Today we made our very first country music video. From the moment that Justin was born, as with all the boys, they sleep listening to our local country radio station. We have learned in doing so that Justin has come to learn almost every country song played and can tell you who the artist is that sings it. Justin loves Toby Keith and American Ride is his favorite song. So as a tribute to their Great Granddaddy Dillon, we present our up and coming artists.....The CMA Award for Music Video of the Year goes to.... "The Hagen Boy Band" for their debut single "American Ride".
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Fall Fun and Halloween
Now that Darin is on the move even more and the kids seem to vary with their nap times I find that my posts have gotten more spread out in time and longer when I do post. I'm trying to be better about it. Here is a video of Darin doing his little trick that Papa taught him! Go Darin...TOUCHDOWN!!!
In late September we all took the boys apple picking to our favorite Orchards in Winchester, VA. First we went to Millers for their Fall Festival. The kids loved riding the cow train and the Hay Ride. Then we left there to go pick apples at Rinkers Orchard, which is where we have been going to since I was a little girl. The boys loved picking the apples fresh off the trees.
Greenie, Papa and myself took the boys for their first trip to Build a Bear. They all loved that place and got to stuff their own bears. The boys stepped on the peddle to fill the bears, as Darin sat on the pedal to stuff his own bear. Here they are blow drying their bears getting them all handsome.
Here are some pics from another fall festival that we attended at a local church. What a beautiful warm day it was!
As for Darin he will be turning one in just a few weeks. I can't believe it's been a year already. It amazes me how I can still see big changes in him from week to week. Just the other day he took his last bottle and finished his formula. He is drinking regular milk from a big boy sippy cup now just like Ryan, as Justin drinks from a regular cup. Darin loves being on the floor playing with his brothers, however, his brothers seem to think it's a wrestling match at times. He is trying to take few little steps while holding on and he is really fast at crawling now. On October 13, 2009 I gave Darin his very first haircut. It's always been a tradition that I've given the boys their first haircut and then his older brothers wanted theirs done to. So everyone got haircuts complete with Lollipops...that made it all worth it!
For Halloween I made the boys their costumes with the idea from Paul of how to put them together. Justin wanted for everyone to be a pumpkin and he cleared that with Ryan to make sure he did too. It was a lot of fun making their costumes. I loved the part of stuffing them and rolling them on the ground trying to squish the fluff around. Not sure if they loved that part, as much as I did. Justin and Ryan had a party for AWANAs last week and they had to dress up. It was funny seeing them trying to squeeze in the doors and in their seats. For Halloween we took the boys trick or treating at the toy store earlier in the day and came home to make some Halloween Lollipops that they made themselves. Then that night after their special Halloween Meal and we all headed out to trick or treat in the neighborhood. It rained halfway though, but it never slowed the kids down. Poor Darin never said much, but just looked and took it all in. I don't think he could move much in his costume. Justin would take off from house to house quickly and then Ryan would come running yelling "Buddy...Me" behind him. A few times he tripped and went rolling....then yelling "Help!" to get up. Poor little guys looked like Ralphie from the Christmas Story. After our outing we came back to give out some candy to the last of the trick or treaters. Then Greenie and Papa visited as we had our own little party watching the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown complete with lighted pumpkins and glow sticks to dance in the dark. They had a great time! (Justin's Pumpkin was on chair; Ryan's bottom left; Darin's bottom left)
In late September we all took the boys apple picking to our favorite Orchards in Winchester, VA. First we went to Millers for their Fall Festival. The kids loved riding the cow train and the Hay Ride. Then we left there to go pick apples at Rinkers Orchard, which is where we have been going to since I was a little girl. The boys loved picking the apples fresh off the trees.
