Jen Jen's 3 Ring Circus

I know it has been too long!!

2010-09-28T09:22:00.002-05:00

So many exciting things, but no constant computer access... that is the stinky part of maintaining the blog!

But I have a few funny stories that just must be documented!

Last night as we were getting ready for bed, I told Ross to come get his night clothes on. He informed me that the dr said he needed to play 'free' more minutes. He proceeded to put on his 'man' voice, and tell me what the dr said in the dr voice!! Needless to say, his stall tactic worked because I was laughing so hard!

Aunt Nette texted just about that time. Anna read her name and Ross kept saying "Janette, Janette." Since he NEVER calls her that, I asked him who that was. He quickly responded, "You know, Janette, from the airport." I am still giggling about his assessment:)

This morning while we were getting ready we were talking about supper. Ross said he wanted nachos, cheese nachos. He proceeded to make up a jingle, "Just call cheese nachos dot com to get your nachos. Cheese nachos dot com."

The last thing is that he would only let me have one froot loop (criticize his breakfast choice later:) at a time. He informed me it was because he was worried that I would choke!

Anyway, as always, there is never a dull moment!!

Anna's sayings are more insightful than humorous these days... and she is adamant that I not publish them... so take the funnies for now:)

Happy Tuesday!

Things not to forget

2010-07-27T19:43:00.002-05:00

Ross is constantly singing or playing an instrument. Yesterday Anna made him a guitar out of a shoe box, rubber bands and a toilet paper roll for a handle. He immediately began singing with it. One song was, "I have a great mom. YEAH!" Rock star style. Wish I could capture on video, but he rarely performs on cue... Which will be a problem if he expects to make a living singing:)

He was pretending he was feeding his cows while he was taking a bath the other day. He told me he only had two right now, but he needed to call the cow guy to get him some more. He then went on to say that he wanted some brown cows so he could get chocolate milk. We have had this conversation several times, but he is being stubborn about accepting... I promise I am doing what I can to teach him!

Ross loved dancing with Ava at JillPill's wedding on Saturday night. He had asked Mya to dance before we got there, but she said she was too beautiful and it might mess her up. Worked out fine, because she was so enamored with Jill. The big girls had a wonderful time dancing with each other. Fun times!

The weekend was very fun! Getting to spend time with Jana and her crew and celebrating birthdays at waterparks is always a good time! Saying goodbye isn't very easy. Thank goodness for phones and computers to stay in touch!

Where oh where are you dear summer?

2010-07-13T13:00:00.004-05:00

Somehow the summer has managed to be half over, and I have no idea where it is has gone...

My summer school stint is wrapping up next week. And while I am glad about not having this obligation, I am a little sad because it means the summer will almost be over! But we are going to make the most of what is left!

I have been feeling very thankful these days. And generally care-free and unstressed. Which is a nice feeling! But I haven't been doing a very good job of keeping track of what we are doing... So I'll do my best to recap.

1. I have a new niece! She will get her own post on her 3 week birthday. So stay tuned!

2. We have been swimming pretty often at Nana's. No swimming lessons because neither kid likes to put their face in the water. So we are dependent on life jackets. I do have some inner turmoil about this, and am holding out that next year will be our swim lesson year.

3. Not only did we enjoy our own vbs, we also enjoyed 2 other fun Bible schools. I will admit, I think 3 vbs's is enough for one summer:)

4. Nette came to visit! We so enjoyed having her with us! The kids look forward to her fun visits because they know she will laugh and play and talk and take pictures and let them play with her hair! Although, I am pretty sure Ross is convinced that she lives at the airporch... maybe she does?!?!

5. Nette, Anna and I drove up to Ft. Cobb lake to be with our Curry Cousins on Curry Cove. I have such fond memories of spending time with my cousins, and LOVE spending time with them now too. And I LOVE that Anna treasures her time with them also!

6. While at the lake, Anna rode the tube and sea-doo and swam in the lake... While most might be thinking, "duh!", my little girl is pretty risk averse! So it was some serious, positive peer pressure and some awesome loving encouragement that had her out having the time of her life! She told me she is planning to write about that weekend when her teacher asks for the best part of the summer.

7. We hosted "Craft Day" at our house for the big girls. The brothers played and only interrupted every now and then. We started with mini pizzas for lunch. Then they made tissue paper bouquets and decorated the vase (empty water bottle) with stickers. The finale was hydro bracelets. Very fun! And Mrs. Brenna hot glued them so hopefully they wouldn't leak. Ours is already lost, so I hope it isn't leaking:)

8. I took 4 children to the zoo - by myself! Each little kid had a big kid buddy, and they did great helping each other, pointing out the attractions and 'prodding'. The only blight on the trip was that the lasy river was closed... but we managed!

9. We went to lunch with Mrs. Bess after church on Sunday. We thoroughly enjoy our time with her and she didn't run screaming from us:) She is such a blessing to our family!

10. I have subbed 8-12:30 each morning this week... Certainly proving that it takes practice to keep up the stamina! Glad I have a little while before I am back in the full swing!

Hopefully I will add pictures to this mammoth post... but if not, at least the memories are recorded...

VBS 2010

2010-06-25T07:29:00.002-05:00

This has been another fabulous year at "Booster Rooster" Bible School (as my friend calls it!)

I taught the 1st and 2nd grade class and thoroughly enjoyed it! Each night we had around 20 kids - which is even more fantastic since Anna is the only one who regularly attends in that age group! It was fun to have so many of her friends from other churches and towns and from school. She was a little disappointed with my crafting options, so last night we went big and got out the paints! I hope the other mamas aren't too upset - pretty sure it is all washable... The class learned the memory verse like champs! Stay tuned for video from the big performance tonight.

Ross' got to be in Mrs. Jill's class (who he still tells is his best friend of all!) This class (4's and 5's) has also had around 20 each night! Just Amazing! (and a little exhausting, I am sure:)

Chris' reclaimed his roll as Booster Rooster this year and is absolutely on fire! The kids just love him! And he is definitely getting a workout. I am attaching this video for you to get an idea of how energetic Booster Rooster is! And how you need to be quick on your feet to get away from him:)

Hope you have a chance to be involved in vbs this year! While it is completely exhausting, it is so invigorating to see so many kids so excited about church!

My prayer is that they had such a good time they will want to come all the time. And I am praying we can extend some of the fun to the regular year as well.

Diving into summer

2010-06-14T06:47:00.003-05:00

School ended and we jumped right into summer time fun! Our friends from College Station came to visit and played and played and played some more!

When Monday rolled around we made 1 goal for ourselves for - NO RUSHING! And we succeeded in that for the most part. We played at home, with friends, at the splash pad, and at the park. We ran errands, bought some birthday presents, slept late, took naps, and played some more. Anna and I went to a new ceramics place and had a great time making a pretty little thing. I used to love 'doing ceramics' like my Granny and my great-aunts. And it seems Anna's craftiness extends to them also. Anna also successfully pet-sitted for 2 of our neighbors. Louie the cat and Shotgun the rabbit seemed to be as good as gold after our care and love for a few days.

*Bragging Disclaimer - If I don't do it, how will you know:)

Grandpa had Anna come ride a different horse on Friday night because her horse is not feeling too good and they didn't think he could handle the heat of the horse show the next day. So, she jumped on Smarty and showed her stuff. Although she was a little nervous before, she never let it show on the horse. And this horse does have some faster moves than Jet! She did so well, she decided to ride Smarty at the show in Saturday. Smarty did get a little jumpy at the end of the first ride. But Anna appeared unshaken and went on to ride 3 more times. After talking to her about how brave she was, it turns out she didn't realize the horse was jumping around, she thought she was just switching her head. Once again, proving my point that perception is everything:) She ended up having fun riding Smarty, but was disappointed in herself for not making a few errors. She earned 2nd place in the 2nd time she had ever ridden the horse. And, by the way, she was the youngest of 6 competitors. She is ready to practice for the next show a little more than she did for this one. But in true Barnard girl fashion, she declared that she would have been upset with herself for messing up even if she would have gotten first... Yikes!

The other bragging point is about Ross. He loves to run to the front and pretend to lead a song or talk in the microphone at church. Every now and then someone will go up with him and help him actually lead a song, but he usually doesn't sing at that time. But yesterday, Mr. Danny lowered the microphone to Ross' height and helped him start Jesus Loves Me. And Ross sang the whole thing right into the microphone. So adorable! Well, he was singing most of the time, except when he wanted to get the microphone off the stand:)

Anyway, just a little glimpse into what we are up to these days. No pictures since we were videoing the horsing and didn't have the camera at church... but I am sure you can picture it yourself:)

catch up OR ketchup (3)

2010-06-09T08:51:00.003-05:00

We finally broke out the slip and slide Ross got for his birthday on Memorial Day morning! The kids could not have been more excited! Especially when the neighbors joined us! Then we rested up a little and had a very fun time (and excellent food) with Miss Ann, Mr. Terry, Samantha, and Miss Bess. Chris and Terry graciously treated us to fresh picked blackberries!!
Anna's last day of school was the day after the long weekend. We had a fun picnic, said goodbye to her sweet teacher, Mrs. Howell, and headed out to start summer! Well, they did. I headed back to work to finish the week before my summer started:)

catch up OR ketchup (2)

2010-06-09T08:42:00.003-05:00

We just had to check out the new home for elephants and giraffes and lions that the zoo opened! You could even be closer to the giraffes than this! We had a fun family time and didn't stay long enough to get too hot:)

Anna's awards program was really cute! It was just 1st grade so there was plenty of room for everyone. She won a reading award, the art award and a 6 flags ticket for reading 600 minutes earlier in the spring. She was so proud! Nana and Ross and Anna and I had a fun lunch date after the awards to celebrate Anna's success!

catch up OR ketchup (1)

2010-06-09T08:17:00.003-05:00

It has been too long since I updated. So I will hit the highlights!

Mimi and Pop came to visit us in May! We had a great time just playing, visiting, reading, and eating! Especially the yummy Arkansas strawberries they brought back from Mema's.

Ross' End of the Year Program was adorable! His teacher, Miss Erin, was such a blessing to our family - with her patience, encouragement and sense of humor Ross made some real progress this year! His expression does NOT depict his love for Miss Erin... My camera wasn't working too hot, but this is him holding the smiley sign for the yellow song. He didn't sing too much, but he was on cue with his sign - most of the time:) Nana and the Nations guys joined us as we finished the evening with an ice cream celebration at one of his favorite places - Dairy Queen!

First Grade Program

2010-05-10T19:34:00.004-05:00

Tonight was Anna's First Grade Music Program! It worked out perfectly - we were in and out in about 20 minutes. She and the other first graders sang their 3 songs with all their little hearts...

Here is a sneak peak at one of the songs. Let me apologize in advance for my not-so-handy videoing!

This Daddy story needs to be remembered as well! I had been on the look out for a new khaki skirt or white shirt for Anna to wear to the program, but had no luck... At bedtime last night, she was close to breakdown mode because she didn't want to wear her 'dorky' clothes to sing the 'dorky' songs at the 'dorky' program. My response was 'go to bed and get over it, you have cute things to wear.' But Chris had pity on her, and went to walmart at 9 on Sunday night, picked out a cute shirt AND got the groceries for the week... talk about some Daddy points...

Anna funnies

2010-05-07T08:33:00.002-05:00

Anna says funny things too... although she is to the point that most of what she says is insightful and true... funny in the ironic sense that she "gets" more than I give her credit for.

As we were bustling around getting ready for my trip this weekend, she was acting like she was a little sad I was leaving (unusual for Miss Independence). I just reassured it was only for a couple of days and that I would come back refreshed and be a better mama. Her immediate quip, "I hope." Ouch...

On a lighter note, on the way to school this morning after a quiet moment (again, unusual with this circus), she pipes up. "Mama, you know what I wish. I wish students could get substitutes like you teachers and we could take off whenever we want!" I have honestly never thought of that before, but it made me laugh out loud! I didn't correct her on the truth that teachers take off very little for 'when they feel like it', but just let her relish in the thought...

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! Happy Friday! And Happy Almost the End of the School Year!

Ross Funnies

2010-05-06T19:45:00.003-05:00

Ross is on fire tonight with funny sayings, so I thought I would share.

1. Chris let him stir the tartar sauce tonight. As Ross is stirring, he says, "Hmm. I fink it needs a wittle more..." as he reaches for the lemon pepper.

2. Before the prayer at supper, "Daddy, I just need to tell you one more fing before I pray." Then he takes off on some tall tale about he and Hayden falling on their heads when they jumped off Hayden's roof... Please let that just be a yarn and not some kind of foresight...

3. He was too distracted to actually eat supper. He jumped up from the the table and said he had to get his stuff to go on a trip. He ran to find a rolling (strawberry shortcake) backpack and came back to the table to get a kiss from each of us. He said, "I Daddy. Going on a twip. I'll be back. I wuv you!" Think he has seen this happen before??

4. As he was riding his bike to get away from Chris on the sidewalk, "Boo Boo Ha Ha. You can't catch me!" Not sure where that came from, but you can't help but giggle!

I still need to post pictures of a very fun 4 year old birthday party! Hopefully, soon. Or check them out on facebook:)

Ross' Special Day

2010-04-30T13:22:00.002-05:00

Ross has really been looking forward to his special day this year!

He has so many interests and so many friends at this sweet stage of his life. Gratitude just oozes out of his little personality. He has more 'best friends of all' than even I do:) He will often thank me or Chris for something by saying, "Thank you for cooking that supper for me. I love that supper!" or "Thank for you getting me that drink. I love that drink!" It is quite comical - and endearing!

He is in LOVE with his bicycle! He and Anna can't wait to get home and ride their bikes around in the driveway and on the sidewalk. They can't get enough time out there - no matter how sweaty or how long they have been riding! Which lead us to plan the Birthday Bicycle Extravaganza for tonight... More about that later.

