Going to try this again........

Well, it has only been about 4 years since I updated this. I am going to try this again. I enjoyed blogging, but with each new adventure with the children came less and less time to blog. Now that they are all in school, it should give me a little more time. At least that is what I thought last fall. Now, with working at the office, doing book work for a church and building my Young Living Essential Oils business, I feel I have less time than I did with them home. 

A littl run down on each child:

Megan is in 6th grade (YIKES) and is playing the drums in band. She is also taking piano lessons again this year. Speech Club and Knowledge Bowl are her two clubs of choice right now. She also participated in a Lego League this fall. It was a lot of fun. They had a malfunctioning robot so didn't do too well in competition, but got first is project and design. 

Madi is now in 4th grade. She likes school for one thing, her friends. She played soccer again this fall and had a new addition of having her mom as her coach. I may just be back next season for one more round! She decided she didn't want to play piano anymore this year. Not sure if she will do softball in the spring or not. She keeps saying no but she may change her mind. 

Mia is in 2nd grade and loves school. She hates to disappoint so I never get any bad reports home about her. She played softball last spring and I think she is planning on playing again this year. She is our little home body who never wants to leave. 

Eli is in Kindergarten this year. Hard to believe my baby is that old already. So far he is enjoying school. He has made lots of friends and loves to go to art and play on the playground. We are going to start bringing him to a local gym up here that will help with agility and all around sporting. Mama missed the cut off to get him signed up for wrestling, so this will have to do for this year. 

Adam stepped away from coaching 3 years ago. It was getting to difficult to balance that, the kids activities, the business and hunting. I have a feeling he hasn't hung it up for good yet. 

We bought a camper two years ago and have been enjoying taking the kids to different areas of the state. Two years ago we ventured to Wisconsin Dells for a week and last year we took them to Canada to visit friends for a week. Not sure where our adventures will take us this summer. Adam and I enjoy getting out on the motorcycle as much as possible. He rides daily if weather permits in the summer. Saves a lot on gas. 

Changes are coming for us. That is a all I can say for now. They are good changes though! I will try to update more often and get pictures on here soon!

Just Not Cooperating

I have wanted to make a blog post with some pics from Christmas, but it still is not cooperating with me and will not let me load any pictures :( All is well in the Buffington house, though!

We went through a rough patch of sickness for awhile, but all is better now! We are heading to Comfrey to celebrate Grandma Helen's life! She made it 99 years, 7 months and 7 days on this side of the mountain!

Blessings to all :)

The Holiday Season is Upon Us!

I can't believe the holidays are upon us again. In some eyes, this is the time to give and receive gifts, spend time with family and eat too much food. In others it is a time of sadness due to losing loved ones or not having the time/expenses to spend time with their loved ones. For me, this is a time to reflect on the past year, give thanks to God for what we have and wish Jesus a VERY Happy Birthday! All too often we get wrapped up on the commercial side of CHRISTmas instead of remembering what we are really suppose to be celebrating, and that is the birth of Our Savior. If it was not for Him and what He did for us on the cross, our lives would not be what they are today. My prayer in life is to instill this into my childrens' minds at a young age and that those that are not walking their life with Jesus will someday turn to Him and follow His path.

We still have gifts under the tree, enjoying giving those gifts to others, spending time with family and eating way too much, but the heart of the season is this: JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!

I would like to wish each and every one of you a blessed CHRISTmas and my pray for you in the New Year is health, happiness, joy, peace and love. God Bless!

Updates!

Today was the second game for the CLC Raiders and they managed another win, making them 2-0 for the season thus far!

The girls are ready for school to start next Thursday and are excited to meet their teachers on Wednesday. Megan is going into 2nd grade and Madelyn into kindergarten. It will be weird around here with only 2 kids around! Mia will be in preschool 2 mornings and week, while Elijah didn't get signed up for anything this fall, but will try and get into something after winter break.

The summer was crazy busy for us, but we had a lot of fun. We took a short family vacation up to Duluth and had a wonderful time. We had many weddings to attend this year and there were a few we didn't get to attend. We put our pontoon on a slip this year and made it out there some, but not as many times as I would have liked. Hopefully next year we will not be as busy and will be able to enjoy it more.

