The Cardwell's

South Padre

2009-08-09T11:19:00.023-05:00

Aren't we cute together?

Me on the balcony!

I thought this was so cute that Drew just made his own chair!

Heath feeding the sea gulls off of our balcony. You could just throw the food and they would catch it. The kids LOVED feeding & watching them!

I love the way Drew is "cutting" his eyes in this picture. It is kinda blury because it was taken in the car on the way home.

Hayden trying to see if the sea gulls would eat the bread right out of his hand.

I love this picture of Heath in his Mexican hat!

Nothing like a little sand on this precious face!

I LOVE this picture of Hayden. It is one of my favorites I think!

Just a reminder!

Hayden & Kelsey playing shuffleboard!

He loved walking in the sand!

The last day on the beach!

Heath and I dancing!

Hayden rolling down the hill at the Light House. He had so much fun! I am trying really hard lately to be a "YES Mom" instead of a "No Mom". It is the simple things in life......

Mackie was on vacation too!

These are the crabs that Nana, Kelsey & I found. It was SOOO fun crab-hunting. You go out at night time with flashlights on the beach. It is harder to catch these fast suckers than you think! The kids thought that after I took the pictures that they might have died from the flash! lol

3 of the reason I wake up every morning!

Our family at the Light House! We all were HOT, sweaty & stinky after all the stairs!

Andrew loved riding the little pony on the Merry-Go-Round in front of the Dollar Store. I remember doing this as a kid!

Kelsey at the beach!

Looking down at Nana & Andrew. He was not tall enough to go in & their would be no way he could climb all the stairs, so he stayed down below with Nana.

This view was taken from Light House. It was so BEAUTIFUL!

Port Isabel

This is the Causeway that takes you to South Padre Island.

Heath at the top of the Light House.

Me at the Lighthouse.

This is a Light House that we paid to go up in. It was lots & lots of stairs & VERY hot in there. I

Hayden at the top of the Light House. It was so funny on the way down. Hayden said that was a really cool Light House, but it only had one problem.....it had NO LIGHT!!!! lol

Kelsey at the top of the Light House. You can see she is holding on for dear life!

This is Kelsey at the Gravity Park on the trampoline. The restaurant behind her is a 2 story building, so you can see how high she was! She did not really like it!

Kissy picture!

Another picture of us on date night!

Heath & I at a gift shop!

Me chillin' at the beach!

Den-ski Doodle & Mom

This is ALMOST what our sand castle looked like!

This is at the South Padre Island Information Center. A man comes and makes a new display twice a year.

Andrew playing in the sand. He LOVED it.

The view from our hotel balcony.

Drew enjoying "his" Mudslide that his daddy made him. Look at his little toes pointed...I guess that is a sign that it is REALLY good, not to mention, he barely came up for air!

My wonderful, sweet, dear husband.....don't let the bald head & the mean looking shirt fool you!

Dad trying to figure out how in the world all this is going to fit in this car! And why in the world do I think I want & need a smaller car.....yea..right.... (This was before we even picked up Nana and all of her stuff!)

Look at that PRECIOUS sandy face!

Kelsey in the car on the way home! They were all SOOO tired from the trip!

Hayden made this balloon at the restaurant that we were at! I think he did pretty good!

This is a shirt we found at a gift shop. We thought it was perfect for this trip. It says MOMMY, YOU'RE FIRED...NANA'S HERE!!

I thought this picture was so cute. It was not planned. They just were walking to go see the alligator. Andrew LOVES to hold hands when he walks...and who better than his brother & big sister!

Heath & I before our date night!

Our Piggy Picture in the Sand!

We were all just sitting on the couch & relaxing, so Mom thought we needed a picture of it! I think it turned out cute!

Of course you can not go to the beach without a picture of SOMEONE being buried in the sand....so as you can see Hayden was the lucky one!

This is a bumpersticker I found on the back of the truck. My late dear Granny Dot used to say this all the time. She was raised during the Depression & I am afraid of things don't change in this economy that we are going to see it alot more often!

"My" 3 little monkey's "laying" in bed!

Here is a picture with our wake boards Heath went & bought us! Kelsey picked them out for everyone! We had alot of fun on them!

My 3 Beautiful Babies!

Mom & Kels

Hayden on our balcony!

Nana and 3 of her "little angels!"

Our condo! We were on the 5th floor. The first two floors are parking garages!

Nanna's in town

2009-05-28T16:38:00.004-05:00

So with my mom living in Ft. Worth taking care of a great aunt, we dont get to see her very much anymore. However, she came down this weekend to check on her apartment & we did not have anything planned for the weekend since Heath was playing in a Memorial Day golf tournment. On Saturday morning Heath wanted me to come out to the golf tournment to ride around with him in the golf cart, so I called Mom to ask her if she wanted to watch the kids. Normally my mom is a late sleeper so we decided IF she happens to wake up early then she would come over and watch the kids so I could go with Heath. I had NO clue that she was actually going to be up early, so I could go! Her exact words were......ANYTIME I GET TO BE WITH MY GRANDKIDS, I AM GOING TO TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF IT!! It was so nice just getting to go hang out with Heath since we never really get to do that anymore since we always have the kids. I only ended up staying out there for a little over an hour because the gnats were HORRIBLE (even with TONS of spray on!) Afterwards I went to Walmart and bought the workout "Active" game for the Wii, so I went home and we had a fun rainy afternoon of playing the Wii with Nanna! After it stopped raining we played outside, planted some plants from her house, cooked out Hobo dinner on the grill (which I might add was WONDERFUL), and as you see.....Andrew played in the water. On Sunday after Heath played in the tournment, Nanna came over that evening so she could have some quality time with the grandkids and so Heath and I could go on a date. It was SOOO nice having someone watch them so we could go out! We went to Altus to a movie and to Applebee's for dinner. I am not really sure who enjoyed it more....the kids getting to play with her, her getting time with them or Heath and I since we had a babysitter and got to go on a date! As you can see we really enjoyed Nanna's visit this time and are all ready looking forward to her coming back next time! :)

Finally a Boyscout!

2009-05-28T15:51:00.002-05:00

Hayden has been in Cub Scouts for many years. He started out as a Tiger in 1st grade, he was in a Bear in 2nd grade, a Wolf in 3rd grade, a Weblos 1 in 4th grade and a Weblos 2 in 5th grade. He has worked hard for many years. On May 18th they had the Arrow of the Light Cermony. It is a very special cermony they do for the Cub Scouts that promote them to be a Boy Scout! We are so proud of him. all the boys & all their hard work!

Easter morning

2009-04-21T14:11:00.003-05:00

Here are some pictures from Easter morning! We did get to have one taken of our family together, but Molly Beth still has it on her camera!

Kelsey's 2nd Gymnastics Meet

2009-04-05T18:03:00.005-05:00

Kelsey had her 2nd gymnastics meet on Saturday. This time it was in Davidson Oklahoma at the high school. It was supposed to be last Saturday but with the bad weather, the gym had no electricity! She did a floor routine and did really great! She got 2nd place! We are so proud of her. I told her that I would buy her a new gymnastics outfit since she was competing, but she decided that she wanted a Hermit Crab instead. So, after the meet we had a Mommy/Daughter day planned of the craft show, mall, lunch & some shopping in Wichita Falls. We found her a crab at the mall. She did not have alot to choose from since they stopped selling them at Coach House Gifts, but found a really cute one that was red and has yellow & lime green hearts on it. She named her "Hailey". She loves her so much! She is so proud of Hailey, but not near as much as I am of her! (Our shirts say "Bounders Invitational 2009". Bounders is the name of her gymnastics team!)

