It's been LESS than a month since I posted anything......that's progress!!!! LOL!!

To be honest there isn't much to announce right now. Girls are still in school - just finished the first six weeks. Ryann came home with straight A's and Kamri had all good marks as far as academics go. She's making great progress and learning new things every day!!! We're still working on the listening while she's in school, but she's doing MUCH better at that as well lately. I honestly think that she's just getting older and growing out of her "toddler" ways. I mean, she'll be 6 next Friday....it was about due!!

I'm almost 18 weeks along with this new little one. We've had a few doctor's appointments and two ultrasounds. So far everything looks great! Went for some testing this past week and am still waiting on the results from my lab work. We've decided that we're not going to find out the gender of this one until the day we finally meet him/her. We're also not telling anyone the names that we've selected.......and the suspense is driving my family and some of my friends crazy!!! But, we believe that there just aren't very many surprises in life anymore and this is one thing that we can at least ATTEMPT to leave as an unknown. Now that we're almost halfway through this pregnancy and I'm actually starting to look like an expecting mom instead of a fat chick I feel MUCH happier!!!! LOL.

We've had some really wacky weather lately that had definitely put me in the shopping mood. I actually started my Christmas shopping yesterday. Didn't do much, but it was so much fun to get out there and get started!! I'm hoping to have it done much earlier this year than in years past......waiting until the last two weeks just stresses me out too much and Lord knows I don't need that this year!

With Kamri's birthday and Halloween just around the corner, I have a feeling that before I know it we'll be making plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas!!! It all comes SO very fast this time of year. But I love it......it's my favorite time of year for sure!!

Like I said, there's isn't much to update on right now.....but at least I made the effort to stay in touch with you all!!!!

Take care until next time!!
Melony : )

So very much to say!!

Okay, so I have completely neglected this thing for FAR too long. There is SO much that has happened since my last post. We'll start at the beginning.

The girls finished school at the beginning of June 2009 and on June 6 we moved into our lake house. We've done a lot of work in the past few months including putting down new flooring in the living and dining rooms and doing a LOT of cleaning. We're all really happy in our new home and look forward to many years full of memories here.

The girls both spent time with their dads this summer and had a blast. And on July 4th, I got a wild hair up my butt and decided to take a pregnancy test since I knew that there would be drinking going on at the family's 4th of July party. Well, you can clearly see below what the results of that were.

We're all very excited. This was something that we weren't really trying to accomplish but we weren't not-trying either. It was more of a "If it happens, then great" kind of thing. Our families are really happy for us and can't wait to meet the newest addition to our little family. The official due date as of right now is March 17th.....St. Patrick's Day!!! At this point I'm 14 weeks along and finally through all of that 1st trimester stuff. Finally getting a little energy back and starting to feel a little more like myself........with a baby inside of course...lol. I'll do my best to keep everyone updated as things progress.

Okay, so that bring us up to August. Of the wonderful month of August........*sigh*. I turned 30 on the 8th and Steve turned 40 on the 23rd. So, needless to say, it was a big month for us. We're still trying to recover from these momentous birthdays........

The girls started school on August 24th. Ryann is now in 2nd grade and Kamri is in Kindergarten. I tried really really hard to get pictures of them on their first day and these are the only relatively decent ones I ended up with. There aren't many to share, but don't our girls look so big!!!! Ryann's teacher is Mrs. Barnes, but we recently got a call letting us know that she'll be moving to a new class beginning next week. The school was lucky enough to be able to add another 2nd grade teacher and Ryann was selected as one of the students moving to her class. Her name is Mrs. Priest. We're hoping that Ryann likes her new teacher as much as she's liked Mrs. Barnes. Lots of good grades coming home with this little one so far!! Yay!!!

Kamri is in Mrs. Mixson's class and so far has done very very well academically. We've had a few issues with her losing her temper and there have been a few trips to the principal's office. But Steve, myself, and her teacher are all working together to try to resolve this and so far things are going much better. Kamri's teachers all say how wonderful, sweet, and loving she is and that makes me so very proud to be her Mommy. It just amazes me that she'll be turning 6 years old a month from today. I can't believe my babies are getting so big!! We've had absolutely NO problems from her at home and her and Ryann are getting along better than ever!!! They are both over the moon excited about the new baby and both hope that it'll be a little boy this time. Hopefully it doesn't make me a bad mom to say it, but Steve and I are both hoping for a boy this time too. But, regardless of the gender, we'll be overjoyed with whatever God blesses us with.


Work is going pretty well. I had to take off a considerable amount of time during the last 12 weeks because I just didn't have the energy to work more than a single shift a day. But now I'm working lunch shifts Monday-Friday and that allows me to be home whenever the girls are.......and that's what I've ALWAYS wanted!!!

