photo tribute to my now 4 year old

Florida 02/07 Sept 06 Flash dance!!!

To tired to move? best friends tea party?

dressed for a baptism


Memorial day 06' I love a warm vent in the winter!

ring on every finger just woke up! Halloween 05'


my first snow!!! book smart hiding from my age- 4th birthday

I am happy because i know i am loved.
McKenna- you bless my life and every life you touch. You, my dear, leave "fingerprints of gold." My birthday wish for you is a life of happiness, friends, family, love, learning, good choices, and that you will know that your famiy and your heavenly father love you more than you can fathom. I'm proud to be your mother and pray i do right by you, for you, and to you.

4 years, gone in a blink

Who's that girl? 4 years ago yesterday- 17 June 2003, this little princess came to my world and blessed it more than words can express. McKenna Jean Gibbens... she actually scared the ever lovin' crap out of her father and i when she was born. If you have kids, you may understand this. We kinda expected Kenna to look a little bit like Jocilyn, our first. Jocilyn was a beautiful
olive complected (her Itallian herritage), fuzzy headed (blonde fuzz) baby girl. McKenna, while also beautiful- was all dark, dark hair- tons of it, the fairest skin you've ever seen, and the most plump lips that overpowered her little self- total oppisite of Jocilyn. I saw all of that black hair and thought- huh? If I didn't know she just came from my uterus, i wouldn't have believed she was mine. But i'm so thankful that she is.
I vividly remember the day before her birth. Matthew and I took Jocilyn and went looking at luxery homes trying to induce labor (all of the walking in 110+ F' temps). When we returned home we ate left over mexican food. Later that evening Matthew and i neither one were feeling very good. So began the pukes (sp?). Matthew finally found relief and went to bed. I however was up all night- quite litterally- in the bathroom every 5 minutes. One of those times you think to yourself, "self- where is all of this coming from? Your stomach has got to be as empty as a barrel of moonshine at a grotto during prohibition!" And yet there is always more... of course this is particularlly fun while pregnant because you get to pee your pants everytime you hurl as an added bonus. So this was my night. In the wee small hours of the morning, however, i took a turn. Suddenly i felt like the food poisoning had finished up in my stomach and had moved on to the intestine- if you follow my meaning. So now i'm thinking- "oh, crap" (litterally). The cramps just kept coming one after another and finally I realized just how regular they were. que- wake the husband. So i did, and we timed the miserable diarrhea cramps and they were not that, labor had arrived. Our poor, weary minds went completly blank. Who can we call to come and be with Jocilyn at 05:30 a.m.? Oh, right, grandma and grandpa- good call. They arrived and off Matthew and i went to go and deliver this babe.

I was dialated to 5cm when i arrived at the hospital. With Jocilyn i got my epidural at a 3, so a 5 was amazing to me that i could walk- not well, nor comfortably- but i was mobile of my own volition. Also with Jocilyn, I had progressed very quickly- so the MD was called right away. She came in and got the story of the past 24 hours and she said, "well, you know how pregnant women are always trying to self induce- now i have a new method to pass on, food poisoning!" SOooo not the way to go!

Anyway fast fwd to delivery. Here is this bright eyed, bushy headed, full lipped, crying, healthy beautiful baby girl. Now ff to present time- she is 4years old and spunky! She told matthew yesterday that she got a lot of things from him, but the"fight" in her was from mom. She sure fought her birthday spankin's! She didn't understand the concept at first and couldn't figure out why dad was talking about spanks.

bed? or ballet?

"Girls... go get ready for bed." They did pretty good listening the first time. Upstairs

they went and back down they came. Jocilyn now sporting practical sleepwear, a lovely pink night gown. McKenna said she couldn't find anything else- so the layers she chose are as follows: 1st a pull-up to sleep in, 2nd a swimsuit, 3rd a leotard

complete with tu-tu. The very latest in fashion, i'm sure. I asked her, "how cute are you 'Kenner?'" She came right back with, "Super, duper, pooper cute!" I turned to Jocilyn and asked the same question, "joc, how cute are you?" .... "just super mom, super cute." Good night you super cute cuties! Up you go with daddy to read a book and go to sleepy!

A Day with Grandma

We spent the day over at Grandma Nita's while mom took the car to the shop to get fixed. It's

(here is grandma with our cousin Opal)

been a while since we've gotten to do that. When mom finds a job again Grandma will babysit us and that will be great! We played barbies and ran through the sprinkler. Jocilyn played with Aunt Sabrina doing "big girl" crafts,

...while McKenna ran errands with grandma. The day was fun! Too bad for mom, finally a free day and she didn't even have a car to run around in. This was all Thursday, we spent the night, how great is that?

Grandpa Carl will be here for Father's day, We are excited to have him in from AZ for a minute. Here is a pic from a visit when they still lived with us.
McKenna is papa's girl- she hates goodbyes with him- so it will be a special visit for her this weekend as well. Grandmas and Grandpas are so special and neat, spending time with them is always a treat!

Sisters to beat all sisters

This blog is being set up as a type of journal for Jocilyn (6) and McKenna (4). Also as a means for others to keep up with their antics and hillarities, as requested.

Jocilyn just finished her first year of elementary school. She adored kindergarten and is excited to be a 1st grader. She is a fantastic helper who is in a big hurry to be a grown woman, make up and all. I'm not sure how to slow her down- girls are scary! She is learning how to ride a bike, loves to plant flowers. As i write she is wondering what exactly is a "glob," and who am i sending it to?

McKenna is crazy in the best way! She is a ball of fire, a kick in the pants, and overall a hand full. She comes up with the funniest stuff- i havn't figured out how her little brain works, but i love it. The great outdoors is where she prefers to be, actively investigating nature and riding on her "truck." The aforementioned "truck" is made for a toddler... but we can't get her off of it, she loves that thing. This dark haired, fair skinned beauty is prime for sunburns- she says, "Ugh, this sun is killing me!"

Quoteworthy:

Earlier this week mom said, "McKenna, please pick up the dang popcorn!" Kenna replied, "it isn't 'dang,' it's yummy mom!"

Jocilyn, "i just tooted! (ha!ha!ha!)" McKenna tattles, "dad! sister said excuse me, but it still stinks!" ... i ask you, is there punishment for that? There should be, we were all stuck in a car together!!

On a cross country flight to Florida, all of the kids had been talking about the fun of "blasting off." We, then, are sitting on the plane when McKenna asked/yelling, "When are we going to explode!!!?" (mom and dad of course thought the flight might be grounded because of our kid)

This morning (6/13), McKenna stated she could speak a different language. I asked her what and she started signing (well moving her hands all around) and saying, "you know, blah, blah, blah...."

Also this morning, " mom, can we go to grandma's while you shop?" I said "No, she is doing geneology." Jocilyn asked, "what is that?" McKenna told her that grandma was out of "odgy" so she needed more "odgy."

Jocilyn asked, "Mom, is McKenna the boss?" reply, "no" Jocilyn turns to McKenna and says, "listen, 'squirt', let me explain it to you....... " .... and I'm a boss because i'm the best daughter"

So! There you go! Our first "glob!" Be patient as we figure it all out- mom is retarded with the computer! Love to you all,

Joc and Kenna