Time flies way to fast

It seems like just yesterday that we brought this sweet baby home. How time sure does fly. It makes me sad to see the tiny diapers already gone, yet excited when he does something new. Knowing he's our last makes me want to stop and enjoy every single second of his life. Ha, being number 5!!!! We have never been SO busy, and poor Grayer just get drug along for the ride.

Everyone does their share of helping and holding. They have actually gotten really good at it to.

I can't quite figure out who he looks like, they all pretty much resemble each other.

We have the BEST Dad EVeR

Happy Birthday Sweetie....

I have to take a quick second and thank the Greatest Man in my life for all that he does for me. Brad never sits Idol, he is always busy doing something. He's doing laundry, washing dishes, wiping butts: the guy can't and doesn't sit still for a second! He's a great dad and husband.

I have to say you "are" older and wiser, and babe you still got it.

I LOVE YOU Hope you enjoyed your day

My little DareDevil

I need say no more......


Matix is our first child to test all of his boundaries! Maybe the other boys did also and we just don't remember them so clearly. But this kid is BUSY busy all of the time. He will take chairs and push them up to doors just to see if he can get out. He loves to climb and he loves to be outside. At football practice we have about 5 sets of eyes on him or he is in the road.....scary. Little BOOGER that I love sooo much. Despite, he is truly a joy.

Quicksand.....

Yesterday was a long busy fun day and we came home exhausted, all the kids crashed fast! It was about 12 midnight and I layed down in bed excited to sleep for a few (hopefully hours) before Grayer woke up to eat for the rest of the night: and we hear a dog barking.....not a loud someones here bark, a disturbed kinda soft bark. Who's dog is that Brad, he isn't stopping. So Brad goes to investigate and a few short minutes later he calls to me to come help. WHAT? Help? So I run down stairs kinda in a panic to find Malibu stuck.......

We always have some interesting story to tell, so why not add one more.

I guess Brad had let the water run in the backyard and it all collected under the swing set, in a hole that he and Dylan had dug earlier this week, a deep one to find clay like mud for a school project. Of course he didn't fill it in......and it must have seemed like a good way to keep cool to a 13 yr old dog. Problem was that he got stuck, literally sunk, his hind legs past his hips and couldn't move. Now how long he had been there, Who Knows!!! We left at 4! Every time Brad would pull he would bite him....that's the only part I laughed at! It was like a suction cup around his hind half, so Brad had to use a shovel to dig him out.....soooo sad. Those of you that know him he doesn't get around so well anyways. Brad pulls him into the grass and we are spraying him off and he wont get up. I feel heartless most days, but last night was almost in tears thinking how sad it would be for the kids to see him. And the fact that the poor thing couldn't get up. Eventually he got up but wasn't moving good at all, so I stayed up with him for about an hour to make sure he didn't die, still today he falls down when he's walking! Soo sad, he's really old, not healthy at all, but how do you know when it's time?

Oh, and today, while we're talking about dogs, London was riding a scooter home from a friends house and got bit by a dog! Yeah, an ankle biter! Literally! She flipped out and sooo sad for her I'm sure it hurt and it broke the skin! When Brad went and confronted the owners all they had to say was "she doesn't bite" There are some stupid people in this world, and we live right by them.

Football....

Dylan has a huge love for the game, and last year played flag, and I was totally ok with it. Then all of these boys got in their heads that they wanted to play the big mans game of TACKLE. So...I gave in and we all signed up. We have such a GOOD group of boys and we were all very lucky to all get on the SPeCIal ForCEs team. SOOOOO much fUn!!!! But I have to admit, the first time I heard the helmets hit at our first scrimage game....the mom in me thought "what have I done?"

There has been several weeks of practice in the HOT HOT.......lots of sweat, and ........

Well, tonight my eyes welled up with tears as my sweet Dylan came off the field after practice drenched in sweat and "oh crap" in his eyes. This little boy is working so dang hard and is loving the sport soooo much, and as a mom I have to wonder at the end of the day are we doing the right thing.....is tackle too much for a 53 pound 8 yr old?! With tears rolling down his face, My HeaRT broke....and all I could say was, these are the days that you grow the most!!!!

Danget, it's hard as a mom to see them work so hard that they cry....by the way, Dylan would kill me it he knew I was blogging about this.

