My First Buck!!!

Opening day of rifle season here in Missouri was such a great day for me!!! I went out hunting with my husband in HIS tree stand. We sat for a couple hours together enjoying the cold windy morning. I really wasn't expecting much to happen for me because Dougs brother and his son always seem to be the ones who get there deer first thing in the morning and it takes me a few days. Well not this year!!! A nine (use to be a 10 pointer) came out and I couldn't get my scope on him at first and I thought I wouldn't get him but then he stopped in just the right spot and I GOT HIM!!!! He was my first buck EVER!!! I was soooooo excited!!!! I also got a doe that morning about 5 minutes after I shot him. Here are a couple pics my husband took for me.

Christmas Music!!

Just wanted to pop in and let you know if you LOVE LOVE LOVE Christmas music you can go to ksanta.com and listen to Christmas all day everyday I guess till Christmas!!! WOOHOO!!!!! I am one happy camper LOL. BTW I tried posting a video my mom took of Travis wrestling but it wouldn't work so I will have her post it for me so check out her blog in the next few days to see Travis woop some tooshy!!!!

Prayers Please!!

I know most of you are friends with my mom so you already know but I am going to ask anyways. If you all could keep my Mom and Dad in your prayers I would appreciate it. Mom is having trouble with her ear, you will have to look at her post to get the idea on her ear problem, and she is needing a little extra love and prayer right now. My Dad is in surgery as we speak for his shoulder, he will be fine I just know it but still a surgery is a surgery and I hate that he has to go through it. He is needing a little extra to today. Oh and I guess you could say one more for my Mom because she has to be at home caring for my Dad who is not known for staying in bed and doing as the Dr. tells him. She is going to have her hands full!!! LOL We are going out for youth season deer hunting this weekend with the oldest boys so keep your fingers, toes and whatever else you can crossed. I will post pics soon, that is if they are blessed enough to have deer walk out and give them a shot. Deer don't like to play by the rules, they are suppose to stand in the middle of the field broad side and not move but we have yet to convince them to do this LOL. Have a GREAT Halloween everyone!!!!

Hello Again!!!

Hey there everyone!!! I have been one busy lady and have not had anytime to blog but I am here today!! Well here is a little update on me and my family. My husband has been doing good, he was in an accident involving the BIG Fire truck and the brush truck a few weeks ago (thankfully he and his boss were both able to walk away fairly unscathed) and he is now just thankful to be alive and is enjoying life to it's fullest. He is spending as much time with the boys as possible and loving every minute of it!! Travis is doing amazingly good!! He is making all A's and B's and 1 C+ but that is going up to a B as we speak. He played an amazing football season to his team went undefeated the whole season on A team and B team until this last game, they played the other Middle school here in town who were also undefeated and lost the A game by 1 touchdown but B team went undefeated all season. It is amazing how much he has matured in the last year, I am sooooo proud of him!! Cody is also doing great!! He is making A's and B's and 1 C also lol and has had a great football season too. His team went undefeated all season also and they just won their Bowl game this weekend!! Both my older boys have some major talent when it comes to football. Now for Dakota......oh my Dakota lol..... he is in the third grade now (how did that happen?) He is really doing great in school he is making all A's and B's and seems to be absorbing all that is taught very well!! I am going to have to get my camera and take pictures of all of Dakotas art work and do a blog just on that one day soon. He is really turning out to be an amazing little artist!! He got that from Grandpa Haslag I guess because it wasn't me!! LOL I didn't inherit that talent.....thanks Dad you passed on allergies to me but no art talent lol. He is doing Cub Scouts again this year and we took him back to his old school for it this year( last year was no fun!!) He is happy to be back with his old friends even if he only gets to see them once a week. I will have to post Cub Scout pictures soon also. Now for the littlest boy, Austin, oh where to start.......Hmmmm....well he is in Kindergarten this yearand he absolutely LOVES IT!!! He has been coming home with new info everyday. He came home one day and put tape all over my house and told me those were his corners (i guess they do different stations at school called corners) He then goes to each corner and does an activity all night long. His teacher sent home a paper stating the expectations through the year, here is what it said. Kids are expected to be able to say and recognize and write their upper and lowercase alphabet, Count to, recognize and write to 110, know their home address, phone number and their birth date all by the end of the school year. Austin can recognize, say and write his alphabet both forwards and backwards, he can count to 110 and he stops there. We say can you count higher than that and he says "well yeah but my teacher said we only have to count to 110 so that is as high as I need to go" LOL. He also has started reading simple books with very little help from me I only help him on bigger words and even then he can sound out most of those word to. He can do simple math and he loves patterns. He knows more now than they require at the beginning of first grade!! Needless to say I am one proud Momma!! ALL my boys are doing great and life is good!! Oh and I am doing good to.....not much ever changes as far as me, I wake up, I babysit all day and then I enjoy my family in the evenings. So there is the update of all my men, hope everyone is doing great and is enjoying life!!!

