My "New Moon" Adventure

I was looking forward to this evening for months!! Our evening started out at one of the Regent Professors homes. It was INCREDIBLE. I could never have found all of the detailed decorations that they had around their home. Every room was a different theme...for example they had the Cullens Territory and the Werewolves Territory. We ate in Italy! There was a red chocolate fountain (blood) with like 15 things to chose from to dip! There were quotes everywhere so that we could try and figure out who said what and we even got to figure out characters eyes from the movie. There was a goodie bag to take to the movie with us....Werewolf Kibble and Volturi Elixer! We watched Twilight and then headed to the theater to get a good spot. Even sitting in the theater was fun...even for 2 hours. Everything was just perfect and I will always have wonderful memories of this evening. The movie was fantastic. I can't wait to see it again. On a side note... I drove with my friend Jill so I left my keys at home. I realized on the way home (at 2am) that John will not have realized this and will most definitely have locked our front door. Sure enough...it was locked and I thought that I was going to have to sleep on one of my friends couches. Thank goodness he slept with his phone right next to him that night...just in case I needed him!!!

Wow! I am so thankful for these girls in my life.  We are living a transit life where we are meeting new people constantly, but also saying goodbye to them constantly. I hate saying goodbye to those that I love. Who doesn't right? I am thankful for the time that I have with them!

This is for you!

I am so thankful right now. Why is it overflowing right now? I'm not sure because my kids have toys strewn all over the floor, it's cloudy and chilly outside, I have a big day ahead still with all of the tasks required of the mommy, and yet I can't contain the joy that I feel.
I am thankful for my children. They are amazing to me. Even though each one of them drives me crazy somehow each day, I still can't get enough of them! They are beautiful and strong. They make me so happy. Hailey lost her tooth a little bit ago and the new one is already showing. It is SO crooked. It's coming in at an angle. YIKES!!! Isabella asked me and John to watch her do her Nah Nah dance last night at the dinner table. We were not sure what she was talking about but she stood up on her chair and sang and boogied to the Nah Nah Nah Boo Boo dance (you know...the typical teasing chant!) Talon just keeps falling on his poor head. Everyday...it's a new scratch or a new bonk or bump. Oh....John is so worried for his little brain (that's the Neuropsychology coming out in him!!)

I am thankful for dear friends! I have people who are special all over the country. What would life be like without you? I love to read your blogs. I love to see the challenges that you have overcome and find strength for the challenges that I face. I love to watch you progress and find ways to better myself through your example. I love to watch your children grow (most of them I have never even met!!) Thank you for letting me be apart of your life! My friends that are near...what would I do without you. You fill up the spaces in my days that need filling. Those moments that would otherwise be filled with loneliness and sadness. You make me so happy.

 

I am thankful for my family! I love you so much. I love my brothers like crazy. We rarely talk. Not because we don't like each other...but because we are all taking care of our families and don't have the chance to chit chat very often. But I am so grateful for them...for their wives...and for their children. I hope that we can all live closer someday. Mom and Dad, you are amazing. The most amazing parents that a child could ask for. You did it all right. Everything. Even if you feel like you didn't always know if you were making the right decisions...you did. I can feel your love from 3,000 miles away. Not from luxurious gifts. From you just being. You being alive and breathing and loving us so much. Thank you for always being kind. You may not die...ever...I love you and need you to be doing what you are doing everyday. Even if it is not doing anything with me. Just knowing that you are living and praying for us and thinking about us.

I love John's family. I have enjoyed them from the moment that I met them. I received a letter in the mail a short time after John and I were engaged, from a future sister-in-law who I had never met, and she was welcoming and kind and so glad to have me in their family. She'll never know what that meant to me. All of John's sisters are so creative and are wonderful to be around. One of John's sisters sends handmade cards for holidays and she makes us all so happy. She does it because she loves us...not because she is getting praise for doing it!  My mother-in-law is so wise. She knows so much about so many different things. I love to learn from her. She is always so full of compliments. I love to play games with his family. My father-in-law loves his children so much. He is one of our biggest fans!

I am so thankful for John. We have learned so much together. I was supposed to marry this man. He is a hardworker. He is loyal. He is dedicated to me and to our children. His time is either spent on his calling, on his education, or on us. He loves to be with me. At this moment I am extremely grateful for his desire for me to go and have a girls night tonight. My evening will be filled with "New Moon" excitement and I am SO EXCITED!!! Thank you John for being excited for me!!!

Jessica Comes to Town!!!

