Beam Family

NEW BLOG!!

2009-12-20T21:09:00.003-06:00

Because Blogger doesn't preserve the quality of my photos when I upload them, I have decided to move to a new blog site. Please visit me there....

http://beamfam.wordpress.com/

My Favorite From the Day

2009-10-04T01:42:00.000-05:00

Need I say more?

A Much Needed Trip to the Park

2009-10-04T01:29:00.001-05:00

I have been completely overwhelmed with school work this last week. I have two papers, two tests and two assignments (what is this, Noah's Ark?) all due in the next couple of days. Unfortunately, the kids are the ones who suffer the most during weeks like this. So, today I decided to put down the school books and get out and enjoy the beautiful weather at the park. It was good for the kids, but it was GREAT for me! I had so much fun taking their pictures and watching them enjoy each other. What sweet little kids; sometimes it is too easy to not enjoy them. Today was a good reminder of how important it is to take the time, no matter how inconvenient, to love on them.
I know that I have posted pictures like this one of Lillie before, but I love the close ups of her. Everyone we meet calls her "Curly", I can't figure out why??

Often times Madison and Eli are not the best of friends, but today they really enjoyed each other, which was a great change of pace!! They took turns helping each other up the slide while they played "pirates".

This picture may not seem like anything great, but I love it because it says a lot about Eli. He is a big boy in a lot of ways, but still a little boy at the same time. His comment to me shortly before this picture was, "Look Mom, I can do it with no hands." (Notice his arms still resting on the bars.) I could tell he felt very big walking that bar with "no hands".

I have tons more pictures, but couldn't get them all uploaded on blogger tonight. I really liked this one of the three of them. It shows their personalities. Madison, paying attention; Eli, having fun; and Lillie trying to figure out which one to immitate. What fun!! Why would I ever consider picking school work over this??

Soccer Ninjas

2009-09-21T08:48:00.004-05:00

GOOOOOO SOCCER NINJAS!!

This year Madison gets to play with her "number 1 friend", Addie. They have had two games so far and are having a blast. They look so cute lined up in their uniforms!!

Since this is Madison's first year playing soccer, she has a lot to learn. I think she was a little nervous at first, but is getting better about getting in the game. She always says that she has fun, so in the long run, that's all that matters.

We love, love, love her coach. He has two little girls and coaches both their teams. He is always so positive, encourages the girls and takes time to appreciate each one of them. He even made up a little song for them to sing at all their games. Watching him interact with them is one of the best parts of the game; it is nice to know that all the girls leave that field feeling good about themselves, regardless of performance.

On another note, I got a new camera lens, but am still learning how to use it. Hopefully this means I will be taking more pictures to post on my blog....hopefully.

Better late than never...Goodbye summer, hello school time

2009-08-28T20:38:00.007-05:00

Our favorite things about summer....

watermelon...
Eduardo...
friends...

naps on Granny's swing...

swimming...

bubbles...

more swimming...

and more swimming.

This summer we decided to take a trip to Oklahoma Science Museum and had a blast!! This will definitly be our list to to do's for next summer...now we know that we need a whole day instead of just a couple of hours.

We also had the opportunity to plan a little get together of my parent's friends for their 40th wedding anniversary. For those of you who know my mom very well, you know this is what every picture of her looks like.

But, all good things must come to an end; so off to school we go. Since I already did a post about Madison's first of school, I figured I better show a picture of the two little kids going to preschool on their first day. I had to work, so Dan got them up, ready, out the door on time, and even made time to take a couple of pictures. =) Big brother has been great to show little sister the ropes at Little Lord's Army...look how proud he is of his little sister.

Back to Cairo

2009-08-28T13:54:00.005-05:00

Wednesday, Hannah left Oklahoma to return to her Egyptian home for one last semester (hopefully) at AUC. The night before she left we met at the park for a few pictures and a quick goodbye. We will miss her, but we know that her heart is in that big, crazy city of Cairo.

First Grade Already

2009-08-12T13:11:00.001-05:00

I can't believe my little girl is in First Grade!!! This morning she was so excited to get up early (which won't last long), get ready, and head out to her first day in Mrs. Brixey's class. She is growing into such a beautiful little girl and seemed so grown up walking into the building by herself this morning. For those of you wondering, no I did not shed any tears; with two little ones still buckled in the backseat, there was no time. Luckily, Dan will be taking Eli and Lillie to their first day of preschool next week, which will leave me with three mornings of solitude every week...what ever shall I do?? Pedicure - here I come!!!

Introducing Family Member No. 9

2009-08-05T00:04:00.003-05:00

Meet Roxy (or "Kitty" as Lillie calls her), the newest member of our family. She is a 9wk. old Boston Terrier and is one of the sweetest little dogs I have ever met. We are hoping that she will be a good companion for our other dog, Moez, who has desperately needed a friend for a long time. Maybe next picture of her we will find a bow for her! =)

Official Birthday pictures

2009-07-18T15:23:00.003-05:00

After much delay, we finally had Lillie's Birthday party (we couldn't party without Aunt Hannah). Here are a few pictures from our celebration; despite the missing smile, I think that she had a good time. =) It is still very hard to believe that she is 2 years old, she still seems like our baby - honestly, I don't mind (and neither does she for that matter).

Summer fun

2009-06-20T21:18:00.003-05:00

Hard to believe it, but this sweet little baby girl will be 2 tomorrow. We are waiting to celebrate until her Aunt Hannah is home.....hurry home Aunt Hannah!!

We have been lazy!! One of our favorite summer time hang-outs is, of course, Granny's house. What time we spend out of the pool is on Granny's porch swing. Lillie loves to swing, and often enjoys a little snooze on her favorite patio in the world. Aren't baby cries so sweet, I love this picture.

The rest of our time we spend hunting for fun things to do at our own home (after all Granny does need an occasional break, she's getting old - just kidding.) Today, Eli "helped" water the grass. I will spare you (and Eli) the picture of Eli doing what he considers "watering the grass"...those of you with boys will understand what I am saying.

Madison and her goggles...she loves these things, by the end of summer she is going to have permanent rings around her eyes.

And just a glimpse of Granny's backyard oasis. She is doing a little renovating, so there will be more pictures in a couple of weeks.

Clean Slate

2009-06-11T12:41:00.003-05:00

This weekend we have the priviledge of helping transform a family's life, but transforming their home. This family has four young children and are desperately wanting a place their children can go to play. So, we will be doing an extreme makeover on their garage to provide the perfect playroom. I am so excited to see the results and am praying the impression it leaves on the lives of each individual in this family is eternal, reaching far past the physical make over of their home.

Boring is good

2009-05-29T21:48:00.003-05:00

I was looking through my pictures tonight to see what I could post pictures of, and realized that we pretty much have not done anything for the last couple of weeks. I have to say, I don't mind one bit. I have started a new job in the Neonatal ICU that I am loving, and other than that we have just been savoring the last few days of school. This is the only picture I really liked...it is tough being a boy in a girly world. Yes, he did this himself (I was in the other room trying to keep Lillie out of the kitchen cupboard.) Happy Summer!!

She's Getting Married!!

