Never Say Never

Maybe blogging is old school and a thing of the past. 
But, I am too. 
So, my hopes of sharing here again may be a reality soon. 
Never say never.

We remodeled (to say the least) the home next door and moved in last Thanksgiving (2016). 
I never thought I would move again. 
Never say never.

The grands are growing like crazy.
 It's been three years since we've had a new baby.
 But, number TEN should be arriving from China soon! 
Never say never.

Back on the blogging train soon.

Anyone still reading?

Never. Say. Never.

Back To School

Five of the nine had *back to school days* recently!

I love those first day mornings! Their hair is combed and all slicked back. Their clothes are new and ironed. They get up and get ready in time to actually eat breakfast and have their pictures taken. Their lunch boxes are packed with healthy food and their moms feel pretty darn good about the new school year! It's a new beginning...a chance to get it right! 

So thankful we have a chance to get it right every day!

"His mercies are new EVERY morning"

Lamentations 3:23

These Babies Are TWO!!!!

We know about boy/boy twins in our family. But, boy/girl twins were new to us. They are a hoot! Don't let this sweet girl fool you!! She is dyn o mite!! She can take care of those brothers of hers in a hot minute! And they listen. I do too! :)

HJ loves: Her paci. Her *Sally* doll. Frozen. Bossing her brothers.

B loves: Goldfish crackers. His mommy. Any riding toy. And ducks.

Happy Birthday to these two amazing twins.

Nonny and Poppy love you BIG!

2015

2015 is upon us! 

I don't usually make a lot of resolutions. But this year I do have some goals. Short term goals are a little easier for me to manage. So, I think I'll take one month at a time. (And add a sprinkle of grandbaby cuteness along the way!)

January

~I want to read more.

I love to read! I use to enjoy reading a lot. Especially books that were a *series.* I would barely finish one and dive into the next. Along came Blogs and Facebook and Instagram and GRANDCHILDREN :)... and reading got put on the back burner. I miss it. My goal is to read three books in January. 

~I want to reconnect.

Because of things like social media, I have reconnected with people I don't have a day to day relationship with. I want to take the time to meet them for lunch, or send them a small gift, or at the very least, talk to them on the phone. 

~I want to CLEAN OUT MY ATTIC. I have said for YEARS I was going to do this….and I DID do a few things. BUT, it is my goal in January to get it completely clean. Here's to my toughest goal!! CHEERS!

Side note:

All 15 cousins on Christmas Eve at my Mom and Dad's house. She buys them all matching pajamas. It's a wild, chaotic, wonderful night. None of them are perfect but they are all loved. THIS is Christmas!

Happy New Year!
Let's do this January!

Annual Pajama Picture

Merry Christmas!!!

This pretty much sums it up!!

(photo by jenny)

Happy First Birthday Baby S!!!!

Baby S is ONE!!!

"Little fingers, little toes
Teeny weeny tiny clothes
Adorable face, smiles of joy
What a gorgeous little girl
An infant, but a moment ago
Now one, how you did grow
Not slowly, no, but ever so fast
In a blink, a year has passed"

Her favorite word is YUCK and she adores her sisters.
She's walking and laughs at everything!

You have our hearts sweet Baby S!

Happy first birthday little turkey!!

Love Nonny and Poppy!

This Hero in a Half-Shell is Four

First grandson.

Big Brother.

First born son.

Never meets a stranger.

Very sensitive heart.

Wonderful manners.

Personality Plus.

S M A R T.

Lover of all t.v. commercials.....

.....AND the toy aisle in Target!!!!

All these things and more make up our B.

 He is a delight to us and we adore that we get to be his 

Nonny and Poppy. 

B, We love you BIG!!!

Happy Happy Birthday Hero in a Half-Shell!

#TWO is FIVE

Of all nine of the grands, this one is the most *growny.* I think everyone would agree that she has seemed older than her age since she was just a teeny tiny thing! She is tall, strong willed, opinionated, feisty, original, smart as a whip, verbal, absolutely adorable and one of the greatest blessings I have ever received. She knows exactly what she wants and she doesn't waiver from that. A leader in the greatest way! Five going on ten is a great way to describe her. I adore this girl!!!

Happy Birthday precious A.

Nonny and Poppy ADORE you!

(photography by Jenny)

#Beachconk2014

We spent last week at Holden Beach, NC. There were 20 of us in one house. 10 of them were under seven. It was hard and glorious. Seven of the ten got a virus with temps. and sore throats. It rained for the first four days. The smoke alarm went off one night at 3 a.m. and a run to the grocery store for a nine volt battery reminded me that a poppy's job isn't easy either. We rented a house on the beach with a clean pool and nasty bathrooms. So, we spent a lot of time in the pool and took showers in the outside shower. But it was STILL a great week!!!! It's a tradition that we go to Sunset Slush every single night of our trip. The kids look forward to it all day. They talked all week about the last night and how they could get as many scoops as they wanted and what kinds they would be. (Rainbow SA (USA) seemed to be the favorite)….all the kids loved it! YUCK. We played games at night and talked lots about Uncle J's dream of opening a business. We laughed until we hurt about eating two containers of cookies that nobody in our family made. Seriously. They must have been left in the beach house by the previous renters. We each thought the other family had made them. They were all gone but a few when we couldn't find who to thank for making them. It made for lots of beach laughter that we will never forget!! I won't lie to you…it's not a piece of cake with that many little ones in the same house…whew!! It's not for the weak at heart! But man there is some love between those cousins! They play so well together!! They all get along remarkably well and the issues usually don't lie in them arguing with each other but just in the sheer numbers of them. Believe it or not, we all braved going out to dinner one night. We left the house at 4:30 and ate at 5:00. It worked, though Provisions Seafood may never be the same!! :) Nonny and Poppy took the five big kids to the park and Walmart for a *Beach Treat* and we had as much fun as they did! It helps mommy and daddy to get them out of the house a little while dinner is being cooked. Each of the families take a night to make a meal….That way, nobody has to do all the work!!!  We ended the week with a prayer for safe travels home. Now we are all tucked in our homes and are thankful for the memories we made. Until next year sweet family……..Nonny and Poppy dearly love you.
(So thankful for the video made by Jenny)

