We got a tea set last week and the kids are loving it way more than I expected. James at first said I don't really like to play girl things but I convinced him that it was a gender neutral tea set and Josh told him men all over Europe have tea parties and showed him how to drink with his pinkie up. We had real warm tea in the tea pot, James drank it up and Kinley made a disgusted face every time she tried it so she would just pour an overflowing cup for herself then dump it in the grass and pour herself another.

Her new thing is to say "puppy" then pretend to be one. I tried to tell her this isn't acceptable for high tea but she didn't care. We went in the backyard one day and found the kids like this. James was telling her about jets and the sky. She was a captive audience.

April 15 was our planned planting day and was the only available day to do it all of April so rain as it may we were out making our yard beautiful. It was really fun and of course the kids loved the opportunity to get dirty.

This is a new addition to our perennial plant collection - we love it! We kept our last hibiscus alive for five years, hopefully this one will make it even longer!

Kinley working the camera while cooling her feet in the river. We went camping last weekend with our friends the Henslee's. We went to Osage Hills State Park. It is outside Bartlesville. It rained off and on Friday and Saturday and during the nights but it never got too heavy and our tents kept us dry. We did however think it was smart to put the dining fly over the fire pit so we could cook, eat, and relax out of the rain. Miraculously it did not catch on fire but we did all leave the campsite unattended while we went to bath the kids and one of the Henslee's chairs caught on fire and incinerated.

James is an amazing camper. He never complains about anything, thinks helping us is the greatest privilege ever, and always wishes we could stay longer. He loves his hiking backpack and keeps it stocked with water, tweezers, bug box, binoculars, flashlight, his favorite plastic animals, magnifying glass, and all the "treasures" he finds while exploring. He had it on every waking moment - so cute.

Levi was riding on Derrick's shoulders and Kinley wanted to ride like him so we tried it and she insisted on holding my face with all her might. Needless to say the ride did not last long.

I should have cropped this one but it is the boys hiking to the river.

Ezra, James, Levi, Kinley all swinging in the hammock. They actually enjoyed it like this for over five minutes. They must really love each other. Since we will have one more next year Derrick thinks we should take a babysitter. We don't think one in their right mind would take the job!

James enjoying a s'more. Don't those hands look yummy!

We let James drink caffeine free coke when we are camping. He thinks he is so big especially since all the other kids don't have mature enough taste buds to handle the "spiciness".

This is James with his shotgun. He and Ezra spent a lot of their time hunting and killing bears in the woods. Ezra would spot them with the binoculars and James would shoot them. Ezra called the gun "the shooter hot gun" James just rolled his eyes and laughed at him.

Kinley and Levi are five months apart and they were so funny. They would share a banana one minute the sweetest thing you've ever seen then fight over a toy the next minute and they sounded like screeching clawing cats fighting. They were sweet more than they fought and they were so fun to watch toddle around.

• We have decided to name the baby Mallory Ann Morris!! It is growing on us and the kids seem to like it. I can't remember if I put this last time but if we ask Kinley what is in my tummy she says "baby sissy" it is soooo adorable.
• We moved Kinley to her big girl bed after Easter and she has done really well. I'm sure she will figure out how to get out and drive me crazy right when Mallory is born but it is going great for now.
• Last week James said "Somebody has got to watch her, I can't be responsible for her every second." I guess I depend on him too much?!! And he's a little dramatic.

Jason, Emily, and Kate at Easter

James is a pro egg hunter and even got his own tough big boy hunt separate from the babies

Kinley's smelling face

Her idea of a pretty picture

lWe're getting closer

My idea of a pretty picture

One of the better family pics

No one had to teach this one to egg hunt, she had it down fast and was greedy

She was even willing to go to great extreme's

Three Morris babies in the tub (cousin Kate on the left)

I looked back at Kinley in the car one day and this is what I found!