Greenie, Papa and myself took the boys for their first trip to Build a Bear. They all loved that place and got to stuff their own bears. The boys stepped on the peddle to fill the bears, as Darin sat on the pedal to stuff his own bear. Here they are blow drying their bears getting them all handsome.Here are some pics from another fall festival that we attended at a local church. What a beautiful warm day it was! As for Darin he will be turning one in just a few weeks. I can't believe it's been a year already. It amazes me how I can still see big changes in him from week to week. Just the other day he took his last bottle and finished his formula. He is drinking regular milk from a big boy sippy cup now just like Ryan, as Justin drinks from a regular cup. Darin loves being on the floor playing with his brothers, however, his brothers seem to think it's a wrestling match at times. He is trying to take few little steps while holding on and he is really fast at crawling now. On October 13, 2009 I gave Darin his very first haircut. It's always been a tradition that I've given the boys their first haircut and then his older brothers wanted theirs done to. So everyone got haircuts complete with Lollipops...that made it all worth it!For Halloween I made the boys their costumes with the idea from Paul of how to put them together. Justin wanted for everyone to be a pumpkin and he cleared that with Ryan to make sure he did too. It was a lot of fun making their costumes. I loved the part of stuffing them and rolling them on the ground trying to squish the fluff around. Not sure if they loved that part, as much as I did. Justin and Ryan had a party for AWANAs last week and they had to dress up. It was funny seeing them trying to squeeze in the doors and in their seats. For Halloween we took the boys trick or treating at the toy store earlier in the day and came home to make some Halloween Lollipops that they made themselves. Then that night after their special Halloween Meal and we all headed out to trick or treat in the neighborhood. It rained halfway though, but it never slowed the kids down. Poor Darin never said much, but just looked and took it all in. I don't think he could move much in his costume. Justin would take off from house to house quickly and then Ryan would come running yelling "Buddy...Me" behind him. A few times he tripped and went rolling....then yelling "Help!" to get up. Poor little guys looked like Ralphie from the Christmas Story. After our outing we came back to give out some candy to the last of the trick or treaters. Then Greenie and Papa visited as we had our own little party watching the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown complete with lighted pumpkins and glow sticks to dance in the dark. They had a great time! (Justin's Pumpkin was on chair; Ryan's bottom left; Darin's bottom left)
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Our Visit with Thomas
Last Friday before we even went to sleep the kids were already dressed for the next day. They were already for us to scoop them up at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning, so they could continue sleeping in the car for our trip. Well, it didn't work that way because each of them was so excited to go see Thomas the Train and just couldn't wait. We drove up to Lancaster, Pa to the Strasburg Railroad where the Day out with Thomas Event took place. It was a beautiful and fun filled day. We were on the second train out that early morning with Thomas. The kids had a blast and got to take part in riding the Hand Car, Car Train and the small locomotive they had there.
The kids riding with Paul on the Hand Car.
The boys riding the car train. 
Afterwards we drove to Kitchen Kettle where they were celebrating their 7 Sweets and Sours festival, while we picnicked and shopped. Paul probably would strangle me for including this story. Parking was really tight and there was a lady that was having trouble backing out. So nicely he went over to help her out and motioned to her to go slowly then showing he the distance. Just as she slammed her foot on the gas and quickly ran into a wooden sign. Thankfully there wasn't any damage. Everyone's mouth flew open and of course Justin so loudly "Oh Oh...that can’t be good!". Be seen and not heard...might have been a good time to exercise that one!
Our church has a Community Day carnival once a year in the fall. Last year I had to enjoy it from the car, as I was pregnant with Darin. This year even Darin got to enjoy it and take his very first pony ride. Justin loved the pony ride too, however, Ryan was not too trilled. - Below Darin patiently waits for his first ride!
Riding the Train with the boys.
Justin showing us that the cotton candy was as big as his head.
Darin's first taste of Cotton Candy...the smiles tells us how much he enjoyed it!
