Our little soccer star!

This year is Peyton's second year playing soccer and boy, the difference a year can make! The girl LOVES it and is doing amazing! She scored two games while playing her first game the other day! We were pretty proud parents! Her coach and assistant coach are amazing and really have a passion for the kids and the sport so I love watching them work with her! Here are some pictures from the game last weekend.

Peyton and her BFF Maddy

The team banner I had made

jumping jacks...so entertaining at this age!;)

High 5 from coach

Jordy having her own soccer game;)

THe 2 "2s" after the ball...guess they forgot they are on the same team.

Grandma Rose, one of our favorite ladies:)

Being taught about compassion by my 5 year old...

It's so often said that while we try to teach our children about life, they end up teaching us. This couldn't be more true for me yesterday. A short story (who am I kidding, all of my stories end up long) about my afternoon yesterday. It had as usual been a long, tiring day and I still had a mile of things left on my to do list and it was 5pm. Peyton had soccer practice and I really wanted to re energize so I stopped at Starbucks before her practice. I got my drink and Peyton's water and her and I drove off heading to practice. As we sat at the stop light, Peyton looked out the window and for the first time in her young, innocent life not only saw, but became deeply intrigued by a man sitting on the side of the road. The man was dirty, holding a sign that read "Please, Please Help" and had such a sad look on his face. Then I could see the wheels turning as she looked out the window and continued to watch the man. Then she asked... "Mommy, why is he sitting there?" I explained that he was asking for help because he did not have a home or any food or money. Peyton became devastated by this and told me, "Well mommy, that's sad" I am not sure what it was about this particular time as we have seen homeless individuals in the past and I have tried to explain how we can help. This time though, it really got to her. She then told me that she had a great idea and knew what God would want us to do. She asked me to go back, pick the man up and let him live with us so he would have a home and food like us. I wanted to cry because I didn't know how to explain that I couldn't do that. I then said "well Peyton, we can't do that but maybe one day when we have time, we can pack him up some food and small things and bring it to him"... She had an even better idea. At Joyful Noise Nursery School, each year the children bring in canned food to take to the food pantry at St. Andrews Church. I never knew how much Peyton thought about it and what a gift those teachers had given her by teaching her about kindness and giving to the less fortunate. She told me that we needed to go home and get together a bunch of food and take it to Joyful Noise so they could take it to this man. I was touched beyond words and realized even more what a kind, compassionate, loving, giving child of God my daughter is. I have no doubt that He put her on this earth to teach others kindness and compassion as she taught me yesterday.
As we drove off, I promised Peyton that we would put together a care package for the church and also put together some little goody bags for any local homeless we come across. I would love to start serving in this way and teach my children that we are all equal and to show kindness, compassion and mercy the same way God has for us. Recently Jasper lost a lifelong friend and this friend had spent a lot of years trying to help the homeless and show them God's light. I would love for Jasper and I to kind of "pay it forward" so to speak and continue that work in honor of him and to show his parents that his memory and compassion lives on. On another side of that, I was so very, very disappointed in myself at that moment because the thought went through my head to turn around, hit the grocery store and grab this man some food. I however selfishly with my Starbucks in hand, worried that Peyton would be late for practice and drove right on by. As God spoke to me and gave me the perfect opportunity to teach my child, I selfishly denied it and drove right past. Ended up being 5 minutes early for practice to. My moral of this story is to remind you that we always have little ones watching us and learning from us. We need to set a good example and teach our children about kindness, compassion and mercy. Raise our children up with God in their hearts and teach them to follow their hearts and to help. To serve and to love. I can promise that I have made it my mission to become more compassionate and to start serving in this aspect as my daughter reminded me how easy it is.Through her young eyes and in her mind, she considers us all to be equal and thinks we should all have God's love, blessings, food, water, a house....If only the rest of us got that bigger picture! I hope to be more like my five year old in the future.

A quick sanity saver I love!

As usual...I have not been giving any of my secret tips on staying sane and organized....That's because I have been busy saving my own sanity, bahahaha! Anyways here is a quick tip I use that people think I am crazy for!:)

