The Valentin Family

Asbell Roadrunner.... Finally!!

2011-08-04T21:36:00.004-05:00

This is the face of a VERY PROUD Kindergartner! All summer long all I heard is how much she wanted to go to Asbell and How much she wanted to have an awesome teacher and how much she wanted to ride the school bus and sit where ever she wanted to. Today is the big day!

This is the LAST first day of Kindergarten ( as my friend Charity ) has pointed out. The last time that any of my kids will be so small and innocent.... :(

We completely won the teacher lottery ( they don't really have a teacher lottery ). Mrs Jackson was Imanni's 1st grade teacher and was AWESOME! She is the most amazing teacher and she truly LOVES the kids she teaches! I was hoping and praying for Mrs. Jackson to be Kiannah's teacher, not that the others are bad... Mrs. Jackson is a family favorite!!!

Mrs. Treece has been working at Asbell for over 20 years. She was there when I went to school and has worked with all of my kids. I am thankful that she is there to help Kiannah. She is an amazing aide to all the kids at Asbell... but luckily most of her time is with Mrs. Jackson's students!

Asbell does a balloon launch. After a quick explanation of policies and procedures we all went to the front of the school. After hugging and kissing, the kids were given balloons to release. A symbol of their parents letting go and sending them into the world to learn and grow. I am super excited that Kiannah is an Asbell roadrunner and look forward to all that she will accomplish this year!

Scout Camp 2011

2011-06-26T05:22:00.005-05:00

Johnathan turned 12 in May so he was able to go to scout camp this year. He was super excited to learn that the scout troop was going to go to Eastern Tennessee for 6 days. During the 6 days they would work on some merit badges, have the chance to attempt a high ropes course, hike a portion of the Appalachian trail, Swim in the Great Smoky Mountain streams, and go White Water Rafting. If they ever need a camp mom to volunteer to go... I will be the first in line! He didn't start off too well. Johnathan has a problem with motion sickness, let's just say everyone in his car had fair warning! From what I hear it rained a lot! We are lucky to have someone in our ward that works for the Coleman company. You know the ones who make all the awesome camping supplies. So the boys from our ward were well equipped! The stories I heard include a 10 mile hike on the Appalachian trail to Charlie's bunion, white water rafting and getting hit in the mouth by his own paddle and busting open his lip, getting thrown out of the raft, ATTEMPTING the high ropes course, and having lots of awesome memories. This was his first ever road trip without his family around, his first ever camping trip that lasted for more than one night, and his first ever time white water rafting. I am glad he is home. I am glad he is safe. I am glad he had fun, I just wished he hadn't put all his wet stuff in with all his clean stuff and sealed it all up so it can cook in the heat and mildew. I wish he had used the deodorant that I had sent. I wish he had washed the puke out of the pillow case instead of letting it sit for a week. I wish I could have gone and had a blast too!

Awesome leaders and great friends

Johnathan during the hike on the Appalachian Trail

Lessons learned at a young age

2011-06-24T22:31:00.004-05:00

For those who are not of my faith, we believe and practice the law of Tithes and offerings. It is a commandment from our Heavenly Father that was first given in ancient times. Tithing is explained as being 10% of all of our income. We CHOOSE to follow this commandment! As a family we have sat down and decided that first and foremost we would pay our tithes. We know as a family that we need help. We struggle financially, we struggle putting food on the table and pay for gas. We are the NORM! We also know that the Lord promises to bless us:

“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith … if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Malachi 3:10).

There has been times where we have had to choose between food or tithing, gas or tithing, but we do know that everytime, every week, every day we have been blessed. Examples??? We have plenty... I will share a few.

First and foremost, Davone was going to school last year. He has always been horrible at math. He bought the fancy $100 calculator that was suppose to be the magical answer and that didn't help. I then started praying and making sure that instead of stressing about finances while he was going to school that I did my part by researching ways to be frugal and making sure Tithing was paid NO MATTER WHAT. He passed! To this day he knows nothing more about math. He will tell you that even though he took the math class twice and struggled and studied and got tutored by an awesome friend from church, that the ONLY reason he passed was directly linked to paying tithing.

Most recently I, myself had my testimony of this commandment strengthened. We were struggling to gather supplies for our son to attend a week long Boy Scout camp. The list was LONG and we wanted to make sure he had all he needed. The week before we had just bought stuff for his sister to go to camp and the week before that the youngest went to Little Rock to visit a friend. Needless to say finances were NOT looking so good. It was only the middle of the month and we only had $50 left for food and NO extra money for any supplies. But we are still faithfully and willingly paying tithing. As I was out at a dollar store looking for supplies for camp a prompting came to me to look at the envelope at home that was under a magnet on the refrigerator. So once I got home I found the envelope and inside was $50. $50!!!! It isn't a treasure chest filled with gold but to me it was. It brought a tear to my eye and I knelt in my room to offer a prayer of thanks to my Heavenly Father. It was JUST enough to pay for the last supplies we needed for camp, cover my bill I was worried about paying, and put some gas in the car!

I know that during this time in our lives and our economy that it is difficult to follow such a principle, but I myself think that it would be more dangerous to NOT follow this commandment. This blog is filled with such a personal and simple testimony of the law of Tithing, I write this not for friends ( although I know they will read it ) but for my kids. So that they might understand how our Heavenly Father works and how he helps with little things. I know that we don't have a great amount of wealth, we still struggle with our budget, but I pray for JUST enough for us and some to share and we have always had that. So for my kids I pray for you to take away from this blog post the knowledge that Heavenly Father knows us all and hears our prayers and our concerns big or little, and that no matter what, no matter how much you think you don't have don't be selfish. EVERYTHING Heavenly Father gives us is for you to use AND share. My children know what I am talking about as I am constantly reminding them of these principles.

The lessons that I learned at a young age still apply today... They just make more sense now!

With lots of Love and sadness we say Good-bye!

2011-01-26T18:40:00.000-06:00

A grandmother is a little bit parent,

a little bit teacher,

and a little bit best friend.

-- Author Unknown

Davone's Great Grandmother passed away yesterday and she will be greatly missed!

Little House On the Prairie

2010-01-05T23:51:00.003-06:00

Because of our LOVE for anything that has to do with Little House on the Prairie... Angel being the most awesome friend EVER bought tickets for the LHP musical at The Walton Arts Center.

The Cast couldn't have been better! I LOVED it!! It truly was Amazing!!!

Family Updates

2009-11-12T09:12:00.002-06:00

It has been a while since I have last blogged. I promise I am working on a few of them! So I figured I would take the time to get our family and friends up to date with all the new happenings.

Kiannah- is 3. She will be 4 in January. She has recently developed a major fear of Swiper. I don't get why or how but I suspect that it has something to do with some older kids I know teasing her about Swiper being in the closet and that he will steal her. What ever it is ... She wants NOTHING to do with Dora movies until they take Swiper out of her movies! She is doing well. She is in Sunbeams at church this year and will repeat it next year. Since her birthday is so early in the year they gave us the option of another year of Nursery or two years of Sunbeams... She HATED Nursery. She has the absolute most awesome Sunbeam teachers and she is happy. She told me the other day that the girls in her class don't like her though! :( She is growing fast and is learning a lot.

Johnathan- is 10. He is attending his last year at Asbell Elementary. He is still participating in the scouts at church. He is a little behind on his badges and we are working on getting caught up. He is doing well in school for the most part. He is struggling a little with Math but the teacher is confident that if he studies a little harder and applies himself more that he can and will be just fine. He is wanting to learn more magic tricks and jokes. He loves watching Sci-fi movies with his dad and is working on developing a Sci-fi comic book.

Imanni- is 11. She will be 12 next month and go into the Young Women group at church. I am excited for her to make more friends at church that are struggling with the same issues she is. She definitely has her own style. Her most recent pictures she has taken of herself is of her wearing "nerd glasses". She loved them so much she would wear them to school. She killed them the other night when she stepped on them. She was sad! :( She is in her first year of Middle school and is doing decently. Her science grade was a little low but again .. She just needs to study! She reads all day long. That is her most favorite thing EVER!!!

Davone- is currently attending school at Northwest Technical Institute in Springdale Arkansas. He is LOVING it! He is learning a lot and doing rather well in his classes. He still rides his motorcycle when he can. He is going to school full time and working part time so he is tired a lot of the time. He is eagerly anticipating Thanksgiving break where he can have a few days to just rest up. He spends time with us as often as possible. We have recently started a family movie night and the whole family loves getting into their pajamas and then dragging all the blankets into the living room while we all watch movies together.

Me (Sherry)- I am still trying to unpack everything after we moved. I have misplaced a few really important things and that has added to my slow efforts around the new place. The new place is actually smaller and has less storage but we needed a new change for many different reasons. I hope to find a small table soon to set up my sewing machine and work on a few quilt tops for friends. I have been exercising more since we have moved closer to the city trail system. I drag Davone with me so I won't be alone on the trails. You can blame that on my mom wanting me to watch Rescue 911 with her when I was little and then also watch a lot of Unsolved Mysteries ( I do miss that show ). I am a little paranoid! ;) I am looking forward to visiting with my Best friend Angel in December when she comes back to this area for Christmas and then Kiannah and I will travel back to Virginia to hang out with her for a few days too.

Overall we are just still trying to adjust to the new place ( if you need our address for your mailing lists just message me and I will get it to you ) and make it through until the school year is over. Please continue to say prayers for Davone and his studies. He is doing well but it is still stressful on him. We have a lot to look forward to during the Holidays and we are excited that 2010 is holding a lot of fun and new adventures for us!!!

Some up and overs, circles and sticks, some arms and a dot all put together spells....

2009-08-24T13:36:00.007-05:00

I bought a couple dry erase boards the other day. I am wanting to do a Home school preschool for Kiannah this year! I don't really know where to start so I am researching some ideas.

I showed her, her name and then an easy way to write it and then let her try! She did AWESOME for her first try!!! I am so proud of her!

I got a fortune!!

2009-08-11T23:23:00.002-05:00

So my friend Charity did a post about a fortune cookie that she had got with her lunch not long ago. I went out for Chinese food with my Mom, Imanni, and Kiannah and got a way sweet fortune! It said:

"Your current Plans will be successful!"

I totally love that fortune!

I have a lot of great plans and look forward to accomplishing them!

So sorry!

2009-08-10T02:36:00.002-05:00

I am so sorry for the lack of interest I have shown in blogging. I promise I will get back in touch with everything.I have a lot of posts to do but the only way for me to get caught up is to start now and work on the back posts as time permits. Just to get you caught up on the news I will give a quick update!

Davone- Was accepted into the votech program for auto mechanics. After much searching I think he finally found what he wanted to do. He is super excited to start school on the 24th and was approved for a grant that will cover all the costs of his schooling. He LOVES to ride his motorcycle and rides frequently with friends. We are looking forward to Bikes, Blues, and Barbecue this year!

Imanni- is currently 11. I can't believe she will go to Young Women's classes this year at church. She will go this week to get her schedule and her locker at her Middle school. I can't believe she is starting the 6th grade. She is starting to go the a rebellious phase... Anyone who knows me ... knows I put a stop to that one! ( no way can I deal with another "me" )

Johnathan- has already started the 5th grade. I can't believe this is his last year in Elementary school. He is still active in the boy scouts. He is 10 and is completely girl crazy!

Kiannah- 3 years old and full of trouble! She is in Sunbeams at church and will be there again next year due to her birthday falling in January! She is VERY strong willed and makes sure everyone knows what she wants!

ME- I am well. I have a new calling at church.... Valiant 11-12 teacher in Primary. I am very excited to get to know the kids in my class. I love Primary even though it has been 18 years since I have had to be in Primary! I am sure I will figure it all out soon enough! Davone and I just celebrated our 5th anniversary with a Motorcycle ride to Eureka Springs with Friends... the Guest of Honor.... was the Bishop who married us! We love Jan and enjoyed the friends that also came with us!

