MY CUP RUNNETH OVER...

NEW BLOG TITLE!!!

2010-06-14T22:19:00.003-05:00

well, i didn't get too creative, but here's our new blog address/title:

The Gordon Five
http://thegordonfive.blogspot.com

thank you for keeping up with us on the Journey To Myah blog, we hope you'll join us at our new address!

ENDING THIS BLOG...STARTING A NEW ONE...

2010-06-02T21:15:00.004-05:00

weeellllllllllllllllll, blogger just informed me that "i have reached my quota for uploading photos." WHAT?! evidently, blogger uploads pix thru picasa web albums and i've apparently used all my storage space. however, "if you'd like to PURCHASE more storage space..." ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! so...make note of the change...JOURNEY TO MYAH is closing up shop.

i guess it's not such a bad thing, seeing how the 'journey TO myah' ended back in march 2006 :)

anyway, since i was just informed of this, i haven't had time to think of a new name, so keep checking back here at this same old address http://journeytomyah.blogspot.com and once i've created a new name/address, i'll post it here.

please check out the new pix below titled "more may happenings" & "dancing in the rain." i'll start the next blog w/ our pix from the memorial day weekend...

thanks for staying w/ us for so long! i hope you'll join us on our next blog page!

more may happenings

2010-06-02T20:36:00.025-05:00

well, i thought getting a slip 'n slide would be fun...but it was obvious i got what i paid for-it didn't work well at all, so there were more falls than slides. after a few failed attempts, we put it up and broke out the sprinkler.
one problem was that neither eli nor myah could 'get' how to throw themselves tummy-side down to actually slip-they ended up just running down and splash/sitting at the very end where the water was collecting...
see how NOT wet the thing was? (we're taking it back for a refund, by the way!)
but at least we got some good pix of the kids...
goodbye slip 'n slide, hello sprinkler
"isn't she lovely?"
oops, this one got in here twice; it was supposed to come after this next one...
ethan's first corn on the cob...
funny boy! but hey! whatever works!
our little diaper dudes...
oh boy...is this a picture of what's to come? i mean, they're only 1 and 2 and all over the place!
but you just have to laugh!
classic! sweet little e, sitting nicely and playing...crazy big e 'bout to take flight off the side! ha!
oh yay! popsicles!

eli, on his own, went to help ethan...then ended up helping himself! cuuute!
so ethan, how was your day today? well...ya know, eli...had a good nap, ate lots of snacks...the ususal.
now ethan has found myah's dress up clothes!
the gordon's traditional paci-hand(mouth)-off...
remember, jennifer, myah too once had a paci-look at her now...breathe in, breathe out. they WILL eventually be able to manage w/o one!
big sister's gonna get passed up in height and weight REAL soon!

super ethan!

dancin in the rain

2010-06-02T20:28:00.003-05:00

water fountain fun

2010-05-16T20:25:00.017-05:00

we went w/ our friends, the newells, to a little pizza place downtown prattville and then let the kids play in the water fountain after dinner...we had no idea how much fun they were about to have...someone had put soap in it, so they had a BLAST getting wet and getting each other wet w/ all the bubbly water!

after getting wet, it was time for ice cream!

what a fun, fun evening!

look who snuck into the bathroom-and look what he discovered!

weeeeee! fun times!

happy mom's day...it was!

2010-05-13T20:57:00.013-05:00

all i asked for was a picnic w/ the fam, so after church we picked up sonic and headed to ole Cooter's Pond. it was a GORGEOUS day, a high of about 70 and it was just perfect!

it was one of those days where everyone was happy-even mr. policeman...he drove by once and waved, then on his way back, he pulled in towards us and turned on his lights! so nice! thank you mister policeman!

here's a view over the water. you can see downtown montgomery way off in the background.

can you see the swelling in eli's face? look at the right side of his nose and just above his top lid. poor baby! he tripped over a book while kevin was chasing him the day before-and the Wii remote in his hand jammed his face; busted his lip on the inside pretty bad and the swelling of his nose even made his breathing thru that nostril sound not quite right...we were wondering if he'd broken his nose! but monday a.m. the swelling had gone down a ton and now it's just bad bruising; poor guy!

all ethan wanted was his juice in the big boy cup and straw!

what a beautiful park. what a beautiful day. what a beautiful family. i am blessed! thank you Jesus for these little 'gifts You've allowed me to call 'my children!'

pretty myah. and look! she even took her socks off-so unusual for that sock-lovin-must-always-have-some-on-girl!

great magnolia tree in the background, even greater kids in the foreground!

The Gordon Guys

i am happy!

i love you guys!

wrapping up april

2010-05-06T12:58:00.028-05:00

boy hair is always fun with sunscreen in it!

can you tell it's time to leave the park?...at least for ethan!

pretty in pink-and always picking flowers!

gramma betty, loving on her ethan-boy

this makes me laugh out loud just looking at it!

sometimes you just choose your battles; altho this one was pretty easy.

gramma patsy pitches, eli swings and it's a home run, folks!

i just love this stage!

now able to 'ride' (somewhat) w/ the big kids!

oh gramma patsy, let me help you with that!

grandpa harold and eli-talking about their day...

Lord Jesus, please let this be the only time these boys are behind bars! :)

eli 'tied' ethan up (he loved it) and they danced as they walked to the song playing on the jump rope handle.

awwww, cute!

myah takes her creativity to the driveway...

'nother cute one...

my driver for the day

sportsman eli, before his haircut...

this is where your belly button is, little bro...

lemme see those yummy cheeks, ethan!

um...think baseball may be a little too soon yet...

feeling victorious!

the day the kids discovered the sprinklers...

it was pretty chilly, but they didn't care AT ALL!

this morning started out w/ them helping me take out the trash...then the sprinklers came on...

the biggest and the smallest, sharing a 'nana.

A Chinese Tea Party

2010-04-18T22:11:00.010-05:00

Myah Papaya is FIVE!

