Happy Birthday Ashmatash!

Today is the birthday of someone VERY special that I know. She is my sister, the baby of the fam, now in her twenties! Personally I enjoyed my twenties and find thirties even better (forties should be rockin' then eh). Anyways, I love her more than words can say, she is a gift from God! She's incredibly smart, funny, talented.....can do anything she puts her mind to, not to mention she's absolutely beautiful! I have to say, my littlest one reminds me very much of my sister which is fun to see. She cracks me up just like Ashley would! It kinda helps the 'sting' of us being 3000 miles apart not 'sting' quite as much.
Anyways, I'm SO grateful that Ashley was made, and even more that she's part of 'our' family! I look forward over the years to hanging out with her as much as possible and getting to do fun girly things that sisters do. I am honoured to know her and even more so to have her as my sister and friend. If you're reading this my lil' Ashmatash...have the most wonderful birthday possible filled with love, joy and all the things you love most! You are a rich treasure in my life whom I love dearly!!! xoxoxo

Happy Birthday Michael Michael

Happy Birthday Myke! I sure hope it's a great one!!!
We'll work on 'NOT' eating the paper plates by the time your next birthday rolls around. Maybe we'll do 'transformer' plates for you next year......or should we save that for your 30th? I dunno. ; )

I love you more than words can say. You are not only the sweetest, kindest brother ever, but a great friend that I enjoy hanging out with (Dairy Queen) and am thankful to and for. I'd pick you as a friend even if we weren't related. You are a wonderful Uncle that the kids absolutely adore, a smart, funny, though sometimes odd (but I'm glad you're free to be you) sensitive (just a little bit eh) considerate, compassionate, did I not mention very handsome, talented brother. If it's not coming across......I really love you!
Love Cher

Yummy Weekend

This weekend was sure a fun one! It started with a bbq at Donna and Ed's house with some friends and neighbours. Good food, music and fun times were had by all! Saturday 'I' actually got to sleep in which is the first time in a few years til' 930am! Usually I can't sleep past 630am even when I try to. Saturday morning I did my sister n' laws hair for a wedding she was attending. She always looks pretty so the hairstyle couldn't have gone wrong really, it was funky......I would've wore it myself, it's just a little hard to do an updo on yourself, but I'll keep practicing.
We went to Christians last baseball game of the season. Emma decided that morning she was a model and decided to dress as so for the occasion with her pink feather boa. So cute! Then Larry took Chrish to the end of season pool party at the coach's house. Chrish was SO excited that he jumped into the pool while still wearing his t-shirt. He brought home this really cool bobble head trophy and displayed it proudly on his 'award' shelf. He's a talented, athletic kid that one!
Sunday was church as usual, lunch afterwards as usual which is always a fun treat! (anytime I don't have to cook is a treat!) Emma, Hannah and I went for a quick shopping trip and then I took Emma to a birthday party a little kid gym. It was fun watching her have such a great time. My lil' gymnist! After dropping Emma off after the party, Hannah and I got to go on our long awaited date. Nothing too fancy, but we've been talking for a couple months now about going to Ruby's (50's diner) for an 'ever so yummy brownie fudge sundae' which was incredibly delicious! After the tasty food, Hannah wanted to go to Target to buy herself a stuffed animal (surprise, surprise) which was a donkey/dragon called "Dronkey" from the new movie 'Shrek 3" she was happy with her new purchase. We went home to cuddle and paint nails to finish our special date. The cuddling while watching " A Night at the Museum" happened, the nail painting didn't happen until this morning before school. Black with pink polka-dots is what she wanted and is what she got! It really was fun spending one on one time with Hannah, she is such a special giggly girl whom I love dearly! She is heaven-sent and I am honoured to spend anytime I can with her.

So today......

