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!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

My junk food junkie.

Well, he likes apples too.

Levi got a "big boy" bike from Santa.

Poor Eden has been sick but she liked her gifts too.

A very Merry Christmas!

Well, another Christmas has past. We have the pictures to last a lifetime though. This Christmas has been an especially good one for me. We spent as little money as we could and I have to say, Jeff and I enjoyed this Christmas even more than years past. Last night we went to my dad's house where we each received a small gift that suited each one of us. Well, Levi and Ben got the biggest gift, a 3 foot interactive dinosaur that you can sit on and feed, etc.... needless to say they were in hog heaven! I was touched to be given a gift from my step-sister, Stefani, that was originally meant for our little Ava Kaye but would be passed on to Eden. The quote at the bottom of a beautiful pink plaque reads "Twinkle, twinkle in your eyes, are you an angel in disguise?" It will hang on the wall in Edens room and will always remind me of the pleasing day we have yet to enjoy, when we will be able to know the little girl that has left such a big impact already in our lives. We ate and shared laughs and had a good time.

Christmas day came and the kids loved their gifts from family and of course, Santa. As a matter of fact, Levi seemed to have so much fun with what we were afraid would be a mete ocher year for him. We played the games together and hung out outside almost all day. FYI for you people that had snow outside your homes today.....we had our doors and windows open to enjoy our mid 70's weather! Even turned on the A/C for a little while. But I digress. Benjamin plays with almost anything but was most interested in what candy he had in his stocking. He showed little interest in opening his presents but had no trouble figuring out how to unwrap anything "candy". Eden liked the doll and taggie that Santa left for her. It's funny to see how she naturally seems to like girlie things already. She slept a lot today but when she was awake she wasn't satisfied unless she was in the middle of all the action. She wants to be on the floor with the boys and the toys. Today was really a GREAT day at the Blanton home. The meaning of Christmas really hit home for me. It's not what you give but how you give it. We spent all day together as a family and we loved every minute of it. Our happy family is the most precious gift we will ever have. Each of our children is different in their own way but bring equal joy into our existence. I have been blessed to share an eternity with a man that wants one thing..... a happy family. And that, we are. I am so thankful for the knowledge of our Lord and Savior and for all he has set forth so that I can be with my family for Time and all Eternity. May we be reminded of our purpose here on earth, not only during this Christmas season but every day for the rest of our life here on earth. This life on earth is but a stepping stone to an eternity of love and happiness. And what a great time it is!

Eden getting ready to crawl!

Eden is getting herself ready to crawl. She has been rocking back and forth like this for about two weeks now. She will be 6 months old on the 13th of this month! I can't believe how fast it has gone. For the most part, I am enjoying a full nights rest now. Between one of the three kids, someone wakes up on occasion. Benjamin is the best sleeper of them all. He sleeps 12 hours at night and takes a 2-3 hour nap every afternoon. He is eating much better lately. We had to get hard core with him. He is pittiful, walking around sometimes after his nap pouting "cookie, cookie". We only allow him to eat meals at the table. Well, I do give in at times when my will isn't strong enough to watch him pout. Levi has been such a good boy. The 1-2-3 Magic has really changed our lives. We react differently to him and he has responded well to the simple changes we have made. Jeff and I wonder why it took us so long to seek professional advice. I would have never guessed two visits to a Play Therapist would accomplish so much for our family. However, we have been discussing which two kids should share a room and Levi wants to share a room with Ben until he's 33......we do hope to have them all out of the house by then. When we told him that he's better have his own house by the time he's 33, he made it clear that Ben and Eden could live with him so he can have some children to raise. We'll see how he feels about that in ummmmm.....27 years. Until then, we will enjoy them at their present ages. I hear it goes by fast.

Next up, Green Belt!

Levi received his Gold Belt on November 25,2008. We are all so proud of his accomlishments. In this video, he is doing the Kata he had to learn in order to earn his gold belt. He is now ranked high enough to help teach the less experienced karate students, which he really enjoys doing. He catches on pretty fast with learning the steps for the kata because he is such an analytical thinker. If I even do something that is out of his normal routine he is quick to let me know and I WILL suffer the consequences! I wanted to show off my little Karate Kid. Enjoy the video.