The King Klan

Cousins

2009-06-07T19:20:00.001-07:00

This is Don's entire family. All the cousins were so glad to see each other.

Elli Graylyn is here!!! Sorry it has been a while

2009-01-19T14:53:00.000-08:00

So sorry this has taken me so long to post!! For those of you who have not seen our new little package here she is!!! Elli Graylyn was born January 8th at 8ish pm!! She was 7lbs. 3 ozs. and 19 3/8 inches long.

New Years Eve!

2009-01-03T17:49:00.001-08:00

Starting them out early!!

Bunco Time!!

Blake making us an amazing dessert

Cheers!!

Why do I look wider than everyone else??

We had such an amazing time with friends and family on New Years Eve!! We had our annual Bunco Bash!

Christmas Day!!

2009-01-03T17:34:00.000-08:00

Charis taught Poppy how to use her Leapster 2!!

Grady was SO excited about his Zip line!!

It was just such an amazing day with family. We are SO blessed to be so close!!

Trip to see Santa!!

2008-12-22T12:29:00.001-08:00

I decided that if I had not had Elli by today I WAS going with Don to take the kids to see Santa! He is such an amazing husband. He took me to the door and got me a wheelchair so that I didn't have to walk. I am so blessed to have such an amazing husband. God knew exactly what he was doing!! So fun, I love Christmas!!

Merry Christmas!!!

2008-12-21T03:13:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone!!! Charis and Grady are showing off their Spanish skills!!

Spanish

2008-12-13T16:36:00.000-08:00

The kids have SO much fun at their Spanish class. Jenni Schmidt teaches them and does an amazing job!!

SNOW!!!!

2008-12-11T08:02:00.000-08:00

WE HAD SNOW!!!! Charis has been praying for snow and HE ANSWERED HER PRAYERS!!! It was so fun to here her thank God for answering her prayer!!

Fun at the Emerald Rainbow!!

2008-12-11T06:44:00.000-08:00

The kids had so much fun on Monday. Don took them to the Emerald Rainbow!!

Dinner with the Taylors

2008-12-07T09:39:00.001-08:00

We also got to have some fun with Jen and the boys!! My kids were still on there house building sugar high. But they had a wonderful time with their buddies while Jen cooked us all dinner. Thank you my friend!!

Fun with Nonnie!!

2008-12-07T09:27:00.000-08:00

Nonnie has always read the directions first!!

Mommy just pulls it all out and hopes for the best!

were we eating or building?

The kids had a blast Saturday making a gingerbread house with their Nonnie!! Charis even had icing in her hair. I am not sure but I think they ate more sugar during the construction than they have had all year!!

Happy Birthday Dad!!

2008-12-03T03:15:00.000-08:00

Nothing like a kickin party at the King house! It was a rowdy crew!! It was Dad's birthday and My and Don's anniversary! So we did it up right with some Turkey Salad sandwiches and apple pie!!

Decorating the tree

2008-11-30T05:20:00.000-08:00

Saturday Don and the kids decorated the tree!! It was so much fun to watch them. They were really excited about putting it up! So much fun!!!

Thanksgiving

2008-11-30T05:04:00.000-08:00

Well...I had some great pictures of Thanksgiving!! Had...Charis decided to delete them off the camera. She is just too smart for her own good. Anyway we had a wonderful day with family and friends. Mom, Dad, Josh and Meme Shirley, Rufus and the Taylor clan were here. We started the day with our customary turkey frying extravaganza!! My sweet dad and mom brought it all to me so I could be a part. They fried the turkeys here this year so I got to graze with the group on the first one. It was so much fun to have all of you over! The kids had a blast. They played ALL DAY!! It was just so nice to have everyone hanging out on the couch WITH ME!!!

Wednesdays Appointment

2008-11-30T03:58:00.000-08:00

Well as of Turkey Day I am 31 weeks. Dr McFarland said, "I would like for you to go to 34 weeks, but your baby is big and healthy so I would try to stop things if you went at 32 weeks...... Yes my friends that is this coming Thursday. I think she saw the twinkle in my eye because she then said, but you are STILL on bed rest! I am starting to see light at the end of the tunnel and I am excited. You should have seen my moms face when she said. Jamie that is only one week. My dad of course... Well! Not on my birthday... long story! Don was just quiet as usual. He is like Mary, he ponders these things in his heart! Drives me nuts. I would love to know what goes on in that gray matter sometimes!! Anyway, I am excited and felt renewed to keep at it....on the couch!