So, today was a Mother's Day picnic at Emma's school. The kids sang a few cute 'mommy' songs, then we went outside for a sweet little picnic that the kids helped prepare. They made peanut butter sandwiches, had some yummy crunchy grapes and two 'famous amos' chocolate chip cookies for each of us. Then they surprised us with a fake, sparkly potted plant, and a homemade photo pin made interestingly enough out of a styrophome cup curled down into a little flower. Very sweet! My favourite part was probably watching Emma, giggle and play with her friends on the playground and 'monkeybars' that she's always telling me about.
The rest of the day consisted of laundry, dishes, cuddling and tickling Christian (but then we had to get serious and do homework.) The kids weren't home but 5 minutes and you couldn't even tell that I washed the floors this morning (I have to laugh about it though) Emma made her fort yet again today taking up the whole livingroom, then fell asleep in it. (so precious) While I was doing dishes and making dinner, I was really enjoying watching Caley just be a kid and ride her bike. Just back and forth on the sidewalk, not a care in the world. Do you remember that? Being a kid, just doing whatever YOU wanted to do, not stressing or having grown-up concerns, just thinking about what you would do next. I remember a bunch of times laying down in a field looking up at the sky and puffy clouds daydreaming, or singing, talking to God.(those were the days) Anyways, Chrish had his second to last baseball game for the season, then we ate din din and went to bible study. So, a pretty regular day. Now I'm tired and am going to go to bed at a descent time and maybe, hopefully be a bit more productive tomorrow. We'll see what memories we can make tomorrow ; )

xoxo..Happy Mother's Day!..xoxo

Happy Mothers Day! Today is a day that I am even more than ever filled with grattitude to my mom for giving me life, love and many special memories. I am now in the midst of finding out myself what it means and takes to be a mom, and because of her I am striving to be the best mom I can be. My mom did it all on her own too! Still don't know how she did that! My mom is a loving, strong, perservering, hard-working, smart, caring, affectionate godly woman whom I think God personally picked out of His treasure chest to give to our family. Life has not been easy for my mom (it would be rather boring and we'd be unappreciative if it came too easy), but she's quite a survivor and has a great heart! As long as I can remember I have always thought of my mom as a friend.....as well as a mother, believe me! To me she reallly exemplifies God's heart. She's always been so accepting, loves unconditionally, just as I am in all my faults and weaknesses, and has always been so forgiving. I will forever be grateful to her and for her. Mom, you are the best and I love you!

I just have to add how grateful I am for my family. Today was a day spent with the hubby and kiddos. Lots of home made cards and pictures, even a special necklace (yes with a heart) from the kids, and Larry spoiled me with a wonderful spa gift card. At church this morning they had flowers for all the moms which was sweet, and when we picked up the kids from their classes they had flowers for us too! Very thoughtful! I am honoured to be their mom and it is indefinable how precious they are to me! I love you sweethearts!

Laguna Beach Tide pools

On Wednesday Emma and I got to go on a pre-school field trip with her school. We took a long, bumpy busride down to the Laguna Beach tide pools. Emma was giddy she was so excited about riding on the bus with her friends. The weather was absolutely beautiful and just perfect. We took a rather long walk (for lil' ones) along the coast to get from the buses to the tidepools, broke up into groups and had our own lifeguards to show us around. I was amazed at how fast time flew and with that many young ones you have to keep a pretty tight schedule. While nervously and carefully hiking all around the tide pools (quite slippery and we didn't want to disturb the sea life) we found two (one was huge) starfish. We also saw a ton of sea anenomies I believe they are called, of course many baby crabs. Then we walked away from the rocks and over to the beach and had about 5 minutes to let the kids dip their feet in the water. We had to hike back up to the grass area and had a fun picnic lunch and after a potty break had to head back on the bus and head for home. I think we spent an equal amount of time on the bus to and from as we did at the actual beach. The kids were much quieter and more tired on the way home but everyone seemed to have a really great time! I know Emma and I sure did!

godma & godpa

Today we had a surprise visit from the kids godparents, Glenn and Donna. They have lived in Oregon for the last 11 years. The kids were very excited to see their godma and godpa. They even ended up coming to watch Christian play baseball in the scorching hot sun. He of coarse was extremely excited about that! The kids were showing them their rooms and things that are special to them. Emma showed off all her new birthday presents. Glenn and Donna couldn't get over how much the kids had grown since the last visit. It was really great to see them and hopefully we'll see them sooner than later next time round.

