What a blessing for us all.

Well we got her. Rebecca, age 13 and what a blessing to our family. She is a big help with the kids and a sweet well adjusted girl. However it may take time to get her caught up on keeping a clean house with the rest of us. It is some age and some of not being in a clean enviorment. But we will break her! I will be the first to attest that I am a little more finicky about certain things that must be done around the house.
Anyways Becca started school last week for a few days before the Christmas break and was able to meet some new friends. YEAH!
My Dad came into town this week and will be here till the middle of January. I always look forward to his visits and playing cards with him.
The kids are very excited about Christmas and all our plans. We decorated our giant stocking last night and they can't wait to hang them.

This week we got news from the doctors about my niece's condition. She was diagnosed with a sensory disorder. So as far as I can understand and it is very complex, she has been going through life feeling like she is not grounded. Like she is just floating. I guess her neutrons aren't signaling to the brain normally. Gosh could you imagine living your life like you have no control over your body. They say she sees life like we would in a fun house with all the crazy mirrors. On top of that she was diagnosed earlier this year to have a hearing impairment, not related in any way to her sensory disorder. So now she is wearing a hearing aid and is going to be having occupational therapy once a week. At least my sister has answers now of why she was behaving the way she was. There are other reasons out there that are far greater than ADHD for kids that have attention and behavior problems. Not many doctors can properly diagnose it and very little educators are aware of it. My sisters mission is to educate others. For years she has been judged and frowned upon for her child's behavior and people just thought it was a bad kid or bad parenting. Now there is a medical explanation for it. I am asking everyone to please pray for the therapy to work for Ryley and pray for persistence and tenacity for my sister and her family.

Busy life and a new addition to the family

Well it has been about a month so there is a lot to tell. I listed my first house and I found buyers for it within the first week. YEAH! I am double ending it. CHACHING!$$$ IOf course it is a short sale so we are still praying that all else will go smoothly. Uppercase Living has kept me so busy. I have been doing about two - three parties per week. I love what I do. The boys are doing well. Same ol thing for them, fighting and playing hard. Kaelyn is getting so big and sassy. She is now picking out her own outfits.

our Thanksgiving was great. We had some family and friends at our house and Lincoln smoked the Turkey for the first time. OH wow, it was so moist and yummy. I guess my job was reassigned to him for now on. No problem.

The weekend following Thanksgiving we celebrated my Grandma's 90th birthday and visited with family that I haven't seen in a long time. We had such a great time.

We will be hopefully getting a new addition to our family this month. My 13 year old god daughter is moving in with us. She is such a great kid and needs a good home. So we are commiting to raising her for 6 years. Please pray that no one chnages thier minds for selfish reasons in the next two weeks.

Well that is our life wrapped up in a nutshell. It is a busy life.

Picture

Rylan's special award!

I had to make her a bow to go witht her favorite shirt. My sweet Indaina girl.

Me and Lincoln at Ceaser's waiting to go to the show.

My new shower. I have a great tile man.

KJ and Lola on Halloween.

Trip,Rylan and bathroom

Well where do I start. Last week Lincoln and I got a way for three days and ran off to Vegas. We had a blast it was my third visit of the year and Lincoln's first trip ever. I am proud to say that he came back the same man. He did not waiver. The first day we walked and walked and walked and saw all the sites. Then next day we had a game plan. We got to see a REAL Vegas show. Jubilee. AMAZING! I highly recommend it. Yes it is a topless show but it was so well done it was classy. Before the show we were walking through a casino and Linc stopped to watch the end of the World Series and so I pick a close by penny slot and won $50 on my second hit. WOW! He was so proud of me I was his meal ticket that night. He even played a FEW penny slots. Afraid that if he played to much he would get struck by lighting. OK so I corrupted him a little. We went on a gondola ride and went up to the Strat tower. We had a great romantic time. Oh however our hotel room was far from romantic. It was more like a disco truck stop. We stayed at the Tropicana and it was like staying in a room from the 60's. No kidding. Bamboo motif and mirrors on the ceiling. Maybe that would have been cool on our honeymoon but not ten years and three kids later. Not cool.

It was great to get away and get Lincoln's mind off the bathroom for a while. Which I am glad to say is almost complete. Lincoln has been working so much on the bathroom. He is my hired slave. I can't wait to relax in my tub just taking in the new look with a bottle of wine.