2010-04-18T21:26:00.014-05:00

she talked about having 'breatast' in bed all week...
fun! a blimp-she had to wait a whole five years to see her first one!
the boys were clapping for the blimp!
grandma betty & grandpa dwain drove in friday afternoon, yea!
having fun outside w/ lots of fun new things from gma/gpa!
wouldn't you say that ethan definitely got MY skin color, not daddy's?!
funny grandpa!
after dinner, we did myah's cake and ice cream and gifts here at home.
super cute M from gma/gpa gordon
BEAUTIFUL dress (w/ matching dress for a doll!) from my friend romelda, THANK YOU!
gift cards, books, jammies, gumballs, clothes, princess perfume from eli...
and an art easel! this girl will be spending hours at this thing, i'm sure!

the Montgomery Biscuits, yes, the Biscuits...hmmm...

2010-04-11T21:12:00.020-05:00

today: kids' day at the montgomery biscuits baseball game...
intentionally got there late (pretty warm out today) so the kids would last to the end of the game...got in, sat down, got sunscreen on everyone and what?!!! it was barely ten minutes and they were already calling the kids to line up to run the bases...ha! now that's pretty good timing! oh and on the plus side, since we got there at the bottom of the 7th, we got in free! can't beat that!
here's eli waiting for the base-running. can you tell he's shy/scared? he's got his fingers in his mouth...awwww, sweetie boy!
cheering/singing/dancing right along w/ the fun loud music!
guess he'd suck his fingers if we took the paci away???
always good music at a pro game! (or AAA in this case)
in the shade and clappin along...
what a dude!
myah took off (and left eli) to run the bases...
so unlike him! he was walking, fingers in his mouth, awww...
that's better, yea daddy!
givin big Mo a high-five!
eli-still having to look over his shoulder; keeping an eye on big Mo...
each kid got a free coke once they rounded home. big fun for the kids!
look mom!
oh yum!
okay, so when did this little boy get so big!?
super cute face, couldn't resist taking a zillion pix!

fun days, fun days indeed!

2010-04-11T20:56:00.012-05:00

ethan just walked up behind myah, grabbed onto her shirt and began following her. eli joined in and wah-lah, much fun was had!
ooooh! is that a basketball star in training? mmmm, could be!
oh, i definitely think so! and ethan could play guard!
i see a lot of cousin mason here!
yes, Lord!
i love my guitar shoes, thanks mommy!
myah wants to be a mermaid teacher when she grows up, i think she'll own a floral shop!
what kind of a bush is this anyway? so pretty! she runs out to it first thing, anytime we are outside!
eli often says, "look at me, please!" (esp when i'm driving) ha! anyway, of course this was followed by him jumping off the top of the sand box!
making sure the bug he smooshed was dead!
leanin into the turn just like a pro, whoa buddy!

THE REASON WE HAVE HOPE...

2010-04-04T20:20:00.005-05:00

"...sweet Savior I heard what you said, 'Father forgive them, they don't understand..." Jesus, you willingly gave your life so that we would be free. While on the cross, you hung, dying a death you did not deserve-and yet you asked your Father to forgive those who were murdering you...

As a mother, it brings me to tears and makes my gut hurt to even attempt to fathom what our Heavenly Father must have gone thru as His son prayed, asking if there was any other way for this plan to play out; without Him having to be crucified...praying and sweating literal drops of blood. can you even imagine hearing your child, tormented and grieving what was about to come-and asking you if you could change it somehow????

in the bible we are told that our ways are not His ways and our thoughts are not His thoughts...i believe this was written for such tough questions as this...

but the beauty of this story is that Jesus, willingly went to the cross. willingly was bruised and beaten and killed for YOU and for ME! O Heavenly Father, my heart hurts for Yours on that dark Friday, about the 9th hour, when you had to turn Your Holy face from your one and only Son...Almighty God, i praise you and weep for the beautiful plan You orchestrated. For me, for all mankind. To save us from our sin.

Jesus, sweet Savior, i give You my life. My all. You paid it all-all for me. All, even when you were blameless and Holy and innocent. Thank You, precious, spotless lamb of God.

For it is written that on the third day, an angel of the Lord sat upon the stone that was rolled away from Jesus' tomb (don't you imagine he was about to burst just waiting for Jesus' followers to show up?!!!) and said, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? HE IS NOT HERE; HE HAS RISEN!..."

A Happy Easter Day Was Had...

2010-04-04T19:31:00.036-05:00

gotta dye some eggs!
funny face from the baby boy...
eli enjoyed putting on the stickers...
and you've GOTTA eat the cracked ones!
the easter bunny brought myah a chinese fan; how did he know she loves those?
chocolate bunnies at 7am!
he's 14mo's old and all boy! both sets of grandmas/grandpas sent super fun boxes of easter goodies, so along w/ what the easter bunny left them, these kids had FUN this morning!
HAPPY EASTER from the gordon kiddos!
sweet baby bunny...
after church we WERE going to have friends over for a yummy easter dinner, but after what happened to kev's hand, i called it off and we went to ci-ci's pizza instead. oh my! anyway, the restaurant hadn't opened yet, so we found a grassy hill at the end of the shopping strip to play on til it was time to eat...

does this girl like to pose or WHAT?!

the hunt is on!

love this!
and this...
ethan loves playing with this toy, so he was content while the other two hunted away...

aaahhh, loving on my babies!
it doesn't get better than this!

thank you, risen Savior, for the gift of children!

say CHEEEEEESE!

2010-04-03T13:06:00.002-05:00

we took the kids to their school for an easter egg hunt this a.m
and here's the best we could do for getting all 3 in one pix! :)

and heeeeeere's kevin...

2010-04-03T12:53:00.002-05:00

well, kevin went to his FIRST soccer practice w/ the ACSC team and like in college, i got a call saying he was on his way to the ER. yes! 15 years ago, he dislocated his knee cap while playing soccer...this time it was his hand. to make a long story short-he will be having surgery this coming thursday to insert pins into his dislocated and "very unusual injury." (according to the ortho surgeon) what's crazy is that while at the ER, he actually dislocated the entire pinky just trying to get his shorts down for a shot! once we got home from the ER, he took off his chin guards and shocks and not only was there a pretty good gash, but there was a huge bump! so, back to the ER we went...thankfully it was just a hematoma.