Before the rush of energy and appetite come barging in, I thought I'd take a few moments to reflect on this pretty busy, tiring, yet very fun weekend. It was filled with various different things that had us in a few different directions as well as gathered together with our friends and family. Let's start with.......drum roll pllleeeaaassssse!!!! "the spy's" Yes, special agents Emma and Christian thought it would be fun to put on one of dad's jackets, a tuke and spy on certain, hum-hum (family) subjects. All the while giggling making it hard not to giggle yourself. After the spying, they decided that they wanted to turn lil' man's full size mattress into a slide/trampoline while both wearing boardshorts (Emma makes a cute 'tomboy').
Saturday I took Emma to a birthday party, where she had a blast with all her pre-school friends there. Meanwhile Larry took the 3 older ones to the park where he worked 'snackshack' for 3 hours and the kids played at the park while he did that. Later that day we came home, I had a friend who was going to a party and needed her done in an updo. She graciously asked me to do it for her. She looked pretty and said she liked it. It was fun and scary at the same time. I want to go buy some big doll heads with hair now so I can practice more. Then my sister n' law Donna took me to get a much needed pedicure which was amazingly sweet of her. Pretty toes now, YAY!
Sunday, our baby girl's 5th birthday. Lar took the 3 youngest to church while Caley, Donna and I kicked butt and set up the cutest little five year old party ever! My sis n' law has great ideas which made it cute with extra touches. It was decided by the birthday girl that it would be a "Barbie Princess Party" She insisted she wanted a bounchouse, and we surprised her with a real 'live' princess coming to her party for an hour to do face painting and balloon animals which all the kids even the older ones seemed to love. There were about 17 kids that came (yes including my bunch) it was rather hot, in the high 80's if not low 90's. She was beaming all day long and kept telling us what a special party it was and how thankful she was. She also, got a special phone call from Oma which put a huge smile on her face! She couldn'g wait to get home from school today (normally she wants to go 'do' something) just to play with all her special new toys. Oh, forgot to tell you this cute thing....As I was carrying her home from the party (which was at Aunties) I was kissing on her and telling her what a special girls she was, and as I opened the door she says " there's no more 4 year olds in here!" So cute she is! So those were some of the highlights of our weekend. Take care : )

Last Day To Be Four

Today was the lil' ones very last day forevermore of being four! Quite a special day! Of course she's extremely excited about tomorrow being her 5th birthday. She's been planning it for quite some time now, like atleast a few months. Actually I think when we were talking about the oldest one's birthday back in January, the lil' one made a guest list and told me where she wanted to have her party. For this year and the next few to come. Being that it was her last day to enjoy being four.....we gave her sets of four hugs, kisses, and of course tickles too. We kissed our four year old girl goodnight and look forward to kissing and awakening our big five year old girl tomorrow : ) Sweet dreams sweet four year old, sweet dreams!

How sweet

Emma's birthday is coming up on Sunday.....so Chrish decided he wanted to give his sister his old pair of heely's. In case you don't know, heely's are shoes that have small wheels in the bottom of them. He got the relialbe can of lysol wipies and gave the rather worn shoes a good ol' wipe down. Then he carefully and colourfully wrapped them in a box. He did a great job too! The next day he could hardly wait to give them to her. I had suggested he wait a week for her actual birthday but he just could not contain himself. You would've thought HE was getting the gift. It was a very sweet moment! She tried them on, and though they are a bit big for her and she'll have to learn to get used to them she appreciated the thoughtfulness. He's such a sweet boy with a huge, generous heart. I love my little boy so much!!!

