On the road again...

I am here! I don't know how many times I have started to post but get distracted and run out of time (can you believe it- ME distracted... in all this peace and quiet?!?) So here is the down-low.... my house is in complete destruction mode! Could someone please tell me why you didn't chime in and say "Hey Drea- you might want to think hard about getting all that work done in your house because the mess that comes along with it will take over your entire LIFE!". I would have appreciated more of a heads up! I have a living full of toys and bedroom furniture- I keep uncovering things that need fixed.... on top of all the visible things that need fixed.... - and though I have stressed how unorganized I am, this craziness is more than even I can handle..... Kaylee is going to need therapy if she has to sleep on a mattress in the floor too much longer and Kyle can't for the life of him figure out why I want to change everything (his father's child... change is too much for their OCD ways of doing things) Kaden- well- he is just proud to be here! He walks around singing and chattering and asking me "What u doin Mom Mom?" and "Why?".

We have a C-R-A-Z-Y busy week! Tomorrow we get our new floors , tomorrow night Kyle graduates kindergarten (And it is JD's birthday) Work Thursday. Grad party at church Friday. Luke graduates Saturday. We have yet another grad party to go to Saturday afternoon. Sunday- church pictures (hopefully better than the one from when I was a kid :) Sunday evening- yep- ANOTHER grad party. Monday- field day at school. Monday night- Seth graduates. Thursday- Kaylee's awards day and Praise the Lord- No More School!!!!

And a picture re-cap from the madness of the power outage to Mother's Day.....

And a picture re-cap from the madness of the power outage to Mother's Day.....

Blessed be the Name....

Wow... who knew that 2 weeks ago we were all celebrating Easter- welcoming spring- enjoying the sunshine and beautiful weather.... who knew that in 2 weeks our part of this great big world would turn in to what looks like a war zone. I sure didn't- as a matter of fact I was clueless as to just how bad the weather could get and just how quickly our fast-paced, busy appointment filled lives could be stopped- instantly stopped. I will be completely honest- I was one of those "why are you calling me 20 times to tell me to watch the weather when all it is doing is raining?" people until last week.... the thought of thunder right now makes my insides shake.

I first want to say I am thankful the Lord watched over all of us. There were so many lives affected in such a devastating way. I am thankful, humbled and extremely grateful that we came through it safely. I will never forget the pain, loss and tragic circumstances that this stormy April 27th brought through North Alabama.

I traveled through Huntland, TN yesterday- which is approximately 10-15 miles from my home- and I was stunned to see the damage from a tornado- especially since the path of that tornado came extremely close to my house... my house where I was home alone with 4 small kids and no power and no cell phone reception.... I didn't know it had gotten so bad until it was all over with! (That is when the first round of storms hit... I was prepared and safely in Granny's basement when the second round came through)

We pioneered through the power outage for 2 days before we headed to the Smoky Mtns. for hot food and hot showers and a washing machine. (well... we had plenty of hot food... we made everything on the gas grill.... sausage balls, cookies, boiled water for oatmeal....but the hot shower was worth the 4 hour drive :)
We made it back to Scottsboro on Sunday and stayed there until our power was restored around 2 pm Tuesday afternoon. ( Thanks Dusty.... even though I was one of the last to get my power... I thought you would have told them my elite status and they could have made New Market top priority lol)

When I made it home Tuesday night, I was not worried that we had nothing in our fridge, I had loads of clothing to wash-fold-& put away, I didn't mind getting up Wednesday and doing my normal cleaning routine... I actually was thanking the Lord as I mopped that I had floors to mop and that I had a house to clean... I felt guilty as I folded the mounds of laundry because there were so many left with only the shirts on their backs.....

My prayers have been for the Lord to comfort those affected- touch them as they mourn the loss of loved ones- provide every need to those who lost it all- to help the lives as they were restored into a new "normal"... my heart has ached for the ones whose lives were forever changed. It just leaves me breathless to even try to take it all in.... it is just being my comprehension...

The Lord giveth, He taketh away, Blessed be the name of the Lord

I cant post from my phone but we are ok.

Easter 2011....

You know it has been madness....

When I go an entire week without posting! Here are some highlights....

Monday- Happy Birthday Kaden! Kyle must have gotten so excited that he barfed...
literally.... yes.... stomach virus in the Cantrell house.... it was FANTASTIC! We postponed
Kaden's birthday supper we had planned and we improvised... 2 candles in an Easter Debbie cake...
JD said "He is definitely the third child" Granny brought him a happy meal and Granna brought him presents
so it was all good.

Dee called me that night to tell me my daddy was real bad- as in so bad he could not get up off the couch
or pick up a cup to get a drink. We did get  him to the hospital Wednesday night after much persuasion and the Lord made a way. That is a testimony I will save for later.

Thursday JD's dad brought Kaden his birthday presents and he brought Kaylee and Kyle a surprise too. The kids had a good time playing outside with him- and of course they loved the gifts :) Kaden was reading the book that he got him... in his own language of course!

