Baby Boy Starkey - February 7th, 2011.....

These 4D pictures are amazing... notice the hair... this is the first time in my life I have ever had heart burn! And hand-sucking. He is going to be a lot like his big sister!!! Can't wait (well, can wait 8 more weeks) to see this little guy in person!!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! We are headed back to Ohio on Friday for a long (needed) vacation with family and friends! Taylor has spent the last few months circling everything in the Walmart and Target ads... but only asked Santa for one thing... a hair salon. What to do with this? I am not sure, but we did find hair salon stuff at ToysRUs and had it sent to Ohio. She also wants a kitty cat, a puppy, a new fish (current one passed away while we were home for Grandma Bonnette's funeral - but I told her he went to his mommy's for Christmas), make-up and everything she sees on TV. We have been singing lots of Christmas songs and talking about Jesus' birthday. I am thankful she understands the true reason for the season...

We are also getting ready for baby #2. Joe has a name picked out - we'll see what happens when Jr. gets here. We are ready with blankets, clothes and a bassinet.... diapers will come next. Just got the car seat washed (has been sitting in our garage for 8 months now!) and put together. So we physically feel prepared... still praying for peace about delivery and patience with upcoming lack of sleep and new baby crying... but as always, God is in control over all of that.

That's about it... Have a most WONDERFUL Christmas and New Year!

Love, The Starkey's

Taylor..... 4!

Okay - it's the big day - Taylor Janel Starkey is 4 years old. She is a sweet, smart and beautiful little girl... she loves playing pretend, dressing up, dancing and watching movies. She can giggle and make your whole world better. She is sassy and precocious and sometimes acts more like she's 13 than a little girl. We... are so blessed with Miss Taylor and there isn't a day that goes by where she isn't trying to make us laugh and perform for us. She still loves her thumb-sucking ways and dragging her mickey (blanket) to bed with her every night. Taylor bug, you are growing up fast, but we are so thankful that God let us be your mommy and daddy and we can't wait to see what's in store for us over the upcoming years. We love you!

At her party on September 25th! We had friends from the neighborhood and work and about 10 kids running around. Taylor had a great time....

Taylor has been taking Tap, Jazz and Ballet for about a month and LOVES it! She is awesome and loves going each Thursday! It's our first official organized sport for her.... I am sure, many more to come!

After school on her birthday! She had a great day... well, we celebrated for 3 days straight, so she loved it! She also loves school, thank you God. She has been doing awesome. She is awesome.

Fuzzy Taylor, but this is the big gift she got this year... a wooden doll house with lots of furniture to go inside thanks to family! She plays with this every day!!!

It's a BOY!!!!

We are having a BOY!!! We are so happy and excited for this brand new adventure! Most importantly, the ultrasound showed a healthy and growing baby. Thank you, God. 

During the ultrasound, the technician said that the baby was a "Boy!" and Taylor responds with... "um, no it's a girl." Hahaha

AWESOME NEWS!

We are Pregnant!!!

Yes! We are 3 months and counting and awaiting baby #2's arrival February 7th, 2011!!

We found out we were pregnant 2 weeks after moving to Montana! I guess it took a lot of stress and moving to get pregnant! haha. We told Taylor right away and our family. Taylor likes to call the baby a few names, including "Janessa," "Tiana," and "Gisella." She went to the doctor with us when we got this sonogram and it helped her understand more that even though mom kinda still looks the same, there is in fact a baby growing inside her belly! :) Anyway, glad we are finally sharing the news with everyone!

Have a wonderful day!! :)

Summer in Montana!

Billings, Montana - summer 2010 has brought us a tornado, torrental rains, more tornado warnings, and very warm days. It's been a great summer so far and we are excited about all the visitors we have had, and who are coming out still.

Here's a recent picture of Taylor.... being Taylor. She's a star!

Eating icecream at our own ColdStone Creamery!!! Mmmm

We went to Ohio for 10 glorious days... and I really have no pictures. But I did capture a great trip we had to Nelsonville for a train ride! Here's Taylor with ther Grandma Nezzie!

She loved the train!! Such a sweet girl!

New post next week with some exciting photos! :)

Our little Girl....

I'm not going to lie, Taylor has taken her good ole time getting adjusted to the move and her new school. But today was a wonderful day on the way to school and at the drop off. She even hugged me, walked away and said back to me "mom, look, i'm not crying anymore!" Then she ran to me and gave me the biggest hug ever! Days like this morning make it all worth it!