I will get started on the current posts and do a lot of back posts soon so keep an eye out for them!

Minicure!!

2009-04-10T22:58:00.003-05:00

Today Kiannah recieved her first ever manicure!! I tried my hardest to get her to pick out a decent color but she totally wanted to pick out her own color. She picked a BRIGHT Neon Green type of color! She was so cute. I did not have my camera with me to take a picture. Kiannah thought she was so grown up!

It has been a while!!

2009-03-20T01:28:00.004-05:00

I have totally been slacking at updating this... I have been totally busy trying to get ready for my trip. I have 21 days to go!! I can not wait!! I promise When I get home I will have tons of posts to show for it all!! The kids are on spring break right now... Not that we did anything with them. The time they have spent home they cleaned then the time they spent at Grandma's they did what they wanted! I will update more soon I just wanted to let everyone know that we are still around. I have just been really busy with Church, School stuff for the kids, Getting ready for vacation, and other things.

Nothing is promised!!

2009-02-24T00:25:00.007-06:00

A Friend of mine died over the weekend. It was VERY sudden and totally unexpected! We were not close friends. I actually dated him for a short time in High school and was really great friends with his brother during high school and his sister-in-law and I were BFFs growing up . I have a lot of nice memories of the time we spent together. He was a great guy! I am not going to get into what happened and how he died. His family is having an extremely difficult time right now ... understandably so! I can not imagine the grief that they are going through at this time. I am thankful that I know that when this life is over that we can still be together in the Heaven. I wish that his family could know these truths as well and I pray they will someday! I am saddened to know that his life was cut short and that he will never know the joys of having the children that he dreamed of, but I know that he is whole now. I pray that his family will find the comfort and peace that they need!

Mormon Helping Hands

2009-02-07T19:21:00.004-06:00

A couple of weeks ago we had the worst Ice storm this area has ever seen!!

The cleanup is still needed very much even today!

I can not believe how many trees were damaged!

Today our ward got together and put on the bright yellow shirt of the Mormon Helping Hands! It was so awesome to get together with the rest of the members of the church and provide service in our community.

I have heard about the Mormon Helping Hands in places like Utah and Colorado and California... But I have NEVER heard of them doing things out here!!

We had quite a few Priesthood holders and their sons and even some of the Relief Society sisters ( myself included ). We went to assist members and non-members, young and elderly. While we drove from one pre-determined location to the other we looked for other opportunities to serve as well!! One house there was an 80 year old women who lived by herself and had a rather big yard. Her Yard was COVERED with downed limbs. I can not imagine what was going in her mind and what ideas she was trying to come up with to clear her yard.

The best thing about it was.... When we went there you could see how discouraged and worried everyone was and by the time we left you could tell how totally grateful and relieved people were! We used chainsaws, rakes, gloves, ladders and brooms... more importantly we used perseverance, love, and compassion! I have NEVER had a more meaningful and enjoyable day of service!! I will not be able to move tomorrow, because I can barely move now but I am thankful that I was able to participate in such an awesome experience!!

Signs of spring??

2009-02-05T16:21:00.001-06:00

Just last week we had one of the biggest Ice storm in the history of

Northwest Arkansas.

We are still in the process of cleaning up after the storm.

Today I noticed several signs of spring....

I noticed a Robin eating the bird seed that I put out during the storm

I noticed one lone Daffodil flower standing by itself!

If that wasn't enough the Ice cream man started making his rounds today!!!

Are you kidding me?

Is it really that warm?

I THINK NOT!!!!

How nice of them!!

2009-02-02T20:31:00.000-06:00

Some old friends of mine decided to pay for a Carribiean vacation for myself and my bestest friend! You want to know who these nice people are???

That is right the IRS!!!

My bestest friend Angel filed her taxes and decided to pay for her and I to go on a much needed and much anticipated vacation. She decided a cruise would be perfect! Who am I to complain? I mean it is free on my part. She picked me out of all the people she knows.... because she loves me!

Today.... I got some awful passport pictures taken and then went to the post office and applied for my passport. Then we did some other errands that we needed to take care of then Angel got on the computer and paid for the trip. So it is official.... We will leave April 11th and drive to Galveston Texas then board the ship on April 12th.

April 12th is Easter Sunday. I feel super bad about abandoning my husband and kids and missing Easter.... BUT I really want to go, so we will just have plan something before I leave! I can't wait to go!!!

Ice storm 2009

2009-01-29T18:55:00.005-06:00

Tuesday January 27 ...

We woke up to absolutely chaos. The electricity was off and everything was icy!

The last time we had a severe ice storm was in 2000. I didn't loose electricity during that storm and it was nothing compared to what we were in store for! Over the next couple days we experienced spotty electricity, loss of heat ( when we did have electricity), loss of phone service, and sadly loss of Internet!!

Thankfully the apartment we live in has a gas stove and oven so that even when the electricity was off we were still able to cook hot food and keep the apartment rather warm!

I did venture out a few times to take pictures and

This is a picture of some of the limbs that broke off right beside our bedroom window!

This is a picture at the Asbell... The pine tree bent completely over.

I thought the ice was very pretty... It was absolutely beautiful!

You can actually see how much ice is on the branches....

These branches were actually rather thick!

All that Imanni did during her week long furlough was read the twilight series!

Kiannah wanted so bad to go outside, but once she was outside she didn't like it so much!

Asbell school driveway... Lots of cleaning to do after the storm!

Johnathan ventured out also.... More limbs that broke off trees littered the playground

I thought the Pine trees were absolutely beautiful !!

Straight forward and to the point!

2009-01-26T01:13:00.006-06:00

Recently I was reading something and came upon this quote from President Gordon B. Hinckley:

"In my 90+ years, I have learned a secret. I have learned that when good men and good women face challenges with optimism, things will always work out! Truly, things always work out! Despite how difficult circumstances may look at the moment, those who have faith and move forward with a happy spirit will find that things always work out!"

I love how President Hinckley was straight forward and to the point about everything. He knew exactly how to speak to people and make them understand the importance of everything. I figured that a lot of people that I know could use this quote. It is a real testament to not stressing about things you have no control over and allowing Our Father in Heaven to be in charge of our lives.

A lot of times our negative outlook and our stresses affect how things turn out... It is hard to always remain happy and content but Our Father in Heaven will always take care of things if we let him. I guess we can look at it as Maybe Heavenly Father wants to do for us to just because he can... and if we don't whine and cry about it, it will get done but if we whine and cry about it... then we can do it ourselves ...I know I do that with my kids ... Maybe Father does that with his kids sometimes!

Becoming Self Reliant

2009-01-21T00:30:00.004-06:00

Okay so maybe this is not what our Prophet was talking about when he teaches about this topic, Anyone who KNOWS me knows I tend to read stuff into what people say.

Well so I was thinking... We need to be able to rely on our government LESS and on Oil LESS and on Stores LESS. Yeah umm... I gotta go to the store... I am not yet at the point of making butter and gathering eggs ( even though I would love to be at that point some day! ).

There are lots of ways to use less oil so that will be the one we focus on first. We haven't had a car for a while now, but we have been blessed to have the chance to use my mother's van whenever we need!

While Davone and I have talked we have decided our goal is to become self reliant. We want to get to the point where we are able to do for our selves and not be concerned when there is no one to catch us when we fall!!

So with all the running around usually done by one to two people we figured this year we would invest in a scooter. NO not one of the little ones you see around town that goes 25 to 30 Mph this one goes 60 or 65 Mph. 80 miles per gallon. So when gas gets back up to $4 a gallon it will cost us $16 a month for gas as opposed to $240 and up. So we figured after about 5 months... the scooter will pay for itself. The extra money we save will be used to help pay off debt and invest in camping supplies ( you know just in case we all have to live in the woods )! Camping supplies are another chapter in the "Valentin Family guide to being self sufficient" but that will be a story for later! :)

This is not the color but this is the style of the scooter Davone got!

History is made!

2009-01-20T12:30:00.006-06:00

January 20, 2009 is indeed a historic day!

Where was I the day the first African American was sworn in a President of the United States of America??

I was sitting in my living room with Kiannah and my Visiting Teacher... Linda Connor.

No matter who you voted for you have to have love and respect for this day and all of the people who have sacrificed and fought so that our government can continue the traditions of Democracy!

I am thankful for the opportunity for the innocent children to finally see and understand that no matter where you came from and no matter who you are that they too can amount to greatness.

I will never fully understand the joys that my husband's Great-Grandmother feels this day but I am thankful that my children and their children will never have to know the sorrows that she has had to face in her lifetime!

I did not vote for this President and I will not defend my political views but I will say that I will pray for this President and the other leaders of our nation.

I am grateful for the chance to experience a historical and beautiful occasion and optimistically look forward to the next four years!!

Kiannah is 3!!

2009-01-18T00:33:00.003-06:00

I wanted to do a cake.. Not just a plain cake!

I have NEVER attempted to make a cake that looked like something else and I have no equipment to do so, but I think it turned out decent!!

The best part of Kiannah's day was that her best friend in the whole world ( Aubrey ) was able to come up from Little Rock with her parents and brother!

We hadn't seen Trevor and MaryAnn and Aubrey and Coleman since Thanksgiving....Which is not long but Aubrey used to live across the hall from us and they got to see each other every day and when ever they wanted!

They enjoyed laughing with each other and playing together! Kiannah got a lot of nice gifts ... Thanks to all who came to the party! Her grandmother Wanda sent a gift from New York since she couldn't make it.

Wanda sent Kiannah a cross necklace. It is so pretty! We don't let her wear it often in fear of her breaking the chain!

I still can not believe my baby is 3!!!

* 2009 *

2009-01-01T23:46:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year!!!

I can not believe it is already 2009!

I remember when I was a kid thinking about what it would be like in 2020. With flying cars and robots that do everything for you. I thought that time period was so far away!

2008 in review....

January: Kiannah turned 2

February: Valentines day.... #11 for Davone and I!!

March: Participated in the IDA program

April: Spent a lot of time outside and making memories with the neighbors ( since they were planning on moving to either Helena or Little Rock! )

May: Wanda ( my mother-in-law ) came to visit. Trevor finally graduated from college and took his family to the Philippines to visit Johnathan turned 9

June: The Government Finally did something nice and gave us free money!! I love Rebate checks!!

July: I turned 20 something and Davone and I celebrated 4 years of marriage!

August: Davone was able to return to New York for 10 days to visit his family and friends! Kiannah's best friend moved away! :(

September: We were able to spend a lot of time with my brother while he was home on leave and we even went to a renaissance festival with him.

October: Kiannah and I were able to travel to Ohio with Angel and Aubrey to welcome Travis home from his mission and to party!!

November: Participated in a history making election!!

December: Imanni turned 11 and we had a wonderful Christmas!

I hope that 2009 will be filled with even more love and lots more adventures!!

Merry Christmas!!!

2008-12-25T21:02:00.007-06:00

Christmas is always anticipated in our home! The past couple of years we were able to spend Christmas with the McGarrah family ... This year however all of the McGarrah's were going to celebrate Christmas in Ohio. So for Christmas it was small this year!

Davone woke everyone up at 6:30 in the morning!! Once everyone stumbled into the living room we knelt in prayer and thanked Heavenly Father for the gifts that we had received and thanked

him most importantly for the the gift of his son!! It is a tradition that we pray BEFORE any presents get opened so that everyone can remember the TRUE meaning of Christmas!!!

The kids enjoyed the presents and we saved the ones they wanted the most for last!!!

Kiannah wanted more than anything a guitar and drum set... Yeah a 3 year old with drums

I THINK NOT!!! So she settled for the guitar!!!

Johnathan wanted more than anything to get Eye clops. Night vision goggles that really work! They work up to 50ft. They are awesome!!