Baby update and Bedrest....

2008-11-25T03:54:00.000-08:00

My last appointment was this past Thursday. I just saw the OBGYN. Not the specialist. She said that I am still just hanging on. Stricter bed rest was the order.... Wow stricter I said.... Fat mamma's been down! She laughed and said.... give me 4 more weeks. After assuring her that I was not the one calling the shots, I agreed to be down as much as possible! So here's my sign! Bed rest, for those of you who know me well, is not my forte. Sundays are the worst because everyone I know, love and enjoy is together at church. I do miss my people (especially the little ones!) But, everything is for a purpose. I have been praying that God would use this time to reveal things to me that I usually would be too busy to hear. So, I will keep listening!! My kids are great. They are an amazing blessing and I have really enjoyed spending the time with them! I will go to the specialist on Wednesday and I will keep you posted!! Thank you all SO SO much for your prayers, emails, calls and love!!!

The after party!

2008-11-21T04:20:00.001-08:00

After the shower some of the girls stayed and put things together for me. My mom made sure to tell all of them how we could never make it home from San Antonio before I had boxes opened and things put together in the car! I get a little excited! It was so fun to watch them... Check out the serious constructors!

The Baby Shower

2008-11-21T04:00:00.000-08:00

Bed rest... what can I say. It is not eventful! But it was on Sunday!! My precious precious friends came to me!!! They had a wonderful shower with lots of PINK for Elli and me! It was so wonderful to see all of my friends and my Riverside Community!! I miss you and love you all SO much!! And....they got me Costco carrot cake. IT is sweet manna from heaven! It is the best cake on earth. They even left me some... I can't imagine why I had gained 3 pounds this week! The girls came in and decorated my house so beautifully. They made wonderful food and everyone was so uplifting. I got to see and talk to everyone, and then the group blessed me beyond measure with an amazing time of prayer! It was surreal. I just couldn't stop giggling!! I told my doctor all about it and she said, " You have some amazing friends!" That is an understatement! I have THE MOST amazing friends! Jen, Mom, Brooke, Kim, Raenette, Angela, Cathi and Jenni you are all a gift. I know you are all busy and feel overwhelmed, so thank you for doing this!!

The dog has issues

2008-11-21T03:36:00.001-08:00

We have to laugh at our little corgi, Ashes. She is so quirky. She loves to fetch the ball and then destroy it! And there are certain things that she hates... the leaf blower, the tiller, and the SPRINKLERS. Don gets so annoyed with her, because he will set out his sprinklers and she attacks them. She will have them pulled out of the ground or completely turned around by the time she is done attacking them!

Look at me! I am Padema

2008-11-21T03:07:00.000-08:00

Ok so the kids love Star Wars. Uncle is a big Star Wars fan so of course so is Grady. Sometimes he and Charis can do the funniest stuff! He had me rolling when he did this. We were looking at all the precious shower gifts and he walked in and said, "Look at me! I am Padema!"

Daddy Day

2008-11-14T17:16:00.001-08:00

We have daddy day on Mondays. We really went through withdrawal when Charis started kindergarten because Mondays were always the day we spent with Daddy! Well, thanks to the beauty of homeschooling, we have our daddy days again! While I am on bed rest, I don't get to partake in the fun. But, they always make sure to send me pictures from Don's phone. We all had our flu shots on Monday, so he took the kids to the movies and to Bass Pro Shop. As soon as they walked in the kids found out that Santa would be there later.... So.... Don was there for a couple of hours! They did have fun!

Baby update!

2008-11-14T03:55:00.000-08:00

I went to the perinatologist on Wednesday. She said that everything looked great with the baby. I had progressed a little more which was disheartening. The past two visits I had stayed the same. But, peanut is getting bigger so it is inevitable. She did ask me, "How big were your other babies?" I knew where she was going with the question. If you have seen my husband, it is not hard to believe that I have really big babies! Don was a whopping 10 pounds!! The average weight for a baby at 29 weeks is 2 1/2 pounds. Peanut is 3lbs. 2 oz. So I didn't feel as bad about my recent weight gain. I am quite sure it has nothing to do with the snicker doodle and banana pudding ice cream that my dad makes sure that I am stocked with!! (Thanks Dad)

Wurstfest

2008-11-06T10:35:00.000-08:00

I love Wurstfest!! We love Wurstfest! I was a little down this year that I could not go... But the kids had a blast! Their daddy took them and they wore their little selves out! They ate sausage and fried pickles. Don took them on all the rides.... Grady said, " I did NOT like the pirate ship!" He might have panicked just a little! Don did the chicken dance with Charis. I can't believe I missed that photo op! The kids both won stuffed animals shooting water at a banana! Anyway, they didn't take the camera but Don had his phone so here are some pics!