2009-05-17T23:17:00.002-05:00

My best friend is FINALLY getting married. And not only do I get to stand with her as she pledges herself to a wonderful man, she also asked me to take a few pictures of her and her man. We had such a great time at the park, and although this picture doesn't show their faces, it speaks volumes about who they are. Erin, James - I love you guys!

Itsy Bitsy Spider

2009-05-07T17:42:00.002-05:00

Here is a really short video of Lillie singing her favorite song. She realizes pretty quick that the camera is on her and starts acting silly, but one day I will catch the whole song....she is growing up so quick.

Just Because We Could

2009-05-07T17:15:00.002-05:00

Thank goodness for a break in the rain. Yesterday we went to Granny and Grumpy's house to celebrate no rain....they have the funnest back yard. Lucky for us, Grumpy has thousands of tadpoles on his pool cover, so it provided some great entertainment for the evening. Here is Madison fishing for tadpoles (we are thinking about signing her up to do some good ol' Oklahoma noodling this summer.)

Here is a sample of her catch. We had some great conversation about how tadpoles eventually become frogs. How thankful we are for a God that is wonderfully creative!!
Does any one else see mischief in this sweet little face???

Eli is Grumpy's big helper. And no, Grumpy doesn't do his yard work in only his underwear.

Four Wheel Fun

2009-05-02T14:49:00.003-05:00

One great thing about our house is that we live right next to a small dirt track that is perfect for Madison to ride her four wheeler on. Here are a couple of pictures of us riding.

Lonely Lillie has no helmet and therefore, cannot ride - this is not something that makes her very happy.

Happy Birthday Hannah!!

2009-04-21T11:39:00.002-05:00

I have been holding out...

2009-04-19T21:42:00.003-05:00

So, Hannah, I intentionally have not posted any of the other pictures from Easter because I fully intended on having some printed and sent to you for your birthday. This, however, has not happened, so I figured I could post the ones I was going to mail to you and promise you hard copies sometime in the future. We love you, Happy Birthday.

Easter Fun

2009-04-15T21:59:00.002-05:00

Here are a few pictures from our week of Easter fun. Here is a really sweet picture of Eli praying in his class at school. So sweet.

Here they are in their Easter outfits....no I did not suggest the pose; Eli was insistant upon having the bike in the picture. So silly, but so cute.
Here are a few from our egg hunt. Thank you Granny and Grumpy for doing such a great job hiding our eggs!

Easter Egg Coloring

2009-04-10T16:43:00.003-05:00

Today we had Hope over to play and while Lillie was napping we colored Easter eggs. We had so much fun and ended up with a beautiful basket of eggs.

Eli's Easter Party

2009-04-10T16:35:00.002-05:00

Thursday Eli had a little Easter party in his class. I didn't get many during the party (I was too busy chasing Lillie) but here are a few before the party that I liked.

I love this one; they are praying for their snack.
Typical Eli.

More Pictures of Lillie

2009-04-08T11:42:00.001-05:00

Post Photography Class Pictures

2009-04-05T23:19:00.003-05:00

Wow...what a whirlwind of a week. Since my last post we have managed to move, unpack, and take a crash course in photography. I learned so much in my class and now have a new environment to do lots of practicing. Now if I could just find some spare time...

During our move, Lillie's crib unfortunately did not survive. So, in addition to getting used to being in an unfamiliar room without her sister, now Lillie has also had to learn how to sleep in a big girl bed. She actually has adjusted fairly well, but tonight I heard her crying at the door and as I approached this is all I could see. Poor baby girl.

These are a couple of pictures that I took of Lillie on our back porch after I got home from the class yesterday. Although this would not be my first choice in looks for pictures, this is pretty much Lillie - jammies, pacifier, blanket and a toy (which by the way is actually a Christmas tree ornament we found under a piece of furniture during our move.)

Goodbye tooth No. 3!

2009-03-30T17:29:00.005-05:00

Madison has had a tooth that we have been anxiously waiting to come out for a couple of days. Finally, tonight while she was eating her corn dog it came out. We are thankful she didn't swallow it!!

Here is picture of Eli trying to catch some snow on his tongue. Hard to believe we had snow on Saturday and right now it is 71. Welcome to Oklahoma.

This coming weekend I get to participate in photography class taught by my friend, Ashley. In preperation for her crash course, I purchased a new lens for my camera and took some time practicing with it - here are a couple of pictures of Lillie that I liked. She is growing up; she spent nearly 30 minutes playing with Madison's tea party set. She set it up just like she has seen Madison do and even pretended to drink out of the cups.

Cindy Lou Who

2009-03-17T08:10:00.002-05:00

For the last two weeks at school Madison's class has been talking about Dr. Suess and all the amazing childrens books he wrote. For the last day of the unit they all got to dress as their favorite Dr. Suess character; Madison picked Cindy Lou Who from The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. She was the only Cindy Lou in her whole class and the only one in the school with her hair done up so high. Someone even asked to take a picture of her posing with their son!! Good thing Aunt Hannah had been in Suessical the Musical and we knew the trick to getting her hair up just right.

Park Time...Finally!

2009-03-06T13:16:00.003-06:00

Yesterday we were finally able to put on shorts and take a trip to the park. There were tons of people there and it was obvious that everyone has been waiting for a nice day to break out the camera...we were no exception.

Spiderman Shoes

2009-03-03T17:31:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I ventured out with Lillie and Eli with the intention of taking advantage of Kohl's buy one get one free on shoes. After an hour of trying on shoes we had finally settled on one pair for Eli and one for Lillie only to find out that the shoes we selected were not part of the sale. Eli was so disappointed (he was already wearing his new shoes), so i had to try to make it right. Earlier he had begged for some Spiderman shoes that I absolutely hated, but in an attempt to ease the distress of an hour wasted, I decided to grab the last pair of Spiderman shoes in his size off the clearance rack. As his eyes lit up I said, "You can't wear them to school and you can't wear them to church." He responded, "Okay, no school, no church." Needless to say, he wore them to preschool this morning to show his friend Jimmy. I still hate the shoes, but is fun to let him have a little self expression.

This is just a fun picture. Lillie loves to copy her brother; most of the time it is cute. Just making sure that she is doing it just right.

Told You...Random

2009-02-27T22:11:00.005-06:00

The other day we spent some time coloring (and I spent some time playing with my new camera). Here are a few pics from our fun time.

This is Madison drawing a picture of the Incredible Hulk and Eli telling her that the Incredible Hulk needs underwear. And the finished product...

This is Lillie dancing; the pictures don't quite do it justice. She loves to turn circle and laugh until she falls down.

Since Madison got her cast off, we decided to go bowling to celebrate. The pictures aren't great, but we had so much fun!!

2009-02-19T23:22:00.005-06:00

There will be lots of nothing posts, so, consider this fair warning. These were just a couple of other pictures that I liked.And after I took away the pacifier...

This is the only type of picture I could get of Eli....he insisted on having his toungue hanging out the entire afternoon. Crazy man.

