My husband is no different than Edward. . .

My husband, like most men out there I am sure, has no interest in the Twilight series books. He thinks books and movies about vampires and werewolves must be nothing but nonsense, fiction to the extreme end of complete and utter nonsense. But I tried to explain to him that he and Edward are not much different. Take this past week, for instance. My husband spent the week in the woods, hunting, trying to quinch his thrist for blood, the blood of an innocent beautiful animal. His desire to kill was provoked by the necessity to feed his family. So how can one man's need for the meat of an animal be much different than another's man need for its blood?

Donny did not take a liking to my attempt to be funny at my comparison to him and Edward. If he had half a brain he would know that any woman who compares her husband to Edward is granting that man the greatest of compliments a woman could give. So I guess I will stick to a boring post about him going hunting with the kids, and killing two deer. Wow, wasn't that fun to read. Anyway, here are some nice bloody pictures of the deer. The kids, for some reasons unbeknownst to me, were not at all grossed out by the blood and gore. They must be their father's children (or little vampires in training!).

Madilyn's Thankful for. . .

Madilyn had to write an essay at school about three things she is thankful for. Thought I would share it with you,

Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks. This year I am thankful for family, food and bed. First I am thankful for family because we can do stuff together. Families can be together. Next I am thankful for food becasue it is good and can make you healthy. Finally, I am thankful for a bed, because it is cozy and warm. I love thanksgiving becasue you can give thanks.

Count your Blessings - Name Them One by One. . .

There is definitely something about this time of year that makes us all reflect on the many blessings in our life. I think this year with our troubled economy and all the side effects caused by that, we should all take stock of our lives and really look at all we do have and think about how we can use these things to enrich not only our own lives, but the lives of others. I have compiled a list of my top 10 greatest blessings, all evidence to me that I am a daughter of a very loving Heavenly Father:

1. First and foremost, the gospel of Jesus Christ, without which, I would have none of the following blessings.



2. A true and living prophet, to direct, guide, and lead us in these latter days.



3. The Scriptures which testify of Jesus Christ and teach us the ways of the Lord.



4. The Priesthood

5. An eternal marriage, a union sealed on earth and bound in heaven by the priesthood of the Lord in the Atlanta Temple on 6/14/97.



6. A loving husband, who adores me and takes such good care of me and our family.



7. 3 beautiful healthy children



8. Wonderful parents, who love and help support us and, most importantly, love our children.





9. Lasting, enduring relationships with family and friends across the country.

10. Good jobs that provide the monetary means necessary to provide for the needs and most of the wants of our family.

I'm sure that most of you share many of the same blessings as I do, and count them in your top 10 as well. There are a lot of things I am uncertain about during these troubling times, but of this I am certain - there is only one blessing on my list that can be taken away from me, and that is #10. So I know that no matter what the future holds, and how turbulent the world may become, I will always have a long list of blessings to count and be thankful for. And for that, I have another reason to be thankful. May God continue to bless and watch over each of us, keep us safe, bring us peace and comfort, and help us to stay strong and faithful in a world filled with weakness and uncertainty.

My son - The Hottie!!

Who knew it? Colin is a Hottie! I am currently accepting applications for anyone who has a daughter they would like to pre-arrange a future marriage for.

This is a rare photo of Colin. He normally either refuses to take his picture, or strikes some crazy pose with a crazy looking face. Some background on the story of the picture - we were getting ready to go somewhere, and I had not buttoned his shirt yet, so we told him to lean up against the wall and let's take his picture, and he actually did it. The hands in the pocket and the studly look were all his doing. Think I could sell the photo to Fruit of the Loom?



And of course, little Phil Phil had to strike the same pose as his brother. How cute is this kid!

Time for a Change

When your three year old SON wants you to do this to his hair


so he can be just like his "sissy"


you know it is time for a haircut. Madilyn's hair turned out beautifully. It was way to curly to wear down, so we pulled it up and she got so many compliments at church about her hair.




So I finally broke down and took Philip to get a haircut. The girl cut it much shorter in the front and on the top than I wanted her to. What else is new. But it will grow, right. So here he is now, looking more like a boy again.



I have gotten so used to seeing him with his hair longer that he looks like a different child now. But he is still the cutest kid ever, if I do say so myself!

My fourth baby!

Yes, folks, that is right. There is a fourth Langley baby. Okay, maybe not biologically, but he is a Langley just the same. His name is Tuxedo Hopper Langley, aka Tux, named for his black color and white strip down his chest like a tuxedo shirt - He's fancy! He came to be a member of our family in February 2007. How could anyone have resisted this cutie! (Dang puppies for sale in the Walmart parking lot! - Don't ever stop to just look at them!!!)





Now he is about to celebrate his 2nd birthday in December and take a look at how much he has grown!





Yes, he is the biggest dog you have ever seen. Your eyes are not deceiving you. And, yes, he is an inside dog. I know, I know. You don't need to say anything. Your expression and the "Oh my gosh" that went through your head when you read that says it all! But he has turned out to be a really good dog. He loves to play with Philip! He trys any chance he gets to jump in our lap and cuddle, but he is just so dang big and bony! He brings a whole new meaning to the expression "Legs for days". So, that's our dog. We love him, and at this point, we'll keep him around for awhile!