Side note - she crosses her legs just like my dad did. She is pretty special.

Welcome to Billings, MT

I am going to post more pictures about our pituresque new home... but until I get motivated and get the Canon out, I am posting about our recent TORNADO!

On Sunday, June 20th in the afternoon, sirens went off and clouds combined to create a tornado 5 miles from our house. It touched down 100 yards from the office we have been using for the past 3 weeks. Fortunately/unfortunately, we moved into our new office this weekend and aren't on that side of town anymore to see the actual destruction and damage done to the large complex and fairgrounds where it hit.

Below is a picture of the damage from the rain and hail... this has happened twice in the past week! Thankfully, we have great neighbors who helps us clean it up! We need to design a new landscaping plan so we can have fun this summer - not continue cleaning up the road! haha.

Our new house!!

Here's our new house.... it's really too big for us, but Taylor loves running around and going up and down the stairs! She loves it!

Joe and Taylor coming to the house for the first time!

The layout... I am missing a bedroom, the basement and two bathrooms here, but you get the picture!

The Chaotic Kitchen during unpacking!! YIKES!!!!!

We are all settled in and getting our bearings... we started work and school on Tuesday... both are going well. Hope to see you all up here soon!!!

Our trip to Billings!

We took 3 days to get to Billings... we headed up through New Mexico, and stopped in Denver to hang out with family friends. We headed to the awesome Denver Zoo and Taylor LOVED it! We got to hang out with our friend, Liam, he was SUPER! Taylor loved seeing all the animals and ran throughout the entire park. We were super tired!

This is our trip to get some furniture for the house... Taylor thought this bed would be perfect in her new room. She did not get to take it home! :)

Last Days in Midland!

I can't even talk about how much I miss the Midland people... so I'm not going to talk about it... rather, post pictures of our last two weeks and the memories we have made!!!

One of our last adventures in Midland was a HUGE rain storm. No, this is not a river, it's our road! :)

Pack and load days were on the 24th of May... Tay had a great time watching all the comotion!

So much crap!!!

Easter 2010

Happy Spring!

Well, spring is here and it's been great weather down here in Texas! We had a great Easter with many friends from church and work. Taylor enjoyed learning more about the reason for Easter this year... she is understanding so much and interested in everything these days!

We just found out that our move date to Billings, MT is June first. And we got our transfer started yesterday... thus beginning the count down. We are having the house put on the market within the next week and getting it market-ready has been quite the chore! Then, we are headed to Billings the first week in May to look for houses... Taylor wants a Princess house. AKA - a house with stairs! :)

As our time winds down here in Texas, it's a bitter-sweet reality. We have made so many close friends and enjoy the day-to-day of living in western Texas. We have come to really appreciate this town and all it has to offer and we will truely miss the place we have called home for the past 3 years...

I owe it to Abbe.....

It was brought to my attention that I have forgotten to post a very important event in my life. And for that I am sorry, so I am making up for it today..... Introducing (at 6 months old) my nephew, Mr. Jay Patrick Lackmeyer!!!!!!!

He is such a sweet boy and we love him so much!!!

And here is baby Reagan who is about to be a year old next month! Isn't she a beauty!! I love thos cheeks!

New Hair Cuts!

Taylor and I had some much needed hair cuts this past weekend! We had a great time. This picture really shows just how big she is getting! She is Miss Independent in so many ways. She is 3 and a half and is more fun than we ever imagined! Her latest loves include helping me make dinners and doing the dishes. Yes, there are many messes, but who cares?! She has a blast!

In other news.... we are moving to Billings, Montana come this summer! We are moving with our company and are really excited... but super sad to be leaving Texas and all the friends we have made here over the past 3 years.

january 2010

Boy, it's been awhile since I posted anything! Here are a few pictures from Christmas and January! The kids had a great Christmas in Ohio where it snowed a bunch!!!

Here, Braun and Taylor had opened their Christmas presents at Mamaw's house... each getting lots of toys and clothes including cowboy boots and hats!

Here is Braun, Mamaw and Taylor reading a story before going to bed!

Joe and I...

All my sisters and their families together in one place!

(L-R) Jimi, Jamie (my twin sister), my mom Nezzy, Reagan, Me, Tay, sister Abbe, Jim and Jay, Joe and sister Gretchen!

Taylor playing in the backyard when we got back to Midland!

Taylor's new big-girl room and bed! She LOVES it!