two girls now running around, one would never guess that they had such a rough start! They are so sweet and it is neat to see them interact with one another. Twins have always intrigued me, and I think that they have a connection that is so much deeper than the normal sibling relationship. These girls are so sweet to each other and it is neat to see them hand in hand or commenting to each other about something. That must be really special. Our kids all played well together and seemed to enjoy each other's company. It was fun to see them all running around together. Who would of thought 15 years ago when we were watching 90210 in our dorm rooms that we would all actually grow up, get married, have kids and that our kids would one day be playing together at the mall!

Okay, I have to comment on going to the Galleria. First of all, I RARELY go there. It is a great place to shop...a bit intimidating, but great stores! Well, I parked on the WRONG end from where I needed to be. I parked in a garage with no elevator (I had a stroller!!!) We had to walk a LONG way, but Blayne was awesome, and didn't complain. I did notice how EVERYONE that passed us were sizing up my kids!!! They would give them the head to toe overview and then smile.....I guess that meant that they met their standard or cuteness of whatever. I am not used to that. And people were dressed to the nines! Hair done, nails manicures and I saw some HUGE wedding rings. One was ridiculous and we just had to LAUGH about it! One thing that I thought that I was leaving, some of these people have more material wealth that I can even imagine, but they are empty inside and not happy....makes you appreciate where you live, what you have, and where you find your happiness.
Well, we agreed that ten years is MUCH too long to wait to get together. Reagan got fussy before we left, so I missed the last parts of the conversations, but I am so glad that I got to go. And, after a week of quarantine here it was wonderful to get out!!!
Here is the picture of Madison. This looks like it was taken after they got home yesterday. Please know that Michelle had a dinner party to get ready for after we left the mall at 3:00!!!! This must have happened while she was preparing for her party....see, I am not the only one that had BIG adventures at my house!!!!

Michelle had better work with Madison the the application of the make-up!!!

Well, I think that we are better....

Last night was the first night that EVERYONE slept all night in a LONG time. I am still tired today, and I am not sure why. I got an entire night's sleep!!! Reagan has a lot of energy this morning and is all smiles. It is good to have her back to her normal self.

I have a question for you that follow our blog. We have gotten donations for Savannah's Jump Rope for Heart from people other than what we sent direct e-mails...for that, I say THANK YOU. For those of you who got the e-mail and read it here, did you access the site from my Blog or from the e-mail? I probably can't explain this correctly, but the site is giving some mixed information. Such as, there are people who have given, but in looking at our site headquarters, those people have never been to the site....that's not possible, because we have a donation from them there. In order for me to report the problem, I need to know if people are using the e-mail that was sent to them or if they are going through the Headquarters sections on the AHA site. Thanks....also, some of you have mentioned sending her money and we have gotten a couple of checks. If you plan to send money, please get it to her by the 12th because she has to turn it in on that day. Her PE teacher is not the most approachable lady and I am sure Savannah will have a panic attack if she has to turn in some money late!!! Savannah has learned some new jump rope moves and is excited about it.
I will also say, that in reading through the material of the AHA, I am very disappointed at how little money goes to the children affected by heart defects!!!! They mainly give all of their money to heart attack and stroke research....I am not going tell Savannah about that. She thinks what she is doing is going toward helping people like Libby, and that is what is important to her.

"Oh Shoot!"

This is Reagan's new saying. Instead of the common "uh-oh" when something is dropped or falls over, she replies "oh shoot". Well, this new phrase is quite fitting as we found out yesterday that SHE has the FLU now!!!! So, OH SHOOT...(that is what I say about this too!) She GOT the flu shot....BOTH doses of it, and yet, she STILL got this flu. She has a high fever that is barely affected by fever reducing medicine, and she vomited all over John last night, so I would say that she doesn't have just a light case of the Flu!!!! Poor baby. She is still so incredibly sweet! I got up throughout the night checking on her and giving her medicine. At 4:45 I heard her on the monitor saying, "Oh shoot, oh shoot, oh shoot!" I ran in there to find her flat on her back in the bed with her arm through the slats. Her pacifier was on the floor. I guess she had dropped it and was saying, "oh, shoot!"
Well, Blayne is the only one that hasn't gotten it, and he seems fine. He and John are on preventative Tami-flu, so hopefully they will be spared!!!! This picture is of Reagan yesterday as we were leaving for the doctor's office to have her swabbed and CONFIRMED for the flu! Even with 102 fever she's still a "Pretty Girl"!

Whitney's Letter to Mason

Whitney writes letters to her friends now and again. Yesterday, she wrote this one, and when I first read it, I thought it was an ugly note, but then I laughed as I read on. Boy, what is she gonna be like as a teenager????? This note is to Mason Packwood.