YEAHHH!!!! The "new" look.....

2009-03-31T22:18:00.006-05:00

Well.....we can finally say we are finished.....finished and ready for swimming season! Here are the pictures of the pool. As you can see it "WAS" GREEN! We did not run the pump this winter since it is expensive to run and we knew we were getting a new liner the beginning of the spring! Here it is less 30,000 gallons of water...BUT lots of leaves. Here are the guys getting ready to put the new liner in. They also smooth any section that may have got rough! Here we are filling it up. It took over 50 plus hours to fill it up! If you would like to send donations for the water bill, please do so!! LOL Here is the new beautiful finished product!! Yeah...we are so excited! I think it changed the whole look of the backyard! We are looking forward to getting the deck restained, a bunch of potted plants and putting out the furniture to complete the new modern look! Then all we will need is our friends to join us and we will be all complete! Wa---laaa.....:)

So proud of him......

2009-03-28T20:08:00.008-05:00

Here are some pictures that were taken while Heath was working on getting his auto sales license. It is a very lengthy and time consuming process. They are sooo picky! You have a checklist of all this stuff you have to do BEFORE you apply, like have a outside sign made. Not so bad huh???? Well except that the sign has to have certain things listed on it and the letters even have to be so many inches tall! You also have to take pictures of the inside of your office. It has to show that you have a phone, a desk & at least 2 chairs. You also have to have the hours listed on or near the door (you have to at least be open 5 days a week and for 8 hours). You also have to take pictures of all this stuff to send to them, plus TONS of paper work.....work history, our personal financial statement, the note on the building, your "floor plan" which is were you have been approved for loans to buy the vehicles, insurance, ohh and don't forget the $800 it cost to apply (then a yearly fee to keep it current), not to mention a whole bunch of other stuff. The sad thing is............what if they don't approve you?? You also have to wait at least 8 weeks to get your license in the mail & you can't really do anything until you get them, or they will fine you daily until you get it! Anyway....luckily that did not happen to him! I am so proud of him and all he is doing. We all know that Heath was born to be a salesman! I always say...."He could sell ice to an eskimo!" I keep waiting for him to trade me or sell me.....but he jokes that he can't....because he is too "upside down" with me!! lol His business is going so wonderful. We have been so blessed. It is always scary to go from a guaranteed income to ????, especially when he is the sole bread winner of 5 people, but Heath has done amazingly WONDERFUL. We have been so blessed! We both say we wish he would have done this a long time ago, but all the experience that he received in management was great too! We are all SOOOO happy that he LOVES what he does and is so less stressed! It sure makes a difference in a person when they like what they wake up to do all day. I pray that everyone could have a job like that! I want to say a big THANK YOU to all of you have prayed for us or done business with us! We really appreciate all the love and support.

Princess Kelsey & Princess Natalie

2009-03-28T19:02:00.004-05:00

Kelsey and Natalie were invited to a friend in Kindergarten's (their teacher's daughter) Birthday Tea Party so since Natalie was spending the night with us, they both got ready at our house. Natalie had to borrow an outfit from one of her cousin's friends. Kelsey had to wear one off of her old BIG BIG Barbie! She did have tons of dress up clothes, but now that she is getting taller, they don't fit her anymore. I would have been happy to go buy her a new one, but since she does not ever play dress up anymore...I did not think it was worth it! (They have a shirt under them because they are sooooo ichy!) Anyway, they went to the party and they had a great time so that is all that mattered....however, it is kinda sad since this is probably their last "dress-up" birthday party! Awwww......

You know you grew up in TORNADO ALLEY if.......

2009-03-07T14:15:00.002-06:00

You know you grew up in tornado alley if...

The first thing you do if you hear tornado sirens during the day is check your watch to see if it's noon...or run outside to look.

You don't get worried unless the sky looks "green".

You use the word "tornado" as a verb.

You chuckle at all the facebook groups called "I survived the ___ tornado."

You might go indoors when there's a tornado, but you won't "seek shelter" for anything less than an F3.

You know what Doppler radar, Hook echo, wall cloud, and rain-wrapped all mean.

You've never exactly memorized the tornado precautions, but you've heard them enough times that you know them by heart anyway.

Watching the weather is entertaining. And red on the Doppler radar is exciting.

The phrase "Tornado on the ground, take your immediate tornado precautions" sends exciting shivers up your spine.

You've seen photos/videos of tornados and said, "Wow, that's a nice one!"

You can feel/smell tornado weather brewing a few hours before the storm actually begins.

There's an odd feeling as though you've misplaced something if you make it all the way to June without a tornado warning near you.

You think people that live in earthquake and/or hurricane prone areas are crazy.

You know what people are talking about when they mention the "May 3rd/Moore" tornado and the "Greensburg/May4th" tornado.

You watch the movie "Twister" just so you can point out all the inaccuracies in it.
When you hear the tornado sirens go off, you go outside to watch the storm and take pictures.

Most of the tornado video footage comes from everyday people with camcorders instead of from actual news/weathermen.

You're sure there's a giant tornado magnet hidden somewhere in Moore. And that there are smaller ones distributed throughout trailer parks.

You know that the four seasons are actually: summer, late summer, winter (if you're lucky), and tornado.

You don't consider it windy until the windspeed is faster than 30mph.

You are highly entertained by people from outside tornado alley when there is a tornado watch.

You learned that some other states don't have tornado drills from this list.

There's enough random stuff in your tornado shelter that you could live there for a year.

You stand under your carport or open your front door to watch hail and/or thunderstorms.

You know the difference between a basement, a cellar, and a storm shelter.

The weather is a completely acceptable subject for conversation, at any time, for any occasion.

Your local mall has "tornado shelter" signs posted.

It doesn't bother you the next day to find out that your area was under a tornado watch the night before and you had no idea. Unless, of course, it caused you to miss some interesting cloud formations.
You can get together all your most important possessions in 2 minutes flat.

When tornado sirens woke you up in the middle of the night...you rolled over and went back to sleep.

You've ever tried to reassure someone by saying that "if anything forms it will only be a little tornado"...and couldn't understand why this didn't calm them down any.

It's normal for your area to be under a tornado watch for multiple days in a row.

When looking at houses/buildings you give them a "tornado survival ranking". i.e., how big of a tornado it would take to destroy it. Also, if you are in a new building or house, you evaluate in your mind the best place to take shelter.

You've ever asked (probably w/ disdain) "Don't they know the difference between a warning and a watch?"

You know what towns/cities a tornado normally passes through before coming your way.

From watching radar maps, you've heard of almost every small town in your state. And you know what towns are around them, but you have no idea where in the state they are.

You laughed at everything in this list, but you also respect a tornado's power. And you know that after it's over, clean-up and re-building has to begin.

Getting to "play" in the basement/cellar/storm shelter numbers among your favorite childhood memories.

You keep matches, candles, and candleholders in more than one place in your house.

Your town will never get hit by a tornado because you're between two rivers or because an old Indian legend says so.

You complain about severe weather reports that interrupt the TV show you're watching.