Gotcha Day #4

2010-04-03T12:47:00.005-05:00

how can it be four years since we got her?!!

each year we let off red balloons; four years, four balloons...

we bought a lot of 'gifts' while in china to give myah each 'gotcha day.' this mulan doll (her FAVE disney princess) is from target, but i love seeing the excitement in her face in this pix.

notice the bling? after watching me put on my make up, she ran off to her room and came out in eye shadow, lip gloss and jewelry! it was so cute! she was so excited! just her and mommy/daddy for a special nite. we normally go to a chinese restaurant, but she really likes doing the hibachi thing at a local japanese restaurant. also, we normally take the boys, but they're both scared of the fire! so this was even more special to her i think, since it was all about her!

good times

2010-04-03T12:24:00.011-05:00

as we were pulling onto the base for the airshow, (or 'airplane show' as eli calls it!) ethan started going crazy-'talking' and oooh-ing and pointing, trying to find an airplane. he's so cute when he hears them, and is trying to say 'plane,' so far it's p-p-p.

the last time eli saw the t-birds, he was only about 14 months or so and he fell ASLEEP during the show on kevin's shoulder. this time around, he LOVED it and kept saying, 'it's cool, daddy! loud! fast shwwwoooooosh!'

ethan enjoyed the tbirds, too. he loves watching airplanes; daddy's happy!

playtime in ethan's bed!!!!

i love this one!

peek-a-boo, we see you!

what pretty little princesses! oh if you could see eli in person wearing this...dancing around w/ myah. FUNNY, FUNNY STUFF! notice how the nite gown hangs on myah, and hugs eli! hee.hee.

ethan loves looking at books!

and the camera!

ATTENTION

2010-03-14T22:13:00.002-05:00

hello, everyone...for some reason i can't pull up the actual posts i added tonite. after you see these videos (if they even come up! there are 3), then you have to click on OLDER POSTS. there are two: "march" (or something like that) and "the rest of february." will i ever figure you out, blogger dot com?

2010-03-14T22:11:00.001-05:00

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

2010-03-14T21:56:00.001-05:00

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

2010-03-14T21:41:00.001-05:00

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

and onto march...

2010-03-14T21:07:00.007-05:00

what a man! kickin back, relaxin and watchin TV....ahhhh, life is good!
eli's first trip to the dentist. he and myah went back together just fine...altho about 10 mins later, i heard him crying all the way up in the waiting room (they wouldn't let me go back...at first). i immediately walked up to the desk and asked if i needed to help b/c i could hear him crying...they let me go back. the girl said she tried every trick in the book-all he did was run his coin (he loves coins and took one back w/ him) up and down the counter, NEVER looking at her...as in "if i can't see you. you're not there. i don't have to get up in that chair!" hahahaha! that's SO him. so, i sat in the chair w/ him on my lap. the sweet, sweet dentist came in and thru a somewhat shut jaw, was able to take a quick enuf peek inside eli's mouth to see what he needed. man! NOT a way to start out a bi-annual thing for the rest of his life! i convinced him to sit in the chair just long enuf for me to snap some pix. of course, he was all into the goodie bag they gave him! myah on the other hand has always done SUPER at the dentist! and it's a good thing-cuz she's going back in two weeks for work on TWO cavaties! yikes!

wearing daddy's hat is a must photo for all the gordon kids!
look at me! i'm so big! and i loooove this toy!
on the move...

the rest of february...

2010-03-14T20:08:00.030-05:00

ethan looooves this little play puppy. with a remote control, you can make it bark and walk. it walks in a side-to-side fashion so when we make it walk, ethan will move his upper body/arms side-to-side, too. SO cute!
is the pretty girl just growing up or WHAT?!
oh cutie, cutie miss myah!
eli loooves playing wii, but sometimes, it's more fun up high!
hmmmm. two? we would actually prefer NONE! :)
they decided to share a chair at breakfast today. sweet, sweet!
a new way to carry eli...good little kitty! he loves it, just hope his shirts are strong enuf!
ethan can now get up on the couch by himself...
eli is happy to show him how to jump and go crazy up there...
just like when eli was a baby, ethan loves to be lovey-at times!
i love seeing how hard eli was laughing at ethan!
shouldn't myah be the one with the crazy face?!
the o'club had a "kid's nite dinner" w/ spaghetti, a sundae bar and TOYS galore!
ethan loved just watching all the kids playing and clapped along to the music!
myah had her first shot at kareoke w/ her friend jenna-singing a song from The Little Mermaid. eli just wanted to be up on stage, ha!
we were one of the first families to arrive so the kids had free reign on the toys and dance floor.
ethan played on the dance floor for awhile...then he was content to eat spaghetti and watch all the fun from the high chair. happy head, ethan!
love their expressions
long-time friend emma spent the nite...bathtime fun
we got the carpets cleaned. they were still wet when we got home from school. the kids LOVED it, weird! and wanted to put on swimsuits to pretend they were at the beach! what imaginations, huh? i don't know how they enjoyed it-it was cold! so to let it finish drying, we headed out for dinner-to another playland...chuck e. cheese! yippppeeeee!
grandma betty found this super-dee-duper-dee cutesy dress for myah. it came just in time for her class picture at school! thanks, mom. she looks so good in it!

i have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot of this in the future!!!
see how lovey he can be!
big bro, showing him the ropes...of toy finding...
i'm sooooo happy his eyes have stayed blue!
here's our 13month old baby boy! growing so fast!
Lord, thank you for sweet times like this among siblings!
and the laaaaast bottle of formula, yea for the checkbook! now he's on strictly milk and doing fine, yippppeeeee! next step: to wean him from the bottle!

what were we thinking?!?!

