The Somethings

SWITCHEROO

2010-10-30T20:10:00.000-06:00

Our new blog (same purpose) can be found at:

www.jmapkom.blogspot.com

Sorry for the inconvenience!

Goodbye September!

2010-09-30T17:28:00.000-06:00

Maz and Sage call themselves "the twins." They are so close, and it makes us very happy.

Cutest Firegirl in Memphis!

Maz after a GREAT day at school!

This picture is for Amanda Shepherd- this is the house your painting reminded me of.

Rory lost her first tooth today! We keep forcing her to smile so we can see it.

sometimes, she happily shoes us the new gap

Jay and the Girls

2010-09-25T08:11:00.000-06:00

Dress up silliness

Jay spreading out the mulch

Jay was learning the chords to Chris Tomlin's "We will Sing, Sing, Sing," and Rory was learning all of the words, singing along as Jay played.

Sage and Phoenix take some time out to read

At three o'clock in the morning, Mindy heard something in the kitchen and went to check it out.

Sage had woken up and was sneaking some frozen yogurt. Mindy took a picture to announce her presence...

Mindy and the girls went to a free sneak preview of Legend of the Guardians (note that Sage is wearing two sets of 3D glasses

Outside in September

2010-09-18T13:26:00.001-06:00

The kids transferred to a new school this week, and they are loving it! Here they are on their first day!

Sage, Rory, and Phoenix's backpacks

Orion on the slide

Rory, Phoenix, and Tensia playing "Spiderman"

Sage

Rory climbing the rock wall

Sage hiding from Tensia

Games, Names, and Parks

2010-09-17T13:33:00.000-06:00

Byron and Jay

Jay is a little excited about our Tetris game
Byron, Jay, Greg, and Barrett

In six months, the adoption will be finalized, and the boys names will officially be changed to Phoenix (Maz) and Orion (Quenten). It is going to take some getting used to, but both boys love their new names and remind us to use them.

utter silliness

Tensia pushing Maz at Central Park

Michea waiting for Quenten on the slide

Maz and Rory talking over their schoolwork with Jay (at the Olive Branch Park)

Little Bits of Bliss

2010-09-11T15:35:00.000-06:00

Maz and Quenten after running a mile

mural in downtown Memphis

Nana and Rory

Shaquille and Octavious after running a 5K with Jay

Rory and Nancy at McAllisters

Getting ready to go
Hailey, Quenten, Maz, Nancy, and Sage

Kari saved us again this week! She stayed with us the whole week, and gave the kids an awesome week! She even stayed while Jay, Mindy, and Sage went on an overnight stay in Missouri to finish up some legal stuff... and she lived! :)

Seriously, though, we were so blessed to have her and our kids just adore having her stay with us (so do we).

A Beautiful Day!

2010-09-06T07:52:00.000-06:00

Labor Day Picnic on Mud Island!

Bri with her juice

Bri and Quenten like watching the Mississippi for boats

four little Mahannahs running down the wall

Pete and Amanda walking into the Mud Island park

Byron checking out the Arkansas border

at the beginning of the river

Bri and Quenten

Getting ready to splash

Jay helping Sage take a break

little water loves

Nana and Bonka Pete by the 240 bridge

Rory 'saving' the leaves

Pete, Mindy and Quenten at the Delta

Rory at the hair salon

Sage and Quenten excited about their suckers

September in the Sun

2010-09-04T20:27:00.000-06:00

Friday night at the football game

Maz looking back

Yea! Fairley!

Nana reading to the girls
Nana and Bonka Pete are spending Labor Day weekend with us!

Byron doing Chris's hair

Sage helping Jay feed the puppies

Sage-blossom

in the air

Mindy and Sage

Samson REALLY wants to play Fetch.

Galileo

Jay watching the kids and puppies play

While Bonka Pete was on the computer, Nana and the kids watched Alice in Wonderland.

Rory and Asperger's

2010-08-31T21:48:00.000-06:00

After an IEP meeting for Rory, I realized that I kind of expect other people to know about Asperger's and that they will recognize it when Rory exhibits symptoms of it. The problems are that other people did not have to learn about it and Rory's does not display itself in the way that a stereotypical case does (like, she has great eye contact). I found this cute little hanger-thing that might be helpful, but I don't know if it would be helpful giving me peace of mind or if there is any practical use for it.

Anyway, I realized that not every one deals with this issue on a day-to-day basis and I LOVE the way the teachers and administration at Rory's school love her! So, I got over it, but only after the school counselor and social worker went over all of the expected manifestations with her instructors :).
-Mindy

Sweet Sunday

2010-08-30T05:44:00.000-06:00

Byron waiting in the car

The kids ran back and forth behind Fairley while we were waiting for it to open.

Chris waiting

Maz talking on the phone to Grandma Jill while riding on the front of the cart
Last year, all four kids could comfortably fit in a cart, now three is too many :).

An Odd Week

2010-08-28T20:18:00.001-06:00

Rory loves to take care of the dogs...

...and they love to take care of her!

Because of a lot of issues, Jay and Mindy were in and out of school this week. One day, I (Mindy) watched all of Jay's afternoon classes plus my own. It was packed!

This is a different class period than that of the previous photo.

Mindy had to stay home with Maz for two days, and one day, Sage stayed too. The kids had so much fun together!

Maz and Quenten both won ribbons for running the 100M Dash and the 1600/1 Mile! They were so happy and tired! They ran in the Forrest Spence 5K Races. The mission of the Forrest Spence Fund is to assist with the non-medical needs of critically or chronically ill children and their families throughout the Mid-South.

Rory dancing around and watching her skirt swirl around her.

Sage dancing

a little bit tired :)

So Proud

2010-08-26T12:41:00.000-06:00

Ooh, cutest husband in the world! Jay won The Eden's Run 5K in Memphis for his age division this weekend! So proud! This run benefits an art therapy program for children in Darfur.

