Merry Christmas!

Christmas was a success! Jackson's big hit was his toothbrush although he did receive lots of boy toys! Mackie got a great big doll house with all the accessories inside among many other things. Santa was a generous soul this year as were all the Grandparents! I'm getting bigger by the day and not as sick by the day too! Mackenzie sure loved receiving presents and hasn't quite understood that it's much better to give then receive! She has many years to learn!

Mackie and Anthony

These two are just too funny!

Aunt Kathy and Uncle Jim's Christmas!

Mackie loved her My Little Pony and Jackson loved his little cousin Garrett!

Christmas Cookies!

I really need to get a picture of the finished product, because they came out so cute and yummy too! Mackie was quite the helper. Jackson just wanted to eat the raw dough!

OUR HOUSE IS FOR SALE!

If you know anyone that wants to buy a house in Royal Oak, have them check out our link on craigslist!

http://detroit.craigslist.org/reo/962956954.html

#3 on the way!

I have been wanting to post this for a bit now! I am about 15 weeks pregnant now and due with baby number 3 in June! It's been a long few months to say the least. I have been extremely sick in the morning and have had some horrific headaches. I found that if I drink a Starbucks close to bed, I wake up with no headache! My doc said that is what I should do, or the other option would be narcotics which I want to avoid at all costs! Long story short, I am starting to feel much better and Tim has been such a help! We're all happy that the morning sickness should be coming to an end! We are all very exciting about our upcoming arrival! It's such a blessing!

The picture: I opened the pantry door to see four little hands filled with candy from the treat bowl! Oh, they got caught!

Sorry it's been so long!

So, about a month ago we got a virus on our computer. Tim actually fixed the problem (I was very impressed by him). Anyway, since it was fixed, a few things are different, one being the fact that I couldn't log on to add anything to our blog. Not sure why I can now or what he did, but it works! Tim's been off the entire month of December and it's been great! I signed up to substitute teach and it's pretty amazing on how much I've been called. It's been a great experience and really great to get out a bit too, and Tim has been so great with the kids.

All the Grandkids!

Here are all the Springs grandkids! The picture was actually quite easy to get!

Circus Fun

Last week Jen and Remo were kind enough to watch Jackson, so Tim and I could take Mackie to the Ringling Brother's Circus at the Palace! She was pretty amazed by the pole climbers and kept yelling for them to be careful! After about an hour, she was ready to go home. We realized we're still a little ways away from Disney World. Her attention span just isn't so long.

Photographer pics are in

Hey everyone! The kids pictures are finally in. Click on the link below and go into client proofing and type in Shoskeykids (as the password).

www.sweetmomentsphotography.com

The basement and Tim's time off!

Here's a picture of our basement that Tim finished a year and a half ago. Hmm, why would I be posting this now? Well, we may start taking pictures of the house to maybe put in on the market! Tim had some hours cut this week and with all his built up vacation, he's only working about 6 more days this year! I'm telling you every one we know is effected by this market, and it's scary stuff! I even went out looking for a holiday job today. Anyone have any suggestions for me? Thank God he still has a job, but you just never know!

1st day of snow!

Not the best picture in the world, but it did snow on Monday for the first time and we were outside by 8am making snowballs! Mackie was loving it!

Mike and Megan's Wedding

We went to Frankenmuth on Saturday to celebrate Mike and Megan's wedding. It was a great time and we got to catch up with lots of Valpo friends as you can see in the one picture.

Jackson's 1st Haircut!

BEFORE

Jackson was a champ and didn't even cry! He's such a big boy now!

AFTER

Happy Halloween!

After a long long couple of days, Friday night was a definite success. Mackie shouted Trick or Treat as loud as she possibly could at every house we went to. Jackson would reach into those bowls of candy and come out with as many treats as his little hands could hold. He was a trooper! Mackie was loving life, but her little legs didn't hold up as long as she had hoped. We made it down three streets and came home with an insane amount of candy! Mackie was a princess and Jackson was what we thought was a bear, but everyone seemed to think he was a dog! What a gorgeous night we had, it was 60 plus degrees out! I can't remember a Halloween that nice in a long time!

The Plague

The kids and I were at a friend's house on Tuesday when Mackie said, "Mommy, my belly hurts!" Instantenously, she throws up all over my friend's floor! We quickly gathered our things and left in a hurry, while Mackenzie continues to throw up the entire ride home. I spoke with my sister and Anthony had the exact same thing only a few hours earlier. It lasted about 7 hours of throwing up and we thought we were in the clear!
Well, Tim goes to work on Wednesday and comes home a bit early. Immediately after he arrived home, my stomach became upset. Well, to make a long story short, I threw up every half hour for 14 straight hours! I have never been so sick in my life. Tim ended up taking me to the ER at 8 in the morning since I was so dehydrated.
As we were in the waiting room of the ER, Tim starts turning white and they put him in a bed. So, we were both in the emergency room for about 8 hours yesterday getting better. Tim's feeling much better today, and I am on the road to recovery. Thanks so so much mom for taking care of the kids all day.
Jackson never got it and neither did Vince! We finally realized that everyone had the Rotovirus and the little guys had the immunization for it. Thank God (literally) for vaccines!

We can still dress up too!

Tim and I went to a Halloween party tonight that our next door neighbors put on every year. We wanted to match, so we both attempted to be aerobic instructors, but no offense to Tim in my shorts and tank top, it just wasn't working for him. So, he went back to his staple, a hunter and always loves to bring his props, so he carried his bow with him the entire night! I love that we go every year because like clock work, an hour before we want to leave, we look at each other and say, "what do you want to be this year?" and we search through the closets and always come up with something.

