Happy Easter!!!

Happy Easter....yes, I know I am a day late! I am just now sitting down for a minute after a long day, so that is why this is late!
I hope that everyone had a great Easter yesterday. We were blessed with a gorgeous day and I mean gorgeous! The kids and I got up at 5:00 AM in the morning, did the Easter basket thing (it's what got Jaelyn out of bed), headed to Church for the Sunrise Service...which was fabulous. I don't know if anyone has ever been to a Sunrise service, but there is nothing like standing outside with your head turned up towards Heaven and arms open wide and just praising the Lord....as the Sun comes up. There is something about feeling the heat from the Sun on your face as it rises up and just standing there in awe of God's awesome creation and Jesus' sacrafice for you and me. If you ever get a chance to go to one...I HIGHLY recommend it. People ask me "How do you do it? How do you get your kids up and ready at that hour?" My response is "It's the least I can do, since Jesus DID die a horrible death on the cross for me and my sins."

I have tons of pictures totally out of order, but I know you already knew that right? I have another busy day tomorrow as I am getting ready to head to Texas on Wed. It is an exciting time around here right now. Jaelyn is actually ok with me leaving and it actually doesn't make it anymore easier! I thought it would!
I will update soon maybe even from Texas, but if not I will when I get back home.....WITH MY HUSBAND!!!


This morning at 6:30 Am! Our praise and worship team! Boy was it awesome, but very chilly!!My Easter Outfit. Please don't mind my messy bathroom. It's one of the last places I get to clean!! I have a hard time keeping up with this place! Also, I am NOT sticking my chest out in this picture. That is how the outfit is cut out! I PROMISE!

Jaelyn at our Easter Egg Hunt today with the Johnson's! It was a blast and the food was yummy!

Jaelyn finding some more eggs. We needed more candy like we needed a hole in our head!!
My handsome boy! He has the sweetest smile in the entire world!
Jaelyn's Easter Basket she got from her Adopted Grandma! (The twins' grandma)
This is Jaelyn trying not to freeze to death this morning at 6:30 AM!!!
Tyler in his uniform! He loves playing baseball and is sooo good! I am keeping my fingers crossed that he plays for the Cleveland Indian's one day!

Chelsea Renee' at Church today! She might look a little rough cause we got up so early!

Chelsea at the Easter Egg Hunt our Church put on yesterday. She did so great helping out with the hunt. She was a little sad that she wasn't able to participate anymore. That's part of growing up though!

Jaelyn Kaye Ousley at our Easter Egg Hunt yesterday. She had the best time. They had bouncy houses, egg hunt, face painting, crafts, and snacks. It was a blast!

Her bunny face!! Isn't this the cutest thing you ever did see? We have talented people at our Church.....I am not one of them!

Please come to our Easter Egg hunt!!! We promise we won't get all the eggs!!!
Tyler went simple! He liked his egg on his face!

Basket full of Eggs! They made out with the candy, too much so.
The wait is killing me! Can't you see?
This girl is something else. She takes the best pictures and I just love this sweet face.

Jaelyn's basket full of Eggs.
Jaelyn ran so fast to get these eggs that I could hardly get a good picture of her!


Thank you Jesus for dying on the cross for me and my sins. I want to thank You for giving me freedom, life, and peace. I couldn't imagine what You went through as You were about to die a horrible death on the cross that day, but just know that I am grateful each and every day for what you did.
Please watch over my kids Lord as I leave them with our dear sweet friend Susan. I pray that you give her SANITY and a good frame of mind to take care of that many kids for that time frame. I also want to pray traveling mercies on me as I fly to Texas and also on Steve and I as we drive the long drive back.

Once again, I thank You for the sacrafice that you made for me. I know that I am not deserving and only hope to live up to what you have planned for me. I give you all the Glory, Honor, and Praise...

In YOUR name I pray...

Amen

I think I am a little crazy....

