Sweet Love!

Sleepy Stella

Stella and Deaga

Deagan insists upon coming out with us each and every time that Stella has to go (like 20 times a day). And he always wears his alligator boots. TOO CUTE!
These were from when she was just 8wks old and three inches shorter....

too tired!

Us on the Ferris Wheel

At the top...the way top! They were NOT scared at all!

Olivia doing flips on the bungee thing

We were at the fairgrounds and she went on the bungee bouncey thing....with one instruction she was doing flips!

*HaPpY 30th AnNiVeRsArY*

Thirty years ago today my parents got married! THIRTY YEARS!!!! I am very proud to say that in today's society they are celebrating their 30th anniversary. It's an amazing accomplishment and what an example to set for me and my children!
I love you guys:)

Little Moments

Every night I have the pleasure of putting Deagan to bed. Not that no one else will do it, but I don't want to share it. It's one of the best parts of my day. Deagan is about 20 months now, and still loves to be rocked before bed. It's our little moment together that we share.
Well lately he loves to draw it out a bit. I'll rock and rock, then ask him if he's ready to go in his bed....and he'll say "no, momma, rock!" So I rock and rock and rock, and we go back and forth about bedtime and rocking.
For the last year and a half, every night I sing to him "You are my sunshine." And tonight he actually started singing back. He got about every fourth word. It was amazing. To hear your little baby, all curled up on you quietly singing in your ear. It's the sweetest sound. And I'll cherish it forever! ..."pease no tate shun shine way..."
:)

Yes, I will post pictures soon!

Hello everyone! Just wanted to say sorry for the lack of pictures....since I've been out of school things have been super crazy. And I don't have access to computers with all the programs twice a week anymore!
So here's the update in a nutshell:
We are closing on a house on June 8th.
We have a new puppy, Stella, a great dane.
Olivia is riding a big girl bike with training wheels.
I graduated photography school.
Jeff is working at Quicken now.
Deagan has grown leaps and bounds in speech, mobility and height!
He got his second haircut of all time last week.
We went on a vacation to Holland for Mother's Day- to the tulip festival.
We camped in a rustic cabin and it was SUCH A GREAT TIME!
The kids love "candy samiches" aka smores.

So I do have pictures of the house, the dog, the new princess' bike, the haircut, tulips, camping....and a ton more among my 250+ files that I have to download....in my spare time.

Oh yeah, and did I mention there is a wedding in six weeks...
:)

Jeff and Dad's New "Project"

My Dad and Jeff got a little ambitious this weekend and started building a deck on the front of the house....just a little one...look to the right and then they'll send it back around the side of the house too!
they're crazy.
But it's about time:) We've all wanted a deck for FOREVER:)
I'll keep you updated on the progress of this addition.

My Latest Studio Shots

I thought you'd all like to see my latest studio shots. A few weeks ago I took Deagan, Olivia, and Maddison to the studio at my school for a little fun session. We had a great time. Deagan was full of cheesey smiles and crazy grins! And the girls just enjoyed playing:)
I hope you enjoy the pictures.
(They looked a little washed out on my laptop screen as opposed to my computer at school, so if they look odd, they're not normally like that- all washed out!)

Our Beautiful Children

They are the most adorable things I've seen and I just want to squeeze them all day!

Mister Deagan Nicholas

Miss Olivia Ashley

Madi and Olivia

They had such a great time during the photo shoot! They look like they could be sisters:)

Maddison

Maddison (my friend Jen's daughter)

School

I seem to get myself too emotionally involved in the situations that are in the news. When Jeff was in Iraq I wouldn't even let myself watch the news and I was much better off. I can't help but feel empathy for the families and attempt to put myself in the shoes of the people that the events are happening too. The Virginia Tech Killings yesterday kept me awake all night (well that, and Olivia in our bed with a fever and tummy ache).
Then I had to go to school today. And inevitably the conversations came up. The situations played in all of our heads. We talked about what we would do, where we would go. But the truth is, you have no idea. Honestly, I think I would choke and stand there like a deer in the headlights if some gunman came storming in our room. It's something I've never really thought about before, in depth.
But now, given the idea to think about it, it scares the hell out of me. I was sitting in my car today eating my lunch, watching random people- wondering if they were plotting something searching the parking lot, or just trying to find their cars!
When did it become ok for someone to walk around randomly shooting people? Well not ok, but not extremely shocking. I mean, the term "gunman" is well known in our society. It disturbs me. It could happen anywhere, anytime. It just takes one pissed off person! One bad grade. One insulting comment from a peer. Anything, really!
I fear for the commonality of yesterday's events. I fear for my children growing up in a world full of hate, fear, and people losing grip on a society with morals...feeling they can do what they please, including taking someone's life.
The whole thing really disturbs me!

