The Best Dad Ever!!!

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HA-WEE-WEE!!!!

HA-WEE-WEE!!!!! Oh yeah baby!!! That's where this family is going!!! My family is ready to kill me because they keep telling me you pronounce it Hawaii. But all I can think of when I think of the word Hawaii is WWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!  I am so excited!!!!

Yes I know. Everyone thinks we are crazy because we are taking all of our 4 kids with us but hey, we don't care. We are so excited to run and play on the beach with them!

Planning this trip has been exhausting and beyond stressful. I am anything but a planner. I like to do things last minute. I don't like waiting to go on fun trips. So this has been pure torture. I have been like a little kid at a candy store! I want it now! The kids have been more patient than I am.  BUT---they are pretty excited themselves. There is only one draw back

But............I am afraid of flying. Someone please tranquilize me because I hate to fly. Star-Trek me there already!!!

Kirt and I went sky diving and the plane ride was more torture that actually taking the jump. I welcomed jumping out of that plane! There are few things I hate less than landings and take offs.....but I'll do it. Oddly, I'm not scared of heights, I love to be up high and see the pretty scenery, I'm not scared once we are flying, But-----if we hit turbulance......WATCH OUT!!! I  am the person screaming in the background, "We're all gonna die! Somebody get me off this plane!!!"

I am told me fear makes no sense since skydiving and zip-lining and everything else like that doesn't scare me. But whatever.......sedate me!

So as we got on the plane, none of the kids are afraid of flying. (except Beckham showed some potential on take off, SO PROUD!) We flew from SLC to Denver and that was OK. But the flight from Denver to Hawaii was not fun. Lexi and Chase drew a picture of the plane crashing and then all of us falling from the sky with parachutes.......I was the only one with no parachute. They thought they were so funny. MEAN.

That did not help my anxiety. I was not taking anything lightly. They were laughing so hard. Mean old kids! Cute though.

We have now landed and are staying at the Marriott Ko Olina. This is a picture of us at the resort. It is absolutely beautiful here!!! There are restaurants int he hotel, a private beach just for the guests, we are staying in a two bedroom suite with a KITCHEN!!!! I feel like I have died and gone to heaven. This is paradise. SO EXPENSIVE THOUGH!!! How does anyone afford this without maxing out their credit cards???? I mean seriously.........Not that that's what we're doing.......

kirt dad

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Raindrops and Dew...

My kids always make me tell them a bedtime story. Every night without fail they will tell me they are afraid of the "monsters" and the "scary stories". I don't know where they heard these scary stories but I swear it is going to be the death of Kirt and I. We try to paint "pretty pictures" in their head and whisper to them till they fall asleep.

Their favorite story, besides "Helga and Igor", is "Raindrops..." It makes them picture happy things before they go to bed, I guess. We tell it very slowly and very softly. It works like a charm. They fall asleep every time! I figured I'd write it down so we can have it forever.

Raindrops

I see the soft raindrops,

 drip dropping.

I see the soft leaves move with them,

 splish splashing.

I look up at the sky,

but no cloud is over head.

I see a sun shine brightly, 

with raindrops glistening.

I see a bright green, beautiful leaf.

It has one gigantic raindrop resting.

Reflecting.

I look into the raindrop and see,

the memories of all the rain.

Happy puddle splashing,

funny drizzle frizzle,

Crazy pouring wetness, 

and soft mist of a cool summer breeze.

Raindrops all around.

Dripping softly to the ground.

Head up,

Tongue out!

Crazy, wild, fun.

The calm of the raindrops

go drip, drip, drop...!

Lexi's Baptism

I have been both dreading and looking forward to this day since I had laid eyes on my beautiful Lexi. For 2 reasons. First reason was because I selfishly never wanted her to grow up. (and I never wanted to admit I was getting old.) Second, I had no idea how I would feel about having my own child accept the gospel as truth. I know this sounds a little strange...let me explain.

It has been a true struggle of mine trying to know what is right and what is wrong to teach you. I was at a cross roads in my own thoughts in how I was feeling about the church. I was so afraid I would ruin your special day for you. My thoughts and teachings to you are always true to the best of my knowledge...sometimes, I feel I know so little. You are so special to me. I want the best, I want the most, I want the everything for you.

It is the most intimidating thing to be a mother. I face this challenge and pray I lead you down a path of truth and that I never fail you. For this reason I worried about how I would feel on your baptism day. I wanted it to be your choice and not mine. And my sweet daughter...it was your choice. You wanted this. You loved your baptism day. After all my experiences on this day, I knew I was teaching you truth Lexi. I knew you were choosing what was right. Your example made me believe again. You are a true gift in my life. This day changed my life.