An agenda of Wednesday, April 28th:

Nana made a wonderful, fancy, delicious birthday breakfast for us to start the day! She had balloons blown up, a banner on the fireplace, presents, toy story plates and napkins, spinach quiche, berries and cream parfait, sausage, mini muffins, and a chocolate cupcake for him to blow the candles out of! He was so thrilled! And noticed and appreciated every detail!
As a special treat after Anna and I went to school, Nana took Ross to the barn (his favorite place!) and then on a fun adventure through the woods on their place. He LOVED it!
We had a fire at school DURING the TAKS test! But everything worked out fine, we got an hour break in the sunshine, and the students were perfectly quiet! Then we had to spend the rest of the day in the same testing room... Needless to say, it was a LONG day!
As soon as I got the kids, we headed to home to get started on the special request birthday supper - meatloaf, creamed spinach, and mashed potatoes! We also had rolls and brownie sundaes for dessert. Nana and Grandpa joined in the festivities. Ross had seconds, but was distracted by his desire to open his presents...
He was so pumped to get tball stand and bat and a cute outfit from Nana and Grandpa, a helmet and knee pads from Mimi and Pop, a book from Anna, a book and 2 shirts from us (along with the motorcycle bicycle we already gave him:), 4 swords that he, Grandpa, Daddy and Anna tested out immediately, $20 from Mrs Jan (he said incredulously, "My very own money!"), and a fun truck super hero toy from Mrs. Bevelyn.
We wound down the evening with a little bike riding before heading off to Bible class.

As Chris was unloading him from the truck after church, Ross proclaimed, "This is my best birthday ever!"

I am so thankful for this precious, ornery, sweet, maddening, funny, crazy little boy!

Dueling Duos

2010-04-05T20:27:00.002-05:00

While the kids were playing outside, I had an idea for them to combine their most recent accomplishments... Pretty impressive (even if I do say so myself!:) You can tell little brother has some room for improvement in both areas...

Like riding a bike...

2010-04-03T17:37:00.003-05:00

Last spring about this time, Anna begged Chris to take the training wheels off of her bike. She was sure she was ready. But about that time they started spending all of their free time at the barn. So the training wheels were off, but Anna didn't practice enough to be able to ride.

Cut to this spring. We have been spending more time at home (since Daddy can't ride horses), so she has been practicing riding her bike. She doesn't want any help (wonder where she gets her control issues?!?), so we have just been letting her figure it out on her own. She is fairly risk averse (again, wondering:), so she was slow to make any real headway. All she needed was a little friendly competition (anyone??) between her and our sweet neighbor friend for her to be off and sailing!

It really is a cool accomplishment! And Ross is determined that Hoho will bring him a 'motorcycle bicycle' for his birthday so he can ride too...

Hair today, gone tomorrow

2010-04-01T20:48:00.005-05:00

Last year in about January, Anna decided she wanted to donate her hair to Locks of Love to be used in a wig for someone who needed it.

Turns out you need TEN INCHES to donate to Locks of Love. So we have been working towards this goal for quite some time! Our awesome hair girl has encouraged, supported, offered advice and probably wanted to just pull it out over this past year! The daddy in our house has serious issues with girls with short hair, and the mama seriously needs as many people to have a ponytail as possible. Just when we were starting to give up, I did a little more research and found Pantene has a similar hair donation program. The beauty is that they only need 8 inches! So we measured for the kabillionth time and determined NOW is the time!

Ross' First Soccer Game (if that is what you call a game!)

2010-03-29T07:03:00.002-05:00

Ross and several of our friends and neighbors had their first game of the Small Fry (3-4 year olds) Soccer League.

They started our strong with the stretches and warmups and practice kicks into the net, but things quickly went down hill when the game started. Luckily, some of the kids on our team were interested in following the ball. Ross, not so much. The plus side is that we have plenty of room for improvement! Thanks to Aunt Nette for coming with us!

Truly Amazing

2010-03-21T10:36:00.003-05:00

We woke up to a beautiful blanket of snow on the ground this morning! The weatherman said it would happen, but we didn't believe it would really stick since it has been so pretty here this past week...

We decided to try our hand at home church and play in the snow a little. Chris found a way to build a snowman without disobeying the "No BLT" the doctors gave him. He and Anna built the snowman on the bed of the pickup. Lane and Shelly helped with the nose and the mouth, and this is our finished cowboy snowman!

Since it is still kind of snowing and the wind is blowing so hard we didn't have too hard of a time getting everyone inside... Now we are bundling up for a lazy last afternoon of spring break '10...

Singing songs of praise

2010-03-18T19:50:00.003-05:00

So this spring break has been spent getting ready for Chris to have back surgery, having the back surgery and recovering from the back surgery.

We are now huge fans of the Carrell Clinic and Dr. Clavenna. Chris' pain was relieved almost immediately after surgery and he continues to improve! He came home today with strict orders not to bend, twist or lift but to walk as much as he possibly can.

So much prayer went into this event in our lives, and I am so eternally thankful that everything has worked out so far. Last Wednesday night we studied the last of James and this passage has been such a comfort over the past few days. Thank you to all of you who prayed so fervently and thank you to God for answering our prayers in a definite way!

13Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. James 5:13-16

Quotes of late

2010-03-09T19:50:00.002-06:00

Anna completed and presented her very first project. She said, "It was so fun to present!" When recounting the presentation this afternoon she was proudest of the 'oohs' when she asked talked about their soap was made from pig fat, and the giggles at the thought of emptying a chamber pot. Her enthusiasm was certainly sparked since the topic is something that we love - old timey Texas!
On the way to church Sunday morning Ross said in the sweetest sing song voice ever, "Daddy, when I grow up I want to be juuuuust like you!" When questioned about what that meant, "mowing", "weedeating" and "blowing the grass off".
After talking sassy one too many times the other day and threatened with the spanking spoon... "Please don't spank me. My bobo is tooo fragile!"
Friday morning after Chris woke Anna up he went in to kiss Ross goodbye. Chris told him he didn't have to get up yet. But in his most responsible, serious, resigned voice Ross responded as he was stretching, "But I weally need to!"
After finishing her masterpiece of supper tonight, Anna declared, "I think I will call this recipe 'Anna's Special Eggs'!" Never more proud...
Last Thursday was Texas day at school, and you have never seen a little boy so happy to get dressed on the Ross appointed "Boot Day". However, another day last week as I was getting him ready, "Today is not boot day, Mama. Today I need to dress like a Garbage Man." And another day he wanted to be a space man, and another day he wanted to be a fireman. And he still comes back to the dump truck driver man quite often.
On our way to Nana's this morning Ross asked his usual question, "Is the mud back?" Since it rained all day Sunday and Monday, Anna and I both answered in the affirmative. And he responded with the saddest disappointment (because he knows he can't go to the barn with Nana when it is too muddy!). Too cheer him up, she started telling him the rain would make the flowers and trees and grass grow. She went on to tell him that if they were really good, maybe we could play in the mud like she got to one time at Allison's... Her memory amazes me! I think she was 3 when we made a big mud slide out of their backyard.

I know there is more... but these are things I don't want to forget...

Hospitality Badge

2010-03-07T16:01:00.002-06:00

One of the kids favorite shows is Max and Ruby. It is an adorable cartoon about a big sister and little brother that could easily be about our family (except there is no mom or dad, only Grandma:) One of the episodes is about Ruby earning her hospitality badge, and they learn a little motto that starts "when things go wrong, you..." That is all I can remember, even though we have watched this episode at least 1000 times. Maybe because that is what I usually focus on when having company...

But that wasn't the case this time!

Last weekend we hosted a regular, old fashioned shower here for our sweet friend from church. With tons of help from all the people in my life (encouragement, offers to help, babysitting of children, decorations, beautiful plates, recipes, food, etc, etc) it turned out beautifully! About 20 ladies from church showed up to honor and bless Francine and her soon to arrive baby girl. By the way, Anna really earned her badge at the shower - she greeted, took gifts and purses and serve punch and cake like an old pro!

Then Sunday night we had the youth devo here after church. I remember fun times and good food at the devos when I was a kid. Only a few showed up, but we still had a good time.

And finally, on Tuesday night the ladies Bible study met here. I threw together a taco salad and we ended up sitting around the table sharing and listening to life stories, successes, failures, praises and frustrations for almost 2 hours. We didn't get out our Bibles, but we definitely fulfilled the fellowship call!

These three events were a great reason to clean the house! And I hope I don't wait so long to earn that hospitality badge again (the cleaning AND the fellowshipping part:)!

Highlights...

2010-02-20T07:53:00.006-06:00

Last Sunday Miss Ann brought the 'pupcake ministry' to church. The moms all brought cupcakes, and the kids iced and decorated them. Then they set up a table and passed them out to everyone at church! It was such a 'sweet surprise' (pun intended) for everyone. And the kids did great! Nette-Nette was even here to get in on the fun!

Ross is just devasted by the snow that is 'milking' all away. So yesterday morning (more than a week after it first fell), I was pointing out patches of snow. After the third or fourth patch, I said, "Look, more snow!". He responded, "What?! Horse snow? Ewww! I wonder what that tastes like!?!" And kept going on about horse snow until we got to Nana's. Silly!

Anna had to have 2 teeth pulled at the dentist on Tuesday. She was a real trooper, and doesn't seem any worse for the wear. However, she did tell me that the dentist told he was going to wiggle her tooth. Her comment to me, "Yeah. Wiggle. Whatever. It sure hurt worse than wiggling." The sarcastic phase she is in right now is usually too sassy for me. But that struck me as pretty funny.

Ross was with Nana and Anna at the dentist the whole 2 hours it took. And by all accounts, he was really good. So Daddy happened to find the last blowa (toy leaf blower) at Walmart that night when he was getting Anna ice cream and such. Ross was beyond thrilled. And he hasn't had that "bad dweam" he has been having since Christmas about when Ho-Ho forgot his blowa...

While Anna and I were frantically staightening last night so that our friends could stay with them while the parents went to supper, Ross was reclined on the couch watching his good ol' John Deere video... and singing along... loudly. Too funny! (he did at least help pick up some toys earlier)

When we got home last night 'Blakey' (16) was reading a frog book to Ross in the recliner, and 'Brookie' (13) was helping Anna with her dolls. ADORABLE! We are so blessed to have such good role models!

Today is serious clean house day! Wish me luck!

Snow fun!

2010-02-14T17:28:00.005-06:00

Thursday, February 11, was a record breaking day in our neck of the woods! It snowed ALLLL day - the official is close to a foot (I have heard). While we enjoyed the beauty, we also got a taste of the olden days - no electricity! Thankfully, Nana and Grandpa came to our rescue - providing lunch after a morning of playing in outside and then a warm bed when the power was still out. Our sweet Nette got to enjoy the snow with us, too. She has seen plenty this winter in Indianapolis, but was glad to actually play in it with us!! We certainly lived it up! So take a seat in the comfy chair on our back porch and enjoy a few pics from our adventure...

All the neighbors on the Nation's hill. Even the mamas got in on the sledding action!

I am so humbled...

2010-02-07T07:35:00.005-06:00

This has been a week of highs and lows. Extra prayer has been put into parenting, old friends relationships and new friends health.

I had 2 great lessons about how important my words are - one at the ladies class on Tuesday night and one in our class on Wednesday night that Chris led. I am torn about whether sharing this next story is bragging or encouraging. I hope that you read it with the humility and amazement that it is written.

My new friend from church is going through a real trial right now due to her husband's cancer. Her honesty and passion for learning more about God's will is truly inspiring. She mentioned in passing that she needed a new Bible with larger print. So yesterday while we were out we picked up a nice large print reference Bible for her. This morning when I gave it to her she was thrilled. Then she said, "I prayed for a new Bible!" I don't know that I have ever been as struck by the concrete evidence that I can be an instrument of God's will. I am so humbled and inspired at the same time.

Another sign God is really at work is that Ross went to sleep on Mr. Terry's lap during church this morning AND laid down for a little nap after we got home! (two things that rarely coincide!)

Please pray that we will be open and willing more often! Nothing drives it home like the memory verse from Anna's class this morning. "For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be." Luke 12:34

conversation at supper

2010-02-03T20:50:00.003-06:00

As Chris was dipping ranch dressing onto Ross' plate at supper tonight, the following conversation played out...

Daddy: Ross, do you like ranch dressin' on everything?
Ross: No, Daddy! Only on foooood... (in that don't-be-so-silly voice)

He said it...

Nothing to do but laugh...

2010-01-24T07:52:00.003-06:00

Yesterday morning I attempted to exercise before our adventures. Ross walked into the living room and says in a very perplexed tone, "Mama, you wook wike a cow. Are you a cow?" What was I to do... so I mooed...

Within the hour while getting ready for a very fun "Pinkalicious" birthday party, Anna questioned me about the 'sore' on my forehead (zit is too mild of a word for this appendage!). She finally concluded that I would fit in well at the party, as it looked like I was starting the turning pink process (like the little girl in the book!). You know me, I always want to fit in...

While playing with her barbie computer in the car on the way to the party, Anna gets really mad at it. She says, "Mom, can you believe they didn't spell a word right on this spelling game?!?" When questioned, she missed the word "hamburger" because she tried to spell it "handburger". Apparently, she has always thought that was what it was called... It does kind of make more sense... kind of like when she called Nette's "eyepod" an "earpod"...

But I didn't correct her when later she was telling me something about "handydowns"...

Great times!

Who needs new year's resolutions?

2010-01-16T08:08:00.004-06:00

In an effort to be 'transparent' I am putting this out here for my friends and family to know what I am resolving to do right now... All these things are resolve not just for this year, but for the rest of my life. But instead of getting all dramatic, I will just work for today!

1. Spend at least 15 minutes studying the Bible. (in 15 minutes ask me what I studied today!)

2. Take and record my blood sugar 4 times a day, and record the amount of insulin I take. (for those of you aghast, the resolve is more about the recording than the doing - I do it, just not that good at writing it down)

3. Spend meaningful time separately and together with each part of my circus.

4. Clean my house so we can 'maintain' instead of dodge:)

5. Reach out to those in need instead of just thinking about it. Mainly the people right around me. And the ones far away.

Any help you can offer is appreciated...

In case anyone wondered, this little line is my inspiration, reward and challenge all wrapped up!

The Best Christmas!

2010-01-06T18:54:00.001-06:00

I know that I really enjoyed last Christmas, but I really think this Christmas was the best ever!

We had a great first week (as detailed in the terribly long previous post), and the second week continued with the goodness.

Our trip to Arizona (or Bzona as Ross continues to call it) was fantastic. We relished our time together with our Mimi and Pop, Nina and Papa, Uncle Jason and Uncle Canni (apparently an extreme term of endearment), Nette, and Neen and Brad. My parent's new house was very nice, the gator brought lots of enjoyment, and the puppies and calves are still topics of conversation. Everyone was incredibly generous, and the kids are loving playing with all of their new stuff!

It hasn't even been as hard as I thought to get back into a routine (although it probably helps that I have been to bed at the same time as the kids this week:)

I am hopeful for a great 2010! Health and happiness to everyone!