Imanni wanted more than anything... A Barbie house!! YES she is 11 and still plays with Barbies! I don't care... At least she isn't chasing the little boys!!! ;)

The kids were greatly blessed! Trevor and MaryAnn McGarrah sent gifts to the kids as well!

After present time it was time to start cooking! We had my mom and dad come over as well as a friend of the family, Maida. We had Ham and Turkey and all the trimmings. It turned out to be a very happy Christmas!!

"Imanni's growling at me!!"

2008-12-12T22:02:00.003-06:00

So the funniest thing happened a couple of nights ago....
Imanni and Kiannah share a room and Imanni had fallen asleep before Kiannah.
I had told Kiannah to go to bed and shortly after she came back into the living room and said:
K: "I can't go to sleep"
M: "Why can't you go to sleep?"
K: "Imanni is growling at me!"
So I get up and go to yell at Imanni for "growling" and found out that Imanni was really

SNORING!!!

11 years old???

2008-12-07T20:00:00.001-06:00

Imanni turned 11 years old!! It is so hard to watch my little girl turn in to young woman! She wanted to invite a couple of friends to hang out for the occasion. She chose to invite Lyric and Gigi. Gigi, Lyric and Imanni were all best friends last year in school and were in the same class! Imanni was traumatized when Gigi's family moved to Springdale ( the next town over )!
So Lyric and Gigi came over and hung out playing video games for a while. Once we ate pizza we did the cake a presents. Imanni received a Jonas Brothers CD that came with a DVD also. Of course we had to watch that OVER and OVER again! I gave the girls two options.... to go to a movie or to go to the store and they could each buy a poster and a teen magazine. It was unanimous for the shopping. We went to Target and then to walmart. Imanni bought a Jonas Brothers book and all the girls got a Jonas Brothers poster as well as a magazine. Even though the plans that I had made originally fell through.... the girls all had a great time!!!
Happy Birthday Imanni!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-29T14:57:00.007-06:00

So this year for Thanksgivng we had 16 people in our apartment!! It was Davone and I and our 3 kids, our friends Trevor and MaryAnn and their 2 kids, our friend Angel and her cousin Teresa and her 3 kids, and my Mom and Dad. Needless to say it was a little crowded! It was in the 60s all day so some people were able to eat outside at the picnic table. This was my fourth Year to cook the Turkey! We had a 24.5 lb Turkey and a 10 lb ham. We also had Green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, broccoli and cheese rice, crescent rolls, banana fritters, cake, and of course Pecan pie, and pumpkin pie! I think that everything turned out well!! For lunch while waiting we had noodles with cheese and tomatoes with Italian dressing pured all over it ... Something that Charity and Angel had made for us while we were in Ohio! Once everyone was finishing up eating I sent Davone and Marcus outside with a BB Gun to shoot some mistletoe out of the tree for me to hang up for the Christmas decorations. They brought back quite a bit. I was so happy!! Everyone was gone by 7:30. We were able to get a few pictures of Trevor and his family before they left. Did I mention we had a 24.5 lb Turkey and NO ONE took home leftovers!!! Next year maybe someone else should cook!!

While staying on the Thanksgiving topic for a minute I guess I should do the typical I am thankful list!
I AM THANKFUL FOR....
My Family.... Without them I would be lost. I have truly been blessed by having them in my life!
My Faith..... Although I have not always be devout I do have a strong testimony and love for my church and all that it stands for.
My comforts.... We are not rich nor or we poor.... We have what we need for now and learn to make do... there are people who have less than I do
My Friends..... I don't really have anyone that I hang out with now but back in the day ..... I had tons of fun calling the radio stations and having sleepovers and talking about guys.... I have so many fond memories and I can't wait until my girls can start experiencing that too. My friends meant a lot to me and even though I don't see any of them like I wish I could .... I think of them often and the examples they were to me.
and last but not least....
My Struggles.... I know that the things I have been through have made me who I am today and that what I have faced can help someone else avoid the situations in the future

That's all folks!!!!

2008-11-25T19:39:00.002-06:00

So that is all about my kids! They each have their own very distinct personalities and bring much happiness to me! I could not imagine being without them!! I am glad that I was able to be sealed to my Children as well as my husband! So for my Tag.... I tag Jane, Tara, Juli and whoever else decides to do it as well!!! I know people don't have a lot of time but I look forward to knowing more about their children!!

Important facts about Imanni

2008-11-25T01:30:00.004-06:00

Name and Meaning: Imanni is Swahili and Arabic for Faith. Nicole was my best friend's middle name. I had a couple names I was really wanting to name her. I really wanted to name her Bailey but Davone would not have that at all!! He is the one that suggested Imanni to me. It is Actually suppose to be spelled Imani but Davone wanted to add an extra N. So in the end she ended up being Imanni Nicole. Which Imanni is pronounced with an I like igloo and not and E sound like the letter E. I think I have heard everything for her name!

Age: 10 and 354 days

Nicknames: Ok so she will kill me for posting this but when she was younger we called her "Booger Butt". I have no clue why but we did and I still sometimes call her that.....Her first stocking still says "Booger Butt"!!! She is also called ImmyLu. On a little side note her initials are INV so I sometimes call her Envy! She also has the nickname Ashanti....Who knows where that came from!

Favorite Activities: She loves playing with Barbies. I know that a lot of people will think that an 11 year old should not play with Barbies, but hey what is the alternative? If she is happy with Barbies I have no problem with her still playing with them! Just as long as Ken and Barbie are NOT doing "Bad things"! She also loves playing with her friends and decorating her room with Joe Jonas posters!

Favorite Food: Davone's "Red" Chicken, Chicken Tenders, French Fries, and Mac 'n' Cheese.

Least Favorite Food: Green beans will have to be at the top of the list! Then there are beans of ANY type, as well as the "un-salad" vegetables such as squash, zucchini, potatoes, etc.

Favorite Music: Right now it is the Jonas Brothers! ANYTHING by The Jonas Brothers ( she is in love with Joe Jonas )!

Favorite Toys: Barbie anything!! She is hoping that Santa gets her some new Barbie clothes! We will have to see.

Favorite Books: She reads a lot! She is reading a series about American Indians right now! She also like the Diary of a wimpy kid and Calvin and Hobbs comic books.

Favorite Item of Clothing: She has a pair of pants that her Grandma Wanda ( Davone's mom ) gave to her.... I think that is her Favorite right now!

What makes her happy: when she gets to hang out with her best friends ( Gigi and Lyric ). Her Birthday is coming up so she is anxiously awaiting the time that she gets to hang out with them again. She also enjoys drawing little comic stories and playing Barbies.

What makes her sad: She is sad when the kids make fun of her! They make fun of her for being poor and for being "fat"! Kids are so RUDE!! It makes me sad that she has to deal with kids that are mean to her. She wants to fit in and she tries but she is never accepted by the "cool" kids! I hope that someday she will learn that she doesn't have to "fit in" to be cool!

Just about Johnathan

2008-11-25T00:29:00.004-06:00

Name: Johnathan Allen Northrop When I got pregnant with Johnathan I was single and already had one small child! I had originally wanted to name him Tyler but I then later found out that he had a half brother named Tyler and figured that would be too weird if they ever met! I knew that Johnathan was meant to be a "J" name. The names I had picked out were Johnathan, Joseph, Jared, and Joshua. Johnathan's biological Father's name is Johnathon and his last name is Seaman. I thought that the last name of Seaman was not good for a little boy and that if I gave that last name to him that he would be made fun of! So instead I gave him his biological Father's first name and he took my last name for a while. Then in 2006 he was officially adopted by Davone and then became Johnathan Valentin. His middle name ... Allen! Okay so a very close friend of mine while growing up was named Steven Allen Hicks. We made a promise once that if we were not married by the time we were 25 ( which we thought was so old ) that we would marry each other, and if we were married to other people then I would name my first son after him and he would name his first Daughter after me! Steven was killed when I was in the 9th grade! The murder is still unsolved and not a day goes by that I don't think of Steven and pray that whoever killed him dies a slow painful death! John means the Lord is gracious and Allen is Gaelic meaning precious. So I guess the Lord is gracious for giving me Johnathan who is Precious!!!

Age: 9 ... he will be 10 (ohhhhh double digits ) on May 11 2009

Nicknames: Of course being in the South he is called Bubby, also Johnny boy, he likes to go by John at school.

Favorite Activities: He really likes to use his imagination! He enjoys scouts and learning new things there! He likes to read and play board games, such as Scrabble, Monopoly, and Battleship. He also enjoys playing Video games and shooting Airsoft guns!

Favorite Foods: He loves Spaghetti, Pizza, Biscuits and Chicken, Macaroni and Cheese, and Strawberry milk. He is obsessed with Mustard!

Least Favorite Foods: Chocolate! I know how strange, but yes he HATES chocolate! He also doesn't like Veggies. He will eat corn and beans but anything other than that he refuses.

Favorite Music: I don't know that he has a Favorite but he does listen to the Star Wars music a lot

Favorite Toys: I would have to say a sword that Uncle Kenny and Daddy got for him from the Renaissance festival we went to in September. He also likes his Airsoft gun and his Nerf gun

Favorite Books: He likes the Diary of a wimpy kid and comic book type of stories! Anything really! He likes to read!

Favorite Item of Clothing: I will have to say his Cub scout shirt. He likes to wear it to school and even had his school picture taken with him wearing it! He hates wearing Church clothes!

What makes him happy: Johnathan is happy when Grandma is around! He loves my mom and always wants to be with her! He is still Grandma's baby and always will be!! He is also happy when he gets to play Halo on the Xbox and when he gets to shoot his Airsoft gun with his Dad! He also is happy when he gets to hang out with his best friend Braden.

What makes him sad: He is sad when he can not be with his Grandma and when he can't play video games! He also gets sad when he is forced to do chores and any form of cleaning!

Keepin it real with Kiannah!!

2008-11-24T23:04:00.005-06:00

Name and Meaning: Kiannah Marie Valentin. Davone and I could not agree on a name to save our lives! I wanted to name her Kenya! I love the name Kenya and I have always wanted to go to Africa!!!!! Davone on the other hand HATED Kenya for a name and has NO plans to ever go to Africa! I knew that her middle name just had to be Marie, after my Grandmother Marie Northrop. I am not sure how but somehow we managed to agree on Kiannah and I liked how it sounded with the middle name. Kiannah is Hawaiian for God is gracious. I just looked it up and Marie is Hebrew for bitter.... My Grandmother was NOT bitter and I don't think Kiannah is either!

Age: 2 years and 319 days ... She turns 3 on January 11th which is ALSO Charity's birthday!!!

Nicknames: I don't really give my kids nicknames but I do call her Kiki ( which in the Philippine language that her best friend's parents speaks Kiki is a term referring to Vagina ). I also call her KiKers and Baby girl

Favorite Activities: Kiannah loves to paint! Almost everyday she asks to paint! She loves to sing songs and actually will sing in her sleep. It is so darn cute!!! She loves to play video games on her Vsmile ( which I have to say she inherited from her Father!! ). She loves being Dramatic and being the clown of the situation!!

Favorite Foods: She loves Corndogs! Everyday when she wakes up she asks for Corndogs. She also loves cereal with marshmallows but she will eat the other stuff if she has too! She loves Green beans , ANY type of noodles, Lumpia ( thanks to her best friend's mother!! ) and she loves Bananas!!!

Least Favorite Foods: Mushrooms ( which I don't blame her for )... Last time she had one she gagged and almost threw up! Regular milk!! I say Regular milk because she is Lactose intolerant and the littlest amount of milk will mess her up for days!! She is cool with cheese and yogurt it is just milk!!

Favorite Book: Any Christmas book!!! She loves looking for "Hoho" which translates to Santa Claus to normal people!! She also loves the Hymn book from church! She always wants her own and for no one to touch it!