The kids riding with Paul on the Hand Car.The boys riding the car train. Afterwards we drove to Kitchen Kettle where they were celebrating their 7 Sweets and Sours festival, while we picnicked and shopped. Paul probably would strangle me for including this story. Parking was really tight and there was a lady that was having trouble backing out. So nicely he went over to help her out and motioned to her to go slowly then showing he the distance. Just as she slammed her foot on the gas and quickly ran into a wooden sign. Thankfully there wasn't any damage. Everyone's mouth flew open and of course Justin so loudly "Oh Oh...that can’t be good!". Be seen and not heard...might have been a good time to exercise that one!Then at the last minute we decided to go to the Village Greens putt putt course to let the kids play their very first game. My parents took me when I was a little girl and the last time we had gone was before we were married. I was so happy to see that it hadn’t changed at all. Justin was really good and kept up with the game. We lost Ryan about half way through when he noticed that the other people playing had golf balls our same color. He would take off after them trying to pick them up thinking they were ours. Thankfully there were a lot of nice people that didn't mind our sudden excursions across their green. Darin just laughed and took it all in as we played the 23 hole course. All the hard work made us hungry as we took off to enjoy an Amish Buffet that even Darin dug into! - Below is a picture taken of all of us under the waterfall hole. I had trouble getting one of Justin putting since he was so quick. Check out Ryan's 18" putter if it was even that long. They really accommodated everyone there.
Our church has a Community Day carnival once a year in the fall. Last year I had to enjoy it from the car, as I was pregnant with Darin. This year even Darin got to enjoy it and take his very first pony ride. Justin loved the pony ride too, however, Ryan was not too trilled. - Below Darin patiently waits for his first ride!Our Pony Rides!
Justin showing us that the cotton candy was as big as his head. Darin's first taste of Cotton Candy...the smiles tells us how much he enjoyed it!Summer 2009
It has been a long while since I have taken the time to update the blog. I guess I've just been enjoying the summer, especially since it's my favorite time of year. Looking back at the pics and since it's been 3 months since I have updated it amazes me how much you can see the kids have grown. Since I print these for memory pages for the kids...I wanted to touch on a little of everything. So here is a quick clip at what Summer 2009 had in store for us. I will be adding another blog post with our trip to visit with Thomas Train shortly.
Father's Day - The Dad's celebrated Father's Day with a meal that us ladies and kids specially prepared. The boys made the dad's some special keepsake boxes and an extra special shirt that had all of their handprints on it.
Garden Planting - We planted our first garden this year. The boys had a lot of fun helping us to care and pick the veggies that we got. We planted several peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, corn, Pumpkin, and Zucchini. The funniest thing that some of these plants were started with a 20 cent pouch of seeds that took off on us. The boys especially liked watching the corn grown that surpassed them in no time. It's funny how I have one pic of the planting then the next poof we have veggies. 
We celebrated Daddy's 60th birthday with a surprise Luau. We have many pictures, but I wanted to post this one of the cake that I had made for him. We had so much fun and many family and friends to join us. What a blessing for such a wonderful fun filled day.
Then we took a day trip to Boyd's Bear Country in Gettysburg, PA. This was the first time in a while that we had gone. We must have had so much fun, because coming home with their bears are the only pictures that it looks like we took of them. They love those bears so much and that's their night night buddies right now! 
Darin had is visit with Dr. Baker, who was the surgeon that took care of him. He said that Darin is doing well and we are just waiting for teeth to come in. To date he has gotten 3 teeth that are slowly coming in. We are just supposed to follow up with the Craniofacial clinic in November and then back for his one year check from surgery in February. It's amazing what a good job they did and how his scar seems to be fading and looks so good. We are very grateful for Dr. Baker and his team. 
Of course we spent a lot of time swimming in our pool and the kids had their own little one too. I am so proud of how Justin loved the water and attempted to swim...by the end of summer he was doing well with his arm floaties and learning how to swim. He had gotten really confident and I hope that it will continue next year when we start back again. Ryan did well too and by the end of summer he wanted out of his boat and tried to follow in Justin's footsteps. Darin didn't mind the water at all and he even accepted the splashes from his brothers.
Darin is a really good eater and there is nothing so far that we have come across that he doesn't like. We'll he was the first one to have a Happy Meal before his birthday. On August 18th he joined his brothers for kid’s night and enjoyed his first Happy Meal. I was surprised that he really liked the Cheeseburger more then the fries. Darin just pulled up for the first time on his own a couple of weeks ago.
