At the Beach

We took Ben and Ede to the beach and were reminded why we hardly ever go. It is so much work to take two babies to the ocean. It wears them out so fast and there is so much cleaning up to do and many tears are shed before you can put them down for their desperately needed nap. Next time we will just go to the pool. They are just too cute in their bathing suits to avoid the water! Ede gets a tan so fast......I'm jealous. Benjamin is like me. He burns first. So it's 50 Sunblock for us, for sure. We are missing Levi and when he gets home it is to the water park we go!

Eden's First Birthday!

Happy Birthday Eden Rose! We went to Gaffney to be with family and friends and celebrate Eden's first birthday. We had a wonderful time visiting the people we love. We had Ede's party at Thompson Park where 32 of our loved ones showed up. It was so nice to be home. Too bad Ede would not let anyone hold her, she got heavy really fast. We are still waiting for her to start walking. She is trying really hard to talk though. She can say about 5 different words and a LOT of baby talk. She can still out eat Benjamin any day. We are enjoying watching her grow up. As I have said before, each of our children bring something very special to our family and Ede is no exception to that. She loves to laugh and has proven to be able to hold her own with her older brothers. Can't believe time goes so fast. I guess that's why we take pictures!

New Pictures of my growing kids!

Sorry it has been so long since my last post. Levi had his last day of Kindergarten today and is more than prepared to enter First Grade next school year. His report card shows that he "exceeds expectations" in both reading and math. Benjamin is into the snack drawer every chance he gets. You never catch him getting into it, you only find empty boxes of raisins all around the house. Eden is still not taking any steps on her own. She has started "roaming" around the coffee table. She stays on her tip toes. It is so girly and cute! :) I have started a Facebook account and have been neglecting my blog. I will try to do better. Summer has started and we can't wait to get into the water! Hope you enjoy the new pictures.

Some cute kids!

I wanted to add some cute snap shots I got of the kids a few days ago. Ede was eating lunch but the light coming in the window was just right for some good shots. Benjamin always takes a good picture, when he feels like it, of course. :) Levi was outside playing on the playset. The weather has been beautiful and I can't keep that boy inside when the sun is shining. He has found a small lizard that he keeps as a pet (outside). I can't convince him that the lizard won't live very long like that, but if you know Levi, he will have to learn the hard way. Sadly, at the lizards expense. Well, just a little more update on what the kids are up to!

So far this month!

So, this has been a fun month already! We went to the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia last weekend. We met my mom, Manfred, Brian and Trinity there and spent the day toghther. Ben had a great time looking at all the animals and when he saw any one of them sleeping he would put his finger up to his lips and say "shhhhh". He was so cute. Levi mostly enjoyed seeing his grandparents and cousins. Eden was such a good baby, content in her stroller pretty much all day long. Mom, it was a great idea and we had a blast!

A few days later we celebrated Easter. I was unable to get a good picture of all three at the same time, if you have more than one, you understand what I mean. Levi woke up at 5:30 to see what the Easter bunny left for him and started eating right away. Benjamin loves candy and we had to put his candy away because he would refuse to eat "real" food, begging for "candy, mama"! Eden got two stuffed animals and loved them! She still burries her face into them when she holds them, as if to say "they are just so soft". It is so cute. She pulls up to her feet but is pretty unstable and not ready to walk yet but she is as independant as she can be. She feeds herself table food, and again, she eats more than Ben even thinks about!

Last, but not least. We went to the Tax day TEA party at Chapin park in Myrtle Beach. We were surprised at how many people were there. Jeff and I are excited to get involved in the politics here and hope this was only the beginning. 2010 here we come!

The kids are keeping us busy enough. Summer is almost here and we are ready! Hope everyone enjoys the news. We all send you our love!

Happy 2nd Birthday Benjamin!

So now Ben is TWO! His birthday was March 5th and we had a small celebration. As you can see he made a mess with his birthday cake. It was an ice cream cake and he had a hard time eating it with his fingers. Levi ended up spoon feeding it to him. We had a good time. Thanks to all for the gifts! Enjoy the pics.

Long Time, No Post!

I'm sorry that it has been so long! I have been working a lot this month to work towards our goal of being debt free. We hope to be there by April. Well, as you can see, Ede is growing fast. She is pulling up when she can reach something to help her. She loves to be in the middle of it all. She makes her own way from the living room to the boys room and back to the living room.....where ever the action is. She can out eat Benjamin every step of the way too!