Monkeyin' Around

2009-02-19T23:07:00.002-06:00

For Valentine's Day my wonderful Hubby surprised me with a new camera. Today I had my first opportunity to play a little with it...my normal photo subjects were a little to active, so I traded them in for a more dosile one. He did a great job!! I have so much to learn, but am excited to have some great friends that are in the same process and we all, by far, have the best teacher (you know who you are).

Show and Tell, Valentines and Mud

2009-02-14T09:29:00.004-06:00

We had a busy, busy week. I had promised Madison that I would bring her hamster for show and tell. She looked so grown up telling her friends at school about Princess; they were so excited. I was so impressed with how well their class is run....Mrs. Metzler is awesome.

This is Delaney taking her turn petting Princess...at comment/question time her comment as "He's so cute!"We also attended Eli's Valentine's Day party-it was lots of fun. We took Lillie with us and she got a taste of the Blue Puppy class for next year. It is hard to believe that she will be old enough to be in preschool!!! Eli continues to be the ladies man in his class. Two different mom's said that their little girls refer to Eli as "my boyfriend." When I ask him about it he just smiles.

Just another cute sister picture

As most of you know, we had lots of rain in the last couple of weeks. Our yard doesn't drain very well, so we have lot of mud for several days to play in after rainy days. Eli, of course, too

k full advantage of this. Here is in his standard outfit...underwear and a worn out pair of chucks.

Princess

2009-02-04T07:25:00.002-06:00

Those of you who know Madison very well, know that she is saver. She gets a small allowance every week and never spends it. This week on a trip to the pet store with Dan she decided that she wanted to use her money to buy a hamster. SOOOO, without further ado, please welcome.....PRINCESS!

Misc. Post

2009-01-27T17:32:00.003-06:00

This is kind of a random post, but I have some catching up to do. This first one is just a cute sister picture that I really liked. Lillie loves to pose for the camera and say "cheese". She isn't feeling well today. Poor baby.

Madison broke her arm last week after falling off the monkey bars at church. She has to wear this very cool purple cast for four weeks. Other than not getting to lounge in the bath tub or participate in P.E., she barely skips a beat. Her friend Delaney at school said that she wasn't going to wear tennis shoes on PE day so that she could sit in the bleachers with Madison and keep her from getting bored or lonely. I thought that was really sweet.
Eli has been sick this week too. Last night after his bath he decided to cuddle up behind the cushion on the couch and I found him like this a few minutes later. Poor guy passed out face first.
Towards the end of Christmas break we got a little desperate for entertainment, so we decided to build a tent in the living room and watch a movie on the portable DVD player. Madison is the only one who REALLY watched the movie, the other two settled for finding any way to tear down the tent "accidentally".

This last picture is Madison and Eli enjoying their lanterns they got for Christmas. We have routine "bear hunts". Lillie, of course, is the bear. It's all she can do to keep up with the other kids, but they have a blast. (And it is a great before bed time work out.)

Will the real Incredible Hulk please stand up

2009-01-05T22:20:00.003-06:00

Eli and Madison both received Hulk gloves for Christmas (yes we do encourage our children to work out their issues between themselves) and while they have put them to good use, Lillie has decided that she would like to join in. The last couple of nights she has dug these out of Eli's room (Madison keeps all her possessions under lock and key) and worn them around the house. You would think she would take full advantage and at least attempt to clobber her brother, however, she calmly walks around as if they were nothing more than a pair of mittens. Tonight she was so cute that I couldn't resist taking a few pictures.

Swimsuits in January

2009-01-03T23:05:00.003-06:00

No lie, these pictures were taken today in our front yard. Madison took out her new four wheeler for its first real ride and with Eli's help, gave it a good washing when she got home. I am watching the weather now and even though it reached 80 today, it is now wind chill of 26. Gotta love Oklahoma.

Eli is 3!!!

2008-12-29T18:01:00.003-06:00

Today Eli turned three. We had a little party with our family, Granny and Aunt Hannah (yeah...she is home for a little visit). Here are a couple of pictures of Eli with his "Cars" cake wearing all the stickers Aunt Hannah gave him. We had a fun time celebrating three years with our little boy.

This is Eli three years ago today. Hard to believe our little Eli started as this big boy. And yes, these were literally taken right after he was born....9lbs 13oz (and at high altitude...supposedly this makes you weigh less.) I can remember like it was yesterday walking around WalMart at 11:30pm trying to get my contractions to pick up until I couldn't walk anymore. And then racing to the hospital during rush hour traffic the next day...the midwife and me in one car (me screaming the whole way) and Dan, my mom and Madison trying to keep up with us in another car (my mom screaming the whole way.) It was an adventure to remember.

Christmas Eve....wish you were here Aunt Hannah

2008-12-25T00:43:00.004-06:00

Here are just a few quick pictures from Christmas Eve at Granny and Grumpy's....just for you Aunt Hannah since you aren't here to enjoy.

Madison spreading "Reindeer Food" on the front lawn. She used her new lantern to light her way. TOO CUTE.

Happy 6th Birthday Madison

2008-12-15T10:21:00.004-06:00

This weekend we celebrated Madison's birthday party at the Embassy Suites in Tulsa. On Friday night we stayed the night and let Madison (and Eli) open up their joint bday present - A Wii!! While we were setting it up for a Wii little party the electricity went out. At first I thought, "Dan, what did you do??" but then I realized it was the entire block of hotels. Since the lobby was a little crazy we decided to stay in our room and wait it out. Finally, after about 30 minutes the lights came back on and we had a fun few games of Wii bowling and tennis.

The next day Madison had a few of her friends, Delaney, Austin and Hope, come up for Happy Meals, cupcakes and swimming. We had a great time!!

Notice that Eli is right in the middle of all those girls. I don't think he minds at all being the middle child with two girls on either side. He will get the best of all worlds!!

This isn't the best quality picture but I thought it was really cute. Lillie is growing so fast!!

Christmas Gathering Stars

2008-12-07T13:57:00.004-06:00

This week Madison, Eli and Lillie modeled jammies in front of 800 women at our church's annual Christmas Gathering. For those of you who don't know what this is, it is like Oprah's favorite things meets HGTV. It is so much fun to be a part of and this year we were able to involve the whole family. They were the stars of the show. I had my doubts about whether or not Eli and Lillie would actually go out on the stage, but they did so great. Lillie walked right over and sat on Denise's knee and Eli ended up climbing onto the red chair like he had been on that stage 100 times. And as you can see, Madison waved like a gymnastics star.

Just Because

2008-11-29T19:16:00.002-06:00

I didn't really have any misc. pictures of Madison, so we will have to make up for that on another post. These were just a few cute pictures from the month that I liked.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2008-11-29T19:13:00.002-06:00

Wish you were here Aunt Hannah!!

2008-11-10T14:47:00.002-06:00

Less than two weeks until Holiday Market! For those who don't know, this is The Church at BattleCreek's annual arts, craft and home decor show. I have a huge need for volunteers for Saturday, November 22nd. If you are interested please leave me a comment and I will get you plugged in. If you can't volunteer, please plan on stopping by to check it out from 9am-5pm.