We had so much fun!!! Jessica is my sweet cousin who lives with her family in St. George Utah. They are so far away!!!! Jessica is a hard worker and has saved up quite a little stash of money and she decided that during one of her school breaks she was going to use her money and fly out to see me! Before she came I asked her about what she wanted to do while she was here. The first thing that she said was that she wanted to go to Busch Gardens. There is a special bond between Busch Gardens and the Niepraschks. There always will be. As children, our parents planned one day to go altogether with the whole bunch of Niepraschks (there is a lot of us) and we did this EVERY YEAR! RAIN OR SHINE!!!! Oh the memories that I have of this magnificent park. All happy memories...every single one. I will cherish them forever. This was the first year that I had not gone to Busch Gardens...in my entire life. I had been pretty sad about it but was proud of myself for saving the money. Well, then little Jessie comes along and has this desire to go and I have to say that I was wanting to go SO badly but I also knew that we didn't have a lot of extra money...and it's really expensive! I talked to John about it...and yes, he knows about my love affair with Busch Gardens and he thought it would be so fun for us to go. So with that said...we went. John was going to stay at home with Talon and just us girls went. That didn't last for too long though. He realized really quickly that they were missin' out so they packed up (and brought us all some more warm clothes-it was FA-REEEEZ-ING!) and headed to meet us. Okay, it wasn't THAT cold...but it was pretty chilly and we were not dressed warm enough.

Nice hat Talon...we were not going for the stylish look this day...just tryin' to stay warm with what we had. I have realized that when I get cold...I am desperate to get warm and will do just about anything to do it. While I was in Boston...we were walking around the city one night and the temp. dropped quite a bit and I totally wrapped a towel that was in one of the stroller around myself. I'm pretty sure it was one of those towels that you keep in your car for emergency purposes. Like I said...desperate!

SCARY!!!!!

All of my children love to watch me do makeup (even Talon) and they are always playing with it all while I am using it. I do not let them help me though...too much of a perfectionist you could say. Jessica however let the girls help her each morning! They loved it and still ask me if they can put my makeup on...thanks Jessica!

I learned something new about Jessie during her week stay with us...she likes to take pictures and would love to someday get more serious about it. She takes really good pictures...she's a natural! She took this picture of Hailey in the grass and I loved it!

We went to the beach on the perfect day. It couldn't have been nicer weather for October. We fed the seagulls (Talon loved this) and enjoyed playing on sand dunes, shopping at the oceanfront stores, and dabbling in the cold water!

Jessica took these pictures also!!

We love you Jessica...thanks for a great week!

Heckers Halloween 2009

October has flown by so quickly. It's hard to believe that Halloween has come and gone and now it's time to start thinking about Thanksgiving and Christmas. We have been celebrating Halloween all week but there were a few highlights! On Friday I was able to plan Hailey's school party and I was so excited all week about the activities that I had planned for. She had so much fun and I am glad that I was able to be there and be such a part of it. They are allowed to dress up still (which I think is unusual these days) so we dressed Hailey up as Snow White. That night we carved pumpkins and watched Charlie Brown's Halloween Show while we ate popcorn and candy corn.

I dressed up as a butterfly for Hailey's class...this is my friend Jill. She is amazing! Her family moved here from Arizona to go Law School at Regent University. They are so cute and so fun. Jill is so stylish and so creative. She is the perfect fit to the rest of the amazing women that live here in the Village.

The girls are listening to John's detailed instructions on how to carve a pumpkin correctly!

Saturday was a beautiful, warm day and perfect for Trick-or Treating. Before heading to our church's Trunk-or-Treat we went to one of our local shopping centers (who was celebrating Halloween) and let the kids go in and out of all of the stores and get candy and toys. They had so much fun! McDonald's was offering free hamburgers to children in costumes and that was the perfect dinner on an already unhealthy evening.
Here are my two little butterflies. This was not the original plan. I had been planning to make three little pigs (the kiddos) and John was going to be the brick house and I was going to be a wolf. I didn't start on this project early enough and decided to use what we had. The 2nd plan was for John to be the Zoo Keeper and Talon was the giraffe, I was a black panther, Isabella was a monkey, and Hailey was a butterfly. Isabella decided (at the last minute) that she also wanted to be a butterfly and I think she is a cute little bug! My mother-in-law made the girls these tutus for dress-up and they worked perfect for their costumes!

Isabella did not want her picture taken. She was focused on the candy that she was getting and so this is the best shot that I got of her.

My handsome Zoo Keeper! I didn't even get a picture of Talon in his costume. Lame I know! It was too hot so this is how he rode most of the evening.

Here's the stash! So much candy!! I think Hailey went around Trunk-or-Treat a few too many times! I do not like the taste of candy that has been mixed with other flavors of candy. Seriously...it makes a difference. So we fixed that!

The girls had a lot of fun helping sort the goods. MUCH BETTER!!!
Happy Halloween!

Boston Girl Trip

 This was a first for me! Not only a weekend but 4 entire days away from my children!! I was super excited but also SO worried that I was going to miss them too much and it was going to consume me. The first day (half of which was spent traveling) I was almost in tears a few times...but I warmed up to the thought of having no children to take care of and to be on my own!  I couldn't wait to see all of the girls...afterall, it wouldn't be a girls trip without them! Four of John's sisters and two sister-in-laws (me included) were all able to make it. 

John's sister Anna and her husband Dave are currently living there and my sister-in-law Jennifer had the fabulous idea for us all to meet and stay with them.
Where do I even begin??? We shopped, ate, played games, ate, laughed, and toured the best Bostons sights! When Anna told me that we were walking past the hotel where Boston Cream Pie was first made....I had to have a piece! This little pie was $8...enough for one bite for each of us. Not the tastiest Boston Pie that I have ever had...but still fun!