Adam is starting his 3 year of doing ministry work with the boys from the team and some that are not on the team. He is enjoying it already and we are only a few weeks in. We also have a roommate for the next few months, so the kids are enjoying that.

I am hoping now that I will have two in school fulltime that I can get on here more and keep it up to date, but I am not making any promises! God Bless all of you!

Silly Conversations

We were all outside playing the other afternoon and Mia looks up into the sky and says to me, "Mom, I see the moon." So I agreed with her that is was the moon. Then she says all soooo seriously, "Yeah, but it is broke." It was a half of the moon, so in her eyes, it was broke.

There have been a lot of crazy, silly conversations around here lately. I always think about writing them down, but forget and then I never get them written down.

All is well in Buffington Land up in Nisswa. Kids are growing like weeds! Megan turns 7 tomorrow!!! Hard to believe it has been that many years!

God Bless!

Been Awhile

So, I am apparently HORRIBLE at updating this!!! All is well in the land of the Buffington's! Megan is enjoying school and is reading like mad. Right now her favorites, which she is reading on her own, are the American Girl books, Little House on the Prairie series and Magic TreeHouse. I can't believe how great a reader she is!!

Madi is starting to enjoy school more and more and is getting excited to start kindergarten in the fall. She is definately an active little girl!

Mia is waiting patiently for her turn to start swimming lessons, which is in 2 weeks! She can't wait to be in the pool with her goggles on! Preschool is right around the corner for her.

Elijah turned one in February!!!! He had a wonderful party and enjoyed his cake! Will post pics another day!

Hoping that while reading this, you are blessed with wonderful health and happiness! Happy Spring! :)

Winter Update

WOW!!! Soooo much going on in our lives and I haven't shared any of it on here! A New Year's resolution is to try and blog more.

Football season went extra long this year, but that is a good thing because the CLC Raiders are the 2009 State Champions!!!!!! We beat Rochester in the championship game in overtime. It was a nail biting, edge-of-your-seat game! We were also invited to play in a bowl game, so the weekend before Thanksgiving found us traveling down to Iowa for a bowl game. It was an experience for the team. The score was NOT in our favor, but at least the boys can say they did it!

Megan is still truly enjoying school. She amazes me everyday with what she is learning. She enjoys watching the history channel and is reading chapter books.

Madi is really starting to grow with the whole school thing. She isn't quite as emotional as she used to be, which makes it easier on everybody.

Mia is still fiesty! She is set in her ways and does not want anybody to tell her any different. Megan is her best bud!

Elijah is growing like a weed!! I can't believe he is 11 months old already. He has not started walking yet, but it could happen any day now!

All of the girls are still very protective of their little 'buddy boy'. I couldn't ask for better 'mothers' for him.

As for me, well, same old stuff for me. Trying to keep up on laundry, house cleaning, office work, etc. I thank the Lord everyday that I have these things to try to keep up with though.

Christmas was wonderful again this year. My whole family came up the weekend before. We had a wonderful time just being together and enjoying each others company. Christmas Eve and part of Christmas Day found us at home just being us. Then it was down to New London for Christmas with the in-laws! Never a dull moment for us!

Praying for healthy and happiness to each and everyone of you during 2010! I will be getting some pictures on here soon.

megan

Lovin' on her brother........

Posing outside....I think Madi took this picture while I was mowing lawn.

FINALLY riding her bike without training wheels!

Coming home from her first day of 1st grade.....She absolutely LOVES it!

MaDeLyN

Happy Birthday 5 year old!!!!

At Daddy's football game wearing someones shades.....such a fashionista!

First day of School Readiness!

Showing off all the jewelry she got for her birthday!

What would fit her better than a princess cake?

MIA!!!!!

On our way home from Nana and Papa's on her birthday!

Her birthday cake we had at Nana and Papa's....don't you LOVE the hair?!?!

The morning of her birthday!!! She is 3!

Riding the scooter she got from Luke, Amy, Levi, Brock and Devin for her birthday!