Halloween and Fishing

2008-11-01T18:49:00.004-05:00

Is Halloween over yet? It seems like Halloween this year was a two week event, we were dressing up every time we turned around. We had lots of fun though. We are definately in the perfect neighborhood for trick-or-treating!! We even ran out of candy. People literally were coming by the car load and unloading in our neighborhood...it was crazy fun! As you can see, Granny and Grumpy joined us for the evening. And no, my mom isn't in costume...haha, just kidding.

Tonight we settled in for a little game of Let's Go Fishin. It is interesting to see the different styles of fishing as the game went on.

Madison enjoys normal, traditional fishing with the pole. She also volunteers as the lake patrol ensuring that everyone is playing correctly, confiscating any illegally obtained fished.

Eli tried the traditional method. He did okay for a while, throwing back nearly every fish he caught so that it could be caught again. After a couple of rounds he, however, decided to trade his fishing pole for a wave runner and enjoyed torturing the other fishermen/women by tumping the game upside down.

Lillie is a true Oklahoman. She prefers to noodle for her fish and then quickly eats them before her humanitarian brother throws them back or her sister polices her catch.

Franny B. Kranny There's a Bird in Your Hair!

2008-10-31T17:06:00.003-05:00

Today Madison got to dress up like her favorite story book character. After much deliberation she decided to dress up like Franny B. Kranny. For those of you who are not familiar with Franny's story: Franny is a little girl who ends up having a bird make a home of her wild hair. Thanks to Granny, Madison looked very Frannyish.

She also got to decorate a pumkin for school. Again, with the help of Granny, Madison designed this beautiful work of art that she creatively named, Aunt Hannah. Can't imagine why she picked that name. (And yes, that was her idea, no prompting.)

Halloween Preview

2008-10-25T22:42:00.003-05:00

We went down to Main St in BA tonight for their little Pre-Halloween celebration. The kids are getting to wear their costumes a lot this year so that makes it a lot of fun. Madison and Lillie are Fall fairies and Eli is Superman. They had lots of fun dressing up and they are all looking forward to dressing up again for church tomorrow.

A Little Off Color

2008-10-20T23:20:00.002-05:00

I couldn't help but share this very funny conversation between Madison and Dan on Friday while they were driving on 169 on the way to the zoo. Hope you are not too easily offended.

Madison: "Daddy, what is that bad smell?

Dan: "They are laying asphalt on the road."

Madison: "Ass?"

Dan: "No Madison, asphalt"

Madison: "Ass?"

Dan: "No Madison, AsPHALT"

Madison: "Well, I don't know but that ass is stinky!"

Kids say the craziest things, I am just hoping that when she tells her teacher what she did on fall break she doesn't recall her stinky encounter on 169.

I almost forgot

2008-10-20T15:53:00.002-05:00

First of all, WE LOVE OUR CHURCH!! BattleCreek has been such a blessing to out whole family. Occasionally, though, things happen that are totally out of control. Yesterday when we picked up Lillie from the nursery I could see as I approached the pick up door that Lillie had a huge bump over her eye. The worker, upon seeing me at the door, said, "We had a little accident." I figured that she had bumped her head, but it turns out that a little boy actually bit Lillie on the eye and apparently "held on". Poor baby girl. I had to post pictures of her BattleCreek nursery wound. Again....BattleCreek, in my opinion, is the best church in the world.

And, here is a really cute picture I stole off my friend Sarah's page. This is another one from the pumpkin patch. Eli has been waiting all year for that bus ride.

Random

2008-10-20T15:41:00.002-05:00

I have taken a lot of random pictures this month, so I thought I would post a few for fun. I haven't had much about Lillie....she is growing up so much!! Not a baby anymore.

Eli showing off the new tats
Madison at her award assembly
Lillie and Eli playing with blocks before bed...they have become pretty good friends. Eli is starting to step out of little brother mode and into big brother mode, it is very sweet.

Character Counts

2008-10-14T19:36:00.002-05:00

Today Madison received a very special award at school called the character counts award. Each month they focus on a different attribute and one girl and boy are chosen to receive the reward for being a great example that characteristic. Madison was chosen this month because she shows great respect. We are very proud of her.

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-11T14:30:00.002-05:00

Thursday I got the opportunity to go with Eli on his first field trip to the pumpkin patch. It was a lot of fun watching Eli with his friends. He talks a lot about a couple of the little girls in the class so it was nice to finally meet them and their parents. Here is a picture of his class (notice he is one of only 3 boys in his class.)

Here is Eli with the twins. A couple of weeks ago Eli's teacher caught Eli on the reading rug with one twin under each arm looking at books. Hopefully not a sign of trouble ahead.
This is Eli with one of the twins (left), Ashton and Kaitlyn (right). Kaitlyn is the little girl that he talks about the most. Her mom caught me and said that Kaitlyn says that Eli is her boyfriend.... Kaitlyn's dad says that he needs to have a little talk with Eli.

High School Musical on Ice

2008-10-06T11:19:00.003-05:00

Last weekend we got to go the fair and see High School Musical on Ice (thank you Aunt Barb) and we had tons of Wildcat fun. Erin and Keith joined us for a morning of cheesy entertainment and lots of laughs. GO WILDCATS!

Hello Tooth Fairy

2008-09-23T18:46:00.002-05:00

I am a little behind on my posting, so sorry this is coming a little late. Two weeks ago today Madison lost her first tooth. Actually, she lost two teeth at the same time!! Lucky for the her, the tooth fairy wasn't prepared for this special event and only had a ten dollar bill, so she really made bank. She was very proud to be one of the first in her class to bring her teeth to school for show and tell.

Lillie Walking

2008-09-07T21:58:00.003-05:00

Okay, Aunt Hannah here is your video of Lillie walking. She was in a great mood after church tonight and we were having a blast watching her run around and giggle. I think she would have gone on for hours if we had let her.

Catching Up

2008-09-06T22:09:00.004-05:00

Hannah, I know that I told you this post would have video of Lillie walking, but it doesn't. I don't have a whole lot to report, so I have decided to just to blog about random things from the past couple of weeks.

Madison is doing great at school. She has a love for learning that I hope continues through her entire education. She got an award recognizing that she is a team player, so she was very proud of that!!

Eli on the other hand...well we celebrated no pee pee pants and sort of no time outs at school. The first week was a little rough but he is adjusting. The potty training is going great!! Our biggest challenge is trying to keep clothes on him. We let him run around naked while he was learning and now he prefers nudey tudey to the traditional clothing. Oh well.

Lillie continues to be a great little baby. For the most part she goes with the flow, still takes two naps a day, loves to be held like a baby and sings all the time. She will be my early talker (or singer). Her favorite thing to sing is "Ashes, ashes...all...down" It is precious.

I am still enjoying my job. I definately think I will learn a lot while I am in nursing school from the patients on the floor I am on (Neurology.) There is never a shortage of good stories, that is for sure.

Dan is doing good. He is taking 17 hours and keeping up with it very well. His friend Chris has shown drastic improvement. He has completed the reconstruction of his left arm including skin graphs and has been admitted to the rehab floor. He has lost a lot of weight but seems to be getting around fairly well and in pretty good spirits. It has been a real joy getting to know his family.

Well I guess that is all, I will end with a picture from Madison's and Lillie's room. I just finished their dresser and I think it looks really great.