We had many late night talks about your baptism. We talked about what it meant to be baptized and that you alone could choose to be baptized. Only excitement filled your eyes when talking about it. You could not wait for your "special day".

Your "special day" arrived! The feeling in the home was so different that day. I must admit, I was a little surprised by the feeling I woke up to that morning. It was a feeling of peace and warmth. It was July and the day was sunny and bright. You woke me up and said, "It's my baptism day!" Your smile just melted my heart. You seemed so at peace yet beyond excited for the day's events to start. I smiled right back. You jumped into bed with dad and I and we both cuddled you. Dad and I looked at each other exchanging a look that we both knew. "AWE!"

We finally got up and started the day. Busy, busy, busy. Cooking up a storm for all the family that were to come and fixing Lexi's hair for her special day. You looked amazingly gorgeous.

Your Dad and you practiced a few times on how he would baptize you so you knew what to do. It was so cute to see you two laugh and look into each others eyes. You are Daddy's little girl:)

It was time...

You were the only one with a baptism that day so we had the entire church to ourselves. Aunt Heather, (trevor's wife), gave the opening prayer and Grandpa Michaelis gave a talk. He talked and told you about how your dad was going to baptize you. He had you come up and pretend like you were in the baptismal font and he was baptizing you. He comforted you and made you feel more at ease about how you were going to be baptized.  You loved hearing him talk. Aunt Jenna sang "His Hands".

You asked me to speak. I thought I would die. But for you Lexi, I would do anything. So I spoke.

When I spoke I gave you a very soft and very white blanket. It was to remind you of the Holy Ghost. I wanted you to remember that voice that whispers to you when you are doing something wrong, or when you might be in danger. Remember how soft it is. Remember how gentle it is. Remember that it needs to be kept clean. If you don't listen to it...the whisper will get softer. Be kind to it. Be gentle to it. Make sure you keep yourself soft and kind like this blanket. Make sure you are pure and clean like this blanket. If you do you will be able to always hear the soft whisperings of the holy ghost and have him with you always.

When I was done speaking I had you come up and you took the soft blanket. I told you the blanket was now yours. I told it was now your job to keep it clean. I told you when you sleep, this blanket can be the soft reminder of heavenly father's love for you. This blanket can also be a reminder of the soft whispering of the spirit and the warnings you may need throughout your life. I told you that I loved you. I think you are amazing in every possible way. I am proud of you no matter what you do. I am so grateful to be your mother.

After that, It was time for your father to baptize you. Just you and I went back to the dressing room where we got you in your baptism clothes. I was filled with so much hope, love, adoration, peace, and pure gratefulness that your were my daughter. I mean, WOW LEXI!!! You are just one amazing girl. I just wanted to hold you there and never let you go. I thought my heart would burst with all the love I held inside for you at that very moment. (and every moment) But, I had to let you go:) I had to let go to your father...

Your father outstretched his hand and you yours, he took your hand and he baptized you. I cried. I was so surprised at my emotions. Daddy was a little teary too! Your smile was so bright and beautiful. You came out of the font and squealed, "I'm baptized!!!" I laughed. Yes you were.

Aunt Jenna did your hair and all the family came over to the house to celebrate! So much love for you Lexi! SO MUCH LOVE! This day was so memorable for me. I know it was for you too. I have been asking you to write it down and you have but we moved and lost so many things. I thought it was a good idea we write some special moments in our life down. This is one of my special moments in life. You are a special moment in my life.

I love you so much. You are my favorite daughter!!! Hahahahaha! I love you baby girl. You are smart. You are fun. You are down right gorgeous! I will always be there for you no matter what. Thank you for making every dream of mine come true by just being in my life.               Love,  Mommy

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That did not just happen...

This really did happen, all in one night, and all to me.

Stomach Flu---A Mother's Worst Nightmare!

Kirt, my husband, was coaching my sons soccer practice right around dinner time. Lexi got a little cranky and said, "My stomach hurts!!!" So naturally I think, "Oh my gosh! What a baby! I swear I feed my kids every hour and they are still hungry!!!" So I load Lexi, Beckham and my friend Britney, in the car, (poor Britney came along for the ride). We decide to go to Arby's just down the rode to get the kid's Dinner. By the time we get to Arby's Lexi is practically screaming that her tummy is killing her. Britney and I decide she may have diarrhea by the way Lexi has described her pain. I swerve and park asap. She looks as though she might explode. All three of us are in a panic. I get her out of the car and we are running to get into Arby's. I am pulling open the door into the main lobby of Arby's and Lexi starts to cough. It is the barf cough. "Oh no." I think. "Run!" I shout. And we run to the grass in front of Arby's and State Street. By now, I am practically carrying her. It's too late, she is barfing on my arms and hands. "Whatever." I think. People are driving by and watching my poor Lexi barf. I actually saw one girl see us and turn away and dry heave herself. I couldn't help but laugh.