Yes. I am a little crazy right now. The kids and I decided to throw a Pizza party tonight at our house because they have all got good grades. They have been looking forward to it all week long. Now, I am wondering if I was crazy when I planned this...just kidding. Right now I have FOUR 3 year olds running around my house, Tyler, Chelsea and her friend, and G! Our house is FULL! I am loving every minute of it though. Thank goodness we have the garage as a Play room because the little ones are all out there right now playing. My poor neighbors!
Last week report cards all came home and ALL of the kids did great! Even Chelsea. All of her grades have came up! I was thrilled. It is excited for all of my kids to be doing well in school now. Homework seems to be getting easier for Chelsea and she is able to get it all done too.
Tomorrow is Tyler's first baseball game and he is exited. I will post pictures tomorrow night of tonight and tomorrow. We have a busy weekend planned and I am excited. I am hoping the time passes quickly this way. All I can think about now is my trip to see Steve in Texas.
Sadly, I found out that G is not able to stay with my friend because she doesn't have enough time to be fingerprinted and have a background check,so he will be going into Respite Care. I was hoping he could go to his brother and sister's foster home, but they are with a different agency and they don't allow that at all. Doesn't make sense to me though. I talked it over with G and he is ok with it. It isn't what he wants to do, but he is a good sport. It will be nice for him to get a little "vacation" too. I promised him that I would pick him up as soon as Steve and I get into town, so he won't have to be there very long at all.
Hope everyone is having a great weekend. I had a great time shopping and have a few selections now to chose from on my attire for the evening. Steve sent me the invitation and it say's "After Five Dress"....ok and that means? So after talking to people and looking it up, I should probably go cocktail dress or a formal. I am looking more towards wearing a formal dress! I am excited to get dressed up....wait I am sure I already said that. That's how excited I am!
Have a great weekend everyone!

GUESS WHERE I AM GOING??????

TO TEXAS!!!! Yep, I just got done purchasing my ticket. Steve briefly, as a joke, mentioned something about it last night for his graduation and so today I couldn't stop thinking...."what if?" It would be sooo great! So I talked it over in detail with my girlfriend Susan (My bestest friend in the whole world!!!) and she actually volunteered (crazy woman) to come here and stay with my kids while I go. I will fly one-way down there, go to Steve's graduation ceremony, and then drive home with him. I can't stop smiling! Do you want to know why I can't stop smiling???
Cause:
1. I am going to see my husband in TWO WEEKS from tonight.
2. Steve and I NEVER had a honeymoon. The most we have been away from children EVER has been overnight! This will be our FIRST time EVER being away from children for THREE WHOLE DAYS!!! I know driving in a car doesn't sound like fun to most people, but this is something I will enjoy soo much. Just me and Steve sitting and talking for hours....he might not be thinking the same thing LOL!!!
3. I am getting a MINI-vacation!!!

So tomorrow I am going out and shopping for a formal dress. His graduation is semi-formal and I don't have a lot of dresses in my wardrobe. My neighbor and I are heading out on an adventure tomorrow with THREE kids to see if we can find me a perfect dress. I have lost five pounds more since Steve seen me last and I want to KNOCK HIS SOCKS off when I see him again! Of course after six weeks, he won't care what I look like...really.

We have been super busy around here the past week or so. Kids are keeping me busy all the time with something they have to do. I feel like a taxi cab most days it seems. Tyler's first baseball game is this Saturday and I am so excited for it! This weekend I took him to the field and we practiced batting and catching. I am not the best person to be teaching him these things (not very athletic) but being a mom AND dad, it's something I have to do. We had a great time though and Tyler could care less that his mommy isn't very coordinated! He loves me just the way I am!

I will post pictures sometime this weekend. I haven't been on the computer a whole lot this past week. I have been really focusing on working out and watching "Lost." That darn show, I am so addicted to it now!

Dear Heavenly Father,
I just want to thank you for this wonderful "blessing" you have given me, a chance to go and spend some much needed time with my husband. Trust me Lord, I don't take these for granted one bit. I know how precious our time is together and I will cherish every moment. Please Lord, Help me to calm down and trust in You that everything will be ok with my children and with Steve and I traveling back home together. I need to let go of my worries and lift them up to You.
Thank you for my wonderful family. I don't know what I would do without each and every one of them. I know that I am the luckiest mom/wife in the entire world. I want to lift G up to you Lord. You know what is going on with him right now Lord and I just pray for Your Will in his life, whatever that may be. He is in such a tough place right now and I just pray for You to give him the wisdom to make the tough choices.
I have so many prayer requests Lord right now, but I am not going to sit here and name them. You know our needs and I just give them up to you right now. Thank you for all that You have done in my life and all that You are going to do. I pray that you use me for YOUR glory at all times Lord.
In Jesus' name we pray.....
Amen..... with a big smile on my face.

Boy Am I on a Roll!