****I found this and I thought it was way to funny not to post.....especially if you grew up in TORNADO ALLEY and you can relate to so many of them!!****

Coloring with Color Wonders Markers

2009-03-07T13:19:00.006-06:00

Andrew likes to color so I thought if I bought the Color Wonders markers and book it would be perfect for him to do it on his own in his highchair while I am cooking dinner. So, the other day at Walmart we made it a special point to buy him one of his very own (he has colored on one of Hayden & Kelsey's before). The only way the markers work is if you color on the black paper. He liked it for a few minutes and thought it fun since he got to do it himself without Mommy's help, but then he wanted to turn the page and "try" to color on the white pages.....which did not work. Oh well, after a few more tries he "might" understand it only works on the black pages, however I can understand how it would be confusing for him to understand.....as it is for me to explain it to him how it works.

A Day at the Park with Andrew & Cooper

2009-03-03T20:41:00.006-06:00

Last Thursday we had our Moms Club at the park. Here are a few really cute pictures that I took of Andrew & Cooper. I am so glad that they are only 4 mths apart in age. We are so blessed to live in the same town so they can grow up together......however, I think that Molly Beth and I are going to be in for a wild ride with these 2. It is so much fun to see them interact and play with each other. I look forward to seeing what the future holds for them both. My prayer is that they will always be close....

Camp Fire Father/Daughter Banquet

2009-02-28T22:58:00.004-06:00

Thursday night was the annual Father/Daughter Banquet for Camp Fire. The leaders and in charge of decorating the table. We really waited to the LAST minute. The main leader (I am only the assistant leader) asked the girls how they wanted to decorate the table...and needless to say...it was VERY interesting to hear what they come up with....stars, watermelons, Hannah Montana & High School Musical (of course), frogs, butterflies, clouds, flowers, hearts and so much more. So the leader decided to go with the butterflies and flowers. As you can see, it turned out kinda plain, but it all worked out, so that was fine. The daughters are suppose to bring a meal for her and her father to eat. Heath always let Kelsey pick since it is her special night. This year, she chose Taco Casa. As you can see we hot rolled her hair. It turned out so cute. She does not like to do it that often....(she thinks the rollers are too hot on her head. She was excited because we had it cut that day and they really "thinned" it out so it is not near as thick as it was. If we would have known that it would would have made that much of a difference, we would have thinned it out a LONG time ago. I am just so glad that she and her Daddy went to the Banquet and had a good time. I still remember going with my Dad to my Blue Bird Father/Daughter Banquet when I was her age. Hopefully, she will remember this for a long time also......

Getting excited.....

2009-02-25T11:03:00.010-06:00

I am getting so excited.....so excited that we are closer to spring & summer. With that said...that means swimming is around the corner!! Last year we found rips in our pool liner. It really needed to be replaced, but when I called the pool company they said by the time that got it ordered and scheduled a date to get it put in, that it would be the end of the summer (since they are soooo booked up & stay so busy). Our preacher, Tommy and his dad were actually so sweet to come over and patch it up for us. They have had a liner pool for years and years. It was so wonderful because that made it where we could still use it. The rips were on the top of the liner above the water.....THANK GOD. Normally this is caused from years of our wonderful HOT Texas sun...!! We decided that we would not mess with it and let it sit thru the winter (and not run the pump which is expensive on our electric bill or clean the leaves out of it as you can tell by the beautiful green swamp looking water) and get a new liner after the first of the year. Then we would be one of the first ones on the schedule for the spring.....Well....that time is here...YEAAAAA!! We picked out which liner we want (you will see pictures of some people's pool that live here in Vernon that I went and looked at)and decided to go ahead and order it. The pool company actually just left a few minutes ago from getting the "exact" measurements to order it. They said it should take about 1-2 weeks to get in, then they will schedule a time to come put it in..........so we will be up & ready to swim as soon as the weather gets nice. One of the reasons we chose a darker color of liner is because we will be able to swim earlier in the spring and later in the fall because the dark color traps the heat! All I know is that what it cost to replace it.....YIKES.....that we want to make sure we get our money's worth....However, I know we will...after the kids jump in for the first time of the year and we see the smiles on their faces...it will be so well worth it! :) As you can see in one of the pictures it has only half of the water out. Because it holds 30,000 gallons of water, it took 3 FULL days to drain it. You should have seen all the water in our neighborhood on the street....people were driving by really slow just to see where the water was coming from. (Makes me wonder how long it is going to take to fill it...and what it will cost?!?!?!) p.s. I will post pictures at soon as the new liner gets installed.

Enjoying the weather----

2009-02-24T13:38:00.007-06:00

Yesterday it was so nice outside, so we all went outside to play on the swingset & trampoline. Andrew LOVES to swing and would probably stay out there all day if you let him. I am really looking forward to the spring & summer for more days like this.....

We were in the finals.........yea........:)

2009-02-22T21:23:00.006-06:00

Rob & Linda Borchardt
Tra & Molly (a.k.a. GiGi & Pop)
Lauri & Darrell Colbert
Robin & Tracy Taylor
Heath & Tracey
Jeanne & Chris Ballard
Robby & Michelle Spencer

At our church, they do what they call "Home Groups". Some of the ones they have are a "grief" type group, a "youth" group, a "married" group, a "parenting" group and a few others. They started this in order for people to get together on Sunday evenings and fellowship since not many people come back to church that night. We meet twice a month at different people's houses. (We hosted the Christmas party, where we had over 30 people here.....normally EVERYONE comes to the Christmas one since we do a gift exchange!) It is from 5-7 and they provide childcare and pizza at the church in the Family Life Center for the kids. We do the "married" group that is our Sunday School class mainly that our S.S. teacher leads. She is so fun and creative and makes it lots of fun! (She is a teacher!) Tonight it was the "Valentine" one at my in-laws house. (Of course we ate............we always do that..........we are Baptist......lol). We played a game where we blindfolded our husbands and then we shook their hands and they had to guess which one was their wife. Then, the ladies got blind folded and the guys gave us a peck on the cheek and we had to guess who our husband was. Then we played the "Newlywed Game". Normally, every year Heath and I do HORRIBLE....You have to understand...Heath thinks way to hard....but this year, we did soooo good. It was alot of fun! We had 5 questions to answer and then two bonus question in case it their was a tie breaker...Here are the questions...ohhh I might add we had our back to each other....

1. Describe exactly what your spouse is wearing RIGHT now! (You would not believe how many got it wrong like what the shirt said or what color it is...it was funny!)

2. How many pairs of shoes does your wife have?

3. If your husband could do anything for a job that he LOVES and get paid for it, what would it be?

4. What is the address to the first house you lived in?

5. Which one of you, told you that they loved you first?

* BONUS *

1. When your wife wakes up in the morning, what is something of yours that is on something of hers......? (yes, you can imagine how much fun we had laughing to that one!!!)

2. What was the first movie that you saw together?

As you can see, it was alot of fun! It is really neat to get to "know" your S.S. members.....(in more ways than you imagine!!!).....We ended up in the finals this time and had to pick a number closest to the teacher's number, but we did not end up winning. However, we were really glad we went and look forward to next time. From now on we will do a Bible study about Marriage. We do a little lesson and then she gives us questions to take and answer as a couple. Each couple goes to different places in the host's house to discuss and talk about it and then we get together and discuss what we talked about. It is normally questions, that try to improve your marriage. I am so glad that Heath and I make it a point to go (plus I think it is important for our children to see us to continue to "work" on our marriage) and fellowship with everyone, not to mention that the kids enjoy playing at the F.L.C., so it is a win-win situation.

Love/Hate Relationship......

