Miracles do Happen .........

Just sometimes, they really do like each other =) Of course they had just finished opening presents so they were both pretty happy...just kidding. We had some crazy days and now it is time to start getting back into the grove of normal bed times and getting up before 11am everyday =) We are taking Christmas down today and have a party tomorrow night with everything winding down on Monday with the yearly church flag football game for the men =) I am sure I will take a lot of bandages and Bactine =)

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas as we did!!!! Even through all the hectic days and nights, I wouldn't trade it for the world!!!!

Until next time...........

Christmas Highlights.......

Of course we made cookies =) and of course we made Jesus's Birthday cake. Those are yearly traditions at our house! Lauren got a puppy from Vince!!!! Her father was so against it, but it seems ole dad has gotten a little attached =)

Reid is 5!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow, what a week!!! My baby is 5!!!! His birthday was Saturday, Dec. 9th (pictures to come). He had a Pump It Up party with 19 of his friends =) It was crazy and of course, he was sick! Just the whole breathing thing. It kind of gets in the way of being able to jump like a mad man on all the inflatable things when your having to stop to catch your breath and use an inhaler. So hard to believe he is 5!!!!!!!!!!

Nin flew down on Tuesday, Dec. 5th! Yeah!! We had a great time as usual and got to do a few things that don't happen every time she comes (thank goodness). Wednesday, we did some shopping and did some wrapping trying to get ourselves really geared up for Thursday when all kids were in school. We had our plans to finish our shopping (including birthday and Christmas) and have a great lunch and a little fancy place. We had just left Academy when those plans were blown wide open. Of all the boys, Alec got hurt at school and split his head open and was out cold. They brought him out in a wheel chair and then we spent 3 hours at the ER getting his head stapled shut and getting the CAT scan and X-rays! Who would have ever thought! We just knew it would be Reid that day since I had already started his breathing treatments the night before. Just goes to show, you never know =)

The whole family went to see Happy Feet Friday night and then came home and opened Christmas from Nin! Fun night!! Saturday, Reid had a basketball game and then it was home to assemble party favor bags and time to get the cake and head to the party! Mom left yesterday afternoon and we can honestly say, we did more than we planned this time!! Got to see the inside of an ER that I had actually never been to =)

Until next time .....................

Thankful -----

Well, it has been awhile since I actually posted more than a picture and I have a few minutes of peace so......

Thanksgiving is over and we are ready for Christmas. We went to Arkansas for Thanksgiving and got to see many people and had a great time! The weather was perfect!!!

I am now getting ready for Mr. Reid's big 5 yr old birthday party on Dec. 9th =) Nin is coming down on Dec. 5th and will be with us for several days. We will also celebrate Christmas with her while she is here. The boys are all so excited =)

I have started wrapping. I got each child their own wrapping paper and I am not putting names on any of them! They are all going nuts trying to figure out whos presents are whos!!! Now if I just remember, that will be saying something =)

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and took the time to actually stop and think of what you are thankful for...I know I did! Until next time .......

Shawn & Reid .......

Just hanging around =)

Alec.....

Life seems to be good for Alec =) His grades are good and he has a girlfriend....Bailey.

Reid's Thanksgiving Feast......

Shawn's Thanksgiving Feast.....

Settling In ........

Well, our house has certainly changed and is now settling down =) Alec is settling in quickly. He has one week of school under his belt, his room is painted and new furniture in. Last week he was overcome with homework!!!! He had to complete two weeks worth of work in two days! That was rough, but this week is soooo much better for him! Tonight he doesn't even have any homework!

Shawn is on a break from sports right now. He has finished football and basketball does not start for a couple of weeks. He is doing awesome in school and is having a friend over on Thursday to hang out and go to the Book Fair with us! He loves is big brother being here!!!

Reid is one terrific basketball player! Who would have ever thought that a team of 3/4 yr olds could score 30 points in a game!!!! Reid and his friend Ryan are the best players by far! It really is amazing to watch him play defense and take off drippling down the court and then score! I will post a picture soon!

Until next time ......

Lisa

Alec .......

Alec officially moved to Texas! He starts high school at Martin on Monday! Everyone say a prayer that he finds his way to class ..... ha ha

Life is Ever Changing......

This last week has brought both sad days and happy days to our house! I had told everyone 3 months ago of a baby named Eliot. Who could have ever imagined that sweet baby Eliot could touch so many people all over this country? Not me, but certainly He! God certainly knew who to send him to for his ever so short life here on earth! Eliot was welcomed to Heaven on October 27, 2006. Please keep his parents, Matt and Ginny Mooney in your prayers. Not many can actually imagine what their feelings will be over then next few hours, days, weeks and months to come.