Santa Claus came to town... finally!

2009-12-25T19:56:00.002-06:00

This Christmas was so much fun! I will bullet point the highlights... Feel free to skim:)

Partied it up from the school secret santa party at 7:45 to finals to a math teacher shindig to a Tops performance to the Church Christmas party on the last Friday...
Leading to a lazy day on Saturday of relishing in the lack of anything urgently pressing to do!
Snuck in a trip to Northpark and the Princess and the Frog with both my Princess and my Frog and a very courageous math teacher friend on Sunday afternoon.
Thoroughly enjoyed the combination of mine, Jana and Allison's circus! Fun times, fun memories, and only a couple meltdowns...
Long nap to recover from all the fun on Tuesday was enjoyed by my circus!
Gingerbread Decorating Day for the kids on Wednesday at Nana's finally arrived! Both kids were beside themselves with excitement of (a) getting to be around that much candy (b) permission to make a mess and (c) fun times with their favorite cousins! Nana let me slip away to run the errands I had been neglecting AND a perfect lunch with a kindred spirit (even if Anne of Green Gables is inappropriate for some, the phrase describes our friendship perfectly!)
We (mainly Chris) decided we should open our family gifts on Wednesday night since we wouldn't have time before the Hiser Christmas Eve Game Extravaganza. It was so fun to see the kids enjoy giving their gifts and of course getting some too! Please note that t-shirts were worn on this day of fun due to the balmy temps...
But not on Thursday! We woke up to really cold temps and snow started falling (or blowing!) very soon. We braved the storm to deliver some baked goodies, visit with our special friend and get some really awesome gifts! We raced home so Ross could have a good nap before the Extravaganza. And for once, my plan succeeded!
Much fun was had by everyone at Aunt Kim's for yummy mexican food and then at Aunt Heather's for desserts. She even made yummy sugar free strawberry pie and cheescake just for me! Everything was very tasty! The championship game was postponed until today so that we could get home before any ice... And NANA won!! Yea!
Anna woke up throwing up about midnight, narrowly missing Santa's deliveries... but everything worked out and she seemed fine today.
The kids were thrilled with their finds this morning! Ross has only put his chainsaw down a few times today, and most of those times were to eat... Anna got some neat things from Santa, too... And didn't even act disappointed about not getting her request (the Wii)... but she was sure excited when she found it hooked up to the tv!
Nana and Grandpa spoiled us all rotten with tons of thoughtful gifts! And tons of great food!
This has definitely been a time of counting our blessings - good family, good friends, good times and some really good presents:)
Now we are all ready for the next phase of our break!!

Loving life...

2009-12-11T16:48:00.002-06:00

We have had some fun times lately. Aunt Nette came to visit last weekend, and we even managed to visit with Aunt Neen a little. Very fun times!

The kids are totally in the swing of Christmas! As we were pulling in just now Ross asked if it was Cwistmas time. When I answered yes, he wanted to know why noone's lights were on... Is that a sign that we haven't been home during the day time in a while?

Tomorrow is our annual visit to Santa at Chris' work party. Anna is excited to see him, since he is the 'real Santa'. She informed me last week that she knew the real Santa wasn't coming to visit Ross' school, but (1) she didn't want to hurt Ross' feelings by telling him and (2) she was glad she would get to see the real Santa at Daddy's work party. She also informed me that the way she knew he was the real Santa is because he brings elves. And she pointed out that some people think elves are small, but Santa brings all sizes to the party.

Their lists are short this year. Anna has been set on the Wii for awhile now. But she is holding out to ask Santa, not us. She declared this was because she knows the Wii is expensive, and she doesn't want us to have to spend a lot of money. So thoughtful! Ross has added 'huntin gun with bullets' to his 'chainsaw, blower and another weedeater'. Hmmm...

Since this serves as my journal... I'll share this interesting conversation in the car earlier this week while listening to baby Jesus Christmas songs on our way to visit our newest miracle Camille.

Anna: How did they have babies back in the old times?
Me: Well... it was really hard.
Anna: Hmmm...
A few more songs.
Anna: Was it like when a sheep has a lamb?
Me: Well... kind of...
Ross: Ewww! Gwoss! That stinks!
Anna: (very seriously) Ross, it doesn't stink. I was there.
(keep in mind this was probably 2 years ago)
A couple of seconds later...
Anna: Is that how they have them now?
Me: Not me, remember, I got cut open. (never more thankful for a c-section!)

Pretty sure some puzzle pieces were put together for my little thinker... pretty sure more of that conversation will happen sooner than later... Definitely not ready!

Needless to say, life is always interesting with my circus!

Future Farmer of America

2009-11-27T19:32:00.004-06:00

In the car after leaving the barn this afternoon, Ross made a bold statement. Completely unprompted and out the blue!

He very emphatically said, "I need to be a farmer when I grow big!"

When I questioned what that meant he would be doing, his list includes, "digging, piling hay, scooping poop and feeding animals..."

Looks like he is well on his way to being a 7th generation 'agriculturalist', as Aunt Nette would say...

He also likes to tip his hat and say, "Yeeeee-haw!"

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-26T15:51:00.006-06:00

We finished a lovely lunch at Nana and Grandpa's celebrating Thanksgiving today. Everyone was there, except Uncle Troy who was at the fire station. I am so thankful the cousins enjoy playing and spending time together!

As soon as the food was put away, the dishes cleaned, a little more visiting, and animals fed some of the fam headed to the deer lease... By the looks of the picture can you guess who didn't go? There's always next year...

Happy Thanksgiving!

The winnings from the horsing!

2009-11-26T10:27:00.003-06:00

A couple of weeks ago we got all dudded up and headed to Southern Junction for the awards for the horsing that Chris and Anna and his family do. We had a great bbq meal and clapped for all the friends. Ross was mesmerized by the cartoons Chris downloaded to his iphone (praying that works for a very long car trip we will be taking in a month!)

Chris won all kind of things - including 2 belt buckles. Before we left for this shindig our neighbor was giving Anna a hard time and telling her that he needed a new belt buckle. She quickly quipped that he should talk to her dad since he was about to win 2 new ones and he can only wear one at a time!

Anna began competing towards the end of the season, but they kindly recognized her efforts with a new halter and a bag. She was very proud!

How can you be at a place with a mechanical bull and not at least try...

The craziness that is my life...

2009-11-17T18:53:00.000-06:00

While I was checking my email just now, and Anna is frantically dusting to earn money for the latest Junie B Jones book at the book fair, Ross has been playing with a small box. Over the past 5 minutes or so, I have heard the phrases, "meet my new fwend" and "I have a new pet" and "oops, where did you go?" and "do you like your new home?" I assumed he was using that amazing imagination that is emerging... Unfortunately, it wasn't all pretend. He just held up the box to me and happily said, "Meet my new pet, Mama." As I looked down planning to pretend right along with him, I am introduced to a crazy skinny moving bug!! I rained all over that parade by grabbing his boot and smushing his 'fwend'. He didn't seem the least bit phased as now he is 'tying up the telescope with the cord for his pooter(computer)'. Actually the pooter just became the new pet... He is leading it around as we speak, telling it to 'not be scared!'

I love my crazy life... Even if it doesn't leave much phone time! I promise to call on my way home tomorrow, Mama!

Here's to embracing the craziness of our lives!

Sweet Seven

2009-10-25T17:58:00.006-05:00

This past week included lots of celebration for my Anna Banana.

Monday she (and a few favorite people) got to ride in a limo to the next town for pizza since they sold 15 boxes of overpriced cookie dough. (Chris called in his favors of years of buying fundraisier junk over the years.) She said it was very cool!

Tuesday we watched Cousin Tyler play football. I started a game where Ross had to yell "Go Tigers" in his loud voice to earn a sip of diet coke. His lungs were really proving themselves!

Wednesday, Chris put his cake making skills to the test to create his 7th masterpiece for his sweet girl.

Thursday was the big day!

It started with a lovely breakfast prepared by Nana. Spinach quiche (requested by the birthday girl herself), banana bread/creamc cheese sandwiches, homemade mini muffins, fruit and yogurt parfait, hot tea and milk. It was all laid out beautifully, even placecards.

She took 'zebra cakes' for her class at school. Little Debbie is a great stand in!

Then I picked up she and 4 friends, and 3 others met us at the movie theater for a Sweet Seven birthday party extravaganza! They giggled, played, giggled, oohed and ahhed, opened presents, listened to a story, put on their party favors (gaudy beads and rings) and of course ate cupcakes. Then we settled in for "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs." It was a really cute show that only drug on about 20 minutes too long:) Then we loaded up and headed home.

Chris watched the little ones and Allison and I took the A girls for a little Italian Birthday supper. They even got to play for a little while after.

We ended the week cheering on the Pirates at the Pink Out game. It was quite a site to see the football boys with pink tights, all kind of pink shirts in the stands, pink goal posts, pink paint on the field... perfectly pink!

We are thankful the crud didn't hit until Saturday, and we even got some medicine, so we are hoping to kick it before this exciting week begins.

Happy October! Trying to enjoy the whirlwind as it passes sooo quickly!

Just a spoonful of sugar...

2009-10-18T19:55:00.002-05:00

Anna and I had an absolutely supercalifragilisticexpialidocious time this afternoon at Mary Poppins the musical!

My favorite times were the gypsies tent where they created supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and the kitchen scene with 'just a spoonful of sugar'.

Anna's favorites were the dancing statues (no penguins) and when Mary Poppins flew into the audience with the stars...

Two of my favorite quotes from Anna Banana for the day:
1. After climbing to the tip top of Music Hall (literally, the wall was behind us!), we settled into our seats to wait for the show to start. Just as it was starting she leaned over to whisper in my ear, "We have the VERY best seats in this whole place!" Such a sweet girl! And not near as high maintenance as I make her out to be sometimes:)

2. As we were racing through the fair to find jalapeno cheese corny dogs for daddy, she catches my attention to tell me, "We HAVE to believe in magic now. At least Mary Poppins magic. She flew across the audience and disappeared into the ceiling and there were NO strings or anything! We just HAVE to believe in Mary Poppins magic!"

I love the innocence and the interest all rolled into one... especially since we were celebrating her 7th and my 34th birthdays...

A filter to view our lives...

2009-10-06T19:28:00.002-05:00

When it is decision time, or conflict arises, or when things are really good, or when things are really bad these 3 points could really help keep our priorities straight.

1. God made us to seek him. The Bible says that he created us to seek Him. And Matthew tells use that if we seek, we will find. So we should always be seeking a stronger relationship with the Lord.

2. God wants to be glorified. So many verses tell us to glorify God. If we are making God look good, then we are doing the right thing.

3. We should be preparing for eternity. Jesus came to this earth so that we would have EVERLASTING life. I need to be doing things that will allow me to enjoy that ultimate reward.

This is the barebones outline from the sermon on Sunday morning from Eddie Parrish (a guest speaker). It has really stuck with me (I mean, it is already Tuesday!) so I thought I would share. I have the scriptures written down to support it all, but they are in Chris' Bible which was inadvertently left at church. If you would like more details, hound me until I remember to share the scriptures!

I hope you are having a great week!

Show Time!

2009-09-26T14:10:00.005-05:00

Today was Banana's first day to compete at the horsing events Chris and his family have been riding in for a while. She has been planning to compete today for a couple of months... The Monkey and I got there before her class and he enjoyed riding around and hanging out with his hero/cousin Tyler.

Two memorable things happened while I was there today:

1. Banana won the youth class.

But not without angst. Her horse, Jet, must have sensed the nervousness she was doing her best not to show the rest of us. He was a little more antsy than normal. And she didn't get a time in first two rides (which were back to back). So she came out of the ring, held it together for about 30 seconds, and started crying when Chris went to talk to her. I was standing some distance away, but my stellar lip reading skills saw very clearly, "I did HORRIBLE!" I had to just walk away. I felt like I was looking in a mirror from 20 years ago... Please join me in praying that she gets over her anxiety before she is too old to show!

2. While we were waiting for her class to begin, a lady was complimenting me (please be sure you are seated!) on the Monkey's politeness. While he is still non stop all the time, please and 'fank' you are finally common terms in vocabulary. Literally, (not exagerated for blog purposes!) 2 seconds after this conversation, with the lady still sitting there, a man rides up and reports a story about Banana. He said he had been asking her about the price of her horse, and she had been putting him off. Finally, he reports, she tells him very matter of factly, "The more you ask, the longer til you get it." (Hmm, that sounds familiar...) And he responds, "So are you saying I should just shut up about it?" And she responds to that simply, "Pretty much." Looks like we still have some work to do in the politeness category!!!

Happy Saturday!

Movie Time

2009-09-22T20:11:00.003-05:00

The monkey in entertainment mode...

And Banana developing skill where she seems to have talent...

We made it!

2009-08-29T07:45:00.003-05:00

We officially survived the first week of school! It has been a great week, with lots of great things happening, but I am exhausted. And it seems like I have more to do this weekend than I had to do last weekend... such is life...

Banana loved her teacher! And loved being right next door to her kindergarten teacher from last year. She has talked mainly about the games they played in PE and what they did at recess. I am looking forward to hearing more about what happens in class...

R the Monkey did well, all things considered. He started Monday morning off with an adorable impromptu serenade with the guitar! Too bad we didn't catch him in time with the video. He would have loved to stay with Sis at school. His tues/thurs school doesn't start until NEXT week. He is so excited about going right now. I hope that excitement doesn't wane...

Chris was gone all week, and Nana took very good care of us. I didn't cook supper all week - what a blessing! And we even managed to play outside a couple of times with our fun neighbors. We did have one catastrophe. The shower head broke off the spigot while the kids were in the shower on Monday night. R the Monkey had a complete breakdown, he instantly started BAWLING and hollering, "My daddy needs to come fix it. He needs to get in his twuck and come home wight now and fix it!" He continued that over and over again like a crazy person. Good thing it was time for bed. And good thing we have another shower!

This is one of my favorite verses, and I realized why this week... it was made for math teachers:)

"May mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you." Jude 1:2

I am ONE of these!

2009-08-25T20:29:00.003-05:00

The theme for my new school is about one to one relationships. And the slogan for this year is Expect to be the Best. It is really cool to be such a small part of such a large group... reminds of when how much I enjoyed being a freshman at A&M - a very small fish in a very large pond! My classes are going great, I have met some really nice adults and students, and I haven't been late at all!

Let's play where's jenjen... can you spot me?

All geared up!