Favorite Music: I know I will shock NO ONE with this but she loves Christmas Songs! You know Jingle Bells, Silent Night, O holy night, Santa Claus is coming to town, etc., etc., etc.! She also loves Twinkle Twinkle, Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam, and Wheels on the bus

Favorite Toys: She loves her Wal~Mart shopping cart that she got for her Birthday last year! She also loves her mega blocks and Barbie dolls!

Favorite Item of Clothing: I don't know... If I HAD to pick I would say she loves her PJ's and anything that Aubrey gave her or that matches something Aubrey has!

What makes her happy: Kiannah loves watching movies! Any Christmas movie and Willy Wonka are her Favorites right now! She loves holding and playing with animals...Too bad my cats HATE being picked up! She loves seeing Aubrey! Aubrey is her best friend! Aubrey used to live next door and so they would see each other EVERY day but now Aubrey lives in Little Rock which is 3 hours away! So needless to say she is happy when she gets to see Aubrey! She loves ridding her bike and going to the park as well!

What makes her sad: The typical getting in trouble but most importantly... When someone new gets on to her or someone who hardly ever gets on to her finally gets on to her! She is also VERY dramatic! She can make herself cry! She also will watch a movie and if it has the slightest bit of sadness she will cry or make herself cry! She also gets sad that Aubrey lives so far away!

On a side note....

2008-11-24T22:43:00.005-06:00

My friend Charity tagged me on her blog!

For those of you who have no clue I will fill you in on Charity!
Charity and I go way back! We first met in Colorado. She doesn't remember, she was not even a year old yet. Wow! We grew up around each other! I was not the best of influences on her or her sister Angel ...but their mother ( shout out to Goldie!! ) never forbid ( at least to my knowledge ;) ) them to hang out with me .... maybe she should have!! Hahaha
Anyways, Charity and Angel and I would talk and laugh and hang out! When I had my kids ( the oldest two ) ...Charity and Angel and Tanya ( Tanya is a friend from church!! ) would babysit for me! Charity is the one the got me into blogging to begin with! If I didn't know any better I would swear she was related to Martha Stewart! Charity is so darn talented it makes me sick!! She can take scraps of food and boil them and season them and turn it into a 5 star meal!! :) Not really but you get the point!
She tagged me on her blog ... the tag has to deal with kids!! Davone said I should do one separate blog for each kid just so that they have their own!! So watch for them!!!

Davone's Family Elfed

2008-11-19T23:08:00.001-06:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

ElfYourself

2008-11-19T12:41:00.001-06:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I've got the best!!!

2008-11-18T13:06:00.002-06:00

Everyone should know by now that I have the best family EVER!!!

I am sure though that few people also know that I have the Best Visiting Teacher EVER!!!!!! For those of you who are not of my faith .... A Visiting Teacher is a Woman (usually 2) from Church who come over to visit once a month. They usually come over and visit for a while and then they will also share a spiritual message as well. I always look forward to my Visiting Teacher coming! She is the Best!! Her messages are ALWAYS inspired and ALWAYS are full of help for whatever issues I am facing in my life! While chatting I can always tell that she genuinely cares! I usually always feel like I don't fit in but my Visiting Teacher is the best!! I love the friendship that she shares with me and the joy I feel when she visits!! I am thankful for the Relief Society program and the sisterhood that comes because of it!!

Always into something!!!

2008-11-17T15:30:00.003-06:00

Kiannah just wanted to have "makeup like big girls do" !!!

Is it Christmas yet?

2008-11-17T13:51:00.004-06:00

I LOVE Christmas!!!

I am finally going to pull the Christmas decorations out of the closet this weekend!! I have been waiting for this all year!!!
I had been wanting to get the tree out for a while now! We had our Enrichment meeting at church and it was all about Christmas! We made some really cute crafts and sung Christmas songs. I loved it so much that when I got home that night I dug out a couple of the Nativity scenes that I had in my closet! :) I have enjoyed going to the stores and hearing Christmas music playing!!! I went to Kmart the other night and saw that they are selling a "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree....

I don't know where else they sell them but I HAVE to have one!!! Christmas is not complete without Charlie Brown and his Christmas tree and to have my own .... maybe Santa can get me one!! It is just the cutest thing ever!!!
Also not only does Kmart have Charlie Brown Christmas trees but they have Lay-a-way and Sears just started Lay-a-ways back too!! I am glad some companies want to help people who are broke!!! Plus Lay-a-ways will help people not charge things on credit!! If you can't pay it off in 2 months then you don't need it!!!!!!
(: UNLESS IT IS CHARLIE BROWN"S CHRISTMAS TREE!!!!! :)

Kiannah's BFF is 3!!!

2008-11-11T21:40:00.001-06:00

I can not believe that it has been 3 years!!

That means Kiannah's birthday is right around the corner!
Aubrey.... for those of you who have NO CLUE is Kiannah's BEST FRIEND!!
Aubrey and Kiannah have learned how to walk together and learned how to talk together ( still working on that one :) ). They have enjoyed their first snow outing together, enjoyed their first birthdays together, and their first road trips together! They have enjoyed many, many things together! Kiannah LOVES Aubrey!!
Aubrey had moved to Little Rock ( about 3 hours away ) a couple months ago. Kiannah was lost without her!
Angel, Kiannah, and I were able to go and visit Trevor, MaryAnn, Aubrey, and Coleman Yesterday!
November 10th...Aubrey's birthday! So far her parties were #1 was a princess theme! #2 was a jungle safari theme and this year #3 was Spongebob! We had a little snag with Kiannah! She didn't really understand where her presents where! We finally got her to understand that her birthday is not until January! I guess it is hard to wait for something so exciting!!

I am thankful to the McGarrah family ( most of them ;) ) for letting my family be part of theirs! I have had such good times with them and I am grateful that now my kids get to grow up with their kids!

Tagged again?!

2008-11-06T23:15:00.003-06:00

I was reading a blog of a friend and she announced at the end that if you were reading it and had a blog then you were tagged!
This one is a little different!! You take the 4th picture from the 4th album and the 6th picture from the 6th album!
The first one is when Davone went out with the Missionaries to teach an investigator. Elder Jurgensmeier and Elder Davis were the Missionaries at the time! Elder Jurgensmeier has since left. I took this picture so that I could email their families and let them know their sons are okay!! I know that when my son leaves to serve his mission that I would LOVE for someone to take the time and update me and honestly let me know how he is doing! So I try to return the favor!! I know their mothers and fathers worry about if they are getting fed and on holidays and on their birthdays if someone cared enough to do something for them!

The next one is of my lovely husband AGAIN.....
This one was from the 6th album of when we went to Kansas City Missouri with my brother and his girlfriend. On Day 2 of the trip we stopped to look at the fountain at a park! Davone being the lovely and entertaining person he is posed for this picture!! You have to know him to fully appreciate it!

So if and when anyone reads this you are offically tagged as well!!

He is checking his list ....

2008-11-05T12:42:00.003-06:00

According to my Christmas countdown on my blog ( Thank you Charity ).... Santa should be checking his list right about now!!
I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!
My dream Christmas would take place in a cabin in the mountains with lots of snow!! I love Christmas movies and Christmas decorations!! I love being able to do stuff for people and have them wonder who it came from!
Every year at Christmas we have very little money but will have even less this year!!
The store that Davone works at is closing and he informed me that they should be totally shut down BEFORE Christmas! I worry about how to put together all the trimmings of Christmas for the KIDS!!
All the kids are begging for a Wii .... yeah that one is not going to happen!! They are IMPOSSIBLE for me to find and afford!!
Kiannah is really wanting Clippo for Christmas....I think she would have fun with a light bright too! Imanni is wanting anything to do with Barbies....Kiannah LOVES playing with them with her! I know some people will think that Imanni is too old to play with Barbies but as long as she is happy and content with Barbies she isn't outside trying to talk to boys!! ( I DREAD THAT TIME ) Johnathan....who knows what he wants. For his Birthday he wanted a crystal growing kit and metal detector, so who knows he is silly!!
Hopefully Santa will have enough room on the sleigh for Imanni and Johnathan and Kiannah to at least have 3 presents each!! If not then I have a bag of charcoal that I can split up between the three of them!!! :)
The Christmas season is what I look forward too ALL year!!
Maybe the Christmas movies should start tonight!!!

History has been made!!

2008-11-04T22:18:00.004-06:00

Although he was NOT my choice for many reasons ( which I will NOT debate with ANYONE ) I am excited for the history that has been made tonight!!
My husband and many other African-American children grew up with people telling them that they could be anything if they tried hard enough!! How awesome it is for them to finally see that they can!
It is nice to finally see that the leadership of our great country knows no color boundaries!!
I am saddened that the man who I voted for did not win the election, it is too late now to do anything about that. Even though my new President is not who I wanted .... I know that Heavenly Father is still in control no matter who is elected!!
By following the teachings of the Prophet and praying A LOT I know that my family and I will be able to survive until a new man or woman is elected!!
HOW ABOUT ROMNEY FOR 2012!!!!!

Begging for Candy!!

2008-11-03T20:47:00.000-06:00

This year for Halloween started off the same as every other year!!
Davone had to work... So mom and dad invited us over for dinner since they also invited the missionaries over.

While in West Virginia Kiannah dressed up as a cowgirl... I thought she was real cute! We used the costume for our trunk-or-treat at church and it just was not the same without Ryan's red shirt we borrowed from Charity! Thanks again Charity!! Also I figured if we were doing a lot of walking the boots were not going to have enough traction and they are not comfortable enough!! So we changed it up a bit for trick-or-treating!!

This year we put together costumes at the last minute again!!! Imanni was an Orange and Black witch....

She liked it so really that is ALL that matters!!

Johnathan wanted to be a vampire!! Once again... He was happy!! So after talking with the missionaries for a while we were off to beg for candy!

We go to the same area EVERY year!! We have pretty good luck with it too!!
Davone got to meet up with Sarah Palin ( Not perfect but we knew who she was going for! ).

Halloween is so much fun!! It is after all the unofficial start of the Holiday season!!!

All good things must end!!

2008-11-02T20:16:00.004-06:00

Our last night in town!! :(
Charity was still acting up!! I wonder about her!!
Just kidding... It has been nice hanging out with Charity and Drea!! I will miss them bunches! I enjoyed all the late night talks and apologize if I was too BOLD for anyone!!
I will NEVER in my life forget Drea's story and how darn entertaining it was! I still laugh about that to myself and my husband wonders why, out of no where I start laughing hysterically!!
If he only knew!!!
Good times with the girls!!
Below is some of the messiness of the room! This was after half of us packed up our things for our trip home!!

I can't say enough how much fun it was!! Eating cupcakes, staying up late snickering and talking, watching movies and talking about boys!! How fun!! It makes me miss the days of Young Women's classes and Young Women's camp. Maybe one day we can get the girls together for a camping trip!!
HOW FUN THAT WOULD BE!!
THANK YOU ANGEL!! For letting me ride with you and being such a great friend!!!
THANK YOU GOLDIE!! For suggesting to Angel that she invite me!!
THANK YOU CHARITY AND DREA!! For putting up with me for the time that you did!!
THANK YOU ALL!!! For the great memories and fun times!!!

Sunday is for Church and Parks

2008-11-02T01:28:00.008-05:00

Sunday mornings sometimes come way to early!!
I was surprised at how easy it was for us all to get ready in such a messy room. 4 grown women and 4 kids ( all under 3 ).... including all the suitcases, toys, blankets, shoes, makeup, and one bathroom! Obviously we had some divine help in getting to church on time!! :)

Angel had a slow start .... and NO Charity was not crying ... Angel said an Octopus was eating Charity's face but actually she had no makeup on and didn't want a picture to document her transformation.

The Nursery was were the party was!!! Snacks, Toys, and Music! Any kid would LOVE to stay.... Not mine though! Kiannah talked all week about going to nursery with Aubrey and she was so excited, once there though she SCREAMED
the whole time. I even promised to sit there with her. NOTHING worked. So Huntington 1st ward had 1 more visitor in Relief Society.