The three youngest kids were being a bit silly while they waited for Daddy to come home from the race, but somehow they survived :).

Rory at Play

2010-08-22T06:29:00.000-06:00

Rory and Maz waiting for their BBQ at Arnolds

Keiarra, one of our students, works at the Arnolds by our house, so of course all 6 of us had to stay a while to visit :)

Rory trying to beat Jay at a new game

Being silly

I wonder where she gets it...

Maz's Message for Uncle Dustin

2010-08-21T21:23:00.000-06:00

Maz Starts Kindergarten!

2010-08-17T13:43:00.000-06:00

Maz on his first day of kindergarten! He has been waiting for this day for a long time.

He's growing so fast!

Rory and Maz will be going to the same school after all. They are both pretty excited!

The Wedding Celebration Continues

2010-08-16T13:58:00.000-06:00

Scary Rors

Sage and Quenten were hiding under the table trying to scare people, so Trevor waited until they crawled out and scared them :)

Maz and Danny making pillow forts

How big was it?

Some of the cookies Perry and Jill made for Shannon and Kyle's reception

purple sweetness in the garden

Shannon, Kyle, and Roxanne

Blue steel?

Trevor and Jay trying to make Stuart the only photogenic male (it worked).

Mindy, Sharlette, and Shannon

Griffin and Ryleigh

Trevor exposing Sage's embarrassment for thinking Stuart is cute

The Schlies
Shannon, Kyle, Jim, and Barb

The First Day of School (for some of us)

2010-08-09T19:00:00.000-06:00

Jay getting ready to take Rory to her first day of the new school year

Rory at her new desk

Mindy with Bryant, a student from last year, on the first day of school

So sleepy - she had a great first day, but it wore her out!

Still Getting Ready

2010-08-09T18:47:00.000-06:00

Quenten sleeping at school (it has started already!)

Maz

Chris taking a well-deserved break

Jay and Byron showing off their handiwork

Getting Ready

2010-08-07T17:54:00.000-06:00

It's that time! School is going to start on Monday, so we are busy preparing. Quenten and Rory were helping decorate Mindy's classroom.

One of Mindy's students had a baby on our anniversary.
Mindy, Ja'Tez, and Paula

Kari stayed with us for three days and watched the kids (and made it a total learning experience). This is Kari, Rory, and Jay after dinner at a Mexican restaurant.

Thank you, Kari!

Vacation Time

2010-07-29T22:02:00.002-06:00

Since Shannon was off on her honeymoon, Trevor and Mindy took Dustin to Sonic.

He'll be back at her apartment soon!
After leaving Chicago, our family spent a day in Groveland before continuing on to Missouri.

We love ice cream!

Sage and her tribute to modernism

silly love

Moon-watching after the kids fell asleep (1am-ish)

going back to the house

Nana and Maz

We spent a couple days in Columbia before heading to Branson.

Dancing Sage

Aurora

baking brownies

Five chefs and the brownies were delicious!
Maz, Rory, Sage, Nana, and Jessa

Maz and Bonka Pete on the porch

no visit is complete without an UNO night!

the middle kids working on a puzzle

We went to a fun water-play place in Columbia.

Mindy and the four kids

Quenten contemplating a target

Sage

Maz

Jay and Maz

Nana slid down this slide with the kids over and over :)

Rory and Jessa

Jay explaining 1-2-3 Magic to the kids

By the river in Branson

Mindy and the kids at Branson Landing

The kids watching fish

Maz and Quenten watching their Build-A-Bear pets being made

The girls with their pets

The boys sharing a humongous gobstopper on a stick

swim time

Maz in the sunshine

Quenten bug

Pictures from Mindy's Mom's Camera

2010-07-25T21:41:00.000-06:00

...because we got it like that...

Six in the sunshine

Thanks Mom!

Kyle and Shannon Schlie

2010-07-25T08:12:00.000-06:00

after the ceremony

Quenten and Perry taking Dustin out to the car

walking to the reception

Don't mess with these catz

Jay and Rory

so independent

Sage and Trevor

at the reception - Shannon smiling from upstairs

Grandma and Shannon

The beautiful cake
Perry made the cake toppers

cutting the cake

Jill and the Mahannah guys watching the cake get cut

I am not sure how they stopped after one bite - it was super delicious!

Christy taking pictures upstairs

Sage relaxes

Uncle Trevor keeping the kids and their parents sane

Jill and Perry at the end of the reception

saying goodbye
Grandma, Aunt Patti, Uncle Larry, and Uncle Leonard

Shannon and the kids looking over the signature wall

Rory's drawing of the Schlies kissing at their wedding (with tetrahedrons!)

Before Shannon's Wedding

2010-07-24T22:26:00.000-06:00

the tetrahedrons we made for the wedding ceremony

Fruits and Veggies in preparation for the reception

Trevor and Sage are dead...
Shannon and Kyle had all of their immediate family stay at Regents Park in Chicago, and it was so relaxing to have so much room to roam/play in.

Linen Closet Babies

Kyle and Shannon on their phones getting ready for the ceremony

Happy Together

Same pic, but now you can see the flowers Shannon made :)

Getting some pre-wedding exercise in

Rory and Sage watching Shannon and Maz

The happy bride

Sibling shot with Kyle - even though Dustin is in Afghanistan, he was still "there"

sneakiness never takes a vacation

Uncle Trevor and Rory

Wendi and Erin practicing leading the hymns

Mahannahs in purple

Kissing is contagious...

Maz loves Great Uncle Scott!

Why be serious all the time?

