Caitlynn's 4th Birthday

Our Caitlynn turned 4 today! It's hard to believe that just 4 years ago we were blessed with a beautiful baby girl. She is growing up faster than we can keep up with, every day is something new (see previous posts!!!).

We had her birthday party at the house, and invited over our closest friends to help celebrate. I think Caitlynn really enjoyed the day... even before the party started she kept telling Chad and I that this was the "best birthday ever". The theme for her party was PRINCESS... go figure??!! She had pink princess decorations and even her birthday cupcakes had little princess tiaras on them. I LOVE that she is such a girlie girl!!!

I wanted to do something to remember some of her favorite things at this age, so I did a little Q&A with her... this is what she said:

• Favorite Color - Pink & Purple & Yellow (she couldn't pick just one)


• Favorite Food - Pancakes


• Favorite Toy - Dora Doll


• Favorite Book - Dinosaurs


• Best Friend - My brothers


• Favorite Song - ABC's & Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

She is so much fun at this age... I can't wait to compare lists next year - this just may have to be a tradition on her birthday!

My Pixie Girl

There is a little girl name Caitlynn Reese
Who to my heart she holds a very special key
With big brown eyes and rosy cheeks
She’s the cutest darn thing you ever did see

One thing about Caitlynn as a baby and a tot
The hair on her head was so sparse and so few
When it’s all said and done it wasn’t a lot
But over the years when she finally turned two, the hair on her head, it finally grew

Caitlynn enjoyed her long locks, and as her mom so did I
We’d curl it, and style it, and braid it to play
But all was for not, I can’t tell a lie
For the long hair on her head, she cut it all off this past Thursday

A rite of passage I’ve heard, and maybe it’s true, that all girls learn in this very special way…
And now I have a little “pixie” who will never forget her 4th birthday!!

Caitlynn's new hairDO

Well, the fun and excitement never ends with my children!!... Ms. Caitlynn decided that she needed to give herself a haircut last night. And this wasn’t the typical “rite of passage” short bang haircut – OH NO, she decided to start at the front and stopped just short and left herself a nice long mullet!!

So, this morning I took her to a stylist to see if they couldn’t work some magic, and as you can imagine… a pixie style was about all they could do for her! While I haven’t loaded the pictures up yet… I am definitely “documenting” this event & will share! Can you believe it… we wait 2 years for that little girl to finally grow some locks, and just 2 years later… as she has enough to flip around she cuts it off!!

We are thankful that she didn’t hurt herself with the scissors, and hope that she’ll never ever do it again. Good thing she has those killer dimples and big brown eyes!!

We’ll remember this upcoming 4th birthday for a long time!!!

Brandon... Colorado Bound

We are going through some very difficult times right now as a family. I am hoping that sharing my thoughts in writing, and asking for all of our friends and extended family’s prayers will help bring peace into our hearts and minds.

Today I had to say goodbye, for now, to my oldest son Brandon. He is moving to Colorado to live with my mom and dad, as he is trying to make some significant changes in his life for the better. It broke my heart to see him off on the plane, but I have to believe that the choice we are making with this arrangement will help all of us become a stronger family in the long run.

For about the last 4 years Brandon has been struggling in school and with some life choices that have put him in some pretty bad situations. Adolescent choices and the situations that naive ones can put us in are never easy; I as his mom know just how difficult that can be. I know now as a parent that all we really want for our children is for them to be happy, healthy, and to have a full, meaningful, and successful life. Unfortunately, when one bad choice leads to another we sometimes find ourselves in a hole that seems much too dark and difficult to get out of.

During times like this I can’t help but look in the mirror and ask… “What did I do wrong?”, “Am I doing and saying the right things?”, “Am I setting a good example?”. I’ve been racking my brain for months reliving the past few years thinking that there must have been something I could have done differently to have helped Brandon feel more loved, more appreciated, and more self confident – so that we wouldn’t have ended up at this day.

When we moved from Florida to Rhode Island in the summer of 2006 Brandon was very upset with me, as he was very attached to the life we made in Jacksonville. He was 14 and if I think back to that point in my life, I would have been SO MAD if my parents lifted me from the life I knew and loved. However, we hoped that Brandon would have been able to make a fresh start with new friends in new surroundings. While Brandon was never really happy to be in RI, things did go well for a short while. Unfortunately, the poor grades picked up and troublesome friends found their way yet again into his life.