My Father served his mission in Huntington West Virginia area! Although it was not the same building it was nice to be in the area that he served in.

After church it was time for some pictures!! Pictures with the girls and Kiannah .... And Pictures of the whole crew.

A few pictures of the kids!! They are too cute!!!

After a quick trip back to Goldie's house to eat lunch we were off to the park!

The park was absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!! We didn't get to see all of the park but what we did see we LOVED!!!
Angel Loved getting some pictures of the park and the "Earth Portal" we found there.

Myca thought the park was PERFECT for a nap and a quick "picnic lunch".... While Charity enjoyed playing with the kids in the tunnels.
Thanks Charity for helping Kiannah in the tunnels.... I so did not want to get stuck in there!!!

Goldie was trying to have fun!!! I think she was sad that I was leaving in less than 24 hours!!!
Hahaha.... Just kidding!! Love ya Goldie!! Myca was having her own fun.... Sunday afternoon naps are the best no matter how old you are!!

Kiannah loved playing in the leaves. She then decided she wanted to climb a tree.
She had a bit of difficulty but Aubrey being a true friend pushed Kiannah up the tree!!
HOW CUTE!!!!

Good times with the Girls!!

2008-10-31T22:35:00.006-05:00

A little of this and a little of that

2008-10-31T16:47:00.007-05:00

Some kids need to go to playgrounds to be amused, some kids might want to see a movie to be entertained, some kids are more easy to entertain ...

Some kids are very impatient and can't wait their turn ....

Some kids like to cheer for their teams....

Kids grow up way to fast!! I guess we should enjoy them while we can!!

Personal Add

2008-10-30T10:22:00.010-05:00

SWLDSM seeks SLDSF to spend quality time texting and playing XBOX. Occasional dates may be offered but only after getting to know each other a little.
SWLDSM has faithfully served a full time mission and has returned with honor!
SWLDSM enjoys a nice home cooked meal and is searching for a nice SLDSF who has the domestic skills that every SLDSF should have!!
Non LDS Females need not apply unless you have committed to Baptism with your local LDS Missionaries!
For more information contact Travis McGarrah on Facebook.

Welcome home!!!

2008-10-29T15:49:00.006-05:00

Thursday October 23 is the whole reason for the trip... well for most people!! I really just wanted to get away from Arkansas for a while!!

Hahaha Just kidding Goldie!!

Travis McGarrah had been serving a mission for the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
in the Sacramento California area for two whole years!

A lot of people turned out to welcome Elder McGarrah home!
Drea and Myca waited patiently for Elder McGarrah

Quite a few people from the ward in Huntington came and they even waited patiently!

Angel and Myca waited patiently!!

Charity .... not so much!! I think she wanted me to pluck her chin hairs either that or she wanted a kiss... either way it was NOT GONNA HAPPEN!!!

Just kidding... We were real bored and just trying to have some fun!

The kids had fun playing on the luggage belt! I think they kinda thought it was their own personal stage!!

FINALLY!!! THE MAN OF THE HOUR ARRIVED!!!

For all of those who are wondering .... That is Charity with the weird sort of Psychotic laugh!!
LOVE YA CHARITY!!!

One LONG trip!

2008-10-29T15:23:00.007-05:00

Another road trip for Kiannah and Aubrey!!
The trip started out in at 6 am on Oct. 22, 2008. We left our house and drove 3 hours to Aubrey's house in Little Rock. Once there we loaded up all of Aubrey's things and headed through Tennessee and then Kentucky.

Then we also went to West Virginia and Ohio !!! 10 hours later we made it to our destination!

The trip was very long but it was the perfect time of year to make the trip. The girls were very happy to finally be out of the car! Surprisingly they did a great job traveling!!

Too much time!

2008-10-21T22:20:00.009-05:00

So I ran across these two pictures! I am sure most everyone has seen these at some time or another. The first one is a picture of a Nebula as allegedly seen through a NASA telescope. The second is when someone searching for a "sign from God" put a picture of Christ over the Nebula! Ok.... There are a lot of sightings of Jesus and I myself find it funny where he "turns up at"!! Here he is as an MRI result and as a spot in a wooden fence!

Here he is as a Cheeto.... Are you kidding me? Our savior has nothing better to do than to play hide and seek????

They even have a website with a few more spottings of him!!
Jesus Hops around
Either people have NO LIFE or Jesus has a sense of humor!!!

My Civic Duty!!

2008-10-21T18:35:00.002-05:00

Yep that is right!!! Davone and I voted today!!! Early voting started yesterday, but Davone had the day off from work today! We both already knew who and what we were going to vote for and so we decided to beat the crowds and do our voting early!!! I can only imagine how hectic it will be on November 4, 2008!! We can just sit on our couch with our fingers crossed and wait for the results to pour in!!
We respect every one's own decisions on who they wish to vote for, so please respect ours and do not search for a long drawn out conversation about why or who we voted for!!! This is America after all and you can vote for who you wish and I HAVE voted for who I wish!!
NOW DO YOUR CIVIC DUTY AND VOTE ON NOVEMBER 4TH ( or before )!!!!

Tag!! I am it!!!

2008-10-20T08:56:00.006-05:00

Well, my friend Tara, tagged me. I am not too crazy about these but since it was from such a great friend I will do it!! The rules are simple..... answer with only one word and pass it on to seven friends!!

1. Where is your cell phone? LOST

2. Where is your significant other? Bathroom

3. Your hair color? Brown

4. Your mother? Carolyn

5. Your father?Larry

6. Your favorite thing? Gospel

7. Your dream last night? None

8. Your dream/goal? Endure

9. The room you're in? Main

10. Your hobby? Crafts

11. Your fear? Violence

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Content

13. Where were you last night? Home

14. What you're not? Skinny

15. One of your wish-list items? Vacation

16. Where you grew up? Arkansas

17. The last thing you did? Typed

18. What are you wearing? PJs

19. Your TV? Big

20. Your pet? 7

21. Your computer? Laptop

22. Your mood? Anxious

23. Missing someone? Yep

24. Your car? Confused

25. Something you're not wearing? Shoes

26. Favorite store? Target

27. Your summer? OVER

28. Love someone? Eternally

29. Your favorite color? Purple

30. When is the last time you laughed? Nighttime

31. Last time you cried? Saturday

I am passing this on to: Since I don't have 7 friends on my blog list it will have to be Angel, Charity, Jane, and Tanya. I only expect 2 people to do it. We will see if I will be surprised!!

Kiannah and Aubrey ... Reunited at last!!!

2008-10-12T21:09:00.007-05:00

Yesterday Angel, Kiannah, and I took a road trip to go to Little Rock! Kiannah was so very excited about the opportunity to see Aubrey!!! After nearly two months apart the girls were finally reunited!!! Kiannah had to wake up at 5:15am so that we can get her ready and leave here by 6:00am. Kiannah didn't mind she has been counting down this day for a while now! Angel was here on time and we packed up the car then we were off!!!

Aubrey and Coleman are so cute!! I am trying to teach them that ALL monkeys are named Grandpa Larry ( after their Grandpa not my dad! )

3 hours later we made it Little Rock! We got to Trevor and MaryAnn's and Aubrey was hiding from us. It took her a little while to warm up to us but when she did Kiannah and Aubrey picked up where they left off!! Coleman grew up so much in the past 2 months! He isn't a baby anymore he is a little man!

We didn't have any plans for the trip. I had bought some items she needed from the Filipino store here in Fayetteville, and MaryAnn was nice enough to cook for us!

The food was Awesome!! MaryAnn did a great job!! Right after dinner we had to leave to come home!! Kiannah wasn't too sad but she is counting down the days until she can go back!!

Economical Christmas Presents?

2008-10-10T19:58:00.006-05:00

Maybe this year she should only get boxes!!!

The next American Idol?

2008-10-10T19:50:00.004-05:00

I think it is so cute!!! Too bad that is all that I could get!!

Imanni enters the workforce!

2008-10-09T12:13:00.003-05:00

Imanni and Johanthan have been out of school ALL week, So today Imanni went to work with Davone! She worked in the design department with Lacey and Carol. She stayed at work with Davone the whole day. She even took lunch break with Davone. She help sweep the back room and she helped the design ladies with a couple of things. She was able to pick out the items needed to make an arrangement and then the ladies helped her make an "Imanni Original". She was so excited and it turned out beautiful!!

Crutches and Mom do not go together!

2008-10-08T21:36:00.004-05:00

My mother has been complaining for some time now about her knee hurting her! She has been limping around for about a month now and complaining of her knee hurting. Today she finally went to the Hospital to have someone examine her. She went to Washington Regional Medical Center and was seen by Dr. McGhee. We are not quite sure what has happened but the Doctor seems to think that she has tore something in her knee. She has been instructed to contact a Orthopedic Surgeon. For now she has been sent home on crutches and a knee immobilizer.

Johnny boy enter's the workforce!!!

2008-10-06T18:16:00.006-05:00

Johnathan was so excited and happy that he got to go to work with Davone! I helped him by packing his lunch and then off to work he went!

He helped to take apart some shelves and load some stuff up in a truck!

He enjoyed having lunch break and even called home to let me know that when he got off work he wanted to come home and put his feet up and play video games.... I guess he is just like Davone!! :)
The lesson learned? Well after working ALL day. He only earned $1.00. I told him that is how life is. You work hard all day and after you pay everything you need too that is how much you have left over! GO TO COLLEGE!!! Hahaha

Road Trip!

2008-10-05T22:24:00.005-05:00

I Love Road Trips!!!

My Best friend Angel and I on going on the road again!!
We are going this weekend to Little Rock which is only about 3 hours away. It will be Angel, Sherry #2 which is Kenny's girlfriend, Kiannah and myself. Kiannah is so excited to finally get to go see Aubrey!!! It has been almost 2 months since they have been able to see each other! We are just going down for the day but any time is better than no time!! Kiannah has missed Aubrey so much! I will have to take TONS of pictures and videos!

Then on the 22nd of this month we are planning to go to Ohio! It will be Angel, Kiannah and Myself!! Angel's brother Travis is coming home from his mission and we are driving out to welcome him home!! I am so excited. It will be 4 girls and 3 kids in one hotel room. Charity and her friend will be there too and they both will have their kids there too! What a fun slumber party!! Hopefully the kids will love us enough to sleep!! I can't wait. I have known Travis since he was born, and he just turned 21! Wow!!! That makes me feel so old! I love Angel and Charity and can't wait to get to hang out with all of them. Goldie... Angel and Charity's mom is like a second mother to me. It was all her suggestions for Angel to invite me along!! GOOD JOB GOLDIE!!!

Watch for the blogs to follow I am sure there will be a lot!!

Lucky number 7!!

2008-10-01T06:51:00.003-05:00

It has been a couple days since my last post and since I don't have an exciting eventful life I have to make stuff up as I go. So I told Davone to pick a number between 1 and 10. He picked 7. So I will give you all the 7's in my life that I can think of!!! I will name the 7 things in No particular order!!

Top 7 Movies

1. The Sound of Music-I grew up watching it and I still love it!!

2. Bing Crosby's White Christmas- I watch it every chance I get

3. Coal Miner's Daughter- There is a trend with the older movies!

4. Santa Claus The Movie- I LOVED this one a child and now I force Kiannah to watch it!

5. Anne of Green Gables- There are actually 3 movies but I will just count it as one! ;)

6. The Village- I love M. Night Shyamalan

7. I am Legend- It kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time!!

7 of My Best friends growing up

1 & 2. It is a tie...the first names.... Angel and Charity McGarrah! I have known them since Charity was a baby!! We grew up together and are like sisters....even though they refuse to celebrate Christmas with me this year!! :'(

3. Kim Sanders- We met in Jr. High.... We were Best Friends!!! We had a lot of fun!

4. Britney Yeager- Oh my we got into bunches of trouble together

5. Tara Norris- We had so much fun with pranks, sleepovers, and boys oh my!! I still can't believe she has 3 kids with #4 on the way... CONGRATS!!!