Rylan got his first major award at school yesterday. He made Reader of the month. The first in his class. I am so proud of him. He loves to read and just loves to absorb learning. At his parent conference I was told he is one of the top 3 kids in his class. We know he doesn't get it from me. I give all that credit to my super smart hubby.

We are so blessed to have our kids in all their personalities and minds.

3hr trip turned in to 7.

Well to follow up on the bathroom before I move on, it is coming along. I am so proud of my handy husband and all the talent he has with power tools. I come up with the ideas and he puts them into reality. If I can figure out to do pictures I would like to get them up. The niche is made, backer board up and we are ready to tile. I painted Monday and Linc is starting the tile today.

So with that said. Yesterday I traveled up to San Francisco to visit my mom who was coming into the state for some medical tests. Hawaii doesn't have the best medical services. Anyways I knew leaving Fresno it was going to be windy trip. That was just the half of it. I decided to take all the kids so I wasn't on a time restraint to get home. Which now I am glad I did. However we weren't even on the road an hr before Rylan started bugging about oh he was thirty and hungry and are we there yet. 1 hr an d15 minutes into the trip we had to make a pee stop. Mind you we ate a big breakfast just before we left. My plan was to stop just outside city traffic in Liverpool to get something to eat, so I put him off. The wind was so bad that it was pushing my suburban into the other lane a couple of times. SCARY! I was white knuckled the whole way. What tension. We finally stopped in Liverpool. 1 hr away from our destination. Feed and settled we were back on the road. 20 minutes later I am flagged down by another motorist telling me I had a flat tire. GREAT! Pulled over off the freeway at he next exit, called AAA for the tow guy to take 1 1/2 hrs to tell me he couldn't get my spare tire off. He then filled me up with air and sent me down the street to the tire shop. 1hr later and 3 squiggly kids we were back on the road. Toll bridge and traffic and we were here in San Francisco. Finally. Not looking to the trip home. But I do love remembering all the memories I have of San Francisco.

Bathroom demo

I have waited four years to get my bathroom redone. With mauve 90"s tile it is just screaming at me everyday. I hate cleaning it, I would always tell Linc one day you are going to come home to a bathroom torn a torn apart on a cleaning day. YUCK!!! When we were ready two years ago to redo it, it got put on hold for us to redo other things in the house so that my Grandma could move in. Now it is my turn. My bathroom. The boys were so excited to get to help Daddy. With hammer in hand they were ready to hit some tile. Our copper sinks came in and the granite is in so things are going according to plan. Ok I really don't have a plan but I must say the bathroom looks better with nothing than it did with the mauve tile. I think I found the tile for the wall and I have had the floor tile for about 2 years now. I never pay full price for anything so the budget is looking good too. I still and always reserve the to change my mind in anything. Linc loves that part, haha. There maybe some electrial things to get done so I have to check out it is worth sending for my daddy to come out and do the work. I still have to decide if I want to go with a jetted tub or leave it. However since the market is the way it is I see us staying here for a LONG time. I think we should do it right if we are gonna do it. I will keep posting our updates.

Today was a LONG day for me. I spent all day in a training class for 6 hrs and had to watch a 2 hr long video. In that time I was able to rough out two new children's books. I am really enjoying writing and wish I could find more time to do so.
We watched Ella Enchanted for the fifth time this week and now KJ is dancing and singing at every opportunity. She even went up to the TV all giggly and kissed the prince at the end to night. She is cracking us up all the time. Having a girl has blessed our lives more than I ever imagined. Girls are so magical.
There really isn't much new from my last post. I thought that I would try to post a few pictures up on here since I have a few moments.
Lincoln is doing well being a good house hubby on the days that I work. He has dinner ready or cooking when I come home and the kids have no complaints. How lucky am I. He has been very supportive and hoping a check will come soon.

What free time?

Free time is hard to come by these days. If I am not home with the kids than I am in the office doing training and following up on leads. Which haven't been very prosperous. However I have to keep in mind that I am here to learn something and I don't have to get a check. Although a sell would be nice but our food source doesn't rely on it. My schedule is still working itself out. Linc has 3-4 days off per week so he is filling in on kid duty and those are the days I go to the office. He is finding a new found appreciation for what I do daily and I am finding a greater love for my children and my time with them. MOPS is starting and that just adds an extra log for the fire. I am staying on as Hospitality Coordinator again this year. I love getting with the girls.