2010-02-13T20:57:00.019-06:00

after a nite like we had, we decided to cram everything in to one day, here's the Georgia Aquarium. very neat!

soooooooooo tired, tho such a trooper! poor little buddy!

these whale sharks are huuuuge! just amazing to see!
i love this! myah and eli, laying down, enjoying a drink and watching the big sharks and rays and everything else just swim by to entertain them!
the Coca-Cola museum

notice that eli isn't in the pix? this bear was just a little too much for him. and ethan was just chillin in the stroller-didn't wanna bother the tired little buddy!
there were over 64 flavors to try...fun!
china's flavor was watermelon; wasn't all that bad!
eli got to help make his 'flag coke' and was sooo happy!

okay, so we're trying to take advantage of fun mini-vacation spots close to us, esp since we only have a few months left here-but...i think this one was the LAST ONE until ethan is much older!

we got to our hotel, let the kids play a little and then had dinner-yes! at chipotle! came back to the room and soon after hit the sack. neither myah or eli had a nap that day and ethan had only had an hour-long nap that morning...

well, all was going well til about midnite. from then til about 6am (altho it was actually 5 am to our bodies) things weren't pretty. with ethan. poor little guy has never done well in a pack n play. we even used the hotel's crib (bigger than a pack n play) and nope-it didn't work for him. kevin and i took 'shifts' in calming him down and sleeping w/ him on our chests in a chair. at one point, both myah and eli were 'sssshhhhh-ing' him from their own beds! we tried having him sleep w/ us but he was so wired, he just wanted to crawl all over the bed/sit up and look over to the other bed-hoping to find eli. needless to say, we came back a day early so we could all be in our own beds tonite and get some much-needed sleep! so once this posts, we're snoozinon! it was a fun whirlwind trip, would have liked to do/see more (esp visiting Charles Swindoll's church on sunday), but i think we'll just have to wait a while before we do any more trips that include sleeping in another bed! gooooood nite!

snow in the south!

2010-02-13T20:43:00.013-06:00

this was friday morning. we let em play for about a half hour, then we packed up and hit the road...the somewhat long, snowy road to atlanta. wow! who knew the south could get so much snow! so glad we took advantage of the snow, cuz once we got home from our little over-nite trip, there wasn't a flake of snow to be found!

around the house

2010-02-13T20:26:00.011-06:00

in the wrong order, this is ethan once eli took his sucker back!
eli was so sweet to share, ethan loved it and turned his back to eli!
sweet big bro, eli
eli and his first valentines cards, cuuute!
steppin into daddy's shoes
if watching the weed-sprayer-guy is fun, does that mean they're bored?
Harley chick
how eli and myah eat popcorn when ethan's around, ha!
eli's learning how to 'pose' from myah, so silly!

GOODBYE, MY FRIEND...

2010-01-25T20:33:00.003-06:00

on saturday, january 16th a good friend of ours in wichita falls was killed when hit by a truck early in the morning when she was out for a run. terri otto (37) was one of those people that make you want to be a better person; she was theeee most Godly woman i've met-and it showed in everything she did...even while she was alive i wanted my personal walk w/ Jesus to be better-now that she's gone, i am on a mission to not only draw closer to Him, but also to share Jesus-with a 'holy boldness' as my mom says. terri was able to do that w/ a gentleness that never made anyone feel 'bad.' she just loved Jesus and wanted everyone to get to know Him like she did. in fact, in november, she'd told a friend that she just had nothing for what this world had to offer, that she wasn't of this world and altho she looooved her family, all she wanted was to be with Jesus! can you see why i want to be more like terri?

i could go on and on about the awesome things she did, but i don't want to make it all about her. as her husband said at her memorial-it's not about terri-she would tell you that herself, it's about HIM! i do ask, however, that you would add her husband dave and their three young kids (ages 7, 4, 3) to your prayer lists as i know the loss of their mommy/wife must be hitting hard right now.

my friend rebecca and i were able to fly to TX to be at her service this past week (yea kevin! he held down the fort like a champ-even when ethan came down w/ a double ear infection!!!) and even tho many tears were shed, i can't tell you the high i was on after her memorial! the Holy Spirit was there and i can guarantee you that the 800+ friends/family members who attended felt it, too! one of the MANY amazing stories regarding terri and her 'work for the Kingdom' took place in her final minutes of life: before the paramedics arrived at the scene, a couple drove by and stopped to help. they held terri's head as they waited and altho she was unconscious, they claim that they felt God in those minutes...once they learned of her death, they drove by the site where it took place and put a bear on the side of the road; when they looked up, there was a billboard that read "nothing's too hard for God." !!!! that couple says they were not where they needed to be spiritually and after her funeral, they decided to get back into church and their goal one day is to meet teri (in Heaven!!!) so even on her deathbed, terri was being used for her gracious Savior, Jesus Christ! isn't that awesome!!!

anyway, here is a picture of the site/billboard. if you would like to learn more or would like to donate money to either the otto family or the wichita falls Pregnancy Help Center (where terri volunteered, her passion was the sanctity of life), please let me know. oh and one other great thing...on the back of the 'program' (for lack of a better word) at her funeral, it read: "if this has stirred you and you would like to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, see Dave Otto" WOW!

JANUARY THINGS

2010-01-25T15:49:00.030-06:00

on jan 3rd, we celebrated our 13th anniv!
a friend came over to watch the kids while we went to dinner and target, ha!

oooh-wee, look at her, FAME!
awwww, sweet boys
all 3 kids have loved this dancin turtle...ethan has to creep up slowly this time
gotta love it when you can make dinner & not worry about the kids.
our pretty myah
eli's doing a 'cool trick' like they do on Yo Gabba Gabba
happy head ethan
is he really that heavy, kev? looks painful.
oh yummy, daddy's head is good!
awwwww....
hi big guy!
myah enjoying a big ole puzzle she got for Christmas
the boys' matching jammies; i love mom-i love dad
the boys, working on a project; operation lost paci
emma and myah, in his crib-reading eli's bible that he LOVES!
if we could only have gotten them to smile...
a Christmas toy for ethan; he can't wait to ride it!
enjoying a beautiful day at the park
ethan isn't walking yet...but still has fun!
" daddy! 'mere, run! chase me!"
grandma patsy and myah, enjoying a movie together.
grandma patsy and eli playing outside
working hard with his tools...
ethan was listening to grandma & papa singing to him, cute!

'twas a long day. boys were fuuuuussy! this was the only way k could keep em both happy...

GUESS WHO'S ONE?!

