Recap of 2011

2011 is coming to an end. What a year it has been. Looking back on the last year I am amazed at how much has changed & continues to change.  I have so much to be thankful for this year.  We are looking forward to many more blessings in 2012.

I turned many pages in my life.  Some of the pages where hard to turn, but I am so glad I turned them.  Everything has worked out & life is GREAT!

January-May 2011 there was a lot of study, tears, stress & hope that I would be graduating in May.  I never realized how hard Nursing School was until I started.  I had heard horror stories about it, but I never realized how hard it actually was.  I did make time to do some fun things with the kids during the semester though.

Morgan danced at the WKU game

Band Perry Concert

Jason Aldean & Eric Church Concert (the kids Valentine's Day Present)

Disney on Ice

Spencer started baseball

Butterflies for Maddie

In May my oldest turned double digits and that was hard to digest.  We celebrated her 10th birthday HERE.  I am so proud of the young lady she has and will continue to become.  She danced at the  Hot Rod's game in May.

In May I also I graduated from WKU as a registered nurse. It was one of the hardest, toughest journeys in my life.  I am thankful for all the people who stood behind me & pushed me to accomplish this goal.  Graduation recap HERE & HERE

In June I started a job as an RN.  This was a blessing for us all.  It all happened so fast & I spent a week trying to get everything lined up to start work.

In July we spent a week in Myrtle Beach for vacation this summer.  The kids had a BLAST!  Morgan went para-sailing for the first time ever & loved it!

I purchased my first vehicle on my own since my divorce.  This was another huge step for me in my life.

In August I started night shift.  It was a huge change for me, the kids & my body.  It was hard for me to adjust to being on a different schedule then everyone else.  My body has adjusted to the change, but it still stinks that I am on a different schedule.  I took my NCLEX for the first time in August.  I was not prepared at ALL for what I experienced.  It was a learning experience for me.

In September we moved and our family grew from three to eight.  What a job, but so worth it.  We got settled into the new house & the kids loved it.  The woods behind the house became a big hit for the little explorers.  They found a cave, a waterfall and lots of trails.  We are looking forward to more exploring in 2012.

In October, Spencer killed a deer opening morning of youth season.  Spencer turned 9 (still have to get his birthday post finished).  After studying my butt off for five weeks I re-took my NCLEX & passed.  What a HUGE relief.  We then spent a weekend celebrating with the Sugarland concert & a trip to Waverly.

In November, Buddy "The Elf on the Shelf" returned.  It was an exciting six weeks watching the kids search for him.  I am planning to do a recap of Buddy's adventure soon.  We spent a day taking family pictures & decorating the Christmas tree.  The kids were with their daddy this year for Thanksgiving.  Morgan & Spencer both started basketball in November.

In December, the kids rode on the firetruck with my dad in the Christmas Parade (sorry no pictures I was working.)  I didn't blog much because I worked a lot of hours so the kids could have everything on their Christmas list.  Christmas was successful & all the kids were happy with their gifts.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Day

I spent New Year's Eve at work while Bobby was home with the girls.

Looking forward to 2012 and all it has to offer :)


~Nicki~

New Year's Eve 2011

This is what I woke up to this morning.  Guess the kids are enjoying their electronics's from Christmas...LOL

It melts my heart to see this...Spencer loves to shoot his gun.  Here are a few pictures of him & Bobby shooting his gun he got for Christmas.

Girl's Night

Haylee was out of school so she spent a few extra days with us.  Spencer went to a sleep-over birthday party, so Morgan wanted to have a friend over.  So we had a "Girl's Night" at the house (+ Bobby).  They had a blast.  They were slidding across the kitchen floor while I was cooking supper.  Bobby thought it would be funny to put baby oil on the floor so they could slid better.  They had a blast, but were covered in baby oil.  The floor was slick...I almost fell a few times walking to the trash can.  The girls & Bobby got a kick out of it.  Here are a few pictures of the girls "sliding".

After supper they wanted to play a board game, so they decided on Monopoly.  It was a new game the kids had got for Christmas and it was the first time we had played it.  They enjoyed it for about thirty minutes and they got bored.  Toy Story 3 was on TV while we were playing & they got more interested in it then the game.  Here are a few pictures.