ONE HAMPER IN OUR WHOLE HOUSE....
Yes, ONE hamper for a family of SIX! I have done it this way since Peyton was born, and I will never stop doing it that way. Here is my reasoning...When you have several hampers in your home, it is way too easy to let it pile up, or sit in the dryer or just be lazy and hide the hamper in the closet. By having one, each day it ends up full in the morning and full in the evening. So, I simply start a load in the morning, and I start one in the evening. The girls know that as they undress for tubby each night, they put there clothes right into the open washer and then I start it once every one's clothes are in it. They do not understand sorting colors so if there is whites I remove them. However, I am not a picky person about most colors and I know some people are finicky with clothes but guess what, I put all of our colors together and our clothes are just as vibrant.:) A lot of my Friends complain about the piles and piles of laundry they have but really, if you do it each day, it takes 2 minutes to get the washer going, two minutes to switch it to a dryer, 45 minutes to dry if you don't hang dry them and 10 minutes to fold. I put the pile on my bed and if I get time at nap I do it in 10 minutes or I wait till late evening and hang out watching a good show and folding.:)
So again, it sounds weird but I HATE hampers (I know, hate is a strong word) but I think hampers are just one of those things like baskets people put around there house, they just cause us to clutter and ignore it! I am a very busy mom of 4 kids 5 and under that runs a daycare, helps in a classroom, is the soccer team mom, has several workshops each month, runs often at night, refuses to let my family not have home cooked meals and if I can do it, so can anyone:) Happy folding everyone and I am telling you, try it for a week or 2 and you will never use your hampers again! Even if you work outside of the home, pop it in the wash when you wake up, switch it to the dryer before you leave, fold when you get home as dinner simmers and you chat with your kids! Easy enough:)

A Wacky Tacky good time:)

Reagan and Jordyn-
We had your birthday party at Wacky Tacky this year and boy was it fun!! We LOVED it and will definitely go back in the future! Not too many people could come because of other plans, sports and so on, but we didn't let that stop us from having a great time with our friends and family that could make it! I love that you guys are less than a year apart and actually liked sharing your party!:)) It made my life a little less chaotic than having two parties!;) Here are some pictures of your party!

You girls ready to head in and party with your cousin Kendall and 2 of your bff's Hannah and Morgan!

Mommy had such a blast! I think maybe more fun than you guys!;) I love having an excuse to act like a kid:)

                                                        Daddy likes to be a big kid too:))

                                         Cousins! Reagan was very excited to have Kendall there!

                                Caiden finally meeting his Great Grandma Ortiz! 4 generations:)

                    Jordyn and her favorite boyfriend Timmy!! These two are quite the lovers!

They created an adorable little video of the party as we played, and then they played it while we ate! It was so awesome and sweet and a great keepsake to have forever!!

It was a fun, fun day and we had so much joy as we watched you girls play and enjoy yourselves! These are the moments I live for! The moments when we are together as a family. Making simple yet lasting memories!
Happy 3rd Birthday Reagan and Happy 2nd Birthday Jordyn! We love you girls!:)

Reagan's First Day of Preschool

It seems like my life is passing by me in the blink of an eye. I can't say enough how much I wish I could slow time down. My babies are growing WAY too quick and although I love each new experience I am blessed with with them, I secretly wish I could freeze time and keep them little forever. It's hard to let go, it's hard to move to the next phase and it's hard to not be the only decision maker in your child's life. In one month I first watched my first born start kindergarten and now, my sweet little Reagan has begun her journey in preschool. It was a TOUGH day for me, super tough. I know it sounds silly, but from the time Reagan was born, she has ALWAYS been with me. Peyton is my only child that in the beginning was in child care. Reagan, Jordyn and Caiden have always been with mama, and that's the way I like it! So it was tough to walk out that door!
Reagan, you of course were happy as could be and told me m"mommy, I don't want you to stay"...It made me happy that you wanted me to go but sad that you were ok without me!;) We walked in, found your name, found a station and you were well on your way to being a big preschooler! These first few weeks of school you have done great! You have had a few sad times, but mainly GREAT times! It's been amazing to watch you grow baby girl and I know you will do great at Joyful Noise Nursery School just like Peyton did! I could not be leaving you in better hands!!

                                             Big hugs for Mrs. Davis-You just love your teachers!

                                       Finding her name. This is such a great activity because it really does help them learn and recognize their name and the letters in it! Peyton picked this up so well and they also move on to address and phone numbers in the afternoon class! That's how Peyton finally learned our address:)

Reagan and Mrs. Graham. Reagan felt so special because "sissy's" teachers, were now her teachers!:)

           Me and my sweet little princess....I am glad I could smile because I wanted to cry.:(
So.....It came and went and I am now the mom of a kindergartner and a preschooler! There are good points and bad points of having all 4 kids so close in age. One bad point is that you move to the next phase with each way too soon like an assembly line!;) However, it looks like it's not going to slow down anytime soon, so I am just going to embrace it and keep freezing these moments in my mind so I can remember my sweet little angels this way as they grow!

Jordyn's 2nd Birthday

I'm a little late on my posts these days. Life is nothing short of chaotic around here but it sure does make it fun!:))) Here are some pictures from Jordyn's birthday. It was a fairly simple day! Since it was a weekend we slept in till 7 (That is major sleeping in in this house);) I made Jordyn a special breakfast and the rest of the day was pretty laid back. A trip for some ice cream, a fun afternoon at the park just the 6 of us and then a birthday cake celebration at home!:) Here are some pictures of Jordyn's birthday!:)

                                         Still a tad bit sleepy opening your presents:)

                                              A trip to the park just to have some fun:)

Oh jeez, I probably shouldn't put pictures of this poor, defenseless, sad little cake mommy made. BUT I love the fact that although I made you a very poorly decorated cake (as I said in a post to Reagan, I can bake BUT I can not decorate) you still loved it and I could tell it made you happy!:) That is all that matters, and that's why I do what I do!