2010-01-25T15:36:00.008-06:00

BELIEVE IT OR NOT, BABY ETHAN IS ONE! GRANDMA PATSY FLEW IN FROM TULSA TO HELP CELEBRATE AND WE HAD SOME OTHER FRIENDS OVER TOO. HE WAS PRETTY TIRED, BUT MANAGED TO STAY AWAKE LONG ENUF FOR CAKE AND PRESENTS! HAPPY BDAY, SWEET BOY!

our Christmas review

2010-01-04T20:15:00.042-06:00

this isn't the pix we used for our annual santa hat C'mas letter pix, but similar. i had to add this one on the blog just cuz of eli's fun laugh.
k and i before his Christmas party at a downtown hotel. we went w/ our good friends neal and bec.
and here was the highlight of the evening. i was chosen (from about 700 people) to play w/ 11 other people-to play a game of scavenger hunt. i won third place-which was totally thought-out and master-minded-ly planned by k, in order to win this Wii. ha! we still can't believe it.
we let the kids open gifts from us the few nites prior to us leaving for oklahoma. here's our little drummer boy eli.
and here's myah, rockin' out on her new barbie guitar.
here's our pretty C'mas babe-before her C'mas program at school (sorry, the pix from the actual program were too dark).
a fun little train ride at the mall...

k packing up the tahoe at about 11pm the nite before we left. oh my!
ethan having fun with the hotel mirror.
eli watching TV in the hotel.
finally in enid, okla at my parents' house. my dad took eli to get donuts at a gas station when they were here for e's bday back in sept. ever since then, any time eli sees a gas station, he says "papa, me get donuts there." so here he is, in papa's truck, going to a gas station for donuts. ha! my dad said he smiled practically the whole way; unless he was talking-that is-saying "go fast."
yummmmmmy! enjoying those scrumptious donuts!
oh yes, he's a two-year old indeed!
our beautiful blue-eyed little ethan.
poor, poor myah. our second nite in ok, she got a fever and it kept her down the whole time we were in enid. here she looks okay and actually mustered a smile to take a pix w/ her cousins, but 99% of the time, she was sleeping-burning up-and of course, not even able or wanting to take part in all the C'mas food/fun. poor, poor myah hope!
okay, i promise! she really was a very sick little girl!
gramma betty reading to hanna and myah.
see! here's proof of m not feeling so well. even tho she's smiling, you can tell she was not quite there. this silly hat w/ hair was picked out by hanna and aspen when shopping w/ gramma a few months ago. they couldn't WAIT to give it to uncle kevin, hee.hee.
meeting cousin Jessica for the first time! awwww, look at those sweet, sweet china dolls!
again, forced smiles from myah. she barely talked and really wanted to just lay down.

my cousin Julie w/ daughter Jessica and myah and mommy. too bad they live in arkansas and we won't be able to see them for a long time!
change of plans!!! it snowed so hard on C'mas eve, that instead of driving to k's parents in tulsa-we opted to stay off the dangerous roads and spend another nite in enid. here's eli and gramma 'resting', NOT napping, of course next to the window in order to watch the snow come down.
love this of eli watching the snow come down. i so badly wanted to make a snowman w/ the kids, but myah was in no shape to be out in it-it was way too cold on that first day-and soon after, ethan got what myah had and we ended up leaving oklahoma early...
what we saw a lot of on our drive from enid to tulsa on C'mas morning.
the big kids konked out on the drive, but this little dude was wide awake!
myah started coming around once we were in tulsa, whew! poor thing!
okay, so if you haven't noticed yet-ethan (like daddy and eli) has a big head. sometimes it's easier just to give him a rest b/t yanking his tight shirts off, ha!
Merry 1st Christmas, our little baby boy ethan!
eli and bowling. one of his absolute fave gifts. played nonstop! uncle charles was his "set up" man and he played and played and played.

we should have clued in by the color of poor little ethan's cheeks; and yup! he had a high fever, bad cough, nose-running, no-sleep, miserable, crying nite when that nasty bug got a hold of him. that's what made us make the decision to get home before it got any worse...poor gordon kids!
super why, i mean, super eli...thanks uncle charles and aunt kay.
eli loooooved gramma patsy's choo-choo ornament and loved listening to it real close.
aunt rhonda reading one of m's new books to her. i took several pix of the kids and cousins playing Wii, but i couldn't ever get a still shot; they were all blurry. but again, the Wii made for some fun times w/ the kids. thank you papa Gordon for having this for them!
myah and eli did pretty well sleeping together. we'd put em down together, then k and i would each take a kid and sleep w/ them in a bigger bed once we were ready for bed.
here's m's "M" pancake made special for her by good ole uncle charles. next time, i'll be sure to get him in the picture!

we had a great time w/ family over Christmas and were very sorry we had to cut it short at the end...thanks to everyone for the wonderful food, gifts, and fun!

The Polar Express PJ Party

2009-12-06T20:56:00.017-06:00

after church today, we took sweet baby ethan to our friend Eugenia's house so she could watch him while kevin and i took myah and eli to birmingham at the McWane Center for a pj party and their FIRST movie, The Polar Express-IMAX-style. eli asked several times, "where esan?" (so sweet!) and during the movie, there was a baby crying behind us and he quickly turned around and said, "esan?" awwww! even after we got back in the car after dinner, he said, "go home? see esan?!" i love it!!!!

we weren't real sure how eli would do w/ such a big, loud movie-but he sat on my lap-quiet, no less-the entire movie and they both thought it was so fun!

after the movie, all kids wearing pj's (which all kids did!) got a jingle bell as we exited the theater...if you've seen the movie, you'll understand why they handed out bells...

after the movie, everyone went to the p.j. party where we had cookies, hot chocolate and chocolate milk-while good daddy stood in line...(you'll see what for in a minute)

yummy fun!

they were so patient and even got a little silly while waiting...

cuttin a rug...

and what kid doesn't love these ropey-line-marker-thingys?

still having fun while waiting our turn...

weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, daddy!

and who's the bigger sibling? almost our turn to see...

SANTA! SANTA! SANTA!

the kid in front of us was crying on santa's lap, which made eli a little leary at first-but he actually did great!

