Megan and John Peck.............and all our kids :)

MALI TURNS 1

2009-10-25T17:20:00.002-04:00

Time sure flies when you are having fun!!! Right? The past year has flown by and our baby girl is a big (haha) 1 year old!!! We were fortunate to have Grandma and Pa down here with us to help celebrate Mali's birthday. She had a princess cake because she is Princess Mal Mal!! We had her party on Monday night because the weather was bad and we werent able to work. Then on Weds night (her b-day) we went to Disney on Ice. She LOVED it!! Here are a few pics from both events. Thanks to Grandma she had a delicious fudge cake on her birthday too!!

Time to blog!!

2009-10-04T18:59:00.007-04:00

Ok it has been over 3 months so I figured that its time for me to get on here and update and post some pictures. The kids started school in August. I cant believe it but Lexi is a Jr and Marlee is in 8th grade. John and I are getting old!! That means 2 in high school next year :( Makenna is in the 7th, Maleah in 4th and Michael in 1st. Our babies are growing up and growing up fast!!

Marlee and Makenna both made cheerleading!!! GO PANTHERS!!! They really do a good job and I am so proud of them :) Since this is the 1st time they have cheered I have to admit I was a little nervous about them trying out, but they did it and I knew they would!!

And Makenna has had her 12th birthday!! She is now in Young Womens. We had a little party with a few of her friends. The night of her birthday she went skating with some friends and Rachel came home with her and spent the night. She stayed here until late the next night. The two of them went out to dinner by themselves and had a great time!!

Mali's birthday is next week and we cant believe that she has been a blessing in our lives for a year already. She is growing and learning everyday and we cant imagine what our lives would be without her.

2009-06-28T20:43:00.004-04:00

Where does the time go?! School is out!!! :) Marlee and Makenna both made the cheerleading team at their middle school, so they are officially cheerleaders for Cowan Road Middle School. I am so proud of both of them for working so hard at try-outs. They have practice every Tues and Thurs throughout the summer. Michael graduated from Kindergarten, without actually graduating. He was sick with a hot fever, ear infection and strep throat. Maleah, Mali and Lexi are all doing great as well. Daddy and Mama met John and I on the 18th in South Carolina and dropped Maleah, Michael and Mali off to visit for a while. Then on 24th, Jessica (she was in Atlanta for a Braves vs Yankees game) took Marlee and Makenna to the island too. So John and I have been alone for 5 days now :) We have really enjoyed being able to spend some time alone. Don't get me wrong, we MISS the kids terribly, but we have enjoyed our alone time. We have plans to drive up on the 3rd to spend the weekend and bring the kids back. Just to update anyone who reads this on how Mali is doing, she still hasnt grown much, she is now 8 months old and weighs just a little over 14 lbs. Back to John and I hanging out alone, we really have enjoyed being with eachother. We have kind of just lounged around, watched TV played eachother some Ms PacMan. We watched a really good movie, Fireproof. If you haven't seen it you need to.

Below is the lyrics to one of the songs in the movie.

Love is not a place to come and go as we please

It's a house we enter in then commit to never leave

So lock the door behind you Throw away the key

Work it out together Let it bring us to our knees

Love is a shelter in a raging storm

Love is peace in the middle of a war

And if we try to leave;

May God send angels to guard the door

No, Love is not a fight but its something worth fighting for

To some love is a word that they can fall into.

But when they're falling out keeping that word is hard to do

Love is a shelter in a raging storm

Love is peace in the middle of a war

And if we try to leave;

May God send angels to guard the door

No, Love is not a fight but its something worth fighting for

Love will come to save us

If we'll only call

He will ask nothing from us

but demand we give our all

Love is a shelter in a raging storm

Love is peace in the middle of a war

And if we try to leave;

May God send angels to guard the door

No, Love is not a fight but its something worth fighting for.

Cause I Will Fight For You

Would You Fight For Me

It's Worth Fighting For.

50 things about me :)

2009-05-02T10:16:00.002-04:00

1. What color is your toothbrush?
pink
2. Name one person who made you smile today:
Mali, Maleah and Michael
3. What were you doing at 8 am this morning:
ironing Johns clothes
4. What were you doing 45 minutes ago?
calling dentists
5. What is your favorite candy bar?
Hersheys
6. Have you ever been to a strip club?
No
7. What is the last thing you said aloud?
shes a whiner!!!!
8. What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
chocolate
9. What was the last thing you had to drink?
Sprite
10. Do you like your wallet?
I guess...but its definately time for a new one
11. What was the last thing you ate?
a bite of Maleahs chocolate chip pop-tart
12. Have you bought any new clothing items this week?
sure have
13. The last sporting event you watched?
the NFL draft
14. What is your favorite flavor of popcorn?
popcorn from the movies with lots of butter
15. Who is the last person you sent a text message to?
Celeste
16. Ever go camping?
Yes, LOVE IT...... me John and all the kids with the exception of Mali, she wasnt here yet
17. Do you take vitamins daily?
no but I try to
18. Do you go to church every Sunday?
Yes, most of the time
19. Do you have a tan?
Yep when I get a chance
20. Do you prefer Chinese food over pizza?
Depends on who cooks it
21. Do you drink your soda with a straw?
only in a restaurant
22. What did your last text message say?
IDK John has my phone this morning
23. What are you doing tomorrow?
going to church
24? what happened to 24?