Sage and Grandma Jill

Kyle and his best friend/best man

Rory and Maz supporting Uncle Dustin

Where's Quenten?

my dressed up little men

Sage refused to smile, but she kept making the silliest faces.

in love and lovely

Shannon's Last Day as a Crawford

2010-07-24T08:26:00.001-06:00

We are in Chicago this weekend to celebrate Shannon and Kyle's wedding!

Jay and the kids arriving at Douglas Park for the rehearsal

Shannon and Perry get ready to walk down the aisle

Rory finding some shade with her basket

Happiness is in the air!

Practicing :)

the joyful ring-bearer

One more day!

Dustin - we wish you could be here!

Hot Fun in the Summertime

2010-07-23T21:58:00.000-06:00

Quenten waiting for brownie-cakes

Silly Chris

Bri and Sage

Silly Maz

Sage and Quenten posing

Playtime

Rory and her locust shell

Rory and Maz on a water slide

Maz was terrified of the water after landing, so he clung to Rory

the girls

the boys

A Sunday Afternoon

2010-07-19T00:00:00.000-06:00

Jay replacing Maz's door frame and door

Sage being smiley - she snuck into Mindy's makeup and got an allergic reaction, so she has little pink dots all over her face.

Rory-doll

Quenten

Maz was in trouble, and he had to mow the lawn with Jay.

Rory trying to teach Samson how to hula hoop. Samson chews everything! He chewed through the AC wires and lots of siding - we can't paint the back of the house till we are finished training him. But, he is so lovable and sweet!

Sage kept trying to get Galileo to lick water off of her stick instead of drinking it from the water bowl.

Sidewalk Chalk time

Rory designed a chalk welcome mat

Sage doing crafts alone b/c all of her siblings were sleeping.

On a side note, we are going through some very difficult behaviors with one of the kids, but we are not going to be posting about it. It's not that we are trying to make our day-to-day life seem effortless or falsely cheerful. It is so serious and personal that we just feel this is not an appropriate place to talk about it. Please keep our family in your prayers while we go through this and are making long-reaching decisions this week.

-Jay and Mindy

An Afternoon at the Memphis Zoo

2010-07-17T08:18:00.002-06:00

Jay and the kids looking at Gibbons

Maz at his favorite exhibit: Gorillas!

The kids wearing down (and Rory turned into a ghost). It was over 100 degrees plus the heat index was higher, so we did not stay for long, but we had lots of fun!

Sage's favorite part was the Big Cats House

Quenten and Jay getting ready to go

Strange Things Afoot

2010-07-12T21:54:00.000-06:00

The kids have had three pet crickets/grasshoppers this week. This is the first victim, Henry. Henry was the object of the girls' affection for about six hours one night. He is now "hibernating" in Sage's closet.

Sage was convinced that she could convince Henry to ride in Quenten's car.

Amazingly, she did! This poor bug was STILL alive and hopping, but it would let her coerce it into the truck and sit in there while she zoomed it around. As soon as the car stopped moving, the bug would jump out. It was so strange.

It is also well past midnight at this point, and we were dying for the girls to fall asleep. The boys slept through most of it.

So, the next day, the boys had boundless energy, but they did sit still long enough to get some Zaxby's.

Sparklers in the yard

Jay, Trey, Q, Sage, Maz, and Byron using PINK sparklers!

Sage, Chris, and Q

The next day after church, Byron was FULL! In four years of knowing him, this is the 1st time. So, Jay thought we should get a picture - plus, there was still food left... strange weekend for us.

The girls trying on their new dresses from Aunt Shannon - they are begging to wear them all the time now.

Happy Anniversary to Us!

2010-07-11T15:03:00.000-06:00

Our wedding day seven years ago

Now, when we hug, four little monsters try to join in, too!
Yeah for seven awesome years!

True love is amazing, but tried and true love is better.

Changing Every Day

2010-07-10T10:07:00.000-06:00

After fireworks on the fourth - Quenten is getting huge! He has grown an inch since the end of May. The space on our wall where we measure them is getting covered in names and dates.

Sleepy kids - they tried to stay way through Spider Man

We are painting our house - all of the interior and exterior. Jay started on the carport to see if we really liked the color (and we do!).

Finished carport! It used to be a pinkish tan color, and we are not fans of it.

It's 2 in the morning and the fireplace is still not done!

What Jay and Mindy are Currently Reading

2010-07-09T14:16:00.000-06:00

wish we had this last year!

Click on THESE WORDS to go to The Connected Child (chapter 4).

Independence

2010-07-05T14:49:00.000-06:00

Our puppies, Galileo and Samson. Galileo is skinnier and his body is more like a Great Dane; he is very laid back and quiet. Samson is broader and his body is more like a Labradoodle; he is hyper and loud. They are so much fun!

On the 3rd, we watched fireworks from our backyard.

Galileo got them both!

Maz is losing some of his irrational fears and gaining some healthy ones.

Quenten pretending to be mad.

Trying to get a picture of the kids before church - Sass is in full bloom, but I love how the girls put their feet out.

After church

Silly statues

Now and Then

2010-07-04T15:10:00.000-06:00

Today

Last year

Girls' Day Out

2010-07-03T07:38:00.001-06:00

Because we are getting ready to have a pretty busy July, we decided to have a very laid back week. On Friday, Jay had the boys and Mindy had the girls for the afternoon to have special girl-time and boy-time. Then, we met for supper in Collierville.

Rory sorting crayons - just like her Uncle Trevor used to

The girls went to Build-A-Bear for the first time. Rory adopted a pony she named Goldie Shine.

Sage adopted a bear named Princess Pink.

Then, the girls went to a cookie shop.

cookie drama

The boys met up with the girls at the outdoor mall in Collierville - Maz was very happy!

Playing on the fountain

We had supper at the Crepemaker, which was an extra special treat!

Birthday Fun

2010-07-01T16:35:00.000-06:00

Sneaky fox - Sage does NOT like sleeping in her room.