2009-08-15T22:16:00.005-05:00

This weekend marks the Official End of Summer 2010.

And I can honestly say, we are all (pretty much) ready to move onto the next excitement.

We have been celebrating summer's 'end' for a few weeks now as I have transitioned back to school and into my new job. We have had a enough early mornings to remind us to go to bed early. And we have had enough 'work' to really enjoy the 'fun'.

Chris and the kids lived it up on Thursday and Friday while I finished up the before school meetings and working. They had plenty of fun AND managed to make our house look like people live here! The bonus to having a clean house is that I feel much less stress! I hope this continues forever (both the clean house and the less stress:)

Since the first May that came and went after I graduated from college, I have appreciated the beauty of a school year. It begins and ends and then a whole new set of excitement opens up again in a couple of months. I love the new excitement! And I hope that will continue for many more school years to come...

Happy new beginnings to everyone!

A day of firsts...

2009-08-15T22:16:00.003-05:00

Today was a big day.

1. Chris and Banana left around 7 to go to horsing about an hour away. I heard that Banana loped (or cantered) confidently for the first time. For you horse novices, I am pretty sure this is where the horse runs smoothly, perhaps with all four feet off the ground (please correct me if I am wrong!).

2. R and I were the second people at the oil change place this morning. I continued (but did not finish) my craft project for the teachers at Banana's school. And we ran errands. (I will not mention that we drove the hour to the horsing only to be terribly lost and late, so we just went back to town for retail therapy...)

3. This evening Banana competed in her first Horse Show. The first class of the night was showmanship for beginners - and Banana jumped right in there to compete! She walked away with a ribbon (4th place out of at least 10!) and she was beaming! If she can stay awake she will compete in a total of 5 classes this evening. One of the really neat things is that Nana is competing right beside her. What great memories they are making!

4. R wore real underwear (as opposed to diapers or pullups) ALL day! We have been wearing them off and on for different parts of the day all summer. But today was from the time he woke up until he went to sleep! Hopefully, we are moving in the right direction... Although, it is one more reminder that I no longer have babies... But I can honestly say this is one aspect I will be happy to pass by!

More reporting about the horse show manana... Can you tell by the pictures that anyone was having fun?

2009-08-13T19:10:00.005-05:00

The tooth fairy visited our house for the 2nd time last night! This time Banana 'took' (not pulled because it was holding on by less than a thread) her own tooth out after much encouragement from her daddy. I had been trying to convince her to do it all day, but he made it happen... guess that is why he is the salesman of the family! She was awfully proud when she woke up this morning!

The first day of my new teacher inservice we were all 3 dressed and ready before it was time to leave! If only I can continue that in the days to come! I wanted one of them together, but that didn't work. Surprise of a lifetime when Banana volunteered to take a picture my little monkey threw his arm around my neck and said cheeeese. Pretty special!

Sweetness

2009-08-11T20:57:00.003-05:00

My little monkey, Mr. R., has such a sweet little heart underneath his ALL boy exterior. I just wanted to share a couple of sweet stories from today.

1. R and his sweet friend Little A were chatting in the middle backseat (the big A girls were in the way, way back). I hear Little A tell R that she has on big girl panties and went teetee in the potty this morning. R says to her in his most encouraging little voice, "Good job, A!" And starts to clap and cheer for her. Then, not at all in one ups man style, he tells her he pooped and peed in the potty this morning. She responded as genuinely with, "Yea R! I'm so pwoud of you!" It warms my heart that these two love each other so much. They also were very proud at the end of their time that Little A didn't pinch R even one time:)

2. When Daddy got home tonight and learned of the serious pottying success we had, he announced it was time for a happy prize. After a little discussion, it was decided that R (and Banana) would really like a watch. When Chris got home with watches the kids were in the bath. He asked R if he still wanted a watch, R quickly responded, "I want one for sissy, too!" It was so sweet that he wanted to share his happy prize time with his sweet sister! I hope their sweet friendship continues to grow forever!

And you have never seen two kiddos more proud of their watches! Well, except that time I got the mickey mouse watch that danced on the hour... I was seriously proud of that thing!!

Extra episode: This morning when we woke up and gathered in my bed we were talking about school. R is very excited to talk about that he gets to go to sool, too (preschool). We were listing several of his sweet friends who will be there with him. Banana pointed out that his best friend, Little A would be there. He quickly quipped, "YOU are my BEST fwind!" Ahhh...

Living it up!

2009-08-03T07:41:00.008-05:00

This past week we worked on our to do list (checking off 2 bedrooms and the playroom!), I had an inservice, had some fun times with friends, R lost his cuyuls (translation: curls), worked in my classroom a little with some awesome help, 3 birthday parties, roadtrip to College Station, visited the Blue Bell factory, played on 2 different blow up water slides, swam, avoided some serious rain storms, and took at least 1 nap.

This picture stands out because all 6 of these little angels are seated. And they stayed like that for more than 30 seconds. And they were NOT buckled in. Amazing the wonders of a big ol scoop of your favorite ice cream!

This picture is a little darker than I would like, but you can see what a little man R looks like. And how tall Banana is getting.

Happy last part of summer!

Positive

2009-07-25T19:23:00.003-05:00

As the summer is winding down, I am challenging myself not to be disappointed. In that effort, I thought I would list a few of the things I am thankful for...
1. I only have to work 1 day this week, 2 the next and 3 the next. A great gradual adjustment period.
2. R is not using very many diapers at all these days. I try to make him wear big boy underwear when we are at home. And he inevitably holds his teetee until 2 minutes after the 45th time I ask him if he needs to go. The time when he actually has the diaper on he is so scarred from my making him sit on the potty so much that he is scared to go in the diaper. Hmmm... a child who can not tinkle for 6 hours straight may need to drink more.
3. Banana is thrilled to help around the house - as long as it doesn't involve her room. Last week, she picked up in the entire house and cleaned the bathroom counters in exchange for not collecting the dirty clothes from her room. Today she is working on washing the baseboards and the cabinets in return for no mention of her room... I can handle this bargaining tool.
4. R slept the entire night in his own big boy bed last night!! We won't mention that every other night this week we had serious power struggles between 3 and 5 am about where he was going to finish out the night...
5. On that note, I am praying he will use his manipulation skills for good not evil. When he awoke just after dawn this morning he sweetly 'hollered' (no better word) that he needed to go potty. As I scramble/race to his room to get there to be greeted by a huge hug around the neck... a hug that continued in the bathroom with a small voice pleaing to "just sleep with 'oo' mama, not go potty wight now."
6. I am thankful for time to read. I have read several books this summer - from Scarlett to The Shack. I am most proud of starting to read the Bible. Instead of being intimidated by 'studying', my sweet sister encouraged me just to read it. I started in Samuel, enjoyed that so much, I went back to Genesis. I am well into Deuteronomy, and have a new respect for those seeminly dumb wandering Isrealites. Looking back it is so easy to see they made the wrong choices not to follow God. I hope I will do a better job of following God's will for my life!
7. I am tickled to make some deposits in the helping friends account. Three different morning we had different friends come to play while their mommies did important jobs. We had a great time playing (and I got tons done with mine diverted). I am so fortunate to have so many sweet helpers, and I feel like I have to use them so often, it was a nice feeling to be giving back (even if not directly)!
8. Fun times! We have some really fun friends! We enjoy doing just about anything with our friends - running errands, eating lunch, shopping, swimming and even playing at the beach! R seems to understand the friend concept lately and talks about his 'frenns' quite often. It warms my heart to see my children developing relationships!
9. Family times. This summer has provided some EXCELLENT aunt and uncle loving! The kids constantly talk about our special visits!
10. The Pupcake Ministry has had a couple of good runs this summer. Banana and R both love every aspect of making the cakes, decorating with Daddy (and Nette) and delivering to special people. I hope this is something we will continue...

I won't mention the things not finished on my to do list or the utter dread of returning to the rat race!! Just savoring the good things!

Wow! Those are great elk balls!

2009-07-21T07:07:00.003-05:00

This is the quote during supper last night from Banana. I made meatballs (inspired from food network) but of course, they were made out of elk. And she put it all together...

I also made a pie out of the blueberries we picked and the peaches from the trees at Chris' work. No sugar. TASTY! For real!

Blueberry Peach Cobbler
From Quick Cooking
SERVINGS
6-8
CATEGORY
Dessert
METHOD
Baked
PREP
20 min.
COOK
25 min.
TOTAL
45 min.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (splenda)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup sherry or unsweetened apple juice
5 cups sliced peeled peaches
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 cup chopped pecans (didn't use)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon lemon juice
TOPPING:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar (splenda)
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Dash salt
1/4 cup cold butter, cubed
1/4 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
DIRECTIONS
In a large saucepan, combine the brown sugar, cornstarch and mace. Stir in sherry or juice until blended. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Add the peaches, blueberries, pecans, butter and lemon juice. Pour into a greased shallow 2-qt. baking dish. For topping, in a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter until coarse crumbs form. Stir in milk and egg. Spoon over fruit mixture. Bake at 400° for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly and a toothpick inserted in the topping comes out clean. Serve warm. Yield: 6-8 servings.

A peek at our table...

2009-07-18T21:48:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to share our supper tonight. Everyone agreed it was quite tasty! Even the green beans.

I will admit that I used closer to a pound of meat (yes, it was elk). And I used ranch dip (packet of ranch in sour cream) instead of the cream cheese. And I did not use the fungus. But pretty much everything else followed close to the recipe. Oh, and I added some cheese on top:)

Good luck!
http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/sweet-potato-shepherds-pie-108675.aspx

While I am at it, I will also post the recipe for the yummy blueberry goodies we have had since visiting the blueberry farm. They are kind of muffinish, but I bake them in the fancy madeleine pan Nana gave us (pretty much makes it a 2 for 1 deal:)

Yummy Blueberry Goodies
1 cup strawberry yogurt
1 egg
1 tbsp lemon juice
Mix thoroughly. Stir to combine after adding remaining ingredients.
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup bisquick (I can't find the fiber one baking mix anymore)
1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries (or strawberries or bananas)
Stir with a spoon until combined. No mixer needed.

Spoon into muffin tin (or madeleine pan). Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes (until brown and toothpick comes out clean).

What a wonderful week!

2009-07-11T21:39:00.002-05:00

We have had such a great week. Just the right mix of out and about and staying at home. 2 birthday parties. 3 shopping outings. American Girl store. Some good suppers. Some good naps. Laundry finished. Simple pleasures.

I thought I would get the kids in bed and have a little quiet time to reflect on the awesomeness that is summer for a teacher. Apparently, they disagreed with me. R is currently standing at his door hollering, "I'm happy now! I pommiss! I'm happy now!" Apparently, he thinks this whole sleeping in his bed thing is a passing phase that I will get over sooner or later.

I am holding strong... Maybe this next week we will have a little less fun, and a little more schedule. However, moderation in all things:)

P.S. Now he is dramatically crying, "Save me, Mama. Save me!"

Top 5 pics from July 4th Weekend

2009-07-07T18:23:00.007-05:00

We had a WONDERFUL surprise on Friday morning at the airport! Our Nette-Nette decided to take a day of vacation to make an extra long weekend to come visit her favorite niece and nephew for the 4th of July. It certainly was challenging to keep this a secret from the two monkeys. But it was totally worth it to see the surprised faces and hear the squeals (we have improved our surprise reactions since our last visitors!). R must have been in total disbelief that she had actually come to see him, because he asked her no less than 50 times if she was coming to his house!

We headed straight south to eat lunch with Aunt Neen and Uncle Brad. Nurse Neen brought her new stethoscope to share with the kids and they were thrilled! She had scouted a Pioneer Village, which was right up our alley. It was really neat and the perfect field trip to prolong our time together.

From there we headed straight to Nana's to celebrate Aunt Kim's birthday! Do you like Ty-yer's rendition of "Ears of Corn"? We finished out the evening by staying up as long as we could to support Chris' efforts in decorating a cake for our neighbor's brother who is home from the war. But we didn't make it til 2!

Saturday morning dawned bright and clear. But that is really an assumption because ALL of us (even Chris) slept until almost 9! A summer first! Then Banana, Nette and I headed to Old City Park for more historic places, while the boys stayed here for some lounging.

We had a great lunch at Chuy's, tried to find the antique places in Forney to support Nette's new passion, cleaned the house a little, grilled supper, swam, and sat behind the barn to look across the bottoms at the fireworks all around. What a great way to celebrate the foresight and determination our forefathers had!

You will have to be more imaginative about Sunday because all of those pictures are on Nette's camera. We headed to church, a quick change, drove to Edom, lunch at The Shed (consumed some tasty chicken fried steak!), picked some blueberries at Blueberry Hill Farms, spilled the blueberry bucket, bought some already picked blueberries and blackberries, drive home, swam, crashed.

This picture shows just how much we love our Nette-Nette, how glad we were to see her, and how excited we are to see her again!

Visit from our cousins

2009-07-02T09:42:00.004-05:00

We were thrilled to have our cousins from Oklahoma come visit us this week!

Kellie has always been one of my heroes! And continues today! Her patience, thoughfulness, 'positiveness', good parenting, ability to juggle work and family and so many other things are so incredibly admirable! And she is so much fun! Blake is such a good guy and so much fun, too. They make a great pair!

Unfortunately, no pics of any adults, but a few of the kiddos when we could tear them away from playing long enough for a quick pose... They all played very hard! I know my two were sad to see them leave! Hopefully they will come visit again soon!

Vacation Bible School 2009

2009-07-02T09:05:00.008-05:00

Last week we all thoroughly enjoyed vbs! We had more kids almost every night than we have in average attendance Sunday mornings! Several of our friends came together for some fun times with Booster Rooster - and each other!

Chris took on extra duties this year. The theme was the life of the Apostle Paul - and Chris played the lead role in the Bible lesson skit each night. He really stretched his public speaking and performance skills, and did a great job each night! He was baptized (face first!), beaten, rolled around on the ground, thrown in jail, yelled at, and he even preached! Unfortunately, the lighting is terrible, and I didn't get any video or pictures that you can see anything. So you'll just have to use your imagination!

He also stepped up as Booster Rooster! In case you aren't familiar, we have a big yellow chicken costume and a really fun song. Booster's main job is to come out to give the number of boys and girls for the nightly competition. Fortunately, this year Booster went above and beyond to entertain the kids! He practiced the moonwalk, danced along with the 'if you love Jesus' and harrassed the teachers. He ran around trying to high five as many kiddos as possible - unfortunately, scaring a couple along the way... The last night he really went crazy with silly string - and the crowd went wild! Booster Rooster was a definite hit!