25. Look to your left, what do you see?
my kitchen
26. What color is your watch?
dont have one
27. What do you think of when you hear Australia?
I want to go there one day
28. What is your birthstone?
Opal
29. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive thru?
hit the drive thru
30. What is your favorite number?
7
31. Who's the last person you talked to on the phone?
Andrew.....Answered Marlees phone and it was Rebeccas little brother
32. Any plans today?
help Liz move and take Maleah and Michael to the movies
33. How many states have you lived in?
3
34. Biggest annoyance right now?
Stupid People
35. Last song you listened to?
your mamas calling back..............Marlees ringtone for when I call
36. Can you say the alphabet backwards?
no
37. Do you have a maid service clean your house?
I wish
38. Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time?
my worn out Rainbows
39. Are you jealous of anyone?
nope
40. Is anyone jealous of you?
nope
41. Do you love anyone?
Lots of people
42. Do any of your friends have children?
Most of them
43. What do you usually do during the day?
work cook clean
44. Do you hate anyone that you know right now?
No
45. Do you use the word 'hello' daily?
everytime I answer the phone :)
46. What color is your car?
one is silver and one is grey
47. Do you like cats?
NO
48. Are you thinking about someone right now?
Yes
49. Have you ever been to Six Flags?
yes
50. How did you get your worst scar?
cut my finger on the church fence

What is that on my arm?

2009-04-09T20:56:00.002-04:00

So I cooked a big pot of beef-a-roni tonight for dinner. I wanted a big glass of cold milk to go with it BUT when I went to the fridge and got it out, it was out of date!! To me there is nothing like a big glass of COLD milk with spaghetti!! Mali was in her bouncy seat on the kitchen table right in front of me eating her baby food (mac n cheese) . I was talking to my sister Mariah via SKYPE, while we were having dinner. As I was eating my dinner, something from Mali's way landed on my arm. I just wiped it off, as any mother would do and took another bite of my beef-a-roni. Then I looked up to give Mali another bite and her bottom end had EXPLODED all over her and her bouncy seat. THEN it hit me.............. it was flying Mali poo that had hit my arm!!! Mariah informed me that I probably shouldnt eat anymore from that plate, maybe I should fix me another!!! SO I gave Mali her bath and washed my hands and arm...... and fixed myself another plate :)

Where did February go?

2009-03-05T23:01:00.003-05:00

Where did February go? I dont know BUT it went really fast. On February 20 my very young looking husband turnded the big 4-0 YES 40 years old!! I decorated his office all in black for the big event. The kids decorated the living and dining rooms. We grilled out that night, fun time for all. Our little Mal Mal as she is most oftened called is finally starting to grow!! She had her 4 month check-up last week, 19 weeks old, and she weighed 11 lbs and 9 oz. She is such a sweet and happy baby. (most of the time) Tonight Maleah was talking to her and she was laughing SO hard that it almost sounded like she was crying. This past Sunday, March 1st we went to church, late of course I think we got there around 10:30 and it starts at 10, around 11:30 the kids in the hall started getting really loud. To make a long story short.... it had started snowing and the kids were all in and out playing in the falling snow. It snowed until sometime very late that evening and the kids had a wonderful, very wet time playing in the snow. Monday was a SNOW DAY for us, I'm not sure how things are really done down here and if they will have to make it up or not. This weekend is a busy weekend down here. It is race weekend and we live about 5-10 mins from Atlanta Motor Speedway. We were hoping that Daddy and Mama would have been here this weekend so we could take Daddy to the race but had surgery yesterday and wont be able to come for a while. *we are praying for a speedy recovery* The above picture was taken a few weeks ago, while I was giving Mali her bath. This expressiong and sweet look is how she is most of the time. She has been such a blessing to us as are all the kids. We love our 5 girls and 1 little boy. ~Times are good and our home is filled with lots of laughter and love~

2009 is here!!

2009-01-17T20:09:00.011-05:00

I cant believe another year is here already. And I cant believe my baby is already 3 months old as of this past Wednesday. I had her weighed that day and she now weighs 10# and 11 oz. She is such a little cutie!! The kids are really enjoying having another little one around. And she is such a sweet baby!! She really enjoys eating. Yes I feed her and she loves it. She usually doesnt get messy but I let her just so I could take some pictures of her messy!! She LOVES tapioca pudding and sweet potatoes!! (the orange face) Just to catch up a little bit since the last post...... Christmas came. What a wonderful time of year. Lexi came and stayed several days with us and I was actually able to get a pretty good picture of all of the kids together. AND it didnt take as many snaps as I thought that it would. It may not be the best but for a picture of 6 kids, I thought that I did a good job. We had a wonderful time together.

Then next was New Years Eve. Well the day before that I think it was we were eating dinner approximately at 9:00 pm. And it was so good. I had made beef tips over rice and I dont remember now what I fixed to go with that. ANYWAYS while we were eating Marlee ran outside to get something from one of her friends and when she came back in she said look who's here and when we looked....... it was Grandma and Pa!!!! They surprised us by coming down to see us. I had asked them to the day before, Daddy had a Dr.'s appointment in Durham and I tried talking them into coming but Mama said they couldnt they didnt have clothes or anything they would need with them. I didnt know but they were planning on coming here all along. So New Years Eve, me, Mama and the girls but a bunch of party food and partied all night!!! Mama laid on 1 couch and I laid on the other and both tried staying awake until the New Year came in. Other than that there isnt much going on. John and I are working really hard to build our business. We now OWN 14 machines and are hoping to increase our inventory to 20 very soon. As anyone knows........... good help is hard to find. We have several really good, hard working guys and gals right now. Hopefully there are a few of them that we can hold onto. The kids have a long weekend since it is MLK day on Monday! They have off for their winter break the middle of February. We may go to the Island for that week, but we have also talked about going to Myrtle Beach. Oh yeah John got me a new laptop for Christmas. It has a webcam and camera. This is just one of the many pictures that has been taken with it. We have really enjoyed talking to our family back in NC and being able to see eachother. We are very excited for this new year with our wonderful little family and teaching Mali so many new things. Love to everyone!!!