First Day of School and Madison Rides the Bus

2008-08-22T21:14:00.003-05:00

So, it is official, Eli has started Preschool!! He gets to go three days a week, and of the three days he has gone so far he only had to go to time out once (that we know of.) His teacher seems really nice and he acts like he really enjoys getting to be a big boy that goes to school. Yeah Eli!!

And yes, Madison is riding the bus.

DMB Dallas with the BFF

2008-08-17T20:16:00.004-05:00

My best friend Erin called me this week and offered me the oppotunity to go see the Dave Matthews Band in Dallas. Since I have a wonderful husband, he agreed to watch the kids while I went and had a fun weekend with her, watching my favorite band play at an awesome venue. Luckily, I was able to catch a few shots from our seats and even a little video. In addition to getting to see DMB, which is always a treat, he had special guest Tim Reynolds who played the whole show with them. It was a cool bonus to an already incredible show.

Thank you Erin...I LOVE YOU

Pear Pickin'

2008-08-17T20:05:00.003-05:00

This week, while on a walk around the block, my mom happened to notice one of her neighbors had a pear tree that was overwhelmed with delicious fruit. After sampling a few pieces, she went to the door and asked if it would be alright to bring her grandchildren to pick a few pieces. The sweet lady, herself a grandmother, was in the middle of watching her two year old twin grandaughters and was more than happy to offer her tree as entertainment for our kiddos. So Saturday morning, we loaded up, and began our pear picking expidition.

As you can see we were all assigned jobs....

Grumpy was the main picker....

Madison was the gatherer...
Eli was the sorter....and Lillie was quality contol.
We had lots of fun!

PS If anyone needs some pears, we have plenty to spare.

Madison's First Day of Kindergarten - Go Union???

2008-08-14T21:38:00.004-05:00

Today was Madisons first day of school at Union Moore Elementary. It is hard to celebrate the big U that Madison seems to spot everywhere, but we are learning. (For those of you that don't know...Union is the rival school of the high school that I graduated from, and my parents before me.) She looked so cute and is already begging to go by herself to class and even ride the bus. I can't believe that she is already an elementary school student!!! We are very lucky that she has a great teacher and we are very impressed with the school so far.

Yesterday we took a trip to the zoo to celebrate our last day of summer break. It was lots of fun to get to go as a family. Of course, we had to stop and take a monkey picture.

Pray for Chris

2008-08-14T20:40:00.003-05:00

Last Wednesday a friend of Dan's was in a bad motorcycle accident with his girlfriend. His girlfriend was suprisingly okay, but Chris' injuries were pretty severe. After a week in ICU, he is doing better but has a long way to go. Please pray for him and his family. If you are interested in helping, his family has asked that we donate blood at the Oklahoma Blood Institute at 81st and Yale in Tulsa. If 50 people donate under his name, all the blood that he has received will be free. His name is Chris Downs.

Lovin' Bath Time

2008-07-28T21:42:00.002-05:00

So, I know that I keep saying that I will post pictures of the new house, but I just haven't had time. We are really loving our new space though. One of personal favorites is my new, big bath tub, or as my children refer to it, "Daddy's bath." Not sure why they call it that, as Dan has never been in it, but I would suspect it is because of it's large size. The nice thing is, all three kids can bathe at the same time!!

Dan's new motorcycle

2008-07-28T21:26:00.003-05:00

Well, Dan has finally finished is new motorcycle. When we got it a few weeks ago, it was literally in hundreds of pieces. He has worked hard and finally this weekend, with some help from Eli, Dan got the bike together in time to show it off at the local bike show.

Here is one of the before pictures (of you look closely you can see the boxes of all the pieces that came with it)....

And here is Eli looking at the finished product.

Family Pictures

2008-07-25T23:10:00.003-05:00

I realize that most of you have already discovered this, but just in case you don't frequently check her webpage, check out the Ashley Ann Photography website (it is listed under my favorite links on the right) and take a peek at some of our family pictures. It was hot but we love how the pictures look. Ashley is awesome....thank you Ash!!

2008-07-18T15:07:00.001-05:00

A friend sent this video to me today and I thought it was amazingly powerful and really wanted to share it with everyone that I know. Pass it along.

I know that I haven't blogged in a while. We have been busy moving and I am starting a new job at Saint Francis Hospital on Monday, so things have been a little crazy. I will post as soon as I get some down time.

Happy 1st Birthday Lillie!!

2008-06-20T20:02:00.006-05:00

One year ago today, Lillie Grace came into this world and it has never been the same since. It is hard to believe that a year has gone by already. She still seems like a baby to us but seeing these pictures are a good reminder of how little (sort of) she was. She is sweet little girl, who brings lots of smiles to our family.

Lillie, sweet baby, we love you....Happy Birthday!

Here are a few shots of her little birthday party today. She was a little sleepy so she wasn't really wanting to take a lot of pictures. Her birthday cakes were really cute (and very tasty!) As you can see, she got her own personal cake to devour.

Lillie loves to push around cars, so this gift was a big hit...good job Aunt Hannah!!

We were wondering exactly how much of the cake Lillie would eat. Well, as you can see, she impressed us big time.

This is Lillie saying, "Mom, please stop me before I hurt myself."

VBS - Friendship Trek

2008-06-20T19:24:00.004-05:00

This week Madison and her friend Emily went to Vacation Bible School at Immanual Lutheran Church. The theme for the week was Friendship Trek and they talked about different stories in the bible where Jesus was a good friend and how he is the best friend we could ever have. Today they had their end of week performance, which was really great. There was a brief overview of the stories from the week and they performed some of the songs they learned about Jesus being a friend. They also raised money for different items for a mission organization that lets you specify what you want your money to go towards. They raised enough money to buy a llama, a ram, some ducks and a few other items that I can't seem to remember. Madison had a great time and did a great job performing.

One of the songs that I really enjoyed was a song that I have heard a million times, even remembered most of the words, but for some reason today it really touched me. A couple of weeks ago we found out that one of Dan's aunts has breat cancer. She will be having a full mastectomy in just a few days. As I was listening to the words, she came to mind. So for those of you who have never heard this song or maybe it has been a while, I have posted the words of the song and a video.

Char, we love you and are praying for you.

WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS
Uploaded by olivieradd

What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.
Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer.Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share?Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?Precious Savior, still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer.Do your friends despise, forsake you? Take it to the Lord in prayer!In His arms He’ll take and shield you; you will find a solace there.
Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised Thou wilt all our burdens bearMay we ever, Lord, be bringing all to Thee in earnest prayer.Soon in glory bright unclouded there will be no need for prayerRapture, praise and endless worship will be our sweet portion there.

Moez, Mud and Motorcycles

2008-06-14T22:06:00.003-05:00

Now that Hannah is home, I have been slacking a little on my postings, so I am going to try to do a little catching up. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately,) there is not much to report. We are still very much enjoying Moez. Sorry the picture is a little blurry, it is nearly impossible to get all of them in a picture but I thought this one was really cute. We took him to the park on Friday to meet our friends, which was a little crazy, but all in all he is a very sweet dog. He definately is part of the family.