Today was Demetric's birthday, and we went out to Cici's to celebrate.

Demetric, Carlos, and Jay

Jay and the kids after approximately 700 platefuls of food

On the Homefront

2010-06-27T20:52:00.000-06:00

Sage loves Black Eyed Peas Dance Parties!

... and so do the boys!

Rory was too focused to join in at first

Quenten and Maz are fountains of eternal energy

Rory jumps in

The girls working on a story

Quenten fixates on anything with wheels, but trains are his favorite!

Purple Bunny - Sage's favorite toy; Purple Bunny's full name is usually Purple Princess Cupcake Bunny Love, but Sage changes it from time to time
* note Galileo's collar he outgrew at two months and the CPK bow on the ears

The Barners babysat the kids the other day, and Maz did not want Bri to leave... ever. :)

Summer Joys

2010-06-21T10:16:00.000-06:00

Trevor taught the older three how to play frisbee - what else would you do in a house on a Saturday morning?

Sage focuses more on the artistry than the game

Maz throwing (it's level with the table in the back)

sweet little man

Quenten is magnetized to Bonka

We were so happy to have more time to hang out with the Kings!

Baileigh, Sage, and Ryleigh

Jay and Sage writing letters

At first, Quenten wasn't sure what to think about his new clothes from Japan. So adorable!

Baileigh and Rory swinging

Now he likes it!

Rory and Mindy made cupcakes for Grandma Jill's birthday. Rory had a blast decorating them!

Linda and Leonard brought over their dogs so we could meet their new baby (he is sitting on Trevor's lap in the background). Jay liked the dogs so much, he thinks we should get a bull mastiff sometime too.

Trevor and the new puppy (Buster/Atlas/Titan?)

Haircuts, Kings, and Apple Picking

2010-06-20T22:55:00.000-06:00

Maz loves his new haircut!

Sage was proud of her too - the middle kids used to be terrified of getting their hair cut, but now they have moved on!

The King girls are visiting from Japan, and we were able to visit with them in Illinois. Of course, we had to go to Avanti's.

As if the Alfredo sauce was not cheesy enough....

Thankfully, we had a room almost to ourselves. There were seven kids (8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1), and three adults (no ages given here :) ). We went to eat after watching Toy Story 3, so the kids were all a bit stir-crazy anyway.

Clockwise from bottom left: Sage, Ryleigh, Whitleigh, Breanne, Baileigh, Quenten, Mindy, Maz, and Rory

The husbands are missing - Jay took the photo, and Adam is in Japan. Our goal was for all 7 kids to be in the same general area, so this picture was 100% successful.

Quenten following Whitleigh around

When we arrived at Mindy's parents' house, Rory spent a lot of time picking apples.

up in an apple tree

Goofy Loves in the Morning

2010-06-13T21:28:00.000-06:00

Quenten in the morning

Quenten does NOT like having his hair combed, but he sure loves being done with it!

Why so serious?

Waking up

Rory's new haircut! She introduced herself to the rest of the family when she and Mindy came home from the hair salon. Rory thought the rest of the family might not recognize her at first since her hair was so short :).

The reason for this hair cut was that Rory was hot the other day and decided to cut off the hair that kept getting in her face...

My Awesome Brother Serving in Afghanistan

2010-06-12T18:54:00.000-06:00

This is a Shout Out my brother Dustin gave to our family for a World Cup commercial. I miss him so much and I hate not being able to be with him right now. Please pray for him and his battalion: that they will be safe, keep their spirits up, and be able to handle whatever gets thrown their way, including issues from home. - Mindy

Mahannahs + Lanhams = Malannahhanhams?

2010-06-05T22:08:00.001-06:00

The Lanhams came for a visit! We have had a blast with their family this week, and the kids have had a lot of time to really get close.
Rory, Jessa, Maz, Becca, Marenna, Quenten, and Sage

Jessa and Rory coloring at Corky's BBQ

After supper, the kids played in the thunderstorm

Rory and Marenna were intent on making Katie and Mindy realize how short childhood is

Sage and Rory

Rory lining up all of the shells we kept from our trip last summer

On Friday, we went to the water-play park in Collierville
Rory, Marenna, Jessa, and Becca

Beautiful Marenna

Jay helping Maz knock over the water buckets

Although Q is still afraid of water, he wanted a turn too

Sage splashing around

Happy cousins

Jay, Andy, and the 7 kids running across the walkway to Mud Island

Jay and the boys walking down the Mississippi River Walk at Mud Island

Walking by the Memphis part - this route is 2,000 feet and empties into a one acre Gulf of Mexico (there is no replica of the current oil leak)

Seven silly children standing on a bridge...

Jay and our four wading in the Gulf of Mexico - the actual river is between this replica on the island and the city of Memphis in the background

Maz doing his 'crazy dance'

...and splashing around :)

Remembering Jake

2010-06-04T21:11:00.000-06:00

Jacob, We Still Love

2010-06-02T20:25:00.000-06:00

Last Saturday, Jake went to heaven. We miss him, but we are so glad he is at peace now and no longer in pain. The pictures below are from our visit to Illinois for his funeral, but before that are verses that keep our family going. We mourn the loss of Jake, but we are not devastated. God is our comfort and we are not lost.

Psalm 116:7-9

⁷ Be at rest once more, O my soul,
       for the LORD has been good to you.
⁸ For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death,
       my eyes from tears,
       my feet from stumbling,
⁹ that I may walk before the LORD
       in the land of the living.

Sage and Maz giving Rory and Quenten a tour of Bonka and Grandma Jill's front yard

Jay and the kids relaxing

Swing set girls

After some fun in the sun

The kids know if they are all clean at the same time, it's time for a picture

The girls and Uncle Trevor are night owls

Brandon and Sage

Jesse checking to see if the flowers' scent is as vibrant as their colors (it was)

Lunch at Culver's before heading home

Aunt Kari Saves the Week!