How time flies.........

2008-12-19T10:28:00.002-05:00

I cant believe that I haven't blogged in over a month!!! Just to catch up a little bit....... we went to NC for Thanksgiving. We were able to be there for 5 days well that includes driving there and back but still we were gone for 5 days. Everyone was so excited to see all of the kids and to especially see Mali for the 1st time. There were very few minutes in the day that she wasn't in someones arms. We had Thanksgiving dinner at Mama and Daddy's. My sisters Macy and Mariah and my youngest (but biggest... hes over 6 ft tall) brother Riley was there. Mema (my grandma) was able to be there and to see and hold Mali and Mikal and all of her family and Marianne and all of her family. There were quite a few of us squeezed in the house but it was nice being all together.
Marlee and Makenna had their Christmas chorus concert and it was great. That group of kids sing really good and I love their concerts. Mali is now 2 months old and weighs a big whopping 9 lbs!! She isn't very big but she is growing!! Michael is finally getting a top front tooth and for those of you that really know him, he hasn't had one since he was 2 years old!! Maleah had a haircut this week and man is her hair curly now. I really just trimmed it but it looks much shorter now. Maleah and Michael also got new bunk beds this week. John and I finally got them put together last night (with the kids help) so they were finally able to sleep on them. Which they didn't know til this morning....... they fell asleep on the couch!!
Christmas is next week and I haven't done ANY shopping. When I say ANY I mean I haven't purchased the 1st gift!! NOTHING!!! I need to get busy, I just have to decide what I am going to buy for them!! Today is also the kids last day of school til January 6, 2009. We are hoping to find time to take the kids to Stone Mountain while they are on vacation for a day of fun at snow mountain. It looks like so much fun!! Heres a video that you can look at. http://www.snowmountainpark.com/snow_goodies/promo-detail.aspx?id=14 It's open from Dec 31 til March 31 so if we dont get to go during this vacation there is still time that we can go!!
What a wonderful year this has been. We have been blessed in so many ways. We have 6 beautiful and healthy kids. My husband and I share a wonderful life together and working together everyday. Our children are blessed with the best parents ever (hehehe) and the best grandparents too. Hopefully this coming year the kids will be able to spend more time with Grandma and Pa. (we are hoping they visit more) To everyone that reads this we love you and wish the best for your families in the coming new year.

The 6 of them

2008-11-07T10:25:00.004-05:00

Al l 6 of the kids were here this past weekend. They had alot of fun times. I tried getting a good picture of them but try getting 6 to look at you and smile all at the same time. The 4 girls on the right did a good job, but Marlee and Michael weren't very cooperative. So out of all of the pictures I took of them together this is the one that turned out the best. I'm hoping that the next time that Lexi comes down that we will be able to get at least one good picture of all of them so we can put it in our office.

John, Makenna, Maleah and Lexi spent a great deal of the day doing cheerleading stunts, with Maleah being the flyer. John, I have to say caught on pretty quick. They tried getting Michael to do it but he changed his mind real quick!! THANK GOODNESS!!!!!

Anyway Mali is growing tooooo quickly, and time is going by tooooo fast. She will be a month old is 7 days and it hurts my feelings and hurts my heart. Dont you wish sometimes that time would just slow down, but then there are times when you wish it would just speed up. We are planning, as of right now, going to the Island for Thanksgiving. I really want everyone to see Mali before she gets too much bigger. And I especially want Mema to be able to see her.

Life has been good here for us. We have so many things to be thankful for. The kids primary program is this coming Sunday and then the following Sunday Marlee and I are supposed to talk in Sacrament meeting. We are both very nervous to say the least. We have to speak on service. I havent talked in Sacrament meeting since I was pregnant with Makenna, over 11 years ago!! The little one has woke up and so I must cut this short!!

SHE'S HERE!!!!

2008-10-18T14:15:00.011-04:00

Mali Anna Peck arrived on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 at 6:15 pm. I had to be at the hospital at 6am. When I got there I was dilated 2 and 70% effaced. At 6:45 they inserted Cytotec into my cervix. Around 10:30 the magic man arrived in my room, Dr Loo, and started the epidural and then at 10:45 I was dilated to 4 and they started me on Pitocin and the Dr broke my water. Soon after that her heartbeat dropped and so did my blood pressure. They gave me medication to bring it back up and put oxygen on me. We kept losing Mali's heartbeat so they put a fetal monitor on her and put my feet up and my head down. I stayed at 4 for quite a while. I think at 4:00 I was finally dilated to 6. It wasnt long after this that I told John, everytime I have a contraction I feel pressure down there. I waited for a couple more contractions to make sure and then I got John to call the nurse back in, that was around 5:00. She came right in and checked me and I was dilated to 9.5. They called the Dr and she finally got there sometime after 6:00. I felt like everyone was just taking there time, but the epidural was still working good, so I wasnt in any pain. I think I pushed thru 3 contractions. When her head came out, they told me to stop pushing, the cord was wrapped around her neck twice, hence the reason for the heartbeat to keep going down!!! The Dr cut the cord and one more push and she was out!! Head full of black hair and BEAUTIFUL!!!! She was much tinier than we thought that she would be. She weighed 6 pounds and 9 ounces. She was 20 inches long. All of the kids were in the waiting room eagerly awaiting her arrival. Everyone was so excited and glad that she was here. We are enjoying every minute with her. All of her sisters and her brother, think that she is perfect and Dad and I know she is. What a wonderful, beautiful, perfect little girl to complete our family. There is nothing in the world like a new baby. We all love her so much and cant wait to watch her learn and grow. Heavenly Father has truly blessed us.