The last night the classes perform a song on the stage for all the parents. This is a picture of R's class, but he was being a crazy little stick tight and wouldn't go up there! I was so frustrated, but the little class did a great job! See Allison's Little A just living it up!

The A girls had a great time together all week! And here they are performing their hearts out!

Hodge Podge Continued

2009-06-25T09:34:00.005-05:00

I have two video clips from recently also. I just didn't think the other post would hold them...

This is Banana trotting on the lunge line with no hands. She also trotted while holding the reins but not the saddle horn, and she rode with not stirrups. She said she even loped 'a little'.

This video is of my family of performers. The background is that Chris was practicing being blind for the conversion of Saul skit. I didn't witness this part, but apparently he was sitting on the edge of the stage at church pretending to be Ray Charles playing the piano singing "Georgia". Of course, his little shadow immediately followed suit. Everyone thought it was the cutest thing. The astounding part is that I was able to get them to recreate the scenario at home. Sorry about the lighting, but we have to take what we can get with these closet performers. Oh - and of course sis needed to get in on the action, too!

Hodge Podge

2009-06-25T09:21:00.003-05:00

We are doing our best to enjoy our summer! With our trip, great visitors, horse camp, slumber parties, swimming and Vacation Bible School we are well on our way!

Banana enjoyed horse camp last week with Mrs. Gay. It was a brand new experience where she knew not one person going in. And she was one of the younger girls there. And Mrs. Gay pushed her to be more brave than she likes to be. All in all, I think it was a great experience and she definitely came away with some refined horseriding skills and more confidence (still not sure if that is the blessing:)

R enjoyed some special time with two of his favorite girls! Nana played in the fort with him for a long time - especially considering the sweltering heat. But that smile tells how much he appreciated it! He was thrilled to get to ride horses with Aunt Candi! Even though his face has already gone into tired mode...

Vacation Bible School is in full swing! Stay on tuned for evidence of Chris as the Apostle Paul AND Booster Rooster! Quite impressive! This is a sweet pic of the A girls!

Uncle Jasssson and Aunt Cannnni

2009-06-17T06:31:00.004-05:00

We were so luicky to get a visit from our favorite Aunt and Uncle who live in Arizona! They wanted to surprise the kiddos - which worked like a charm! Banana turned into the small mouth frog when she saw them walking toward the car at the airport. I think we can mark this is as the first 'speechless' moment of her little life! And R woke up to Uncle Jason getting him out of the car. He was also speechless. And still. For a little while. Everyone can attest that the speechless aspect did not last long:)

We filled our visit with playing in the backyard, eating, hanging out, eating, one good nap, riding horses, eating, running errands, riding horses, and eating - in true Barnard fashion! We did fit in a trip to the 6th Floor Museum. It was interesting to see the JFK facts all in one place. However, my little monkey's volume control wasn't working too hot, so he and Uncle Jason spent some bonding time in the lobby while the rest of us finished.

We are are beyond thankful that Jason and Candice used their limited time to come and visit us! We all thoroughly enjoyed spending quality time with two of the most fun, energetic, lovable, kind and encouraging people around! We love y'all so much!

Highlights of Vacation 09

2009-06-11T21:45:00.004-05:00

I will post pics soon, but wanted to blog before it is all gone forever...

1. Both kiddos LOVED playing at the beach. The first night R could not get enough. He would wade out as far as we would let him and just laugh when the waves hit him. They were the perfect strength so that felt good, but didn't usually knock him down. After that first night he was more interested in playing in the sand than the waves, for the most part. But that first night was so fun. Banana made a sweet little friend (who had twin brother and sis for R to play with) who taught her how to 'ride' the waves. They had so much fun all week!

2. Monday we played at the beach in the morning, went to lunch with Chris, and rested a little in the afternoon. A rain shower 'dampened' our swim plans for the afternoon, but we had fun exploring. That evening we went to Harbortown for a concert by a local folk singer dude. He was so great for the kids and adults. A great mix of singing and comedy, and down home cheesy. The kids all danced around on the shells between the stands and the stage. And he even invited them onto the stage for a part of it. R couldn't seem to find just the right spot so he criscrossed through the 40 kids on the stage 3 different times. It was so funny to watch! Banana loved the chance to 'perform' and R enjoyed playing his guitar that doubles as his arm:)

3. Tuesday we played at the beach in the morning, went to the Salty Dog for lunch, rested a little, and made it back to the beach for low tide. AMAZING. The beach created perfect tide pools with little fish, some small crabs, some jelly fish, and even real live sand dollars! Plus, the little tide pools were perfect for the little ones to play and dig and roll around in. We were even happier to have them to play in since the bait fish were migrating through and some people thought they saw shark following. Chris is pretty sure he saw something, but it was so far off it wasn't too scary... needless to say, we didn't get back in the ocean that evening... But it does make for a good story:) We ended the evening with a cool fireworks display.

4. Wednesday we spent all morning at the beach - mainly playing in the sand, and only going to the water to rinse off. We headed in just in time to check out of the hotel and head back to Savannah. Since the city is so old, I was so excited about the history prospects. The even greater joy was that Banana enjoyed the tours of the old houses almost as much as I did! Paula Deen's restaurant wasn't too far from our hotel, so we walked over. Amazingly, we ended up getting in to eat right away. It was a fun experience and tasty food, but she doesn't have anything on my Mema and Nina!

5. By Thursday, we were all ready to come home. Chris and R stayed in the room while A and I walked across the street to the antique shops. We didn't find anything we couldn't live without, but it was fun. Then I came back to the room and R went with me to check out the art galleries behind our hotel. Our family outing of the day was lunch on Barnard Street and a visit to Forsyth Fountain. Due to bad storms in Dallas, our plane was delayed, but we made it home safe and sound.

I am pretty sure one of the best things about vacation is how happy I am to be home! Plus, all the fun memories!

We are expecting a special visitor tonight...

2009-06-05T21:16:00.007-05:00

The Tooth Fairy!!

Banana's left bottom middle tooth (technical terms for Uncle Cousin Blake) has been loose for almost exactly 2 months. She has fiddled and fiddled with it and even gotten bored and forgotten about it. But today she noticed that it was barely holding on. After a panicked call to hurry her daddy home to see her with all of her teeth for one last time, the excitement kicked in when he made a loose knot with the dental floss around the tooth. First it was there, then it was not! See if my essay in pictures does it justice...

These pictures are from our summer kickoff extravaganza at the harbor last night! The evening started with a lovely ride over in the circus mobile to the fine dining of Taco Bueno and then over to the ever so crowded harbor. We ended up leaving a little of our dinner and snacks behind, but everyone agreed we MUST do it again - soon! The last picture is of two little people who have the sweetest/funniest/meanest relationship I have witnessed! I pray all of the sweet friendships in these pictures are as blessed and enduring as the friendship of their mamas!

All good things must come to an end...

2009-06-03T07:56:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was the official end of the 2008-2009 school year!

I had a couple of meetings, an exit interview, turned in all of my stuff, made a few parent phone calls, burned my files onto a cd, and successfully avoided any teary goodbyes. That's it. The highlight was finding out my one student who had not passed the math TAKS the first DID pass the second time. That means I had 100% pass! I know I had the top kids for 2 classes, and other little details like that. But I am so pumped anyway!

My sweet friend, Allison, let A and R spend the day with her. Luckily, she appreciates A's opinion and sense of style, so A didn't bother her too much. They shopped for purses and designed a couple of cards... And R spent some time with his best bud little A.

I saw an example of his inner conflict between sweet little boy and training army man. He was holding the pink and purple popper push toy in the air and making the noise like a machine gun (no idea where he has even seen a machine gun!), but he accidentally hit little A's foot lightly. He put his toy/gun down, sweetly kissed her foot, picked it back up and began making the gun noises... is this a sensitive man in training or what?

To enjoy the afternoon more we took the kiddos to the splash park where they had a great time running around crazily between the water and the regular playground. Finally, we got too hot and loaded them up for some end of school pizza.

Fortunately, part of the village that keeps this family running isn't afraid to call me to remind me that I was late for my favorite Bible study... In all the end of the year festivities, I had forgotten that we were having our last Bible study of the school year last night. I took my circus, and they performed dutifully. R quickly abducted Miss Bess' cane, passed out her cardboard fan collection, ate bites off of countless cookies and sandwiches, and they both played with the dominoes (mainly R spreading them out and A picking them up!). We had to say goodbye to our very sweet study leader and friend as she is moving in a couple of weeks. She will leave a huge open place in our group. We will miss her devotion to study, her willingness to share, and her sweet sense of humor!

Needless to say, by the time we made it home last night we were all worn out! I think sleeping until 8 am is a WONDERFUL treat to start summertime 09!

Is it bragging or showing off or giving praise?

2009-06-01T18:51:00.002-05:00

We have had quite a lot of excitement around here lately...

1. Thursday night we went to our last night of gymnastics before our mama imposed summer break. And we went to Crandall's graduation. One friend from church was the keynote and another was the valedictorian. The cofC was well represented!

2. Friday morning was Banana's kindergarten awards. She FINALLY was drawn from the good news bucket! Her name has been in the bucket every week this entire school year, and she was never drawn until Friday (with a little help from an observant counselor!). We had a little talk about lady luck and how she obviously isn't our friend... She also won the music award for her class, an art award for being able to match artists with their work, a reading award from her teacher and a water bottle for good citizenship. Please note: I am aware this is poor quality photography but I am chalking it up to inferior equipment, operator error and poor lighting!

3. We met Aunt Neen, Jana and kids at the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco. We had a great time, saw 2 real live bears, had a yummy picnic lunch packed by Martha Stewart, I mean Jana, and let the kids play at the sprayground. We had so much fun catching up with our friends and our Aunt Neen before she started nursing school today! Again, I realize this picture is off center, but with 5 active children, we were glad they were all in the same shot and looking in the general vicinity of the camera!

4. Prayers have been answered and everyone is healthy! After two weekends of nursing sick kiddos, I am thankful to say that! And Grandpa seems to have averted heart surgery again!

5. R has several new sayings that he uses all the time. One is (with nose curled) "What's dat guy doing?" And he will usually answer his own question. He also likes to say "I can't" when he needs to do something he doesn't want to do. And he will hand you his leftover food with "Yuck. Gross. I don't yike it." Never mind that he might have eaten all but a bite. Looks like we have a couple of habits to break this summer. And hopefully, we will start a couple - like sleeping in his own bed and using the potty!

Happy Last Day of School (except Janeen and Jill since they are just getting started)!

Good Medicine

2009-05-24T21:23:00.002-05:00

After spending the day holding a very feverish little monkey, I was happy to let the daddy do a little holding while Banana and I went to the graduation party for the church kids. (Luckily, R seems to be feeling better this evening, and the fever hasn't come back since the last round of motrin!)

The 5 kids who are graduating are really phenomenal. They each have significant successes under their belts and are destined for even more in the years to come. Tonight one of the parents for each child prepared a little speech about special memories and special blessings for the future. The laughter was mixed with tears as we shared in those memories and realized that part of these kids' lives are passed. Not that there won't be fun memories ahead, but they are really no longer children...

It was bittersweet for me as well. To see these strong role models move away from our church family is sad. And also, knowing that will be me in 12 years sharing funny memories and not being able to hold back the tears.

One dad shared about summers and the beach. I whispered to Banana if she remembered R's sand poop after his first beach visit when he ate more of the beach than he played with. She got so tickled that she cackled. I am still giggling about it - not sure if it is the memory or listening to her get her tickle box turned over!

On the way home we started talking about things I might mention about her. I said I could bring up that she was certain she was from South Dallas and her brother was coming from Germany. And that she had 2 imaginary friends who were also from South Dallas. She laughed for a minute, and then told me seriously, "You can mention Sassy and Piki, but please don't say anything about South Dallas and Germany. That is just too embarrassing!" I am giggling about that too.

And while I am relaying funnies, I will share what R's Sunday School teacher told me at the party. She asked if he was better, and I told her yes. Then she said, "Banana was really worried about him. She said his face was as red as her daddy's back." I could tell she got a kick out of Banana's simile. She said that Banana explained that they had cleaned the pool together yesterday and her daddy had taken off his shirt for a little while and gotten really sunburned. It was pretty funny that Miss Shelly knew Chris was in pain as he went about his duties at church this morning!

Just thought I would share in case you needed some laughter for your medicine tonight...

Preschool Program

2009-05-22T20:03:00.003-05:00

I wish I could say I still felt the same as my last title. This week has proven to be even busier than the other busy weeks lately...

R's preschool program was Thursday at noon. Nana saved me a seat, and I slipped in just in time to see my little monkey hamming it up. You would have thought he was the star of the show. He spotted our friends very quickly and was flashing some big smiles. He kept looking until he found me, but luckily he was enjoying the spotlight too much to fuss! His 5 minutes of fame are pretty cute. At least he waited until after his performance this year to conk out on his teacher's lap. (Last year he slept through Banana's entire preschool graduation:)

Enjoy!

Here is picture of my big boy and his new tent that looks like a barn from Mimi and Pop. Can you tell he loves it? He is cuddled up inside of it as we speak with popcorn watching a movie!

Returned, Relaxed and Ready

2009-05-18T19:33:00.002-05:00

Whoever thought of vacations had the right idea!

It is amazing what a little step back can do for the perspective. We all three shared fun kid stories, reminisced about our little angels and shared parenting strategies. All of this amongst discussing current events, solving the worlds problems, planning for the future and maybe just a tad of gossiping...

One of the things I relished about the weekend was not rushing anywhere... we just went with the flow... I will admit we did a little power shopping on Saturday night, but that was just to get our blood pumping!

Not to be trite, but part of my perspective was to focus on my blessings. I am so thankful for friends who are in the same position in life and can share the simple pleasures (like sleeping until 8:15 am) and the deep turmoil (like if we we are making the right choices for our family's). I am also thankful for such a sweet family who functioned without me, but were happy to see me get home.

I am also thankful I had the diversion of the weekend to keep my mind off of not being with my littlest sis Nette on her graduation day. We had talked about the truth that this was fairly anticlimatic for her after all she has accomplished (travelling to 40 states and Japan, speaking to thousands, broadcast on TV, living and working in Nicaragua and at the White House,etc) But it was so hard not to be with my family supporting on Saturday. I am so proud of Janette and everything that she stands for!