Egg dyeing at Gigi's

• We were playing in the backyard and James got a chair and said I am going to sit in the shade and think about God. Of course Kinley followed him and he said "Kinley you can think about God too!"
• James' class went on a field trip to the Tulsa airport. Kinley and I got to go with him. He was so kind to us and introduced us to all his friends. He taught Kinley everything he knew about school and field trips and was so proud to have us with him. We got to go in a private jet hanger and go in different jets. We also saw two fighter jets taking off and landing. Now Kinley says "jet" every time she hears a plane. She is going to be going to the same preschool one day a week next year - she can't wait.
• One day we were meeting some friends at the park and we were early so we were taking out time getting out of the car. I was at the back unloading the stroller and Kinley climbed back in. I shut the back door, she hit the lock button and James was about to shut the front door. I said "James don't shut....!!!" and he looked right at me and slammed the door. My keys, phone, and Kinley were now locked in the car with no one in sight to help. After about five minutes one of my friends showed up and I used her phone to call Josh. Kinley was not freaking out at all she was living it up. I don't let them play in the front seats or hit all the buttons. I also don't let her play with my keys and the remote that unlocks the car. She was doing all of the above and looking at me with the most devilish smile. She passed the time by pushing the panic button on the key remote over and over so the car was honking for 10 minutes. Finally she hit the unlock button on accident. Then Josh showed up. It was very stressful for about a minute mainly because I was so mad at James for deliberately disobeying but after that I just started laughing and couldn't stop. Oh a day in the life of a mother!
• James' new thing is to say "I hate to tell you this but..." Once he said I hate to tell you this but you're loud mommy. I hate to tell you this but I just spilled my whole cup of milk. I hate to tell you this but I just got poop all over the bathroom and myself. At least he's being a little sensitive. He also says "what am I chopped liver" if we are loving on Kinley or each other and don't love on him.
• He loves to help Josh mow and work in the yard and Josh was telling him how great of a job he does and how much he likes his help. James said "daddy, you know my mower isn't real right?" So funny, he was being like an adult letting a child down.
• My birthday was the 8th and my mom took me to Dallas to shop for three days! My grandma, Bop, and Josh took turns keeping the kids. My grandma said Kinley loved her cat and chased him everywhere. One time she followed him right under the bed and got stuck. Grandma asked James to go under and get her and he said "no way, I'll get stuck too" so they had to drag her out by the legs. My mom and I had a great time - we are never together without my kids so it was wonderful to have full conversations and go in and out of a million stores without kids. I got a new arm chair that glides and has a ottoman for the baby's room. I have wanted one since James was born! Josh and the kids got me beautiful new canisters for the kitchen. I feel incredibly spoiled and loved.
• Kinley started sleeping in her big girl bed on Sunday night. The first night she fell out around 12 and cried off and on for three hours. She totally wanted her crib back - I felt so sorry for her. But since then naps and night have been great. She is still too little to get on and off the bed by herself so we haven't had the getting up issue yet but I'm sure she'll decide to use that one when the baby comes! She and James love being together - it is so sweet to have them sharing a room.

I am 21 weeks pregnant, feeling baby sister kick a lot, still enjoying having some energy and not being sick. We are really struggling to come up with a name. We seem to coming back to a few options Karsten, Kiersten, Kaylin, and McKenzi (we aren't sure how we would spell those and don't love any of them) Kinley is really getting into the baby in my tummy idea and likes to kiss, poke, and snuggle my belly button since she is sure that is what the big deal is all about.

We went to my cousins ranch in Hominy this week to hang out with Hayden and Maggie Jo and see their pigs. James found this lovely animal spine and just had to bring it home. They all ganged up on me about getting James a dog and at one point their dogs were frustrating James and I said "see James that is why I don't want a dog they are always bugging you" and he said "yeah I see what you mean, lets get a cat then". Then I had to go into a discussion about why I don't want cats or hamsters or bunnies or any pets. By the way, James' teachers asked him to tell them a story, any story, and this is what he said "I don't really have anything. I want a dog. I love dogs but my mommy doesn't. She really doesn't like it when they cuddle with her. I don't know what she would do if I brought a dog home. That's all."

We celebrated the coming of spring by going on a family walk with the Wagner's then going to Braum's for ice cream. This was Kinley's first cone, she actually did really well and didn't get any on her clothes or the table.

Isn't this a good look for Kinley? She loves to wear her rain boots around the house. They also figured out that the teapot stopper whistles when they blow in it. I was so glad they figured that out ;)

One day while James was at school I was baking and letting Kinley play in the sink with bubble water. I went in the garage to get something and when I came back this is how I found her. She had on shoes, socks, diaper and pants! Notice the face! She was so proud and all I could do was laugh and wonder how in the world she hoisted herself up in there. The evening before I walked into the kitchen to find James peeing in the trashcan. I asked "why" and he said "I don't remember". I didn't laugh at that one until later but what in the world was he thinking??

I was doing some sewing and James was extremely interested so I let him sew a little pouch and he was so cute and smart and quick to learn. Most of the time it is really fun to have a big boy. He is getting so mature.