Went to the Dr

2008-10-09T07:48:00.002-04:00

OK, so I went to the Dr yesterday, for my last visit!!! YAY!!! I am dilated a whole big whopping 1 cm and I am 50% effaced!! I am to report to the hospital on Tuesday, Oct 14 at 6am. Daddy, Mama and Macy (and all of her kids) are leaving the Island today for Durham. Daddy has a Dr appt in the morning there at 8am. After the appt they are leaving to drive down this way!!

So my to do list:

On Saturday, Marlee has All State Chorus tryouts at 11:40.
Some of the girls at church are getting together on Saturday at 1:00 to have me a little shower. (glad Mama and Macy are gonna be able to be there)
Get my bag packed
Get Malis bag packed
Make sure I have all of the necessary items for the hospital
Make a place for everyone to sleep while they are here
And I'm sure ALOT more!!!

Our last photo shoot!!

2008-09-22T11:59:00.002-04:00

I went to the Dr this morning, we had our final in utero photo shoot. She was simply beautiful of course!! According to their calculations she weighed 6lbs 2oz. What a big girl!! And I'm not even 35 weeks yet. She hid her face most of the time, but we were able to get some good pictures of her after her measurements. Only 3 more weeks til I go to be induced. Maleah and Michael ask everyday, how many more days til Mali is here. They are all so excited and so are John and I. Cant wait for us all to be at home together.

A sweet surprise!!!

2008-09-13T20:34:00.005-04:00

So this past week has been a busy one at the shop!!! On Tuesday we interviewed about 75 people!! What a LONG day! On Wednesday we had 11 of those people come back for orientation. A very busy morning!! I had to take one of the guys home after orientation was over. Well Mariah and Chris and their kids had been to Florida the past week. They spent Tuesday night in Savannah which is about 3 hours from Griffin. I called her Tuesday night and told her that they should come here and stay a couple of days, which was the original plan, but then we were so busy at the office that those plans got changed!! She said she would let me know something. I called her Wednesday morning and she said Chris just wanted to get home, he pulled his back out while in Florida!! I told her that we should be done with class around lunchtime so if they could hangout in Savannah then maybe we could meet somewhere and at least we could spend a few hours together. So I went on to the office and like I said we had orientation, then I took one of the guys home. On my way back to the office I called her and she said they had decided to go on home and they were almost to Fayetteville. Well when I got to the office, John met me outside and said the Smiths were there and very upset cause their baby had gotten her fingers cut on their machine, for me to hurry and come talk to them. He said this with a kindof smirky grin on his face, I had no idea what he was up to. So I went on in and went in the back of the office and there sat Mariah, Chris, Kenan and Kenly!!! What a sweet surprise!!!!
We hurried home and got the kids out of school ordered pizza and pasta from Pizza Hut, ate and then headed to a Braves game. The Braves actually won the game and we had a great time! The weather was nice, it cooled off and felt really good. They came to the house the next morning and told the kids bye before they went to school and then they headed home! Their visit was short and sweet but we enjoyed every minute of it :)

..........

2008-09-02T22:02:00.005-04:00

Ok, so I went to the Dr this past week. I had lost a couple of pounds YAY!! So as of now I have only gained 12 pounds. I was 31 weeks and measured 33. Everything went quite well!! The Dr's here are so much different about things than back in Carteret County. They will induce you with no problems at all. When I had the placenta previa, my Dr had talked to me about a c-section about 2 weeks early. At that time we discussed that most of my family lived in NC and it was about a 10 hour drive for them to get here so a scheduled date would be wonderful. Well as you know my placenta has moved so hopefully heads down and no c-section, BUT she said that she would plan to induce me so that my family could be here. (so nice of her) So my due date is Oct 28 and we have a planned induction for Mali on October 14!!! Its also Julies birthday so we are excited that she may be born on that day!!! I go back to the Dr on Sept 22 for a routine visit and another ultrasound. I cant wait to see how much Mali has changed in the 7 weeks since we have seen her.

Well here goes again.......

2008-08-24T16:53:00.005-04:00

Ok so I'm gonna play catch-up!! I went to the Dr and got a good report. Mali had gained a pound in 3 weeks, she is growing very fast!! And no more placenta previa!!! Her little cheeks were so chubby. We are anxiously awaiting her arrival!! I go back to the Dr this week. On Tuesday I will be 31 weeks. So not much longer before this little one is here in our arms, being spoiled rotten. This was my 30 week picture, that was taken this past week.

The kids have started school. This will be their 4th week of school, so its an old thing even to Michael already. Michael is really liking Kindergarten and loves his teachers, Ms Connel and Ms Cross. Maleahs teacher is Ms Ware and shes loving being the only big sister at school with Michael. Makenna is a big middle schooler now. We tell her she has become a social butterfly since she has started Middle School. She spends the nights away now and goes home with friends after school. She even went to the skating rink this past Friday night with Marlee. They are both in Chorus and their 1st concert is October 16. Marlee is loving school again this year and is in the BETA Club and the Chorus Presidency. Thats about it for right now. I will try to post again Thursday after my Dr's appointment!!

New Camera!!!

2008-07-23T22:41:00.002-04:00

OK so my camera broke in like October. And I have been heartbroken ever since. I LOVE to take pics of everything especially the kids!! And a camera is definately a must with a new baby on the way!!

