Summer sounds...

Sitting on the grass just talking and I hear a faint sound that sounds like a music box and thought no not yet it hasnt gotten up to 90 degrees yet and the swimming pools arent open surely that cant be what I think it is.....nahhh. To my disbelief considering that I could barely hear it Nathan and Taylor come running up to me wanting to kow if I have cash they heard the ICE CREAM TRUCK. I cant believe it. The sound so faint to me was like a full marching band to my kids. They were so excited and believed that it was so close that it might as well be parked in my front yard. This is just one of my many trecks to chase the ice cream truck. I have taken the kids walking several blocks to find one because one of them heard it and said it was close by. My son has never gotten out of his Cozy Coupe Car so fast in his life. Now take this in mind that is his most prized posession and will go nuts if it ever broke, but he tore out of there like that car didnt matter. We have actually on purchased ice cream from the truck. They make a killing off these things. Oh how I am looking forward to the many suprises of the summer. I just thought that I would share just a glimps of what is to come this summer. Stay tuned to some of the many antics of the Goodins.

Nathaniel Logan Goodin

This is my son Nathaniel. Man has he been a trip. He was my first boy and let me tell you he has taught me a lot about boys. He has been a joy in my life since September 20, 2006. He is Robbie and I first son together. He helped bond us. He brought us closer to each other. He is very active. He has an imagination that you would not believe. He is very loving and already knows how to work his cuteness to his advantage. I have been a victim many times. I never knew that I could bond with a boy like you can a girl but I was wrong. I guess that is where the term Mommas boy comes from. He is not soft don't let me fool you. He is every inch a boy. The girls were playing barbies in their barbie house and Nathan was right behind them knocking it down and laughing. I am so looking forward to the adventures that he is going to take me on. He is getting big so fast. He will be 4 in September of this year. Man the time flies.

SummerRayne Michele Goodin

Summer is my beautiful step-daughter that has become a part of my life 5 years ago. I met Summer when she was 2 years old and have been helping raise her and lover her ever since. Summer was pretty much abandoned by her mother. Her mom gave her to my husband and rarely speaks to her ever. I have had my fun trying to turn her into a girl. She was raised like a boy to an extent. That is what guys know best. She is a happy medium. She is a tomboy. She loves dolls and animals but loves to wrestle and rough house with the best of them. She is now more on the girlie side. She loves clothes and shoes and isn't as tough as she used to be. My husband says that I turned her into a weenie and I said no now she is a girl. Summer when she wants to grow up she wants to be a veterinarian and help as many animals as she can. She is one of the sweetest girls you will ever meet. She is also one of the smartest girls you will meet. She will have you figured out way before you ever figure her out. I have confidence that no man will ever get the best of her when the time comes because she is strong. Hopefully that is many years to come.....

Taylor Renee Short

I actually stole this idea from someone else but decided that it was a good idea to introduce you to my children considering my blogs with talk about them quite a bit. This is Taylor Renee Short my first born. She has been a source of joy in my life since February 16, 2001. She is an amazing child. She has overcome so much. She was diagnosed with Autism when she was three years old. This was something new and we didn't know what to think. This diagnosis came around the same time that her father and I decided to get divorced. When she started therapy she would not talk to anyone, play with things normally, she had echolaic speech and many of the many signs. She enrolled in a wonderful program at Freedom Elementary and the miracles started coming in. She has come so far since she has started. If you met her today you might not know except when she get anxious or excited. My husband has been so good for her and helping me with her. He has helped her get over her fear of the vacuum and many other frightening things for her. He taught her to swim and she eats other things besides mac & cheese and chicken. If you know anyone with an Autistic child you know how picky they can be with the food and change. Robbie has helped Taylor with all that. She can ride a bike without the training wheels and has been for a long time now. She is also a wonderful student. She is pulling straight A's and hasn't gotten in trouble all year long. That is amazing!!! She is now in a regular class room for most of the day.

Time with my boys....

The last two months have flown by. The company that I worked for for two years was going to shut down so I decided that it was time to make a change since I wasn't happy. I decided to go back to school to be an RN which is something I have wanted to do for a long time. I was disappointed at first that I had to wait so long for it to start. What I didn't realize is that it was a blessing in disguise. I have some quality time to spend with my boys while they were so young. I am so glad that it worked out that way. I got to enjoy a lot of my sons first which when I was in school the first time I missed a lot of Nathaniel's first. My goal was to spend as much time with Landon his first year which I got to do. I did work after he was two months old til about two months ago. I have got to enjoy so many things that I didn't get to do when I was working so much. I have gotten to take my boys to the park and not have to worry about time limits because we had to be somewhere. I got to watch Scooby Do with Nathan in the mornings and I enjoyed every minute of it. I love ALL MY KIDS. The boys are special to me because they are our kids together. We have two beautiful daughters from previous relationships and we love them with all our hearts. All of these beautiful children make us a happy family which is something that I have always wanted. I know now that you should take advantage of every moment that you have with your children because they grow up fast. I am glad that I got to bond with the boys because we all know that when they get older they will not be my boys any longer. They will be daddy's buddies. I will be sad but glad when that day comes because I will miss the snuggles and love I used to get but glad that they are on their journey to being men and have one of the best role models to teach them.