There has been soo many little life lessons along the way, we have amazing coaches that are not only teaching our boys football, but teaching them how to be amazing MEN. Dylan came home from his first game and tells me, "Mom, do you know there are men that are fighting for our country? We are the special forces, and we have to go out on that field and fight for our team just like those men that are fighting so hard for us" Then he sits there for a few min and then says "mom its kinda like in life, we have to fight hard for what is right!"

I love this Kid. Sometimes, I admit, I expect too much out of him. Gosh darn it....sometimes I am hard on him.....but it's because I know what he is Made OF, he is destined for something big....he has such a tender spirit, and by far more in tune to the spirit than most 8 year olds. The only thing hard about Tackle he would say is hitting your friends. He has such a timid personality, anyone that knows him would tell you that this is a far stretch for him. (outside his comfort zone that is) He is so shy, and I love that this is helping him break out of that and make new friends. I never thought I would say this, but seeing him goof off with these boys makes me soooo happy inside.

I love our new little Football Family and everything this sport is giving to Dylan.

Water fun with the Rasors

We took a day trip to slide rock with all 11 of our kids, including 3 week old babies!

One HOT summer day we filled water balloons and played baseball

I wish we caught a picture of Matix getting his face sprayed off with the hose at point blank

Famous 50 foot slip-n-slide

Took a few of the kids to Nationals in LA and got to spend a few hours at the beach

These pictures were too fun to not post. Thanks to Michelle my personal photographer :) I have great pictures to show off all of the fun that we have with them. They are the greatest friends and we are all grateful to have them in our lives. Its always a party when we are with them.

Free to a good home.....

We have a cute little chica wa wa (Verona calls him :) Chihuahua who needs a new home. Free to anyone that promises to love him and bathe him. We need to simplify our lives, with 5 kids 3 dogs we just dont have the time he needs. Ok really he takes very little attention but Im feeling bad cuz we dont play with him. He is about Two yrs old and kennel trained. Cute just dont have a picture of him. Let me know :)

I KNOW that Heavenly Father has a hand in all things.

So I have to confess a Mothers, well lets just call it a Confession! One that I am not too proud of but feel impressed to share.....

Today I was making dinner, kids were running amuck and Life was busy as always. I turned from the stove to the sink to wash my hands and saw that the sliding glass door was wide open. Then my eyes looked further to see that someone had propped the pool gate open with a tent stake!!!!! At that moment all of the blood left my body and I let out a horrible scream and sprinted towards the door. I cant explain the shear terror that ran through my mind at this moment as I realize that the door was open because I have a sweet little 20 month old that just loves the outdoors and every second he gets to spend in the water or with the dogs! As I rounded the corner into the pool area my heart stopped as I saw small ripples in the hot tub, and again let out a loud call for Matix. At that moment, still in motion towards the pool, I thought I don't know CPR and my child is going to be on the bottom of that pool I KNOW IT.....he will die because I don't know CPR!!!!

My eyes scanned the hot tub, then the pool, then back to the hot tub.....thinking I'm missing him, where is he? Mind you in a panic, calling out his name!!!!! You see anyone that knows Matix, knows that you can NOT keep him out of the water for anything. We have to be so careful to watch him anytime we are around water given his age and his love for the sport! By this time tears were present and I'm looking around wondering where is he when I hear a teenie tiny noise come from around the corner.....there he was, playing with the pool pump. I think I scared him as I grabbed him and started yelling "WHO OPENED THE POOL FENCE" For this reason right here is why I never wanted a pool.

How could one ever recover from such a loss?

I had no concept of time, how long the door had been open, how long he had been out there....5 seconds, 10 min?! He's gotten good at going out and shutting the door behind him, where blessing number one comes in, if the door was shut, would I have noticed the pool fence?! Second....I know that there were angels with him leading him to the side of the house and away from the water! In a one year olds eyes, whats more inviting....water, or a box with buttons that he couldn't see from the gate?

I am constantly being reminded everyday that our Heavenly Father is actively present in our lives!!!! I asked myself tonight as I saw an overturned car on the freeway....if I hadn't stopped to get the ants out of the car seat, would I have been at the wrong place at the wrong time? We may never know....but I have to believe that an inconvenience of life may in someway protect us sometimes. So with all of this being said, I have to stop and thank my Father "s" in Heaven for watching over me and my sweet family!

Tonight as I put Matix down for bed, I kissed him a little longer, and hugged him a little tighter! Man I love this kid, and hours later I am still a mess.