Happy Father's Day!

We love you, Shawn! Happy Father's Day! Thank you for being such a great dad to the trio, a wonderful husband to me, and a great friend to all those around you! We are truly blessed with the love and the example you set for us! Hope you have a great day!

The greatest gift I ever had
Came from God; I call him Dad!
~Author Unknown

No raises again....Really!?!

During a legislative committee meeting on Thursday, June 17, Richard Weiss, director of the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, stated that the suspension of cost-of-living adjustments, merit raises, and annual career- service-recognition payments for fiscal year 2010-11 included faculty and non-classified employees. If this directive holds, UCA will not be allowed to provide the budgeted pay increase to faculty and non-classified employees approved by the Board of Trustee in May.

I try really hard not to have written complaints on here. We have not had a raise since we moved here. We got this email today and let me tell you we are a bit "frustrated! I will be grumpy for a little bit but I am so GRATEFUL that Shawn has a faculty position and that I can teach part time. Getting a job is not easy thing to do in this economy. For those of you who have been unemployed probably say that is an understatement you don't know the half of it. My heart goes out to you. It is my sincere hope and prayer that the economy will look up soon!

New Bedrooms

Now missing her 6th tooth! Slow down girl!
Wearing matching nightgowns with Sophia!

I'm a big kid now!

Look at me on the top bunk!

Goes to sleep listening to her birthday MP3 player
6 going on 16

We have redone the trio's bedrooms. They had outgrown sharing a bed together. They would laugh, roll around, and stay up forever together. We had been planning on redoing their bedrooms for sometime. We took advantage of having extra hands and spent last week painting their bunkbeds, cleaning the rooms, and rearranging the furniture. Their bedrooms look so nice. I need to get a better picture of the boys room. You can't really tell from these shots they are bunk beds. The kids are adjusting well. Jax has the most difficult time adjusting to new things but he really is a champ.

Greers Ferry

Bradley is one of Shawn's students who just graduated. He will be attending the Utah State's doctoral program in Experimental Psychology in the fall. His family own's a 25 foot pontoon boat. One day the family (with the exception of myself and Ashlin) spent a day out on Greer's Ferry. Everyone absolutely LOVED it. The boys got to "drive" the boat, swim with geese, and pee on a tree. What more can you want from a day of fun!?!

Happy Birthday Shawn!

Shawn & Ashlin share a birthday! This year we broke out and celebrated separately. We invited friends to Larry's Pizza to celebrate his birthday. Sunday (6th) was their actual birthday. Nana made pancakes for breakfast. Ashlin wanted to put candles in them for the festivities. Later that day we had the traditional Charlton "Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake". It's been a tradition for as long as Shawn can remember.

Happy Birthday Shawn! We love you!

Happy Birthday Ashlin!

Ashlin turned 6 this year. She had a bottle cap birthday party at Paisley's Party place. The party was just wonderful. She enjoyed celebrating with her friends. They played dress ups, made their necklaces, cupcakes, and presents. What more could a girl ask for!?!
She has grown up so much this past year. I blame it on Kindergarten. She looks so more and more grown up with each passing day (losing her teeth does not help!) She is so smart, sweet, and loving. I am so grateful that she still loves to snuggle!
After not knowing if I would be able to have children and then a year of fertility treatments when the time was right our precious miracle came into our lives! There will never be words that I could write to express the gratitude for this precious spirit Heavenly Father has entrusted us with! She truly brings joy and happiness to each new day!

Thanks Ashlin for being you! We love you, Ashlin!