Happy 8th Birthday Amberly!

Today is Amberly's 8th Birthday. I have had a mixture of emotions today.
First, it's really hard to believe that my baby is 8! Wow, how the years have flown by. Second, it's really hard to believe my baby is 8! :) It seems like just yesterday that she was placed in my arms for the first time. She came into our family at a time when we needed her sweet presence with us. We had had an incredibly hard year before her birth and her arrival was truly a miracle in our lives. The sweet spirit she brought with her healed our hearts and brought such joy into our home. From day one I do believe she has had everyone wrapped around her pinkie! She has always had a determined strong willed spirit, yet a gentle sweetness that everyone just loves. Amberly can appear to be quiet and shy, but at home I do believe she is one of the loudest! Recently she has become very cuddly and wants to be held and loved on all the time. If she's in the family room with her daddy it is usually on his lap. If she's sitting by me she wants my arm around her and holding her close. Amberly loves girly things yet at the same time is slightly tomboyish. She loves to get dirty outside in the mud, climb trees, not afraid to kill a bug, play basketball, ride bikes, wrestle, have tickle fights, read books, color, play with barbies (finally!), play with cars, play school and house, scrapbook, play games, dance, sing, play the piano, and be with her family having fun. She is a bundle of energy and likes to be busy. She gets grumpy if she's bored.

She is so excited to be baptized this Saturday. I have been truly amazed with her as she has been preparing for her baptism. She wants to do what is right and says that is why she wants to be baptized. We love our Amberly Kate so much and are so happy she is a part of our family.

Amberly's 1st white dress on her blessing day

Happy Birthday Amberly

Elizabeth's Late Birthday Party

Since Elizabeth was gone to school for her birthday we had a "late" birthday party on her break home. (She only kept reminding Amberly for a few weeks that we needed to do this!) We had planned on doing it, but life gets busy and getting everyone home and a time when the grandparents could come also took some quick planning. We had planned to surprise her, but I don't think she was actually surprised. It was a fun evening celebrating our beautiful daughters 19th birthday. It's hard to believe she is that OLD!!

She wanted a chocolate/chocolate cake and of course I had to get yummy Blue Bell ice cream for her!

Happy Late Birthday Elizabeth! We love having you home and miss you like

crazy when your gone!!

Happy Birthday Mom!!

Today would have been my Mom's 66th Birthday! Happy Birthday Mom!! On August 22nd it will be 8 years since she died. We miss her being a part of our lives so much! But, we know that her spirit lives on and that we will all see her again someday!!

I've been thinking about her a lot recently and have tried to pinpoint the different things that I learned from her. I guess the greatest thing I learned from her was her example of love towards everyone. She always smiled and made those around her feel special. My children absolutely adored her. Our guest room became "Grandma's Room". She made each of my children feel special and loved for who they were. She never chose favorites. She was incredible! When she passed away a huge hole was felt in our lives. Yet, we feel her closeness to this day. I have felt her presence on many occasions. I have felt her beside my children as they sit at the piano playing it. I have felt her with me as I have had struggles. I am so grateful for her life, for her example and especially for her love. Happy Birthday Mom!! We love you and miss you so much!!

Happy 18th Birthday Elizabeth!!

On July 10th, 1991 our lives were changed forever with the arrival of our beautiful daughter Elizabeth. Our first little Texan!! The years have gone fast as we have watched her grow into a beautiful young woman. She is both beautiful on the inside and outside and we love her very much! We look forward to watching her continue to pursue her dreams. Happy 18th Birthday Elizabeth!! Try not to "grow up" too fast!

We love you!

Happy 11th Birthday Trent!!

Eleven years ago today our family was incredibly blessed with a precious gift from Heaven! Trent Sam McShane was born on May 20th, 1998 weighing in at a whopper 9 lbs. 6 oz. It really is hard to believe that my little boy is growing up so quickly! The day Trent joined our family was an extremely happy day for us! He has brought so much joy and love to our family. He has always been my cuddly lovable little guy! Happy Birthday Trent and thanks for being such a wonderful part of our family!