Friday I made mad dash to get Easter stuff ready (because Easter was later than ever and I still let it slip up on me) Got it all done.... oh except for the incident with Kaden's birthday cake- it accidentally got thrown away because of some miscommunication with Costco bakery employees... but they made me another one while I waited... ) Friday night- had Kaden's birthday supper- he had fun and I am still not sure he got the point that it was HIS birthday... he sang to himself :)

Granna brought Easter baskets for everyone. This was Karsyn's first trip to our house.

and everyone colored eggs while they were here (can you say VERY action packed night!)

Saturday we let the kids play outside a little too long without sunscreen... OUCH... but they had fun and wasn't near as bothered by their sunburns as Granna and Granny were.... :) Took the kids to see Daddy because Kaylee was worried to death about him. They (he and the kids) all enjoyed the visit- especially when Daddy started handing out Reese's cups to the kids whom were all ready for church  :)

Kaden fell asleep in the tub when we were getting ready ..see the sunburn... ;(

Sunday we celebrated Easter all day! Got up early , got ready early , did a photo shoot before church, thought we were leaving in time to do pics at church before service started... ummmm... NOT.... flat tire on the Expedition sent us scrambling with carseats and cleaning out JD's Honda to make it JUST in time for church.... Did I expect anything different? No, not really! Getting ready early in this house always has disaster written all over it! I will do an Easter post next... too many pics to add to this crazy post....

Sunday night Mrs. Karsyn made her debut at church! I got a pic on my phone but learning how to get it from my phone to this computer isn't something I see happening. She looked gorgeous :) I did get one before church...

Yesterday I thought I was cleaning houses I had to skip last week but as I headed out to do so I got the call that Dad was being discharged from the hospital so I headed out there to help with all of that. PRECIOUS PRECIOUS Dee and Rod are letting him stay with them while he recovers. I can't say enough about how good they are..... (I would have brought him with me but my steps going into my house just aren't possible for a person who can barely walk) Thank the Good Lord in Heaven above that Daddy is doing alot better! I appreciate every prayer!

Today..... hopefully tackling the tornado of a house I am sitting in at the moment and tending to two little ones in the middle of it all.

And now when you see me and I have grey hair and worry lines- you will know why (and it won't be because I am old because I am 29 FOREVER :)
Happy Tuesday :)

Happy Birthday Kaden!

a few hours early! My baby is 2 today (the 18th). He says he isn't... but he says no to everything you ask him. (ex. Kaden- do want to go to Disney World? "No"... Do you want a new swimming pool? "no") Lil Ollie had a blast with this when we were in the barber shop last week. He was asking him all kinds of questions just so Kaden would frown his eyebrows at him and say "No".

I have a small family supper planned with a cake and some red plates... but that is the extent of our partying. I know- sad- but I have learned from the other two that going all out on a birthday bash is soon to come when he will actually have a request of Chuck E Cheese (uuugggghhhh- I don't like that place AT ALL) so simple family parties will end soon enough! (and parties mean presents- presents mean more toys- more toys make this momma want to vomit... I am definitely cool with the NO GIFTS rule- but the kids never seem to appreciate that one.)

Any who.... Happy birthday to the little man that came along just at the right time. The Lord knows what we need and when we need it. I was always planning to have 3 kids- but Kaden came into the plan a little sooner than we anticipated. After the death of Bro David (which came alot quicker than we thought) I could see Gods plan in action in our lives once again. 11 days after he passed- the Lord blessed us with another gift from Heaven :) We are so thankful for him (Kaden) and for HIM! This little boy has made life worth living (as have the other two babies we have) He is a mess and can be as unfriendly as any child you have ever seen.... but if you catch him in his good mood- he can carry on a big conversation that you only catch 2 or 3 words out of. He is a chatter box! He calls me Mom-Mom for whatever reason. He calls Granny "Manny" and Granna "Manna". He asks you at least 50 times a day "What u doing?" and "Wheres Kyle?"
He laughs the best belly-chuckle-laugh EVER! He is 35 pounds of a big-ol-mommas-boy. He still takes a paci and has to have his blanket to rub on. (I have no will power on taking them from him yet and an older sister told me the other day that she didn't blame me. She said "I have never seen a 30 year old man walking around with a paci or a bottle so let them have it if they want it- it is not hurting anything!) He is my baby- I think that is why I let him be a baby. And JD is his daddy- chances are he will be a big baby forever anyway ;) j/k.... well.... kind of....

I must go do more laundry before I crash for the night. My house is in total shambles and I have company coming- Cinderella wasn't available so I guess I get to do it all by myself.... blahhhhh!

Easter Egg Hunt....

Saturday was our church Easter egg hunt. It was so pretty outside (kinda hot- but anything is better than the rain we have had as of lately) I guesstimated about 50 or so kids were there- it was crazy but they had a blast. ~With the exception of the poor Gaines children because their momma thought it started at 1 instead of 11.... that was sad.... and we all laughed about it because it was Heather and that is just how things go when you are a mother of 4 (after knowing what 3 has done to my brain- I am proud Heather is still able to get dressed.... which she does well except for the shoes part LOL!!! I love you HG!!!)~

Here's some pics....

ok- I think that was enough pics! You probably feel like you were there now :)