Another life taken too soon.

Man, there are just sometimes when I hate living in a small town. Living in a small town means that everybody knows everybody and when something bad happens...it has at least a small effect on the entire town! I didn't know Mike Dagres hardly at all, ran into him at a couple of high school parties here and there...but never really even held a conversation with him. He was also a year...or 2 i'm not sure...behind me in school. He lived it up in his 29 short years, lived life to the fullest and put in a good effort to fight for our country. Man....Cancer sucks. If I sat and thought about how many people, my age, have passed on since high school, I bet I could fill both hands. That fact really bothers me. R.I.P. Mike Dagres. You fought the fight. You are in God's Army now. *SIGH*

Yes, i'm still here!

Well, Chris has been in Texas for 5 days now...only 2 more to go! We have been extremely busy here just trying to keep up with yard work, our newly landscaped retaining wall, housework, and hockey camp this week. I commented to my father-in-law the other day that I really like blue hydrangea's. I had noticed one driving past someones house and thought it was beautiful. When we got home from hockey tonight he surprised me with a blue hydrangea! He dug it up from their old house and told me to plant it behind our wall! I can't wait unti lit gets bigger and blooms....so beautiful! It looks like we may get our boat out for the first time this summer....this weekend! You know we're busy when we are too busy to get our boat out! I love the time we get to spend together as a family out on the boat. I hope the memories we make out on the lake will stick with the kids forever. Our friends (Hello Rob and Lisa!) bought a new boat so we're gonna meet up with them! Between us we have 6 (soon to be 7) kids and we can't fit all of us on either boat so we need 2! Lisa has a daughter in college and then 3 little ones at home and a 4th on the way! Yes, I think she is insane, but I love her to death! Her Cyanna is 1 day younger than my Nolan. I have already arrainged their marriage...even if her Daddy doesn't approve, he'll have to get over it! I could go on and on, but unfortunately, my yawns are becoming more and more distracting, so I need to go put laundry in the dryer and head to bed. Ideally, I would set the alarm to wake me up in the middle of the night and get a little ahead on hockey laundry, but instead i'll rush to get it all washed in the morning and dried by lunchtime to get packed yet again for another evening of hockey. How many more days left in the week?? *SIGH*

Introducing.....Chelsea Elizabeth Mahaffey!

Chelsea is our first born child...March 17, 2001. That makes her 7 years old. Chelsea is unique in so many ways, I would be here typing about her forever, you really need to only spend 15 minutes with her to figure out just how unique she is. She has always been an over-achiever, and I don't say that just because I am her Mother. It has been brought to our attention several times over by, pre-school teachers, gymnastics coaches, tap teachers, and her kindergarden and 1st grade teachers. If she tries something and enjoys it, she achieves at it, but if she tries it and doesn't like it, she quits and doesn't look back. Gymnastics and Tap Dancing are the two great loves in her life right now. She has been in Gymnastics since she was 3 and in tap only since she was six. She loves to write stories, do art work, and her favorite outdoor activity is catching frogs and making "habitats" for them and setting them free at the end of the day. She likes to read, play with her baby sister, fight with her little brother, swim, and listen to her I-Pod. Whats on her play list you ask....? Hannah Montana, every single High School Musical song from HSM 1 and 2 plus the remixed songs, The Jonas Brothers, and Kids Bop 1 through 13 I believe! She has seen High School Musical on Ice 3 times, and High School Musical the Musical at the Benedum Center in Pittsburgh once. Her bedrrom is decorated in HSM and her last birthday cake was...you guessed it....HSM!!! She is already planning her first sleep-over for this Fall when HSM 3 premieres! She reminds me much of myself...only I was 12 not 7! Nolan and Kylie really have a great big sister, they don't realize it now but I knw they will appreciate it years down the road. Chelsea teaches them, plays with them, and acts as a second mother half the time. I will never forget the day I gave birth to her, it was the day that changed Chris and I's lives forever, the day that changed my title for the rest of my life to "Mother", the day that I realized what true love truly feels like...I will forever be grateful.

Introducing....Nolan Isaac Mahaffey!

This handsome little man is the 2nd addition to our family! Nolan was born on January 29, 2003 and was also a 9+ pounder! This little man is unique in every way! People often mistake him to be at least 6 years old! He is extremely tall and athletic like you wouldn't believe! At his 5 year check-up the doctor checked out his growth chart...he said to expect Nolan to be over 6 feet in his early teen years! Nolan has been playing ice hockey since he was 3 1/2 years old. He will be starting on his first "official" team this Fall. The last year and a half have been spent in a hockey development program and in figure skating lessons. He is currently participating in his 2nd hockey camp this summer. He has been gifted in his athletic talent and has been placed on a team this Fall consisting of boys aged 7 and up. His abilities are superior of those his age, thus why he is playing with the older boys! Aside from Hockey....Nolan really doesn't show a huge interest in any other activities! While at home you can find him playing the Wii, playing with his sisters, riding his bike, or playing in the dirt! Nolan attended the pre-school program at Grove City College for 2 years and is headed to kindergarden this Fall! Aside from school work, Nolan will be kept busy all Winter long with swimming lessons and Hockey. His favorite foods are pizza, cereal, hamburgers, and spaghetti. I am so excited to see him grow-up, although definitely not rushing it! Nolan has had snow-white hair all his life but now its starting to get darker...to my dismay, oh how I will miss his white hair! Stay tuned...i'll have plenty more to write about Nolan...everyday is an adventure with him in our family!

Introducing....Kylie Jordan Mahaffey!