Eli: "hmmm. i wonder if he knows that i throw fits when i don't get my way! i am two, ya know-so surely, i'll be on the 'nice' list!" just in case, i'll just sit here looking cute!

after the party, we headed to our FAVE restaurant, chipotle and then made the hour-long trip back home to get our baby. eugenia, THANK YOU SO MUCH! we had SUCH a fun time w/ "the big kids" and we owe you bigtime for allowing us to do this!

deckin' the halls

2009-12-06T20:49:00.006-06:00

we put up the Christmas tree and the kids' trees yesterday. we decided we're gonna make the trek back home to OK for the holidays, so we didn't do much decorating besides the stockings and the trees. kevin gets two weeks off from school-and we realized he may never get that much time off for C'mas again, so enid and tulsa-here we come!

myah and her pink princess tree

eli and his cars "mis-mas" tree; ethan, we have one for you too, but you'll have to wait til next year!

ethan in the spotlight

2009-12-06T20:20:00.010-06:00

eli walked up to me when i was carrying ethan and said "hold him?" he is LOVIN' his little brother? so, here's big bro holding little bro-on the floor! :)

another paci boy on our hands!

all three kiddos have loved playin the paci game w/ daddy!

a nose to gnaw on always feels so good to babies' gums!

i guess all those hours of watching kevin and i do P90X really was soaking into ethan's head; here he is at 10 mo's doing his first push-up! ha!

oh! and now he's ready to show off his stuff since he just got thru working out! :)

sorry little buddy-but it's just too cute NOT to put on the blog!

happy head ethan!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-29T20:20:00.014-06:00

we enjoyed a yummy turkey dinner w/ two guys from the base that are here for a different school; they weren't allowed to go home for the holiday, so we were glad to help!
kevin is the turkey in our family. i mean, the turkey-maker. he wrapped it in bacon-even under the skin-it was so moist and yummy. he even made gravy. good job, honey!
his hair looks so blonde in this picture. wow! by the way, he turned 10 months old on the 23rd.

isn't he cute? what a wonderful hubby!

chattanooga, tennessee-weeeeeeeeeee!

2009-11-29T19:45:00.037-06:00

waiting for the curry family to arrive...our good friends and next door neighbors from wichita falls, TX have family in chattanooga and come here every year for T'giving. it was only about 3 hrs from our home in AL, so we drove up and got to play with them for the weekend. sophia and myah are 'best friends' and haven't seen each other since we left texas in july. they are SO cute to watch. they squeal and jump up and down and run to hug each other each time they see each other. the boys are just a few months apart in age as well, and the babies-well, they're 7 mo's apart, but they wouldn't know the difference anyway. chattanooga is a SUPER fun town, spending time there with friends made it even better!

wow, myah! just like in one of your Fancy Nancy books!

sweet baby Alexander, you are sooo cute!

what are those boys up to?
we missed the fireworks on the river, but we got to see some fireworks from the restaurant.

next day-children's museum fun

oops!

hotel fun...

yummy pizza at Lupi's then to Rock City for all the lights!
and some of ethan's appetizer puffs when he isn't looking!

we had a GREAT time in Tn w/ our friends the Currys!
sweet baby E, catching up on some much needed zzzz's on the way home.

finally on FB

2009-11-22T14:50:00.003-06:00

we caved. we have now entered the world of Facebook...
we couldn't do a joint account, so we each did our own.
you can find kevin by searching for KEVIN GORDON and for me, JENNIFER BRINLEY GORDON.

around the house this week...

2009-11-22T14:38:00.010-06:00

all boy...

he loooooves to jump off stuff...

playin' around in eli's crib, early in the morning.

wake up, big bro-i wanna play!

Indian-Myah at her little program at school, later she recited her "polem" (aka poem) to daddy since he wasn't able to be there to watch.

weeeeeeeeee, this toy is fun!

awwww, so sweet. hope they always play well together.

oh my! guess who's learned how to turn the water on and off!

just chillin' happy as can be!

always doing something to make us laugh!

veteran's day parade

2009-11-22T14:29:00.009-06:00

eli discovered the sun roof

we drove to birmingham for chipotle and a parade; myah and ethan were asleep, so we stayed in the car til the parade started-that's when eli found the sun roof. ha!

2009-11-15T21:52:00.001-06:00

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2009-11-15T21:46:00.001-06:00

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my heart skipped a beat...

2009-11-15T21:07:00.013-06:00

the kids have all been sick-on and off-passing it to each other-for seven weeks now, sigh...for a couple of nites, we put ethan in his bouncy seat (which he's much too big for these days) INSIDE his bed, in order to keep him elevated so he could breathe better. (he looooves the bouncy, by the way-it's just funny to see him in it cuz he's so big!) anyway, THIS is what i saw when i walked into his room the other morning. talk about momentary panic! he was, however, laying on his back, right next to the over-turned bouncy seat, just smiling as big as he could. so my panic turned to calm, then to oh my gosh-ness! that little dude SOMEHOW made his way out of the bouncy and managed to flip it upside down, all w/o getting hurt or making much noise; we didn't hear a thing. the next picture shows the bouncy when i took it out and turned it over-the seat belt is still on/locked! unbelievable! what a little funny buddy!

here's eli, looking out ethan's window the morning of the big rain and winds from tropical storm Ida. we got lots of good rain!
eli recently found kevin's drum sticks...plays w/ em all the time. yes, we've already gotten him a drum for Christmas! :) wish us luck!
100% boy!!!

lemme fix that for ya, little bro!
okay, so this pink jeep was obviously from when myah was learning how to walk. and even tho kevin still threatens to paint it black, the boys really enjoy it "as is." FUNNY STORY: eli likes to ride his 'cycle down the driveway and over the 'bump' at the end of the driveway, into the street (we live on a cul-de-sac, whew!), so as he was "flinstone-driving" the pink jeep, he looked at me and 'asked' "bump?" which is his way of asking if he can go down to the bump. i said, yes and began walking that way as well. once out in the cul-de-sac, he 'asked' "go?" and pointed down the actual street where sometimes kevin lets him ride his 'cycle. i said 'no' cuz i was in my jammie pants and didn't want to parade down the street like that. so what does a two year old boy do? HE TAKES OFF RUNNING IN THE PINK JEEP! so i had to run after him, naturally. but i was laughing SO hard, i wasn't able to catch him right away! i just kept imagining how hard i'd be laughing if i looked out my window and saw this scene. man! if only it would have been caught on tape-we couldda won $10K on America's Funniest Home Videos! so funny! eli was even laughing hard cuz he knew he was being a stinker and cuz i was laughing my butt off!
our homies
i don't think eli will like this pix so much when he's older!
THIS is my "biker babe!"

trick or treat!