Two and Six Equal Wonderful!

Six of our eight Grands have Oct/Nov birthdays!

TWO!!

These boys turn two on the 25th!

How did they go from this:

To this:

In just one year???

These two TWO YEAR OLDS are a joy.

They are a ball of energy and full of life!

There are so many things I love about them.

I love how as soon as they hear an ambulance 
they clasp their little hands together and say *Dear Jesus.*

I love how they love everyone and their smiles light up a room.

i love how they look for each other when they realize
brother is not close by.

I love how they think their reflection in the mirror
is the other twin.

These boys are adored!


Happy Birthday Big Boy Twins!


Lots and Lots of people love you!

SIX!!

On the 27th our oldest granddaughter turns SIX!!!

She started kindergarten this year!

Our family has grown by leaps and bounds since she was born.....

But, we will never forget how special that first baby girl was!

12 hours old!

I love how happy she was even early on!

.....and how much she loves her sister!

And, I love how she loves playing dolls and dress up!!

This girl has a heart of gold

and an innocence about her that I love!

Happy Birthday big girl!

Nonny and Poppy adore you!

The TWINSx2 are SIX MONTHS!

They are rolling and crawling and babbling 

and keeping mommy on her toes!

They are precious beyond words

and I am having a hard time believing it's been

SIX MONTHS!

Six Years!

......Since they said I DO.

Now look what God has done!!

photo by: jennyconklin.com

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!!

We are all so blessed!

Love  the five of you!

(p.s. the giveaway has two more days! go to post below to enter!!!)

GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

(No...not the babies!)  :)

I don't love a Giveaway.

Too much trouble.

Annoying.

BUT......

I love my DIL and I LOVE her new site!!

www.jennyconklin.com

Sooooooooooo

A GIVEAWAY it is!

All you have to do is go to her site HERE.

Go to the *blog* tab at the top of her page.

Leave her a comment and me a comment.

That will enter you in a drawing for ANY item on her new site.

(Excluding photography)

I will draw on October 8!!!

Good luck!!!

LOOK!!

LOOK who started to preschool today!!!

LOOK who got a new tooth!!!
(And it's not the one with the pink bow!!)

LOOK who LOVES to ride the horsie.......

LOOK who thinks Poppy is funny.....

Lots to LOOK at and be thankful for this week.

Trying hard to LOOK for things to be INTENTIONAL about.

There are lots of blessings all around you.

Just LOOK for them.

Lately......

The girls came to visit for a few days.

Unfortunately they were sick while they were here...

So, we didn't get to do the fun things we had planned.

But, in between bouts of fever we did this:

The oldest grand started K5 this year.

She wears a uniform every day.

I love that!!

Hubs and I were in a magazine shoot....

WHAT????

Yeah, that's what I say too!

But somehow we got ourselves into being the grandparents 

for a photo shoot in a bridal magazine called 

Southern Weddings.

(Sibi, at Pearls and Grace, is SOMEHOW responsible!! :))

Can I just TELL you how wonderful this magazine is?!

And how talented and amazing their staff is?!

The magazine comes out once a year.

Look for it mid November....

I can't wait!!!

We are still excited and looking forward to grand #8.

She is due to arrive the end of November.

My daughter and her sweet family are counting the days

until baby sister arrives.

photo: Jennylynnphotography

That's life lately for us.

How about YOU?

There is a Firetruck in my Bathroom

Life is busy.

I am trying to live INTENTIONALLY.

If you remember, that was my word for 2013.

I blogged about it HERE.

I received this in the mail yesterday from a dear friend:

Such a sweet reminder hanging in my kitchen!

Thank you Teresa for your sweet gift!

Recently I kept the two oldest granddaughters.

Sometimes that involves lots of driving and changing of plans.

My sweet son-in-law met me to pick them up

And brought me this great Starbuck's mug:

(along with a gift card)

Thank you Big Al for noticing and appreciating.

Our oldest granddaughter lost her first tooth yesterday.

She is five.

This is a big week for her.

She starts kindergarten this week too!

Hubs is back to cycling now after six weeks of recovery from his bike accident.

He is like a kid in a candy store.

Back in the saddle again!

The oldest of the second set of nieces starts her freshman year...

TODAY....

at college.

Such an exciting time for her!

We only live about twenty minutes away from her school

And we can't wait to take her to dinner...

Or maybe wash some clothes!!

We sure do love you KiKi!

Yesterday was a doozy....

Is that a word?

Anyway, I kept five of the seven grands yesterday...

I was deliriously tired and happy when I got done....

Hence......

There is a FIRETRUCK in my bathroom!!!