Austin is going to be going threw some more test for his breath holding, passing out spells that he has had most of his life. He will be 4 this month and hasn't grown out of it yet and it seems to be coming back again more frequent. YEAH! More doctors jerking me around. Ding Ding! Round ?......
Rylan is loving K school. Although I have noticed a lot more whining from him lately. He is meeting new friends and being Mr. social. He enjoys riding his bike to school and riding home with all the BIG kids from the neighborhood.

Austin is really doing well in Pre school. After working with him for two years and thinking he was colored blind he is actually seeing his colors. I think he learned them years ago but just played me.

KJ get a little time but not much being by herself. With Austin in am. school three days and Ry in pm she might get 1-2 hrs by herself. Day two of no accidents and I think I can say that soon we will be 100% diaperless. YEAH!!!!

Our lives are busy and on the go. But today is one of those days that made me realize why we are here.FAMILY. The kids and I just hung. I let the house go, but got some work done outside. Let the kiddos swim and showed the boys how to build a fort in the back yard. We had a blast.

Finally so time.

Oh my gosh time is hard to come by these days. So finding the time to blog since I have been home from my Indy trip has been Nada. The day after I got home from my three week visit I started right in on getting things done. I paid my dues and signed up on the boards of Fresno Realtors. Now I am an official Realtor. I started working in the #1 Real Estate firm in the Central Valley. With that being said I am blessed with a great supportive husband that is staying home with the kids on his days off and sending me to the office to get so training and work done. We have been busy.

Oh before school started we were able to make a trip to the coast. We were able to leave ALL the kids with the in-laws for a night and spent a memorable night at the beach. We ate at our old Chinese restaurant that we use to go to when we lived in Shell Beach. Then we caught the end of the sunset at the beach in the same place we first told each other " I love you". We sat there and talked more than we have talked in a long time. Kid less, stress less and peaceful. Just like we were dating. Then we meet some old friends at the Santa Barbra Zoo with the kids and hit the beach down there. Watching the kids play in the water and jump the waves was like bringing back memories of my childhood.

When we got home it was back to the craze of life. School shopping and schedule organizing has kept me on the go. Rylan is in afternoon kindergarten and Austin is in Morning preschool. Finding a nap time for KJ has been difficult.

Week one of school is over and much success. The boys are loving it and eager to go to school
daily. Week three of me going to the office and Linc staying home with the kids, successful. He is even understanding the concept of making dinner. Week two in to potty training KJ. Yeah no more diapers! Just when Linc was convincing me to throw the towel in and say she wasn't ready she proved us wrong. That is my girl.

In the efforts to keep long stories short. This is it.

We are up in air to if we are to move and sell or stay here and suck it up. Not that this is a bad place to be stuck we have been blessed with a nice house and pool. But do we want to live in the country. The market sucks now and we are upside down. But now is the time to sell before it gets worse. It will get worse! So we are praying for God to lead us where he wants us.

I will try to keep updating the blog better than I have been.

What a trip.

We left yesterday morning, point A at 8:30am and reached our destination at 11pm. west coast time. Our trip was an adventure. Traveling with three kids alone I got the looks. Looks of pitty, irritation and looks of understanding. If I had a dollar for every person that told me "Wow, you have your hands full." I would have enough to hire a nanny.
Ok rewind a bit.The night before our trip Kaelyn burned her finger on the stove. So I had to pack all the burn treatment stuff. She had ran a fever two days before our trip so that was concerning to begin with. So we were on our way to the San Jose airport and she threw up. Now with the way the trip was starting out I was not looking forward to the rest. Poor baby.
The kids all had their own bags to carry with all their toys and activities. MOM was prepared. Everything went great despite the rude people at security. Don't they realize that with three kids one stroller and two bags for (myself) that it takes TIME. Ok so got through that, kids did great. Got onto the plane KJ started screaming. Yes I was the one with the screaming two year old. " I wanna go home". Honey the trip has barely started.
Got in the air and she was out. Boys did great. Next leg from Reno a little better. Austin slept on that one. By the third leg from Vegas we were good. On every flight we met new people, the kids made new friends. No one slept on the longest leg to Indy. I was just hoping that they would settle down but they kept busy and played with their new friends.
The trip was great a little bumpy at first but God knew how much I could handle. I am so proud of my kids. They did awesome.It was great to see my Dad and we are looking forward to a fun adventure here. I wish we were staying longer. I hope the kids will meet some friends here that the can play with and build those memories that I had of my summers in Indy.

I love the weather here. I will get pics up soon.