Today's Scripture!

2008-11-02T04:28:00.000-08:00

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power
is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the
more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest
on me.
2 Corinthians 12:9

This is so appropriate for where we are as a community and for me on bed rest!!

The Fall Festival

2008-11-02T04:19:00.000-08:00

My kids had a wonderful time at the Fall Festival at Riverside!!! Thank you to all of you who put it on. For the second year Charis won a cake in the cake walk....big mama on the couch was very excited!! It was hard not being there, so I spent the night praying for the kids and looking at permanent birth control options on the Internet!!

Fall Festival!

2008-11-02T03:25:00.001-08:00

Today's Doctors Visit and Africa

2008-10-29T15:49:00.000-07:00

Well Miss Peanut is actually 2 pounds 4 oz. King babies are ALWAYS big!! I have had the shots to promote her lungs so they were actually reflecting 28 weeks on the measurements. Which is a week older than what she is! So that is good. And the doctor was very happy because my body was the same. I had not progressed any further since last week!!!!! Hallelujah!! Keep up the prayers

God is Good!!

I talked to my dad and he has arrived safely in Africa. He is with Phil Jones and will keep us posted!! I was very glad to hear his voice and know that he was safe on the ground. I was able to tell him the good news from the doctor. I think it really put his mind at ease. I assured him that I would be good while he was gone!!! No dancing or horseback!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE

2008-10-29T06:56:00.001-07:00

It was early....but they wanted to send you a birthday wish before they left for their Co-op class!! Happy birthday Uncle!! We love you very much!!

Chocee LOVES dum dum's

2008-10-29T06:48:00.000-07:00

Charis and Grady went to a birthday party yesterday for their sweet friend Rebekah!! They had a wonderful time and I am so grateful to the Moore family for taking them! As with most parties they came home with their bags of candy...and left them on the floor. Chocee likes dum dum's!!

The Grand Adventure - Poppy travels to Africa

2008-10-28T08:58:00.000-07:00

Well when my kids were little they would always say, "Mommy lets go on a grand adventure!" Even if we were just going to the back yard. So, Poppy is on a grand adventure! For those that don't know, my dad is going to Africa. He came by yesterday before leaving to borrow a suitcase....hum. He was leaving that day. Can we say delayed packer! Anyway, the kids were playing around and got in the suitcase and said take us with you Poppy! Charis was laughing and playing but Grady was not. He would not get out of the suitcase. So dad had to pick him up and he just melted into him.... He's doing better today! Dad called this morning to let me know that his flight into Amsterdam had been late arriving. A lady was having a panic attack and would not let a man look at her so they had to get a women to attend to her. (this is the kind of stuff that would only happen to my dad!!) Then they told her that she had to get off the plane. She refused, so they had to get a women pilot to come tell her to get off the plane. By then they were too low on fuel for the flight, so they had to go refuel... Needless to say they missed their flight to Entebbe. Which, only flies out once a day. So they put him and 10 others up in a hotel. I said, "Go take some pictures!!" He said, "After all of this I am just staying right here at the hotel! " I don't blame him! Anyway he should be arriving in Entebbe tomorrow!!

The Motorcycle

2008-10-27T13:01:00.001-07:00

Well.......I was NOT in favor of this one. But, I got out voted! My mom and husband conspired and got Grady a motorcycle for his birthday. It is electric, but it still goes pretty fast. It was the motivation that he needed to learn to ride his bike with no training wheels. Boy was Nonnie surprised to come home to see Charis and Grady riding their bikes with no training wheels and the MOTORCYCLE!! It has been fun for them. Don knew not to let me see them until they were not falling anymore. Talk about make you go into labor! That would have done it!