We've Moved, again!

Well it was a long, and let me say LONG week. Jeff and I rented one of those PODS for moving. It made our lives much easier, but moving is never easy. Luckily we had our friend Mark there two days durning the week to help bring down all of the heavy stuff with Jeff. I was the packing queen. Give me a room and I can organize it, box it and run a mean tape gun. And don't forget the oh so important box labeling. (this one time I lost my big permanent black marker, all processes stopped for an hour until it was found). HA! I'm laughing now. Anyway, back to the story. Aside from mark's muscles, we successfully packed up that whole house, that we lived in for less than a month, in less than a week. It was great!
Long story short, for those of you who don't know why we moved out: our landlord was an ass, it was a terrible situation, and we are buying a new house. The closing was set for april 27th, but that might be pushed back a little. The inspections are on hold until the bank (it was a foreclosure) can get their stuff together. They had issues with the de-winterization. Bla bla bla, it could be pushed two weeks or so.
So we are back in the parent's basement for a few weeks until we close. We CANNOT wait to get into our new house. Our free time is spent dreaming and planning all of the things that we'd like to do in that house. Remodeling, adding, painting, decorating- you name it. It's fun to plan the future:)
As for that, Jeff starts his new job tomorrow!!!!!! We are so excited:)
Well, now we get to attempt to settle back into life only to move again in less than a month. Round and round we go in this crazy game we call life:)
(but we're still smiling)!

Daddy and Livia

olivia and mimaw's easter cake

Olivia spent the night at my mom's house Thursday night and make a lovely cake for our Easter party! It was delicious:)

HAPPY EASTER:)

Hope everyone had a great easter!
We had a wonderful evening hosting dinner at our house (something we've longed for, for years!). Everything went very well and the kids had a great time visiting their grandparents!

p.s.- Blogger is tipping my picture sideways and I can't figure out how to fix it! SORRY

Our Terrific Kids!

I absolutely love their crazy side!

Olivia and Kit

All dressed up in their matching easter dresses:)

GO MSU

GO STATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Last night, MSU won the NCAA Hockey Championship:)
Jeff and I were trying to contain our excitment while the kids were sleeping in the hotel room. For those of you not so into hockey, or didn't get to watch the game, it ROCKED!
MSU has always had a pretty good team with an eventful season, but had't won the Championship in 21 years. So this was a BIG game. And it was one in the last two minutes, so it was FANTASTIC.
GO STATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our little "Vacation"

Saturday night we took a little vacation to the Best Western in Sterling Heights that has an indoor waterpark. It was just a little one night stay to get away from the stresses of our everyday lives and focus on just our family. We had fun swimming, eating poolside food, and cuddling. It was a nice little detour from the norm:)

Our New Baby Girl

For those of you who don't know, this is our new baby girl. Jeff had been doing some heavty research on breeders and we found a great one in Charlotte. We went out to visit her when she was two weeks old and picked her out of the litter. And then we went out Saturday and saw her again (she'll be four weeks old on Tuesday). She's a blue great dane. (contain your shock and awe, and remember I had one growing up and absolutely adored her!). And we wanted to add a large dog to the mix of the Carter Family.
We are having a hard time picking out names, it's been a battle and we just can't settle on anything we all like.
After spending a little more time with her this weekend we saw a little more of her personality. She's a sweet little lover! So our top two names are "Bella" and "Kona" so for now her name will be Bella Kona. (HAHA).
Anyway, we get to pick her up the first weekend in May!!!! And couldn't be more excited:)

Zack and Alexis

Friday night we had Jeff's sister Melissa and her family over for dinner. We all had a great time, specially the kids!!!!!!!! They just love their cousins:)

Whoo Hooo

Jeff had been interviewing all last week and more this week, well he had accepted two jobs that he wasn't thrilled about. But today he had his second interview with Quicken,
AND HE GOT THE JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WooHoo, go Jeffie go!
It's the job he wanted and just in the nick of time, as his separation from the Navy is saturday:)
I'm so happy for him.

Jeff's Collage

Ch ch chh CHANGES!!!!!!!!!

Well things have been running how things normally run with the Carter's....in a SPRINT!!!!
You never really know what's going to happen with us, and if anything is/and-or/was planned, chances are it changes (except the wedding, that's going to go without a hitch;).

So to start, Jeff had a super-mega influx of interview requests today. He was on the phone non-stop this morning setting up four interviews for next week, and one tomorrow. There are some very good prospects in this bunch.