6. Brandy Lacey- yeah um TONS OF TROUBLE!! We were always into something!!

7. Heather MacDonald- My cousin! We didn't live close but we kept in touch the best we could!

7 Top Songs

1. Love of a lifetime by Firehouse - Charity remembers this one!!! I played it all the time!

2. Always be my baby by Mariah Carey-Brings back memories

3. Have you ever needed someone so bad by Def Leppard

4. The heart won't lie by Vince Gill and Reba McEntire

5. You are not alone by Michael Jackson

6. In this life by Colin Raye

7. What might have been by Little Texas

Top 7 comfort foods

1. French Fries- My absolute favorite!

2. Snickerdoodle cookies with cream cheese icing

3. Pizza- Pizza Hut is my Favorite

4. Strawberry Jelly on toast

5. Onion Rings

6. Chips and Salsa- From Maria's hint hint!!!

7. Pancakes

7 Friends I never see and I sometimes think about

1. Travis McGarrah-He is on his mission and coming home soon

2. Shane Jentzsch- A friend growing up, It would be nice to talk to him

3. Billy White- An old friend!

4. Brandy Lacey- We had a lot of fun growing up!! It would be fun to talk about the stories

5. Antjuan Lankford- A friend from my Senior year!!

6. Lamar Drayton- Davone's best friend and a real cool guy!

7. Jesse Pate- He took care of me and was like a big brother!!

7 Pet Peeves

1. Rude snotty people

2. People who chew with their mouth open

3. Not having the last word

4. People using up all the ice or all the toilet paper and not replacing it

5. Having to wait on people

6. People who will not repeat themselves when I tell them I didn't hear them

7. Stupid People

7 Fears

1. PUBLIC SPEAKING- I REFUSE TO DO IT!!!

2. Heights

3.Burning to death-it is tied with Drowning and Suffocating so I guess it should just be dying any way other than in my sleep!!

4. Something happening to my kids

5. Bridges Collapsing as we drive over them- I know kind of random but still freaky

6. Someone coming into my house while I am asleep- when Davone opens the bedroom door I ALWAYS jump.

7. I grew up watching unsolved mysteries and stuff like that so anything that I didn't mention can go in number 7! Hahaha I know it is cheating ..... but I get freaked out easily!!

I will stop with that for tonight!! These top 7 lists are just a few of the things I thought of. I could go on forever about me. I will search for a more interesting topic for the next time. Feel free to ask more about whatever you want to know about.

Paid Obituary

2008-09-28T22:27:00.005-05:00

Mr. Krabs Valentin - September 28, 2008 Fayetteville, Ark.

Mr. Krabs was purchased on September 8, 2008 from a local pet store.

He was chosen because of his friskiness as well as his ability to entertain.

His hobbies including walking around, hiding in his shell, climbing, and sleeping.

He is survived by his best friend of 20 days Hermi, as well as his owner Johnathan Valentin, and caregivers Davone Valentin, Sherry Valentin, Imanni Valentin, and Kiannah Valentin.

A private memorial service was held today.

In leu of flowers donations may be made to the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints general missionary fund, or Sharon and Davone Valentin's bank account!

A stunning performance!!!

2008-09-28T13:48:00.010-05:00

Last night Davone and I joined my brother and his girlfriend to go and see... The Dark Knight.

It has been out for a while and I had been wanting to see it but when Kenny offered to treat us out to see it, I thought that it was the perfect time to see the movie since it was FREE ... for me anyways!! Thanks Kenny!!!!

I LOVE HEATH LEDGER!!!

I saw and loved the movie Broke Back Mountain! I know a lot of people have mixed feelings about that movie! I absolutely loved it. I could have done without a couple of the scenes but overall Heath Ledger did an awesome job. This is the movie that made me understand how awesome his acting capabilities are!! He was in a lot of movies and was great in ALL of them, but the depths of his acting skill was put to the test in Broke Back Mountain!!

The Dark Knight was just as awesome!! It is sad to think that my kids will grow up without seeing such a great actor!! When I think of talented actors, who can engage their audiences and make them believe they are that character Heath will always be at the top of the list!!!

KC MO Day 2

2008-09-21T23:34:00.009-05:00

Day 2 in Kansas City started out with breakfast in the hotel and then more fountains!!!

Kenny and Davone were looking cool!

My pretty babies!! They loved seeing all the fountains. Fayetteville doesn't have public fountains so it was all new and exciting to the kids!

We were all having a lot of fun....but I think Sherry and Davone were trying to find a way to get away from the family!! :)

We then went across the border to Kansas and went the the Renaissance festival! The only person in our group who had ever been to one was Kenny.... Everyone else was a little freaked out at first!

It was weird because the people there actually think they are in "that" time period. It is over whelming at first but as the day goes on you learn to laugh it off and have fun with it all!

This is all the "royal ladies" singing to the kids in the kid's realm! The group included The Queen of Scotland, and The Queen of England to name a few!

They also have a lot of these pictures around the event that you can stick your face in and take a picture.....

Imanni and Johnathan were able to ride an elephant....

While Kiannah and Davone rode a camel.

While walking around we encountered a parade.

We had a lot of fun! We were able to see a joust, eat turkey legs ( which is a must at these places ), did a lot of browsing in the stores, we saw a wrestling show and a juggling act, but most of all we got to spend the day together as a family and have a lot of fun! Kiannah got real cranky while we were there but mostly because she was sick of walking and was so tired!! When we got back to the car she was asleep within 5 minutes of he being buckled up. We were all worn out and very tired!!! We had a lot of fun!! Kenny was so nice to treat us all out to a nice weekend adventure!! I really love my brother and I am thankful for him ( only when the nice personality is out )! Thanks a lot Kenny!! We love you!!!!

KC MO Day 1

2008-09-20T19:25:00.004-05:00

Kenny (my brother) is in town on leave from work. He invited My family and I to join him and his Girlfriend on a trip to Kansas City Missouri! We hardly ever get a chance to just get away so we all jumped at the chance for a road trip and to spend time with Kenny and Sherry ( His girlfriend is named Sherry too!! How fun! ). Kenny's Tahoe was able to fit us all and the Kids enjoyed watching movies the whole way there! Davone slept and snored most of the way there!! Davone didn't sleep at all the night before and we left the apartment shortly before 7 am. So this was what I saw the whole way there!! :)
Kenny got us a super nice room! Thanks Kenny!! I am used to just the 2 bed rooms. You know the typical motels. This one had two rooms. The minute we got inside Davone found his spot!!
This is the living room area, with the fold out couch!

On a side note... the little orbs of light in the pic freaked me out a little! I heard a lot of people say that those are spirits. Freaky. I always think about what horrible things might have happened in the rooms! I know weird thinking... that is me!
This is the kitchen area. We didn't use it much. We did get a bag of popcorn in our welcome basket. That was the only thing we cooked there!
We rested for a couple of hours and then met up in the Lobby. We took and picture of the kids...
Then Imanni took a picture of us!Finally Kenny and Sherry showed up and off we went! We just walked around sight seeing. Our first stop was the Cheesecake factory. That was Davone's pick! We sat outside by the fountain and took some pictures. Then we proceeded on our way. Kansas City was having an art festival. We were able to check out some of the art before the kids grew tired of it. There was a lot of people there and we were all kind of tired and not really wanting to walk around and look at stuff that was way overpriced! We found the Razorback fountain and a fountain with Neptune!

After taking pictures in front of all the fountains we headed on to Barnes and Nobles. They have a 4 story store in Kansas City. The kids enjoyed looking at the books while resting! I found an old childhood favorite....Tiki tiki Tembo. I loved hearing and reading that book when I was little. I read it to the kids but I don't think they paid much attention! Oh well I enjoyed it!!!After the bookstore we went on down the street to get some food. Then back to the hotel for us! We went to our room and rested for a short time then we all went for a swim. We didn't stay too long. Just long enough for everyone to relax a little more and then it was time to turn in for the night! Kiannah and Imanni were to share one bed and Davone and Johnathan another and I got the pull out couch! Davone insisted that I sleep in the bed and he would take the couch...but I wanted my husband to sleep good as well. I wanted the kids to sleep good for the busy day tomorrow too!

Thanks a bunch!!!

2008-09-20T00:10:00.004-05:00

I just wanted to say "Thanks a bunch!" to my friend Charity!
Charity called me tonight and told me about an awesome deal that Shutterfly was having! I was able to order Family Christmas cards and order 50 prints. The grand total was a whopping $0.78! That is right .... Less than $1. I was worried about having a Christmas card for the "important" people, and I had been needing to get some pictures developed for a while now!
As I was looking through the pictures I realized that I need to have someone take some good pictures of the Family and I. We have never had our pictures taken together by someone who knows what they are doing, or even someone pretending like they do.
I did the best with the pictures I had! I would have done better if Charity did it for me....Maybe next year she will! HINT HINT!!! Love ya Charity!
While I am here I just wanted to say Thanks to Angel too! I really do think of Charity and Angel as sisters ( even though they kicked me out of Christmas this year! ). Angel always knows how to make me smile no matter what is going on! She is having it kinda rough right now and I just want to say that I appreciate who she is and all that she does for me and my family! Love you Angel!!!

A lie is.....?

2008-09-18T22:32:00.003-05:00

I just wanted to tell my husband that I am sorry! :( I lied to him today multiple times....but in my defense it wasn't my fault!
Davone had the day off from work. The big kids stayed at my mom's house last night so we didn't have to get them up for school and Kiannah stayed here. Kiannah did not wake up til around 9:30 am.
I got up with her and then we got dressed and walked to Asbell Elementary to take the big kids their fundraiser stuff. When we got back Davone was awake so we had breakfast , which consisted of Cold Pizza!!! Yummy!!!!
I was tired so I went to the room and laid down on the bed. Davone came in as I was starting to doze off and asked if I was going to sleep but I lied and said " Nope I am just thinking! ". Hahaha I tend to lie and make stuff up when I am half asleep. It is a real bad habit but I don't know how to fix it!
I had originally went into the room around 11:00 am and I know that Davone came in a couple more times and a couple more times I had a lie to tell. I ended up sleeping until 3:15pm while he watched after Kiannah. What a great husband I have!!!!
So in this case.... A lie is a lie.... should be changed to A lie is not my fault!!!

Imanni's Musical Performance

2008-09-18T20:31:00.003-05:00

This year is Imanni's last year at Asbell. She will be in the 6th grade next year and moving on to middle school.

So this is Imanni's last musical!

This week is Arkansas History week, so fittingly the musical was all about Arkansas! Imanni had a short speaking as well as a singing part. She did real good with both parts!!

A couple of the songs that were sung tonight were from Steve Kelsey.... he was a favorite at girl's camp and his songs are also a favorite with the kiddos at Asbell!
Mrs. Lambert is the music instructor at Asbell and she was my music instructor as well.

The program was awesome and I know Imanni has really loved having Mrs. Lambert as her music teacher!

1 month down, How many more?

2008-09-16T20:59:00.004-05:00

So today is the 1 month anniversary of Kiannah's best friend Aubrey moving away! Kiannah still talks about Aubrey DAILY!! I knew it would be hard on Kiannah but I really did not think it would be this hard. She talks about her and Aubrey doing things together all the time. The other night at my Mom's party Kiannah took a knife and started cutting all her food. I asked her what she was doing and she said that Aubrey wanted her to cut it. Kiannah is CONSTANTLY asking me to let her please go to Aubrey's house! I wish it was that easy! It is sad that they have to be apart and that they can not see each other but I know that Kiannah will always love her best friend! We are planning to take Kiannah to see Aubrey soon. I don't know if that will help or hurt the situation but it will be nice to see Kiannah happy and reunited with her best friend!