Another Dr visit, another peek at Mali!!

2008-07-17T21:18:00.001-04:00

So I went to the Dr today and got a few more pics of Mali BUT the main reason for the visit was to check my placenta previa AND it hasn't changed. We are hopeful that it will but you never know. As of right now it looks like we will be having her around Oct 17. If my previa doesnt go away by c-section, and if it does they are still going to let me have her around then by induction. They are doing this so that my family in NC can be here if they want and can be. As for Mali she sure is growing fast. 4 weeks ago at my last visit she weighed 1 lb even today she weighed 1 lb 14 oz. The last time I measured 22 and was 21 weeks (4 weeks ago) and today I am 25 weeks and measured 30!!
She is so beautiful and looks and acts so peaceful when they do the ultrasounds of her. What a perfect little gift from our Heavenly Father. Isn't it amazing how much love you have for your unborn child. The love that we all have for her grows everyday and we cant wait til Mali is here and completes our family :)
On a different note, I am at home alone!!!! John has taken the kids to WAL-MART!!! He's getting them a few things that they need for school and picking up some groceries. They sure are lucky that I met and married someone that loves them so much. I truly feel like he loves them like they are his own and they love him just the same. I am indeed a lucky lady!!

We WERE going to be on time :)

2008-07-13T09:01:00.001-04:00

Well, the kids all got up when asked to this morning!! surprisingly!! They all ate breakfast and got dressed for church. I had to wash the shirt that I was going to wear. Iron Michaels and Johns clothes, got all that done. We were actually going to be on time to church today, maybe even a little early. THEN Maleah decides shes going to go ahead and get in the car!! She unlocked the drivers door, layed the keys on the seat, shut the door so that she could get in the back and HAD LOCKED THE CAR!!!! With the keys still on the seat!! Are we going to be to church on time today, NO!! We are now waiting for someone to come and unlock the car!! Hope the day gets better :)

OH YEAH.......

2008-07-07T20:55:00.000-04:00

We had a wonderful 4th of July!! We couldnt decide where to go and what to do, because there was so many places we could go and so much to do. We ended up going to Atlanta Motor Speedway to the Friday night Drags and they had a wonderful fireworks show in between the racing!! (Atlanta Motor Speedway is about 10 mins from our house)

Things I would like to do.....

2008-07-07T19:27:00.001-04:00

I thought that I would blog a little differently tonight!! I am going to list things that I would like to do in my lifetime, hopefully over the next couple of years!! AND these are in no particular order, just things I would like to do!!

1. Place more trust in God

2. Have more FAITH

3. Read the scriptures cover to cover ( I did in seminary but thats been too long ago)

4. Watch my children grow up healthy and happy

5. Be the best mother ever

6. Gain a stronger testimony

7. Take a cruise!!

8. Have FHE every week

9. Carve my body into a state of fabulous

10. Paint the rooms in my house

11. Get a new digital camera and take lots of pictures

12. Visit my family in Harkers Island more

13. Get a great tan every single summer

14. Do something to help terminally ill children and their families

15. Give to the needy

16. Spend a day just driving and spend the night wherever we end up

17. Go fishing

18. Plant a tree

19. Go white water rafting

20. Nurture self confidence and humility in my children

21. Take a ride in a plane (never been on an airplane, there is a hot pink plane that flies into Atlanta and thats the one I want to go on!! LOL)

22. Visit a foreign country

23. Take a trip to Hawaii

24. Learn to play the piano better

25. Be a better example to my family

26. Not take so many things for granted

27. Go to school!!!

28. Say I love you more

29. Go to a concert

30. Plant a garden

31. Run in a race

32. Have all of the kids pictures taken and framed and placed in my living room!!

33. Get a piano!!

34. Eat dinner every night at a reasonable time!!

35. Take a trip to the mountains!!

36. Make more friends, where I live

37. Blog weekly

38. Travel to Utah

39. Have a BIG Thanksgiving dinner at my house!!

40. Be more humble

Okay this is taking longer than I thought, I have to go and finish dinner, another late night of eating, get the kids in the shower and put on their pj's and get ready for a hopefully good nights sleep!!

OK so its been too long.............. not that anyone probably even reads this!!

2008-06-25T12:00:00.001-04:00

Ok so I have waited way to long to post again. So much has happened. I was only 8 weeks pregnant the last time I posted and I am now 22 weeks along!!! We have found that this sweet little spirit that is joining our family is a little girl!! Her name is Mali Anna. I think Mali is such a cute name and LOVE IT!! It also is a Thai name, most of you know that John is 1/2 Thai, BUT I dont think we are pronouncing it the Thai way. It is pronounced like mallie or Tally the Thai way is pronounced more like Molly!! Anyway, then John and I decided on Anna, after my Nannie, Annie Lee!! So when we found out Michael said he had too many sisters, he didnt want another sister he wanted a brother!! I think he would have given her to anyone who would have taken her!! BUT now ALL the kids are excited and we all anxiously await her arrival. I have had complications throughout this pregnancy so we are hoping that her arrival wont be until the end of October like it should be. We are keeping our fingers crossed!!