I have been keeping really busy since Steve has been gone. We are going on week 3 out of 6! Hooray, almost half way over.
The kids are doing wonderful and I am really happy with their behavior. It is usually rough the first few days, but we really got into a groove once everyone got over being sick. Everyone is healthy now and feeling better, which means everyone is back to school! That is a good thing, trust me!
So what have I been up to since Steve has left you ask? Well, where do I even start. I first started on the Laundry room, which is one of the worst areas in our house. Things just pile high in that room for some reason and we just shut the door, so that was first on my list. Then I headed to our lovely garage, boy was that a task. It is not in perfect shape, but looks so much better. I am not embarrassed to open the garage door now. Then on Saturday I mowed the backyard and worked on the front yard. I have a little area under my front window that had weeds growing in, so I dug them all up (one of the weeds is a huge bush) and I am going to plant some pretty flowers there now. I will take pictures when I am done. Now this is a big task for me because I am not the gardening type at all, that is my sisters department.
Well last week I was going through the gate and the guard told me one of my headlights was out. I said "of course, my husband is gone!" and drove off. He probably thought I was a loon! Also my back tire has a slow leak and I am having to put air in it every few days, so tomorrow I am taking it to see if they can plug it or I need a new tire. As for my headlight....well I replaced that ALL BY MYSELF! It was not a simple task either. I am sooo stinkin proud of myself for doing it! Now I can replace the headlights if they ever go out again! Just one more man job to add to my list of things I can do! It is something you learn how to do when your husband is away. I didn't say I enjoy it though.
Tyler started coach pitch baseball last week. He was so excited to go to practice last week. One of his best friends just a couple of houses down is on his team. I can't wait for the games to actually start up next week. It will be nice to pass the time going to his games. Today I was going to take him to the field and pitch to him so he could practice hitting, but it was soo windy here today. We woke up to super high winds and it is a cold wind too because it is coming down from the North.
Here are a bunch of pictures all out of order of course. The other night Jaelyn, Tyler and I made some choc chip muffins together, so I took some pics. I am doing great on WW still and seem to be in a routine. I actually passed up Girl Scout cookies on the table the other night at our small group.
Steve is doing great. He is ready to come home though. He misses his kids and wife. He is doing good in his class and seems to have alot of homework each night. Saturday he volunteered to work with Habitats for Humanity and had a great time. He said it was an awesome experience. I hope one day that we can do that together. I have always wanted to do something like that.
I hope you enjoy the pics. I have been taking alot lately because Steve loves to look at what we have been up too. I sure do miss my husband. I can't wait for him to get home to us....soon.
Dear Heavenly Father, I just want to thank you for these past couple of weeks with my children. It has been a much better experience this time around. I am much stronger than the last time and I owe that all to You. I have Faith that You are there for me no matter what happens. I want to Thank You for my wonderful group of friends that have been a great support to me. Thank Thank You for Susan Lord, I don't know what I would do without her here to help me. I want to lift Steve up to You tonight Lord. He is homesick and misses us like crazy. I pray that You be with Him, while he is away from us and bring him back home soon. Thank You for the many blessings in my Life, especially my wonderful husband and great kids. Thank you in advance for what you are going to do in my life.
In Jesus' name we pray..
Amen

* Just a quick update on my grandma. She is doing fine. She actually got her cast off on Thursday. My cousins wife took her to the mall after her appt to get her nails done over in Mansfield and as she was walking into the Mall up the ramp, she tripped and fell and bent her finger completly backwards and broke it! She is on a roll, let me tell you. So there is no more talk about her possibly coming out here. We both agree that it probably isn't a good idea right now, that and the prices of tickets have went up. So please continue to pray for my grandma. She has a brace on her knee and a splint on her finger now. Thanks

Isn't this just the cutest face?

And this one too!

Steve Jr. here getting ready to hit the ball!
Making some muffins! Yummy!
Jaelyn going for a swim in the tub! She got a new bathing suit and wanted to try it out. How could I resist?

Chelsea in her usual spot! This girl is always doing homework it seems! Guess what though? She has brought up all of her grades except Math! Progress reports came home Friday and I was SOOOO happy with the results. She has worked very hard to bring up all her grades. We are proud of you Chelsea~

Mommy and Jaely working hard during the day.....

Jaelyn's new Dora bathing suit. She picked it out...

A little about my girl....Chelsea..

Chelsea Renee' Ousley.....

Sorry it's taking me so long to do this post. I have been thinking about it alot and wasn't sure what all I wanted to make public on here. There are just some things that are a little private. I do want to share about Chelsea though, but might leave some things out.....

