He graduated and then...

Well, Chuck finally graduated law school. He did a great job and we are all proud! At that time, back in April, we still couldn't relax. Actually, the real stress had just begun. The 3 years of law school has nothing on the short 3 months of studying and preparing for the BAR Exam!!!!! It's that last semester and and then all the time preparing that really brings on the stress. The kids and I tried to be gone as much as possible. Visiting friends and family in Texas and in Norman kept us busy. Having to re-home our family pet was traumatic too. Oliver was sadly, a biter. We now have a little Yorkie named Mollie and she's great. But anyways, Chuck took the BAR in July and passed!!! Thank Goodness!!!! He has a job here in town at a firm doing criminal work for now and is also working immigration cases, which is what he loves. He is slowly building his clientel and getting his name out there. We are all so very happy and thankful that school is behind us. It doesn't seem that we've been here for very long at all. But I'll tell ya what, this last summer lasted forever! He took the BAR in July and then we received the results in almost mid-September. But way back in April, I made reservations for our family to go to Walt Disney World!! What better celebration than Disney!?!? Chuck and I were so happy that he passed, because either way, we were going. So we were happy that we were able to enjoy ourselves instead of being miserable. The trip was a tremendous success!! It was sooo wonderful. It truly is the happiest place in the world. Jared prays everyday to go back....heck, we all do!!

The Time has Come!!!!! Finally!!

Well, the time has come for Chuck to graduate!!! YEA!!!! Yes, we are very very excited! The actual date is May 8th. We can't believe he's actually almost finished. Of course looking back, time has flown by so fast. In the moments of stress, it seemed like school was never ending. We aren't done with the stress of school yet though. Don't forget about the little test called the BAR EXAM. He graduates on a Saturday and begins BAR study classes on Monday. Test time is July. Pray and keep your fingers crossed for him!! As far as a job goes, he has an offer here and in Washington. Yes, it's a touchy subject...I want to stay and he wants to go. Overall, I'm very proud of Chuck. He's worked hard for all of us and we are thankful.

We are nearing the end of another school year for the kids, and yes, they are ready. Kurtis has matured alot this year. Lets just say he's not faking not being able to read anymore. :) He does his homework if I make him, but does an outstanding job on all his book reports and projects. He still thinks school is boring though. Blake on the other hand, loves school. He's a great student and makes great grades. I can't believe he's going to finish Kindergarten already. When we moved here, Kurtis was entering first grade and Blake couldn't even go to Pre-K yet. Wow.

Jared and I have a great time together while the boys are at school. He misses them all day though. Yesterday, as we left the school parking lot, he said, "I love my boys". All three of them are quite close and we love that. It's wonderful to hear them pray for each other and see them growing together. Yes, we are terribly busy, but what else would we do? We would get bored if we didn't have 2-3 baseball games a week plus practices squeezed in there, too. Chuck and I sometimes have 2 games going and take turns at each game. It will be nice when Chuck isn't at school late and it won't be just me going back and forth to the games. Kurtis starts football conditioning here in a couple weeks. Then, the actual football season kicks off in July...practices and so forth. Blake is playing as well this year. How the heck Chuck and I are going to manage, I don't know. But still, we are all excited!! On top of everything else, we do have a very hyper puppy, Oliver. He's become a wonderful member of our family. We all love him so much. We weren't really "dog/animal" people before. I'm not sure what changed, but yes, sometimes, Oliver even sleeps in our bed. More and more, he sleeps only in his kennel, because for one, he's huge. Second, he doesn't want to lay at our feet. He jumps up on the bed and goes to the top and lays his head on my pillow in the middle of Chuck and I, lays on his back and snores very loud. I don't how it happened, but I picked a dog that acts just like my kids. :)

The Long Lost Blogging Days...

So, I know I have just fallen off the blogging wagon. But I am trying to get back on now. We are just so terribly busy. Here some pics of the kids and Easter weekend and other times as well.

we use raw noodles for whiskers and jared got a little carried away. we feared for his eyes when he took a bite!!

Making our Bucky Bunnies

Kurtis picking up his Grammie...yes, my mom.

Jared

Blake and Jared

My mom and Jared

My mom with Blythe and Jared

My dad with Blythe and Jared.

My dad and the boys. (looks like blake is squished)

Oliver

Here are some pictures of Oliver and the kids. You will notice there are not any pics of Oliver with Blake. Blake loves Oliver, but is very cautious still. So he doesn't really snuggle with him. He was born Oct. 21, 2009. He turned 6 months old this month and is so huge! Though our lives reflect the movie Marley and Me quite often, we all love Oliver dearly.

As you can see, Oliver (Ollie) sleeps like a man.
He fits right in with everyone else!

Kurtis lovin' Ollie

Jared loves his puppy.

Sharing snack with Ollie

Meet Oliver!! Our new Weimaraner Puppy!

Chuck and I decided to get the boys a puppy for Christmas back in the summer. After alot of research we decided that the Weimaraner would be a perfect dog for our family. They are hunters, retrievers, loving companions, and protective. It just sounds like the boys would love a dog that is going to play rough and tough with them. Along with that, I wanted a big dog that would protect us if needed. Also, they don't shed much and are pretty clean dogs. That is a huge plus! I found a breeder and she had a litter that was going to be ready in mid-December. We were going to have her keep it until Christmas Eve and give him to the boys that night. But as of Friday night, I couldn't wait. So we broke the news to the kids and they were so excited! We left early Saturday morning to pick him up. It was a 31/2 hour drive there. Finally, we got there and had him in our arms. Yes, I know this sounds like I'm talking about a baby. But it really is like adding a new person to the family. Weimaraners live 10-15 years, so hopefully, he's around a long long time. We already love him so much.

Kurtis and Oliver this morning in the backyard.
Oliver biting Kurtis' ear.

Blake and Oliver.

Jared totally loves Ollie. He climbed right in his bed and wanted me to go get his pillow so he could sleep with him. No, I didn't let him.

Jared says, "Awww, he choot". (cute)

picture catch up time. Aug-Dec 2009

they swam all summer long. small pool, but we loved it!

okay this is a money booth!! it was a new bank and they had all these festivities. we showed up for the money booth. you had to grab the money in the air and cram it through this little slit in the wall. somehow, i crammed $100 out!!!! great day for me!
this is what i found blake doing while he was suppose to be picking up toys in the backyard.

jared and his bumba(grandpa, my dad)

CHEESE!!!

blythe and jared. see, he makes kurtis faces.

jared

jared and kurtis after a football game.

Halloween church party. the boys were mad cause they couldn't wear their masks in the church.

poor blake, the one on the side is from when someone opened the door and of course his head was in the way. that one looks great compared to what it did look like. then, the one in the middle is from the park. a kid was throwing huge rocks and blake's poor head caught one. split it right open. so they glued it closed. needless to say, his head looked terrible for a few weeks.

kurtis is #40. chuck calls this one, walking with a purpose.

boys in an air force helicopter.

jared and cousin alex in texas.

the 2007 cousins. all born that year.

blythe and jared

i love this pic of alex. so sweet.

carly and abby

blythers

cousins

i said he was imaginative.

blythers! chubby cheeks!

lauren and i at new moon.

mom, carly, lauren, me and faith. dinner before new moon!

dad and our family. weekend before deployment.

blake and his faces. the kids decorated gingerbread houses last week. it was really fun. lots of icing and candy.

carly, blythe and alex.

kurtis and austin

kurtis' gingerbread house. the gingerbread people are sword fighting with candy canes on the roof. that is a red OU to the left. :)

jared's house. i helped with his.

blake decorating grammie's Christmas tree.