2010-05-30T00:52:00.000-06:00

Kari came down to visit last week (and saved us from a daycare- babysitting nightmare), and the kids had a BLAST with her!

Jay was coaching at a track meet in Murfreesboro for the first part of the week, and Mindy was finishing out the school year at Fairley. What's fun (most the time) is that we teach a lot of the same students.

Quenten and Sage loving on Aunt Kari

Rory was working on re-illustrating a book that Maz received for his birthday

Maz has 3 teeth coming in, and two have already broken the surface! He is so happy!

Kari reading to the youngest three
Kari probably read about 50 stories a day to the kids. Ever since she left, they have each been asking for her approximately every minute :).

Kindergarten Glory

2010-05-30T00:46:00.000-06:00

Rory with her Kindergarten Medals
She had a great year and cannot wait for school to start again!
Maz and Sage will be going to Kindergarten at her school next year, and she is telling them ALL about what to expect.

Mahannahs in May

2010-05-28T18:01:00.000-06:00

Before visiting Jake at the hospital, we ate lunch out on one of the river decks. This photo is of Maz after eating 1/2 of a gondola.

Climbing up to the deck - Sage, Rory, Quenten, and Jay

So happy to eat their Avanti's lunch

Trevor looking skyward as Sage and Maz have a post-lunch hug :)

Maz decorated himself with Iron Man stickers until he fell asleep (on his new Iron Man sheets from Nana and Bonka Pete).

The end of another school year - the kids might have been as excited as the teachers

Jay is Pole Vault Certified, so he runs some of the pole vault events at MCS track meets

Maz and Sage running down a hill at the track meet

Sage was flying

Lawyer and Derek running their last race before state

Quenten and Rory were exhausted!

Maz's Fifth Birthday and First Birthday Party!

2010-05-20T21:01:00.000-06:00

Sweet little hero turns 5!

Maz was SO excited for his party - he was literally bouncing while we started getting everything arranged.

Mindy and Sage checked out the park's rec center

Bonka Roger and Maz

Great Grandma Georgia and Rory

Nana watches Sage decorate the sidewalk

It is rare that Quenten plays with someone smaller than himself (he is the smallest in his class by far), but he was quite taken with his cousin Emmy.

Maz writing his name

Food!

Maz loves his new rocket from Aunt Brittany and Uncle Kyle!

Quenten and Owen are smile-bugs!

Maz reading his card

Emmy and Owen

Sage and Maz

Delicious!
(Quenten is in the background sneaking chocolate-chocolate cookies that Nana made)

For a split second, they were all upright and somewhat facing the same direction...

Family Photo

Maz had a very happy birthday. Thank you to everyone who helped him enjoy it!

Birthday Parties for Maz

2010-05-18T12:14:00.000-06:00

Drew and Jay

Drew graduated from U of I the day after Maz's birthday, and we went up to celebrate with him, have a party for Maz, and to see Jake, who was still in the hospital. Maz was convinced that all of the weekend was an enormous party for him, and we had fun with him enjoying his extended birthday.

Maz and Quenten love balloons!

Sage taking a post-quesadilla rest with Jay

Quenten

Amy, Kate, and Mindy

Happy Birthday Maz!

2010-05-15T12:06:00.000-06:00

Maz turned 5 on Friday! He is growing so quickly! Here is a brief list of some of his accomplishments this year: counting, riding a bike, shapes and colors, Monkey Ball, playing soccer, letters and writing, and beginning to read. He was VERY excited to turn 5!
This picture was taken at around five thirty in the morning, but even his tiredness could not diminish his happiness :).

Psalm 105:4 - Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.

Keep Praying for Jake

2010-05-13T20:05:00.000-06:00

Please keep Jake in your prayers. He is not doing very well right now, and he is in a lot of pain. Today and tomorrow, he will be making a lot of significant choices about his medical care and his future.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ~ Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

A Little Bit of Little Things

2010-05-09T16:15:00.000-06:00

Quenten with his favorite nap buddy

Rory and Galileo

Galileo is getting so big!

Sage is about ready to lose the training wheels!

Four love bugs

Maz decorating the driveway

Quenten and Rory working on a message

Sage and Quenten

Rory found a butterfly that she is positive was living in her butterfly garden.

Rory prancing around before going to the 9th grade Ball at Fairley

Rory and Jay had a date night - at the Ball
She had so much fun (and so did he)!

Some Where the Wild Things Are graffiti on a tattoo shop in Memphis

What Does Rory Do All Day?

2010-05-05T12:10:00.000-06:00

Rory's kindergarten teacher recently emailed her some photos (yes, Rory has her own email that she checks and uses on a regular basis). Here are some of the pictures:

Rory the Giraffe, Victor (Rory's boyfriend) the Tiger, and Olivia (Rory's partner in crime) the Elephant
at the Kindergarten Program

Rory with some of her classmates at the zoo

Rory's class celebrating their teacher's birthday
Victor, Mason, Rory, Olivia, and Richard

AJ and J

2010-05-01T22:34:00.000-06:00

We had a series of tornado watches and warnings all day on Saturday. Rory really wanted to play outside, so she found her old bike helmet and decided it would be enough protection.

She is very disappointed in the bike helmet and her mom's refusal to let her play outside in the twirling, swirling wind and rain.

This is Phase I of Jay's soon-to-be blond hair. Too cute :)

Prom 2010

2010-04-30T23:13:00.001-06:00

We chaperoned at prom again - this is a seniors only prom, so it was small, but fun.