Usually our summer days are filled with hours at the pool, but with three kids and the yucky weather that we have had we haven't spent tons of time swimming. While the rest of us have complained about the weather, Eli, our little weather man (he loves to tell us that is either raining or going to rain), has quiet enjoyed our muddy back yard with his furry friend Moez.

Here is the last picture of what used to be Dan's motorcycle. No, he did not crash it, he sold it. He has already found a replacement but I won't put up pictures until the deal is final. He is proud of his new find, so hopefully it won't take long to post the new pictures. Good bye R6.

Precious Boy

2008-05-25T23:14:00.002-05:00

Today I had a good reminder of precious life is. This afternoon Eli was playing out back with a couple of the neighbor boys while Dan and I were inside. This is pretty much part of our daily routine, so I wasn't really worried. Suddenly, I heard the boys in the garage, so I sent Dan out to find out what they were doing. Upon asking them why they were in the garage they said they were looking for Eli and Moez. At first Dan didn't worry, assuming that they were out back, probably on the side of the house looking at the neighbors dogs. He quickly realized, however, that they had somehow escaped with unlocking the gate. Immediately Dan rushed inside to tell me that they were nowhere inside. After a few minutes we realized that a barrier we had placed over a hole in the back fence had been removed. So I peered through the hole expecting to see them in the yard behind ours as Dan rushed to get into the van and drive around the block. As I looked through the hole calling for the two runaways I begin to panic because they are nowhere in that yard either. At this point, I am on the verge of being totally frantic, knowing that they were somewhere out of the protection of the fences. Just then, as I am near screaming their names, I hear a woman's voice ask, "Are you looking for a little boy and a dog?" Crazily, I yell, "Yes, do you know where they are?" To which she responded, "They are in my front yard." I ask her to keep a watchful eye as Dan comes around in the van. As I calmed down I could hear Moez barking and two men talking, so I headed out front to watch for their return. As I waited, the fear of the situation set in and I sat on my front porch, crying, for what seemed like eternity, waiting to see my little boy return home. Upon arriving home, I hugged him and then shook him telling him never to leave the yard again and gave Moez a big pat on head. After all the excitement was over, Dan told me the man that was waiting with the two boys had tried to approach Eli, and Moez would not let him near. So it seems that we have found ourselves a good dog, who already desires to protect what is precious in our home. Looking at Eli in bed, has never seemed so sweet. Thank God for His protection.

Moez

2008-05-23T21:37:00.002-05:00

Introducing the newest member of our family, Moez:

We weren't totally planning on getting a dog, but I looked online and saw this little guy and simply could not resist. He is a very busy dog that turned one year old just this month. We adopted him from PAL here in Tulsa. He is a Puggle (Pug/Beagle mix) but was bigger than his siblings so he was difficult to sell and ended up being given up for adoption. He already fits right in.

Little Artist

2008-05-20T09:15:00.002-05:00

Now that Lillie is crawling, she is enjoying discovering all that she has been missing in her stationary life. In her explorations, she has recently found a new toy that she loves....the magna-doodle! The funny thing is, she actually puts the pen on the pad, like she knows what she is doing. Maybe she has a touch of her Aunt Hannah's creative side??

Lillie Finally Crawls

2008-05-09T14:29:00.005-05:00

We have been waiting and waiting for Lillie to start crawlings, and last night she finally decided that it was time. Dan found her in the kitchen eating cat food. YEAH LILLIE! She has been crawling back and forth to the front door, so I thought I would share this little clip of her exploring her new found freedom.

Summer is on the way!

2008-05-06T21:49:00.002-05:00

With summer well on it's way to Oklahoma, we loaded up this week for the first of many trips to the pool. This is Lillie in her little sun bathing outfit. Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of her in her swimsuit, but I'm sure one will eventually make it to the blog. The kids had tons of fun! Madison hasn't skipped a beat on her swimming. She jumped in that freezing cold water and picked up right where she left off. Eli is going to be a handful (big surprise). Right now he is a little of leary of the water, but it is obvious that is not going to last long. We had to fish him out twice. Lillie is going to follow the other two in a love for the water, she loved to kick and splash. It will be a busy summer (which makes for some really great afternoon naps!)

Finals, T-ball, Work and Pink Eye

2008-05-03T21:27:00.003-05:00

This week has been absolutely crazy, but it is finally over. The week started with finals; luckily, I came through with good grades in all my classes, which was a good way to start the week. Wednesday, I returned to my old job and have worked every day since. Meanwhile, Madison has had t-ball in the evening and it has been a true juggling act trying to figure out what kids were going with what person in which vehicle. CRAZY! So, finally, Saturday arrived and Dan and the kids came to visit me at work. As soon as Eli walked in the door, I knew something was wrong with his eyes. So I called Brad, our friend the optometrist (who, by the way, is getting ready to open a practice in Broken Arrow behind Panara), and he confirmed my suspicion that Eli had pink eye. As the night has progressed I have been shocked at how awful his eyes have become, so I decided to post a couple of pictures, but this hardly does it justice...they are nasty.

Needless to say, it has been a crazy week. But, what are you gonna do?

My Little Prince

2008-04-23T20:00:00.002-05:00

This post is really just for my sister, who has recently complained about the fact that I don't really have any recent pictures of Eli posted. This weekend I had the pleasure of going out of town with a couple of other girls in my community group for a ladies conference. It was absolutely wonderful and refreshing and as a added bonus my mom let the two girls stay the night Saturday night since I wasn't home until late. Consequently, Eli was the only child that needed getting ready for church on Sunday morning, which caused us to run unusually ahead of schedule. So, I decided to take a couple of pictures of the little man, who looked especially cute that morning. So here he is, my little prince:

Silly Hair Day

2008-04-16T21:50:00.001-05:00

This week is silly week in Madison's class, and obviously today was silly hair day. As I was ratting up her hair this morning I told her, "The scarey thing is that people used to do this to their hair for real, not to be silly." She giggled and said, "I look like a lion." Madison would have done great in the 80's!

Heartbreaker: Game 2

2008-04-16T21:41:00.002-05:00

We have had a lot of rain, so most of our games have been cancelled. Here are a few pictures from game #2. We had lots of fun watching the girls.

This is Addie...she caught me taking her picture and had to stop and pose.

Here is Hope jumping onto first base.

Catching up

2008-04-16T21:26:00.003-05:00

Ok, so my computer has been down the last couple of weeks, so I haven't been keeping up with my blog. Tonight I'm going to try to get caught up. Sorry!

The other morning I woke up a little late, so instead of getting to slip into the shower while the kids were still in bed, I had to wait until after Madison was at school, leaving Eli and Lillie alone while I cleaned up. Surprisingly, my shower went uninterrupted, which I really enjoyed, until it occurred to me that this may not be a good thing. Especially since I had heard the stool in the kitchen scooting across the floor.

So, I got out of the shower and dried off and headed for the living room to check on Lillie. As soon as I turned the corner, there it was .... Lillie sitting in a pool of goldfish crackers. Eli, who cares very much for his little sister decided that she needed a snack, and took it upon himself to make sure that she was provided for. So, he extracted the package of goldfish from the top shelf of the cabinet and lovingly dumped the whole bag on Lillie's head, shaking any remaining crackers free all over the rest of the living room.