AND THEY"RE OFF!!!!

Well three of my four boys are at school today... my step son Cody starts tomorrow. Travis is going into the 8th grade and his last year as a middle school kid. Next year he will officially be in high school!!! He also like to remind me that next year he will be able to get his permit to drive.......AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! Cody is going into the 7th grade and as far as I can tell he is ready for it. He is a social kid so he like being able to go see his friends. Dakota is going into the third grade and he is pretty excited even though he doesn't like to say it lol. He is ready to see his friends again to and make new ones. He is very worried about learning multiplication this year so he is stressing....he was thinking they were going to throw him into it on the first day and expect him to know it lol. He will do great though. Now for my baby Austin......."sniff"...."tear".....he is officially in Kindergarten!!!! He was soo excited to get ready today once he woke up. He ate his cereal and i went downstairs to start some laundry.. I came upstairs and he had hi sock, shoes and backpack on and was waiting at the top of the steps ready to go!!!!! I am so proud of all my boys and I can't wait for them to get home to tell me about their days.....I will keep you posted!!

Happy Birthday Travis!!!

Travis is my oldest son and he turned 14 today!!!! Can it be possible?????? He is one of the BEST boys you could as for as a son. He is kind and considerate and yes onry as all get out lol. I am so proud of him and who he is growing up to be. I know he will grow up to do AMAZING things in life. He makes me and his Dad sooooooo proud!!!! I am sure he makes his Grandma (punkin) and Grandpa a little proud to LOL. they are definatly a HUGE part of their lives. Travis grew up living with me and them at their home for four years until me and my husband married in 2001. He still recalls all that he loved about living there. He still goes out there every chance he gets and wants to spend as much time as possible with them. They help him through the good times and the bad and have some of the best advice anyone could ever give him. We are so lucky to have you all in our lives like we do and I know Travis will take any advice you all give him in any situation in life and save it in his heart to help him through any problems he might have weather they be present or future problems. He will always have you all to turn to and for that I thank you. Did I mention I AM ONE PROUD MOMMA!!!!!!!!

School Days

Ok this one is short but sweet.....We went to open house at our youngest boys Dakota and Austin's school. Dakota is going into the Third grade and is kind of excited kind of not to be going back to school. Austin is going into Kindergarten, he went to summer school for a few weeks and LOVED it!!!! We went in last night to drop off his school supplies and meet his teacher Ms. Miller. Austin went into the classroom like a pro. He was a little shy towards his teacher but overcame that pretty fast. He found his spot at the table and unloaded his supplies where he was suppose to and hung his backpack on a hook on the wall. He went over and sat in one of the bean bag chairs and looked around and said "why does everyone keep leaving?" We were busy filling out papers so we didn't answer him at that time so he just sat there watching everyone. We finished filling out papers and meeting his teacher and said "ok buddy get your bag we got to go " he stopped in his tracks and said "WHAT!!!! I thought we were staying!!!" He then looked like a deflated balloon lol. We said "we aren't staying tonight hun we are just here to meet you teacher and drop off your supplies." He hung his head and started to get upset and his teacher looked at him and said "AWWWW buddy we will see you next week though.....and then looked at me with her sad eyes like she felt so bad for him. He soooo has her already wrapped around his finger lol. Austin has BIG brown eyes and has a REALLY good pouty face! She is putty in his hands and school hasn't even begun.