I am definitely blessed! And while I am refreshed, I am hoping we get to bed early tonight:)

Happy Something

2009-05-11T20:28:00.003-05:00

I wish I had some clever words of encouragement and thanks to all the mothers who are so important in my life... but I am fresh out...

Life has seemed like it was going to slow down now for quite sometime, but it seems to refuse to do so.

I did cook supper for my fam tonight, and everyone sat down together and we had fun. One point for this tired mom.

Banana and I had a wonderful time at the Swiss Avenue Tour of Homes yesterday. One of our favorite things was the toothbrushing sinks in a house built in 1923. Pretty cool! We also learned about 'batchelder' tiles and fireplaces...

R and I and Allison and little A had a fun evening out on the town on Saturday night while Banana and her daddy were horsing. We had a fun night just relaxing and playing with other friends (who shall remain nameless).

A couple of friends and I are finally making the 'girls weekend' out of town we have been attempting to plan since the bigger kiddos were babies (at least 5 years) a reality. I am still holding my breath to see if it happens, but I am SO looking forward to some relaxing, giggling, sharing, shopping and relaxing! Hopefully, I will come home rejuvenated!

Here are a couple of latest pics...

Can you tell we prefer the outdoors?!?

Popaw's House

2009-04-29T21:32:00.004-05:00

Tonight we made a mad dash to stock up on essentials... just in case this epidemic turns the food distribution system upside down (please note, I did not say anything about the food safety!)

R saw the powdered donuts on the endcap and immediately started hollering (no better word) for 'nonuts to Popaw's house'. Phil has an affinity for powdered donuts that he has successfully passed on to my kiddos. And R doesn't think it is worth having 'nonuts' if you can't share them Popaw.

Another kind of funny thing is that the only time it is "Popaw's" house and not "Nana's" house is when nonuts are involved:)

Happy Birthday to our 3 year old monkey!

2009-04-28T20:21:00.003-05:00

I can't believe R is 3 today! It seems like just yesterday we brought him home from the hospital. And at the same time it is almost impossible to remember when he wasn't part of our family... We certainly love the rough and tumble, always moving, rare kisses, ornery grimaces, sweet smiles and all around craziness he adds to this circus!

Here are a few pics from our playing in the back ard tonight after our celebratory elk fajitas and brownie sundaes. As usual, he was too busy to look at the camera... good thing sis has that part down:) Enjoy!

The Circus went to The Circus

2009-04-24T22:02:00.005-05:00

Aunt Neen took this video. You'll know when R needed to help her! Oddly enough, our precious little Banana Clown didn't smile too much. She was taking her part very seriously!

Silver lining

2009-04-18T14:26:00.002-05:00

Banana has let her "Pollyanna" side shine through quite often lately. While her power of observation has always served her well to remind us the good things, lately she has said just the right thing at just the right time.

The other night Nana cooked supper for us. Right when supper was just about ready, she accidentally dropped a bottle of dark karo syrup on the tile floor. You can imagine the daunting nature of this mess. As I was beginning to help her clean it up (and shoo the kiddos away), Banana pipes up, "At least that is the kind of syrup Nana likes the least!" The giggles we had over her assurance of this not being a big deal made the clean up go lots faster!

Last night, our sweet little Banana woke up throwing up and running fever. It has been quite sometime since we have had an episode like this, so I was honestly not that surprised. Each time she woke up to throw up, she would make some kind of positive comment. One time it was, "at least I am always able to make it to the trash can." (positioned directly beside the bed at the level of her head). Another time it was, "at least I won't miss my soccer game since it is probably cancelled because of the rain. Another time it was, "at least my hair is staying in the pony tail, so I have only had to have one shower tonight." She also lamented the fact that we wouldn't get to do anything "fun" today, but she was able to cheer herself up each time. I hope that she will be able to keep that positive perspective!

Summary in pictures...

2009-04-11T10:54:00.004-05:00

Tyler, Uncle Brad and Jet made the horse riding a success! Daddy's cupcakes were scaled down, but impressive and tasty as ever!

We added a new tradition - an egg roll! If it is good enough for the whitehouse, why not try it out! It was a huge success that everyone enjoyed so much we had to do it again:)

The pond proved to be a very popular destination. Several tried there hand at fishing, but Trey was the only successful one. That is fitting since he was "in charge" of this activity. Maggie realized the pond was not only for fishing and used it to fill her water gun... Thankfully, she didn't even get her skirt wet!

I promise it was not the intention, but the water gun party favors led to an all out water gun fight... and we ran a lot of people off! But several stayed and rode the horse by themselves and helped clean up and talked and visited some more.

The weather was beautiful, the barn was a perfect setting and the company was superb! What more could an ornery 3 year old (and his dad, mom and sis) ask for!?!

Success...

2009-04-10T22:13:00.002-05:00

Tonight proved that you don't have to plan a party for a eons to make it a success. We didn't even have invitations - which are always my favorite part of party planning.

But we had a great 3 year old party for R tonight! Lots of friends and family from all over the place shared in the excitement.

We are so thankful for such a sweet boy, so many sweet friends, our supportive family and the BARN!

I will post pictures soon... and if you have some pics, please share:)

A new twist on a 'lovie'

2009-03-31T21:16:00.002-05:00

As a I type, R is snuggling in my bed watching a 'cook cook' show. What is unusual is that he INSISTED he bring his gun to bed with him. I thought it wasn't a battle I wanted to fight, so I agreed. Then he tells me needs the 'dun' to have 'cubbers'. Come on... so I cubbered up the dun and came in here to blog... We all have our nighttime rituals...

Banana stepped up the 'pupcake ministry' tonight. We went shopping for a friend who is in the hospital and just had a baby. She had plenty of suggestions to make our bag of snacks and supper complete. She thought through each thing, and finally decided we needed to add paper plates... That girl is thinking! She certainly showed tonight that she can use her power of observation for thoughtfulness... now if I can just get her to not say everything that comes into her head...

God bless all of our sweet babies!

On top of all our fun...

2009-03-22T21:00:00.000-05:00

We have had some pretty serious discussions this spring break.

One interrupted this post. We have let R fall into the bad habit of falling asleep in our bed. And coming into our bed in the middle of the night. As much as I love the sweet snuggling, we decided it was out of control. So we tried. For about an hour. And then we caved. And he is asleep in his own bed. For a little while.

Another conversation happened this morning as we were eating breakfast. A asked if she would be with me all of her life. I answered that while I would love that, she will probably get married and have babies and have a house of her own. After a little more questioning, I realized she was asking if I would be alive her whole life. I responded that more than likely I will die before she does. She quickly responded, "That is ok. Because you will go to heaven. And then when I die I will come to heaven to be with you." The insightfulness of a child is truly inspiring.

To continue the conversation, I asked about what needs to happen for us both to be in heaven. We talked about being good, reading the Bible and praying. Then she added, "When I am ready, I will close my eyes and go under the water. Real Quick. And I am not quite ready yet." It warms my heart to see that she has moved a little from her previous stance that she would never be a Christian because she would never put her face under the water.

Thank you, dear Heavenly Father, for such precious children. Help me to treasure the times we have now and teach them to be prepared for the harder times.

Quotes from SB09 so far...

2009-03-18T08:43:00.003-05:00

1. "Wanna eat at that place." R every time we passed a macdonald's.
2. "It is not that I didn't have the opportunity to take a nap, I just chose not to." Banana's response when questioned about her Sunday afternoon activities.
3. "Uncle Jasson. Aunt Cannnny." R's response to almost every question.
4. "Now we don't have to go out of town to visit them!" A's excitement about seeing the Bush's house.
5. "Off to the races!" R and Mema when they started the infamous cane races.
6. "Oh, Mom, can I please use your camera. I need to get some good snaps." A thoroughly enjoying the Dallas Heritage Museum.
7. "What is that no-ise?" R with his nose totally wrinkled up.

Top 5 of the First Half of SB 09

2009-03-17T21:34:00.002-05:00

1. Cane races between Mema and Ross around the living room.
2. Fresh strawberries and banana pudding for dessert.
3. Lots of laughs with sisters!
4. Finding history and making history all in one day - right in Dallas!
(Dallas Heritage Museum and G-Dub and Laura's new house)
5. Grilling out and riding horses when Chris got home from work with Nana and Grandpa.

2 latest, easy, favorite recipes

2009-03-10T20:40:00.001-05:00

1. Speedy Salmon Patties
SERVINGS: 3
CATEGORY: Main Dish
METHOD:
TIME: Prep/Total Time: 20 min.
Ingredients:
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1 egg
5 saltines, crushed
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 can (14-3/4 ounces) salmon, drained, bones and skin removed
2 teaspoons butter
Directions: In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Crumble salmon over mixture and mix well. Shape into six patties. In a large skillet, fry patties in butter over medium heat for 3-4 minutes on each side or until heated through. Yield: 3 servings.

2. Creamed Spinach
SERVINGS: 5
CATEGORY: Lower Fat
METHOD:
TIME: Prep/Total Time: 15 min.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup diced onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cups fat-free half-and-half
4 ounces fat-free cream cheese, cubed
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 package (16 ounces) frozen leaf spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
Directions: In a large nonstick skillet, saute onion and garlic in butter until tender. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually whisk in half-and-half until blended. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add the cream cheese, salt, nutmeg and pepper, stirring until cream cheese is melted. Stir in spinach and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese; heat through. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately. Yield: 5 servings.

Copying Allison... again...

2009-03-09T18:36:00.002-05:00

5 great things about last week -
1. hot pink sassy sidekick shirts for everyone! and all the other gear a successful, sassy soccer team needs! check out Stephanie's blog for the highlights of the first game.
2. 1 TAKS test down, 3 to go.
3. special supper out at a new bbq place in Kaufman on the square - awesome food and atmosphere.
4. church, a nice nap, grades entered, and laundry folded and put away - all in one day!
5. only one more week til spring break o9!

Alternate Greetings

2009-02-27T15:55:00.002-06:00

This morning as we were leaving for the day, R rounds the corner of the car with his pretend phone to his ear. This is what we hear, "Heeeeyyy Cowboy. gobbledy gobbledy gobbledy gook. Alright. Bye." With the biggest smile ever on his face.

Priceless.

Overheard around the circus

2009-02-23T06:18:00.002-06:00

Things have been busy this past couple of weeks, but we have fit in some down time.

Chris and the kids decorated Cousin Ty's birthday presents with drawings and cutouts from the horse magazines on Saturday morning. One of R's favorite things to do is cut (that is always what he says he did at school if we ask him). So under careful supervision he was cutting the scraps from the wrapping. His imagination took over because one minute he was laying on the floor carefully cutting a million pieces of paper, and the next he was running into the office to shoot the deer - with loud sound effects, of course.

My teaching certificate updated with my math 8-12 certification came in the mail on Friday night. A was so excited by this. I heard her run into tell Chris, "Daddy, Daddy, Mama can finally teach!!" Hmmm...

The kids were playing on Saturday afternoon and A kept complaining about silly things. Finally, Chris told her to "chill out". A few minutes later, she started to complain again, and R calmy told her to "chill out, sissy". We all got a big kick out of that!

If A reads (or someone reads to her) 6 hours before Friday we can earn a ticket to Six Flags. We haven't been keeping track of our reading time before Saturday, so we are packing it in. The first book we read is a diary of a little girl at the time of the Revolutionary War (thank you Nette!). After we finished the first book, she exclaimed, "I just LOVE this kind of book. I hope we can find another one!" Talk about warming my heart...

Yesterday morning R was walking into church with his hand over his ear. It took us a minute to realize he was talking on his pretend phone! Mrs. Linda told him he better turn it off in church:) He listened, but did the same thing as we were leaving. When questioned about who he was talking to, he responded emphatically, "Uncle Jason!" I told him to ask about Aunt Candi, and he smiled real big, and said "How Aunt Cannnni feeewing?" Too cute...

We have some video and pictures, but this is all I can fit in this morning. I have duty this morning and Ladies Bible Class this evening... stay tuned...

Up a creek...

2009-02-07T07:59:00.003-06:00

I have had on my community activism hat this week. When I announced this on Tuesday night before the planning and zoning meeting, A wondered if that hat had balloons and feathers or what.

Brief background - our sweet little town is up to our ears in debt about an unfortunate decision to buy the golf course several years ago. The decision was made to sell the golf course earlier in 2008. Surprisingly, noone wants to pay for an overpriced small town golf course. Then a knight in shining armor swooped in, volunteered to purchase the golf course, at the same time bring in more retail and save us from our distress. The only clincher is that he wants to put in apartments and condos. No big deal, right?

Well, some people were aware of this plan for some time (unspecified). Although, some of us only recently found out. Answers to questions were hard to come by. So several citizens followed the path of attending the planning and zoning meeting, raising questions and concerns and getting signatures on a petition. I will admit this step was very interesting and kind of fun (in the nerdy way that I am:)

P&Z recommended the planned development zoning (that included multifamily units) to the city council. So several of us (not as many as before) traipsed back to the city council meeting on Thursday night. We waited patiently for our issue, and learned some other interesting (and not so interesting) aspects of city business. The public hearing started with answers to some concerns raised Tuesday night. Good thing. Citizen 1 gave a well prepared, thought out speech. Got shut down, and some of his questions were answered very condescendingly. Citizen 2 gave a well prepared, factual speech. Answers went from condescending to rude. Citizen 3 had a less prepared, yet nonetheless respectful tone to air concerns about apartments. Citizen 4 had a few comments comparing our town to another that attempted this path several years ago with no success. Few comments from the council were even addressed to these 2 speakers because they didn't appear to be worthy of comments.

At this point one council man took this time to get on his soapbox about this is the only option for the city, blah, blah, blah (for longer than anyone else's 3 minutes, it seemed). Somewhere along the way, he says, and I quote, "ANYONE WHO IS AGAINST THIS IS A G-- D--- BIGOT! Right there in a public hearing, that is designed for citizens to bring concerns, in our sweet little city.

I am pretty sure everyone in the room was in shock. But the Julia Sugarbaker in me grabbed my purse, threw it over my shoulder, crawled over several people, muttering, "I won't stay for this!" I made it all the way out of the room, down the hall and to the door before the mayor FINALLY said, "that's enough."

Of course, my curiosity got the best of me. So I went back in. Gathered my thoughts. And spoke about how could we expect to grow effectively as a town if communication was not shared and then when questions are aired the reception is defensive. One of the councilmen did apologize for the rudeness. Although the offender did not speak again.

Needless to say, the council approved the zoning.