2009-11-04T20:27:00.008-06:00

the evening started w/ myah and daddy doing their annual pumpkin-carvin, then we went to a few houses close by (ethan and i had to come back a little early cuz it was too chilly for our little giraffe-altho, of course, he never complained, but his hands were COLD!) then we all met back at home to pass out candy and eat roasted pumpkin seeds. fun times.
eli again was a pilot; still too young to know he can actually pick out a different costume! ha! (last year for that i think!) and myah wanted this geisha costume, which we then re-named as her Mulan costume. my original plan was for all of us to dress up-as The Incredibles, but kevin's costume alone was $80, so we changed our minds reeeal quick on that one!

random pix

2009-11-04T20:05:00.021-06:00

we're already getting a taste of how fun it is to have brothers so close in age. eli is pretty good with ethan and the other day i heard him say, "no, no esan!" he was looking out for him so he didn't get his head bonked on a door. awwww, so sweet! and no, we didn't get a kitty-this is just a friendly neighbor cat that myah reallllly enjoyed lovin' on.

pickin' punkins

2009-11-04T19:55:00.011-06:00

remember...three kids looking and smiling at the camera at the same time...it just doesn't happen at these ages! can you say SERIOUS, our little ethan man?! i promise, he really was happy-he was just studying those big orange things real well. :)

lovin' ACSC hours

2009-11-04T19:43:00.011-06:00

i have to say that kev's hours here at ACSC are pretty nice. here are some pix from the park-kevin got home at 2pm so we loaded everyone up and enjoyed the beautiful fall day...

last soccer game

2009-11-04T19:37:00.003-06:00

wooo-hooo, our saturday mornings are now free again!
myah had her last soccer game october 24th, here are a few pix from their party afterwards-as we all froze...oh yeah, her coach presented her trophy to the "best gardener/leaf collector" ha!

my heart hurts...Oh dear Jesus!

2009-10-20T10:05:00.003-05:00

hello, friends-i'm posting with a very heavy heart today.
please pray for both of these sweet, young families...

on september 22 a friend of a friend died just a week after giving birth to her miracle baby girl Chloe. Sara Sullivan, the mom had been going thru chemo during her whole pregnancy-and praise the Lord, Chloe was born-early and tiny-but yet unaffected by the chemo! she stayed in the hospital for about a week and then, once she was home-all was well. yes, Sara still had her breast cancer to deal with, but a huge milestone had been reached-that their first baby was born healthy! Brad, Sara's husband said those first two days home were the happiest he'd ever seen his wife-until she had a seizure. you can read all about it on their blog-but the bottom line is that Sara died the next morning, at only 28 years old.

i beg you to read the story at their blogsite; http://bandssullivan.blogspot.com Brad, the daddy, has kept their blog going and it's obvious what a Godly, mature young man he is. Once you get to their blog, go on the right-hand side and click on a previous month so that you'll be able to read their journey as it unfolds. it is a wonderful story and God shines thru it in a mighty way-that's the only way i am able to rejoice over Sara's death; b/c God has moved thru HUNDREDS b/c of her life.

please be praying for Brad and his sweet baby Chloe.

AND THEN THIS NEWS YESTERDAY...

again, another young military couple whom we never met, but have mutual friends through...and unbelievably, good friends of Brad and Sara Sullivan's...Katie Friedman gave birth to her second baby boy in Aviano, Italy this past Friday night. just a few short hours after she brought him into this world, she-the mommy (Katie) died of massive post-delivery bleeding.

i cannot believe two friends lost their lives, within just a few weeks of each other-and after giving birth. it sounds so archaic to me, but i just lean on the Lord and have to force myself to TRUST that His ways are more perfect than any of us can comprehend here on earth. Jesus, i ask that You move mightily thru Katie's life's story just as you have/are still doing thru Sara's.

Here's the link for that hurting family, their oldest child is only 22 months and you know he is wondering where his mommy is-he's missing her so much! please pray! http://www.babyhomepages.net/friedmanfamily/index.php

(don't be confused when you first get to this link, for the birth announcement of their now two year old son is at the very top. just keep scrolling down and you'll be able to read/see more.)

ugh!

2009-10-18T20:55:00.002-05:00

remember how i've said when i'm typing up what i want the post to say-it comes out one way, the way i want it-but as soon as it actually posts, it's all wrong. well, that's what you're about to see again. i wanted all the text at the very top; instead it's in the middle and then broken up-under the wrong pictures, even. sorry. hope you enjoy the pix. oh yeah, ethan's age this past wednesday (8 1/2 months old) was the very exact age that eli was when we found out i was already six weeks pg w/ ethan. oh my, my! i can't imagine finding out one was on the way when one was still in my arms! thank you Lord, we're not having a repeat of that at this point in the game!

so much to post!

2009-10-18T20:21:00.008-05:00

trying to get all 3 to smile, impossible! fake glasses, real love.
loooong baby boy. sweet baby boy!
trying out a sippy cup. hee.hee.
bundled up soccer girl-yea for pink!
alabama state fair, yeee-haaaaw!
so sleepy, comfy daddy!
does ethan favor my side or WHAT!?
ethan the fireman.
ethan playing in his room, love his sweet head!
myah playing w/ her baby brother.
eli playing w/ his brother.
eli playing w/ his car.
myah's school picture-what a big girl!

2009-10-05T21:07:00.001-05:00

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october laughs

2009-10-05T20:47:00.020-05:00

here's ethan in myah's old pink jeep. kevin wouldn't let eli use it when he was this age and if it weren't for me getting it out of the attic, he wouldn't be letting ethan ride in it either! he keeps saying he's going to paint it black! ha! eli's playing w/ his pals while myah is at school-elmo and mouse. naked baby booty! outside fun in the sun, then outside fun in the rain. the picture of eli laying on the bed is of him watching his baby brother in the monitor. so cute!

SEPTEMBER 23, 2009

2009-09-25T09:14:00.005-05:00

ETHAN SHEPPARD IS 8 MONTHS...

and...

ELI PATRICK IS TWO!!!!

for some reason, when i type the post it's one way, when i actually post it, it's something different; well-you get the picture. ethan is first and then eli. one is 8 months, the other is two years!
cannot believe it!!!!

ethan is 8 months, no way!!!!