2009-02-20T13:48:00.007-06:00

The other day I was sitting in my bathroom hot rolling my hair and normally when I am in there, Mackie always loves to come and eat at that time (I have no idea why.....maybe she get's tired of eating by herself?? lol) Anyway, I look up and Andrew is coming in behind me and walking around and playing in my bathroom. It is fun to play in there, because I normally leave the door shut in between my room and bathroom so he can not get to the food. (Don't worry...Mackie can get to her food thru the other door that goes to the Living Room.) Anyway, as I turn around to check on him, he is over there loving Mackie as she eats. I thought it was so cute, that I tippy-toed out to grab my camera in order to get some pictures of it. The reason I named the title of this a "Love/Hate Relationship"...is because Mackie does "love" Andrew because he shares his food with her almost everyday....but she also "hates" him because of course she is jealous every since he came along.......Oh well....can't win for losing I guess....

Should I be worried???

2009-02-16T08:56:00.005-06:00

Okkk....after looking at the pictures of this....you will see why I made that my title! LOL These pictures are from Kelsey's Valentine's party at school on Friday. The one that colored the paper, Trevor is the little boy to the right of Kesley in between the her & Natalie. His mom came up to me at the party and asked me if I looked at the bulletin board in the hall. She said Trevor is crazzzzy about her! Kids are so funny! He is such a precious little boy!(Destiny is a 9th grade cheerleader there at Northside!) In case you can not read it, Kelsey's paper says that she loves: horses....she rode them at Camp Fire camp, her little brother jumping on her, jumping on the trampoline and science. I love the one of Andrew just hanging out all comfy on his sister's desk at her party. (I love how his little arm is up on the desk and his little feet are hanging!) Right after this picture was taken, he vomitted so bad EVERYWHERE!!! I think he got to hot and started coughing and it all came back up, because he was just fine after we got home!

Valentine's pictures

2009-02-16T08:39:00.003-06:00

Here are some pictures that I took of Hayden and Kelsey before school on Friday for their Valentine parties. (I know...Hayden should have worn a red shirt, but he was all ready dressed and I think he looked nice, so I could not tell him!) The picture of Heath and I is one that Hayden took of us before the Valentine banquet that we went to on Saturday evening at our church. The one of Andrew is just one I took really fast as we were on our way out the door for a busy Friday!

My First Born

2009-02-03T07:56:00.005-06:00

Here you go mommies- a different kind of survey for a change - it's all about your your first born! Just copy and paste it into a new note for yourself!

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED? Yes, kinda....I had just had my 3rd surgery for endometrosis and between that and being in a bad car wreck when I was younger, the doctor told us we might have a hard time getting pregnant & I might have a hard time carrying the baby because of some "inside" problems from the wreck. He suggested we get pregnant ASAP since it could take awhile and a week later we found out we were pregnant......so it "obviously" happened before we had talked with the doctor.

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME? Yes....barely.....2 1/2 months

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS? Super surprised & nervous but so excited.

5. HOW OLD WERE YOU? I think 22....almost 23?

6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT? A home pregnancy test.

7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST? Heath actually was there with me when I took the test and we were unloading stuff from Walmart (where we got the test), so I went back downstairs to get more stuff and I come back in the bathroom and their was nothing, so I went to put the stuff away and Heath went in there and looked and I asked him and he said............"Nothing....still".......I finally realized he was joking with me! Then I called his Mom to talk to her, since I was in shock to make sure it could not be wrong!

8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX? Ohhhh yessss. I am very impatient when it comes to stuff like that.

9. DUE DATE? July 12th, I think

10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS? Oh my gosh yes.

11. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE? Bacon sandwiches (and I still LOVE them!)

12. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST? Gaining weight, not being to sleep on my stomach and being so sick.

13. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX? Boy

14. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING? No, I wanted a boy.

15. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN? Really? This question? Gosh, it has been a long time ago.....I think um, 30-35.

16. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER(S)? Nope

17. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW? N/A

18.DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY? Nothing besides being soooo sick.

19. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH? United Regional Health Care Systems, Wichita Falls, Texas

20. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR? Woke up around midnight with a HORRIBLE stomach ache (we had ate at Taco Bell the night before.....need I say more....), then it went to a back ache, so I was in & out of the bathtub for a couple hours. I kept waking Heath up and telling him my stomach hurt really bad and he keep telling me to take some Rolaids or Tums. Then I decided to call the nurse @ the hospital to ask her if I could take something & she said I was in labor and to start heading that way (we lived in Vernon). Got there around 4:00a.m. and had him at 12:15 p.m.

21. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL? Heath (who I might add...ate a Bacon Sandwich on the way in the car that he got from Allsups while he was there getting gas (long story!)............see question 11.................:(

22. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH? Just Heath

23. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION? natural

24. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN? Heck yea......Heath "wanted" me to try to go natural, but as soon as he saw me crying....well screaming......he changed him mind really fast. I had an epidural and it was WONDERFUL!!!

25. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH? 8 lbs 1 oz.

26. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN? July 10

27. WHAT DID YOU NAME YOUR CHILD? Hayden Travis Cardwell V (He is the 5th generation of H.T.C., so that is why he has the V in his name)

28. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY? 10 1/2 years old

My funny little smart boy!

2009-01-30T11:28:00.004-06:00

I have to blog this so I don't forget this cute little story........ Okkkkk, so this morning I was working with Andrew on saying all of his colors and I picked up something yellow and I said yellow over & over and he said it (which I might add..... he says it VERY well), then we did the same thing with black, then green............then we got to blue and I said "Andrew, can you say blue......blue" & he immediately started "blowing"! Then I said again, "Andrew, can you say "blue" & he started "blowing" again.......then it hit me that I always say, "Let mommy, blow on it" for his food and then after I hand it to him, I say "Mommy **blew** on it and now it is ready"!! I laughed so hard! Now everytime I ask him if he will say the word "blue", he just starts "blowing". He is just too smart & too funny! I love kids! Their little brains are always thinking!!

Our snow days......

2009-01-28T15:19:00.003-06:00

Living in Texas is just crazy! Last week we had record highs and this week we had really crazy and messy weather. Hayden's & Kelsey's teacher's called on Monday morning about 10:00 saying that school was getting out early at 12:30 because the roads were getting bad. Heath ended up going to get them, since we really do not like them riding the bus when the roads are bad. It started raining and sleeting and getting really icy that afternoon and turning really bad for the last few days. So, the kids have had "snow days" on Tuesday and today. However, after lunch today the sun came very bright, so it is all melting away very fast now! When I woke up this morning it was 12 deg. YIKKKKESSS......that is COOOLLLLDDD!!! Thank you God for our warm house! Here are some pictures I took of the kids, our house, and our "ice-skating" rink. (The one of Hayden was taken thru the window.....it was too cold for me to go out:) Kelsey keeps asking me if they are going to go to school tomorrow.....I think she is getting used to being home all day. I guess it all depends if it is going to freeze tonight to make the roads icy. Sleeping late and just hanging out and not getting ready for the day has actually been kinda nice. However, I just hate that when I can sleep late, I always wake up early......really early.....like before 6 and I can not go back to sleep.