• I was ironing our clothes for a wedding we were going to and James went over and picked up Kinley's little shrug and took it to Josh and said "hey dad, mom shrunk your shirt" (Josh and Kinley's shirts were both yellow) Isn't that such grown up humor?!
• We got to the wedding and the kids were being watched in a little room during the ceremony. When James opened the door and walked in he saw that there were no toys and two crying babies. He turned around, walked out and said "that is not good, I am not going in there" I of course said yes you are, play games on my iphone if you have to. During the ceremony we noticed his face smashed against the window watching us. After the ceremony Josh noticed that he had a missed call and message from me. Well it was James calling and he left a message saying there were no cool games on my phone and no toys to play with and that it was not good. Thankfully my phone was still in one piece when it was all over and so was James.
• Kinely has been talking more and more everyday. She is also learning her colors and gets yellow "lellow" and blue "bue" right most of the time. She will say every letter in the alphabet except W and the name of every color. She also as decided that Elmo and Abby (a new sesame street character) are part of our family. She walks around singing "momma, daddy, bubba, elmo, abby". She says, no way, mo noonles (more noodles), peas (please) and many more.
• Josh and I got to go to Big Cedar with five other couples the first weekend in March. It was a great time and we feel so blessed to have family that provides us with the perks of getting to stay at such a cool place and take all our friends and keeps our kids for us.
• We have also started going to a legitimate counselor for the first time in our marriage. It has been really good and helpful. We hope that by God's grace and power we can overcome the bulk of the struggles that we have wrestled with the past five years.
• oh yes and we will be moving Kinley to her big girl bed in April, she is not excited about it and neither am I but it has to be done so wish us luck!

We have had a fun month! I started feeling almost normal the second week of February - YEA! I am 19 weeks and had a doctor appointment today. Baby girl who remains nameless looks great and I am feeling her kick -so sweet! We were invited to a valentines party and we made valentines and decorated sugar cookies. James and Kinley made cards for Nana and Gigi and devoured the cookies they decorated before I could pack them up to take home. Doesn't Kinley look like a big girl? A couple of Saturday's ago it was about 40 degrees and rainy and I was tired of entertaining the kids indoors so I took them out to play in the "river" running down our street. Josh said "most moms keep their kids in from the freezing rain, but no, not you, you are taking them out to play in it!" I know I'm strange but we had a blast. I felt like we were filming the ending segment of a Curious George show. We floated different shapes and sizes of toys down the river then built a dam to keep them from going down the drain. We have enjoyed every nice afternoon outside. On this particular day James was driving the princess around - such a girl. James has been deciding to get out of most pictures lately?? Last weekend we went to OKC to celebrate Bop's birthday. Gigi threw him a surprise party at a biker bar and everyone dressed up in biker clothes. The kids were adorable. While we were in OKC Nana and Grandad took us to a Thunder game. Kinley was given a balloon and sucked the helium out of it. James started swimming lessons today. He is very fearful of being in big pools so I was really worried about him even attempting to do what the instructor said. We bought him a toy to bribe him to do everything the teacher said no matter how afraid he was and if he did it he got to have the toy. Oh he says I need to tell you that it is a Navy Seal Boat. Well he did great, better than any other kid in the class. I was so proud of him, I really saw him overcome a tiny bit of his fear. We'll see how the next seven sessions go.

It's a girl! We found out Tuesday that we are getting another sister! We have no idea what to name her so that is our new project so we don't have to call her "it" anymore.

We went to my parents during the snow storm last week because I was too afraid to loose power (we loose it easily and they never do) and be stuck in the dark cold house with the kids. We had a great time because they have a great sledding hill in their back yard. Kinley didn't really enjoy the snow play very much but James LOVED it.

He put in about 5 hours of sledding over two days. He says he's ready for the Olympics. It was fun to see him get comfortable with it and be brave. He would go down backward, head first, feet first, fall off at high speeds and do all kinds of dare devil things. He also never seemed to get cold - I wish I could disassociate myself from the cold. I did go down the hill about three times then I realized pre existing nausea and that kind of motion don't make a good pair.

Bop put this big wheel trike together for the kids and when we came out to see the finished product Bop had James all dressed up in his biker clothes - so cute.

Sunday night Grandad gave us tickets to go the OKC Thunder game. The kids loved it but James of course couldn't go thirty minutes without finding a reason for a gun - this one shot orange with black stripes fire! ??

Kinley sat just like that on Bop's lap for the whole first half but by the second half she was dancing and singing.

Kinley is sick again with bronchitis and a sinus infection so we are back on the breathing treatments and she is so big about it, she actually asked to do it today when it wasn't time. James also has a fever and cough that hopefully will clear up on it's own. James has been saying the funniest things lately so I've been writing them down. "Our family is different from others...we have a smaller house than everyone else and we have so many kids we can't keep up with them." One day at breakfast I moaned and laid my head on the table and he said "just go to bed all day mommy, that's what baby mother's do" Last Saturday we were trying to get the house picked up and cleaned a little so James got to do some extra chores and he was willing and happy about it but at the end he said "you guys are wearing my out" He has been really great about our season of life and not having the best mommy. He is helpful, considerate, understanding and funny. We are so blessed!