I knew when Chelsea was born that she was going to have a mind of her own. I was in labor with Chelsea for a while and had dialated to 8cm, when I was checked by a nurse (the doctor didn't figure it out) and she thought she felt a bottom instead of a head! I was in such shock and so scared (I was only EIGHTEEN by the way) about what was going to happen next. They did an ultrasound and sure enough, Chelsea was bottom first! Now even though I was only eighteen, I had spent the past nine months reading "What to expect when Expecting." I read the WHOLE book from cover to cover, BUT had skipped the C-section part cause I knew that didn't apply to me! I was devasted at first when I learned I had to have a C-section and terrified all at the same time. But the moment I saw Chelsea and heard her cry her first cry, I completly forgot about how I had her and focused on how beautiful she was.

Chelsea was great as an infant and was a good baby, but her strong-willed personality didn't take long to shine through. Her toddler years came along and sure enough it wasn't not a fun time for me. You have to understand that before Chelsea even turned two I went through a traumatic event. I am not going into details, but this affected the way I parented Chelsea for a year or so. It wasn't easy during Chelsea's toddler years for me for many reasons, I wasn't even grown up myself, I was still in a selfish mode, and I also went through a depression. I regret how I handled the traumatic event with Chelsea and feel that sometimes I might have neglected her emotionally. These are regrets I will have to live with for the rest of my life. I have had some counseling for the past six months or so to deal with alot of things and have learned that no matter how much I feel like I messed up during those toddler years, we can still recover from it.

I knew from the moment Chelsea started daycare that she was a little different then the rest of the kids. Don't get me wrong I didn't think she was mentally disabled or anything, but I knew she wasn't exactly like the other children. Chelsea started school in England, they start at the age of FOUR there. This is when things progressed to get worse. At the age of four, I had to have a one on one relationship with her teacher because she couldn't behave at all. She couldn't control herself in class and did what she wanted, when she wanted. It continued from there and by the fourth grade it moved over into her academics. She not only struggled behaviorally, but academically too. Steve and I were so frustrated and confused as to what to do. I remember one time we resorted to wiping out her WHOLE room (I never said we were perfect parents ok) no toys, tv, no stuffed animals, barbies, NOTHING! It was all wiped out and gone. We told her at the end of each week, if she behaved, she could get one thing back. Do you think that girl got one item back? Nope. She could care less, once it was out of sight it was out of mind.

Fast forward to the sixth grade...just last year. Chelsea struggled mostly academically, but still had behavior problems at home too. She was improving some in her behavior that I thought AND PRAYED that she was growing out of this phase that she had been in HER WHOLE LIFE. I couldn't figure out if she struggled with her academics due to laziness or just because she didn't get it. I want you to understand that I think our society is so overly-medicated. Don't take offense to this if you are on medicine because I have had to resort to anti-depressents once when Steve was gone for six months. It truly helped me and I don't put anyone down that is on meds. It's just that I think children are so overly diagnosed these days and the doctors are so quick to throw them on meds for a quick fix. In the back of my mind I had this feeling that Chelsea needed to be on some type of medication though.To me it seemed there wasn't any reason that a 11 or 12 year old should be throwing temper tantrums like a TWO year old. It was pretty bad at times and I mostly blamed her behavior on her missing Steve while he was deployed.

Now learning more about ADD and how it affects a person's impulse control, I can see that this it wasn't just the deployment her her being lazy. I sometimes thought it stemmed back to her toddler years when I wasn't a great mother. It could have a little to do with it, but not too much. Anyways, last year in the sixth grade Chelsea passed to the 7th grade. I was baffled. I couldn't believe after all the horrible grades I saw all year that they passed her to the next grade. I was hoping that a teacher would speak up about Chelsea and possibly tell me to take her to get her tested. Why I was in such a denial, I am not sure. I just was so focused on making sure my child was not medicated and I think I overlooked alot of things...I was in denial.