Lillie, was grateful for the little treat .... upon seeing me, she quickly began picking up the crackers and eating them. My first reaction was to discipline Eli, but then I realized he was simply babysitting while I was in the shower. So, I decided to be grateful for the quiet shower and go on, thankful for a son who loves his sister.

Heartbreakers: Game 1

2008-04-05T21:09:00.003-05:00

Tuesday was Madison's first T-ball game. It was freezing cold and wet from rain the night before, but it was tons of fun. Between our family, Hope's family and Addie's family, the bleachers were packed. Luckily, Madison was one of the first batters. This is a picture of her with Coach Dani helping her get ready.

Madison nailed the ball after a couple of attempts and then headed to first base. But, oops, what's this? Madison get nervous about getting to first base and starts skipping! Needless to say, the ball beat her to the base.

Madison's next attempt at bat went much better. We all cheered as she made it around all four bases...running the whole way! That's right Madison scored a hit and an RBI all in one game. GO MADISON!!

Cheerios and flowers

2008-03-29T14:59:00.002-05:00

This week was a major mile marker for Lillie...she is eating Cheerios!! It is so nice when a child begins to feed themselves, even if it is just a small snack. She was fun to watch. She would put the Cheerio in her mouth and then stick her tongue out for me to look at it. She knew that I thought she was too cute to resist.

With the weeds in full bloom, the kids have been bringing me lots of "flowers." Funny enough, these weeds actually add a bright little touch to my kitchen that I have quite enjoyed. Amazing how a gift from a child, regardless of content, can be so sweet and beautiful.

Easter

2008-03-24T21:59:00.003-05:00

This Easter started like most with some fun little treats from the Easter bunny. Each basket was filled with treats for the zoo and a family zoo pass. YEAH! Summer fun.

Luckily we got one good picture before loading up to go to church. Unfortunately not the greatest background, but hey, look at those cuties!

What would Easter be without a good ole Easter egg hunt. We had lots of fun searching high and low in Granny's yard for all sorts of hidden surprises.

One more kid pic. Notice the Chocolate bar hanging out of Eli's mouth. Needless to say, it was a long afternoon of sugar high at the Beam home.

Yes, she was the cutest baby in the nursery at church. Happy First Easter Lillie!

Baby Mike

2008-03-24T21:45:00.003-05:00

Being the only little boy in a world of little girl toys, is very hard for Eli. He envies all of his sisters pretty, shiney, cuddly things. So, finally we broke down and let Eli pick one of Madison's babies to adopt as his own. He picked out a sweet little cabbage patch, which, of course, needed a name. We made several suggestions, but Eli, on his own, picked the name Mike. (For those of you who don't know, Mike is a close family friend, that Eli has really come to enjoy playing with on his visits to his Grumpy and Granny's.) So, we couldn't help but post a few pictures of the new babe.

His sisters where happy to pose for this post-adoption ceremony picture.

Daughters

2008-03-15T21:19:00.002-05:00

Today I had the pleasure of taking both Madison and Lillie to the mall with my mother to shop for their Easter dresses. After a couple of hours, we finally managed to tear ourselves away and head home with a little more than just Easter dresses. (Thanks Mom!) On the way home, Madison and I were talking about her bag of clothes and she kept saying, "Don't tell Dad, I want to surprise him." As soon as we arrived home, she ran to her room, shedding her clothes on the way. A couple of minutes later, she remerged from her room to show off her new Easter dress for her Dad. She giggled and twirled for him while he OOOOD and AAAHD over her. I love standing back and observing these moments and it made me think of this song.

Lovin' this Weather!

2008-03-12T09:28:00.004-05:00

The last couple of days have been beautiful, and the Beam family has been taking full advantage of the opportunity to be outside. Monday we had T-ball, but yesterday all we did was play outside until dark. Some very good friends of ours are getting ready to move, so they gave us their trampoline. The kids have been loving every second of their new toy. Eli calls it, "My jumpy." This is some video from our time on the trampoline yesterday.

Tune Up

2008-03-05T13:15:00.003-06:00

Madison's Pre-K teacher Mrs. Wood has a time out system that she calls "tune up." The idea behind tune up is that all participants in a problematic situation are sent to tune up even if they are not the instigating party. After a short time in a tune up chair all parties are forced to reconcile with one another. Madison, of course, has never had a trip to the tune up chair.

Today, after lunch, Madison came into the living room, somewhat hesistant, and said, "Mom, guess who got a sad face today and had to go to tune up." I said, "I don't know, who?" Head dropped and shameful she said, "Me." After some discussion about why she went to tune up I praised her for her honesty and went on about the day.

I had to smile to myself a little about the situation. For a little girl not used to getting in trouble outside of her home, today will probably be a marked memory. As for mom...I couldn't be more proud. I have always wanted my children to know that no matter what, they could find refuge in sharing honestly with us. Today was confirmation, (even though small), that Madison is starting to understand that honesty is the best policy.

Lillie Grace is 8 months old!

2008-03-01T20:42:00.002-06:00

Last week Lillie turned eight months old, and she is still just the happiest little baby ever. In fact, we joke that she may never crawl because she isn't motivated to be anything other than a little baby. She is totally content just sitting and watching all day long, crying only when she is hungry or tired.

We decided to try some solid food this week thinking that she wouldn't like it, but boy where we wrong! She devoured that cracker like a champ. In fact, she ate three crackers, and would have eaten more had we not put an end to it. Growing up is so much fun (and yummy too!)

Madison's First Day of T-Ball

2008-03-01T19:39:00.002-06:00

Today was Madison's first day at T-Ball. We were lucky that the weather was beautiful and everyone was very excited. Above is a picture of most of her team, and as you can see, Madison's friends Addie and Hope are on the team with her. Madison did great! She got right out there and did everything that the coaches told her without even hesitating!

Tonight while I was helping her get ready for church tomorrow, I asked Madison what her favorite part of the day was. She said that she liked getting to put on her helmet and use the bat to hit the ball. She said that she loved T-ball but didn't always like having to bend over with her glove to the ground because it made her legs hurt, but that she would keep doing it because it was good excercise. We look forward to the season ahead and probably will have lots of T-ball posts.

Eli loves Grumpy

2008-02-26T20:53:00.004-06:00

About once a week I am fortunate enough to get a chance to get to drop the kids off with my parents and get a few things done without the aide of my children. Lately, since Eli is a little bit of a handful, my dad has tried to help by finding creative things for the two of them to do. Last week the two of them loaded in the pickup and went off for a great salvage yard adventure.

Those of you who have been around Eli very much knows that he loves trucks. Grumpy said that he would walk right past the cars and head straight for the trucks. Eli "worked on" about 50 different trucks during this trip! Needless to say, Grumpy and Eli both took a good nap when they got home.

2008-02-04T20:38:00.001-06:00

This video was showed at our church (The Church at Battle Creek) on Sunday and it was really moving. Watching my friend Erin and her son makes me stand in awe at the lengths that parent's will go to in order to help their children live the best life possible. Erin and James - you are awesome parents, and I admire you for the marathon of life that you run for Keith!