With nowhere to wipe my hands but the grass and my jacket I smell wonderful. I didn't dare go into Arby's. They were already unhappy with the mess we left in front of their building, I knew coming inside would be pushing it. By now I am feeling really bad I thought she was faking the tummy ache. I picked my pale faced little girl up and put her in the car. I still went through the drive thru and got food for the kids. That was fun. Poor Britney pretended she couldn't smell a thing. WOW! What a good friend.

So, Lexi is very sick by now. It is tax season and Kirt is an accountant. He was gone the rest of the night. I have no idea where. Landon tells me his tummy hurts. By now, I believe my children. I learned my lesson. As he was saying "My tummy hurt's" he let out the most beautiful burp and barf splashed all over my bare feet. I thought, "Awesome. It doesn't get any better than this." Cute little Landon looked up at me with his blue, blue eyes and said, "Oh, mommy, I barfed on you......I'm sorry." As much as I was grossed out, it was totally cute. After this night, my kids were lucky they were so cute......cause they had nothing else going for them......kidding. I really do adore my kids. I'm a really sarcastic person......I'm sure if you don't know me my posts do not translate very well:)

I clean and wash off my feet but still I have not showered. Gross huh? I know. But you know when you don't shower for the day because you know you are going to be cleaning all day? That's how I felt.....I just knew the night was not over.....I knew there was more barf to come. It was pointless to shower.

I decided to make all the kids sleep upstairs in one location. This way I could sleep by all four of them and we could have a community barf bowl and I could get to all of them in one swift movement. So, I set up our big blow up mattress. We watched a movie with no problems and all fell asleep but the youngest. Cute little Beckham. He was being so cute! He had his head on my shoulder and he just kept talking to me. We talked about the dog and the cat. His favorite color. How much he loved his dad and then BARF!!!!! All in my face and mouth. THAT DID NOT JUST HAPPEN! No way.........I am in complete shock while I accidentally swallow a little of my child's barf. "Ok. That did just happen" I thought. I sit up. Beckham is un-phased as he giggles at the sight of his mother's face covered in his previously eaten dinner. The only words out of his mouth is "Mommy, yuck" I slowly get up and am so grossed out, I laugh. How can this night get any worse? "It can't", I thought. The worst is over. I wash off my face and mouth. Amazingly, because my hair had been tied back, the delightful mixture did not get into my hair. Still no shower....totally gross. I KNOW. WHY??? I still felt deep down inside, there was more. More that these little monsters had for me. (and by monsters I mean beautiful lovely children.) I change the bedding. The rest of the night it was Chase's turn. All he did was dry heave. Poor guy had nothing in him.

Now, you would think that is all I have in my family. I would too. But turns out we are both wrong. I have animals too. So I was up until  4:30 AM with my cute babies. AT 4;30 AM my dog River had and ear ache. I knew that because when I finally got to sleep she woke me up with her whining and scratching her ear like crazy. I went to pet her and my hand rubbed into some sticky goo that was leaking out of her ear. That is when I got grossed out. I gave her some doggy pain medication, cleaned out her ear, made a note to get her to the vet, and sent her off too bed.

By then, I was exhausted. I went downstairs to my bedroom where Kirt was, (he got home really late that night). It was pitch black so I had to feel my way to the bed and around to my side. I got into the bed and Kirt asked how everything was. I told him everything. There was a slight pause. "Kirt, did you fart???" There was another pause, "No....did you?" "Um.....No." I said, because he knows I am always proud of my farts and claim them whenever they are mine. I sigh and plop my hands to the side of the comforter. SPLAT!!! That did not just happen!!! I knew what my hand was in before I even turned on the lights. I knew what my hand was in before I even lifted up my hand to move it off of what it was in. I knew what my hand was in as soon as it went SPLAT!!! "*#!*#(*^@#" I said. "What?!" said Kirt. Sounding very annoyed that I kept talking. "I just put my hand in cat crap!!!" I yelled very loudly. "No you didn't" Kirt said. Not wanting to believe he had been sleeping next to cat crap the entire night. "Um....YES I DID!!! LOOK!!!!" I flipped on the light switch and we saw the best sight of the night. It beat all the barf on the hands, feet, in the face, and down the throat by a mile.