We officially took Deagan's pacifier away. We had been talking about it FOREVER, but it just never seemed like the right time. Something was always happening and we thought it wasn't fair to take away his security item. Well, then his daycare lost two paci's in two days! And we didn't have any more at home. That was it, they were all gone. I was at school one night when Jeff was putting him to bed, and there was no paci, so Deagan had to do without. The first night was a little rough and he was up by 6am. Then last night he went down and didn't wake up once until we woke him at 7:30. So three days and two nights down!!!!! WAY TO GO DEAGAN! He's taking it well, considering he's had it in his mouth every day since the day after he was born! (woah, i'm terrible! Olivia had it taken from her when she was 12months old!). I was just a bit more of a softie with Deagan....

As for me, I'm working on my final portfolio projects for my classes in prep to get my certificate. They are both theme based series, and I'm focusing on family relationships. It's exciting for me, I'm taking pictures of friends and building my portfolio.

Olivia is Olivia. Not taking to kindly to our busy-busy lifestyle that we've fallen into. Seems we never rest, and it's making her mad. She's the one that keeps us all grounded. She'd prefer to stay at home and play everyday, not go view over 20 houses in a week.

Oh yeah, and Maverick is doing well too. He's loving having Jeff home and anticipating the arrival of his big sister soon. He's a fisty little guy who thinks he's just one of the kids, and he is!

On to the meat and potatoes of this blog. Remember when we moved into a new house a month ago? Yeah well, looks like we'll be moving out soon! We planned on renting until september, but then decided renting just isn't for us and we can't help but take advantage of the end of this housing market...(the landlord's an ass, but that's just the short of it).
More importantly,
WE PUT AN OFFER IN ON A HOUSE AND THEY ACCEPTED!!!!!!!!!
So, now we are just waiting for them to set our closing date and get the ball rolling.
It's a screaming deal on a foreclosure of a home where the owners were given a job related transfer, got a new home, and couldn't keep the double house payments. It's 4Bed 2.5bath, full finished basement. Colonial style. It's in Howell, in a cute neighborhood where everyone has 1-2 acre plots. From talking to the neighbors we've gathered that it's a pretty tight little community. And best of all, there are 22 elementary aged children at the bus stop!!!!!! It's everything we've ever wanted, land, big house, tight community. We can't wait. Now lets just hope the closing goes smoothly!!!! (and quickly)!
I'll give more details later.

My Handsome Hubby

All dressed up for a job interview!
He's so adorable in a suit;)

Airplanes in the Sky

Deagan was fascinated by an airplane flying low in the sky.

Stuck in a Tree

We found a huge tree bottom that was large enough for the kids to sit in!
They had fun (mixed with a little fear):)

Goofing around at the park

Baby Face

There is something about these cheeks that makes me all warm and fuzzy. Maybe it's knowing that there is still a little piece of baby still left in him as he grows so fast. Olivia had these cheeks, but not for this long. It's sad knowing that he'll soon grow out of these cheeks:(

Trying to get into trouble...

Who Wants COOKIES?????

Jeff the School Man

For those of you who don't know, Jeff is going back to school to complete his bachelor's degree. He just met with the advisor this week to enroll and she suggested he apply for a few scholarships. So last week we scrambled to write an essay to attach to some of the applications and get them in on time. Well he just found out today that he won a $3,000 scholarship!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm so excited for him:)
What a relief and good for him that finally all of our life events are bringing him some good!

Olivia the Queen

Olivia has settled right back into her old self and much of her true character is emerging with daddy home now. She loves to display to us just how intelligent she is. She'll throw things out in conversation, just as if she were an adult too, in attempts to impress us. She is like a secret silent sponge who absorbs things and sits on the information and waits until she can use it at just the right time. And she does, in the right context.
Just this week she used the word, "predictable!" Yes. She's three and she used the word predictable.
Deagan was acting crazy like Deagan does, when I turned to her (mind you she was sitting nicely at the table as brother ran around like an untamed wild animal) and I said "Did you see that Olivia?"
She looked at me with her flared nose (see bathtub picture) and eyebrows in a matter-of-fact way and said, "Oh Mom, that's so predictable, that's Deagan!"
After I picked my jaw up from the floor, I looked at her and said, "You're right, that's just Deagan!"
Then she smiled her Olivia I'm-so-proud-of-myself smile.
Priceless!
She amazes me every day!