Father's Day - The Dad's celebrated Father's Day with a meal that us ladies and kids specially prepared. The boys made the dad's some special keepsake boxes and an extra special shirt that had all of their handprints on it.
Garden Planting - We planted our first garden this year. The boys had a lot of fun helping us to care and pick the veggies that we got. We planted several peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, corn, Pumpkin, and Zucchini. The funniest thing that some of these plants were started with a 20 cent pouch of seeds that took off on us. The boys especially liked watching the corn grown that surpassed them in no time. It's funny how I have one pic of the planting then the next poof we have veggies. We celebrated Daddy's 60th birthday with a surprise Luau. We have many pictures, but I wanted to post this one of the cake that I had made for him. We had so much fun and many family and friends to join us. What a blessing for such a wonderful fun filled day. Then we took a day trip to Boyd's Bear Country in Gettysburg, PA. This was the first time in a while that we had gone. We must have had so much fun, because coming home with their bears are the only pictures that it looks like we took of them. They love those bears so much and that's their night night buddies right now! Darin had is visit with Dr. Baker, who was the surgeon that took care of him. He said that Darin is doing well and we are just waiting for teeth to come in. To date he has gotten 3 teeth that are slowly coming in. We are just supposed to follow up with the Craniofacial clinic in November and then back for his one year check from surgery in February. It's amazing what a good job they did and how his scar seems to be fading and looks so good. We are very grateful for Dr. Baker and his team. Of course we spent a lot of time swimming in our pool and the kids had their own little one too. I am so proud of how Justin loved the water and attempted to swim...by the end of summer he was doing well with his arm floaties and learning how to swim. He had gotten really confident and I hope that it will continue next year when we start back again. Ryan did well too and by the end of summer he wanted out of his boat and tried to follow in Justin's footsteps. Darin didn't mind the water at all and he even accepted the splashes from his brothers.Darin is a really good eater and there is nothing so far that we have come across that he doesn't like. We'll he was the first one to have a Happy Meal before his birthday. On August 18th he joined his brothers for kid’s night and enjoyed his first Happy Meal. I was surprised that he really liked the Cheeseburger more then the fries. Darin just pulled up for the first time on his own a couple of weeks ago.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Justin turns 4!
It's so hard to believe that my little guy is now 4 years old. To me it just seems like yesterday that I had him. Justin and all my boys are a true blessing from God and I can't even begin to explain how thankful I am. Each one is so special and totally different from each other. They all have taught me so much and together we are still learning, discovering and growing everyday together. Looking at life through a child’s eyes you learn to appreciate the small things so much more and realize to slow down and enjoy every single minute while it is here. I think when I had Justin God was trying to teach me some lessons to prepare me for Motherhood. When I first found out I learned that love was unconditional, bed rest taught me patience, premature labor I learned truly that Faith is bigger then a Mustard Seed, his 2 week stay in the NICU I learned to be happy in the moment and celebrate the small accomplishments along the way. Then when I brought my miracle home is when I realize that it is truly amazing how God takes something so small and turns it into a beautiful little person and trust us to care for this little life! A baby so small, yet the big things he will accomplish and become through the years with the help of God and all of us. We are so proud and love you Justin! 
On Saturday we had his birthday party and he had a big part with picking out everything for his friends. It was so much fun because he had opinions of what he really wanted. He is big into Monster Trucks and it didn't surprise me when he picked out that for the theme. It made me laugh because for Ryan's birthday I made Lightning McQueen pillows for all the kids and then Justin looks at me and said "Mommy what are you going to make all of my friends? I was thinking scarves, hats, blankets...what do you think?" I had my work cut out for me. For each of his friends I made a Tire Pillow with their names and year on it. Then I took the theme of a Monster Truck outing with hot dogs, popcorn, cotton candy, etc. and used that. The kids got to take home a popcorn container filled with treats, popsicles, cars, sidewalk chalk, balls, flash cards, homemade Monster Truck lollipops, etc. Then I even made a treat box for the whole family to enjoy. Each family got to take home a large popcorn box with cotton candy, popcorn, cookies, popsicles, etc. My favorite part of the kids parties is making the birthday cake...I really enjoyed making this one! I would have never guessed that Darin was actually the first one to get into the cake! Go DARIN!!!