Yes. This is when I got the cat and it is still banned from the house. This is when I dry heaved. This is when Kirt dry heaved. This is when.....I did finally give in.......I took the shower of all showers. I scrubbed and scrubbed. I am so clean and yet I feel so dirty. This is when I thought, That there is no way that that day just happened?!!!

Insomnia, kids, and poop...

On occasion  I am up at night because my thoughts just won't just shut off!!! Ohhhhhhh, and it's not about any thing important either.  Just good old insomnia at its best. I love it.

So every night, and I do mean every night, our three year old Beckham sleeps with us. We try our hardest to get him  in his own bed. I have put him back in his bed literally 5 times in one night. So we folded for the time being. Just like I folded with potty training.

Potty training was a totally different ball game with Becks. I thought it would be simple. It wasn't. I first started him in under wear and asked him every half hour or so if he needed to go pee-pee or poo-poo. He always said "No no, mama. I fine." so it wasn't quite time to make him try I thought, so I left the room for maybe 2 minutes. I come back and the heater vent has been removed and I smell something awful throughout the entire house. I go over to the heater vent and Beckham is sitting there all smiles saying,"Mama, I poo-pooed!!!!" and he points down the heater vent. "AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" I thought. I could see the dried poo smear from the top of the vent and knew this was going to be a long clean up. Just so you are aware, the heater vent was running, so  the smell is constantly being blasted in my face while I am cleaning this. Getting to the actual present was particularly nice. Had it been a little More solid life would have been better.

Life seemed a little more hopeful after that, Beckham had peed twice that day and no more heater business. I think we got him to know where the "real" potty was. The next day I awoke to a gross smell. A child poopey smell. Beckham was naked and running around. He was shouting, "I went poopie!!!" I was so excited so I checked all toilets..........no poop........no he didn't. "Beckham where did you poop?" and beckham smiled for a very long time but didn't answer. Then the heater turned on the entire house was filled with the smell of poo. I hurried and searched each vent. Finally I found it and cleaned it as thorooughly as possible. I have never been so frustraited.

He did it again the next day except this time I caught him. We were in the middle of afternoon nap and I decided to lay down this time. I woke to seeing two cute little butt cheeks and a stream a of pee spraying between his legs. I said, "That's it!!! I fold!! YOU WIN!!! Here are your diapers. I a m not up for this. We will try in a month. Beckham smiled. He knew He had just won. But guess what? I didn't care at that point. cleaning that vent was so gross. I need to develop a new tactical plan.

I'm also a big snuggler with my kids. At any given moment Kirt and I have at least one if not 2 kids in bed with us at a time...........we need it to stop. I love them but my brain has been zapped. It doesn't work anymore.

If any of you out there have suggestions on how to prevent your child from pooping in a vent that would be most helpful. Or,  if you had any suggestion from keeping all four of your children from waking you up every single night that would help too. Love my babies just wish I had it all figured out!!!

What I Love About My Best Friend, Buddy, and One True Love, Kirt....

Wild ride, right?! I get emotional Just thinking about how much I love you. I know I don't show it as often as I want to and try to put up a tuff wall. I don't know why. I don't think I will ever truly know why, but you are my one true weakness. For you, I would do anything. I talk tough. I'm a liar. I love you completely and endlessly. Nothing will change that. Nothing can break that. You are my world.

Where to start??? When I first met you, I knew I wanted to know you. I broke my rule of never calling a boy first and called you. It took us a while to get around to dating each other but it happened. It sounds completely cheesy but when you first kissed me I knew I loved you. I knew I wanted to be with you the rest of my life. I can't even put into words how grateful I am I had that higher spot in line at Cold Stone that night. Can you imagine if I hadn't??? You never would have picked up on that high school student who was going to prom the next night.......yea you felt like an idiot.

We had been best friends for 2 years before dating, so I knew you would make an amazing father. I just didn't think you would be fantastic. Seriously Kirt, I know I give you a hard time, but, you are the best father I have ever seen. I find it impossible to keep up with you. You amaze me every day with your dedication to this family and to me. I love and trust you completely. It scares me because I know you of all people can hurt me the most.
 
Trust. But---I trust you. Faith. I have Faith in us. That is what I Love most about you. I knew nothing of either of those two words before I met you. You taught them to me and made me believe in them. I struggle here and there, but you always make me believe in them again. I love your persistence, it is a quality I hate and love all at the same time.