Jay and Rod, a senior at Fairley

Mindy and Ms. Arnold

So cute - Ashley is 2nd in her class, and both of us have taught her

Cross Country seniors: Lawyer, Stravarius, and Kelvin

Getting ready to leave after a looong day

Jay's last night with brown hair for awhile

I'm sure the parking deck attendant thought we were too silly to function.

Happiness

2010-04-25T21:59:00.000-06:00

Sleepy Maz with his baby

Rory and Chris at McAlister's

Byron watching the camera as Greg and Eli talk about pizza

Sage went to school (University of Memphis) one day last week. Now she thinks she is ready for college.

Octavious in his JROTC uniform

Honors English learning how to do East Coast Swing for a Harlem Renaissance Cabaret project

Beautiful Adelaide at the Park

2010-04-18T17:07:00.000-06:00

Our four running to the playground

While our kids were playing, we were able to meet baby Addie. Look how happy her mommy is!

Jay pushing Rory and Maz

Quenten in a tree

Sneaky peeking!

Because the park benches wouldn't do

The happy Hazelwoods with their newest addition!

After a wonderful visit, we went back home. We loved visiting Little Rock and the Hazelwoods, and hopefully next time we can plan it in advance!

Visiting the Little Rock Nine Memorial

2010-04-18T15:03:00.000-06:00

We went to see the Little Rock Nine Memorial in Little Rock, and the kids loved walking through the sculpture and talking about what it meant. Click on the link above if the story sounds unfamiliar. Here is the sculpture viewed from the front.

This is the sculpture viewed from behind - the building is the Little Rock Capitol Building

Sage having a minor meltdown upon getting out of the van

a quote from one of the nine students who helped desegregate Central High School in Little Rock

The boys walking through the sculpture

Rory said she thought this was Mommy and Daddy

hands, touching hands, reaching out...

Mindy and Maz

Checking out the bell behind the memorial

Fountains!

Jay trying to see the Arkansas state flag

plaid and flowers

When we first decided to go to Little Rock, this was our second on the list place to visit. The first priority was seeing baby Adelaide and her parents.

Loving Little Rock

2010-04-18T14:21:00.000-06:00

On Friday night, we dropped Galileo off with some friends for the weekend and started driving up to Illinois. We were in Memphis (about 45 minutes from our house), and Jay's back injury flared up again. So, after driving a little bit more - we were now in West Memphis- we decided to just stop for the night somewhere and have a family day on Saturday. Jay's back was hurting so badly, that there was no position in the van that he could put himself in without a lot of pain. Anyway, he called our friends, the Hazelwoods, in Little Rock and asked if they wanted to meet up on Saturday afternoon.
So, our trip to IL turned into a visit in Arkansas.

There were a lot of tournaments going on in Little Rock, so we finally found a hotel room. It had an awesome tub for the kids to play in!

The boys in the tub - they did NOT like the jets, but they had fun making soapy hairdos.

Sage and Maz practicing for the circus

Rory hiding in a drawer

For a little while, all four kids were clean...

So, of course, Mindy was taking some pictures (we knew it would not last - we were going to a park after this).

goobers

happy together

... and Quenten wants his own picture all by himself (guess who's 2?)

a Harriet Tubman statue near the river in Little Rock

part of the Clinton Library - you cannot tell from this picture, but the design is awesome

a sculpture we loved called "Fiesta"

Love is All Around

2010-04-17T21:03:00.001-06:00

Jay planting a magnolia tree in the front yard

...and going to the back yard to do some more work

Sage and the tree

Rory working in a book

Quenten fell asleep while reading

Silliness

The kindergarten classes at Rory's school put on a performance Thursday night. The five classes are wearing different colors, but we were not able to get a shot of all of them at the same time.

Rory is in the front row wearing a green shirt and big bow on the side of her head (2nd green shirt from the right).

She had a speaking part and later she was dressed up as a giraffe. Her teacher told us that the music teacher made the "biggest hams" dress up. We were not surprised she was put in that category :) .

When it rains, you can still see the pollen!

2010-04-10T21:34:00.000-06:00

This is pollen in the rain.

Our cars were hazy green and yellow all week because of the pollen in the air. It was a crazy allergy week, but hopefully next week will be better.

Maz enjoying a track meet

Jay and Quenten waiting for the 800 to start

Sage loves the crown she made at school!

Rory watching the chrysalides in her Butterfly Garden for any movement. Two have hatched - there's one perched on the side of the net just by her hair.

Sage's First Visit to the Hair Salon

2010-04-07T17:11:00.000-06:00

Look at poor, unhappy Sage.

She is feeling so sorry for herself. She was outside playing and her face and hair were hot. Now, you might notice that her hair looks a little funky. It may seem that a lot of the hair on the left is the same length as her bangs. The right side looks like it was layered in stair steps. Maybe you think a four year old could create such a cut... You are in luck! Your suppositions are spot-on! A four year old DID create this haircut (namely, Sage).

Sage was hot and cut her hair off with the craft scissors (we are still not sure where she found them). Because it was SO short on the left side, we took her to the hair salon to have some professional help, and voila:

We think it totally fits her personality (especially b/c it spikes up and curls all crazy-like when she is running around)!

On a side note, she was very upset the next morning because she thought it would grow back overnight.

Happy Easter!

2010-04-07T17:01:00.000-06:00

Spring Visit to Columbia

2010-04-07T16:55:00.000-06:00

Aunt Kari helping the kids catch the pizza dough at Shakespeare's

Playing Uno at Nana and Bonka Pete's

Sage at Bonker's
This is a huge (as in multistory) foam and net play place that the kids love to play in.

Jay and Rory
The construct is so huge that we all played in pairs and we did not run into each other that frequently.

