I absolutely believe that I am one of THE luckiest Mommies in the entire world. These kids are SO very precious and I can't even believe they are mine some days. I feel so extremely blessed to call them MINE. I remember saying to Ryan when we brought each of them home that we actually get to KEEP them. I thank God every day for placing them in my life and letting them call me Mamma.

Our attempt at Christmas card photos....UNSUCCESSFUL. Little miss Sassy Diva Pants wasn't having it :) Oh well, we did get a few and captured the moment anyhow. LOVE LOVE LOVE my sweet family.

10 Months Old!

Holy Moly are you ever so "sweet & sassy". Little Miss Kylynn Sue Bishop. We adore you to PIECES. You are just the "icing on the cake" for our family. You are growing SO fast though and I just want you to stay this little forever. You are crawling FAST, pulling up, cruising around and wanting to walk so badly. Mommy is fine with that, so go ahead and try! You LOVE your mamma, can't let me out of your sight for hardly a second. I guess I will accept that since it won't last forever that's for sure. You like to be right under my feet and putting your arms up thinking I MAY snatch you up on the way by. You LOVE LOVE LOVE your big brother. He makes you giggle, smile and you want to keep up with him so badly. You are ONE tough little thing, too. I always wanted an older brother so I would be "tougher" and I can see you are going to be for sure! You probably weigh about 20lbs and have not ONE single tooth yet. You sure can gum pretty  much anything at this point. You are a GREAT eater, I am so thankful. WE LOVE YOU KYLYNN and can't wait to see what's in store these next few months before you turn ONE year old on me :) LOVE YOU!

Happy Birthday

to THE most amazing Mom in the whole world. I dream to be as sweet, loving and as accepting as this beautiful woman. She truly was the rock of our family and I find myself NEEDING her many times a day. I am so very thankful for the relationship I have with my wonderful sister and we are lucky to have each other, but no one will replace our Mom. Hope Heaven has some yummy cake for you, Mom. WE LOVE & MISS YOU terribly!

Precious

 I just want to bottle up this precious thing and keep her this size forEVER! She is cruising around the furniture and wanting to just GO! She babbles, makes the "h" sound for hi when she is waving, loves on her baby doll, snuggles and is as fiesty as they come :) Kylynn Sue Bishop is going to be a strong, determined little princess who tries REAL hard to get her way. We love her sassiness and can't wait to see what's in store in the months to come (even though I want her to stay this little).

And then there's this guy, who acts like a 10 year old in a 2 year old's body. Although, the toddler two's come out quite often, as well. He too knows how to "attempt" to get his way. He loves life to it's fullest. It is just amazing to see the world through his little eyes. I can't believe he will be 3 in three short months. We love this kid to pieces and enjoy every moment (well, almost every).

Outdoor Fun!

 We have been spending lots of time outdoors. These kids are just SO sweet. I am so very blessed to spend each and every day with them. I tell Ryan countless times how lucky I am and how thankful I am that he works so hard and I am able to be with these sweeties... LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE them!

 We even STILL love Wrigley :)

New Playset

Chris and Julie Lewis were so gracious to give us their backyard playground. Case is IN HEAVEN! It is big and beautiful and he is loving it! We are so grateful that they are getting a new pool and did not have room for it anymore :)

 The Boys eating ice cream from the ice cream truck :)

The boys staining it! It looks almost new after the first coat of stain!

Trip to Iowa

                                              Oops, guess I let a month pass before another post. Why is that I can spend hours browsing Facebook, Pinterest and not have time for my blog? I WILL do better... We flew to Iowa on Friday, October 5th for my cousin, Logan's wedding. We stayed in a hotel in Iowa City for two nights and then Ryan flew back on Sunday and we went to Bloomfield for a WHOLE week :) It was great, relaxing and wonderful to be with our family. I was able to drop the kids off at Ryan's parents for the day and go to my Dad's appointment with him. My strong, determined, amazing father is on his 4th round of chemo and seems to be doing good. The chemo is helping and his liver looked a bit better as well as his colon so they will do 2 more treatments and then go from there. We are just thankful that about the week after chemo, he starts to feel better and keeps on working TOO hard and tries to stay busy.

Reading...

Awwww, had to get the camera QUICK because I knew this wouldn't last long. For a few reasons...#1- she was heading for his book #2- the big kid can't sit still long enough. But, an adorable moment, nonetheless. Case is FINALLY starting to LOVE on his sister more often. I know deep down, he adores her, he just has too many other things on his agenda during the day to notice sweet sissy. They are the most precious, amazing kids in the world and I LOVE them to pieces :)

Don't you just want to eat her up, squeeze her thighs and just KISS all over this sweet face?!

And this kid, just FUNNY. He has a spitting image of his father's jokester personality. The boys sometimes drive me INSANE with their silliness. Oh, Kylynn, please be calm and relaxed with your momma! She will probably be crazier than THIS...

Lake Day

Our friends, the Cole's, graciously ask us to go to their lake house multiple times. We went the Saturday of Labor Day weekend and had a blast. Case LOVES hanging out with them for MANY reasons. They have a boat, a jet ski, fun treats, the best twin friends a little guy could ask for AND Ms Amber gives into ANYTHING Case asks for :) We love the Cole's!!!

 Kylynn enjoying some outdoor relaxing!

 LOVE this sweet thing!

 SO much fun!

 Jolly Rancher popsicles, SURE! Followed by a bath from a hose :)

1st Week of School!