2009-09-25T09:10:00.003-05:00

this is one happy baby! he's been 'army crawlin' since he was 6 months, has 4 teeth and just learned how to scream! loves his big bro and sister and melts his mommy's heart!

ethan's funny hats, by gramma betty...

2009-09-25T09:04:00.005-05:00

can you say EASY BABY!
here's grandma betty, putting on a hat show with ethan:
biker baby
flying nun baby
do-rag baby
gangsta baby
shreck baby (it's hard to see, but there are green 'horns' coming out of that last 'hat')

CHUCK E. CHEESE

2009-09-25T08:54:00.009-05:00

on eli's actual bday (the 23rd) we went to chuck e. cheese's for dinner. we haven't been there in about three months, when we were back in texas-and my how much has changed! eli used to LOVE chuck, but now he is TERRIFIED of him! can't wait to see what he does around Santa! anyway, he was crying in his high chair when chuck came by, then quickly went to daddy. check out his face as he was making sure that chuck WAS NOT coming back!
below pix; it's not cheating if it's your bday, right?! ha!

ELI IS TWO!!!!!

2009-09-25T08:38:00.015-05:00

well, here's my 'baby' eli...two years old! we had a fun OSU football party for him and although he was a little scared of the 'fireworks' (candles) on his cake, he got right on his 'cycle and looooves it!

2009-09-16T23:01:00.001-05:00

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2009-09-16T21:31:00.001-05:00

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2009-09-16T21:30:00.001-05:00

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2009-09-16T21:29:00.001-05:00

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here i am...

2009-09-16T20:39:00.010-05:00

well, it's been awhile since i last posted, but here i am...
these are just some random pix of the kiddos over the first few weeks in september.
hope you like the videos of ethan...he is so much fun!
everyone is doing well; myah is doing great in school, the boys are getting better when i drop them off at mom's day out on T/Th and i'm thoroughly enjoying my 'break' on those days; altho once 2:15 rolls around, i'm the first one thru that door to pick up all my babies! kevin's doing well in his school and God is good!
-notice how myah is a bit more interested in her friend on her soccer team more than the game itself! ha!
-eli wouldn't keep both shoes (myah's shoes, that is) on long enuf for me to get a pix, so this is all i got. he looks so good in them, ha! notice how his foot fits into her size so well! oh my!

2009-08-22T22:16:00.001-05:00

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enjoying alabama

2009-08-22T21:39:00.008-05:00

well, with kids like this-it wouldn't matter where in the world we lived-we'd enjoy it because of our kiddos, thank you Lord for these three awesome little people!

these first few are of a "flight social" we had tonite on base. eli picked up a horseshoe as if he knew what he was doing and said to kevin, "heaby" (heavy) but kept on going, ha! ethan is always giving funny daddy laughs, and then there's mister sports eli-playing basketball. oh, his shirt is off (or OSS) as he says, b/c another guy had his shirt off playing volleyball. it's a good thing he got distracted, cuz i then saw him trying to take off his shorts-after that the "dipoh oss" (diaper off) is sure to follow, hahaha! in fact, he has a bit of a sunburn on his back/shoulders from being totally naked and playing in the backyard today! what a boy!

then there's our chinese princess on her first day of Pre-K, and yes-i got emotional, go figure! :)

then here they are picking pears and muscadines (alabama grapes?!) in our own backyard!

and then just a few of the boys during the mornings when m's at school. i am having SO MUCH fun being w/ just my boys-yes! we do miss you myah-but when ethan takes his a.m. nap and it's just me and E (big E that is), we are having so much fun either playing trucks, trains, balls-or watching 'yo gabba gabba' or just snuggling on the couch. he is ALL TOGETHER a different boy when his buddy/big sis is gone; never saw that coming! he's always funny, but w/ just me and little E, he's sweet-guess cuz there's no one there to be naughty to?! (i'm sure myah enjoys the break from him a little, too!)

2009-08-13T22:23:00.001-05:00

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2009-08-13T22:17:00.000-05:00

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a few random shots

2009-08-13T21:51:00.011-05:00

FAREWELL TEXAS

2009-08-13T21:28:00.007-05:00

i keep forgetting to put these on the blog; NOT that i forgot all about texas...
can you believe we got to texas in '06-just two months after getting myah from china, and left texas in '09 with THREE CHILDREN and a vasectomy! who would have ever guessed?!
these great pictures were taken by my friend kelly (kellyspointofview.com)

myah's turn!

2009-08-13T21:23:00.002-05:00

well of course i'm going to do the same for her! :)

JAN09/AUG09

2009-08-13T21:18:00.002-05:00

ya think i'm driving down memory lane here...
cuz now i'm looking at ETHAN just six months ago-compared to now...

more eli/ethan pix

2009-08-13T21:12:00.004-05:00

here is one of ELI at six months, can you believe he'll be TWO next month? wasn't he the baby last time i checked? and now we already have ANOTHER six-month old baby?! crazy how fast time flies! and then one of eli at almost 23 months...

look at this!

2009-08-13T21:06:00.002-05:00

here's ELI at five months-then here's ETHAN at six months, i should have dressed ethan in the same onsie, but you get the picture! (literally!) they don't look a thing a like, until you see eli's baby pictures. isn't that amazing? here's eli: dark skin, round brown eyes...then here's ethan: fair skinned, somewhat squinty blue eyes...yet they sorta DO look alike! wow!

our baby boy

2009-08-13T20:50:00.011-05:00

well, ethan will be seven months next week, IS THAT POSSIBLE? he already has his two bottom teeth, is very close to crawling and melts his momma's heart every day! now if we could only get him to sit up on his own! we haven't done much so far this month; kevin started 'school' on the 5th which means we're back to our normal routine of cartoons, naps, playing and pretty much staying inside. it's been pretty hot here this month and getting three little people in and out of the car alone-in this humidity-is a chore! so, we look forward to the weekends for fun stuff.
here are some 6month pix of ethan; it's a far far cry from the photos we've had taken of the kids before-from my extremely talented photographer friends, but until i find someone locally, i gotta just point and shoot on my own...
when you're done looking at these, scroll down for a few funny videos...