Cherishing the moments

It's SO precious to me how sweet the kids can be with each other and rather incredible considering some of the sibling squabbles they can have sometimes. These are the moments that I cherish and hold close to my heart. Unless you're a parent you can't fully grasp just how priceless these almost heavenly moments are. I don't know if it's all the sweeter BECAUSE of how ridiculous they can get when they aren't getting along or what. Sometimes you don't really appreciate the good things in life unless you've had heartache or struggles.
Right now my two little ones are busy building a fort together that they intend on sleeping in. We'll see how long that lasts. They really can surprise me though you know. I so enjoy watching them do things together. Like singing, having "band practice", riding bikes, skateboarding together, cuddling, colouring, dressing up, you name it. What's fun too is that all four of them interact and mix it up together. Sometimes the older one becomes very nurturing of the youngest, or my middle takes pride in protecting and defending his sisters (especially from the infuriating neighbours unfortunately in close proximity to us). My little artist enjoys drawing, and will from time to time teach her siblings whom she sparks interest in.
They definitely know how to fight as most siblings do, but it warms my heart and tickles my toes how they really do love each other and have their own unique relationship with each other. I do pray that they will continue to have a special bond with each other throughout their lives. That they'll continue to encourage and cheer each other on. I am SO amazingly blessed beyond belief with and by them. I am honoured to be called their mommy.

Pain in the neck : (

This is what I would love to do the way that I feel today! I currently feel as though I have a knife stuck in the left side of my neck/shoulder. Could be worse, but I sure would love to be laying on a beach with my head covered, the warm sun beaming on me. The sound of the crashing, powerful waves hitting against the rocks, and to just do....nothing. Especially not feel this annoying and surprisingly painful, inconvenient pain in my neck. I can't turn my head to the left or I have to move my whole upper body to do so. I don't normally like to take medicine, I like to think I'm a pretty tough lil' lady, but I've been taking regular doses of pain meds today and it's not helping as much as I'd like it to. I really am bummed that I've been so cranky today, just because I have this pain. I've tried explaining to the kids, that it's not them "Mommy's just cranky and not feeling well" and I'm trying not to take it out on anyone.
Anyway, today was a pretty mellow day thankfully. This morning I met my neighbour for coffee which is always a treat. We see each other here and there but don't really get much of a chance without all the kids interrupting us to actually have a conversation. Mind you, my brother in law decided he'd do that for us.( Just kidding, it was nice of him to stop by and say hi. He enjoys his Starbucks too!
After coffee it was time to pick up my youngest from pre-school. Went home to get some lunch, and had to laugh at myself for locking us out of the house (long story...not really just boring). Luckily my sis'n law lives across the street so we could use her potty. Seems like the bladder always insists at the worst times! I got a spare key from sis and headed back home (all the way across the street) for 15 minutes before picking up the other kids. It was a short day today, where they get out a bit early from school. After a quick trip to the grocery store, we came home did homework (well they did that) and I did the usual cleaning up bit, took my star athlete to his baseball game. One hour for two innings! They just started coaches pitch and oh boy, it took quite a while, but he did a great job! By the time we got home and I had to make dinner, I was in so much pain I had to cancel going to bible study. How come when you want to go somewhere your kids are like "No mom! I want to stay home! It's boring!....." and when you decide to stay home they get all mad at you and complain that they will miss out! That's not really a question, I know it's just the way they are. They like to be contrary at times.
My lil' "strongwilled" baby (almost 5) fell asleep on the couch right before dinner (of coarse) I was afraid of her getting woke up by the other kids (when she wakes on her own she is usually fine, but if woken up....OH BOY...watch out!) Well, it's WATCH OUT time! I'm trying to ignore her irrational, annoying screaming right now. The more I try to interact with her the worse it gets. If I give her space she'll come around.
After all the kids are in bed and asleep I'm hoping to just relax, and imagine myself at the beach with the towel on my face without a care in the world. Then, I'll start some new adventure tomorrow. I'd prefer to not have the annoying pain in my neck though. Sweet dreams my friends!

The Luckiest Girl....