Quenten pretending to drive a car

Maz trying to win tickets at the arcade

Rory and Maz trying to get the hang of Dance Dance Revolution

Three fun teapots :)

Vegging

Nana and the kids leading the way to the park

swing set hero

On the way home from Columbia, Sage woke up screaming "Germ-X!" We could not figure out what was going on for awhile as she was still in the drowsy state, but it turned out she fell asleep with a chocolate doughnut in her hand. It freaked her out when she woke up.

Spring Break Starts!

2010-04-07T16:26:00.000-06:00

Sage making a beautiful, sparkly mess

Sage playing in Jay's classroom while Maz was on the computer

sweet Maz

Quenten zooming around

All four kids at the Abernathy's (Rory is going to the burn pile in the back)

Sunshine and Silliness

2010-03-31T07:07:00.002-06:00

A birthday party for one of Rory's classmates - her teacher is the woman in green.

I guess it has been awhile since we uploaded photos from a different camera. This is Sage brushing Poppy and Galileo at the beginning of March.

Sage jumping over the drainage ditch while Rory hosts a parade.

Jay working in the sunshine

Silliness

I guess it's contagious.

Maz showing off his "tattoos" from school.

Middle(of)March

2010-03-29T08:02:00.000-06:00

Sage twisted her ankle this week, and she thinks putting a wrap on it is the coolest thing ever (so of course she is milking it...).

Guess who snuck into the craft closet?

Jay played in a Teachers vs. Students basketball game at school on Friday (he's number 11). The game was so funny and the ref kept siding with the students :).

Jay after the game

Quenten getting some help with his shoes

Rory on her way to a birthday party - she wears boots every day.

Missing Poppy

2010-03-29T07:39:00.000-06:00

As you can see from the previous post, Poppy died last week. The following post contains our kids' favorite pictures of her.

Rory (3) looking at Poppy

Poppy was a week old and did not have her eyes open yet. Rory had three imaginary friends and they were all named "Poppy," so, of course, that is what she wanted to name our puppy.

Grandma and Bonka letting Sage pet Poppy when Poppy was 3 weeks old (Sage was 17 months old).

Rory and Sage (holding Poppy) in July of 2007 the day we took her to Memphis

Jared introducing Poppy to her new home (when we moved from Horn Lake to Memphis)

Crawford side photo with the labradoodles
Trevor, Jasmine (white puppy), Melanie, Truffles (brown puppy), Shannon, Sage, Jill, Prozac (black shaggy puppy), Dustin, Delores (black puppy), Perry, Buzzard (gold puppy), Rory, Jay, Mindy, and Poppy (gold jumping puppy)

Poppy at 11 months

Poppy with one of the puppies from Truffles' litter - they match!

Maz and Poppy running in the backyard in August 2009

Poppy loves to lick the camera for some reason - thankfully, there was plenty of warning most the time :)

Sage, Rory, Jay, and Poppy in September 2009

In November, Poppy gave birth to 6 puppies (1/2 Great Dane). Maz was overseeing the feeding of the puppies on our Thanksgiving trip up to Illinois. Galileo is the 3rd puppy from the left.

The girls playing with Galileo and Poppy

Poppy loving on Galileo

Poppy and Galileo in March 2010

We miss Poppy so much, but we are so happy she is part of our family.

2010-03-24T17:02:00.000-06:00

Rest in Peace Poppy Mahannah
May 13, 2007 - March 24, 2010

You were a good and mischievous dog, as all Mahannah children should be. We will miss you.

Rory's Birthday Party

2010-03-21T10:25:00.000-06:00

Singing "Happy Birthday" to Rory
Sage, Olivia, Rory, and Quenten

Rory blowing out her candles

The tablecloth was made out of contractor paper so the kids could color on it
Olivia, Chloe, Eli, Quenten, and Maz

The three kindergarten girls - Jamie, Olivia, and Rory

Silly loves

Ethan, Maz, and Barrett finishing their cake

Jay and the pinata

Rory getting ready to try to break the pinata

Maz takes a turn

now, Quenten

Eli watches as Jordan and Jaime take a turn

Jay and Scott

Rory opening her presents

Olivia and Rory opening a poster. Rory thought it was a roll of wrapping paper, and she liked that. However, she was more excited about the poster that was wrapped inside :).

Rory had an awesome birthday week! Thanks to everyone who helped her celebrate!

Crawfords in Memphis

2010-03-21T10:01:00.000-06:00

Rory picked out shamrock cookies to take to school for her birthday.

Trevor's Quilt

Kyle and Shannon before Rory's birthday party

They, along with Trevor, came down to celebrate Rory's birthday this weekend.

the kid table

Rory running up the stairs to find Sage (who is hiding under the table that Trevor is sitting on)

worried skepticism

Shannon with the kids at Corky's

Rory and Maz working on his new book

Kyle, Shannon, and Trevor (the weird red lump is him hiding)

Rory and Shannon fell asleep during The Princess and the Frog

Aurora is 6!

2010-03-16T08:53:00.001-06:00

Rory turned six today! One of the big changes in her life during the past year was that she realized the importance of having a relationship with Christ. She is such a sweet little love, and her silliness and whimsy are always a source of joy for the rest of the family.

Psalm 34:5 Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy;no shadow of shame will darken their faces.

Lions, Lambs, and All That Jazz

2010-03-16T04:40:00.000-06:00

Maz writing a letter to his teacher

Rory painting trim for the dining room

poser :)

Poppy and Galileo

Sage the sneaky fox - she was hiding in the dining room eating Fetuccini Alfredo instead of sitting on the Time Out Step.

Maz's counselor said that his RAD could be helped with some attachment therapies. So, he is sleeping all swaddled up with a pacifier. It seems to help his night time behavior.

Chris helped lay the floor in the dining room, and Jay paid him in guitar lessons.

Rory on the cement before the floor was laid. Nana made her a special bag for her BrainQuest books (she's on the third grade one right now), and Rory carries it with her everywhere!

Quenten makes sure the floor is worthy of his dancing.