Landons growing......

I know that I have blogged about several different things but I am going to talk about my baby Landon. As some of you know that he had a rough start. I was induced 5 weeks early due to severe preeclampsia. He was due on July 7 and was born June 3. He was born and literally I got to hold him for two minutes and he was gone. He spent two weeks in the NICU and I had to watch him from the tv in my room and that was when other families didnt ask for the camera. No matter how tired I was I would not sleep til they took the camera away. I was so excited to get to go to the nursery after 24 hours after delivery. I was not allowed to see him until I was off the magnesium. It was the hardest thing that I have ever had to do was leave the hospital without my baby. I couldnt imagine ever having to do that but I had to this time. Landon could not breath on his own. He could not eat more than just a couple of ml. I was so afraid that he would not make it. He was born with the cord around his neck and was blue and then taken immediately after I got to look at him and then I had to leave him hooked up to machines and in the care of someone else. That is the hardest thing that I have ever had to do. I was wondering how he would turn out since his beginning was so rough. He has turned out to be the happiest baby you have ever seen. He has had it a little rough but you could never tell by his attitude. He is all smiles. He does have respiratory issues. He has Reactive Airway Disease. It isnt as serious as it sound but it requires alot of breathing treatments when it is cold and flu season. He was up to 6 treatments a day at one point. He is turning out to be one of the best babies ever. He is the youngest kid of four and he cries the least. He hardly ever cries unless it comes to food. That is how you know he is a true Goodin. Food is important to him. Did I mention that he is a blue eyed red headed child. This is my last baby and in about 6 weeks he will be celebrating his first birthday. It will be my last first birthday.

Today I decided that I would take my kids for a picnic and a walk in the park at Woodward Park. As most of you know that this time of the year and about October this particular park is packed with people taking photos. Who could blame them the park is gorgeous. So I decided to take my kids along with my best friend and her family which is pretty close to my heart. It takes a big heart to accept and help and treat people like your family and this family has managed to treat me and my kids like I was apart of their family. Sometimes they are nicer to us than our own family. We all picniced together and all the kids played together. Then we decided that we would walk around the park and look at all the pretty flowers that were in bloom. This was a lovely idea in theory but I forget that kids dont always want to do what you want them to. I tried so hard all day to get some decent pics. I did get some but I think that I wore the kids out and I think that I was expecting too much out of them. I have to remember that they are just kids and not grown ups. I have a hard time with that because for the most part they are good kids. They are 9 times out of 10 well behaved. So I tend to forget that the 10 percent will show up every once in a while. I think that I get a little anxious when they act up in public but what mom doesnt. I was reminded by a wise woman "they are just kids and thats what kids do, nothing is going to happen, we wont let it" I am so fortunate to have such a great friend with such a wonderful family. I am so glad to have them back in my life. I know this blog started out about the park and it still is.....I was just reminded how kind people can be and how nice it is when it is unexpected. They helped our visit to the park not to be a bad experience. The park resulted in some really good pics. I was so fortunate.

Easter 2010...Landons first

As many of you know that this year was my son Landons first Easter. We did celebrate the true reason for the season. We started of the day with a wonderful service at church. I am glad that I found one that I am starting to feel comfortable with. It has been along time since I had been to church. My boys had never been to church. It makes me feel good that my oldest boy Nathaniel asks everyday if we can go to church. That is another subject. The girls got to both wear beautiful dresses and my boys looked handsome. Summer asked me after church if Jesus could really give you a present because she said that they learned that at church. I told her that it is true. Now I was driving so I didn't go into a great explanation because for obvious reasons I had to pay attention to the road. I am glad that their curiosity is sparked because that means that they will want to learn. We did go to lunch with a family that has been apart of my life for almost 16 years. My best friend Tracy's family has acted like that we have never lost touch as we did for a couple of years. I am so glad that we are back to "normal". Tracy and I have three kids that are close to the same to the same age. They act like they have know each other all there lives. I hope that they develop a bond like their mother and I have but back to the story..... The kids got to hunt Easter eggs and play til dark with their cousins. We barbecued at my moms and the kids wore their selves out. Landon had such a smile on his face all day long. All the kids did. Now I know that this may not be as exciting to some but I thought that this was the best day. My husband who has been working SO much got to be off and enjoy it with us. That just made the day. I got to spend the day with all the people that matter in my life. I hope that everyone else was just as fortunate.