These are my parents!
I am the the luckiest girl there is! My mom and I go way back, 32 years that is.(I guess you could add 9months to that, I just don't quite remember that part) My mom is a hero of mine. I've seen her go through all sorts of things and no matter what, she never gave up! I am incredibly proud of her and grateful to her. She has been such a huge source of encouragement, unconditional love and support to me always. She's one of my best friends really.
My dad......well I remember being about 14 and helping out at church. I couldn't help but stare at this man holding this precious, angelic little girl. She was just glowing with the look of "I'm in my Daddy's arms!" and he was beaming with a very proud "look at MY beautiful girl!" I remember thinking "one day I wish I could have a daddy just like him!" I think that it was shortly after that when it really hit me that I didn't have one. Though it was a rather hard season, God used it to show me that He wanted to fill that void in me and wanted to be my Father. Which He really did show me! It was one of the most precious seasons in my life that I will always cherish, one that also ended up leading me to meet my husband on my 17th birthday but that's for a different time.....back to Dad. Ok so I'm not great at math, but about 10 years later my mom ends up marrying a man. He seems to make her really happy, which is extremely important to me! My next visit back to Canada....I meet mom's new husband, he's very quiet, but smart, an intellectual computer-whiz. It hits me! HE"S the one! The very same dad I had wished for ten years earlier. I've been spending the last 11 years getting to know him and right from the beginning he's had his arms wide open to me. In a lot of ways, you would think he was my biological father. The curly hair (well his does when he sweats. His brown hair and hazel eyes. Like our brilliant sense of "humour" the way we enjoy photography - he's really great at it! I was a little reserved and guarded of my heart when I first met him. Now I must admit, it didn't take long for him to win my heart. Though I was in my mid-twenties when he came into our family(an adult thinking, "I don't need a daddy now!"), he was worth the wait and I finally have an earthly father I am proud to call Dad, and love very much!
So, you see.....I am the luckiest girl! I know God really loves me......he put them in my life!

All better now.......

Well, we just got the plumbing fixed....YAY! We have a really nice guy who came and thankfully fixed our plumbing problems. (We actually had a few issues) You know, I just wait til' there's more than one reason for him to come to get my money's worth. What can I say? After a week of a plugged toilet let me just say it wasn't a happy time cleaning the front bathroom. I went in all suited up. Brought the bleach, lit some candles. The candlelight really makes me look pretty and puts me in a better mood. (JK) All better now though : )
This weekend was a rather low-key one. Saturday was a stay in your pj's, veg and watch t.v. and play on the computer kind of day. It was really nice! Sunday Larry lead worship at church, and the girls and I taught in Emma's Sunday school class. After church we usually go out to lunch, but this week we decided to just bring some lunch home. Yummy lunch, had a nap (I usually can't nap even if I try) Unfortunately after the nice nap I woke up feeling sick to my stomach (no I'm not pregnant) and the huge kink in my neck turned into a kink/migraine. I had to cancel jacuzzi night with my girlfriends : ( My oldest daughter was really incredible though and did a ton of laundry and was taking care of everybody. She's really incredible!
Luckily today I woke up feeling all better! I really needed to wake up that way to play "catch up" from the weekend and catch up I did. I'm of coarse not all caught up - I don't think I ever will FULLY catch up but atleast I'm not burried in laundry anymore.
Laundry, dishes, dropping kids off, picking kids up, having the plumber come, taking Chrish to baseball practice, grocery store, pharmacy, a couple of time-outs, a bit of refereeing......that's my day. Mix in a few hugs and kisses, smiles and tickles, and you have a pretty usual day for Cherie : )

Sadly Distracted

Well, today I've been trying to get caught up on some of the neglected things around here since having my parents stay with us for 2 weeks. I don't know about you but I'd MUCH rather hang out and spend time with loved ones then stay caught up on the laundry or scrubbing the bathroom tub. Housework will unfortunately always be here for me to do....my parents on the otherhand are over 3000 miles away.
I've always been very close with my mom - she's like a best friend to me-we've been through a lot together. My dad, is very special to me too! Though he's very quiet...I know he loves me.
We celebrated my moms birthday, went to Vegas for a weekend, to the beach of coarse, and shared some yummy meals all while taking many, many photos. It always pains me greatly to see them go, but at the same time I am SO very grateful to be able to see them at all!
Luckily I have four precious gems to (well five if you count Larry) to distract me and keep me busy. The kids have been on Spring break this week so we've been squeezing in all the fun that we can. After we dropped Oma and Opa off at the airport yesterday, Larry took his teary-eyed family to our favourite restaurant "the Pancake House". After breakfast I met some girlfriends and all their kids(16 of us total) at Boomers in Irvine. It's an amusement/recreation park. I wanted to take the kids minds and mine off of being sad and just have some fun. We did!

Hello

Hey there! This is my first post, just getting started : )