Ben is turning TWO pretty soon! It is getting more and more obvious too, in the way he acts sometimes. He loves to color! He and Levi are now sharing the front bedroom. We sometimes have a hard time keeping him in the bed at nap time but nothing compared to what Levi put us through when he got into his own bed.

Levi is such a smart little boy! He is reading from a second grade book at school. He gets frustrated sometimes but I try to keep him interested by boosting his self-esteem. He talks all the time! I sometimes cringe when I hear "mamma, mamma" because he says it so much! :) He has been such a good big brother too. He and Ben have been playing a lot together, which is nice.

Other than that, there doesn't seem to be much going on here. We are working hard toward some goals and it is mostly the same day in and day out!

Love you all and miss everyone very much!

In Loving Memory of Ava Kaye

Our Gift From God

A child of God came by today,

To bless our lives in every way.

She came to earth as a child of man,

To fulfill our Heavenly Father's plan.

Two earthly parents she did claim,

To bless our lives and receive her name.

Ava touched our hearts in such a special way,

And through her spirit we heard her say:

"Please understand, it is Father's will,

Another mission I must fulfill;

I will be in Paradise tomorrow,

So please find comfort in your sorrow.

I am happy in this peaceful place,

Where I can see our Savior's face."

We truly thank thee Father, for our time with Ava,

We love her so much though our hearts do hurt.

Please bless each of us with the power,

To endure to our own last earthly hour,

And from these earth stains to be free,

That we might live with Ava and Thee.

Ava Kaye Blanton

January 7, 2006

Happy 10th Anniversary!

Jeff and I celebrated our 10th Wedding Anniversary on January 2nd! 10 years and it has never been better. I really can't believe it. Time really flys. We were sealed in the Atlanta, Georgia Temple January 2nd 1999. That day was one of the worst ice storms in our area since I can remember. We did it all in one day, received our endowments, sealed our marriage to each other and then traveled back to Gaffney for the reception. What should have been a 3 hour trip turned into a 6 hour trip because of the ice on all the roads. We were surprised at how many people weathered the storm to show up at our reception. It was nice to have our closest friends and all of our family there. I was still in college earning my nursing degree and Jeff was working hard on a walking route for the Post Office in Charlotte, NC at the time. We ate Spagetti at least twice a week for the first year! We agreed that we would start a family when I graduated nursing school. Well, I found out we were expecting our first baby two months before graduation. Levi came to us and we had no idea what to expect. He still sorta has that effect on us. Poor thing, he will ALWAYS be our first, no matter how old he gets! Jeff continued working hard. He got a transfer to the Gastonia, NC office and started his way into management. Once a Supervisor in that same office he happened upon a job opening in Myrtle Beach and we hopped on it. We moved in November 2005, the day after Thanksgiving. I was 7 months pregnant at the time, expecting our first little girl! Jeff was having an awful time at his new job and life threw yet another curve ball at us when, five weeks before our little girl was due to be born we learned that we had lost her before it all really began. Ava Kaye was stillborn on January 7th 2006. While getting thru the hardest time in both our lives we would grow stronger as a couple and Jeff changed his whole outlook on life. I told him one night as I struggled with what had happened, that "if I could make a coat out of you, I would wrap you around me so tight and never take you off." He was my heart and soul and nothing has changed since then. Six months after Ava was born, we were expecting yet another baby! This time it was a boy. I had a strong bond with him from the very start. He moved all the time in my belly, as to reassure me that everything was going to be okay. Benjamin Todd was born March 5th, 2007. He is the most loving little guy you have ever known. Don't make him mad though! And six months after Ben was born, yes, again we were expecting another baby. We would, after all, get to raise a little girl in the Blanton home. I knew it was a girl the whole time. As a matter of fact, Ben was only a month old when I told Jeff that we weren't finished with our family yet because there was a little girl waiting to join our family. Eden Rose, born June 13th 2008. She is almost 7 months old now and our family is complete!



And now, we celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. The "theme" ( I guess you would say) is TIN, because it "will bend and not break". The gifts will be better when we get to the silver and gold anniversary :) but we feel proud to be so happy together right now. Jeff is my rock. I have been blessed to have snagged such a wonderful man and my children are even more blessed to have a daddy that lives for them! He works hard to give us everything we need and truely has our interests first in his heart at all times. I am humbled at how much he freely gives. You can bet your bottom dollar that if he is not at work, he is 100% at home with his family. So, honey if you are reading this.... I love you more than words can say and these last 10 years have been the best of my life because I have had you by my side thru it all. You ARE my better half. I look forward to sharing all my remaining time here on earth with you and knowing that life does not end here, Eternity with you and our four children is my reward in Heaven!