Cohen is 3!!!!

Three years ago we were blessed with our third child, Cohen came into our lives and I had never felt so much joy.   In these three years we have been entertained, hugged, kissed, hit, yelled at, serenaded, and loved.   This little boy gives our family so much joy and frustration that I can't imagine our lives without him.  Since starting this blog I haven't been great at keeping up with it but since I don't do a baby book I want to at least talk about each kid on their birthday so that we can remember what they were doing each year of their life.   This year the ten facts about Cohen are.......

1.  We just got rid of Boppie (paci) it has been a challenge but two weeks ago a friends dog ate one of his pacis and we were finally able to come up with a good excuse why all of his pacis were broken (I cut them all)  and that they only let babies buy pacis.  Sometimes they say that it is harder for parents than the kids, but I definitely think in Cohen's case it was harder for him.  

2. Cohen can eat Mac and Cheese for every meal.  If it he sees it or it is an option he will pick it.  He has even figured out how to make the microwavable kind.

3. His vocabulary has blossomed this year, he can tell me stories, sing songs, and repeat everything we say.

4.  He wants to do everything the big kids are doing.  If Landen is exploring, he wants to explore, if Kendall is cooking he wants to do it too.  He is definitely 3 going on whatever the big kids are doing.  

5. Cohen loves Cars the movie and everything to do with it.   You will find him watching the movie or playing race cars many hours of the day.

6.  As fearless as Cohen is he is still scared of being in deep water,  he can swim all day as long as he can touch.  

7. He is very opinionated, right now he refuses to wear grey sweatpants, jackets or any shoes other than crocs.  It is a battle most mornings.

8.  I wake up every morning at 6am to Cohen laying on me asking to go downstairs to eat.  Someday I hope he sleeps til at least 8.

9.  He is having a scooby doo birthday party this year,  I am not sure he knows what it all means but he is very excited!

10.  His best bud is Madden a 2 year old that has just as much energy as him.  It is great to see  a "landen and elias" friendship forming!

Happy Birthday Cohen,  we all love you so so so so so so so so so so so MUCH! 

Thanksgiving 2011

I cleaned the house (at least downstairs) for 3 hrs last night..it was all picked up and looked pretty good.  As I went to bed I thought about how I was going to tell the kids when they woke up how hard I worked and how they needed to keep it that way.  When I woke up I thought about how realistic my request was and how it probably won't stay this way but how incredibly blessed I am to have my four munchkins and to be able to clean up their messes.  They have toys to play with, food to make messes with, beds to make, the ability to draw and explore.  WE ARE BLESSED!  I am so thankful for this year that God has given us and the messages he has sent through our family and friends and complete strangers.  I am filled with SO much love and can't believe that I live the life I live.  Am I filled with  "wants and desires"?  Of course, but when I sit back and look at our lives we have so much more than what we deserve and when I think of those things that I want I pray that this year I remember how I feel right now.

Happy Birthday Landen Scott!!!

Landen turns seven today....It makes me just want to write about what he is like as a seven year old.
This year he has entered first grade, he is learning to read, he adores his friends, he still cuddles, and he loves to explore.  I remember what it was like to just have him, how our lives changed and how I thought I could never love anything else like I love him.  I was wrong, my heart has grown with each child but Landen will always have a special spot in my heart for being the first.    As we celebrate his seventh birthday I want to write 10 interesting facts about my sweet baby boy!


1. He is learning what it means to love Jesus,  he continually says Jesus lives in his heart :)
2. He used to love video games but doesn't so much anymore,  he would rather explore
3. He loves being with his friends, especially Elias.
4. He is a fish, he is fearless in the water
5.  He went tubing for the first time this year and loved every minute of it!
6. He ate his first worm this year :)
7.  His favorite birthday gift this year was his new guitar
8.  He loves Justin Bieber
9. He built a boat tree house at Grammies and Springs this summer
10.  He absolutely loves to look at animal fact books


Happy Birthday Landen, we love you so so so so so so so much!!!

Kendall Grace is Turning 5!!!!!

My Beautiful girl was born right after Oprah on May 22, 2006.  Kendall Grace has changed our lives.  In a house full of boys she shows us some sass, compassion, and drama.  We are so blessed to have her and I am so thankful for the joy she brings us each day. 

On her fifth birthday I want to share some of her favorite things!!!!

1. Her best friend is Nevaeh (she's 8 but Kendall loves her!)
2. Kendall loves singing!!!   You will find her singing pretty much any time of the day normally it is an original!
3. She loves being on the computer and doing her  "homework"
4. Her favorite animal is a horse.
5. She wants to be a teacher when she grows up.
6. She tattles on her brothers about 34 times a day.
7. She has been a peer friend this year in school, she has learned to love EVERYONE!!!
8. She loves to cook with mommy
9.This year she met all the princesses in Disney :)
10. Whenever we are with friends it ends with tears because she wants to spend more time with them....she is exactly like her mom was.
11.Loves chicken nuggets and fries from Mc Donalds
12. Loves Justin Bieber
13. Tangled is her favorite movie.
14.  She makes friends with just about everyone
15. She loves makeup and painting her nails

We love our princess!!! Happy 5th Birthday Kendall Grace!