25 Things About Me!

2009-01-26T12:10:00.003-06:00

1. I LOVE being a stay at home mom.....even thou I don't really ever stay at home that much!
2. I love my new camera & I love to take a ton of pictures daily! Glad it is digital since I take at least a hundred a week.
3. I love my basement, since I am scared of storms! (And I need a place to have my scrapbook room, a dark place to watch movies, my treadmill & desktop computer!)
4. As much as I wanted an inground pool, I hate keeping it vacuumed, cleaned and the expensive chemicals right! Pools are ALOT of work!
5. I love my kids & my husband! As crazy as they both make me, I can not imagine my life without them and that I did not know I could love someone so much!
6. I always wanted to be a teacher or nurse.
7. I am scared of snakes, rats and mice.
8. I am addicted to Ralph Lauren Polo clothes and anything Polo! (Even for the whole family!)
9. I love to entertain & have parties and get together's at our home!
10. I am really looking forward to learning how to play golf better this summer instead of just driving the cart around since Heath, Hayden and Kelsey all play! (However, it is fun to drive the cart around the neighborhood!)
11. I am so thankful to know and have a relationship with God and that we are bringing our children up in a Christian home.
12. I did not pick out any of my kids names! I actually had other names picked out!
13. We have a VERY large jar in Heath's bathroom for change that we call my "boob jar", so that I can get them and lippo in a year or so! (Thank you......breastfeeding!! LOL :)
14. I will never have or let Kelsey have short hair since my mom made me look like a boy when I was younger!
15. I went to many many schools in k-12th and I HATED it! (That is why my kids are going to stay at Northside till the graduate!)
16. I think about death/dying all the time or something bad happening to a loved one. Is that a bad thing?????
17. I am so thankful that Heath finally opened his own car sales business and that we did not end up buying the Ford/Dodge dealership. He is so much happier, healthier & less stressed now and is it is going GREAT!!! (Call him if you are in need of a new car!)
18. I can not believe that I have been driving my same car for over 2 years! I have had ALOT of cars in my 11 1/2 yrs of being married. Imagine that???
19. My parents were married for 28 years before getting divorced so...........it can happen to anyone........at any age!
20. I am really looking forward to another trip to Mexico or a beach somewhere like that again when Andrew gets older and I get my surgery! (See #13)
21. I dream & think about what kind of business that I would like to open since we bought the old Canton Cafe, but then I remember that I love my freedom & not having to be tied down to a job!
22. I hate my stomach problem and can't believe that I have not had a coke, soft drink or caffeine (except chocolate of course---am I crazy??) in over a year! I used to drink at LEAST 2-3 a day. Water and Gatorade ONLY for me, baby....ohhhh and a Strawberry Daq. with LOTS of cream too!
23. I think I am getting really addicted to this blog and facebook thing..yikes!
24. I can not believe I am so obsessed about my house being clean, since I swore I would never be like my mom.
25. I LOVE to SHOP! My favorite stores are Hobby Lobby, Ross, Marshall's, Kirkland's, Costco, Sam's & Scrapbook stores. I even love to shop online and Ebay. (See # 8).

It's finally paid off.......

2009-01-23T17:39:00.004-06:00

Well.....all the money, driving her too and from and sitting there for all this time to gymnastics has finally really paid off! Kelsey is able to do a back hand-spring on the trampoline by herself! In fact, not just one or two but over and over and over! She has been doing them for awhile by herself at the gym, but has been scared without Ms. Amy or Mrs. Kim here to "spot" her. I am so glad that she is enjoying doing gymnastics! I always wanted to do it when I was her age! Hopefully, she will enjoy it for many years to come as much as I enjoy watching her!

Kelsey's new "hat" & "picture frame"!

2009-01-22T14:21:00.004-06:00

Here is a picture of Kelsey's cute "hat" and "picture frame" that she made herself a couple weeks ago. It came from the box of her Karaoke machine that she got from Papa & Grandog for Christmas. She asked for the markers and a little while later she walks into the living room with her new "decorated" hat and frame. I did not even know she was making it. I thought it was so cute that she put on there "Daddy's Girl" and "Princess Kelsey". And of course, you can see her little brother wanted to wear it too!I am so glad that she is so creative!

Rewarded for grades

2009-01-19T21:33:00.006-06:00

While the kids were out for the extended Christmas break, their report cards came in the mail! I was so excited when I opened them up and both of the kids had straight A's. Last 6 wks, Hayden only had one "B"..........and it was in P.E..............Yes, I said that correct.......He had a 88 in P.E. How do you get a "B" in P.E????....Well you get 3 points taken off your grade everytime you forget your tennis shoes.......Needless to say, Hayden does not want to wear boots to school that much anymore!! LOL I think I was more upset at the fact that now this year he is on "A-B" honor roll instead of just "A" honor roll. Anyway, last Monday morning before school, I decided to take them to get doughnuts and go to Walmart and let them pick out something special. After much debate, Hayden choose a Nerf gun called a "Automatic Tommy 20!" (which I might add is REALLY cool!) and Kelsey picked out this pack-n-play for her babies! (Too be honest, I really don't know why she wanted this so bad, because she does not play with dolls that much, but she thought it was cute since Andrew sleeps in his!) Oh well...they are happy and that is all that matters! I am REALLY trying to work hard at ONLY buying them something for a "special" (holiday, birthday, grades, ect.) reason and not just anytime we go to the store! It is one of those things, that we are so blessed that we can........but they are getting spoiled to it! I am trying to teach them that they get rewarded for doing good things and getting good grades and you get "punished" if you do not! Even though both of their colleges are paid for 4 years (THANKS Papa & Grandog--my dad & step-mom), it is VERY VERY important to me that they do their VERY VERY best in school! Hayden is all ready talking about what he wants to get next time, so maybe it is a good incentive after all!

Sick baby!

2009-01-18T21:40:00.002-06:00

Here are some pictures I took of Andrew last week while he was sick. I tried to have him sit in the highchair with us while we were eating since he was sleeping so much, but as you can tell, it did not help! He was so sleepy! You can see the picture of him in the navy blue in the kitchen was on Friday when he "wanted" to feel better. He would get up and play for a few minutes, then sit down for a little while. We are so glad that he is back to his normal busy self this week!

Eating pan-pan's & playing peek-a-boo!

2009-01-18T21:23:00.002-06:00

Andrew enjoys eating a pan-pan almost every day for Breakfast. If you notice, Mackie does too:) She does not go to far when Andrew is in his highchair any time of the day! And it cracks me up that no matter what age a kid/baby is that they still love to play peek-a-boo! I just love how they put their little hands across their face to hide! Awww, I wish these times would just last forever!

17 mths!!

2009-01-18T21:00:00.000-06:00

My beautiful & healthy 17 month old baby boy!!

Announcing.....Timothy Isaac McLennan

2009-01-16T14:25:00.009-06:00

Here is a picture of our new little nephew, Timothy Issac McLennan. This is Heath's middle sister, Emily and her husband, Tony's new baby. He was born on December 13th in Wichita Falls. He weighed in at a healthy 7lbs 8 oz. In Wichita Falls, they have a "rule" that you can only have 3 people in the delivery room and she all ready had her husband..(of course!), her sister, Molly Beth and her mom, Molly (who is actually a ...and was my....doula that I HIGHLY recommend!:) I went in there just to say hello, but she was in alot of pain and things just started progressing really fast. I kept "motioning" to Molly Beth that I was going to leave, but she kept giving me the signal to be quiet and just stay! I am soooo glad I did! It was such a wonderful blessing to be in there to see a miracle be born (not to mention my tough sister-in-law, had NO....yes I repeat.....NO drugs!). We were so afraid that they were going to ask me to leave! I stood over there very quietly and out of the way, just writing down what time everything was happening. In fact... Dr. Lamar did stop while Emily was pushing and asked who I was! I was so embarrassed and was laughing so hard that my face turned bright red! I also got to take all the pictures of him after he was born! His birth was sooooo special, because it is the first birth I actually got to be in the delivery room.....well....on that side of the bed!! He was so cute, alert and the best little baby! He is now doing great and when I talked to Emily yesterday she had taken him for his 4 week check-up and he is weighing in at a healthy 10 lbs! He is joined by big brother, Luke Anthony 4, and Lydia Joy, 2. (Oh, these pictures were scanned in my computer is why they look like this!)