Christmas 2011

Christmas morning didn't start out the way any of us had planned.  Morgan came running down the stairs at 3:30 am screaming "Momma".  Gracie was upstairs pucking (what a way to start Christmas morning).  I got up out of bed...still half asleep...went upstairs to find Gracie's supper in the bedroom floor.  I got it all cleaned up & all the girls were awake wanting to open Christmas gifts.  We went and woke Spencer  up...he was still sleepy & wanted to know what time it was...it was 3:45 in the morning.  He crawled out of bed & threw some clothes on.  They all settled in the living room to open presents.  The girls got I-pod touches & Spencer got a PS3.  They were all extremely happy with their presents.  Here are a few pictures.

Santa has been here....

The kids waiting to open their gifts

Harley with her American Girl Doll

Morgan & her American Girl Doll
(Morgan looks half asleep still)

Haylee

Spencer

Gracie
(All smiles...PRICELESS)

Gracie
This is what Christmas is ALL about...seeing the kids SMILES

Harley, Haylee & Morgan

Spencer
All smiles

Spencer
He must have been a good boy this year :)

The girls looking through their stockings

While they were opening presents I started feeling sick.  About 5:00 am I had to go take some medicine and go to bed.  I stayed in the bed until it was time to get the kids ready to go home.  They all started leaving about 7:00.   I ended up back in the bed until 11 when it was time to go to Bobby's parents.  We got Bobby's nieces presents & the look/excitment was priceless.  They are all older & to see them that excited was great :)

When we got back home I called work to see if they were going to put anyone on call tonight.  Thank goodness they were because there would have been NO way I could have made it through the night.  I took another phenergan and headed back to bed. I ended up taking 3 phenergan & sleeping most of Christmas away, but the smiles on the kids faces when they opened their gifts from Santa were PRICELESS! 

I must have just had a 24 hour bug because I woke up this morning feeling much better :)

I hope everyone had a MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas Eve

WOW what a day.  We started it out picking up all the kids & heading to my Dad & Cathy's.  We had BBQ for lunch then opened presents.  All the kids racked up on presents.  When we left there the van was already loaded down.  Here are a few pictures:

After we left there we headed to pick up mom.  We loaded her & her gifts up & headed back toward home.  We made a pit stop at Grandma Lowe's & Papa John's to pick up my favorite cake.  Then we stopped at Bobby's parents house for the kids to get their gifts because they won't get to go with us tomorrow.  They all are going to spend time with their other parent (we were lucky enough to be able to spend the Christmas Eve with five of the six kids).

Then we finally got to head home :)  When we got home we had to unload the vehicle.  While we were unloading the kids went on the hunt for Buddy.  They were searching everywhere for him.  They got upset because they thought he had left already.  Here is where they found him. 

They also found a letter on the tree from Buddy, but they weren't allowed to read it....just yet.  After we got everything unloaded & put away we had more presents to open.  Mom brought all her presents up here so we let them open her gifts first.  The girls loved their American Doll clothes.  Spencer was ecstatic over his Game Stop gift cards.

After opening presents from Meme the kids got to open their gifts from us.  Bobby was worried they would think they didn't have enough because they only had five presents each, but we explained to them they had ask for some expensive stuff and that's why they didn't have many gifts to open.  The smiles on their faces were priceless as they opened their gifts.  Spencer LOVED his gun & the girls LOVED their American Girl Dolls.

After opening presents all the kids went to the table to read Buddy's letter.  Meme read the kids the letter.  There listened to every word.  The kids were amazed when Buddy told them Santa had lifted his magical powers so they could each touch him ONE time. They all hugged Buddy & kissed him bye. After they got up from the table they were all about to cry. They said they were going to miss Buddy & hoped he got to come back next year...Hopefully he will come back and maybe bring a friend with him :)

After opening gifts we ate supper.  Then the kids wanted to play a board game.  We played Clue.  They had never played before and it took them a while to catch on.  Maybe next time they will understand it better...or maybe they are still to small to play just yet...we shall see.

Now all the kids are tucked into bed watching TV...wonder how long it will take them to go to sleep.  All the mess is cleaned up & the garbage is took out.  Everyone is waiting on Santa Clause to come.  Morgan left a letter for Santa with Buddy.

Hope everyone has a MERRY CHRISTMAS!