Fun Easter Weekend

 

Had a great Easter weekend with friends and family.  It started with a a date night, our life group has set up a babysitting co-op so we get to go out once or twice a month without the kids.  This is AMAZING!!!

Saturday was a fun day with our friends, the Haltems, we did an Easter egg hunt and then the kids dyed Easter eggs....they had never done it before and have asked to do it several times since! 

We spent Easter Sunday celebrating at Church with our family and Uncle Kevin, then we went to Nana and Pa's house for an Easter lunch.  We finished out our day at Grandma and Papaws house with all the cousins.  The kids had so much fun opening easter baskets and enjoying family.  We feel so blessed!

Easter

I think as you get older the years pass by faster. I feel like we just celebrated Easter but we are celebrating again and celebrating this year with two more kids.  How blessed we are....I am so overwhelmed with what God has given us.  He has given us three beautiful kids, and the chance to show his love to two amazing little boys. 
I have been frusterated today by the circumstances that one of our babies is faced with,  but I am filled with peace that we get the chance to make those circumstances a little bit better.  If not for forever maybe just for a little bit.  God knows what will happen in this childs life.  I wish I did but I can't imagine the burden I would feel if I did....I am praying that I just take each day as a gift, and know that everything can change tomorrow. 
What a journey we are on.  I pray for this Easter we can just remember what our Savior has done for us....that we remember that we are saved and that we are His.  I pray that our children begin to understand that this is another time of the year we can see Gods goodness and not just what is in their easter baskets. 

I wish your family a happy Easter and a time of joy and felowship with eachother and the people you love. 

Winter with five kids.

Wow,  It has been way way too long since I have updated this thing!!  Lots of stuff has been going in the life of the Moores, I don't even know where to start!
 First we will start with the kiddos.  We have had a month of sickness. Aaron has had lots of respitory issues.  Cohen caught it and Kendall for a short period of time.  Kevin now has an ear infection so there has been lots of sleep interupted nights!  Aaron saw a ENT yesterday and was reffered to Riley to see if he may have a possible birth defect where his passage in his nose may not have developed all the way.  Poor guy has been grunting since we got him!
I feel like most of the things we do lately have to be cancelled because of sick kids.  It is a little disappointing since we don't really do much  besides stay at home, when we are having friends over or doing something with friends I really look forward to it, so I get bummed when we have to cancel!
Landen is doing great in Kindergarden....he is loving spelling and learning to read! I love it too! Kendall is also doing great in Pre-K....being a peer friend this year has taught her so much compassion!  We are doing swimming lessons now and she is mother hen to all the kiddos that are scared of the water (which I thought would be her)
We had a great time in Disney...it was great to get away just the five of us... Disney always is an adventure.  I will have to dedicate a whole blog post to it soon, since I will probably never scrap book any of these events.
In Jan. I ended my three year job at Kingsway.  I have mixed feelings about it.  I enjoyed what I did and got to meet lots of great people but I could never leave it there so giving it up felt right.  I am glad I still get to be part of the nursery because of the foster kiddos being in there.  I am looking forward to serving with the older kids soon in their Sunday School rooms. Tyler and I got to go to church together for the first time in a long time last week!
A couple weeks ago Tyler lost his job that he has been with for the past couple years.  They decided to close their doors after 20 years of business. It is a hard time for us but I do know God has a plan for what he wants Tyler to do. He has had a couple of interviews lately so hopefully we will hear back from a company soon!
So this blog is just filled with updates but it is all stuff to remember.  We are now heading to the park which we haven't done since the fall. Looking forward to being outdoors!


Click on the link below to see recent pics of the kids...
http://blissphotographyindy.smugmug.com/Children/Moore-Kids/IMG7486/1204895806_s758P-M.jpg

I haven't written in a while and I know I need to keep this blog up or it will go about three years and then I will remember that I have it.  We are enjoying the Christmas season.  The kids are out of school for Christmas break which seems crazy to me...I feel like they just went to school and now the year is half way over.  We got our Ginger Bread house made and will go and see Santa tomorrow at the museum.  Kendall got a peek at Santa last night while he was waiting in line at Kohls....some Santa's have a lot of Christmas sprit but my little girl loved it!!!
Our lives are adjusting well to having five kids. It is crazy but I feel like all the kids have a place and get the time and attention they need. It is amazing how fast these kiddos grow and what they learn all the time.
With the addition of one more baby I decided to quit my job as nursery coordinator at Kingsway.  I still have a few more weeks left but I am considering the leave a good move on my part...I will miss getting to know all the new faces at Kingsway but I am looking forward to attending a whole Sunday morning service and serving with the older kids when Landen moves to the 1st grade area.
Along with quiting my job, I believe that we are getting rid of our dog we have had for six and a half years.  I am not able to give Rudy the attention that he needs so he is going to live with my mom.  Such changes for the Moore household  but I have been given peace about each one, hopefully the kids are given that peace too!!! I know they will miss him but I am so glad they will still get to see him regularly.
So... enough randomness, just wanted to give a quick update and wish everyone a Merry Christmas.  Hopefully I will get a good new camera soon so I can put some better pics on here.   (hmm. hmm. Santa)