Our home is growing by one! We found out Saturday afternoon that Alec would be moving in and attending school here in Texas! John is gone now to get him and will be back tomorrow with Alec and Alec's stuff =) We have prayed and waited for this for 3 years. We knew it was out of our hands and I continued to pray for God to point him in the right direction no matter what that direction would be! Sometimes I wish God would work a little faster =) Just sometimes, I get a little impatient!

This will be an extremely week for us. Alec moving in and all the things that come with that! Reid's basketball practice and first game. Shawn's football practice and last game, plus his end of season party! Alec getting registered for high school here and us getting him unpacked and settled in. Please pray for us as we try to make this as easy of a transition as possible. Of course as you can imagine, his father is thrilled!!!!!

I hear the dryer calling my name ever so softly (not) and a dishwasher that needs unloading. I will take pictures of the kids tomorrow night all dressed and ready to get candy!!!

Until next time......

Halloween at Reid's School

Nothing like a little PB&J, gold fish, fruit snacks and juice to round out a Halloween Party!

Sunday Afternoon with the Cowboys!!!

Shawn Michael Hartsfield

Reid Austin Hartsfield

Survival of Yet Another Camping Trip.......

Yes, once again we (or I) survived yet another yearly camping trip :) This year we experienced more than ever! Our daddy took off work Friday so we could take the camper out to the campsite and set up since Shawn was out of school. Me trying to help him back this house on wheels into a little strip of concrete was not so good! We had to send the kids on an adventure in the woods so they would not hear us yelling at each other over this crazy camper.

After finally getting the thing backed in and unhooked from the Suburban, we were all smiles and happy again. We got everything set up and settled in and took the kids on a walk down a trail through the woods. We came back and it was time to drive back to Arlington for Shawn's football practice. After practice, we drove back to the campsite where everyone was arriving and setting up camp. We let the kids stay up until about 10:30pm since we had to drive back to Arlington the next morning for Shawn's football game (they lost 12-18! Ran out of time while on the 10 yrd line and driving :( ) After Shawn's football game we went back to camp!!! Yeah, once place for a while!!!!!

The boys quickly changed into camo clothes and were off with all the other kids doing who knows what on their trails they found in the woods! We gave Shawn a cell phone so he could call us and we could call him! Boy did he call us!!!! That child may never get a cell phone! He would use entirely too many minutes!

To make a long story short, Saturday, I read 5 WHOLE magazines, Shawn fell 10 feet out of a tree in the woods, we took the kids fishing for the first time, Shawn caught a fish, lost a fish, got hooked and finned and Reid decided fishing was not for him, but he loved pulling the worms apart and distributing them as bait to everyone fishing! Of course the boys were going to stay up ALL NIGHT LONG and watch the sun come up the next morning! I believe the clock said 10:40pm when I covered them up and put their arms and legs back up on the bed because they were passed out cold!! Their daddy said, "oh well, got to have big dreams".

We got up Sunday morning and the kids were off again! We ended up leaving the camp around noon so we could get back home and unload the camper and stuff. Shawn was out of school on Monday also, so I took advantage of that time and we went and got out bale of hay, cornstalks and pumpkins for the front yard! We are officially ready for fall :)

Until next time........Love to all - Lisa

A Win for the Mavericks!!!!!!

Well, after many weeks of football practice and two heartbreaking losses for the boys (and coaches) the 1st/2nd grade Mavericks won their first football game on Saturday!!! The score was 26 - 20 and the boys were over the top with excitemnt (especially since we had only seen the inzone one time thus far)

Now we are getting ready for the yearly camping trip:) We will take the camper out on Friday! John has taken off work and Shawn is out of school Friday and Monday. We will secure the camping spots for everyone Friday and then drive back for football practice. After practice we will head back to the camp site and spend the night. We will then drive back for the football game on Saturday morning and then back once more for the weekend! The boys are so excited! Of course, dad thought they needed new camping equipment and that certainly called for a trip to Academy, which turned in to a trip to Lowe's and then at least I got On the Border thrown in the mix :)

Hope everyone had a great week!! Please continue to pray for Eliot Mooney! If you have not visited the website, here is the address once more: www.mattandginny.blogspot.com

Until next time....... Lisa

I tried to upload pictures, but it didn't work? I will have to ask John to help!!!