I loved all of the old buildings and the character of Boston! Some of the buildings were built in the 17oo's! I can't explain the feel of Downtown Boston...the sky was overcast, there was an occasional rain sprinkle and the air was crisp. It was not too cold...it was not hot....it seemed like the perfect Boston day! One of my favorite things were the old alleyways...some were dirty and bare...some where filled with residences belongings...my favorite where the ones with window flowerboxes and old street lamps. SO COOL!

Here's a picture of all of us!  It's the only picture I have of all of us. John's 4 sisters and me and his brother's wife Jennifer.

There were cool statues like this all over downtown Boston. Every corner had another surprise. I loved how one minute you were walking on narrow sidewalks and crossing busy roads and then walking through peaceful cemetery's filled with old trees and ancient churches.

One of my other most favorite parts of Boston was this amazing bakery named Mike's Pastry. All over Boston, you can see people bustling around the city with one of these boxes in hand...I would instantly feel connected to them! My favorite...the Florentine Canoli! HOLY CANOLI!! I had never had a canoli before and I was in HEAVEN! We even had to go back to the North End of Boston to Little Italy to get some more! I bought three to take home to my family...I just HAD to share this with them! I carried it the whole way home to Virginia. I even had a man tell me that someone on his last flight was carrying a little scrumptious package, just like mine! I'm tellin' you...if you are ever in Boston...find this place...even if there is a line and the store is PACKED with customers...even if the line goes around the corner (luckily we missed this rush) make a sacrifice...it'll be worth it!



Here is a picture of the Florentine Canoli. It is scrumptous!!

We filed into the pastry shop and had to work our way to the counter.

We went to Walden Pond! It was indescribable. The trees were so beautiful. Fall is pretty everywhere...but it was gorgeous in Boston.

This is the Charles River.  My sister-in-law lives right next to it. We had to take advantage of the scenery. I have neen running for the past few weeks to get prepared for a Turkey Trot in November and I was really excited about running HERE!!! We ran along the water and over a huge bridge. What a beautiful place.

Thanks to Jennifer for the idea. Thanks to Anna for hosting and driving and feeding. I am so thankful for the Heckers in my life! I knew from the first time that John introduced me to his family that I was going to love them forever!

Hailey Goes to School

This day was filled with tons of emotions for me. I was mostly anxious because I was expecting to have to drag my screaming daughter down the street and onto the bus. My mind kept filling with questions such as, "Why is my Child the only one who hates school?" I desperately wanted it to go well for HER. Lots of prayers and blessings in preparation for this day. I knew that we needed to be very READY with everything in order. I made sure that the house was perfectly clean, that her new clothes (that she COULD NOT wait to wear) were hanging nicely from the end of her bed, her backpack was packed and ready to go. We had a yummy breakfast...BLUE waffles (anything to get a smile!) and we spent the morning snuggling and keeping the atmosphere at LOW stress. She took a nice, long, warm shower and was so excited that I let her blow dry her own hair. I was still praying for a miracle...for my daughter to NOT cry when the bus arrived.

I debated on driving her...but thought that putting her on the bus screaming would be better than putting her in her class screaming. The Principal at her school asked us to NOT drive our children to school on the first day (sad...) which just pushed me to letting her ride the bus.

She has afternoon Kindergarten which at first I thought was AWFUL. John quickly reminded me that we have a little girl who likes to stay in her PJ's as long as possible and MUST eat breakfast before she gets dressed for the day. She loves to watch morning cartoons and does not do well with being pushed out the door...or being rushed getting ready. I am so glad that we have the morning to relax, hang out, and get her ready SLOWLY!

So you may be thinking....What is the big deal?....and Why in the world are you so worried about this-she'll be fine! Let me remind you of the HORRIBLE experience we had last year with her attending Preschool and JUST HOW MUCH SHE HATED IT! She cried all year long and it killed me everyday. We finally pulled her out early (April instead of June) because it was breaking my heart and because it was only preschool and WE COULD! Kindergarten is necessary and she NEEDS to be there.

The good news is that she doesn't have to take a nap or eat lunch there which are big pluses for her.

All ready to go. Not too worried about the day yet. Still excited that she wearing her SUPER long dress like her mommas!

Now we are at the bus stop...in the rain...and she is NOT happy. Getting her on the bus was better than I expected. I had to help her get her feet on the bus, one leg at a time, and then I had to push her to keep going but she was not sobbing...only whining. COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE!

She is ALWAYS happy when she gets off of the bus and today was no different. This is her friend Kali (1st grader) who she adores...and was so glad that she was able to ride the bus home with her.

Yesterday John brought her to the bus stop and said that he had to put her on the bus and the bus driver had to help him. Today was not bad...she was crying but got on herself. Her bus driver is a little stern and I think that she would rather do it herself than have the bus driver help her.

The good news is that she likes school....a lot. She says great things about it so I think that she'll soon stop complaining about getting on the bus ( I hope).