Prayers!

Our dear friend lost her mother to cancer yesterday morning. She's one of five siblings who lost their mother, and I think they could use all the prayers they can get. It sure makes you really think about living in the moment. You never know how limited time on earth can be! It's so important to not sweat the small stuff, even though many times can be the hardest thing to do.

Grandpa Joe's 90th Birthday

Tim's mom put on a wonderful birthday party for Grandpa Joe. She even bought matching outfits for all the Grandkids. He knew people were coming, but had no idea the amount. He grew up one of 9 children and even some of his siblings made it to the party. It was so fun to watch Grandpa Joe as everyone reminisced and spoke so highly of him! To many more years Grandpa Joe! Aunt Pam and Grandma June are in the upper left photo, and it was so great to see them again too.

My brown eyed beauty!

I had the kids pictures done last week and the photographer has a blog. Mackie's picture is front and center, please check it out. How old does she look and please, just look at the eyes! Ahh, I just love her!

www.sweetmomentsphotography.com/blog

Valpo and the Sand Dunes

We went to Valpo this weekend for my alumni soccer game and more importantly to visit friends. Although I'm embarrassed to say, I didn't get any pictures until yesterday when Jenna, Tim, me and the kids went to the Sand Dunes. Life doesn't get much better than an 80 degree day in October.

My boys, both of them have their shirts tucked into their underwear! How cute:)

Remembering Grandpa Art

Grandpa Art (Tim's dad's dad) passed away and entered heaven on Thursday morning. Say some prayers for the family and especially Grandma June as she continues on without her other half. They really were a couple to watch, always showing affection, and he always bragged about how much he loved her! We were fortunate to all see him last weekend while he was in such good spirits! Jackson even waved for the first time to Grandpa. What a special person we have watching over us. We love you Grandpa Art!

BABY GARRETT MICHAEL

Colleen and Mike had a healthy baby boy named Garrett Michael last night. 7lbs, 8 oz. Everyone's doing great, we all just got back from seeing them. Baby's got a little bruised head, but other than that looking as cute as ever. So, this means, 5 boys and Mackie on my side. Thank goodness for Monique and Emilia, she can be girlie and tough all at the same time.

Traverse City and The Great Wolf Lodge

I had to coach a soccer game in Traverse City this weekend, so we decided to make it a little family vacation instead. Despite losing my game in the last minute on a PK, we had an awesome, awesome time! It was just great! Mack rode down the water slide as did Jackson too. When they say it's a place for all ages, it really is. Tim and I played a lot of basketball, pig and worked on our alley-oops (sp) (mine were far better than Tim's...shh) Jackson loved standing over a water sprayer so the water would spray right up his pants. He also got a lot of treats this weekend and has now figured out how to sign more and say it as well. We didn't let the weather deter us from going to the beach, so we stopped by the last day to run off some energy before heading home! We even got to visit Grandpa Art on the way up, so that was nice too! Mackie had to count to four on her fingers before she would go down the slide. Enjoy some of the pics!

Fox Family Fun!

As most of you know, I have a very large extended family on my mom's side and we like to get together as often as we can. Sunday we went to Aunt Patty's house for a fun day with loads of great food. Lily (my cousin's daughter) and Mackie just randomly had the same coat. With only 12 of the 17 Great Grandkids there, it was midly calm.

And...I just had to get a picture of Tim on the scooter. The lease on my car is up soon and the thought of what kind of car we will be getting has been on our mind. Our latest idea is to buy a scooter and forget about an extra car. Tim drives his truck to and from work only and he only works 4 miles from home. Yes, Mom and Dad, it's not likely we'll be doing it, but it sure would be a whole lot more economical!

Go Tigers, Go!

Tim and Mackie went to the Tigers game all by themselves and just had the best time. Mackie go to go on the merry-go-round, ate peanutes and ate a whole hotdog! Who knows if they won, but Daddy was sure proud!

Stinker!

So, I sure love Jackson to pieces, but he is into EVERYTHING! His new favorite thing is to climb up on the couch arm and reach for the light switch. I can't blink when he's in the room. He took his sippy today and figured out how to open it and spilled milk everywhere and proceded to splash around in it. A few days ago he took our brand new remote (we hadn't had it for 24 hours yet) and chose to dunk it in my coffee. We have a new one on the way. He's tiring, very very tiring!

special moments

Some days can be so long and so tough, but I do find time everyday to enjoy the little things! Jackson loves to get into everything right now and I mean everything. He loves splashing in the toilet and digging in the trash! Mackie loves to find rainbows, paint, read every book she can get her hands on and her favorite is to let Jackson know what's right and what's wroing. Their little minds never stop and we do find time to appreciate it every day! Life is to short to sweat the small stuff, and although we all have to be reminded of it, it's a good reminder to have! Their only small once.

Laughter

There's just something about laughter that makes all the worries in the world go away!

I'm not that old yet!

Jenny and Remo took the boat out this weekend, so we had to go out for the last time. I tried wakeboarding for the first time with high hopes of doing all sorts of fun tricks! Well, the tricks turned into face plants in the water, but always a good time on the water. What a perfect weekend!! Tim went too and it's hard to admit, he was better than me no question! The whole fam was up which made for some early mornings to say the least, but lots of laughs were had remembering the old times!