Keith Turns Four!!

2008-02-04T20:22:00.000-06:00

One of the sweetest little boys that I know is my best friend's son, Keith. He just turned four at the end of January and had an awesome birthday party. When they were preparing for his party all he cared about was that he had balloons hanging from the ceiling...as you can see, they came through in a big way. Happy Birthday Keith, we love you!!

Bath Time Baby

2008-01-29T16:34:00.000-06:00

I promised my sister that I would try to start posting some video, so this is for you Aunt Hannah. This is Lillie's new favorite place to take a bath.

Adventures in Potty Training

2008-01-28T08:16:00.001-06:00

Well, after many attempts on the potty, Eli finally managed to put something in there!!! YEAH!!!! We had a big celebration and took some pictures, so we thought we would share (but not too much.)

Seven Months Old Already

2008-01-20T15:17:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow Lillie will be seven months old. It seems like just the other day I was posting newborn pictures of her. As you can see she is sitting up (no interest really in crawling) and she has two sweet little teeth. She is easy like Madison was as a baby but she is by far the happiest baby I have ever seen. Her smile is absolutely contageous. She loves both her brother and sister but it is obvious that she is ready to be her brother's playmate. Any time he gets close enough she will get a handful of his shirt (or hair, which ever comes first) and holds on for the ride. She loves to watch him and laughs at everything he does. Hopefully they will turn into great play mates.

One more sweet baby picture...

Big Birthday Boy

2008-01-20T14:53:00.000-06:00

Elijah Cooper Beam is TWO! I can hardly believe it. The last seven months has been such a fun time with him. I definitely think the year from one to two is the funnest in the life of a child. Their personality really starts to show and they learn to do so much. Somewhere in the coarse of this year Eli went from being a baby to a little man. Although very onery, Eli is has a tender little heart that often makes me melt. He loves his mom and is dad. Mommy for the nurturing and daddy for the fun. However, he is always looking forward that next ride in Grumpy's pick up. He even knows which key on the key ring makes it start. He is a quiet little guy which makes it easy to overlook that he is very perseptive. Now on to the next big challenge - POTTY TRAINING. Tips are welcome (so when is it that you teach them to stand?).

Christmas

2008-01-20T14:42:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I could fill up this page with tons of Christmas shots but I'm just not going to. Most of the picures aren't great, so I will spare you all. However, I am going to post one picture of the kids' big gift this year (and really our big gift too). We converted our garage into a play room and boy do we all enjoy it!! This is a picture of the room right after Santa Clause got it all set up.

Ok, I lied I couldn't resist posting this picture of Lillie and I figured it would be ok since it is her very first Christmas...what a sweet little happy baby.

A Birthday Tribute to Madison

2008-01-20T14:13:00.000-06:00

On December 17, 2002, we became the proud parents of a sweet little girl that we named Madison Noelle Beam. She weighed 8 lbs 6 oz and was absolutely perfect. Since we lived in Colorado at the time and we didn't know what we were having, Granny kept calling all day trying to get the latest news. After many long hours of waiting we heard those magical words "It's a girl" and within seconds, before I even got to hold her, the phone rang with a curious Granny on the other end. That was the quickest drive to Utica Square ever taken. The shopping spree began and has yet to end (although now the benefits are divided with a younger brother and sister.) A couple of days later Granny showed up in Colorado, bags of girly stuff in tow. Before we ever brought her home she was playing dress up and forging a bond with Granny that could never be broken.

Madison was the easiest little baby...we got big laughs out of her serious nature and mature personality. Little has changed...silliness is definately not her style but this is for sure...she LOVES her Granny and fashion is a high priority. Now she is five, boy how time flies.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

2007-12-27T22:26:00.000-06:00

During the ice storm we were lucky enough to have some tired, cold, lightless visitors. Grumpy, Granny and Aunt Hannah were a great help decorating our Christmas tree. Actually we all did very little, Madison pretty much tackled the entire thing on her own.

Here she is looking for her next ornament...she wouldn't even stop to pose for a picture.
Lillie...well, she just wasn't sure about the tree. She would stare at it for a long time then reach out and touch it and scowl.
Eli was his usual crazy self. Here he is about to pounce on Granny...again.
We were lucky enough to capture this one picture of the three of them. One of the only good pictures of the season. Most of the time we are having to hold Eli down to get him to take a picture with his sisters.

Ice Storm 2007

2007-12-25T17:40:00.001-06:00

Some of you who live out of town have asked about how we weathered the ice storm. Although everyone we knew lost power, somehow we were fortunate to keep the lights on through the whole mess. However, our street was devestated by fallen trees. Here are a couple of pictures of our neighbors yard.

Unfortunately, the yard wasn't the only thing that suffered.

Thanksgiving Day

2007-11-30T03:57:00.000-06:00

This year we enjoyed Thanksgiving at my mom's. We had 19 people all together and it was lots of fun and very yummy. In the morning all the little kids came to our house to play and decorate cookies and then we loaded up and went to Granny and Grumpy's for lunch.

Here they are decorating their cookies...

Eli was not sold on the decorating. He really felt like they was no reason to do anything with a cookie or the decorations besides eat them. I did manage to get one picture though.

Here are all the kids eating their dinner...

And of course, the sleeping baby...

Thanksgiving at Arrowhead

2007-11-30T03:46:00.000-06:00

So I always hoped that I would be one of those super moms that manage to go to every school event but I'm not. Madison has so many fun things in her class but unfortunately I have not been able to really make it to any of them until their Thanksgiving Feast. They had a little meal and performed songs about turkeys and being thankful. As you can see, they got to dress as Indians and Pilgrims.

Madison and Hope...

The Whole Class...

Madison the Indian...

The Feast...

Friends...

Fall Fun

2007-11-30T03:24:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago we finally got motivated to clean up the yard. Little did we know what a huge chore this would be as we have a couple of large trees in our yard that have dropped a ton of leaves. However, we had lots of fun. Dan would blow all of the leaves into a pile and the kids would come right behind him and jump into the piles which were sometimes waiste high on them.

Sweet and innocent, right?

Madison loved jumping in the leaves and then picking them up and throwing them in the air and letting them land on her head. She actually was a great help getting the leaves into the trash bags. At one point I looked and her and she as she smiled real big at me I noticed her smile was brown....she had laughed so much while jumping in the leaves her mouth was full of dirt. I wish I had gotten a picture but instead I got her a big glass of water.

Eli was crazy (surprise, surprise). He was hard to get a good picture of but I thought this one was pretty cute. He loves to do anything outside, expecially if he can follow his dad around and pretend to do what he is doing. I'm pretty sure he is watching Dan with the blower here.

This was Lillie's first day in the walker, which she loved. It was the perfect day outside and she could look around and watch the kids play. She sat in that spot on the patio for nearly an hour that day while we worked and played. What a great baby!!

Chickee Poof - Broken Arrow Costume Contest Winner

2007-11-07T10:09:00.000-06:00

Well, I couldn't help but brag....isn't she so cute?? We had a lot of fun posing for the judges on Main Street. Lillie stole their hearts!