Last week Grandma and Pa came for their 1st visit to our home here in Georgia. They got here on Monday and were supposed to leave on Friday, BUT Pa left all of his medication at home so there visit was short-lived. Maleah was baptized that Tuesday night by her Pa. They left the next morning for a trip to the Island, the kids were so excited to be able to spend time with their cousins!! I am ready for them to COME HOME!!! I am sure they are having a wonderful time. The first full day they were at Pa's and Grandma's there were 18 kids there!! I was telling Granny about it and she said I bet your Moms head hurts!! LOL!! Its just the way she loves it!! Hopefully they will be able to go out in the boat before they do come home.
Courtney and her boyfriend are down this way right now, they are at Six Flags today and are supposed to come and visit me tomorrow before they leave. Slowly but surely we are finally having family come and visit us!! We are hoping that when Mali is born that we will be fortunate enough to have family visit again!! Well I have been on here for long enough, I guess I should go get back in bed and try to take it easy. We want Mali right where she is for as long as possible!!

Well............

2008-03-17T10:38:00.000-04:00

Well 4 days after my last post, the day before Johns 39th birthday, we found out we were having a baby!!! John and I and Marlee, Makenna, Maleah and Michael are so excited!!! Marlee and Makenna wants another baby brother so they can put make-up on him ;) Maleah wants a baby sister and Michael wants 2 baby brothers that he can teach how to play ball. I have an appointment on Thursday for my 1st ultrasound and John and I cant wait!! My due date is October 28, I will be 8 weeks tomorrow!!

We also have opened our own business!! A to Z Vacuums and Shampooers. Michael dropped out of Pre-K to help Daddy run the shop. He says he doesnt like that they never have a day off!! LOL But he loves to go to work with Daddy instead of going to Pre-K. I am still working at the furniture store with hopes of retiring soon. Marlee, Michael and Maleah have birthdays next week. Marlee is having a sleepover/spa party on Friday night, she is inviting 11 girls so it should be fun!! Next week is also there Spring Break and I have taken most of the week off, hopefully I will be able to get some spring cleaning done!!

John and Michael are off to work and I need to be getting ready!! So I guess I will keep this one short and brief and update again after my appt on Thursday!!

By-the-way, the picture down below of the hotel we took Macy and her kids in, got quite a bit of damage during the tornadoes this weekend!! Needless to say, we couldnt ride that elevator right now!!

Long time coming!!!

2008-02-15T08:28:00.000-05:00

Time sure does pass fast!!! I cant believe that it has been almost 2 months since I have blogged!! You know we moved here the 1st week of May 2007 and the only person to visit us was Brookie!!! We LOVE you Brookie!! Well FINALLY someone else came to visit!! Macy and her 4 kids!!! We had a great time visiting with them!! We took them to Noahs Ark!!! This is a must for anyone visiting us!!! It is an animal shelter/ foster home for kids!! They have two new tigers that they rescued from North Carolina, just a couple of months ago!! They have deer and llama just walking freely around the zoo. The kids and the BIGGEST kid, JOHN, got in trouble for roaring at the lion!! BUT the animals that I love most there are the monkeys!!! A first for all of us was going to downtown and going to the Westin. This is a 72 story hotel that has a glass elevator on the outside of it!!! It has the best view of Atlanta that you could ever see. It is pretty amazing!!

We first took them to Underground Atlanta, where we were followed in by a homeless man, who knew quite well what he was doing, trying to act all nice and helpful, then asking for money!! And he got some!!! Then we made the what seemed like 50 block walk to the Westin for the incredible view. This was an entertaining walk!! This was the same day as the primary Presidential elections in Georgia!! As we were walking this truck with like a 10 foot bed drives by full of people clapping and chanting OBAMA OBAMA!! Michael asked his Daddy, why are they saying YO MAMA YO MAMA?!! funny Anyway we had a good time and a LONG walk back with 3 adults and 8 kids, 5 of which were 4 and under!!!! We had a fun time and hope they can come back again!!!

John and I (and the kids) are opening our own business this weekend!! A to Z Vacuums. We repair vacuums, sell reconditioned ones and have parts and supplies (bags, belts, etc.) for them!! I have to work on Saturday but John and the kids will be having the grand opening that day!! The kids have all of next week off for their mid-winter break!! Everyone has been sick with colds and such over the past few weeks, SO hopefully they will be well and be able to enjoy their break!!! Hopefully I will be able to blog more and keep anyone who does read this more up to date with what is going on in our crazy lives down here in the south!!!

The past year!!

2007-12-26T10:08:00.001-05:00

What a wonderful past year!! There have been so many things happen in the past year!! It started off with meeting John. What a wonderful man he is and what a blessing he has been in the lives of me and my kids. We met him the first time in January and he and I knew right away, even before we actually met face to face, that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives with eachother!! We drove many many miles to see and be with eachother and each time was well worth it!!
In February, John turned 38!!!! Yes he is getting old. And his health keeps showing that. We have nicknamed Old Man, amongst other things!! In March, Marlee turned 11. What a beautiful girl and what a help she has always been to her mama!! She is one of my best friends, I have always talked to her about everything. She is such a smart girl and shows that all the time!!That same day, Michael turned 4. He is a mama's boy!! I cant imagine my life without him. He is not the typical little boy. He is such a joy to all of us. And brings many tears to mine and Johns eyes, by the sweet things he says and does. He is so sweet and has one of the biggest hearts that I know!! My sweet little Maleah, she turned 7 the next day!! She can be quite the handful!! She is sugar and spice and everything nice and the little devil all wrapped in one!! She makes life quite interesting and keeps us on our toes!! But shes the sweetest little girl in the world when shes sweet!! Lexi turned 14 in May. Everybody loves their big sister!! She brings so much laughter to our house when she comes and visits. The kids have the best time with her . In May, we also made the move from Harkers Island to Griffin. What a BIG change this has been for all of us!! Being away from our family has been hard on us all but we do love where we are!! The kids finished out school here, the last 3 weeks and have all adjusted very well. In June I turned 31. I remember when I thought that someone 31 was OLD. But now that doesnt see so old anymore!! In July, John and I got married!!! It was just he and I and the kids. We had a quick ceremony and said our "I do's" We plan on honeymooning one day!! In August the kids started school again and have made many many friends. In September Makenna turned 10, double digits now. My other baby is growing up too!! She is also so very smart and beautiful and such a big help to us!! Makenna is one of the sweetest little girls that any could ever meet, with the prettiest smile in the world!! And now we are at the very end of the year!! Like I said, many changes have happened over this past year. We have lost several loved ones and also gained some new sweet spirits in our family. We are truly blessed with all that we have and hope that the New Year to come brings us just as many blessings as this past year.