This beauty is the final addition to our family! I though I would introduce my children in reverse order of their birth simply because Kylie is always last! Not that she'll ever care that I introduced her first or last to my blog readers, I just wanted to mix things up a bit this time! Kylie was born on June 14, 2006, and weighed in at a whopping 9 pounds 9 ounces! If you pay close attention to her birthdate you will see that she recently turned 2, and my goodness have the "Terrible Two's" set in! Some of her favorite things to do are get into my make-up drawer and apply make-up to her entire body, squirt any kind of lotion onto any piece of furniture she can get to without me catching her, and pull dresses out of her closet and attempt to play dress-up. She absolutely loves her older sister and brother (I'll introduce them later). In fact, when I am scolding her, she often looks for her brother or sister and buries her face into them and seeks comfort. She recently moved from her crib to a big-girl and is eager to get into big-girl underwear! Yes, SHE wants to get potty trained! I was preparing to start that when the older kids start back to school and I have all day to devote to her and her potty training...but we are already traveling down that road...and with quite a bit of success! She is well on her way to being a "Big-Girl" but we still have one thing holding her back. She hasn't given up on her "Nukie", "Binky", "Nuk", whatever you choose to call it....she's still attached! One hurdle at a time right???

Last Week....mostly in Pictures!

Well, I haven't quite figured out how to post pictures and write a few sentences between them...i'm not sure why I can't get it to work tonight so i'll post the pictures all at the end! The purpose of tonights blog entry is to get some pictures up from our week in Gettysburg with my sister-in-law and her family. Some of my family said they would like to see pics! My sister- in-law lives in Gettysburg with her husband, Barry and their 9 year old son, Cail. They live in a housing development that surrounds a private lake. Talk about cool....they can swim, boat, ski, canoe....pretty much whenever they want! Barry wakeboards and man is he something to watch! Our nephew, Cail, has also recently taken up wakeboarding...pretty cool stuff for a 9 year old! In a nutshell....our week consisted of....Guitar Hero and Rock Band, boating, swimming, and touring 2 potato chip factories and Hershey Park! The kids always fuss about coming back home....gee I wonder why?!?!?! I'm heading to bed for the night...my goal is for the next few blog entries to be introductions to each of us individually, with a picture and a blurb about us. We'll see how that goes, and until then...here is our past week in pictures!

A Quick Introduction to Our Kids

O.K. I couldn't log off the internet that easily....this blogging thing has got me reeled in now! Anyways, I'll make this short and sweet. These are my 3 kiddos. Chelsea is 7 years old, Nolan is 5 years old, and Kylie is 2 years old. They are pretty much the stars of this show, or blog, however you wanna look at it. They are my inspiration and my life. Without them....well....I wouldn't have anything to talk about. So there you have it, faces to match with names...I will elaborate more on them in a different blog. I'll try and dig up a picture of Chris and I to post, but that may take a good while ;-) Now, I really am going to bed!

Day 1 - My Week at Home While Chris is in Texas

Chris left for Texas this morning yet again leaving me to "Singlehood" and "Single Parenting" for the next week! I have to admit, I don't mind him traveling for work in the summertime at all. The kids and I have PLENTY to keep ourselves busy...unlike wintertime when we prefer to stay indoors away from the snow. Today I ran into an unusual situation. Chelsea was sobbing uncontrollably and I asked her what was wrong, she handed me a framed picture of her and Kylie when Kylie was just a newborn. She kept mumbling something about wishing Kylie was still a baby. Geez, talk about tugging at my heart strings, as if coming to terms with the fact that Kylie is our last child wasn't hard enough for me...now i've got my 7 year old begging me to have another! Don't worry....as much as I miss having a tiny baby around the house, I don't miss the sleepless nights and all the other stuff that comes along with babies! I love my 3 kiddos and the ages they are....no more babies for me! Did I just hear a sigh of relief echo across the state of Pennsylvania? Oh wait....I think it came from Texas! Ha Ha Ha! I think I may do some research on the internet tonight and see how I can spruce up my blog page...and I definitely need to figure out how to put photos on here! I'm sure it's not difficult...just time consuming, and extra time is not something I often have! Most of my computer stuff is done after 9:00 when all of the kids are in bed for the night. One of these days I may send out an email to my friends and family to let them know I've started this blog. Seems kind of silly to type out all this stuff and make the page pretty and log onto it and see i've had ZERO hits! Yep, ZERO!!! That means nobody has read it yet. Hmmm....maybe I oughta get that email sent! O.k. Gotta run, we are picking up Chris parents and heading to the house of a family that goes to our church. They evidently have some very friendly goats and we thought the kids would love to go see them, and pet them of course! I'll try not to forget the hand sanitizer!

My first blog entry!

I'm not gonna post much at all tonight, this is my first post and I am pretty much just customizing my page right now. The reason for me starting this blog is mainly because my husband travels for work A LOT. And a lot of that travel is in other time zones....we don't get to talk a whole heck of a lot during those trips so I figure he can read my blogs for an easy and quick update on our happenings here at home! I also have cousins in Alaska...who may or may not care about my life...but its all here to catch up on if they care! That's all for tonight...Chris (the hubby) is bugging me to help him match clothes to pack for his business trip this week. He flies out of Pittsburgh at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow....9:30 p.m. right now...nothing like last minute packing huh?

P.S. It is now the next day....12 hours later and this blog entry still isn't showing up on my page! Hmmmm.....its pretty sad when BOTH Chris and I couldn't get it to work in a timely manner! Hang in there, i'll get this blogging stuff figured out!