Some of our friends gave us an Aquarium pass for 2010! We are so excited because our aquarium is really cool and James loves to go. There are a lot of touch tanks - horseshoe crabs, shrimp, hermit crabs, starfish, shark eggs, baby sharks and baby sting rays. Kinley on the other hand is not so interested in touching anything, she totally wiggs and shakes her head no when we try to make her touch anything.

I have been having really bad headaches due to the pregnancy so one day I was desperate to occupy them for a while so we filled up a tub with soapy water and they played without need of help for two hours! The kitchen wasn't even that wet when they were done. It's a good thing they didn't need much help because I was trying new medicine for my headache that day and it made me really loopy. I have found that the perfect medicine for my headaches is to get a cup of McDonald's coffee everyday - so if anyone wants to donate a gift card it would be appreciated :)

Kinley's tube surgery went great,she didn't even freak out too much afterward. She did act like a manic crazy person when we got home but after a four hour nap she was fine. We went to the ENT for a post op check yesterday and everything looks great, she even had a virus over the weekend and got drainage and it didn't turn into an ear infection which is what usually happened before. I did get a good nap out of her while we were waiting to be released from the surgery.

Things have dramatically improved since Jada moved to another family. It was terribly difficult the day she left but the peace that we are experiencing as a family is helping to ease the pain. We are still dealing with doubt about God's will in all of it and guilt/conviction over things we did wrong but it is all bringing growth for everyone. I do have a couple of funny stories to share about James. One day I fell on the couch and sighed really loud and James said "training kids is tough" as if he were sympathizing. Another day we were at Sonic and he said he had to pee, they wouldn't let us use their bathroom and there wasn't a place around that had one we could get to easily so he had to pee in his sippy cup. He totally loved it and of course compared it to apple juice and wanted to know what it would taste like. Let's just say I'm glad it wasn't Kinley! He also was putting the hard sell on me to get a dog and we were going through all the reasons we can't have one and when we got to the money he said well Bop has hundreds and millions of moneys so we can ask him to buy us a dog and pay for it's food and shots. Bop was glad to hear that he has hundreds and millions of moneys.

We had a great Christmas. Wednesday we went to Gigi and Bop's. Due to the snow we didn't leave the house until Christmas Day but the kids had a great time playing and I had a great time doing nothing. ( I still felt really bad)

They all had Christmas clothes for the Christmas Eve service that we didn't get to go to so we dressed them up and had a photo shoot.

James was telling us things he wanted for Christmas until late Christmas night when we told him it's too late to ask for it for Christmas so he started saying he wanted it for his birthday. He did pretty good on the greed issue after Christmas Eve but it is a lot of work that feels pointless teaching a four year old Christmas isn't all about him. I think his highlight of our Christmas traveling was Christmas Eve there was a Star Wars marathon on TV and he got to watch episode 4 and 5 back to back.

Kinley didn't miss a beat from the big kids opening presents then wanting the next one. She was filled with wonder at all the action. She got baby dolls and a doll house and has loved playing with them. She is getting tubes in her ears this Thursday - keep her in your prayers - we are a little nervous about the general anesthetic.

Jada also really enjoyed Christmas. Loved opening gifts and realized after she opened one there was probably another. She got dolls and a doll house castle she loves it all too.

Christmas Day we made our way through the snow to Duncan and had Christmas and Nana and Grandad's new house! It is beautiful and was great for the family. Grandad with cousin Kate and Kinley

Kate really liked James' Star Wars ship

They got a new table and it is great for playing games. James got to join us for a late night game of chicken foot. He did really good. One time I said James look at your hand (I meant his hand of dominoes) and he literally looked at his hand. He's been being really literal lately it's so funny.

James got a Plasma Car for Christmas and it was a big hit and a good tool for bonding as you can see

The Saturday before Christmas we celebrated Christmas at home with homeade Tamales, fried ice cream and a live nativity. James and Samantha Wagner joined us and let new baby Bennett play baby Jesus.

OHH so sweet!

This was our Christmas card picture this year - sorry if you didn't get one - we're pinching pennies!

The past two months we have had a really hard time managing our heard and have been overwhelmed at the thought of the one in my belly. We have been praying, talking, seeking advice on what we should do about Jada. We have also been having bad discipline issues due to her testing and expecting to be treated like our kids. We finally decided that we needed to send her to another family. It has been very difficult and emotional and we still feel terrible about it but we are beginning to have some peace that this is the best decision for our family. We found out today that there is a family that wants to take her and they are scheduled to pick her up Wednesday (6th) at noon. Please keep her, the new family, and us in your prayers this week.