We have had our share of downs haven't we? Or, shall I say, I, have had my share of downs and you have been there to catch me? Yes. That is more of how it went. I love how calm and steady you are. Although I know you don't feel that way on the inside. Thank you for being strong when I needed you to be. I know it wasn't easy, it wasn't fair, and it most certainly wasn't fun. But, You stuck by me. You are amazing. You stuck by me through everything. How can I ever thank you. Without you I would be completely and utterly lost. You and God are the only thing who get me through my storms. You are a blessing I will selfishly keep forever and never share:)

You are so fun to be around. I think after having 4 kids we forget how much fun we can have together. But if we spend even 2 hours away from the kids, our personalities come alive and I think, "Man, this guy is freaking awesome! How did I get so lucky?"

You are such a good sport. I decide randomly I want to go skydiving and your greatest fear is heights. So as my birthday present we go skydiving. WHAT A RUSH!!! What a mood swing?! Right?! Who knows what to expect and you just go along for the ride. Thank you buddy!!! That is a memory I will never forget.

You are patient, you are kind, you are gentle. You taught me to love unconditionally. What true friendship really is, and have always been an example to me in how to live my life. You make me a better person. You truly are my better half. You will sit there and take a lecture when you shouldn't even have one.  I am always in awe of you. I still catch myself staring at you asking myself, "How did I get so lucky??? This guy is hot!" You are everything times a million that I had ever dreamed of having. As far as life with our little family....we couldn't be more blessed, we couldn't be more happier, we couldn't ask for anything more. We have everything we will ever need. We have each other and the kids. That is all that matters. You are my everything.

You are the most handsome man on the planet. Truly, you are. I'm so glad you are mine. I would go crazy if you weren't. You are irreplaceable to this family and to me. I need you, I love you, I'm so blessed to have you in my life. Thank you for those late night blessings of comfort. To have that in our home is something I have always promised myself I would have for my family. Thank you for making all my dreams a reality. I love you with all my heart.  niki

What I love about Beckham!

Bekinator!!! The Beckster!!! Well my perfect little brown eyed angel. What can I say about you? I mean, WOW!!! First off you are my one and only brown eyed child. So we are automatically a team. (even though you are a daddy's boy through and through.) But----you are physical proof that my genes exist in the Michaelis boy's. I was just shocked that none of the kids had brown eyes. Brown eyes are dominant!!! But your father says,"He's the man. He'll always be dominant." Whatever. I got you and that is all that matters. And boy are you a treat!!! Everyday I wake up and think, "I get to spend this day with my cute "baby Beckham"".

You are the one child your dad actually delivered. I had an epidural so I couldn't feel anything but I had a feeling you had your own agenda. I was planning on going home that night. I did not want to have you that early. (4 weeks early) But you were coming anyways. And came you did. Contractions started at home and two hours later you were born.......but I'm getting ahead of myself. I had an epidural and I told kirt and the doctor to check and make sure you were not coming out early. They thought I was being paranoid but checked anyways and the doctor yells, "OH! There's the head! I see a Head." and he goes to grab some gloves and your dad runs over and catches you with one hand and the doctor with his other one gloved hand. It was a funny site. Your dad was really worried he was going to drop you.

Then like always......you made us worry. You struggled to breathe and they rushed you to the NICU. You had tubes down your throat and IV's and your mother was an absolute mess. She ended up yelling at one of the nurse's and then as a result got a really fancy basket with gift cards and food from the hospital as an apology......don't mess with mama!!! You came home after eight seemingly endless days and have been healthy ever since. I will say though, and it will make you mad, you are our cute little runt of the family. BUT----you can pack a punch!!! Don't mess with Becks!

I love when we ask you what you name is you don't just say "Beckham". You always say, "Baby Beckham". I love your cute little face that lights up when you say your name. You melt every part of me with that cute face of yours. I feel you are a special blessing in our family and a treasure to have each day in our lives.

I love and am tortured by the fact that when we go to bed you say, "We go bed? In OUR bed?". And if you are wondering why you say our, it is because we gave up the fight, and you now always sleep with daddy and I......every night. And it is killing us. I love it because you are so funny at night. You go through a routine of making your crazy noises and then your crazy pelvic thrusts and then it's lights out. You are so funny.

You are so loving. Don't ever change that about yourself. Your tenderness is one of my favorite things and it melts my heart when you give me your sweet little kisses. I love it when you say, "kisses mommy, kisses!"