Home from the Hospital with adoring Elizabeth and Eyn. They just loved having a new brother!

This picture was taken in Idaho. Trent didn't know what to think of this horse. It just started following Trent!

For Trent's 1st Birthday my Mom and Dad gave Trent this precious little puppy. "Puppy" continues to be a treasured part of Trent's life today!

My precious boy!

In Galveston having a fun time at the beach!

My cool little buddy!

In the beautiful bluebonnets near Brenham.

My little boy is growing up!

Happy Happy Birthday Trent!

Happy Birthday Dad! (Paw Paw)

Today would have been my Dad's 72nd birthday. I just wanted to take a moment and post a few favorite pictures of him and share a few memories. Next month it will be 7 years since he died. Our family continues to miss him and are thankful for the good memories we have.

This was my Dad's Senior Class picture. He was a great student/athlete. I know that Eyn got his Athletic abilities from my Dad.

Dad always had a hat on. He had quite a collection of them!
One thing is for sure, my Dad loved his Grand kids and they loved him!

The last few years of my Dad's life were quite tough. The last year of his life was spent in a lovely nursing home in a house. We were so blessed with the people there that helped take care of him. These pictures were taken on one of our visits. During his last year he rarely spoke at all. My greatest memory of him during this time was on our last visit to see him. Darin and I walked in from one direction and he was eating lunch. He looked up and saw me and didn't acknowledge me very much but from the other direction Elizabeth had walked in and he turned and saw her and his face completely lit up in the biggest smile I think I've ever seen. Everyone in the room was astonished because and we all knew that he definitely recognized his precious granddaughter! It was a moment instilled in my heart forever.

We love and miss you Dad (Paw Paw)!!

Happy Birthday!!

Tricia's Birthday

We celebrated my 39Th birthday on October 23rd. My family and friends really made it a great day for me! The day started by smelling fresh homemade muffins. Elizabeth had gotten up before Seminary (by 5:00 AM) to make them to be ready when I got up. They were yummy!

When I went out to take Amberly and Trent to school we found that 3 sneaky people had painted my van! Before they left they had painted my windows with words like - Honk It's my birthday, 39 (for the first time), pictures of a cake with candles, balloons, etc. It was funny! It was kind of fun to get honked at! (I always jumped first and then laughed.) I went out to lunch with a sweet friend and was able to talk to friends on the phone throughout the day. That evening we ended up eating Subway and enjoyed yummy birthday pie. I told Darin I wanted Pie instead of a cake. It was yummy! It was a great day! Thanks everyone!

Eyn's Birthday Party

We had a fun time celebrating Eyn's Birthday! Its nice having a Sunday birthday because we could celebrate the entire day! Grandpa Bruce and Grandma Sharon came over for the day. Eyn wanted to play Monopoly so the boys had a fun time playing that. We had hamburgers and hot dogs cooked out on the grill and Eyn's favorite potato salad. It was yummy and fun!

Eyn had said several months ago that he wanted a pink chocolate cake. I'm sure it was a joke, but no one would let it be forgotten! So he had a HUGE 3 layer chocolate cake with pink and green frosting. It actually was really good!First bite of cake. (Family tradition - no hands allowed!) Eyn was excited about the new stereo he got for his room. I don't know if my ears were ready for it!
Money is always one of Eyn's favorite gifts!

We hope you had a great birthday Eyn! We're so glad your a part of our family!

Happy Birthday Eyn!

Happy 15th Birthday Eyn!
How grateful we are to have Eyn as a part of our family.

He adds more than he will ever know to our family.