Ok, it has been too long!!

2007-11-29T21:26:00.000-05:00

Wow, it has been almost a month since I have blogged!! What a stressful, emotional time of year. I am sitting here over 500 miles away from my family, with the exception of John and the kids. My baby sister is having her 2nd child in the morning. Her name is going to be Kenly Dawn. I really wish that I could be there to see this beautiful addition to our family. I try not to think too much about it because I think I could get emotional about this very very easily. I just pray that things go well and that Mariah will recover quickly. Then theres Christmas!! I dont know when I will be ready for that this year. Usually I have most of my shopping done if not finished by now and I havent even started. Then there is the question of when will we get to the Island? Who knows? John's schedule is so busy and the last time I went there without him and didnt think that I could get back home to him quick enough.
I have started substitute teaching and have stayed pretty busy doing that. I still work for his brother too at the office!! Then being a mom, wife and housekeeper on top of that. I stay busy most of the time and could sleep at the drop of a hat. Our Thanksgiving was nice. Mine and Johns and our little family's first Thanksgiving together. We ate lunch and dinner at Granny's (Johns mom) Johns sister Elizabeth has invited us over to his parents house for Christmas Eve. Opening gifts, having a family home evening and desserts. Sounds like fun, I hope that we can go. It's the closest thing to my Harkers Island family. Being at his Dad's makes me feel like I do at the Island when everyone gets together, and it being a big Mormon family with Mormon values makes it even better.
I dont know whats up, but I have been so happy the past few days, not that I'm usually not, but just overly happy. John loves me SOOOO much and I have been so blessed to be with him. But this week things have started looking up for us financially. (we are getting our heads back above water, after him being out of work so long) I LOVE HIM!!!! And just to let everyone know he is so good to me and the kids. He loves us all and that is something we never have to doubt and thank goodness.
Well, I have so much more to say and could go on and on and on BUT the Dallas Cowboys are playing and I have got to go finish watching the game!! GO COWBOYS!!!

Novermber ALREADY!!!

2007-11-03T22:24:00.000-04:00

I can't believe that it is NOVEMBER already!!! Only 2.5 weeks til Thanksgiving........ that means Christmas will be here before we know it. Where has the time gone. I think the older you get, the quicker time goes by.
We have been enjoying some really nice weather here. It has been in the low to mid 60's almost everyday for the past week and it gets down into the low 40's at night!! It feels SOOO good outside. Marlee and Makenna both had a friend stay the night last night. They all had the best time. Marlee went home with her friend then they called and said they were coming back because they were to bored there. When they got here we all (me, mar, kenna, leah, michael and rebecca) ventured outside into our backyard that is woods!! We are building a club in the woods!! They had the best time. As it was getting dark, we were building a fence out of some tree limbs and branches. They are so excited!! And John cant wait to get home in the morning so that he can check out this new club.
John got back to work this past week and thank goodness he switches back to day shift this coming week!!! We really enjoyed the time we were able to spend together while we were selling Kirby's for his brother. I am so glad that he is my husband and my very best friend!!
We got a phone call tonight with some pretty exciting news!! COMPANY for Thanksgiving!! We are all so excited!! Besides Brooke, they will be the 1st people to come and visit us!! Well its late and church is in the morning at 10 and I need some sleep. To all my family who live in Carteret County and anywhere else that is reading this, although we may be far apart you are always in our hearts, thoughts and prayers and we love each and every one of you, from Kenly who hasnt made her grand appearance yet to Mema and everyone in between. Lots of love from Georgia to you!!!!!

It's been a while.........

2007-10-24T22:13:00.000-04:00

Well it has been a while since I have blogged. John and I have been very busy working for his brother Rob in the Kirby business. We have actually done pretty good this past week, we have had 5 sales!! YAY for us!! Marlee had her first chorus concert on Monday night. It was wonderful. It was an 80's rock n roll theme. Me, John, the kids and Granny and Papa went to the concert. I wish that more family was able to attend but that's how it is when you live so far away from your family.
Halloween is almost here. We are having trunk or treat at the church on Saturday along with a chili cook-off. It should be fun and we are excited. I don't know yet what the kids are going to be. BUT I guess we will figure that out soon!!
John goes back to the Sheriff's Dept on Sunday. I am going to miss being with him all the time SOOOO much! I actually cried tonight talking to him about it:( Thank goodness that we found each other. It is such a wonderful feeling knowing that your husband truly loves you with all his heart. He is truly the best thing to happen to me, next to my four little ones!! He once said to me what are the chances that a boy born in Thailand and a girl born on Harkers Island 30 something years later find each other. I cant help but believe that our Heavenly Father helped us find each other and I am so thankful to Him for that. He's my best friend and a wonderful husband and father. I cant wait to spend the rest of my life with him and to grow old together. And most of all I cant wait to become his wife for eternity and our family to be forever.

Friday AGAIN!!