Independence Day!!

Happy Independence Day Everyone!!!!!! I hope you all have a wonderful day. I am going to shoot off fireworks with the kids and have some BBQ with friends and hopefully everyone else stays safe out there and don't start any fires and Doug won't have to leave for a ton of fire calls. There were two yesterday within a few hours of each other so I am not sure how this is going to go lol. Tomorrow we are going to spend the afternoon and probably some of the evening out at my Mom and Dads house and we re really looking forward to that. We have not spent a lot of time with the family lately it has been so crazy with everyone playing sports and all that so we are going to enjoy the day tomorrow also. I hope everyone stays safe out there.

To all Dads

I was out of town yesterday so I wasn't able to do a post yesterday so here is my short and sweet one today.


















(Left) This is my Dad and Mom, Jim and Deanna. The best parents in the world. My Daddy has been there for me through some of the greatest times in my life and some of the hardest times. I was very blessed to get the Parents that I did and I find myself as I get older trying hard to copy their parenting ways as much as I can. I don't think I do them as much justice as I would like sometimes but.....I will succeed in it eventually. The picture on the right is my Husband Doug with three of our four boys. Austin our 5 year old didn't want to fish this day and this is the most current picture of them I have. He is such a great Dad to all four boys and a pretty darn good husband to lol. We spent the day playing ball in the back yard at my In-Laws and just enjoyed the day without having anything pressing that had to be done until later in the day. We then went to Austins (our 5 year old) T-Ball game and although they play for fun the kids are encouraged to try to catch the ball and if they get the ball they are suppose to go through the actions of trying to get the batter out. Well Austin made his Daddy very proud yesterday. He stopped the ball and then picked it up, ran to second base and stepped on it and got the other player out!!!! The other player still gets to run the rest of the bases, this is just T-Ball but hey he knew what he was doing and made the crowd CHEER!!! The kids each have one parent on the field with them to help out and Doug goes out with Austin. I saw the smile on his face from the bleachers. I only wish I had my camera ;( I hope everyone had a great Fathers Day and were able to remember all the good times they had with their Dads. Happy Fathers Day to my Grandpas who are with God now also I know you are watching over us everyday. I see little things here and there and think did Grandpa Hood or Grandpa Haslag put that there for me. Only because they remind me of something they would do. I like to think when I see things that remind me of them that maybe they had a little to do with putting that particular thing in my path so I would remember them at that moment. HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!

Daddy

This is my Daddy!!!!


I have the most wonderful Daddy in the world!!!! He was a lot like the song by Holly Dunn "Daddy's Hands". He was a firm man who knew when he needed to be firm with us but at the same time he knew when to be gentle and loving. I had a flash back to when I was a little girl tonight as I was tucking the boys in to bed. I was putting my youngest two boys to bed and I kissed Austin good night and tucked him in and told him to have sweet dreams (this is something we do all the time he likes it)and then proceeded to go in to tuck Dakota in to bed. Well Dakota had a rough night fighting with his brothers and then trying to get them in trouble he lied and told me that he was being hit by one of his older brothers (travis lol) and then after talking to both boys found out he in fact hadn't been hit at all. Well I let him know it was not ok to lie at anytime and made him sit on his bed and then it was bedtime shortly after that. Well I walk in to tuck him in and find him crying! I said "oh hun what are you crying for?" He wrapped his arms around my neck and said "I am soooooo sorry I lied to you Mom!! I really am!!!" I looked at his face and he was so sad and upset and I sat with him and let him know what he did was wrong and I was disappointed that he chose to do that but that didn't change the fact that I Loved him and always will no matter what he does.Well this is where my memory of my Daddy comes into play. As I was sitting with him trying to think of something to say to get him to calm down and think of something else my mind went to when i was a little girl and I had trouble sleeping. As a little girl when I was just having trouble sleeping or if I was sad for one reason or another my Daddy could always come in and help me fall alseep. He would sit with me on my bed and stroke my hair and in his soft kind loving voice tell me to close my eyes and dream of Rainbows and clouds. I would fall alseep dreaming of beautiful clouds and rainbows. So tonight I was able to calm my son down and had him sleeping hopefully dreaming of beautiful rainbows and turtle shaped clouds (he loves turtles lol). I still to this day have trouble sleeping sometimes and I try to relax and hear my Daddy's voice telling me to relax, close my eyes and dream of rainbows and white fluffy clouds. I love you Daddy (you to Mom lol) thank you for taking a firm hand with me when needed and also thank you for knowing when I needed your kind and loving way.