My Jordy Pordy, I loved having a whole day all about YOU! A day to soak in your love, cuddles and kisses! A day to just be a family and have nothing else to do and not a care in the world! I love celebrating the joy you bring to my life every single day, but making it special on your birthday, made me happy!

Reagan Marie...How has it been 3 years?

OK.....I'm about a week late on this post and it is well overdue!:)) Sometimes if I have a post that isn't about my children, I don't mind getting on here and throwing it together....BUT...If it's a post that I want my child to look back on years from now, and feel the love I felt as I wrote it, I wait t ll I have the time to pour my thoughts out.
September 13th 2008
My life became fuller, my heart bigger and my life busier! I became the mom of a second little girl! I remember the day you were born like it was yesterday. I went in the hospital in the morning around 8, and at 3:42pm I was holding a beautiful, calm, sweet little baby in my arms. My pregnancy, labor, delivery were a breeze with you. 2 quick, easy pushes and you made your debut. You had the most quiet, calm cry I had ever heard. From that day forward, you showed us that calm, easy going nature you have. You have always been such an easy child! I used to worry that it would make you slip through the cracks because you were always so good that sometimes it seemed we focused more on your siblings behavior. I remember just after you turned 3 months old, I discovered I was pregnant with Jordyn and my world got a little bit scarier! During those first few weeks of pregnancy, it's like you sensed mommy was scared because you would just lay in my arms and smile, coo and laugh. So content, so sweet, such a love bug!
Lately though, that little love bug is making herself known! I think you got tired of being the innocent one! You have come out of your shell so much and make us laugh and smile with your wittiness and silliness each and every day!! You have such a way about you though, you can make anything better.
You seriously are the sweetest little thing EVER!:) Every single day, at LEAST 30 times a day, you walk up to me and say "mom, you're pretty....and mom, I love you" It makes me smile and laugh every time! In your 3 short years Reagan Marie, you have given me so much joy, laughter, happiness and fulfillment. I always look at you and your sisters and brother and think, if I lost everything I owned and was left with only my family and the Lord above, I have more than most could ever dream of having! You make my life full. You gave me hope when times were tough, you gave me smiles when I wanted to cry, and you gave me serenity amidst chaos. I love you so very very much sweet girl. Just look at all the memories I have of you angel!

Now here are a few pictures from your birthday last week. BEFORE we get to a picture of you with your ummm, well silly looking cake. Let me explain. I was running late to pick up sissy as it took longer to bake then planned. I took it out too soon because we had to leave, so it shaped funny. Then the following day, I had to frost it in 5 minutes before I ran out to help in P's classroom. SO, if you want to be mad about your cake, blame Peyton!;)) No really though, Jordy's was just as sad I promise.;) Mommy can bake with the best of them...BUT, making them pretty? Not so much!

Sweet, tiny, angelic little Reagan, at 3 years old you...

just started preschool at Joyful Noise and you LOVE it!! Tomorrow you get to take snack, a book for your class and mommy made goody bags for your friends so you can celebrate your birthday. You are so excited!

Your sister Peyton is your very best friend and you do everything she does!

You absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE ballet and ask me each day if it's Saturday for class yet.

You talk with the cutest little voice and still can't say your f's very well so mommy makes you say Frisbee just so you and I can laugh together because you say it with an c and it makes us giggle.:)

You love to sing the days of the week song.

You always remember to ask us to pray before a meal if you think we have forgotten.

"God our Father" is your favorite prayer.

You are such a small little girl with such a BIG attitude!:) You really think you are 10 feet tall and own the world!

You adore your little brother and your eyes shine when you talk to him or sing to him. You love to just sit with him on the floor or read books with him.

You are mommy's sidekick! If I am doing my hair, you are sitting in the bathroom watching. If I am cooking breakfast, you are in the kitchen. If I am folding laundry, you are trying to help. Where ever I am, you are there too.:) My little shadow!

Reagan, I know I say this about each of my kids, but you give me that reassurance that God has a bigger plan than mine and knows me better than I know myself. He gave me a patient, sweet, easy going, calm baby girl right in the middle of a chaotic time. You kept me sane and made the transition from one to two kids easy and then again from 2 to 3 and finally from 3 to 4 kids. You were always the one I knew would take it easy on mama!! I love you so much and my life would be so much less bright without you. You are one of the greatest gifts the Lord has blessed me with and I thank my lucky stars He chose you for me and me for you!

I love you "My Mini Best Friend"

Love Mommy