Ahh relaxation

There is nothing better at the end of a long day than coming home to a nice warm bubble bath, a pint of Ben and Jerry's Phish Food ice cream, and a glass of Frambrois!
I'm lovin' this new place:)

Bathtime Fun

This is Olivia's new face, I'm not quite sure how to read it yet.
Daddy enjoyed some bathtime fun entertaining the kids. He taught Olivia how to juggle...and get everything and everyone all wet! He had them laughing histerically:)

Crazy Tricia

Some of you may know, some of you may not...but when Jeff is around I turn into a crazy sleeper. We used to contribute it to the hormones after having kids, but that doesn't quite work anymore. I must fall into a deeper sleep than when he's not there....or something. Because it doesn't happen when he's not home. So last night I had another "episode" that was so hillarious, I thought I'd share in hopes of highlighting your day with a laugh.
So it was about three o'clock in the morning when Deagan decided to run off the end of the dock and jump into the water. Silly Deagan didn't remember that he doesn't know how to swim. So his silly mommy had to jump in after him! So pour Jeff hears this THUD and wakes up in a panic. Poor Tricia hears the same Thud and wakes up in a painful panic. Jeff peers down. I glare up. Only to realize that here I am looking like an idiot having just propelled myself from our bed onto the floor, or into the water if you so chose, completely out of it. He helps me up and back into bed. Jeff falls asleep fast. I however, do not. For I have a massive pain in my thigh from pulling a muscle jumping into the water/ off of the bed to save our son.
Commical yes. Stupid maybe. Hillarious definetly.
The best part was this morning when I was in the car driving to school and Jeff was in the van driving the kids to school when we were on our cell phones discussing the events of the moonlight. In between tearful laughter, Jeff's response was, "Did you think you would really be able to see him making a splash that big?"
Go ahead, laugh your ass off, because I still am and obviously wasn't embarassed too much...if I posted it on the blog!

Jeff and I on our front porch

The only picture that was taken during the whole move-in weekend!!!!!!
(Thanks to Kelly and her cell phone!)

We're Home!

We are officially moved into our new place and it feels fabulous!!!!!
Saturday we had our family and friends over to help with the big move. We ended up having eight guys to do all of the heavy lifting. Everyone met over at the new house and then carpooled to the storage space to unload all of our stuff. It went pretty quickly, less than an hour in and out. Then came the fun part....
They had to unload it all and carry it up a few various flights of stairs. I think everyone developed a severe dislike for stairs very quickly!!!!!!! (sorry guys).
But that part went quickly too. Not only did everyone help with the heavy lifting, but much to our surprise, they stayed to put it all together and unpack. Grandma and Joan (with a fractured foot) unpacked the kitchen and filled our cupboards:) Jeff and I thought we'd have a weeks worth of work ahead of us, but everyone cut that time drastically. THANK YOU!!!!!
It's so funny how much stuff we had in the old house, and so little things it feels like we have in the new house. It could be because we more than doubled our home size, and now it feels empty, but in a good way. That house in slidell was a great starter home, but we out grew it fast! This house just feels much more comfortable!
Our kids finally have their own rooms. With their own beds.
Jeff's sister Melissa kept the kids for the weekend so we could get things accomplished much faster. We drove out to pick them up and the kids fell asleep on the way home. We didn't get home until almost ten. Olivia hadn't seen her new room all together yet! And she was kind of out of it, not quite sure what was going on....she knew, but she was groggy. As soon as we got to the top of the stairs she peeked out of one eye and saw this adorable reading corner that my mom had set up with flower lights (pictures later). Other than that, her room is almost identical to the familiar place she grew up in. Well, when she first saw it she was in awe with silent amazement. She smiled the most beautiful smile. I layed her on her bed and she said, "Momma can I just lay here for awhile and look at it?" It was quite a moment.
Deagan on the other hand wasn't so sure. He knew his crib and his rocking chair, but all of the other furniture was basically foreign to him. It had been in storage since he was about ten months old, so he had no idea. We rocked a little extra time talking about things and then he was fine. He had a little smug smile on his face and said he was ready for bed.

What a night. What a weekend.
We are all here, under one roof. For the first time since June!
It's an amazing feeling.
Now we've got so much ahead of us. Unpacking. Settling. Job hunting. School. Wedding. Relaxing.
It's going to be a great summer!

Thank you to Tom, Joan, Kathy, Tony, Grandma (for all of the fabulous food), Andy, Kelly, Melissa, Randy, Mark, Jen, Bill, John, and Grandpa. We couldn't have done it without you. You've made our lives so much easier and filled us with love and hope for the future. Thanks for the support!

P.S.- A BIG shout out to Brian, Allie and little Jeff in Oregon. Thanks so much for the cake! It was amazing tonight, after our long hard weekend and late night to settle in on the couch to a nice piece of chocolate cake! It was the perfect ending to a great weekend. THANKS!

Yell It From the Rooftops!

HE'S ON HIS WAY HOME. HE'S ON HIS WAY HOME. HE'S ON HIS WAY HOME:)
FINALLY:)
YEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Finally, some pictures!

Well It's been awhile since I really posted some pictures. I've been just a bit busy...with Jeff's short visit over valentine's day weekend and getting things ready to move to the new house. So here are the pictures all the way back to Valentine's day!
Hope you enjoy,
Tricia