I have become one of them!!!

2008-09-15T22:18:00.005-05:00

For the longest time I have thought that only animals belong on a leash! I would always think it was awful to see kids in the store on a leash! I even would try to convince myself that I would never become the type of parent that would put their kid on leash! I even found this button on Facebook and put it on my profile! Since having those thoughts I have had Kiannah! Imanni and Johnathan were never that bad. They generally listened to what I had to say and stayed super close to me when out in public. Kiannah on the other hand .... She will run the opposite way whenever she has the chance!! She has her own mind and her own ideas of what she should be doing! She thinks she is too big to hold hands with anyone other than Aubrey. Aubrey has been gone for a month now but she still thinks that Aubrey will come back on a bus! She thinks that if Aubrey is not around she shouldn't hold any one's hand! She doesn't like to ride in her stroller anymore either!

So I figured my last option was the dreaded leash. I went to Target and got Kiannah the puppy dog leash.

Imanni and Johanthan love it and are constantly asking if they can take Kiannah for a walk! How sad is that? I will try it out on her a little at a time this week and then this weekend we are going to Kansas City with my Brother and his Girlfriend so we will use it there all weekend I am sure. I will let everyone know how it works out for us.

Surprise!!

2008-09-13T21:08:00.011-05:00

Yesterday was my Mother's Birthday! My Brother and I have been planning for weeks to throw her a surprise party. It HAD to be today.... Since he wasn't flying into town until today! Noodles Restaurant was the venue. Just a few friends, Nothing too big.... but real nice. He had VERY specific instructions about everything. Mostly about the cake. He wanted Chocolate on Chocolate with chocolate shavings, 2 layers, elegant, and Chocolate! :) So Angel and I went to order the cake. We met all of his specifications and even ordered an extra cake that was Sugar Free since after all mother is Diabetic! So here is what mine and Angel's version of the cake Kenny wanted looked like!

So surprisingly Kenny approved......I was so shocked!!!

The guest list included Kenny and his girlfriend Sherry ( lovely name if I do say so myself! ),

Then of course we can not have a party without Angel!!

Then there was Bill and Tracey ( sorry this is the best shot I got )

There was also Ruby and Barry Wells ,Thoraya Fleming, and James and Debra Quinn.

Then the Guest of Honor.... Mom and Her guest .... Dad! :)

An then there is Davone, Kiannah and I.

It was a lot of fun! We were able to pull it off without her knowing!! I had to lie a little and make a lot of phone calls ....But in the end knowing how happy it made Mom, and to see how excited that she was to have everyone there for HER!!! It was so worth it! I love my mother and I am so very thankful for all she does to bless me and my family!

Out for a stroll!!

2008-09-13T13:47:00.006-05:00

Ever since we got our Hermit crabs we have really enjoyed watching them and playing with them! They are real cute. This is the bigger one he is the most frisky!!

Davone's Unusual Talent

2008-09-12T21:30:00.006-05:00

So we all love to watch Davone do one thing in particular. We tend to say that it is his " Unusual Talent ".

Yep..... Davone can do the Carlton dance. It is way fun to watch and he does a great job!!!

Star Wars!

2008-09-12T21:29:00.004-05:00

Tonight we decided to have a Family movie night! We have a rather large TV( I seem to think ) but Davone wanted to move the couch up real close anyways. I made Kettle Corn for the very first time tonight. It was so good. Davone doesn't really like it and the kids don't like it, so I guess it is all for me! So we had Kettle corn, Doritos, cupcakes, cinnamon rolls and to wash it all down we had grape Kool-Aid. The movie of choice.... Return of the Jedi! I have not watched it in so long. It was a lot of fun!

And then there were none!!!

2008-09-11T09:34:00.002-05:00

A few days ago the smallest of Johnathan's fish died! He was still a little sad although he is now growing immune to it.
This morning when we got the kids up for school the bigger one was belly up too! Obviously we are not doing something right or the fish are just sick. Either way I think that maybe we should just stick with the animals that we already have.
The fish Tanks will be cleaned and put up for a later time! For now the 3 cats, 3 birds, and 2 crabs will have to keep him and everyone else entertained!

Kiannah's Milestone!

2008-09-10T21:15:00.002-05:00

Kiannah reached a major milestone today! We have been trying to potty train for a little while now! Kiannah has learned real fast that she can control when she will and will not go! She seems to love to not go more than she loves to go.
Tonight though she came into the living room and informed everyone that she was wet and needed to go potty. Davone helped her to get settled in the bathroom and then left her to her business! She refuses to let anyone be in the bathroom with her most of the time. A short time later she started yelling " Daddy I need to go PooPoo! ". So Davone informed her that it was okay to go. Next thing we knew..... Yep she did it!!! This was the first time that we didn't have to catch her in the middle of a squat and grunt and rush her to the bathroom! Yippee!!! Kiannah got to put a sticker on the potty chart and got a little paper Dora trophy to put on the potty so that everyone who goes by will know what a big girl she is!! Good Job Kiannah!!

A trip back in time!!

2008-09-10T13:06:00.011-05:00

A friend of mine led me to this website where you upload a picture of yourself and then you change some things around and you can see what you would look like in the past. The time goes from the 1950 to 1990. It is way fun! Kiannah had a lot of fun looking at her pictures!They were too cute! I thought hers turned out real good!Here are mine.... Davone's pictures are hilarious!! He looks totally Dorky!!
This one reminds me of the guy off of coming to america! ( If you haven't seen it you gotta watch it it is a classic)
I will call this next one Davone with "whiteboy" hair!
Next up is Imanni.....

Afro Imanni

80's Imanni complete with the feathered hair and all!
The next two is Johnathan!

The last one for Johnathan actually looks like some pictures that I have seen in old year books of mine! WOW!!!
If you ever have enough free time and wanna have some fun check it out!
http://yearbookyourself.com/

We've got Crabs.....Hermit Crabs!

2008-09-09T16:12:00.008-05:00

Imanni for the longest time wanted to get a Hermit Crab. I did not know that the little creatures required so much work! I read more and more things about them and they are so complicated. They must have a temp between 70 and 80 degrees and maintain a humidity over 70%. Anyone who knows Davone knows that the house temperature is always around 65 degrees. So it is hard to regulate the temperature for the "crab-itat". We have two crabs ... a bigger one and then the smaller one. ( The little one blends in with the wood in this picture you have to look close! )The bigger one is on the left and the little one is the shell in the middle the shell at the top is just for them to play with! The little one I hardly ever see and the bigger one is a little more Frisky!
Here is the bigger one out for a stroll in the "crab-itat"! He is kinda cute! We have not named the little fellows yet. We can not tell if they are male or female and in order to tell they would have to let you pick them up and look between their legs. I am not making it up! Here is the website that explains all about them : http://www.hermit-crabs.com/. We will think of some names for them during family home evening next week! They will have to be unisex for now!

2 Funerals and A wedding!!

2008-09-08T08:03:00.006-05:00

Three nights ago I had the worst nightmare I have ever had! I didn't watch any scary movies or do anything out of the ordinary but I had a nightmare that Johnathan got hit by a car and died! It was so awful! I remember seeing the car ( oddly enough it looked just like the Missionaries' car ) that hit him and I remember going to the funeral home and no one showed up for the funeral. HOW HORRIBLE!!! I woke up crying and told Davone what happened and had a hard time going back to sleep.

Two nights ago I had another nightmare.....This time Davone was in a BAD car wreck! I saw his car go over the side of a bridge and catch on fire. I heard him screaming, It was bad!! In the nightmare I remember that all I did for months was cry! Everyone was fighting over whether to bury him in New York or Arkansas......We all know who would have won that one...so needless to say it was Arkansas! Once again I woke up crying and told Davone about it.

I don't know why I am killing off my family at night! So I don't really believe in it but I wanted to look up my nightmares to see what they meant.

To dream about the death of a loved one, suggests that you are lacking a certain aspect or quality that the loved one embodies. Ask yourself what makes this person special or what do you like about him. It is that very quality that you are lacking in your own relationship or circumstances. Alternatively, it indicates that whatever that person represents has no part in your own life.

Well at least it is not too bad. So when Davone died it meant I don't know how to play video games? Haha Just kidding! I was real concerned going to bed about who was going to be next!

Last night I had a good dream! I was worried about it! Before going to bed I watched a movie called Flight 93. Most people know the story from September 11. I was worried about watching it before going to bed as I didn't want to have Kiannah or Imanni die in my sleep. To my surprise I had a dream and it was nice! My dream was that my brother and his current girlfriend got married! I know my brother was in it so technically it should be a nightmare :) but Kiannah and Imanni did not get killed so I was happy!!!

A Hurricane in Arkansas?!?

2008-09-03T15:05:00.008-05:00

It has rained for 3 days now!!! This is actually what is left over from Hurricane Gustav! I love rainy weather and the cooler temps are much appreciated! Kiannah has frequently asked to go outside and play in the rain like she would with Aubrey! Imanni and Johnathan HATE the rain. I think they hate the fact that they have to have " inside recess ". They don't understand that it could be worse!!! The rainy weather is great....but since I can't take Kiannah outside to play then I am forced to do some much needed cleaning! Why can't I have indoor recess? Oh well!! On the up side...the cooler temps and the fact that it is September means Christmas is fast approaching!! Yippee!

Something Fishy is going on!!

2008-08-30T18:32:00.007-05:00

Last week we had a funeral for Sam, the only fish at the time in the tank! We went outside and dug a hole and all said a few words. Johnathan put Sam in the grave ( since Sam belonged to him ) and then I buried Sam. We went to the pet store and let Johnathan pick out 2 new fish!
Deja'vu Yesterday Johnathan came home from school and fed his fish....a couple hours later....

Yep it was belly up!! I don't remember this one's name....let's face it, it was not here long enough for me to get attached ( not that I would with fish any way )! Johnathan was very sad about this one though! Luckily the fish was still under warranty with the pet store! Yep! PetSmart gives you a two week guarantee on all their pets. So after Davone was off from work we took the dead fish to PetSmart. I gave Davone the receipt from when I bought the fish and he took the fish to the "Fish Lady" at the store. Davone held up the bag and said " I would like to exchange this one for a live one!" So needless to say we got a free one and now there are two fish again!

If the new one (the bigger one) dies then I will think the little one Murdered him!! Watch for the updates!!! ;)

How long will they last?

2008-08-30T18:18:00.004-05:00

With school starting the kids had their Annual eye exam! When my Grandmother lived with us we took her to an awesome opthomologist who helped give her back her sight! Since then he has retired but the kids are able to see his son! Dr. Henry in Fayetteville is the BEST!! Imanni had been complaining of head aches and her eyes being sore so I thought she should get in soon!! Turns out Johnathan still has his same problem with one eye being a little weak and turning in... it has a technical name and as soon as find the paper about it I will let you know what it is! :) The Doctor said we found it way early and that the glasses will fix it. The problem is that Johnathan's glasses don't ever last long!!! The last pair he had were broke in less than a week!! He put them in the window sill and some one ( either Imanni or Johnathan ) shut the window and completely broke them! He has lost a couple pairs outside, Kiannah broke one pair! I am sure you can see the trend! My brother Kenny was the EXACT same way!! He always lost his glasses too. Must be hereditary! During Imanni's Eye exam it was determined that she needs glasses too but only for reading. Kiannah has since had here eyes checked also and it was determined she has 20/20 vision!! Good Job Kiannah...Keep eating your carrots!! :)

All good things must end!!

2008-08-30T18:15:00.001-05:00

Davone had so much fun in New York!!! He was able to go out with the Missionaries, visit with family and friends, see the sights and most of all he got to be HOME for a little while!
Wanda and Carlos we able to take Davone to LGA and see him off!
Although Davone is happy to be back in Arkansas he misses NYC and all the people he loves who are there also!
Don't worry..... He will get to go back to the Big Apple soon enough!!!