Her birthday party!

Some new pics of Eli

One of my favorite outfits!!

Chillin' at Daddy's football game.....it was HOT!!!!!

He loves his sweet potatoes!

The elephant's name on the outfit is Eli!!!! How could I not buy it?!?!

He loves his jumper!

Oops!

Okay, so I have not been that good at keeping up on this. I am hoping to get birthday pics on here from the last two soon!!! Free time is something I lack.

Everything is going great!!! Megan is enjoying 1st grade more than she did kindergarten I think. She was soooo excited to have her own desk this year. Madi is in School Readiness two mornings a week and she is enjoying it very much, I think. She doesn't really say too much about it, but doesn't complain when it is a day for her to go. Mia is getting sooo close to being potty trained, finally! Thank you Nana and Papa for helping us with this one as well! Elijah is a busy little boy! He is now scooching across the floor and getting to where he wants to be. He has two teeth and I am sure there will be more soon! We finally got him to eat baby food, he fought it for a long time. He does prefer the puffs and some table foods over it though.

Hope this finds everybody else well and that you are all preparing for winter! It is right around the corner. We just finally got the fall and Halloween decorations up yesterday. That is how far behind I really am!!!!!

4th of July!

What a weekend we had!! We left Thursday and headed down to the lake and didn't get home until Monday!

Megan, Mia, cousin Skylar, and Madi

Megan and cousin Taiton attacking Tait's Uncle Grant

Madi at the parade

Mia cleaning the cotton candy off of herself. The girl can't stand to be dirty!

Friend Ayla, Madi, Mia and cousin Tyler at the parade.

It was a fun weekend, but got VERY long! Fun was had by all!!!!!

First Family Camping Trip and the last few months!

It has been way too long since I made a post on here. Life has been crazy busy with four little ones running around! So, here is the last few months, the shorten version!

Megan finished kindergarten the beginning of June. She really enjoyed school this year and can't wait to go back in the fall. She no longer wants to be called a kindergartener. She is a big 1st grader now!!!! I fear boredom is going to get the best of her this summer, but we are going to try and keep that from happening. Swim lessons start for her again this week and run into August, so that will be one thing for her to look forward to each week.

Madi finished another year of preschool. She will be going to School Readiness in the fall to get her ready for kindergarten. She will also be taking swim lessons this summer and will hopefully do better this time around so we can move her into the next group! I think she will just have to move up. If we let her, she will stay in the group she is in now forever.

Mia is becoming a little lady. She is sooooo indepedent. A big change for me from what her sisters were like at that age. She loves to do everything on her own. We are hoping Papa can work his magic and get her potty trained. She just doesn't want to do it for me. She is still totally in love with her little brother, as are the others, but she is VERY protective of him.

Elijah just keeps getting bigger and bigger. We had him in for his 4 month check and he is almost 20 pounds already!!!! We didn't think the girls would hit that at age 1, so it is quite the adjustment for me. He is a smiley, happy little boy that loves to giggle at his sisters. He will talk your ear off already. He has to keep up with the girls somehow!

We took our first family camping trip to Itasca early this month. The girls loved it! They got to play in the Mississippi River and enjoyed sleeping in the camper. It was a bit snug, but will work for the next couple of years. We will be growing out of our camper before we know it! No plans yet for the next trip, but we will be working on them soon.

Life has been hectic. Seems like Adam and I are slapping hands as one comes home and the other is on their way out the door. Hopefully things will slow down soon and we can enjoy the beautiful weather together!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEGAN!!!!!!!

Here is the birthday girl with her new CD player right before we left to go pick up cupcakes and head to school! She wore it and listened to it the whole way. She got an iCarly CD to play in it. I think it was a hit for a birthday present. Hard to believe she is 6 already!!!!

Her First Big Girl Party!!!!!

Megan had her first friend birthday party on Saturday. Her actual birthday is this Thursday, but she had her party over the weekend. She had a lot of fun with all her friends and it was nice to put some faces to the names I hear about everyday when she comes home from school. The weather was a little chilly, but the girls did get out for a short while. Mia and Madi got a little upset during the party when they were told to give Megan and her friends their space to play. They will understand when they have their friend party and Megan has to do the same. Overall, the party was a success!!