Storytime

So, I know some of you out there have these super intelligent, smart and amazing children, so this may not impress you too much. But when it's your own child, sometimes you are amazed at what they do. Madilyn wrote this Halloween story for school, and I thought it was pretty good, so I wanted to share it.

One dark Halloween night, a little girl named Amy gets scared. She believes in ghosts and monsters. Amy always tells Amanda there is such a thing as ghosts and monsters. Amy tells Amanda that the ghosts come out because there is no full moon.

On Halloween night, their parents are going to a party. Amanda has to take Amy trick-or-treating. They find a book while they are trick-or-treating. The book said Don't read aloud. Then there was a monster that came alive. They just didn't know it yet.

They go back home. Then Amy goes to bed. She can't get to sleep because she is scared that there is a monster in her closet. She screams three times. The third time, there was slime on the window. Amy and Amanda were scared. They hid in the closet that was very empty. It was very, very scary. Then all of the sudden the power went out. Amanda went outside to turn the power back on. She came back inside and Amy was gone.

She called her parents. Nobody answers. She read the book again but not out loud. It said that the monster leaves slime on the window, turns the power off, and then captures little ones. Amanda is as scared as ever. She called her parents again. Still, nobody answers. Then her parents came in the door and asked if Amy was in bed. Amanda said she was all snuggled warm in bed. But she wasn't. Her family never found Amy again.

The Shirt says it ALL!!!

Langley Family Update

So, I figured I needed to give an update of what is going on with the Langley family these days. We have been living in Newnan, Georgia for 2 1/2 years now (wow, time flies, doesn't it!). Donny is working for the Kmart Distribution Center here in Newnan as the 2nd shift Inbound Mananger. I am working full-time as the payroll clerk for three Rite-Aid distribution centers in Newnan. Our jobs keep us very busy, but for the most part, they are good jobs, and we enjoy them. Because Donny works 2nd shift, he is able to stay home with Philip all day. This makes it much easier for me to go to work each day - knowing my baby is home with his dad instead of in daycare all day. I'm not sure I could handle that. Donny has become quite the Mr. Mom. Now, ladies, remember he is mine forever, because after you read this next part, you are going to want to take him as your own, but Donny takes care of all the household chores. He cleans, does laundry, runs errands - pretty much everything. What a lucky lady i am, right!

Madilyn will be 10 in January and is in the 4th grade. She is in Chorus at school and loves anything that has to do with music. She is also an avid Littlest Pet Shop collector, and currently has about 150 pets, and is excited to see her collection grow with the holidays and her birhtday quickly approaching. She is my biggest helper with Philip. She usually bathes him every night for me. She has finally turned into a "young lady". She likes to make sure her clothes match, and are clean and neat. She loves to shop - just like her mom. But along with the age, I can already see the attitude of a tween-age girl beginning to creep in. All in all, we could not ask for a better daughter!

Colin is 7 and in the 2nd grade. Colin is all boy. Rough, tough, down and dirty. Colin loves anything that has to do with the outdoors. He loves playing in the woods and getting dirty. He is quite the comedian and will do just about anything to get a laugh out of you. We have discovered that he has a photogenic memory. He can memorize his entire reading story for school each week just by reading it one time. He memorized his part for the Primary program in about 30 seconds. It is amazing. His memory is very sharp, too and he can remember just about anything he hears. It's pretty cool to test him on things you wouldn't think he would know, just to see what he can remember.

And, of course, my baby Philip. I know, I know, he will be four soon, but he is still such a baby to me. Oh, this kid, he has my heart. He is so dang cute. You can't help but love him. Even when he is giving you his 3 year old attitude and saying "Me not like you anymore". But don't tell him you don't like him back - he will cry so hard. Then he has to come up to you and say, "Look" while he gives you a big smile. That is way of letting you know, all is better now. And you better smile back, or it all starts over again. This happens at least every 15 minutes at our house. But Philip loves to play with trucks and our dog and outside. He loves to watch Wow Wow Wubzy and the Backyardigans. He loves his dad, and they are best buddies.

So that is pretty much our life as it is right now!

A family visit from the Arroyo's!

My sister Miriam and her family recently came to visit us from Mississippi. My kids love spending time with their cousins.


From left to right we have Philip (3), Anna Reese (5), Colin (7), Addison (13), Tanner (10) and Madilyn (9).

While here, we made our annual fall trip to Six Flags. October is definitely the best time to go. It's not too hot, and it is Fright Fest, so everything is all about halloween and spooky-ness.

Philip had a hard time not understanding why he couldn't ride the roller coasters. But he had a blast riding everything that he could.





Donny and I took the younger kids on Thunder River, and well, we got soaked. There was not a dry spot on me, and poor Philip, he had the pleasure of sitting beside me, so he too did not have a dry spot on him. Colin, Tanner and Anna Reese - totally dry. Not even a drop of water on them. I should have sat on their side of the boat!

Nothing quite like a little Six Flags Porn to enjoy while waiting in line to ride the carousel. Hey, they got to keep the dads' entertained somehow, right!

After a very long day filled with lots and lots of fun, Philip gave out. But not without letting go of his football and basketball his dad won for him. ROLL TIDE!

Thanks for a great day Six Flags. Can't wait till next year!

So I am on the Blog Wagon!

Yep, I finally did it! I am on the blog wagon. And so excited to be onboard!