Last Sunday my son Austin played his fist T-Ball game!!!! It is all just for fun so there is no score keeping. Both teams did a great job and all kids had a blast and were very funny to watch. There were some that knew their bases and ran where they were suppose to and then there were others that hit the ball and then ran to third base and others that started in one direction and then turned and ran in the other direction lol. Austin looked sooo cute out there on the field!!! Each kid had one parent on the field with them so of course Doug went out with him Austin was so intense he wanted to play so bad he was ready to get the ball so when it came over to him he ran over and got that ball!! When he got it he turned around to his Dad and said "what do I do with it now?" LOL Here are a few pictures of him at his game.

One of the Bravest Little Men

Austin came to me the other day and said "mommy my toof horts" (tooth hurts lol). I looked in his mouth and discovered he had a cavity in one of his molars. He was in a lot of pain so we eased it for the night with Tylenol and Ibuprofen and Orajel. I got him an appointment this morning for a visit to the dentist. Grandma Haslag (aka..Punkin) was kind enough to take Austin this morning due to me and Doug not being able to and the fact that I have a HUGE fear of dentists. He went in to have the Dentist look at his tooth and fill the cavity. Well.......an hour and a half later Mom called me to tell me how things went. She informed me that Austin deserve an award for the Bravest Little Man Around!!! (or something like that lol). She then told me all they did to my little man. The Dentist told my Mom that Austin needed 1 filling and 1 tooth pulled and a spacer put in to keep the teeth from messing up as they grew. He informed my Mom that normally he would put a kid Austins age in the hospital and put him under to do the procedure. He asked my mom if she wanted to wait and do that or just go for it since Austin was being so big. Of course being the smart Grandma she is she said "heck go for it he is being a big brave boy."They gave him laughing gas (which btw made him a little loopy acting later in the day lol.....he has been CRAZY!!) he looked like an elephant. Grandma said he layed in that chair like a big boy with his legs crossed and let them work on him and then got done and went to the store for soft food and a special Spider man toy as a reward from Grandma. Thank you Mom for being such a great Grandma Austin is really excited because the dentist told him that since he was soooo brave the tooth fairy would be extra generous lol.

This is a post after reading my moms post.
This is my wonderful Loving family. My sister Tessa, brother Greg, mom Deanna, dad Jim and me. We have always had a very loving family and very strong family. We went to church every Sunday (well most every sunday lol) I liked going to church even if at the time I didn't realize it. I grew up knowing God and loved knowing I had him in my life no matter what. If you read my moms post you will know that I had my first son at age 16 well I had just turned 16 1 month earlier. It was hard but there was no way I was going to give that wonderful gift from God away when I had enough love and a wonderful family to support me so i could raise him right. Travis was with me in church for the first time after spending the first week of his life in the hospital. Father noticed I had him and decided he needed to call me that afternoon and talk to me about that little boy I had with me in church that morning. I tried really hard to be nice and when he told me I had a lot of growing up to do I politely said "yes I know Father my parents are here for me to help me grow as a teen and as a mom." I guess he didn't understand what I said because he repeated this about three times. I then got frustrated and" said I really appreciate his concern but I need to get off the phone." He then said well I just wanted to say one more thing. I said ok whats that? He then said the one thing that has stuck with me since that day and I have yet to be able to forgive him for. He said" I just wanted to tell you that the world would be a terrible place if every girl your age did what you did." I got very upset and hung up the phone and started crying and luckily I had my big sister there with me to help me through it until my parents got home. We informed them of what happened and they were very upset also. What happened later that day I do not remember and I wish I do. aparently someone from our church came to our door and gave me a rose and said.......