Happy Birthday Cohen

Just wanted to write a quick post about my favorite TWO year old!!!  Cohen had a birthday on Wednesday, we had a wonderful day with friends and then family.  He got lots of Choo Choo trains which he loves.    I just wanted to write ten things I hope I never forget about Cohen at this age :)

1.  He is a morning person.....very early morning person.
2.  He loves my counter top, if I am not sure where he is at he is probably there.
3.  Fruit Snacks are his favorite.
4.  He attacks us with a MOMMY or DADDY as soon as we get home.  I love this!!!
5.  He has a chipped tooth which I am still not sure how it happened.
6.  He will not take his paci out of his mouth.
7.  He is calling Mickey "Hot Dog"
8.  He looks exactly like Landen did at this age.
9. He thinks the dog is a horse.
10.  He thinks he is six just like his brother.

Happy Birthday Cohen!  We love you and we love how you add so much to our home!  God has blessed us with three beautiful children and I am Thankful he blessed our family with your smile and energy!!!

Happy Thanksgiving (a couple days late)

Wow, it has been so busy with five kids!!! I am having a lot of fun but I am so so busy and if you don't think I have heard "you have your hands full" lately, I haven't....today :)
 We got our second foster baby about a week and a half ago.  He is very sweet, we are praying for mom to get better soon so that he can do the important bonding at this age.  I am doing this one completely different than Aaron....trying to take care of the little guy, give him love, but do my best not to know anything more than I need to so that I don't form my own opinions of where he should be.  The kids love having an infant in the house...maybe they will never know our house without a baby in it :)

Going home

Today I was reminded why we became foster parents.  A little boy needed a place to stay for a few days until he could be released to family... we were able to be that place.  It has to be scary but for four days a little boy could feel safe and have fun.  I am so glad that we are doing this.  I don't know anything about the family...honestly, I am so glad I don't.  Foster parents have no control over where the children go so it is best to just take care of a kid while they need it.  I am learning...slowly but I think I will get the hang of it. 

Now...if only Cohen would stop waking up at 5:30 every morning..AGHHHHH!

Kendall...a little mom

Kendall Grace is four, has the sassyness of a teenager  but a soul of a mommy.  Since we got Aaron she hasn't been able to keep her hands off of him.  It sometimes is helpful, most of the time not.  She loves him dearly and it is a joy to see.

 I have enjoyed today as she has worked with our second foster child to make him feel as comfortable as possible by getting him an outfit for the day, holding his hand and getting him the toys that she knew he would enjoy.

I have wondered what this journey as a Foster family would be like.  I know it will have extreme ups and downs but I am so touched by the compassion that my kids are having on these kids who come and out of their lives.   I am so thankful for this opportunity.

What it must feel like.

Last night we picked up our second foster child.  It will most likely be short term but unlike our foster baby he is three.  He understands he is not with family and doesn't understand what is going on.  I was trying to put myself in his shoes last night and I just couldn't even fathom what it must feel like.  The tears were constant and the words "I want to go home" kept coming up.
I am so glad God put us on this journey but it seems so unfortunate that parents put their kids in this situation to be removed.  Hopefully today we can give him a good home and that he will remember this time as happy instead of scary.
I think a trip to the museum is in store for us today!  A trip with five kids...I'll let you know how it goes :)

The Stress I inflict upon myself....

I am a people person.  I have always been one to want to do everything in fear that I will be missing something.  I hear about free food and I want to be the first one there....I love a deal!  Unfortunately with these deals many times I am going to these places 4 kids in tow.  Today they had free kids meals at noodles, instead of doing the easy thing and going home, making the kids lunch and doing naps, I decided to take my four kids to Noodles, on the way there Cohen took a nap which was his 10 min nap for the day.  Then we  get there I have to wait in line for 15 min to order my food while I watch Cohen and Kendall pour salt and pepper all over the table and devour a rice krispy treat that keeps them busy while they are waiting (nice healthy lunch).  They eat two bites of their FREE food and whine about when their friends are going to get there, when we are wrapping up our friends get there  but by now cohen has a second wind and is running out the door every 30 seconds, while I am trying to talk Landen and Kendall into leaving, getting a refill and dealing with a crying Aaron.   By the time I get all the kids ready and out the door, I have to try and convince my almost-two year old that he needs to follow me to get into the car.  Instead of following me he decides to follow his brother into bushes, by the time I get him out of the bushes he is running around the dumpster.
So moral of my story....is it worth a free kids meal that the kids took two bites out of to be stressed out the rest of the day?  No, but next time there is a free kids meal coupon will I remember that...Probably not.

First Post

Well, after long consideration about how much time I don't have to write a blog I decided I should just do it.  I don't journal, scrapbook or whatever so the most my kids and I will ever have is our calendar where I write important events. There is a lot going on in the Moore household to document so I will do my best for myself and my kiddos to get on this thing as much as possible.  Thanks for reading about our crazy lives!