I named you after one of the most important and special people in my life. You remind me a lot of him and you look like he did as a child. I named you after your uncle Jesse who went missing 5 years ago, May 24, 2008. Beckham Jesse. You are crazy fun and care free. You love life and see the fun in everything. You are a breath of the freshest air. I love you completely and endlessly.

You put up with a lot. Your two brothers are a lot to handle. I am impressed at how you can hold your own. You not only posses physical strength but I can already sense a strong spirit from you and know you are meant to do great and wonderful things. Watch that little temper cute boy. (All my boys need to watch their tempers.) Nothing bothers your mother more than a nasty temper.

Your blonde hair and brown eyes will get you all the girls. be kind and gentle and loving. I love you my sweet adorable boy. Nothing will ever change that my Baby Beckham.   Love Mommy

What I love about Landon...

Well, my precious little Landon, I have so much to say to you. You are My little angel sent from above. Sent at the most difficult time in my life. You helped soften a blow to my heart that could have killed me if I did not have my precious little baby to care for. Your uncle Jesse was able to see a picture of your handsome face before he went missing from this life. He said you were "so adorable". He was so excited to be your uncle. I love that he got to see you before he left this life. From the moment you were born I knew you were going to be a pretty amazing yet pretty chill little man.

You came into this world at UVRMC in Provo, UT. You came pretty fast, but were by far, my least fussy baby. You were the only one out of the kids that did not go under the lights. (You were my only newborn who did not get jaundice.) I was so happy. I got to hold you more as a baby than any of the other kids because you didn't get jaundice. So that meant lots more snuggles and loves. I needed those. You were just what I needed. You, my precious blue eyes, were my sweet medicine to getting happy again. I thank you so much for what you have done for me in my life. Already, in the short time you have lived, you have saved your mama's life! How do you feel?!

First and foremost, I love those eyes. You're eyes are probably the best eyes I've ever seen. (Although, I do love all my kids eyes) Your eyes can instantly melt me into tiny little pieces and you can talk me into doing pretty much anything.

One thing is for certain, you are you father's mini me in every way, shape, and form. I went up to put you to bed and said you had to be quiet if you wanted to watch the movie I had put on for you and the kids upstairs. I went downstairs to be with your father and you come marching downstairs in a slight rage. "Mom! Why do I have to be quiet for the movie?" I was confused at your question. You are a pro at watching movies and being quiet is not hard for you. You are like your father. He is not a talker. It drives me crazy! To get either of you to talk is like pulling 50 teeth all at once. "What do you mean, Ya-Ya". You scowl at me and say, "Why do I have to be quiet for the movie when all I want to do is go to bed?!!!!" Kirt and I look at each other and start laughing. You hate it when we laugh. You always think we are laughing at you. You scowl again. We stop laughing. Kirt and I say in unison, "You can go to bed Landon." You smile and say, "Oh. Ok. Tank you." and scoot away to bed. We wait for you to leave and start laughing again.  Just like your Dad. You love your bed. You have a time you like to go to bed. You will put yourself to bed just like your dad did when he was a kid. Too funny.

I love how patient you are. (Although, you do have quite the temper as well, be careful Ya-Ya) Your brother Chase can be a little stinker and you do a pretty good job putting up with him. Patience is a great quality to have. Never stop practicing it. You will always be better for it.

You are so fun to be around! Talking to you is one of my favorite pass times. I remember we were walking to meet the family at the soccer field and you slid your tiny little hand into mine and started telling me all about your day and what you were thinking about. I remember looking over at you and thinking, "Wow, this little boy is my sweet child! He is so beautiful! How did I get so lucky?!" I listened to you for 10 minutes and soaked up every word. You were crackin' me up. The way you talk is just hilarious. You have your own slang. I love it.

You are smart, strong, independant, funny, hilarious, and the best person to just chill with. If you need a buddy to hang out with and need no stress involved you are the guy to call. But put you and chase together and we have got problems. You two are gonna cause your dad and I so much grief it is not even funny.

We know you'll probably do something stupid and get arrested. We already know you pick up on girls..........we've witnessed that. I just get anxiety thinking about you two crazy boys!!! Oh well. It makes me laugh too. Because if you weren't getting into trouble you wouldn't be true boys, would you? And you Michaelis boys are definitely true blue boys. Always causing trouble......

I love you YA-YA!!! You are my blue eyed angel. Never forget that:)

What I love about Chase!

I love that I get to write down what I love about my cute babies!!! This is too much fun for me. And that is just what Chase is. One big, round, ginormous ball of fun!!!