A country boy can survive!

2008-08-26T22:30:00.008-05:00

I know what you are thinking......Davone....a country boy?

I have come to the conclusion that yes he is country! He loves shooting BB guns, says words like " Dag Nabbit " , and he loves to go camping ( and hoping to soon ). So I would have to say that he is officially Country!!!

So Davone went around New York City to go shopping and sight seeing. Lamar and Jalessa went with him to act as his body guards...Not really but it is always a good idea to travel with "the locals". Davone is no longer considered a local of New York City!!!!

Wanda also decided to join them and go out on the town!
They went to go and see Times Square and Davone felt right at home there amongst all the weird New Yorkers!

At one point in the night he thought he was Bruce Lee! I will remind him of this when he thinks the kids do something weird!

Davone enjoyed trying to barter with the shopkeepers and looking for good deals. Times Square was a lot of fun for everyone!

The group also headed to Grand Central Station!

The next day Davone met up with Gloria his friend since Jr. High...I think. They went to The Top of the Rock....Or Rockefeller Center observation deck! They got to see a lot from their Vantage point!

I have ALWAYS wanted to go to Central Park....Especially at Christmas! It is so pretty!

Here is the United Nations Flags....How pretty!

Davone survived walking down the street in NYC and crossing the cross walks! Davone also survived all the rides on the buses and on the subways, He managed to survive the neighborhood and most of all he managed to survive being away from his wife and kids for so long! So I guess a Country Boy can survive in the big city!!!

Hunting the elusive Kangaroo!

2008-08-26T19:39:00.006-05:00

One of the most important stops, according to Kiannah, was the Zoo! While looking at the website before the trip we learned that on Wednesdays you can get into the Zoo for FREE! That is right.... Free....They do ask for a donation though. Lamar called in sick to work.....I mean Lamar was real sick and the Doctor said he should go hang out with Davone!!! So Lamar and Davone made the pilgrimage to the zoo together! Davone thought the gophers were real cute!
He tried to blend in with them hoping that he could stay! I think they spotted him!
Kiannah is totally in love with Kangaroos. We do not know how she has developed her fascination with Kangaroos. Let's face it Arkansas doesn't have wild Kangaroos!!! Wild Chickens and Wild Wal~Martians ( employees of Wal~Mart )YES but Kangaroos.....I have never seen running around town! Regardless she loves them! She jumps around the house daily saying she is a Kangaroo. So the main purpose of Davone's trip to the Zoo was to get a picture of a Kangaroo for Kiannah! Here it is one of the pictures of the "Kangaroo"!Okay so it is not really a Kangaroo! Technically it is a Wallaby!! But they are all related! This was good enough to pass for Kiannah! She loves to look at the Kangaroo everyday!

Lamar and Davone found a nice little waterfall and thought that they would pose in front of it and get a cute picture for their wives!

Lamar's pictures turned out real good!

I guess Lamar doesn't know how to take a clear picture!!! That is okay we still love him!

So like I said the main point of the trip to the zoo was to get a picture of the Kangaroo....all the other animals just happened to be on the way there! Needless to say there were a lot of people there!

The mission was accomplished and the crowds just kept getting bigger so Davone and Lamar called it a day! They guys got to hang out without anyone bugging them and Kiannah got her picture plus a cute mug and mask.....So everyone was happy! Good job Davone!!

Party at Wanda's!!!

2008-08-25T07:23:00.022-05:00

Davone was able to spend his birthday with his mother this year!

So what better wayto celebrate then to have a party!!!

Parties always attract a lot of people. Family, Friends and even neighbors came to welcome "The President" home! His mother made sure there was plenty of music and plenty of food. Momma's little boy had to have a cake too!

His Mother and His Father ( Divine Ingram ) were both there with him to blow out the candles on his cake!

No party in that neighborhood would be complete without the Raggae and the Dancing!

Watch for that video soon!

People to see and Places to be!

2008-08-24T20:58:00.011-05:00

Most all of Davone's family lives in New York, so he had plenty of people to visit. Number one on the list....Mr. Lamar Drayton. He is Davone's best friend!Lamar and Davone have known each other since they were 12. They lived in the same building so they got to hang out everyday!

Also on the list is Davone's sister Nijiah. They had never met each other! She is his sister on his dad's side. They were able to meet up and go to lunch together.

Davone also visited with his Uncle Mike and his Great-Grandmother. She was one of the most important stops! Davone loved seeing his Great-Grandmother and listening to her tell stories.

She is so country believe it or not! Davone had to do a lot of traveling around town to see everyone. He took a picture of the subway car to show the kids.

I was surprised at how clean they actually were! They looked nothing like you see on the movies! Davone was also able to see Mr. Ike. Mr. Ike is an adopted Grandfather to Davone. Mr. Ike is so cool he didn't even get off the phone to take a picture with Davone!

Davone didn't get to see everyone he wanted to but he tried! Maybe next time!

The President of Millbrook is BACK!!!

2008-08-24T20:25:00.001-05:00

After a 3 hour Non-Stop flight to New York city Davone was greeted by his.....ummmm .....Step-Dad? Here is the thing. Carlos Valentin WAS married to Wanda. That is how Davone got the last name Valentin. There is alot to that story but that is all that is needed to know. Wanda stayed home to get things ready for Davone. They took a few pictures and talked for a while. Davone hadn't seen Carlos since he was 12 years old so they enjoyed catching up on things. Wanda was happy to have her little boy home and even called to let me know that he was never coming home. She said she was keeping him!!!! I don't think so!!! I informed her he could visit for a while but he had to come home. Davone was excited to get to see Lamar and his family as well. Davone was very tired and had a lot of plans for the next 10 days so he went to bed early!

I bet you want to know how he got the name " President of Millbrook", Here it goes..... He received the name from Lamar. Millbrook is the name of the projects that Davone lived in. Davone would always go around with the big Kool-Aid man smile and talk to everyone who he could. He would shake every one's hands and help people when needed. So Lamar , always looking for a way to make fun of anyone started calling Davone President of Millbrook. He said Davone was always acting like the politicians. How funny!

Our part to stimulate the Economy!

2008-08-22T20:57:00.005-05:00

Davone hasn't been "home" ( back in New York ) since 2003, So when the government sent us our economic stimulus check we figured what better way to stimulate the economy then for Davone to go to New York!!!!

No you aren't seeing things! Yes Davone is wearing a sweatshirt in the middle of August ( with the airlines charging for all the extra baggage now we had to be a little creative in the packing and in case he got cold on the plane ) and Yes he did carry his basketball with him on the plane ( so that he can try to squeeze a game in with Lamar )!

The kids and the wife stayed in Arkansas while Davone went to New York. The government only sent enough for him to go :) and the kids had school!

So.... this is just the beginning of Davone's vacation story. It all started with a horrible economy, a mother's day present, and XNA! The rest of the story will follow shortly!

Final Goodbyes?

2008-08-19T20:36:00.002-05:00

After resting for the weekend we woke up Monday morning and helped Goldie clean the Neighbor's OLD apartment. Kiannah really did enjoy cleaning Aubrey's room! I thought maybe it would help her to see that nothing was left inside, but she still looks for Aubrey. I am sure she will for a while! We wish Trevor and MaryAnn well in Little Rock. We all know they will have no problems making friends! They are awesome people and we have enjoyed so much the friendship and memories we have with them!

Kiannah's saddest day!

2008-08-19T07:46:00.006-05:00

MaryAnn and Trevor finally got moved!!! We knew it was coming for some time now, but we were hoping somehow they could stay closer. Trevor Graduated in May from the University of Arkansas. While looking for a job he interviewed in Helena Arkansas and in Little Rock Arkansas and was eventually offered a job at both. He took the job offer in Little Rock and started the search for an apartment. A ugust 16th.....to Kiannah it is the day mean Uncle Trevor took Aubrey and Coleman away.....to everyone else it is the day the McGarrahs moved to Little Rock. We tried to make it fun for Kiannah and Aubrey and took some pictures in the moving truck. Everyone loved the truck, especially Coleman. We worked hard packing the truck and then it was time to go.

It was Aubrey and Kiannah's first road trip together! They had so much fun throwing Doritos at everyone and everything. They laughed and giggled about absolutely nothing, sang songs and even took a nap. Once we got to Little Rock all the kids were excited to get out and run around. We had them in the apartment but later took them outside to play in the yard while unloading the truck. Aubrey and Kiannah collected some rocks and Coleman just wondered around trying to stay balanced while looking at his new yard.
Before we had time to get comfortable it was time to go. We had dinner and took a couple of quick pictures and said our quick goodbyes. Kiannah asked for Aubrey a couple of times on the way home and I nearly cried knowing that she didn't understand what was going on!
The days following haven't gotten easier for her. She sometimes think she is in trouble and will say "I sorry mommy I can play with Aubrey" or "Please tell MayAnn ( her version of MaryAnn ) to come out for Aubrey". I know she loves her best friend and misses her very much! I am sure we will try to go and visit soon!

The Early Years

2008-06-15T21:25:00.000-05:00

"The Early Years" started in High school, 1996 to be exact. Davone and I met while attending Fayetteville High school in Fayetteville Arkansas. I first noticed Davone in the cafeteria at school. I actually asked him for his phone number for my friend. Eventually things didn't work out for them and Davone and I gave it a shot. He was such an awesome boyfriend! He would always write poetry and bring me flowers. He would roller blade or ride his bike to my house ( pre-car days ) then throw pebbles at my bedroom window until I woke up. We attended prom and by all accounts were high school sweethearts. Our family started out earlier then most. By the time I graduated in May of 1997 I was 2 months pregnant. Things haven't always been easy or right but all of our struggles is what makes the Valentins strong! So as you get to know us and learn more about us you grow to love us, promise!

The Valentin Family

Asbell Roadrunner.... Finally!!

Scout Camp 2011

Lessons learned at a young age

With lots of Love and sadness we say Good-bye!

Little House On the Prairie

*Family Updates*

Some up and overs, circles and sticks, some arms and a dot all put together spells....

I got a fortune!!

So sorry!

Minicure!!

It has been a while!!

Nothing is promised!!

Mormon Helping Hands

Signs of spring??

How nice of them!!

Ice storm 2009

Straight forward and to the point!

Becoming Self Reliant

History is made!

Kiannah is 3!!

* 2009 *

Merry Christmas!!!

"Imanni's growling at me!!"

11 years old???

Happy Thanksgiving!

That's all folks!!!!

Important facts about Imanni

Just about Johnathan

Keepin it real with Kiannah!!

On a side note....

Davone's Family Elfed

ElfYourself

I've got the best!!!

Always into something!!!

Is it Christmas yet?

Kiannah's BFF is 3!!!

Tagged again?!

He is checking his list ....

History has been made!!

Begging for Candy!!

All good things must end!!

Sunday is for Church and Parks

Good times with the Girls!!

A little of this and a little of that

Personal Add

Welcome home!!!

One LONG trip!

Too much time!

My Civic Duty!!

Tag!! I am it!!!

Kiannah and Aubrey ... Reunited at last!!!

Economical Christmas Presents?

The next American Idol?

Imanni enters the workforce!

Crutches and Mom do not go together!

Johnny boy enter's the workforce!!!

Road Trip!

Lucky number 7!!

Paid Obituary

A stunning performance!!!

KC MO Day 2

KC MO Day 1

Thanks a bunch!!!

A lie is.....?

Imanni's Musical Performance

1 month down, How many more?

I have become one of them!!!

Surprise!!

Out for a stroll!!

Davone's Unusual Talent

Star Wars!

And then there were none!!!

Kiannah's Milestone!

A trip back in time!!

We've got Crabs.....Hermit Crabs!

2 Funerals and A wedding!!

A Hurricane in Arkansas?!?

Something Fishy is going on!!

How long will they last?

Family Updates