More pics of the other kids coming soon. This week is going to be crazy busy! Adam leaves on Wednesday for Washington and I will be home alone trying to do all the running until Friday. Thursday will be the hardest with trying to get Megan and cupcakes to school with the others tagging along. Should be interesting, but we will make it!!!!!

I finally got my camera back, so here are some pics of the kiddos. We have three lovely princesses living with us. Aren't they sweet???

Madi is the one in front of the fireplace and Megan is posing in front of the fish tank.

Here's Miss Mia. She loves those butterfly wings. She would wear them everyday all day if they weren't so heavy for her.

Adam was in Vegas in February, so my mother-in-law and mom came to help out with the kids since I was still on restrictions from having Eli. Here is my mom with the girls, playing Webkinz on the computer.

Mia loves reading to her baby brother. Usually ever page just says 'Once upon a time', then she turns the page and says it all over again. It is soooo cute.

Here is Megan adoring her little brother. She loves to hold him until he gets upset.

Madi is just chillin' on the couch with Eli. I think they look so much alike.

Above is Madi talking to her brother as he is laying on the floor.

Mia loves to be anywhere near her brother. He smiles at her almost everytime she talks to him. It is sooo sweet to see.

And here he is with Dad. They too look a lot alike which would make sense since Madi is taking after her father in looks and lots of other things.

It has been a rough few days for us. As I update this, Adam is at the hospital with Mia. She has been feeling ill since Wednesday and we are worried about dehydration and a possible UTI. So, they are going to pump her full of liquids and test her for a UTI. Any extra prayers would be greatly appreciated. I am sure she will be fine, but 5 days is a long time to be sick:(

Until next time, hope the weather warms by then and we can get out so the kids can splash in the mud. Need to get two more pairs of rain boots before then.

Quick Update

Just a quick update. Everybody here is doing well.

Megan is really starting to read well. She is enjoying school and is learning lots. She has started bringing home more non-fiction books from the library. Apparently she wants to learn something from the books she checks out.

Madi is still enjoying preschool. She has come so far this year and I am glad we decided to repeat preschool another year before sending her to school readiness. Her best friend this year is Elizabeth. They play so well together. I couldn't get in to volunteer this time around because of the baby, but see her teachers enough to know she is doing well.

Mia is enjoying her one day of school. Her participation has gotten much better. She is saying her ABC's and singing lots.

Elijah continues to grow and grow. He is starting to smile and stay awake more during the day. He had his first bottle the other day, so now I can leave the house for more than two hours at a time! He doesn't get one often, but at least we know he will take one.

The girls are still so in love with him and haven't showed a single ounce of jealousy towards him. What a blessing!!

We are on the countdown for another niece or nephew. Only a few more weeks until my sister has her baby!! Can't wait to meet the new bundle!

Pictures will be coming soon. I forgot my camera at my in-laws, so I can't get any new ones loaded.

Elijah Maurice

It is hard to believe that he is finally here!! We are so excited to be home and so happy he is doing so well. Lots of changes around the house. The girls can't get enough of him. Mia keeps coming up to him and saying 'Oh what a cutie!!'. She is just so in love with him already. It is nice to have some blue and red in the house to offset all the pink and purple. Girls are definately easier in the diaper changing department. Poor little guy keeps peeing all over everything!

Here he is, all snug in his carseat ready for the long drive home. He was a trooper and slept the whole entire way. Not a peep out of him at all. Hopefully he stays that way and doesn't take after his sister Mia who cried everytime we put her in her carseat!

So everything is going well and he is keeping us all happy! So far no jealousy at all with his sisters. There were lots of visitors at the hospital and I want to thank all of you for coming. We appreciate it all!

He's Here!!!!

Elijah Maurice Buffington joined us in the world on February 4, 2009 at 9:57. He weighed 6 lbs. 13 oz. and was 19 inches long. More updates to come soon!!!!