Steve has been bowling a lot and has even taken up playing golf with my dad a couple of times a week. They really enjoy the time spent together and I'm really happy for him. Other than that, we just kind of take things one day at a time.......cause that's about all I can handle!!!! LOL

I guess that's about it for now. Hope everyone is doing well. I'll try to update this thing again soon and maybe even have some more (better) pics!!!

Love to all,
Melony, Steve, Ryann, Kamri, and baby Merten : )

A quick update

Since that's about all I have time for right now!! To be very honest, I haven't had the opportunity to update you all recently since I've been working what feels like non-stop! Even on my days off I have so much to do that I feel like I'm running around like a madwoman! But here's a quick work on what's going on with our little family.

Ryann is almost finished with her first grade school year and is already looking forward to summer. She's really enjoyed school this year, and has done extremely well, just as I knew she would. Kamri, on the other hand, has been having some behavioral issues that we're trying to deal with. I'm not sure if she's just tired of her teacher, or if her teacher has more on her plate than she can deal with, but it's been a daily struggle lately. Academically, Kamri is still doing wonderfully - learning more and more everyday. But, she's been having some problems following directions when it comes to nap and recess time. But I continue to believe in my baby girl and do whatever I can to let her know that we love her and that we know she can work through this. Any prayers that you all could send up would be much appreciated!

Steve and I (and the girls) are all very much looking forward to our move coming up in June. This will be the LAST time we'll have to move for a very very long time........*sigh of relief*. It's going to be a lot of work getting the house fully updated, but I'm up for the challenge and actually looking forward to the work. The girls are more excited about the fact that they're going to have a pool AND a lake right in their own backyard!!! LOL. I predict many summer afternoons spent playing outside this summer. FUN!!

Unfortunately, with this move almost here, we knew we were going to have to find a new home for our German Shepherd Shelbi since there is no fence out at the lake house. And, with many tears shed (mostly by me), she went to go live at her new home last night........*sniff, sniff*. She was loved and will be greatly missed by our family.

Work is going really really well. I work a lot of hours, and earn good money.......and I'm loving it! I'm just not the type of person who can sit at home for days on end. I need a job ~ and I love mine!

I guess that's about it for now........like I said, there hasn't been much going on with us. I'll update you all again soon and try to get some current pics online for you all to check out.

We love you all and hope that you're doing well.
Melony & The Fam

The search is finally over!!

So, for any of you who were not aware, I have been unemployed since November 1 of last year. And since we ALL know just how terrible the job market is right now, it shouldn't come as any big surprise to hear that I have had a awfully hard time trying to find work. But, just at was predicted, things worked out. I had an interview yesterday afternoon at our local Pizza Hut. They saw all of the management experience that I had on my resume and offered me a position. YAY!!!! I start working this evening and I couldn't be more pleased!!! I'll be training basically from the ground up including learning how to be a server. But, later this year there will be a new store opening up in Forney (about 20 minutes from where we will be living) and they are hoping to make me the Assistant General Manager when it does. This would be an absolutely awesome thing for us, so we're really excited!

In other news, both of the girls have now lost 2 teeth, right in the front!! And what's crazy is that they lost them within a day of each other. Let it not be said that my kiddos aren't in sync right now....lol! Everything else has been going pretty good for us. We don't have a lot of exciting news to share at this time. Life when you're unemployed is pretty boring......But, thankfully for us....things are finally looking up!

Love to all,
Melony

Goodbye 2008!!! Hello 2009!!!

I'm not sure how it happened, but somehow, another New Year is upon us. As I look back at 2008, there are a few things that stand out.....

Ryann Elyse started 1st grade and is excelling.....as we all knew she would. Kamri Jaycee started Pre-K and has learned more in the first half of the school year than I thought she would all year!!! I'm so very proud of both of my school-goers!! They're so smart! : )

The girls also started taking ballet lessons and even participated in their first recital just before Christmas. Pictures are viewable at http://melonyk.myphotoalbum.com/albums.php. Ryann also started taking violin lessons, played soccer during the summer, scoring her very first goal and Kamri is finally going to be a big sister (her Dad and Jennifer are having a baby boy this coming summer). We went on field trips to the Caldwell Zoo, and the Heard Museum in McKinney........and had fun at class parties and school events.

Probably one of the biggest things that happened to me or the girls this year was the entrance of Steve into our lives. We love him so much and feel so very very blessed to have him love us in return. It feels really wonderful to have finally met "the one" that I was always meant to be with. Every year is sure to be amazing with him by our sides.

Steve and I spent New Year's Eve with his family at their brand new home......and had a great time!

I'm sure that this year will bring many many more exciting times......and I personally can't wait!!

Hope you all had a fun SAFE New Year!! We love you all,

Steve, Melony, Ryann & Kamri