Dance

The girls had their dance recital Saturday night. It was a great night for both of them as they got their chance to shine. I am always so proud of my children in everything they do but especially for my shy AG who does not like to be up in front of people. It was hard for her to get on that stage, she actually said she wanted to be sick that day so she wouldn't have to go. Watching the event only reminded me of what a sap I have become though. One of the first dances was to the song Cinderella by Steven Curtis Chapman. The song makes me cry every time I hear it so when the daddies walked out with their tiny girls and twirled them and let them stand on their feet to dance I was a puddle. Timmy just rolls his eyes when I start and Jill thought I should be medicated. We weren't allowed to take flash pictures during the performances so I don't have any to share but I did snap a couple during their final curtain call. Look how cute they are in their dance costumes. The dance school came to REL on Tuesdays so the daughters of those of us who can't or in my case won't get away to haul the children all over creation didn't have to miss out on the opportunity. Miss Nikki was wonderful and extremely patient with the children all year. The girls loved her.

Sara Abbett in the middle.


Anna Grace also in the middle.


They wore their costumes all day Sunday. Guess they liked them a lot. They even took turns wearing each others.

Sheep and Cows and Chickens oh my

Yesterday was another wonderful busy day for us. It seems that this time of year things get a lot busier. Sara Abbett had a field trip to Ovis Hill Farm in Timmonsville. If you have never been there it is a must for anyone with children. On this trip we had a farm tour, which included a demostration of the sheep herding, the children made butter and a bracelet from some of the wool shorn on the farm, bottle fed a lamb and painted gourd birdhouses. It was as much fun for me as it was for the children. I was in awe of the way the border collie responds to Mr. Charlie and the sheep respond to the collie. Mere and I visited the store where they have fresh milk, cheese, eggs and meats as well as some jams and jellies. Check out their website http://www.ovishillfarm.com/ for more information about them.

Mr. Charlie explained the rules for us.

Mr. Charlie had a little lamb

who wanted to be fed

We had to huddle together to stay warm on the hay ride.

watching Mr. Charlie feed the cows

Rab painting a gourd

and making butter

Crazy Few Weeks

Things have been kind of crazy in the life of the Kirvens lately. We have had numerous doctor appointments, some construction on the house and had a party for our wonderful friend and former baby sitter Hannah.

Our doctor's appointments started with Rabbie. Sara Abbett did not pass her hearing tests at school so we took her to the pediatrician to have a more professional test done. She didn't pass the first or the follow up so we met with an ENT to see what was causing the problem. Since Tim and I both have hearing loss in our families I was kind of worried that she had a real problem. I know that in the grand scheme of things a little hearing loss is nothing but I just couldn't help the worry. I'm a mom! Well, it turned out that she had fluid behind her ear and she had to have tubes put in. Easy as that. It blows my mind that she should have them at six when she has had only one ear infection. We have that behind us and if I can remember to put plugs in her ears when she bathes or swims we should have one problem solved.

I also had an appointment that had me worried but again all is well. I have some bad places on my face from years of sun burning. The dermatologist gave me some cream to put on them that he said will make them go away without cutting them. YAY! He also said that if I take care of my skin now it will heal and I will look better in 10 years than I do today. Oh I do hope that is true. Another problem solved. I feel so blessed to have God's protection in both of these cases. They could have been more serious problems but the Lord has kept us well.

Tim and I decided that we would use our back porch a lot more if we closed it in so, between visits to doctors, I made several trips to a building supply warehouse to pick up extra materials to finish the project. I have to say it was worth every drop of gas that I used up to have a porch that we can enjoy. I will have to post some pictures later. It is not completely finished because we ran out of the wood we are using on the walls and there is no way I can take another day off for a while to pick up more. I am thankful to Mr. Brown, our builder, for all of the hard work he did to get it looking so good before Hannah's party. If you don't know me let me just say that I am not a planner. I usually get things done at the last minute and enjoy it that way so waiting until two weeks before a big party to start a renovation worked for me.

Hannah's party was nice, my house is clean and my life is good.

Anna Grace Kirven

I thought I would take some time to describe each of my children one at a time. It is only logical that I start with Anna Grace my first born angel.

At 10:11 PM on October 30, 1998, after an easy, uneventful pregnancy and a pretty easy labor (after the epidural) Anna Grace Kirven was delivered to two nervous and excited parents. What a beautiful gift God gave us that day. It is hard to describe to anyone who doesn't have children the pure love you feel for your child. As in love with her Daddy as I was and still am, the love for the person that has been literally a part of you for nine months is something indescribable and uniquely special. We treasure every moment with her, all of the firsts that I just knew I could never forget and haven't but couldn't tell you dates or times for any of them. First smile, bath, steps, day in church, visit to the beach, trip on an airplane, day in child care and the first day of big girl school, first tooth and also shots, black eyes and bumps, bruises and splinters. All of these were exciting in their own right. *Write things down, don't count on your memory!*