Update and quotes

Well life has been crazy here at the McKenna Mad house. We went camping last week at Hume Lake. We normally go for Father's Day weekend but since Linc's schedule has changed so do our plans. AW WW the life of a officer's schedule. We had our first annual fishing derby. Lincoln 4 Rylan 0. Ry caught all the snails in the lake. We had a great time getting dirty and eating smores.

Lincoln started July 2 as acting sergeant. Yeah! We are very proud of him. I should be getting my license in the mail soon. Rylan got notice that he got afternoon Kindergarten with a new teacher. So those are a list of our small updates. One big accomplishment in our family is with Austin. He learned how to swim today. He is a very independent child so he fought me for weeks and I finally bribed and left him to his self and he did it. Now he is swimming like a fish and excited about it. Perfect just before we go out to dad's house. We have been living in the pool this week.

We leave soon for three weeks to visit my dad. The kids are so excited to ride a plane for the first time. I am carefully preparing. I believe that a organized and prepared parent is a sane parent.LOL!

Ok so here are the Quote from the week!

Austin: " Mom can I put your armpit smell on?"
KJ: "Mommy nose ring, I want a nose ring, too? NOSE RING!"
Austin: "WOW, mommy looks pretty, broder look at mommy's dress."

I love these times.

the kids are getting so big.

Ok so I was cleaning out the guest closet and found some old photos of the kids and I just started crying. I know hard to imagine me getting emotional, right. But I just tried to think of how they got from there to here. I couldn't remember them being that stage. It seeemed like it was so long ago. I feel like I have had these kids forever. Then I realized my time is short with them. We need to cherish these moments of insanity because on day I will be sane and totally bored.
Yesterday we had a great day. It was no TV day. The boys played so well together. Very little fighting and lots of "hey you want to play.....".Music to my hears. KJ was not to far from her brothers I can't believe I don't have a baby anymore. Life is short.
Last week we went fishing at Hume Lake and Rylan caught 2 fish and Linc 0 so now Rylan thinks he is the pro fisherman and has challange Linc to a derby. So we are going to start an annual fishing derby with a trophy and all. HAHA! I can't wait. I think I even might want to get a pole. I have boys who can bait my hook for me now.
Does that count?
So if you are reading this and find a few tyeos please note that last week KJ took many keys off my keyboard and so nowthey stick and are in some misplaced areas. Man she is talking to much now. She repeats everything her brothers say. We can't help but laugh at everything she does.
This morning Austin woke up with a bad dream and I asked him what it was about and he said that "Mommy got aten by junk food." LOL. I love him. Has is becomming so much more gentler and kind hearted with a streek of temper.
It is true don't blink you might miss something. I wish my parents realized how much they are missing out on.

Vegas and football.

On Friday Amanda and I drove to Vegas with her kids in tow. 7 hrs from Fresno to Vegas. We had a great trip and many of fun moments which was nice compared to our last trip together. I spoiled the girls like as a favorite auntie should. We got in late Friday night. My mom and I walked the casino learing how to play the tables. I learned the concept of Roulette although I didn't win anything at that table. Next morning I got up hit the gym. Had a great workout and followed it up with a morning at the spa. Relaxing in the sauna with cucumbers and a iced towel on the eyes was priceless. I got the royal treatment. Hung out by the pool for a few before we headed to the strip. We stayed at the M Hotel off the strip.
We meet up with an old friend and went to Tao. There is where the fun just got more fun. We danced our feet off. I danced with 50 cent and totally blew his ego when I asked him who he was and if he was someone important. And NO I wasn't going home with him. HAHA! That is a funny story. Whatever I am a country girl.
Recouped at Bass Pro for three hrs from the night before. Then hit the spa again to do some more ME time.
Loved seeing my mom and spending some time with her. I was also missing my kids and hubby.
Flew into Burbank to meet with Linc and the kids for his flag football olypmic games. I love watching him play. Man he took some good hits. I can only imagine how he rocked it in high school. Well they played well but got eleminated so we got to go home early, which was bittersweet. Now I am home and can have some down time before we pack up and head to my daddy's. The kids are so looking forward to riding the plane.
So that is McKenna life, the last week.

Busy life and test results

Ok so the result are in. I passed my Real Estate test. OMG! It as so hard and I thought I had totally bommed it. The Lord knew there was no way I wanted to go through that again. Thank you for all the support and prayers from my family.

I am leaving this weekend to go to Vegas and see my mom. Yeah !! then we will be going to the Police Games in So. Cal. I get to visit with family. There is a lot going on right now. We will be home for a week then camping and home for two weeks then off to see my dad for three weeks. What am I going to do with myself and three kids in Washington, In. I have so idea but I am hoping my sister Sarah will make it.