Maz getting ready to go play with a friend

Eating at McAlister's for Jay's birthday

Rory after making a splendiferous mess of her ice cream sundae.

2010-03-05T16:27:00.000-06:00

On our way to eat dinner in Marion, Arkansas, we saw this riverboat painting on the side of a building.

Jay and Nick

Some of Jay's friends from college were passing through the area on their way to Illinois, and we were able to eat dinner with them. Nick and his wife Heather have a band called 'You and Yourn,' and they were coming back from a tour.

One day last week we were leaving to pick up the kids after school and we saw that the tire was flat. Jay changed it VERY quickly. Even Derek was impressed!

The vagabonds coming home after being lost for five days.

Galileo and his brother Samson playing at the park; having the dogs play is just our excuse to hang out with the Abernathys :)

Poppy playing with her sons

Maz

Maz, Sage, Rory, and Eli playing at the park

Eli trying to convince Quenten to be held

Happy Quenten

The kids on the other side of the park

After the Snows

2010-02-26T21:58:00.000-06:00

Rory was so excited for her Valentine's Day Party at school! (check out her little LOVE socks - she wants to wear them all of the time)

After our first floor flooded, Jay began taking out all of the flooring to lay new stuff in. Here he is getting rid of the tile that was in the dining room.

The boys taking a nap

Maz playing Monkeyball - his reward for going one day without fighting kids at preschool

Jay wearing his new glasses :)

Eating at The Crepemaker to celebrate Mindy's birthday with Perry and Jill

Maz liked sitting at the counter and watching the crepes get put together

Good bye Dustin! Good bye California!

2010-02-17T21:06:00.000-06:00

Dustin giving his nieces some good-bye love

Trying to get a picture of the four of

(while we love that are girls are so spirited, it does make taking pictures a little more difficult)

This was the best we could do - and we absolutely love Sage's tongue sticking out :)

We left San Diego on Sunday night and stayed at Kate's house in LA, which made our ride to the airport much shorter the following morning.

Rory and Sage watching Shrek as they fall asleep at Kate's house

Our California trip was awesome! Kate gave up her whole weekend to be with us. Dustin and Melanie gave up their last weekend together for 14 months to have us over. We had a blast and we are so, so thankful to have had that time with Dustin, since we will not be seeing him for a while.

We hope that next time the boys will be at a place where they can handle being in a plane for 5 hours, and hopefully, at that time, we will be welcoming Dustin home from Afghanistan!

California Part III: the Pacific

2010-02-14T10:37:00.000-06:00

Melanie and Dustin walking on a pier

Kate and Sage by the ocean

Mindy and the girls in front of the pier

We ate dinner at the very end (upper left) at a restaurant that sways with the wind and water.

Kate and Sage walking to the beach - they are next to the 'K' sign

Rory begins her lifelong mission of terrorizing all sea animals

Sage and Kate following Rory

Although it was too cold to swim in, the ocean was one of the highlights of our trip.

Sage was watching the sand for rogue seashells

Dustin and Mindy get all cheese-y

Rory was excited that she was able to play in the sand of two oceans in the same year :).

Dustin watching the waves

Dustin and Melanie smiling on the pier after a great dinner at Ruby's

California Cookies!

2010-02-13T09:47:00.000-06:00

Aunt Melanie and Sage at the beginning of our cookie decorating party

Sage was not that interested in decorating cookies; she decorated her fingers with icing and licked it off :).

Rory after eating some of her cookies

Kate and Rory enjoying the sugar rush

Marines use swords to get the icing off of their fingers

Sage's cookie sandwich, which she did not eat

We loved having all of the indoor time to just relax and be with Dustin, Melanie, and Kate. The cookie party was a great way to end the day.

California (Part I)

2010-02-12T21:14:00.000-06:00

The Mahannah girls (Mindy, Rory, and Sage) spent last weekend in California to see Dustin off before his assignment to Afghanistan this week. Dustin will be stationed in southern Afghanistan for the next 14 months, and we are going to miss him like crazy. While the girls stayed in San Diego with Dustin and Melanie, Kate Bazil stayed to visit there too. The last night the girls spent in Los Angeles with Kate before catching their plane in Burbank the next morning. The trip was awesome and very relaxing.

Waiting at 6 in the morning for our flight to Burbank (via Phoenix)

The girls on the balcony to Dustin and Melanie's apartment (San Diego)
Although it's misty in the distance, there are mountains just behind the girls.

Dustin working on the computer while the girls watched Up!

Rory break dancing at a mall in San Diego

Sage and Uncle Dustin before the carousel started

Sage, Dustin, Mindy, and Rory rode on the carousel, and it was awesome because on this carousel, the rides are five minutes long :)

Rory and her horse

Melanie and Dustin toting around the girls

Kate and Mindy waiting for lunch

The girls loved playing on Dust and Mel's computer!

It's the Little Things...

2010-02-10T19:07:00.000-06:00

the tree next door after the ice storm

Sage and Rory making crafts :)

Flocabulary words (Mindy's students are using a hip-hop program to learn ACT/SAT words)

Jay rocking Quenten to sleep

Continued Blessings

2010-01-29T10:50:00.000-06:00

Mindy has been teaching on Saturdays during the month of January. Jay and the kids come along to support her and the students (and bring super-sweet breakfasts for everyone). The 2010 Best Husband Ever award is in the bag.

Sage showing her strawberry heart doughnut - she even chooses her food to match her clothing.

Maz loves to sweep! He does not worry about sweeping up dirt and spills; he just likes to drag it around on the ground :).

Rory could not be happier!

Kids and puppies

The boys trying out a piano; their friend Jamie isn't sure what to think of their "symphony."

This is how our middle kids show "three" with their fingers. We're not sure why they do this, but we think it's cute.