So, the kids started Mother's Day Out this week. I am just in AWE of this time I have to myself. I truly enjoyed my time alone. I honestly guess I justify taking little Kylynn to school because I have NO family here to just drop the kids off and need time to myself. I feel like it made me a better Mom already this week having this time. I worked out, got a pedi/mani, went to lunch with the girls, went to the mall, got groceries alone and took a LONG glorious shower one of the mornings! The first day, Ryan was to fly out about 11, so he wanted to take them to school with me. Since he doesn't read this, I can say he rushed and rushed us out the door, wanted to leave the house at 8:30 (which they do NOT let us in the doors until 8:55) and wheew, just stressed me out messing up my routine :) We made it though, 20 minutes early, and had some hang out time in the parking lot. We were THOSE people who arrive so early and the teachers are like, don't they have anything better to be doing?! We LOVE the kid's teachers. Case has Ms Betty & Ms Tonya whom I have only heard wonderful things about. Kylynn has Ms Jacque (who Case had last year, she moved rooms) and Ms Sarah (who Case had his first year) and we adored both of them. So, should be a successful year and as soon as I start volunteering at a school in McKinney, I will feel good about using MY time wisely :)

Last Weekend

Last Friday, August 24th, my Dad came down to visit. The kids were SO excited as were Ryan, myself and Dad. We pretty much just hung out all weekend and enjoyed each other's company. My Dad just finished his 2nd chemo treatment and series of shots that prevent infection. He is such a strong man... When he was here, we played outside, Case FINALLY rode his tractor my Dad got him (the day before he came), went swimming, to the park and lots more. It was so nice for my Dad to have one-on-one attention with the kids which doesn't happen very often. Not that we don't enjoy the rest of the crew, it was just nice. So thankful he was able to spend 3 nights with us just relaxing and hanging out. LOVE YOU DAD!

7 Month Sweetheart

 I wish for EVERY Mom in the world to have a baby as sweet as this little girl. She is just a true angel sent from above. I honestly say ALL the time my Mom is her guardian angel and smiling through her multiple times a day. Kylynn Sue Bishop is a VERY VERY happy baby girl. 

Moments I don't want to forget....

* When I go to get her from her crib in the morning or from her nap, she is SO excited to see me. She smiles and kicks her legs and is just thrilled!

* She is about as thrilled to see her brother walk in the room and climb up on her changing table to say good morning. She ADORES him!

* Kylynn does NOT like for me to put her down all afternoon. I think she likes to be eye level and checking things out. She doesn't want to miss a thing!

* She is starting to scoot and army crawl everywhere. It won't be long before she will be crawling and getting into EVERYTHING. Not sure how Case will take this!

* Her chubby little legs are the most precious thing ever. She has some dimples that, well, she comes by naturally!

* Her feet are just PRECIOUS. They are so dainty and are skinny like mine. 

* She has some beautiful skin. We are going to all be jealous of her pretty skin this winter!

* She loves her Daddy...she giggles at him and tries to grab his face all the time. She thinks he's pretty funny.

* I don't know if it is because she is our last baby or what but I just can't believe how fast it is going and I am not the sappy type, but I catch myself just HUGGING her because she is so lovable and I don't want her to grow up so fast...

LOVE LOVE LOVE this baby girl...Kylynn Sue Bishop, we adore you.

Images I don't want to forget...

I took these pictures this morning when I got up...I know they are a little blurry but I don't want to ever forget the way these two precious angels sleep with their little tushes in the air. ADORABLE...

 Sweet baby girl...

Sweet "baby" boy... Yes, I know he is 2 1/2 and STILL in his crib :) Clearly, he loves it!

One Year Ago Today...

No one should ever have to go through what we all went through one year ago. Watching our precious Mom be taken from us was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. We all know she is in a better place and can only hope that this past year she has had the best time of her life. Little does this guy know how much he lightened the mood around my parents house...

Perfect timing to snuggle with Grandpa Vern on such a trying day...

Or just spend time with Auntie Kirby...

It's hard to believe it has been a year already. The time really does go so quickly. I would not take back the 20-something days I spent in Iowa before and after Mom's passing. She really was a beautiful soul and I find myself wanting to be SO MUCH LIKE HER every day! Everyone deserves a Mother like we had...

WE LOVE AND MISS YOU CINDY SUE NEILL.

Sibling Love

I know this isn't going to last long, the window of time when the kids actually LOVE LOVE each other. This isn't of Kylynn giggling (I will try to get one soon) but for some reason, CASE is the only one that can get her to giggle much. It is adorable. She is going to be a TOUGH girl :)

Case's Friends

Case has MANY MANY friends. We enjoy getting together for playdates with all of them. Just a few pics to capture his fun moments with all of these sweeties...

 Case & Emery at Babe's, YUMMY :)

 Sweet Aden and Adelynn at their lake house!

 Enjoying a Popsicle with Kyleigh!

 Painting with Emery!

 They are just adorable!

 Emery may enjoy hanging out with "baby Kylynn" a bit more than Case...

 Poor Aden, Case outweighs him by a bit and Case was jumping away. Luckily Aden was enjoying every minute!

 Sweet Kyleigh's 3rd Birthday Party!

 4th Of July with our sweet friends

 Buddies!

 Making Pizza with Lindley!

Sweet Ebby Lee & Nixon hanging out...

I obviously am very thankful that Case has so many great friends. Although...I can only hope that these two are the best of friends for life :)