Me......the "worry wart".....

2009-01-15T21:19:00.005-06:00

You know, I have to admit something! I completely have a "little" mixed feelings! Heath started his own business in the fall and is doing unbelievably well. I can almost say things are just PERFECT....his health is so much better, no high blood pressure or medicine for it, no emergency room visits, less migraines, less worry, SO MUCH less stress, nobody that talks "down" to him, he's not drinking at all, nobody to answer too, no anixety.......nothing.....nothing but wonderful blessings ....not to mention his salary has completely doubled from his other job as a GM since he started (THANK YOU GOD for providing!! We pray it stays that way!!), he is being so much nicer to be around & back to being his old self...oh and don't forget about his "hot" co-worker----"ME"!! LOL Just kidding!! So, your wondering what the problem is....well, the "only" problem is the really long hours during the week, every week going to all the auctions! He has to get up early to make it to them (Ft. Worth, OKC, Dallas, ect.). Which alot of times means, coming home late from them. Like right now it is 10:00 p.m. and he has been gone since 5:45 a.m, he is still about an hour and half away from W.F. Not to mention he has had to go to Colorado once and Utah once to pick-up vehicles he has bought there. PLEASE DON'T GET ME WRONG..........I am so blessed to have such a wonderful hard working husband and father that spoils me (us) more than I have ever imagined, but I WORRY SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much about him being out on the road so much. You have to understand, Heath does not do good at staying awake while driving or even being in the car. He has ALWAYS been like this, ever since I met him! I ALWAYS drive home from W.F. or Ft. Worth or where ever we have been, especially if it is the evening or night time. He did this while we were dating too. I remember times that were on our way to W.F. late and I would be driving there and he would fall asleep and I would just turn around and come home and not even go, because I knew I would have to drive all the way home, being the only one awake after what ever we did that night. I am so proud of him for doing so good with the business, being so happy and loving what he is doing, but the price of worry is "very hard for me!". Please pray that I will just be able to turn it over to God and "try" not to worry so much. (I am just like my wonderful loving late Granny, that I "worry" about what to "worry" about!:) Anyway, I would just like to hope and pray that the worry will go away, but I guess that is part of the "business"...........of being a wife (and a mother!).

Not out of the woods yet....

2009-01-14T10:48:00.004-06:00

Well, I guess we are not completely out of the woods yet with the sickness. Hayden called from school earlier and said he was dizzy and his stomach hurt. So, I went and picked him up and he is in bed with Phernagan on his wrist watching T.V. The principal said it is going around really bad out at the school. They are reporting bad headaches, feeling dizzy and upset stomach. If you know Hayden at all, he is NOT one to complain! He is the kid that I know he can be sick and when I ask him, he just says, "No mom, I'm fine!". While I was out at the school, I had them peak in on Kelsey to make sure she "looked" ok and they said she was probably the "perkiest" in the class. Hopefully, she stays good! I sure hope it does not last long with Hayden!

Tag............your it...............:)

2009-01-12T13:47:00.005-06:00

My friend, Shalyn, tagged me on her blog. The instructions were: 1. Go to your photo folders and open the 4th folder. 2. Choose the 4th photo. 3. Explain the photo. 4. Tag 4 other people!

I have to admit, I was kinda scared when I read this as to what photo would come up, not that I have anything nasty or anything, but it just got me to wondering! Actually, I was kinda glad that this one came up! Mine goes under A to Z on my laptop (which is what I am on) and on my desktop they go by dates! (The title is Andrew & the envelopes!).

Anyway, this is a picture of Andrew that I took on August 11, 08. Andrew always loves to play in the kitchen drawers and when I went to go put some laundry away, I came back and this is the mess he had made! He took all the envelopes out of the box and had them all over the floor and was playing with the box! Needless to say, that kitchen drawer is now his and not the "office" supplies!

Now I need to tag 4 people, so I tag Teresa, Molly Beth, Courtney & Amy! Have fun!

Well...........we did it!

2009-01-11T22:14:00.003-06:00

Well, we actually went a full day today without Andrew having vomit, fever, diarrhea and GREEN poop! Actually, he did not poop at all today. I am happy with that. He even ate pretty good. He had french toast, cereal, crackers, a cheese stick & peas today. I have had a very busy day today, so we had just slam-it for dinner. (If you don't know what slam it is..........it is where you get what ever you can find to eat and "slam" it together!) Heath and Kelsey had cereal, I had 1 left over quesadilla and some refried beans from Hayden's lunch with his grandparents that he went to church with and Hayden had Progresso Chicken Noodle Soup!) We took down the Christmas lights, put stuff up in the attic, cleaned the garage, raked all the leaves in the backyard, cleaned out Andrew's toy bins, cleaned out our master closet and FINALLY finished Hayden's Science Fair project......yeah........it is done.....and it is going to school with him tomorrow! I am so glad to have all of that done, however I have not taken a shower yet......so I am off to a HOT "needed" shower!

Update on Andrew's illness...

2009-01-10T21:57:00.005-06:00

Well, I just wanted to give a update on Andrew. Today is Saturday and this is the first day since Monday, he has not had diarrhea, fever OR vomitting..........HOWEVER.......he did have 3 large GREEN "Guacamole" looking diapers! I did not know if that was a good thing or not so I looked online and I read that it is his BILE! This happens when babies do not eat very much and have no food in their stomach. I have not decided if this is a good or bad thing. Good, because he does not have horrible runny diarrhea like he has had continuously since Wednesday after the doctor's visit, even with the Children's Imodium. We are talking "pure water" diarrhea. But bad because it is his BILE! Online where I was reading it says to go ahead and feed them what ever they want as long as they are eating. So, tonight he had 2 bites of chicken and a good helping of mashed potatoes that I made. He has been really weak, taking REALLY REALLY long naps and sleeping really late & not up running around very much, but hey what do you expect after having this for 6 days. Tomorrow is Sunday and we started a new lesson in Sunday School last Sunday called "Fireproofing your Marriage". It is based on the movie "Fireproof" with Kirk Cameron. It is about the differences in husbands and wives. I strongly advise you and your spouse to see this movie if you have not. It is REALLY worth it! I think it comes out on DVD on the 27th, so at least try to rent it! I really hate to miss tomorrow's lesson, but there is no way that Andrew needs to get out and of course, my children come FIRST! My doctor did give him an antibiotic to start taking because he said his immune system will be down after all this, but I have not started giving it to him because...it of course.........causes diarrhea! I am so ready for that poor little guy to be up and going again! There is nothing worse than seeing your children sick. Not to mention, I am about to go stir crazy staying at home. However, I have got alot of organizing (more on that later!!!) and cleaning done! Our house smells like a Lysol and bleach factory! Heath went to the OKC & DFW auto auction and his normal Wednesday night Poker group, so on Thursday night, I took a shower and I told him I was leaving to go to Wal-mart. He wanted to know what I could possibly need since he has gone 3 times for me this week. What do I need.........I need sanity!!! I need to get out to go anywhere....I don't care as long as I get out. Well, Kelsey and I did go to Wal-mart and I guess I did need something, because I spent $155! :) Anyway, thanks for all the prayers & thoughts of us during this illness with him. We are still keeping our fingers crossed that we do not come down with this, especially since the kids go back to school on Monday.

