Christmas 2007

Merry Christmas from the Sherman Family!!

Fun at the Circus!

The Ringling Brothers and Barnum Bailey Circus was in town last week and they came to the Y last Tuesday to the kids PE class to teach them a few circus tricks and to talk to them about maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The had such a great time! Here are a few pictures from their class.

Mission Accomplished!!

After weeks of searching and searching, Matt and I found the absolutely best car for us. We bought a 2005 Buick Terraza CXL. It is so awesome!! It has everything you could ever want in a car.



It is all leather with dual powered sliding doors.




Lucky for the kids it has a DVD player. That will really come in handy on our trips!

We learned after we brought the van home last night that it has a remote starter which means I can start the van, and the air, from my key chain. How nice will that be in the heat of the summer? We will be able to get into a van that has already cooled down!

Cookies & Gingerbread

Today, we went to our friend Anna's house for our, now, annual cookie and gingerbread house decorating party. They also made three Christmas ornaments each to put on our tree. My kids had the BEST time! Here are a couple of pictures of the finished product.

I know, it's been a while!!

I am aware that it has been a while since my last post but life has been all consuming lately. A majority of my life these days has been car shopping because despite my best effort at begging, they totalled my van. I hate car shopping!! I am clearly out of my league since it not that often we have had to do this. The last several cars we have had we have bought off family and friends so going to dealerships is a new thing. We have, as of yet, not found anything that has wowed me and that I have thought of buying. We looked at a van this afternoon that could be a possibility because it had everything I wanted in a car but we will see. I am not getting my hopes up or anything. All I know is that Matt and I are having a hard time sharing a car because of our radically different schedules. It also doesn't help that his car, a Ford Explorer, doesn't fit us all. I am bound and determined to find the absolutely the best deal out there since I proudly claim the title of "cheapest person alive"!!

I celebrated my 31st birthday on November 29th with a trip with Matt and the kids to Disney. Since this was a preplanned trip and I no longer had a car my wonderful dad, for my birthday, lent me his van and paid the gas for us to go. And to top it off my awesome Uncle Buddy got us a hotel room for two nights! The reason for the trip was that since we were pass holders, we were invited to the taping of the Walt Disney Christmas Day Parade. We had up close views of the Dancing with the Stars cast, Jessica Simpson and Katherine McPhee. What a neat experience! The girls got to see one of their favorites, Sabrina Bryan. Be sure to watch the parade Christmas morning to see if you can catch a glimpse of us in the crowd. My birthday night we had reservations at "Chef Mickey's". It was once featured on the Food Network channel so it is widely considered the "it" place to go. I called for six weeks trying to get in because they start taking reservations six months in advance and it was book solid until the day before we left they had just had a cancellation. How cool was that?? I had wanted to go there for months!

School is progressing nicely. Jacob and Hannah are just finishing up the first semester this week with the Florida Virtual School. They will be studying this week for finals so that after they take their tests they will have the remainder of the year off. Semester two starts after the new year starts. Noah and Noelle started Odyssey of the Mind a few weeks ago. They love it! If you don't know what that is, a group 6 to 7 same aged kids get together once a week to solve a problem off a list the organization puts together. It is totally student led. They can't have any help or influencing from adults. Adults are there just as crowed control and can't put in their two cents.

We went on a field trip last Wednesday to WJXT News Channel 4. The kids toured the station and got to watch a live broadcast which in they got to wave on camera. They thought that was totally exciting!

Hannah had her Dr appt last Thursday at the Nemours Children Clinic in downtown Jacksonville. He put her on Synthroid which she will be on for the rest of her life. He wants her to return in 3 months for blood work to check how the medications are working.

Tomorrow, December 10th, we will be having a Christmas cookie and gingerbread house decorating party with my homeschool group. We had done it last year and it turned out so cute so they can't wait to do it again. I will be sure post pictures in the next few days.

Well, I'm sure this doesn't cover everything but at least I have posted something. I will be sure to keep in touch and keep you posted on my car situation.

Happy Anniversary!!

Today, Matt and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary. It doesn't seem like it has been that long. It was just a year ago that Matt was sick in the hospital. I was so scared that I could loose him. I can't tell you how much I love and appreciate him for all he does for me and our kids. He works so hard and never takes any time to himself. Everything he does it for us. It has not always been an easy 14 years but I wouldn't trade them for anything!

Missing you

Today is the 9th anniversary of the worst day of my life. On this day, November 19, 1998 my brother and I lost the best mom anyone could ask for. The pain of loosing her is still as fresh in my heart as the day she left us. So much has happen in the last 9 years I wish I could tell her. I can't tell you how much she LOVED being a Nana. She loved my kids more than life itself. Oh, how I would love her to know that I now have Luke and that TJ is married and has Emma and Tate. She would be absolutely thrilled to know that she has 7 grandchildren! It pains me to know that they will never know her and how much she loved them. One thing is for sure, life is sure different without her. My life will never be the same again!

So much excitement!!

Oh my goodness! I don't even know where to start. It has been a very exciting couple of days.

