I have failed to blog...

I've not been a faithful blogger in a few months. Shame on me! It seems like life flies by so fast! The last part of 2011 was eventful...

We had Pocahontas and the Grim Reaper as guests for Halloween! The kids had a big Halloween party in the back yard, complete with a bonfire. They loved it! They went Trick-or-Treating and got more candy than they could eat in a year!

During spirit week at school, they had Career Day. Libby dressed as an artist; Roan was a math professor!

Then we had Hippie Day. OMG they were so cute! (and mom did a pretty good sewing job, huh?!)

In November, Shannon and I took a trip to Eureka Springs AR. OMG, what an amazing place! We've decided that when we're rich, we're going to have a second home there! We had the best time; if you have the opportunity, I highly recommend you visit!

We had a lovely Christmas. Sean was here from Colorado, and we hosted the McGowin family dinner. The kids got to spend some time in KC with their Nana and Papa, which made them very happy!

On New Year's Day, the City sewer backed up into our basement. This was bad. We lost pretty much everything that was down there. We had to tear everything down to the studs and build again. The good news is, we again have walls...and a laundry room...and today, we have carpet!! This weekend, we'll be able to move some things back in from storage. We almost have our home back!

We have a sweet new addition to our family! Shannon's daughter Mallory, and her husband Seth, welcomed baby Caroline on 12/15/11. She's a doll and Shannon is a proud Papa!

I hearby resolve to be a better blogger in 2012. Amen. Over and out.

Happy Birthday, Roan!!

Today, my sweet boy turns 7! How can this be? It seems like just yesterday he got here and turned our world upside down! He and Libby are 18 months apart. I'm not really sure why I thought that was a good idea... it's great now, but when they were little...wow.

This is the boy on his 5th birthday. It's one of my favorite pictures. He had such tiny Chicklet teeth. He's really changed a lot in two years. What a difference adult teeth make!

He will KILL me someday for posting this... but this is one of my all-time favorite pictures. When he was younger, he went through a very long dress-wearing phase. Dresses, high heels, tiaras. This pictures kills me.

Some things about Roan that I don't want to forget:

1. He's in first grade right now. He is apparently a math genius. It makes sense and it is very easy for him. Spelling is a different story, unfortunately. He really struggles with it but we work on it a lot at home.


2. He is desperate for a dog. So, he reads dog books and prints dog pictures and talks incessantly about our someday-dog.


3. He is completely obsessed with Monster High toys. He has all of the dolls except one or two of the very latest ones. He saves his money to buy them and plays with them all the time. It's funny though, because he worries what people will think about this. I don't think he'd ever want his best friend to know!


4. He's in Boy Scouts right now and loves it. Last week, he watched some Native American dancers, and now is interested in doing that when he gets farther in Scouting.


5. His best friends right now are Ryan and Drew.


6. He is incredibly compassionate. He has a soft heart and worries about other people. I love that about him.


7. He loves to watch iCarly, So Random, and most of the other tween shows.


8. When he grows up, he wants to be a Rock 'n Roll singer, an actor or a musician. He says he is "destined for the stage"!


9. He speaks his mind. He will tell you what he thinks and will let you know when he believes something is wrong or unfair.


10. He has a real heart for people with disabilities or other differences. He has a natural way about him that puts people at ease. He's a sweet boy!

Happy birthday, Roan! I'm glad I'm your mom. You make our family complete!