What Andrew was doing........

2009-01-08T23:08:00.004-06:00

Here are some pictures I took of Andrew while we were making the Gingerbread house on Sunday evening! He was doing some "cooking" and "eating" of his own with his play food! He also had fun crawling under the bar stool, stood on his head and took a rest on the 18 wheeler while drinking some milk! And as you can see, he threw a "fit" in there too! (It was too cute not to take a picture....:)

More gingerbread pictures....

2009-01-07T21:24:00.002-06:00

Ok, I am still learning how to blog (and loving it...if you can't tell) and I guess it only lets you load 5 pictures at a time, so here are the rest! Enjoy!

Making "gingerbread" memories

2009-01-07T20:56:00.004-06:00

Growing up, while living in Arlington, TX I remember one of my friend's bringing me a homemade Gingerbread house at Christmas! It was the prettiest I have ever seen, even to this day. In fact, I thought it was so nice that I never ate it. I had it in my room until the candy started falling off (MANY months later) and my parents made me throw it away. I have always wanted to make one with my kids, and never have. I actually bought one a few years ago and we never did get around to it. Well, I guess it has been staying on my mind, so I was bound & determined to make one with the kids during the Christmas break. So, on Sunday we were fixing to have family time and Kelsey thought it would be a good time to do it. We really had alot of fun making it, the gingerbread men that came with it and making the memories, that we decided to do this every year from now on! In the one picture of the gingerbread men it is Heath's, mine, Hayden's and Kelsey's from left to right that we made and Kelsey made Andrew one so we would have the "whole" family! Too make it fair, Hayden had his own side of the house, Kelsey had her's and I had the back and it was team effort for the front. In one of the pictures you see the kids eating it the next morning.........ohhhh well, even thou it did not last long, hopefully the memories will! :) (Oh...by the way, I bought it after Christmas at Sam's for 1/2 off!!!)

My poor little guy('s)!?!

2009-01-07T04:56:00.000-06:00

Well, it is 4:56am on Wednesday morning & I am up watching Little Einsteins with Andrew in my bed with Daddy sleeping next to us. I have not been to bed yet or as I should say, asleep yet....My poor little man has been sick ever since Monday. It all started with diarrhea, then he vomited REALLY REALLY bad in the car after we dropped off Kelsey at gymnastics & were on our way to Walmart to get some Pedilite. So, we ended up at home in the bathtub. He then came down with high fever & that & the vomitting rotated off & on ever since Monday evening! We have been giving him Phenergan as needed as well as Tylenol & Motrin. I have been trying to give him little sips of Pedilite, but every time I do, it comes back up. He finally took some Pedilite last night around 11:00 & I thought we were doing good, so I put him to bed & I got in bed. I started watching TV trying to fall asleep & around 12:30 & as I was getting sleepy, he kept "coughing" funny, so I would jump up to make sure he was ok, then the next thing I knew he vomited again & I went to pick him & put him on our bed so I could get a washcloth to wash his hands & face. I then went to rinse out the washcloth & then he started vomiting alot more all over our comforter! I guess he had to much Pedilite too fast last night. (He only had 1/2 of a sippy cup.) So, as you can see it has been a really rough night for us. What you have to understand is I am not one of those people that just fall right back to sleep if I get woke up (unlike my husband who is next to us snoring!). So, then I get ready to fall back asleep & he starts coughing so I jump up again, & again, & again to check on him. By this time I am wide awake & I start thinking about how he has not had a wet diaper since I got him in the tub earlier in the day to bath him from getting sick. And with texting back & forth with Molly Beth earlier in the evening talking about Rotovirus, it gets my mind to racing....So, I get on the internet & start reading & get really scared about him being dehydrated. I thought about taking him to the E.R, but I then decided to wake him up & give him 1/2 to 1 tsp. of Pedilite every 10 minutes or so, so here we are..........Well, I am........he has fallen back asleep in the middle of our bed. Well...now to be completely honest with you, Heath just got up & is in the bathroom & not feeling good at all. He is suppost to be getting up & leaving for OKC to the auction around 5:45, so I guess we will see if that happens with time....Ohhh Lordy, I pray that this is not going to be a "family" thing! I am worn out with one having it. I can't imagine with it going thru the rest of us. However, it makes me think of the Bible verse that says....."He will not give you more than you can handle!!".....with that being said....I just want to make sure He is paying attention.....LOL LOL! I am kinda glad that Hayden & Kelsey are on the "flex" week & don't go back to school until next Monday in case they do come down with it, but it would be good for them to stay away from Andrew (and maybe Heath too??) as much as possible. Sickness is so hard....just not knowing what it is; Rotovirus, Strep-throat (my sister says her boys have these symptoms when they have it!), Stomach virus, something else??? Who knows....... Well, it is now 5:40 & I am going to decide if I want to get a few hours of rest before I take Andrew into sick time at 8:00 or stay up since Heath is up & running back & forth to the bathroom & snorning in between LOL.....As I close, please say a little prayer for our "sick" (& tired) family and I will say one for all who read this that you will not get "whatever" this is................:)p.s. If you would please either leave me a comment or send me an email at tecardwell@sbcglobal.net to let me know who is reading this!! It was nice that some all ready have (especially the ones that live out of town!)to let me know that they are enjoying the update:)

I am the computer "goo-roo" now!!!

2009-01-05T21:20:00.000-06:00

Well, believe it or not......I actually taught my sister how to do a blog! What you don't understand is that she is normally the next person when Heath is not available that I ask when I can not figure something out when I have a computer problem! And it also helps that my brother-in-law, Eddie is what Hayden calls a "Teck-no-geek".....please don't think I am making fun of him......as he is one of Hayden's inspirations being a "Teck-no-Geek"! LOL! Anyway, after a few hours on the phone with her on Sunday afternoon, her blog is up and running! She did a really good job....but then again....she had a wonderful teacher! LOL! Take a look when you can www.wendorfworld.blogspot.com P.S. It took me lots of hours of trial and error until after midnight for me to figure it all out!! :)

Kelsey laying in the Leaves!

2009-01-04T16:29:00.000-06:00

Here is a picture of Kelsey laying in the leaves! Ever since I got my new AWESOME camera for Christmas from my wonderful husband, I am going around the house just trying to find things to take pictures of! I decided since I have a really cute one of Andrew in the leaves, that I wanted one of Kelsey and Hayden too! (Hayden had a friend over and didn't really want to do a picture!LOL!)So, here is Kelsey's!

Two Peas in a Pod

2009-01-04T15:52:00.001-06:00

Here are some pictures I took of Kelsey and her "other half", Natalie last night. Believe it or not, Kelsey's room was spotless before they started playing. Kelsey and Natalie are both in 1st grade together and their birthday's are only one day apart. (Kelsey is "older"!) They love to spend the night with each other. They always have so much fun playing the Wii, playing with Polly Pockets and jumping on the trampoline! I pray they are friends forever!

Kelsey & her new DS game!

2008-12-31T15:01:00.000-06:00

The "TWIN" cousins!