Well today I started taking down the school room. It was a little emotional thinking that I will be sending my kids to someone else to learn from. I really enjoyed schooling them this last year. It got really hard and seldom after KJ stopped taking her morning nap. I am sad to move on but looking forward to the new chapter in our lives.

What does God have in-store for the McKenna family next? Lincoln is working as "acting sargent" in Oakhurst so no news on when he could get a position offered to him. time will tell.

Seeing Avery

I received news this past week about a friend of mine that has been through hell trying to get pregnant. They finally decided on adoption. For the past two years they have been going through the process. Finally Last week they got the call. A 2 day old girl needed to be placed. They excepted her. Tonight she had a shower for her and I was able to meet little Avery. She is so adorable 5lb 2oz. The tiniest precious thing you could imagine. Her dark wavy hair and her tiny toes just puts life into perspective.
I can't believe that there are people out there that treat these blessings as if they are unwanted pieces of trash. Yes I will be the first to admit that children can be difficult but, I am so blessed to have mine. Seeing Avery tonight in the arms of her Mother, was priceless. She is a child that God has hand picked for my friend. Watching this family develop is a blessing beyond words.

Ok so I don't know yet if I passed my EXAM. I hope to find out next week before I leave for Vegas.


Today I fought Austin to take a nap after a long day of play. After 4 I gave up. I figured if he went to sleep now he wouldn't sleep tonight. So he was hanging on the couch with me. Which is a rare place for me to be but I was folding clothes. That is my peace time. And I felt his head fall on to my shoulder just before 5pm, he was out. Nothing would wake him up. I even had all (5) neighbor kids running in and out of the house. That little guy cracks me up. I love him to pieces.

So that is just an insight about my day. Tomorrow is Lincoln's Friday WOO HOO!

Counting my Blessings

Today I took my Real Estate test. Man I have never studied so much in my life. It was a nice challange for me. Although I don't think I did so good. I will find out in a few days.My head hurst. Now it is time to enjoy the family and decompress. Linc has been great at letting me study as he has taken on the kids. Of couse they come and tell me when things aren't going the RIGHT way.

Now that Lincoln is on the 3 / 12 hr shifts we are all adjusting to him being home more. It is nice having him home but it disrupts my normal routine. He has his projects and list of to-do's and I have mine so it can get to be a bit conflicting. We are still waiting to see about a sargent position. ????

The last few days the boys have been behaving very well. Especailly with eachother. Very little fighting has occurred and it PLEASENT!!! I am sure it is a fluke but one can dream it will last forever. I am so blessed to have a funny and energtic bunch of kids. They are growing up so fast!
Austin said we had an awsome storm the other night and the lightning was going to "electricate" KJ.
I love that he makes up his own words like his mommy!
I will keep you posted on my results.

Great start to a long day!

So KJ woke up and came to bed with us last night, she is now in a toddler bed. BIG GIRL! Then an hour later Austin woke up and wanted his puppy. So it was 3:30 and I couldn't go back to sleep. I knew Lincoln woudl be waking up soon so I waited for him to get up and I got up aswell. Made breakfast and coffe. I was atually able to enjoy a cup and read my Bible in peace. So is that I time I have to wake to get some one on one God time.
Well it is going to be a long day for sure. the kids will be up soon and we have to get ready for the bbq tomorow we are hosting for my MOPS families. Go to the store get back by noon feed the kids lunch, go do a UL party at 12:30 and get back before the babysitter make more than I bring in at the party. Oh not to mentiond STUDY! I have my big test on Tuesday. Maybe I can crash with the kids at nap time.
This is a great start to a long day!

This is a new thing for me!

Wow, I never really thought I would ever do this. But I am finding that it really is a great way to let you know what is going on in our lives.

My Family consists of my husband Lincoln, who is fully devoted to his family, My son Rylan age 5 who is eager to please, Austin age 3 who is a clown, and my princess Kaelyn "KJ" age 2. We are a busy busy full of energy family. Of course by the end of the day I am drained. I am a stay at home mom and I know that I am blessed to be able to watch my children as they explore the world around them. I have so much to learn from them. I am a type A personality so it is hard for me to let go and remember that theya re kids and I should at times have a child like mind. They absorb everything. It is amazing. They are growing up so much faster than I want them to I have to remember to take in the day to day blessings. Let go and live, is what my lesson is for today.