First of all, we did end up taking Noah and Noelle to Disney but we got there a little late. After stopping in Lake Mary, Fl,(about 1/2 hour from Disney) to go to the bathroom Matt, Noah, Noelle and I were in a car accident. It looks like Matt totaled my van. My van that was PAID FOR!! We are waiting to hear from the insurance company but as it stands right now the repairs will cost more than it is worth. Nobody was seriously hurt although Matt has a sore arm and my hips and neck are sore. Our insurance rented us a 2007 Dodge Ram 1500 truck to drive until a decision is made on my van. This truck is huge! I am short so it is very difficult to get in and out. Actually, all I have to do is fall out. Matt is so jealous because he has always wanted a truck like that.

Because of our morning excitement we missed our reservations at O'hanas for breakfast so Matt called and told them our situation and why we miss our appt time and they gladly made us new reservations for lunch at The Garden Grill at Epcot. It was an indoor revolving restaurant. Noah and Noelle got to meet Farmer Mickey, Chip & Dale and Pluto. Since it was their birthday they really made over them. They kept coming around to our table and visiting with them.

The captain of the monorail allowed Noah and Noelle to ride up front with him. That was so neat. We had never done that before. Did you know that they go 40 mph?




This is the kids with Farmer Mickey.



As Farmer Mickey came around, he pretended to blow out the candles on Noelle's hat.



Pluto came around and asked how old Noah was and when he said 10 years old Pluto preceded to give him 10 licks. After "licking" him he pretended to throw up. It was so funny!!



When Chip made it around to us, he was a little mischievous. As you can see, he pulled their hats over their eyes.



Our waitress brought them cupcakes with candles in them. They got to decorate them with cups of decorations. She even helped us sing Happy Birthday!




On Friday, I received a phone call from Hannah's doctor. Last week she had some blood tests done and as it turns out she has hypothyroidism which is an under active thyroid. Several people in Matt's family, including Matt, have it. As a precaution, I took the other kids to have their thyroid tested. I am hoping to get those tests back one day next week. In the mean time I have made Hannah an appt with a pediatric endocrinologist at Nemours Children Clinic. She will need to be put on medication to control it. I am hopeful that she is the only one to have it.

Also, yesterday Luke scooted across the floor on his belly for the first time. He has been DYING to be mobile! It is so sad to me. He is getting so big. Before you know he will be walking and talking. It is hard to believe he is 7 months old already.

The girls and I spent the last two days at a mother-daughter purity conference called "Strong in the Lord". We enjoyed it very much. I think they learned a lot and they have come home excited about the Lord and look forward to being a shining light in this sometimes dark world. The conference leaders really did a great job educating them on being godly young women. Hannah and Noelle said they would like to go back if they ever make it back to town. It was a very special time for me and my daughters.

Happy 10th Birthday Noelle & Noah!!!

Tomorrow, November 8th, my babies are turning 10 years old. That's right! Noah and Noelle are turning 10! I just can't believe that it has been that long. I remember the day Matt and I were told that we were having twins. Talk about SHOCKED!! You could have knocked us over with a feather. The next morning after we found out I asked Matt again, "did they tell us we are having twins or was I dreaming?". I just could not believe it! Four kids! I was having four kids! Little did I know that 9 years later there would be five.

Tomorrow is just a day for Noelle and Noah. We have stashed the other kids at my dads house for the day and we are headed back to Disney for a day dedicated just to them. We have reservations to eat at O'Hanas for breakfast. They are really looking forward to spending the day with mom and dad all to themselves.

This was my mom with Noelle and Noah. She had come down from Illinois to be with us when they were born. I had no idea how special this picture was until she was gone, a year and three weeks later.

They were about six months old in this picture. We had just moved to Orange Park from New Port Richey. Noelle went through a phase where she always would stick out her tongue. You can see that here in this picture.

This picture was taken while we were in New York on vacation in 2001. I just think they were too cute!!


Happy Birthday kids! Mommy & Daddy love you very much.

Luke ~ 7 months old

Hannah ~ 12 years old

This is Hannah at 12 years old. She stands just a little taller than me at 5'4. Isn't she a pretty little thing?

Halloween 2007

On our vacation last month, we bought the kids seasonal passes to Disney World for Christmas, so we took them back to the Magic Kingdom for Halloween. Morning came early since we were up at 5am to leave at 6am. We had a great time riding all of our favorite rides. We even had a nice lunch at the Liberty Tree Tavern. Magic Kingdom closed at 7pm because of the "Not So Scary Halloween Party" so we made a quick stop at Downtown Disney then we ate at the world's largest playspace McDonalds for dinner and then we headed home. We finally made it home at 11:30pm. Boy were we exhausted!!

Luke in Halloween outfit. His bib says "My First Halloween". He looked so cute!

Noah, the dog, wanted to take his mom on a drive on the Speedway track. He was a very good driver!

Jacob, who was a pirate, posed in front of the sign of his favorite ride and movie.

Hannah and Noelle enjoyed their ride on the Carousel.


The girls were also very excited to meet Mary Poppins. We all thought she was very pretty.

The boys were too cool to wait in line for the Mary Poppins autograph and picture opportunity.