I am glad to participate in the process. And my position remains that if the plan works, it will be amazing. But if it doesn't, we will be up a creek - without a golf course.

January in Photos

2009-01-27T21:27:00.005-06:00

These are some pics from this weekend and from our trip to Arizona that I have been wanting to post... These show a lot of personality, some real love and possibly some future vocations...

A good weekend

2009-01-19T06:58:00.002-06:00

I just can't start today without recounting the highlights of our weekend.

Sat morning we puttered around the house and got a good start on the laundry. Chris was working at his parents new barn, and of course the kids wanted desperately to go 'help'. Somehow I convinced Anna to run a few errands with me, so we had some 'mama daughter' time (as she calls it).

We had the most amazing conversation at good ol' taco bueno. It was unbelievable to be totally connected to this little person who I can totally see as being one of my best friends. (Don't worry, I know I am still the mama, she quickly reminded me of that role later in the day!) As much as I enjoyed hearing about all of her ideas and thoughts it made me sad that (1) it had been too long since I had talked to her one on one like that and (2) it won't be long at all until she is all grown up. I still have work to do!!

After that we got an unexpected phone call to meet Nette at dfw as she had a long layover! We were so excited to get to see her and spend some really good time together! Thank you so much for making it work!

Sunday afternoon, Chris' dad invited all of us to have a cookout in the new barn! Does it get any better for the kids - hotdogs, horses and dirt?!?! Nana graciously agreed not to charge us for the dirt that we brought home:) The kids had a great time playing with cousins and enjoying a beautiful day.

We also totally wore the boy out, and he conked out by 6 last night. So I stayed home from church to finish the laundry (can I get a pat on the back!) and Anna and Chris headed to church. They ended up having a daddy/daughter supper that they both enjoyed, but I didn't get any details...

It was a great weekend of memories and even a little productive. Now we are off to a crazy busy week... but maybe we'll make it!

Happy Monday!

Off with a bang!

2009-01-15T21:10:00.002-06:00

I can't believe we are already half way through January! It seems like we have been pickin' 'em up as quickly as we are layin' 'em down around here.

School is in full 'TAKS Swing'. Just in case you were wondering, it is not a pleasant season. I did get to go to a neat class this week and learn some new approaches to teaching. I am convinced that education is evolving. And as much as I love 'old school', if the kids aren't learning, it isn't working. I WANT to be a TEACHER - someone that others learn from. I don't want to be a drill sargeant or even worse someone who is ignored. Getting frustrated, complaining, and comparing students to years gone by isn't preparing these students for the future. I hope I can find the line between challenging them and keeping them interested... I think the first step might be finding a way to let them listen to their ipod...

My kiddos have had a hard time adjusting to January. We have seen some early bedtimes, and I have apologized on the way to school for screaming about shoes more than once. But, hopefully, we are making strides in the right direction. If R weren't so interested in changing the dvd, he would be a full on couch potato. His chair of choice is on top of his pony. And A would be happy to play in her room, if she could actually walk in there... Thankfully, Daddy helped pick up tonight and the house looks more like people live here than farm animals. Oh, and in case you were wondering, the turkeys are loving living in their hotel in the garage. Considering they have quadrupled in size since their bathtub days, I would say they are just fine. Hopefully, we can get some pictures on here soon of all of our excitement.

One thing I hate the most is that I haven't taken the time to wish my very good friend, Paige, a happy, happy birthday! But since I know she likes her birthDAY to be a birthMONTH, I am hoping she won't mind a little belated shout out from this side of the world!

It's almost Friday!!

Training...

2009-01-05T20:43:00.002-06:00

Allison decided we needed a big girl treat after trying to watch the big girls do gymnastics and trying to keep the little ones contained! So we headed to Starbucks before heading home. Ross wanted a drink, but we told him it was too hot.

Cut away to an hour later: after baths, teeth brushing, story time and bed time. Ross escapes from my bed, gets a drink out of my coffee cup that was apparently too close to the edge, comes to the office to tell me that the "coffee not hot now". At that moment I get a whiff of his coffee breath and know what he has done. He proceeded to go get the cup off the counter again, drink the rest of the cup, and even give a couple of "mmmm's" along the way.

As Jason put, it was a glorified milk shake, but I still think this is a step in the right direction of training him to drink coffee like his great grandparents!

So many things...

2009-01-04T12:45:00.006-06:00

This has been one of the most restful holidays I remember in a long time. We really enjoyed being together, visiting our family, baking, cleaning house (I can't believe I included that in this sequence, but it did feel good to come home to a clean house), opening presents, and just relaxing.

We filled every minute of our break, and even managed to get some things accomplished. AND we got to have some great times in Arizona with all of my siblings and Mimi and Pop and Nina and Papa. We even got some real pictures, of which I am so excited! Shout out to Jane and her willingness to wrestle with our extended circus!

Some of the memories not to forget from the past two weeks -
* Puppy and Pupcake Day with Miss Ann and Samantha
* Making and delivering cookies to our friends and neighbors
* Hanging out with cousins and aunts and uncles and Nana and Grandpa on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
* A in shock that she got a telescope, violin AND the real tools that she wanted for Christmas. R wanting to open presents, but continue to play with his tool table at the same time on Christmas morning
* Running errands, cleaning closets, and putting away Christmas decorations after Christmas
* Making the trek to az in 14 hours - both times
* Celebrating our 14th year anniversary with biscuits, sausage and gravy for breakfast, the best ever homemade cherry cobbler, and all of my family! (I mistyped the first time - I promise I knew:)
* Uncle Jason giving rides on the 'mombine' (combine, for those that don't speak R's language)
* Pop, Aunt Neen and Mimi chasing R out of house as he headed for the small tractor. And giving him rides...
* Pop and A going to check the cows by themselves and having some good together time. Pop reports that she has her genetic dose of the "Gift of Gab"
* Hiking around in the Stronghold, climbing rocks, falling a little, celebrating a tablespoon of snow found in a shadow, and taking some fun pictures
* Meals with 10-14 of us crowded around the table at Mom's, and all spread out at Nina's. Good food, good conversation and real togetherness
* Papa cooking fish for us all - without any wind!
* Aunt Candi coming down just to hang out and visit
* Chris, Brad and Jason on the roof - all day
* A glimpse of the dreaded teenage years... Direct quotes from A. "Mooom, you just don't get it!" And at a different time, "Moooom, I am just mad. Give me a minute and I will get over it." Luckily, she ended up seeing my point in the first conversation, and she got over it very quickly in the second.
* A, R and Aunt Candi riding the new pony around the living room
* Tammy bringing in gobs of food and hugs just because she cares so much about my mom
* R limping around. A direct quote from him when he was laying down in the bed one morning, "I stuck." Not that good of a memory, and thankfully, he seems to be totally back to normal.
* Walking down to Nina's at 9 in the morning on New Year's Day and not going home until after 9 that night. Eating, riding the golf cart and tractor, doing dishes, visiting, laughing, playing dominoes, shooting the clay pigeons I bought for Chris 8 years ago, looking at the stars, their neighbors coming down to hang out too, eating again, doing the dishes again, visiting, laughing
* The running hugs that A passed out as she got to see her aunties
* The car lot and dog pound that was my parents with all of our cars in the driveway and all of the dogs on the porch
* R's continuous refusal to call Aunt Neen's dog her real name, Maisy, but insists on calling her Coco, my mom's dog that passed away this year
* R choosing to ride Aunt Candi's OLD horse, Coffee Pot, over her new horse, Praise. And then choosing to play in the hay...
* The kids excitement about not buckling up when we are on the farm. And their dimay at having to be buckled up on the highway... for 14 hours... R decided that claiming he pooped seemed to be a good way to get unbuckled, so he decided to use that - a lot!
* The heated discussion and final agreement on a Barnard family Weight Loss Challenge. And a committment for Papa to lead us in a family online Bible study
* I know there is more, but R is actually pulling on me to go with him to take a nap... I better indulge him just one more time!

Happy 2009!
May mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you! Jude 1:2

A few more things...
* R calling Neen by Nette's name until Nette got there. Then he just said whichever name came to him first, not necessarily the correct one. Apparently, names aren't that important to him - as evidence by the dog situation.
* R's crazy, obsessive new love of Elmo. This is a first for us as a parent, since A never cared that much about any character... It is still in the comical stage, but I can see it creeping quickly to the annoying one:)
* How grown up A is getting. For the most part, she didn't have to be the center of attention, and did what she knew she should. Although... there were moments...

Recent Accomplishments

2008-12-24T14:25:00.003-06:00

A cooked breakfast on Monday morning - all by herself! She pulled the stool up to the stove. Got out the skillet. Sprayed the pan. (I cracked the eggs and turned on the stove.) Decided to make scrambled instead of an omelet. Then she stirred and stirred, added the cheese and hot sauce, and decided when they were done. She has been helping cook for so long. But this seemed to be a new stage. She has also been very helpful in making all of the cookies we have delivered to our friends and neighbors.

R pooped on the potty last night - all by himself! We had just gotten home from carolling/delivering cookies to our neighbors. Things were a little quiet, but I assumed he was with Chris. After several minutes, I hear "MAAAAMAAAA, MAAAAMAAAAA. I pooped." I jumped and went running into our bedroom where he we was laying on the bed in the exact way we always change his diapers with his pants around his ankles and no diaper. He bragged again that, "I pooped." I checked his bobo, and sure enough found evidence. A and Chris checked the bathroom and he had really pooped in his little potty! We were all hopping around and dancing and bragging on him. And he just kept saying, "I pooped." Quite the occasion at our house. (And for those of you who like the details, it was - for once - a hard poop; so not near the mess it would have usually been!)

We are working on being good enough for Santa... not sure how that is working out... guess we'll see...

If only Jefferson would have gotten his way...

2008-12-21T07:34:00.005-06:00

we would have the National bird in the kid's bathtub!

As it is, we have 6 turkey chicks in a huge box that fits perfectly inside the bathtub. They little cheepers are nice and warm with cedar shavings, heat lamp, food, water and two little checkers who come running at their tiniest whistle.

I was informed last night they won't be able to stay outside until they have their feathers - which will probably be FEBRUARY! But we will supposedly be making a place in the garage for the aforementioned accoutrements that are now in the bathtub.

So, if you need that special, one of kind, last minute gift, just check out craigslist. And you too can pass along the love of poultry... And if you are trying to think of the perfect gift for my circus - hand sanitizer!

A new twist on an old story

2008-12-16T10:52:00.002-06:00

A decided to put on a play for Mimi and Pop last night. She dumped the diapers out of the basket in Ross' room. Got out all of the baby blankets, and a doll that looked as much like a boy as any, put on her robe and her brown sandals, and covered her head. I am guessing you see where this play is going. She is Mary. And her doll is Jesus. But as hard as her little brother tried, she refused to call him Joseph. Until he started leading her around on his little horse. Then he finally became Joseph. This played on for quite a while, and the entertainment never stopped.

At one point R left the room and Nette asked A where Joseph was. A replied that he had gone to get them some food. When questioned about what kind of food, she dramatically replied that she really wished he could get food from their house - like crackers and grape juice. Are we mixing the Bible stories at this point?

At another point R decided he wanted the lead in this play, pulled out the swaddling clothes and baby Jesus, and headed straight into the manger himself. Nette has pictures that we will hopefully get. Who knew he would sit still in a manger!

When A was readjusting her costume, she had a better idea. She shoved the baby doll and blankets under her robe and headed for the horse. Because, as she pointed out, Mary was pregnant when she was riding the donkey.

We pretty much wrapped up the play, when R jerked the baby doll out of the manger, held up his bottom, and said, "Ewweeee, Baby Jesus pooped."

Close the curtain.

Honoring my Grandpa - and my Mema

2008-12-16T10:29:00.000-06:00

Last Tuesday my Grandpa passed away. He had been in bad health for many years. And my Mema had taken such good care of him. He was such a hardworker. I really think his body didn't know what to do when it wasn't working. He had a general store in their little town for many years. And he ran cattle and raised hay for many years on his family's land.

I have such fun memories of walking with Mema to the bank, post office, and then the store when we would go to visit. Then I would perch on the stool behind the check out counter and visit with the customers while she and Grandpa worked. People would tease us, Mema and Grandpa would brag about our latest achievement, and then the process would play again. It was always a big treat to pick out whatever kind of candy we wanted to pack in our goody bag before as we left. I loved the hard sour ball candy - known forevermore as "Mema Candy." I don't think they make those anymore, which is fine since I can't eat them. I always loved them because they lasted a long time!

After playing at the store for awhile, Grandpa would take us out the the farm. We would ride the four wheelers around looking at the cows and exploring the pastures and only sometimes racing - depending on close behind Mama was:) Grandpa would tell my mom and Jason all about each of the cows and they would look at the calves and the grass and the hay very carefully. Then Grandpa would have to get back to the store because he wouldn't want to leave Mema there for too long by herself.

They had a special relationship, and he was very lucky to have Mema to take such good care of him and the other things. After his heart attack and stroke several years ago, he could not see very well at all. (Mema joked with him that he was blind in one eye and couldn't see very well out of the other!) So she took on even more of the duties at the farm. Driving the tractor, putting out feed, taking care of the cattle, etc, etc. All so that he could continue to have 'work' to do to keep him going. They shared a dry sense of humor and love for southern gospel music and good southern cookin'.

My heart goes out to her as she begins this new chapter in her life. She has the fortitude, grit, and sense of humor to not only make the best of it, but to really thrive. And if she gets too bored, she is more than welcome to be entertained with my circus!

I am thankful for...

2008-11-27T18:38:00.004-06:00

Obviously, I have so many blessings! What better time to attempt to list them than on this day.

1. A husband who doesn't mind that he is the favorite parent of both of our children. And continues to earn that title everyday!
2. Beautiful, healthy children who continue to amaze me as they grow.
3. A supportive, encouraging, fun, loving family on both sides that I can talk to everyday or once a month and still know they love me and they know I love them.
4. Parents and grandparents who set examples of strong Christians - in the good and the bad times.
4. Cousins for A&R to love and play with and look forward to spending time with.
5. A sweet sister in law and mother in law who not only accomodate my diabetes, but go way over board to be sure there is food that I enjoy when we are all together. Check out the scrumptious pumpkin desserts Heather made today http://heathersdevinecreations.blogspot.com/
6. That A and R have so many aunts and uncles to look up to, admire, emulate, learn from and be inspired by.
7. A job where I have the potential to make a difference in kids lives and is close to home.
8. A church family that loves Chris and I and the kids, wants us to be involved, and doesn't outwardly cringe when they see our circus coming:)
9. Friends who are in a similar place in life and can sympathize, inspire, and encourage - and can always find something to laugh about!
10. The personal growth that comes from living, learning and loving all these special people in my life - especially my two biggest challenges - A&R!