From the beginning, she was such an easy baby. We could shop for hours and she wouldn't make a peep or even cry for food. Anything suited her in those days. She loved to ride in the car and look at everything around her. She rubbed all the hair off of the back of her head by looking from side to side checking out the world. She was outgoing and would talk and go to anyone. That has changed quite a bit and now she will NOT speak to people when we go places. Surely she will out grow that habit since she is exactly like me in so many ways and I can't stop talking. For two years she was the only grandchild on my side of the family and was just a bit spoiled. Her Grammie doted on her and saw her almost every day. AG still thinks my mom put the stars in the sky. The feeling is mutual! In the nine years since her birth Anna Grace has grown from the beautiful kewpie doll baby to an amazing young lady. I am so proud of who she is becoming. She has a love of reading that makes the mom, teacher and librarian in me so proud. Creativity she also has in abundance. This is fun but also can cause problems in school when she works on one of her projects instead of doing her lessons. I have often heard from her teachers that she is a pleasure and is always kind to others. How proud I am of that. I may not always see that side of her at home but as long as she is good at school and in public I'm a happy mom. Anna Grace has always been a good student. Her grades have been quite good so far. She was even one of the top readers in first grade. It has gotten harder but she continues to work hard and earn those top marks.
I am so blessed to have this girl in my life. I wonder what I did right that God would give me such a wonderful gift.

Baseball Season

It's that time again. T-ball, coaches pitch and baseball is now in full swing. Josh, Cameron, Zeke and Blane had their first coaches pitch game last night and Hampton had t-ball. Fun times.

Pre game pictures for mom. GAME FACE!!

Cheese too

He's ready to catch.

He's ready to hit.

Cameron has his eye on the ball.

So does Zeke.

And Blane too.

Hampton looks so stylish in his uniform.

Of course, after a long evening of ball you should eat spaghetti and let it hang out of your mouth.

It's Monday

This day started off all wrong. I woke up late! After a shower I had to wake Anna Grace and Josh up AGAIN and try to put myself together enough to go to work. Josh had to go back and change his shoes then I had to make him put socks on cause his feet are deadly. Had no time to pack lunches or eat breakfast at the table. Instead, I had to take money from the piggy bank to let the children order lunch and toasted some english muffins to eat in the car. Josh wanted cereal at school so we put some in a lidded container and some milk in a cup with a lid and headed out the door. Somehow we did manage to get to school on time. On time but short two bookbags. When I got to school I put the girls out and took Josh in to help him get settled. We took the lid off of his cereal and poured the milk over it no problem then geez o man what did I do but try to put the top back on the milk. My hand slipped and I knocked the whole mess over on the table. ARGGGG I barely kept from saying a swear word. My wonderful sister took Josh, who was beside himself, to the canteen and bought the child some breakfast. All of this before 8:00. I pray the rest of the day will go smoother.

Weekend Whirlwind

We had a wonderful, busy, happy weekend. Friday night Timmy and I got to go out on a date. We went to Percy and Willies for dinner then to the movies to see Leatherheads. It has been waaaayyyy too long since we have had time together like that. The children spent the night with my sister and brother so there was no rush to get back. We actually stayed up past midnight. Saturday was rainy and yukky so absolutely nothing got accomplished but a bit of laundry. Even though we are having a party for Hannah and Jared in two weeks and the house looks like a swamp I just let it all go and hung out with my family. I love a day like that. We did go to Mom and Dad's for supper. Aunt Lindy is making her annual jaunt around the US so we met with her for a porch party. She brought some surprises for the old girls (Mere, Jill and me). She had bought Nana tons of beautiful and unique jewelry for years and when Nan died a couple years ago she of course took it back home with her. Well, imagine my surprise when she gave each of us a beautiful piece of the past. Thanks Aunt Lindy for the earrings and ring. I wore them to church Sunday. The big and most exciting part of the weekend was Sunday afternoon. We went to T's mom's for a secret family meeting. I had my own idea of what it could be but waited patiently for the news. Deanne and her precious boyfriend Matt are planning a wedding. We are all so excited for them. They don't have a date yet as he just asked her Friday but I hope it will be real soon. They make such a cute couple. It was a great weekend!!

A Few of My Favorite Things

I have had that song, "My Favorite Things", from The Sound of Music stuck in my head all afternoon and started thinking about what makes me cheer up when things aren't going so great. Here are a few things on my list in no particular order:

• the smell of the children after a bath
• an unsolicited hug from my husband
• the satisfaction of getting a project finished
• a glass of wine and a visit with a friend
• taking pictures of my children
• rocking a baby
• a long hot bath at the end of the day
• when the choir sings my favorite anthem "Here I Am Lord"
• weddings
• being pregnant - I know that sounds crazy coming from me but I loved every minute of being pregnant!...and NO WAY am I having any more babies unless I am a surrogate.
• a handful of dandylions from my son - he is such a sweet boy
• hot coffee
• dark chocolate