2008-12-31T14:57:00.000-06:00

This is a picture of Andrew and Cameron in matching outifts that I bought them for Christmas! My sister and I thought they looked like little red Teletubbies!! It was not easy trying to get them to both sit still for a picture. Cameron is 6 weeks older than Andrew, but they are EXACTLY the same size and height. Aren't they cute??

2008-12-31T14:50:00.000-06:00

Mom, Teresa & myself

2008-12-31T14:48:00.000-06:00

The love of my life!

2008-12-31T14:47:00.000-06:00

I thought this was a wonderful picture of my wonderful husband.

Andrew laying on Daddy

2008-12-31T14:44:00.000-06:00

We thought it was so cute that Andrew just went up to his daddy while we were opening presents at Aunt Teresa's & Uncle Eddie's house and laid down on him! It was too cute not to take a picture!

Andrew and the Whopper box

2008-12-31T14:42:00.000-06:00

Andrew had so much fun carrying Kelsey's box of Whoppers around in his mouth. He looked like a puppy. Everytime we looked up, he had it in his mouth! He is sooooo funny!!

The Wendorf's

2008-12-31T14:36:00.000-06:00

Here is a picture of my "OLDER" and only sister, Teresa and her husband, Eddie.

2008-12-31T14:35:00.000-06:00

Hayden & Reagan

2008-12-31T14:34:00.000-06:00

This is a cute picture that I took of Hayden & Reagan.

Christmas morning

2008-12-25T23:07:00.000-06:00

The Spencer's

2008-12-25T23:05:00.000-06:00

This is a picture of our preacher & his family. Tommy, Lana, Paige & Jaci Spencer.

The Schiwart's

2008-12-25T23:01:00.000-06:00

Curtis, Molly Beth & Cooper Jack Schiwart

2008-12-25T23:00:00.000-06:00

This is a picture of Heath and his two sisters, Emily (left) & Molly Beth (right).

Cardwell Grandchildren

2008-12-25T22:57:00.000-06:00

Ok, you are probably looking at this picture wondering if I put this picture on here by mistake.......and the answer is NO! I just wanted to let you know how hard it is to get 7 children under the age of 10 in the picture and to be still! (Hayden 10, Kelsey 7, Andrew 16 mths, Luke 4 1/2, Lydia 2, Timothy 1 week and Cooper 1 yr.) This is another one of those pictures that we try to do every year after the Christmas Eve service at church.........and it does not work out!! HAHA!! Ohhh well, in MANY MANY years we will maybe have the "perfect" Christmas Eve grandchildren picture, but until then.....we just have to laugh!! (The sad thing is that this is the "BEST" one of all of them!! HAHA!!)

2008-12-25T22:49:00.000-06:00

GiGi & Pop at church on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve pictures at Church

2008-12-25T22:47:00.000-06:00

Every year on Christmas Eve, we go to church for the Lord's Supper. We always stay afterwards and take some pictures in the sanctuary. It is always decorated so pretty. Here is our family picture for this year. I love looking back at the years in the past and seeing how much we have all changed!

2008-12-25T22:41:00.000-06:00

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So Blessed...

2008-12-25T22:38:00.000-06:00

WOW! I just look at this picture and all I can think about is....WOW!! I am so blessed to be the mother of these 3 beautiful children! I feel so privileged that God has blessed us with them. I pray that he will guide me to be the very best mother that I can be and for them to grow up knowing that I will always love them more than they can imagine!

2008-12-25T22:26:00.000-06:00

Ok, so I got the most awesome gift from my wonderful husband.............a new camera! It is one of my favorite gifts from him ever..........well.....it is hard to say that......he is so good at buying wonderful gifts.........ANYWAY..........It takes the BEST pictures ever! Here is a close up face shot of Drew that I took with it! I just LOVE it! There will be so many more wonderful pictures to come...............:)(A special THANKS to Molly Beth for talking him into it!!)

2008-12-25T22:19:00.000-06:00

I thought this was a good picture of Hayden. He is sitting in his new video rocking chair!

Our VERY special stockings!

2008-12-25T22:14:00.000-06:00

Here is a picture of one of my favorite "married" Christmas decorations. It is our stockings! They are so special to me! Heath's Grandmother, "Mammy" hand sewn every one of these stockings except Andrew's. Molly made Andrew's because Mammy's eyes were getting so bad she could not sew anymore! She would put different items on each stocking that pertains to that person, but all of them have a BLUE BIRD on them called the "Blue Bird of Happiness". Molly & Tra also had a set of stockings for their house too. Also, before Mammy & Papa went to Merrill Gardens they had a set of stockings at their house for each family member also! I will cherish these stockings forever! :)

2008-12-25T22:02:00.000-06:00

2008-12-22T01:08:00.000-06:00

Andrew LOVES his new "Firetruck".

2008-12-22T01:01:00.000-06:00

Papa, Grandog, Hayden, Kelsey & Andrew

2008-12-22T00:59:00.000-06:00

Where's Kelsey??

2008-12-22T00:58:00.000-06:00

Daddy getting Andrew's Elmo cell phone out of the box.

2008-12-22T00:57:00.000-06:00

Kelsey & her karoake machine.

2008-12-22T00:56:00.000-06:00

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Hayden's doe

2008-12-21T23:25:00.000-06:00

On Sun. Nov. 16, 08 Brian & Kyle Fritz, Heath, Kelsey & Hayden went hunting north of town. Brian, Kyle, Heath & Hayden all got a doe that night. It was Hayden's first doe!! It was really exciting!

2008-12-19T16:05:00.000-06:00

Kelsey won FIRST place with trampoline and FIRST place for her floor routine! We are so proud of her!

2008-12-19T16:03:00.001-06:00

Kelsey with one of her gymnastics coach, Ms. Amy

2008-12-19T16:03:00.000-06:00

Kelsey with her 2 FIRST place medals!

2008-12-19T16:01:00.000-06:00

Kelsey stretching before her first gymnastics meet!

2008-12-19T15:59:00.000-06:00

Andrew loved playing in the leaves and hearing them crunch when he walked!

2008-12-19T15:51:00.000-06:00

Brotherly LOVE!!

2008-12-19T15:48:00.000-06:00

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2008-12-19T15:45:00.000-06:00

Playing in the leaves!!

2008-12-19T15:44:00.000-06:00

Here are some pictures I took in the frony yard of Andrew playing in the leaves!!

2008-11-23T19:29:00.000-06:00

Family Pictures at The Cardwell Ranch

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How it all started...........

2008-02-26T21:35:00.000-06:00

On March 7, 1997 Heath and I met in Vernon. Once we met, we knew we were meant to be together. On August 29, 1997, we were married. After being married only a month, I had my third surgery for endometrosis. The doctor told us between the endo and issues from me being in a car wreck when I was younger, that I might have a hard time carrying a baby. He recommended that if we wanted to start a family to start as soon as possible. That November, we found out we were expecting a baby. On July 10, 1998 Hayden Travis Cardwell V entered this world at a healthy 8 lbs. 1 oz. On Septemeber 26, 2001 we welcomed Hayden a beautiful little baby sister named Kelsey Elizabeth Cardwell weighing in at 8 lbs. 13 oz. In December of 2006, Heath and I were planning a trip for our 10 year anniversary. However, the good Lord had his own special "surprise" trip planned for us...... a trip to the hospital!!!! 15 days before our 10 year anniversary on August 14, 2007, we welcomed a healthy BIG boy named Andrew Heath Cardwell weighing in at a HEAVY 9lbs. 4oz. With not forgetting our little Yorkie, Mackie........We can finally say we are COMPLETE!!!!