What do I love about Chase??? WOW!!! Where should I start? From the minute chase was born I knew we were in for a treat.

Dad and I were about to go on a date and I started having contractions. Of course! We finally got to go on a date and Chase decides to up the stakes. Totally like Chase. I was really frustrated because Kirt was in charge of naming the baby. Kirt had not made any kind of decision. SO I was freaking out. We were going to have this beautiful baby boy with no name. OH! I was not happy. We got to the hospital and you were there within 2 hours! You meant business! When you say go, you mean go.

Your dad was the first to hold you. I wish you could have seen his face. You were his first little boy. He was so excited, happy, and amazed by you. We got a little teary eyed when we looked at each other. I smiled and calmly said, "What's his name?". I could tell by Kirt's face he knew exactly what your name was. He looked at you and then he looked at me and said, "Chase. Chase Kirt." It sounded perfect. When I finally got to hold you, I looked you in the eyes and I knew that you were my little Chase. I knew you would be so sweet. But I also knew, with a name like that, we were bound for a wild and crazy adventure. And Chase, you have never disappointed me:)

Chase. I love you so much! How can words even begin to express the love I have for you? You surprise me everyday with how smart you are. Some of the things you teach me are things I have never even heard of. I love your dedication. When you say you will do something, you do it, That is an amazing quality to have. Never lose it.

You are so trust worthy. I believe you when you tell me things. I trust that you will tell me the truth. I love that I can count on you to be there for me and help me with things when I ask. You have a presence that is calming and makes me feel loved and  very special. Thank you Chase, for all you do for me.

You are so funny! Jokes at the dinner table are one of my favorite parts of the day. I don't know how you have so many jokes and are able to have new ones each day, but, meal times would not be the same with out you!

You are what I like to call my "sweet child" and I'll tell you why. You are the only one of my kids who makes sure that EVERY day I get a big hug. Your kindness and caring for others is amazing to see. Those hugs you have given me throughout the day have literally gotten me through some of my toughest days. I look forward to them each day and am so grateful you never forget to give me those hugs.

Your smile. Who could ever say "No" to that smile. I would do anything to ensure that that smile never goes away. I love your smile. When you smile it lights up the entire room. Your personality is the funnest personality. You are so fun to be around. Staying up late and talking with you is one of my most favorite things. I find myself always wanting to know more about you. Spending time with you is a gift from heaven and I thank God everyday I have you in my life.

You are going to be trouble. I just know it. I remember the first time I realized it too. We were at Lexi's soccer game and you and Landon were wrestling around like you always do. Then, A group of girls walk by.......and automatically you both freeze in your tracks and stare. I was in shock. You are only 6 years old and Landon is 4. What is going on??? You whisper to Landon and say, "Landon, tell those girl to come here." Landon looks at you half angry, half confused, "Why can't you do it?". Chase, "because I told you to do it first! Now do it." Landon looks at you defiantly and then takes the defeat, "oh, okay. But next time it's your turn!"  I am thinking to myself, "Next time? Do they do this often? What is going on?" I decide to let all of this play out. I am totally curious if my boys are actually trying to pick up on a group of 15 and 16 year old girls. The group of girls are standing about 30 feet from them and I am hiding in the background where no one can see. Landon shouts, "Hey girls! Come here!" and then both of you start flexing for them.........I am dying! This is too funny! The girls are not impressed, (obviously). They replied, "No!" and turned and started to leave. Chase whispers in Landon's ear again, "Tell them if they don't come over here, we're going to beat them up!" Landon replies, "Awe Chase. Do I have too?" and Chase says, "YES!! Now stop being a baby and do it!" Chase gives Landon a little nudge and yells so loud a few heads even turn to see who was yelling. "Hey girls! If you don't come over here we're going to beat you up." This is when I finally intervene. "Chase, Landon!! If you want to pick up on a girl, threatening to beat her up does not make her want to come over and talk to you." Both of you looked so confused. And that's when I knew......you boys were gonna be trouble.

One of the things I worry about with you is that you are way too hard on yourself. I wish you could see what I see. You are amazing. Of course I am biased. I am your mother. But, I still speak the truth. You must have confidence. You are so talented. You are so great at sports. It seems every sport we have you try you end up getting really good at it. When it comes time to pick between which sport you want to play in high school I don't know how you will choose. You are one of the fastest on the soccer team and you have got an arm that can really throw a ball.