2007-10-05T09:11:00.001-04:00

Well its Friday again!! I have been a job hunt the past couple of weeks. I have been for 2 interviews. One of them hired me right on the spot. I was SUPPOSED to start there today, BUT I quit before I even started. The was horrible and so were the hours. John and I are headed out this morning to do our Kirby thing!! I sure hope that this goes well. It would help us out so much and if things go like we hope we would have the opportunity to help our families out too!! Everybody pray for us and our new career move!!
Today is the kids last day of school until Oct 16. They are having their Fall Break. They get a week off of school almost every month. Well they do from now until April!!
I will report back this afternoon. We are headed out the door, wish us luck!!

Just another day!!

2007-10-01T11:05:00.000-04:00

This weekend went by WAY TO FAST!!! The girls had the best time with their friends staying over Friday night. Marlee ended up staying the night with Rebecca on Saturday night. I worked on Saturday morning and Marlee, Rebecca and Michael went with me. They play store while I am at work with the calculator that prints out and the products at the shop.
The only other thing that we got accomplished was getting to church on Sunday. Our ward is growing so fast, you can hardly find a seat. We now have 12 fulltime missionaries in our ward. I dont know about other places but in comparison to the wards in the Kinston Stake that is ALOT!!!
Johns brother Paul came home this weekend from Kuwait so that he could be here when his first child, a little girl will be born then he has to go back until sometime in Novermber.
We are preparing for our own business, hopefully by November we will have it going, which means I may actually be able to afford to go to the Island when I need to.
The kids are all at school. I was afraid with the weekend break Michael wouldnt want to go but he got up, got dressed, we drove to school and he jumped right our after giving mommy a hug and a kiss. ALL IS WELL

TGIF

2007-09-28T21:54:00.000-04:00

Thank goodnes its Friday!!!! We sure are glad the weekend is here. We have had a wonderful end to a week that started off bad for Michael going to school, he hasnt cried the past 2 days. Its always a pajama party with just our kids but tonight we have 2 extras, Hannah and Rebecca. Hannah is Makennas best friend down here in Georgia and Rebecca is one of Marlees best friends.
John finally has a day off. Its nice to actually have him home. Dont know what tomorrow will bring BUT as of right now we are planning on getting up early and taking the kids to ride the horse in the morning, before it gets to hot.
I havent had any luck so far this week finding a job. I called ECHS and got my high school transcript sent to me today. I am going to take the substitute teacher class and start subbing right away. I think this will be the best option for me because I can be here for the kids when they need me and when they have off from school I definately have off.
Thats it for tonight, I am tired and going to bed ;) Goodnight!!

A Better Day!!

2007-09-27T11:42:00.000-04:00

So far today has started off to be a better day!!! The kids all quickly got our of bed this morning and got dressed for school. I dropped Michael off this morning and there were NO TEARS, he went right in his class today!!!! YAY!! I cant wait to pick him up this afternoon to see how his day went. After school yesterday, he and I went to "the Fish Bowl" and he picked out 4 fish for being such a big boy that day. He named all 4 of them, I only remember 1 of their names and that is CODY!!! I dont know why but for some reason that is his favorite name right now. Whenever they play or he names something it is always Cody.
Today is one of my nephews birthdays, Conner. He is my sister Macy's 2nd child. I love this little boy to death!! He is 3 years old today! Although he is as mean as the devil, he definately has a special place in Aunt Megs heart. I wish we could be there to celebrate his birthday with him, but maybe next year :(
We dont know for sure when we are going back to the island. Most definately when Mariah has her baby girl. I think she finds out next week what day exactly she will be having her. That will probably be the next time we visit. The girls want to have a Halloween party, they have already started planning it. Who they will invite, what they are going to do, what we will have to eat. A costume party sure sounds fun to me!!
We are so ready for fall weather to get here and stay here. It gets pretty hot here but not as bad as the island I guess because of the humidity. I think this weekend it is supposed to cool off some. Marlee is already talking about decorating for Christmas. She says she cant wait to decorate our new house and to put up a tree. The 2 little ones are excite that we have fireplace and that Santa will come in our house that way!

What am I doing?

2007-09-26T21:54:00.001-04:00

I am sitting here thinking, I am on this computer enough so what am I doing on here?! Well, I dont know!!! Just to update anyone that doesnt know........ I got remarried on July 20 to one of the most wonderful men in the world, John. Together we have 5 kids, Lexi 14, Marlee 11, Makenna 10, Maleah 7 and Michael 4. Lexi started high school this year, Marlee started middle school, Makenna is in the 5th grade, Maleah is in 2nd and Michael started Pre-K just this past week. He doesnt like getting up so early to go, but every day when he gets in the car he has had so much fun that day and at that point cant wait to go back........... until the next morning. He was so cute today, I picked him up and he got in the car. I said to him, "buckle up buddy" to which he replied, "arent you gonna give me a hug and a kiss?" I love this little boy, he is definately a mama's boy!!
John is working nightshift right now, he is a correctional officer. I am currently a stay at home mom looking for a J O B!!!!! We are hoping to start our own business soon. Hopefully that will go well and things will be looking up for us.
This past weekend the kids and I took a trip up to NC and visited our family at "the island" One of my cousins got married and we were so glad that we got to be there for that. John had to work all weekend and we missed eachother soooo much, this was our first time being away from eachother, other than to go to work since May. Hopefully the next trip we make we will go together as a family, I cant stand to be that far away from him. According to him our plans are to move to "the island" in a couple of years. BUT we shall see..........

Just for those of you who dont know the picture at the top of this page is the Cape Lookout Lighthouse. This is where I spent most of my summer days for as long as I can remember.