I was made for this!

Ahh, an entire week at Disney!  5 kids, 6 and under, and we had the time of our lives! The six adults where a big part of that! :)

I know, some people might have nightmares about a trip such as this.  Not this lady!  The Maddox family was made for vacations like this.

Don't get me wrong, I fantasize about going to the beach and laying down, reading a good book and enjoying a nice glass of something; but let's be realistic - that's not happening for a long time with this crew.

And that's perfectly ok with this mama!

The truth is no matter where we are, vacation or not, there are four amazing little people who need/want my attention and are looking for entertainment.

So, waking up extra early, rushing out of the house, and heading off to the happiest place on earth - well that sounds and is the perfect vacation for us!

We had a blast, the joy on these little peoples faces brought so much happiness to our hearts, and the memories were priceless.

We had our moments, but then again, we'd have those at home - so why not somewhere we could calm down and then eat ice cream!

Or see live animals :)

So thank you mom and dad for another amazing trip and vacation!

And thank you Uncle Hank, Aunt Nikki, and Bing for being able to come down too!  A week with y'all was such a gift to all of us! :)

God Bless!

Throw back Monday?

 Because today is Monday, and well I seem to be slacking in the picture taking department, I thought I would throw in some old pics just for fun :)  Kinda random, but hey I haven't blogged in a while so I thought I'd try again!

 I guess I'm tired and busy :) So please excuse the lack in blogging and posting, I do promise we are here, baby Augustine (Gus) is doing great, and we are having fun!

 I had to post this pic, not only b/c Abby is just soooo cute, but we get to see this awesome Aunt next week!  I'm so excited to see the Murphy clan I can hardly contain it!

 Here's a hint at what our little vacation might consist of.....shhhh don't tell the kids!  My parent's are once again taking the fam for a fun filled vaca!!

Bye for now!  That's all I got, plus the three little ones now have chocolate pudding and I'm thinking I should go help them :)

Between colds we had time for this....

 This is proof that we actually made it out of the house last week.  Ha!  Once again another awful flu like cold has found it's way into our home - we had a 24 hr break were I was the only one not feeling well........ so off to Trick or Treat we went!  (Stephen's the Headless horseman, he decided on this and I'm still not sure how he even knows who the headless horseman is, but then he got sick and then I got sick...... so..... you get a headless horseman in a woman's JCrew button up :) )

 This is Cecilia, the shy Princess.  She came down with the mean old fever later that night..... now we know why she was so shy!

 Every year a very sweet family, that Alan has known his entire life, has a hayride through our neighborhood.  We have been blessed enough to be adopted into the family and join in on the fun! :)  

So don't hold your breath, who knows when I might do this blog thing again.  We're doubling up on vitamins and praying we can stop getting sick soon!  This prego mama is tired :)

I'm a slacker!

 So, I wouldn't say I'm a slacker in all things, but when it comes to this blog oh yes I am!  Wow, sorry it's been so long.  We have been slam busy, plus the great stomach bug (second one through the family since Aug). 

 Anyways, you don't want to know my schedule but you do want to see these pretty cute kiddos! Well, at least I would if I were you :)

 As per usual, my brain is completely empty.  

 So sit back, enjoy the pics and know that we are still here - recovering :)

Happy fall y'all!

Our little Abby

 I would like to take a minute out of our regularly scheduled program to say I love Abby!  I love all my children too! :)  We have been blessed beyond understanding and everyday I am reminded of that!

I love sharing small and big moments with all my children, but today I want to share Abby's with you.  Abby is our little soccer star at the moment, and I love being able to be her coach and spend that extra special time with her.  I love, love, love coaching this age too!!!  There's nothing better than a bunch of 4 & 5 yr old's running in circles chasing the ball.  At one moment we had three, of our six players, sitting out (I think Abby had actually made it to the bench to be with her grandparents), and one of the three left on the field was attached to my leg....I guess he could tell I like kids.

Anyways, the adventures of activities has hit the Maddox house, though we are striving to not "over schedule" our children or family, we do want to give them all a chance to find something that they thrive in.  So this year we'll start with soccer for Miss Abby.  And of course you know I don't mind that at all!!

Ok, I couldn't help adding this one too :)  My cute crew at a Cub Scout activity :)  (they are in a window seal, and yes Jude is about to jump!) haha

Have a great weekend!

The start of school.......I think I'm a little late on this one!

Wow, that took over a month for me to finally post about school.  If you can tell from the pictures, Stephen wasn't thrilled about his first day, and maybe that's why I haven't rushed to my computer to share it with all of you. :)

 My sweet readers, all 3 of you, I'm kind of a big deal to this kid!  And let's face it, we have a pretty fun crowd at our house these days.  Then I'll add that last year was a bit hard for him, and I know that on that first day he had anxiety. :(  SIX YEAR OLD'S SHOULD NOT HAVE ANXIETY ABOUT SCHOOL!!!!  (my opinion on that will have to wait, or never come up again!)  All that being said, things are better!  We are well into school and Stephen seems to be thriving.  I'm not saying he jumps out of bed in the morning and rushes out the door; then again if you saw me waking you up, you would put the covers back over your face and hide too :)

The gift of family

Family is an amazing gift!  I miss my family, I miss my brother and sister who've moved away, I miss my cousins, I miss Alan's family, I love love love living near grandparents though.  

So while I was away at my Memere's funeral, I mentioned to my cousin Jim that his kids should come for a visit.  I was so excited when I got a text asking if I was serious.

Plans were made and the whole family came down!  

The point is, that this is how memories are made.  This is how bonds are formed.  Cecilia and Jude won't remember this, but Stephen will and maybe Abby.

Shannon and Daniel (pictured above) right after their baby sister Grace was born (also pictured above)

See, we get so busy "making plans" for little things, over scheduling ourselves, and we stop making plans for people.

Holding baby Grace during my graduation trip up north :)  So cute!!

God calls us to be people oriented, not project oriented, and I know that I have fallen way to many times into the project oriented category.  

I fall into that during small moments in my day when I have a two year old crying to be held and all I want to do is finish one thing!!  But she doesn't care about that one thing.  I fall into project orientated in big moments too when I don't make time for extended family, or close family that takes time (and money) to plan out a trip and see.

Then I'm reminded that I never lived "near" cousins either.  My parents made a point to take us to family, or have family over.  Are we doing that enough?  Will my kids know their cousins?

So my goal over the next year (and hopefully a change in my entire mindset) is to become more people oriented.  

First with my family, realizing more and more that they are such a gift and miracle from God and they won't always be pulling on me to hold them.  Second, I want to take more time to see family.  I want my children to have the same awesome memories I have.  

I want them to know where they come from, and who they can turn to!

I know that I won't always be able to take a trip and see people, but I can make a better effort!

The biggest thing for me is that I want my children to "see" people, truly know them, have a connection. 

In such a digital world it is getting easier and easier to just text, look on facebook, or read a blog and be caught up with a certain amount of someones life.  I know that is not the relationships God wants us to have, I know that's not how you truly grow with someone.  

This summer has been such a gift, seeing family, friends that are as close as family, and making memories.  May the rest of the year be built around relationships, first and foremost with our Lord and His Church.