Drum Roll Please.....Shawn is 7!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, it is official.....Shawn is 7 yrs old! You know us, we like long birthdays so to continue the tradition I will explain Shawn's birthday events :)

Friday he took Yogo's to school to his classmates for snack time to share for his birthday! Saturday, he got to open his presents (roller blades, Texas Rangers jacket & Kidz Bop 10 cd) from us before heading to his football game. Saturday night, just the immediate family, went to the Rangers game and we took the kids to the Gold Club for dinner (they thought they were so big). Between the 5th & 6th innings, Shawn was on the jumbo-tron for the "birthday parade" The people who were in the parade got the best gift bags, we were totally suprised! He even got a Mark Texiera baseball glove in his bag!!!! Then after the game, we stayed for the AWESOME fireworks show! Today he has been roller blading up a storm practicing for tomorrow night! The party!!! Right now, we have about 77 kids coming to his birthday party :0 He is having a skating party and we bought the kids glow necklaces and braclets as their party favors. We might all be dizzy when it is over with all the spinning and glowing :)

Today, I have baked 102 cupcakes!!!!!!!!!!!! It is officially done!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY SPECIAL BOY!!!

Until next time......

And the Baby is a Baby No More :)

Well, Reid started his last year of preschool and he is loving it!!! He actually has a "take home folder" and everything! I never knew that having one in 1st grade and one in preschool required so much paper signing and homework from me!!!!! Anyway, he is loving school and has made new friends since this is a whole new place for him! Who are is friends? Mattie and Emily! John says, "that's my boy"! It is amazing to me to stop and think he will be 5 in December when it seems like such a short time ago we were flying to the hospital in the back of an ambulance and were told that he might never leave the hospital! Actually it was Jan. 02' just 5 weeks after he was born prematurely and had finally left NICU only to return to PICU! How time flies :) I promise I am going to figure out how to post a picture!

Shawn is loving football this week! Daddy is back from his trip and football practice was a whole new ball game last night! We got KILLED by our old team last Saturday and Shawn came home wanting his old jersey!!! Our daddy got back and the whistle came out and practice last night and they look like a different team! We have a HUGE pep rally tomorrow night which he is very excited about.

My baseball fundraiser is DONE!!!!! Now that was some work! My mom came down while John was gone and we had a GREAT time! You can never go wrong with Sam Moon! It was so nice to be able to visit! Of course she is never here long enough!

Well, the dryer is calling and I am pretty sure so is KFC tonight! Until next time....... Lisa

Thoughts!!!

Well, as I sit here answering emails from coaches about a fundraiser that is ending tomorrow, all these things have come to mind:

1. How many times do you have to repeat something for someone to really understand it :)

2. How many times can a 4 yr old spill his juice in just 15 minutes?

3. How many times will the dryer buzz before it "really" stops?

4. How can you walk by the pantry door several times a day and just now see the dried yogurt stuck to the handle?

5. How many times can I think about my kids today and never get tired of doing it!

Just a few random thoughts that happened to me over the course of about 30 minutes while trying to answer emails! Wondered if any of you had the same?

Until next time......

Is Anyone Ready for Some Football?????

Well, it has been awhile since I posted. Things are just crazy!! Shawn has Opening Ceremonies for his football season tomorrow morning. It is a big deal here with the Dallas Cowboys and the Cowboy Cheerleaders. All the football teams and cheerleading teams will be there to kick off this season. It is a lot of yelling and screaming to honest :)

Shawn is loving school! He has a test every Friday :0 We are not in kindergarten anymore! Reid went to open house at his preschool Tuesday and he starts his last year of preschool on Tuesday.

John is leaving for his annual golf trip on Tuesday and my mom is coming down on Wednesday! Yeah! We have a Sam Moon trip planned for sure!!!

If you have a chance, please visit the following blog www.mattandginny.blogspot.com. You will not regret it!

Have a great week!

Lisa

And the "Crazy" Begin.......

One week down and many more to go! This has been a crazy week for us! Shawn completed his first week of first grade!! He has had two football practices and John is all the sudden an assistant coach for his football team. I had a huge fundraiser kick off on August 19th! MYBA is the baseball association that Shawn played baseball with in the Spring. They have 81 teams for the fall league and are doing the Candle Wishes fundraiser!!! Hope this goes well!!

I have a teacher meeting tonight at Shawn's school to go over various things about his class. Reid and I have just been hanging out and enjoying some one on one time :) He starts school on Sept. 5th. He really misses Shawn during the days though. He is always ready to go get him at the end of the school day!

We made the copies for Shawn's birthday invitations! He is so excited for his birthday. I cannot believe he is going to be 7!!! How time flies :( Until next time .........