I love you Chase I need you in my life. You make me so happy! Thank you for all you do for me and for being one of my three most favorite sons!!! I love you sweet boy. I can't wait for my next big hug

What I love about Lexi

Wow. What can I say about this girl? Everything! She is absolutely amazing!!! What a blast to be around!!! She is my best friend and baby girl all at the same time!!! BUT----I do know I am her mother first. And trust me, I'm not afraid of her hating me if I know something is better for her.

This is our family blog. So I guess I get to do whatever I want with it. So I'm going to tell you all the things I love about Alexis or shall I say Lexi.

Lexi first and foremost, is my only girl. So we have a ton of fun together. I could talk to her forever about anything. She has the best personality out of anyone I have ever known. Anything she tries she is good at. (She gets that from her father. It is awesome for her and drives me crazy with Kirt. I'm a little competitive.) That is one thing I wish she knew about herself. She is so talented and never gives herself enough credit.

Another thing I love about Lexi is her kindness. And that kindness comes from my favorite part about her.....her heart. Lexi loves everyone she meets. Her heart loves unconditionally. She is such an example to me. She is so tender. At only the age of eight she wants to save the world. Or at least all of the children in it.

I will never forget the time I was lecturing the boys about not finishing all the food on their plate. I remember telling them about the starving children in Africa, and how some had nothing to eat. The boys seemed un-phased by the lecture and couldn't wait until it was over. I had no idea Lexi could hear what I was saying, let alone that she was in the room, silently listening to every word I was saying. Lexi slowly came over to me with tears streaming down her face. "Is that story really true?" she said. I looked at her. I was shocked to see her so upset. I immediately felt terrible for the guilt trip that wasn't even intended for her. I couldn't lie. "Yes Lexi. There are some children in this world who don't get enough to eat." She began to sob. I put my arms around her tiny little body and squeezed her tight. She calmed down a little and said, "What can we do? Can we sent them the dinner we have on the table? I don't need to eat my dinner. They can have mine." "Awe. My sweet Lexi. If only it were that simple." I smiled and hugged her again. I promised her we would figure something out to help feed the hungry kids in Africa. Only then would she calm down. So tender. I just love her.

There are so many little things I could say. I love, love, love, her giggle. It is the best feeling when you get her to giggle her true giggle. You feel you've just won the jack pot. She is absolutely gorgeous. She is a little tomboy, so getting her to shower, do her hair, brush her hair, and dress in anything fancy, is always a huge fight. I usually cave in. She looks gorgeous no matter what she is in and no matter how her hair is done.

That girl is an artist. She already has an amazing talent. Her pictures and story books are treasures of mine and I hold them close to my heart. She is also an amazing dancer......and boy does she have sass! That girl can shake her little hips and is the most flexible thing I have ever seen. I just love her.

If I am ever gone for the night, we both get homesick for each other. We have developed this routine that, at the end of the night, when all of the other kids are in bed, we stay up and chat. It seems like every time is at least a half an hour. That girls' smile gets her everything. She knows how to work both Kirt and I to get what she wants. She is very good at what she does.

So as you can see I love basically everything about Lexi!!! My life would be so empty without her sunshine to brighten my day! I love my little Lexi!!!

Landon and Beckham had ear surgery on Monday 1/21/13 and teeth surgery on 1/23/13. Wow. I was a mess. I'm sure Kirt was too, but he held up like a champ like always for me. I so needed to be sedated. My hands were shaky and I wanted to barf all over everyone who asked me how I was  doing. Seriously?? How am I doing??? Really??? You just took both of my babies and they are crying for me and I already am mentally unstable and you really want to know how I am doing? Kidding. I'm totally sane:/

    Ears were the worst! Landon came out kicking and screaming. They literally pulled out 3 syringes full of puss out of his right ear. So he was in a ton of pain. Becks was so chill and cuddly but only wanted Dad. I hate to say it but I get so jealous of them and how inseparable they are. Kirt is such a good daddy. Ya-Ya likes me enough that he'll cuddle me after a few punches so I guess it works.

     Teeth were much better. I so don't even want to admit to you how many cavities Landon (Ya-Ya) had. EIGHT!!! BAD MAMA!!!! Is it so sad to say I am so proud that Becks only had 2...? Yes, niki, it is. When they woke up they were drugged with phentanyl. They were so calm and happy. It was an easy wake up and they were so so so cuddly. Even Becks wanted me. I did end up throwing up at the hospital though. I think it is safe to say I don't handle these things well. Now they are resting well and I am slowly calming down. Love you Landon and Becks. Life wouldn't be the same without you. Kirt, I love you more than anything...thanks for putting up with the crazy, the silly, the unpredictable, the panic, and loving me through it all. I love you buddy!!

Aunts