In April of 2008 we received great news when I got a new job offer with the opportunity to move back to Jacksonville. Thinking that this would provide another “fresh start”, and would get the whole family back to the place that we grew to love and enjoyed living, it was only a few short weeks before our life was in disarray. Without sharing details, we realized as a family that we had to make some drastic life changes if we wanted Brandon to turn things around.

I suppose we won’t know for sometime if the choice we made was right… or even the best decision we could have made. So, in trying to pull my beautiful and gifted son out of his dark hole, I send him off with all of my love hoping and praying that he will be able to make positive progress and will return home to us soon.

As you can imagine, Chad, Kenny, Ty & Caitlynn (even our Jack dog) are also very sad that we will not have Brandon be a part of our daily lives. Each expressing in their own ways – Kenny made me smile when I really needed it today, as he always does in his oh so special way, when he said “I wish we could all go live with Nana and Papa because they love all of us.” He is so right, and I know that above all Brandon will be loved where he is. Afterall, in addition to Nana & Papa, his aunts, uncles, cousins, grandma Rolayne, and even his great grands are all within a hug distance :)!!

Meanwhile, I continue thinking about all the choices I am making and pray that this life lesson will help me to be a better mom. You know, it would be so much easier if there was a handbook... Wait - there is, I just need to get back to reading it!!

Chad's 34th Birthday - July 14

Chad turned 34 today, July 14th... and we celebrated his birthday all weekend long!

When I was trying to decide what to start this blog out with, I thought I should do a little research on his zodiac to see if I could provide a little insight into his "crabby" Cancer being. I found one line in the many webpages I looked at, and felt like this one summed it up pretty nicely...

The essence of the Cancerian personality can be boiled down to one word, sensitivity, when examined is a maze of winding roads that can lead anywhere and everywhere.

The other interesting qualities that I found when looking at the Cancer sign included; Patient, sensitive, romantic, sociable, and maternal. All of which describe my husband in 5 perfect words.

Celebrating the big 34

We had a big Jimmy Buffet style birthday party for Chad on Saturday night, and celebrated with a few of our closest florida family friends. We grilled hamburgers on the bbq, served frosty margs and played lotts of card games. Sunday was a relaxing day, most of which was spent at the pool! Then today, his actual birthday - Chad wanted blueberry pancakes, biscuts and gravy, sausage, eggs and peach/lemonade smoothies. And yes, he got his birthday wish - there was WAY too much food, but it was really yummy... and it was nice to have his birthday breakfast with the whole family!

A Florida 4th

Happy Independence Day! We are truly enjoying our long weekend by doing a whole lot of rest and relaxation! We started our long holiday weekend with a pancake breakfast and then loaded the whole family, even Jackson, into the van and headed to Jax beach!

I'll admit that while the beach thing is most certainly one of my favorite things to do, it isn't so much for some of the other members of the family! I had to do some convincing with Chad, Brandon and Caitlynn (who still isn't so sure about that BIG ocean :)). Kenny and Ty love the beach scene just about as much as I do, so there was no talking into with them. In our drive on the way there, Tylar had the 'martin quote of the day' with... "The beach is the most popular thing on the planet, next to watermelon and candy." - I'd have to agree!!

We ended up having a really great time, even Caitlynn who FINALLY got her feet wet... literally! It took a little bit of coaxing from Chad, who told her that if she is afraid of the water all she has to do is "kick it away". She totally went for it and after a few karate kicks, she was just as happy splashing around as the rest of the kids all around us! The water temperature was wonderful, and the waves were perfect for the boys to do their boogie board riding. Chad and Ty tossed a ball around a bit, and we even built a few sandcastles before the day was over.

Brandon and Jackson weren't as into it... guess going to the beach with your folks isn't the "cool thing to do". And poor Jackson was pretty warm, despite his 3 bowls of water that he drank! Oh well, guess I can't win them all! After a few hours playing in the sand we decided to head back home and jump into the pool. By 2ish we were a waterlogged group, and everyone took a few hours to nap and relax.

What would the 4th be without fireworks!!?? We ended up meeting up with Nelly & John and Mo & Dave to watch the downtown fireworks display right at the banks of the St. John's river! We saw three displays going on at once, and at the finale Janell and Mo serenaded the group with "Proud to be an American" :)... who could ask for anything more patriotic!! We plan on spending the rest of our weekend at the pool... big surprise, right!!?? Love to all, and hope everyone is enjoying the holiday weekend!