For a craft each child got to color a Monster Truck and they, also, got to make a Personalized License Plate to take home with them. We had a ball pit and then Paul and Daddy brought out their Remote Monster Trucks for the kids to race and play with. The kids all had a great time and the best compliment I could get was when I hear that all the kids went home all tuckered out!!! 
Something that I thought was so funny was the other week Paul had his shirt off getting ready and Justin looks at him and says “Daddy why do you have hair on your Chest??? Is it because it slid off of your head!” Oh my goodness...Justin has so much personality and he has turned into such a little man!!!
It was such a busy week getting ready for the party and last minute things. On Sunday we all went to Cracker Barrel and in an instant so quickly Ryan licked the black checker. There are always times when something happens that I look and say to myself I will be surprised if they are not sick in 2-3 days. Long behold he got sick on Wednesday night. At first he was complaining about a pump knot he had gotten from a bad fall he took on Sunday. So the doctor told us that if things changed to take him to the Emergency Room. At the same time he came down with a high fever and a virus. So Wednesday in the middle of the night we took off to Fairfax Hospital. It surprised me how quickly we were in and out. He got better quickly and everyone was well for the party. Then slowly one by one we are each coming down with it. I don’t think I will ever play checkers again without Lysol Wipes!!! I love how these guys like to share, but seriously….
On Saturday we had his birthday party and he had a big part with picking out everything for his friends. It was so much fun because he had opinions of what he really wanted. He is big into Monster Trucks and it didn't surprise me when he picked out that for the theme. It made me laugh because for Ryan's birthday I made Lightning McQueen pillows for all the kids and then Justin looks at me and said "Mommy what are you going to make all of my friends? I was thinking scarves, hats, blankets...what do you think?" I had my work cut out for me. For each of his friends I made a Tire Pillow with their names and year on it. Then I took the theme of a Monster Truck outing with hot dogs, popcorn, cotton candy, etc. and used that. The kids got to take home a popcorn container filled with treats, popsicles, cars, sidewalk chalk, balls, flash cards, homemade Monster Truck lollipops, etc. Then I even made a treat box for the whole family to enjoy. Each family got to take home a large popcorn box with cotton candy, popcorn, cookies, popsicles, etc. My favorite part of the kids parties is making the birthday cake...I really enjoyed making this one! I would have never guessed that Darin was actually the first one to get into the cake! Go DARIN!!!For a craft each child got to color a Monster Truck and they, also, got to make a Personalized License Plate to take home with them. We had a ball pit and then Paul and Daddy brought out their Remote Monster Trucks for the kids to race and play with. The kids all had a great time and the best compliment I could get was when I hear that all the kids went home all tuckered out!!! Something that I thought was so funny was the other week Paul had his shirt off getting ready and Justin looks at him and says “Daddy why do you have hair on your Chest??? Is it because it slid off of your head!” Oh my goodness...Justin has so much personality and he has turned into such a little man!!!It was such a busy week getting ready for the party and last minute things. On Sunday we all went to Cracker Barrel and in an instant so quickly Ryan licked the black checker. There are always times when something happens that I look and say to myself I will be surprised if they are not sick in 2-3 days. Long behold he got sick on Wednesday night. At first he was complaining about a pump knot he had gotten from a bad fall he took on Sunday. So the doctor told us that if things changed to take him to the Emergency Room. At the same time he came down with a high fever and a virus. So Wednesday in the middle of the night we took off to Fairfax Hospital. It surprised me how quickly we were in and out. He got better quickly and everyone was well for the party. Then slowly one by one we are each coming down with it. I don’t think I will ever play checkers again without Lysol Wipes!!! I love how these guys like to share, but seriously….
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