Eyn was born in Tucson Arizona on October 12, 1993. He was by far my easiest labor! I ended up having to have a C-section at the end, but being in labor was an incredible spiritual experience for me. He arrived weighing 8 lbs. 2 oz. with lots of red hair! Over the years the red has diminished into a beautiful strawberry blond. Eyn came out long and has never stopped growing. At 15 he now stands at around 6'2. Out of all of our children I have to say that Eyn is my most obedient child. I'm afraid I may take advantage of that sometimes. Whenever I ask him to do something, he does it. We can trust him to get the job done and do it without all the complaining. I love my moments with Eyn when he opens up and talks to me. I love Eyn's love for sports! I absolutely love watching him play basketball! It is my favorite season of the year! He is sooo competitive and hard on himself, but he is incredibly talented! Our family has been greatly blessed with Eyn in our family.

Happy Birthday Eyn!

Eyn and PawPaw at about 8 months old.

Eyn with his 1st Basketball trophy! He's acquired quite a few now!
My gentle Giant. I love this picture!


October 12th - Happy Birthday Eyn!

Amberly's Party

Last night we had fun celebrating Amberly's Birthday. Grandpa and Grandma came over to celebrate with us. Amberly wanted lasagna for her special dinner and she wanted an ice cream cake. I think it all came out quite yummy! She was really hyper most of the evening! She couldn't wait to open her presents she was so excited. What a jump!
Make a wish Amberly!
Blowing out the candles.
We had a great evening! It ended too quickly.

We much prefer weekend birthdays over school night birthdays!

Happy 6th Birthday Amberly!!

Today is my precious Amberly's 6th Birthday! Where has the time gone?! She is such a bright shiny part of our family. Amberly has always been easy to please and a joy to have in our home. You can definitely tell she is the youngest because she can stick up for herself. She has a strong will and is determined to do things her way. She loves everything girl yet has that tomboy in her also. She thinks that the world should and does revolve around her. She's easy to get a long with. She makes friends easily and is loved by everyone. She can be quiet and shy at times, but once she gets comfortable watch out!! We are so lucky to have her in our family!

Happy Birthday sweetie!

Fresh from Heaven

Blessing Day Age 1 1/2 - 2yrs.At age 3 with her best buddy "Puppy" Having lunch with Mom, Ms. Nola, and Best Friend Katie - Age 4
Preschool fun - age 56 years old and loving Kindergarten and life in general!!Happy Birthday Amberly!!

Elizabeth's Birthday Celebration

We had a great time celebrating Elizabeth's birthday. Considering it was the "last" birthday of her "Childhood" I decided to do some favorite children's games and we ended up having a great time!! We played these cheesy little 3 in a row games. (Grandpa Bruce and Grandma Sharon came over for the evening.)We also played blow up the balloon and sit on it and pop it, (simple, cheesy, but hilarious when you get Grandparents involved!). Eyn and I both got to use a chair since we're still recovering from surgery!Go Grandma Sharon!!

(When Grandpa Bruce was popping his balloon I was laughing so hard I didn't get any pictures! Hopefully Darin's recording of it will come out good. He said the camera was shaking from his laughing so hard he doesn't know what it will look like!) That balloon is nearly as big as Amberly!

We went outside and fulfilled one of Elizabeth's Childhood requests and had a pinata.

(It's not as easy as it looks!) (She was taking out all her "boy" frustrations on the pinata.)

Sweet rewards!Opening presents is always fun, especially when it comes to tormenting Elizabeth. She has been begging us for more than a year to add texting to her phone but I have always refused to have it added. Well, Darin and I finally relented and for one of her gifts she got texting added to her phone. (Early this afternoon she had already sent 47 messages! That's just wrong!!) Notice the "TEXT" on the floor in front of her. She was quite excited.

One tradition we have with birthdays is that the first bite of cake is just taking a big bite out of it. They don't have to do it if they don't want to, but it always brings a lot of laughs. Yummy!! Elizabeth seemed to be really happy and had a great day. I guess her birthday continued today as she has gone back to San Antonio again with some friends from our ward to go to Sea World for the next few days. (She's always the lucky one!!)