The funny little boy...

2008-11-18T18:47:00.005-06:00

This video of R riding his horse speaks for itself...
Sorry it is sideways, I wasn't thinking that I couldn't transpose it...

Do you think he has a special understanding of the verse of the week?

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9

Mission Accomplished - Kinda

2008-11-16T06:55:00.002-06:00

Our house had turned into a disaster area.

I washed, folded and put away three weeks worth of laundry. And did a little closet cleaning.

Chris swept, mopped and cleaned the kitchen. He also cooked three meals!

Anna cleaned the bathroom cabinets, showers and mirrors. She also had a meltdown when she realized her clean counters had dirt on them after Chris put the rugs up there while he mopped. I think she is definitely part of the lineage of women in my family:)

Ross made more messes.

So this morning the outlook is much bringhter!

I found the CAMERA!

2008-11-10T21:57:00.003-06:00

In celebration of this joyous reunion I will share pictures that were on my camera... Not A's many birthday celebrations, any one of the umpteen jillion halloween celebrations, or even her performance at the school assembly... but pictures needless to say.

Too much fun!

2008-10-26T20:48:00.002-05:00

Praise be! We found the folder. Unfortunately, the camera hasn't shown up yet, so this post won't have any visuals to accompany...

We raced out of school on Friday night to see High School Musical with some of our friends. While cheesy as all get out, it was so fun! From there A and I enjoyed a little one on one time before her first birthday party for a school friend. Luckily, it is a family we knew from a long time ago, so my anxiety was reduced a little. She thoroughly loved her time at the 'sweet and sassy spa' birthday party! The biggest news from the party was that she announced that her dad is the one who usually does her nails. I don't think the other moms knew whether to believe her or not... They obviously don't know her that well:)

Saturday both kids and Chris headed off to the barn leaving me to some quiet and cleaning time. I must admit I was a little overwhelmed at first, but quickly found my groove. I even managed a nap where I woke up all on my own... a true rarity!

Saturday evening all of Chris' family came over to celebrate some birthdays and enjoy some elk steak. We had a great time visiting, watching the kids play, and sitting outside in the perfect weather!

Sunday morning started off with a scare for my friend's dad, but ended up fun. He had a heart attack, but got to the hospital in plenty of time, and will be good as new before we know it.

The A girls, Allison and I headed off to the American Girl store, while Chris and the boys went to Dairy Queen and to ride horses. We girls had lunch at La Madeline, were thrilled and overwhelmed in the American Girl store, and 'tore up' a banana split in the 'bistro'. After getting some cheetos for the A girl who doesn't like sweets, we headed home. One extra treat was paying only $2.29 to fill up my car!

We got home just in time to hear Nette's take on RFDTV and head out to church. The kids dressed in their oh so original costumes of ... are you ready... cowgirl and cowboy. They had fun at the church fall festival, and I had some tasty chili and good catchup time with friends.

Now if that recap doesn't make you tired, I can add more details... but I have to run now because I still have papers to grade! Chris says he will help... we'll see...

Out of the mouthes...

2008-10-24T21:17:00.002-05:00

Two comments that caused me to cringe, even though I couldn't resist a little giggle, too...

1. A's homework folder was nowhere to be found last night. Nowhere. Everything in this house was turned upside down and over by me, Chris, and A. R just watched all the activity and tried to stay in someone's way at all time. Finally, Chris asked him if he knew where Sis' folder was. In a most dramatic, non-challant way, leaned up against the wall, crossed a leg, and drawled, "Traaaaaasshhh". No luck... but we haven't checked the bag of trash he had just taken to the dumpster before the search party. R was so certain of himself. I sure hope that isn't where he put my camera that still hasn't shown up!!

2. A and I had a little girl time this afternoon and ended up at Whataburger (I had a coupon). While we were waiting to order the girls behind the counter were discussing a wierd smell. Anna finally piped up quietly with a simple statement. "It smells like a foot." We all just looked at her, recognized that was exactly what it smelled like, and busted out laughing. I am still giggling just thinking about it.

Hope you got a little giggle, too.

Celebrations!

2008-10-22T19:28:00.005-05:00

We have been celebrating up a storm lately!

1. Chris went hunting last week, so we had a mini vacation or 'staycation' as one of my blogger buddies put it. We had supper with friends, played a little more than usual, and just generally lived it up.

2. Aunt Neen came to visit, which kind of extended our staycation. We headed to the zoo in the beautiful weather on Saturday, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We saw a couple of new animals, rode the 'choo-choo' to R's greatest delight, and learned that tigers aren't from Africa. Only Asia.

3. Monday night we had a pumpkin decorating extravaganza in our driveway with our neighbors. Everyone seemed to have fun. But the daddies (and Mrs. Bo) were definitely the most engaged. Serious competition. Chris made and decorated cupcakes for the extravaganza, and everyone sang early Happy Birthday to A. 2 birds. 1 stone. Great fun!

4. Tuesday night was the last in our neighbor girls' Daniel Bible study. Starting out, it seemed like 12 weeks was so long, but looking back it flew by (along with the other milestones over the past 3 months). I am thankful for so many things about the Bible study and prayer time we devoted each Tuesday night after the kids (well, most of them, most of the time) were in bed. But the greatest blessing is a renewed interest and approach to studying God's word.

5. Today is A's big day! I can't believe she is SIX! I'll break it down.
a. I took off (a real treat, since I always hesitate to take off because I am afraid something more important will come along next week) so we intended to sleep in until 7. But at 6 o'clock sharp, R starts hollering (no better word) for DAD, DAD, DAAAAADDDD. We fought with him a for about 15 minutes, but ended up getting up and decorating for the birthday girl. Nette-Nette called just in time to wake up A, which made for a very happy wake up! She was impressed about the cupcakes her daddy decorated when he got home late last night, and surprised at the 6 balloons on the mantle. She gobbled up her birthday pancakes, I quickly braided her hair (an appropriate hairstyle to compliment the highly anticipated birthday crown at school), and she and Chris were out the door.
b. R and I played and played together for about an hour and half. This change in schedule didn't seem to phase him a bit. But he certainly used his time wisely. We drove every tractor and truck in the house. Then quickly got ready for the next phase of our day.
c. I picked up lunch for A and her teacher and headed over to their school. R was sooooo excited to get to go in the school. A's teacher ended up eating lunch with us, which was such a special treat for A (and me). We had such a nice visit, and reinforced to me what a blessing she is in our lives.
d. After delivering the cupcakes to the classroom, I carried a screaming little boy away from 'Sis'. Luckily, the mention of Awa turned his frown upside down. In an amazing aligning of the stars, I met up with Allison, Stephanie and several other friends for lunch. We had some much needed big girl time. The visit was made even more pleasant because R slept through most of it, so I wasn't chasing! From there we headed to Target and Walmart (are there any other stores) before picking up A from school.
e. We stopped by Miss Jan's office for a special birthday surprise before going home from school. Luckily, the cold snap hit, because the beautiful brown fur coat with pink satin lining Miss Jan gave her has only come off for supper. R was just as excited as A about the boots that came with the cowgirl outfit she got for Kirsten (her American Girl doll). After wrenching the boots out of his hands, R played with the plastic 'wet floor' signs in the hall while I caught up on the happenings I missed out on today. While A happily continued to model her coat.
f. Between phone calls and playing with Kirsten and keeping R from playing with Kirsten the time before Chris got home sped by. We made homemade pizza and sugar free coconut pie (both her requests) for supper.
g. But before we could eat she insisted we open the presents that were on our porch when we got home today! She was so surprised that the mailman would get them here on her exact birthday! It turned out she wasn't the only one to get cool presents from Mimi and Pop and Uncle Jason and Aunt Candi... She was absolutely thrilled with the White House and Javelina book and the cutter and candy! And Ross loved his tractor and book, too! And Chris is pumped about his electric toothbrush!
h. After that present opening extravaganza, it seemed like our presents for her might be anticlimatic. But those thoughts receded when the first thing she opened was the alarm clock. Her eyes got huge, and she screamed, "Exactly what I wanted!" The reaction for the lamp wasn't quite that enthusiastic, but it seems to be a hit (for real - you doubters!). She was so excited to get her very own Bible - with a cover. But to be fair, I think her favorite present of all we got her was the multi-colored pen...
i. And now I am blogging. And Chris is getting them to bed. And I doubt anyone is still reading. Because I don't know if I can proofread this right now. But I am posting it because I know I will want to read it again someday... maybe.
j. Happy birthday sweet A! I pray you continue to use your powers for good and depend on the one who gives you the power...

A dose of encouragement laced with humility

2008-10-11T22:24:00.003-05:00

As she was going to sleep this evening A rambled on about a lot of things to keep from falling asleep. One of the last things she shared with me is that you don't actually have to move your lips and say words out loud to talk to God. I agreed, and then she got quiet for quite some time. I thought she had finally fallen asleep, until she proudly told me she just finished her prayer. I was pleasantly surprised, and of course asked what she prayed for.

This is the encouragement part:
She prayed for her daddy to be safe in the storm tonight, for the teachers in her school and for Miss Bess that she wouldn't get sick again.

This is the humility part:
She prayed for me also. When asked specifically what her prayer for me was... she prayed I would be good. Honestly, who better than she and God know how much I need that prayer!

After the attitude adjustments and serious talks we have had this week it is more than encouraging to know that some of what we do and say is sinking in...

On another prayer note... This week R took his praying from clasping his hands, bowing his head and saying "pray, pray, pray" over and over again. To holding my hand, bowing his head, and saying something that sounds like "Dear Heavenly Father, Food, Daddy, Sis, Amen." Real progress - don't you think?

Nothing really.

2008-10-09T20:47:00.002-05:00

Things are rocking along nicely around the circus. We have had some circus outings that tested everyone's patience, but haven't been asked to leave. Yet. And we do so love our time with our sweet friends. Which leads us to the next paragraph.

I am feeling guilty about A's homework situation. Her organized teacher sends two math worksheets and 3 word activities at the beginning of the week. We just have to finish it by Friday. Guess where we were at 7:30 tonight (night before Friday) frantically finishing?? That's right - the kitchen table. Pressure certainly takes the fun out of the 'fun' activities. Next week I'll do better. Surely.

Nana made carmel apples for the kids this afternoon. They ate them and played on the porch after school. Does it get much better than that for a fall afternoon? I am so glad that she has the good ideas and follow through to do an activity I would have shied from because of the mess. I know it doesn't make any sense. And I am doing my best to enjoy my time as a mom. But I am already looking forward to being a grandmother. (And because I want to the Ann Richards hair style where I go to the beauty shop and get my hair done once a week:)

Here's to big hair coming back in style soon and enjoying my kids without spoiling them...

Bragging Time

2008-10-02T21:04:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to share my excitement that R's teacher said he really is a good boy at school. Since he doesn't say too much (except Tractor and chocolate), I always wonder how he does in class. She said he does great and does participates in all the activities. And she said he is always a 'good boy'. Hmmm... Were we talking about the same little boy?

Cousin T might wonder also after chasing all over the stands at Cousin A's football game tonight. T was so sweet to follow R around, make sure he didn't fall, play the drums on the steps, and even take R and A down to meet the mascot.

We tried out 'reading club' on the trampoline this afternoon when we got home from school. Worked great until R got stung AGAIN by a wasp. Thankfully, his drama wasn't kicking, and he got over it before A could even get inside to get the sting medicine. We had a great time outside together, and I continue to be thrilled by A's progress in reading!

I love family time! And fall!

A little political encouragement

2008-09-28T20:23:00.002-05:00

I have been trying to memorize Daniel 2:20-23, but haven't been real successful. This morning was Chris' turn to do scripture reading, so I suggested this passage. After he read it he prayed for the faith that Daniel had and that we would trust God in these uncertain political and economic times. (Amen, Chris)

I honestly had not thought how the following 2 verses totally speak to our national scene. While we can't sit back and not do our part, I do find comfort that God is in control, and it is all going to work out ok.

Daniel 2:20-21
20Daniel said,
"Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever,
For wisdom and power belong to Him.
21"It is He who changes the times and the epochs;
He removes kings and establishes kings;
He gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to men of understanding.

Now, if only I could be a wise man OR a man of understanding...

News from the past week

2008-09-27T12:03:00.003-05:00

We Bible studied for the first part and crashed for the last part of this past week!

Monday night 12 ladies from church brought their favorite salads to our house for a 'salad supper'. Then we dived right into the new book we are studying entitled, You can be beautiful with a beauty that never fades. I really look forward to this time each month to share and learn and get to know better the sweet ladies we worship with.

Then Tuesday night our neighborhood Bible studied marched on through Daniel and Revelations. I am more and more amazed at the imagery and creativity in this part of the Bible. It is enough to give this scaredy cat bad dreams - beasts, bears, 10 horns, throne with flames, and fighting rams. I am anxious to get started on my homework for this week to see if I can make a little sense of it all.

Wednesday night, Nana and Grandpa cooked R's favorite supper (meat loaf) and we ate over there (he ate more than anyone else - for real). Miss Linda, R's sweet Bible class teacher let them play in shaving cream - a long standing tradition at our little church. With one whiff of R, I was quickly taken back to the smell of Papa on the way to church. After I mentioned it to A, she started talking about how now Papa uses his electric shaver all the time - except, she is pretty sure he never does it during church.

A has finally started bringing books home to read this week! It is so exciting to see her confidence in putting letters together to make sounds and words together make sentences! As some have noted, humility is not one of her strong suits. But in the case of learning, I hope that confidence continues.

In other late breaking news, R has rediscovered his tractor video from his Nette-Nette and can't get enough of it.

We have a had a productive and restful Saturday so far. Hope you are enjoying a good one, too!

Just a little more...

2008-09-20T21:24:00.004-05:00

After finishing that last post and changing the laundry, this is what I found in my bed...

Obviously, I am doing what I can to instill the love of Texas history in my little ones. R had apparently decided watching the 'cook-cook' show was not interesting enough, so he pulled my book about Kaufman County history off of my nightstand to read.

Since I took such a peaceful picture of R, I hated to leave out Sis. Yes her hair is wet and she is asleep, but you can rest easy knowing the silly putty came out without the use of scissors...