“We want to thank you for choosing life”
A beating heart deserves a chance to grow and be loved. Many beating hearts are killed before they have that chance.

Father doesn't realize how bad he hurt me with what he said. He hurt me enough that day that I do not remember this act of kindness that might have saved my faith in the church. I read my moms post yesterday and started crying. I have not given my boys the gift of getting to know God because of my fear of rejection in the church and I have not been consistently in church for 10 years. I have a lot of thinking to do and I think I have to work on forgiving the one man I thought I could never forgive. I hope I can find the strength I need to forgive him. I hope all of you have a wonderful week I know I am going to and I am going to try to conquer this fear I have so I can give my boys the gift of God like mine did for me. Thank You Mom and Dad. I Love you all very much.

A Hard Day Ahead

As you know I run a daycare in my home and have been doing this for 9 years. I get to care for some wonderful kids on a daily basis. Right now I have one of the BEST group of kids in my daycare. I have my son Austin age almost 5 lol, my nephew James age 5, Laci age 2, Bella age almost 2 and then there is Mathew age 3. Mathew is the one who is making this day a very hard day today. Mathews Dad is in the Army, he gets transfered every 2 - 3 years. I have had Mathew in my daycare for 2.5 years and they are leaving today Dad got transfered to Colorado. This is wonderful for their family since Mathews Moms family lives there so they will have family with them all the time now. Mathew is a sweet little boy who can throw some of the biggest fits in the world but then make up for it after with hugs and kisses. He has a kind heart and loves to be around little ones that he can bring toys to and play with. He will be leaving today at about 4 and by 4:01 I am going ot be in tears. I can usually hold it together until they leave but I am not sure I will be able to with this one. He reminds me of my oldest boy Travis. He has be with someone who will keep their thumb on him or he will walk all over you but if you get the bluff on him and make him think you are a tough cookie then he listens and grows into a well desiplined sweet little boy.Mathew also has two older sisters. In the begining I wasn't sure how his oldest sister Emily would take to me she was very guarded. But.......once she realized I wouldn't hurt her little brother she warmed up to me and we developed a wonderful friendship. Taylor is the middle child and has a wonderful spirit about her. She is her own woman she loves fashion and is one of the most stylish girls I have ever met. I am going ot miss all of them soo much so I just pray that I will be able to hold back the tears so the kids don't see me cry.

9 years of Marriage

9 years ago today I married the love of my life!!! He is a wonderful man who took my son as his own and has changed my life forever. As you know we have four wonderful kids. Travis is now 13 (14 in a few months) and is doing great!! Cody is 12 (13 in a few months) is also doing great!! They both are doing great in school and playing sports like crazy. Travis is sporting a red cast on his right hand so baseball is put on hold for a while but he will get back to it. He was playing around with a kid at school and he punched him in the shoulder and fractured it pretty bad. Dakota is now 8 and is actually playing baseball this year ( he always use to say sports just isn't my thing lol) now he is going to give it a try. I am so proud of him he is also in cubscouts and recently took 1st in the pinewood derby in his den. Austin is 5 in 20 days and going to summer school to get use to being in a classroom setting. He is so excited about being a BIG boy lol. He is also playing T-Ball this summer I love watching the kids run in circles and play in the dirt and occasionally hit or catch a ball lol. So needless to say things are going very well for us. This was a post about my marriage but I guess it turned into a post about my family lol. One in the same I guess. I am one of the luckiest women in the world who 9 years ago today I married the love of my life and am looking forward to a the rest of my life with him.