Time with Poppy

2008-10-27T12:41:00.001-07:00

My kids love their grandparents! They are SO SO blessed to have 4 healthy, wonderful grandparents. They also have my grandparents. So they are surrounded with generations of love. While my mom was in Israel and Turkey we did something different for Friday nights. They usually have Fridays with Nonnie and Poppy. Well...Nonnie was across the world and they both had to be at soccer early on Saturdays. So, we had camp outs.....well almost! The classroom is currently relocated down stairs so we turned it into the camp ground. Grady's Pappaw and MiMi (Don's parents) gave him a tent for his birthday. We just didn't realize how big it was before we said we would set it up.....inside!

The Soccer Teams

2008-10-27T12:26:00.001-07:00

Charis and Grady both have precious teams. Grady has his buddy Hunter Woodman on his team. Which is so much fun! Charis has her buddy Grant that she went to Bracken with and some other really sweet kids on her team. They are having a great time and really learning from their coaches. We have been so blessed by the love and attention of both of their coaches. They are awesome dads with amazing hearts for kids and extremely patient!

Visit to the doctor

2008-10-21T16:40:00.000-07:00

Today I saw my OBGYN. She said the baby looks great so that was encouraging. My preterm labor situation was not any worse...but it also wasn't any better. So, she basically said bed rest until Peanut comes. Every other week I will see her and the opposite week I see the perinatologist. She is wanting 8 more weeks for the baby, but said she would take what she could get. 34 weeks is a much safer gestational age than 26! I am praising God that things did seem to slow down this week and did not progress as much as last week. I am so thankful to have my mom and brother home and that my father in law seems to be doing much better!! God is good! I am blessed to have school with my kids in the mornings. They are enjoying couch and bed schooling!! And I am really enjoying kindergarten and first grade! Today, the kids (and I) learned Jeremiah 33:3. Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. I just love that verse. It really spoke to me.

Amazing guard dogs!!

2008-10-20T15:13:00.001-07:00

They do an amazing job keeping critters out of our yard!

Charis and Grady at Soccer

2008-10-20T14:36:00.000-07:00

Well both kids are doing soccer. It is a little crazy with two practices, two games and one mommy on bed rest. I was so excited when they came in from Saturday's games. They had both scored for the FIRST TIME!!! It was a very exciting day also because their Nonnie and Uncle had just gotten back at midnight the night before from Israel. Grady turned around at his 9:00am game to see them standing there and was in total shock. Nonnie and Uncle are troopers!

Peanut!

2008-10-11T07:50:00.001-07:00

This was so amazing!! I went to the doctor on October 9th and they did this 3d image of peanut!! It melted my heart!

There's no place like home!

2008-09-14T18:20:00.000-07:00

Well I am home from a crazy weekend! Most everyone blogs now so I figured it was time that I join the insanity! Not to mention that the doc put me on bed rest. So I guess I have time now! For those of you that don't know I was 20 weeks pregnant last Thursday. But Friday I started having some problems. I sent my kids home with my precious friend Jenni Schmidt, THANK YOU JENNI, and went to the doctors office. From there the nurse took me to North Central Baptist. I stayed at NCB through today, Sunday. They monitored me over the weekend and checked me for preterm labor with a test called a Fetal Fibronectin test which came out negative. (that's good!) It tests to see if you will go into labor with in the next week or so. So, I was able to come home on bed rest... Not exactly what I had prayed for, but I am blessed to be in my bed with MY pillows! Oh yes, and Grady's hunting dog, which is sleeping in my bed. I am so grateful to everyone that prayed for me and checked on me while I was there. I had total peace during the entire weekend. I could really feel the power of peoples prayers. Thank you!!! Community is a beautiful thing!! By the way we are having a GIRL!! Some of you may remember that a month before I got pregnant Charis came to our room one morning and announced that she was going to have a sister and that I was going to have a baby!!....We laughed.... Well she was right! So now we bake... and bake. Peanut, as Grady named her, has to stay in the oven for several more weeks. Your prayers are cherished. I will go to see a perinatologist on Tuesday. Please pray for her to have discernment and clarity in how to proceed. Also I will see my OB. Please pray for her as well. It is always a new adventure to bring a King baby into the world so, here we go!! I will keep you posted as I know more!!

Also while I was in the hospital Michele Woodman arrived!! She is ready to have little Luke! Please keep her in your prayers as well!!