So we all know how hard 7th grade can be. All I heard when Chelsea was in 6th grade was how rough and miserable Middle School is for the child and parents. I was not looking forward to this year at all. I knew it was going to be a struggle from the start and sure enough Chelsea proved me right. Her first report card she got all F's. Yes, F's.Steve and I were so unhappy with her and didn't think we could go through another year of this again. In fact we had decided, we weren't going to. I met with Chelsea's teachers to start a daily contact with each of them to be sure that Chelsea was doing her work each day and turning it in. After that meeting, things still didn't improve liked I had hoped, so I made her an appt at the Hospital to see our PCM. Dr. Kearny was so wonderful and put so many of my fears to rest. They gave us survey's to give each teacher and one for the parents to fill out. It was questions about Chelsea's focus, impulsivness (sp) and academics. I knew as soon as I filled out the survey that they were going to diagnose her with ADD. I was heartbroken, but in a way relieved. Finally. I had an answer. Then I was so upset with myself that I had waited so long to take this first step. How horrible of me to put Chelsea through this all these years, but I couldn't focus on all those negative feelings and had to start focusing on how Steve and I were going to make it better. They sent her to the Child Psychologist at the hospital here on base and talked to Chelsea and I about ADD. He explained to Chelsea in a way so she understood what we were talking about. He actually compared it to needing glasses, which I thought was brilliant. So he confirmed the Doctor's diagnosis and they prescribed her medicine.... that horrible word I had been dreading.

Chelsea has been on her meds now for over a month. Let me tell you what a difference this has made. Her grades are moving UP! Yes, UP! Finally! She is able to sit at the table and get her homework done in a reasonable time instead of sitting there all night long. Her behavior has improved so much at home and at school too. She is able to get her planner signed by EACH of her teachers without me having to remind her on a daily basis. These things may seem minor to most parents, but not us! This morning I was awaken by Chelsea standing at my door trying to get Samson out of my room. I looked at my clock and it was 5:15 in the morning. I asked her what she was doing and she said she was done sleeping and was ready to get up for the day. I told her to wake G up at 6:45 to get ready for school and I would be down later. I woke up again about 6:50 and heard water running downstairs. I came down and there was Chelsea in the kitchen all ready for school, doing the dishes for me! She had reorganized the cupboard with all the dishes and had the kitchen cleaned. She then told me that she had taken G's and Tyler's temperature and told me what it was! I was in such shock that I just hugged her! I couldn't believe what a difference there was in her. Now don't get me wrong, things aren't perfect with Chelsea. This medicine doesn't have some kind of magical powers to transform her into the perfect child, but it has improved her in so many ways and I am just thankful.

Sorry this was such a long post. I have been wanting to get this off of my chest for a while. Chelsea has grown into such a beautiful young lady right before my eyes. It makes me sad and long for that little girl again, but I am also looking forward to our wonderful friendship that we will have as adults.

Three down, one to go....

Yes, that is how many sick kids I have right now! Tyler started the whole thing, so I will blame him! Just kidding! I kept Tyler home from school today cause he woke up with a fever once again. I sent G and Chelsea on to school and sure enough I got a phone call from G's school saying he is running a fever. Arghhh....of course! I kind of expected it, but secretly sat with all my fingers and toes crossed hoping it wouldn't happen. That's what I get!
Tyler is on the couch and Jaelyn is lounging in the chair, and poor G is up in his bed. At least he has a tv to watch while he just lays there. Poor kids.
I am just PRAYING (not crossing my fingers and toes anymore) that I don't get whatever this is they have. It will be very bad if I do get it.
I am hoping our house is sick-free by the end of this week, but I won't hold my breath. So far, Chelsea doesn't show any signs of being sick thank goodness.
I will have to post pictures when the kids all get better! Have a great week everyone!

Hmmmm...Where is my daddy?

I wonder where my daddy might be....hmmm...
We all are doing fine here. Steve made it to Texas yesterday about 2:00 in the afternoon. He is glad to be done driving for six weeks! It was a long trip and he claims that he will make it back in TWO days. I believe he can do that, but want him to be safe.

Jaelyn has been asking for her daddy the past few days. It really makes me sad cause she just doesn't understand what "He's in Texas" means at all or "he'll be home in six weeks" either. Today she did get to see him on the web camera. Steve took his to Texas and we have ours here, so we hooked them up and said "hi" to each other. Jaelyn was so happy to see Steve on the monitor. She kept bringing stuff to show him from around the house, it was so cute.

Well, the weekend is over and the kids head back to school tomorrow. Hooray! It was a fun weekend and went way better than what I had thought it would. The kids have actually been on their best behavior, which makes me happy.

Hope everyone had a great weekend too!

Lord, I just ask that you give Jaelyn a peace about her daddy. I know that she can't understand at all where he is right now, but I pray for you to give her that understanding. Thank you for getting Steve to Texas safely. I pray these next six weeks go smoothly for him and his class. I just ask you to please bring him home as quickly and safely as possible! Thank you for all you have done and the many blessings in my life. In Jesus' name we pray..
Amen