Halloween:
They were cute. This was the girl's first year to actually make it for trick or treating.
June 2009
1 year ago
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Somewhere...just south of crazy!
Yes, I have not blogged in ages. Yes, I am a horrible blogger. I started this blog to keep family and friends who live far away (and some near) up to date with our ever growing family. (And I mean growing the sense of getting bigger NOT adding another person). We have started a new year, with new changes for everyone. Here are a few updates on everyone-
J started 4th grade this year. I can't believe he will have just one more year of grade school before entering Middle school. That just seems crazy to me. What else seems impossible? He will be 10 in 2 days. It feels like yesterday that I was waiting 4 more weeks to meet my baby boy when a semi-routine Drs appt caught PROM (water broke too early). My brother was there with me at the time. They couldn't find Jacob's dad since he was at work and not answering the phone. Brendan and niece Hannah (only 8 weeks old) kept me calm during the transit to the hospital and L&D department while I waited for the rest of my family to get there. It seems like yesterday. Has it really been 10 years?
He is growing like crazy and hoping to start up swim team again, and play baseball in the spring. His foot is bigger than mine, and he could probably wear my clothes. I think next year at this time he will be bigger than me. His new area of interest is in acting. We are currently looking for acting classes and hoping he enjoys acting on the stage as much as he does at home.
Brad-
Brad started 2 new jobs this fall. One as a teacher of Harpsichord at UNT (he's done that before) and the other as a part-time stay at home dad. The girls love him! They have really developed strong relationships with him that make me feel very good about our new family life. He is better than me at helping Jacob with homework after school as well. I lack patience in the area of teaching numbers...but Brad has a way with getting though to students. Oh wait....THAT'S why he is the teacher in the family, and not me. Ha!
Our schedules are pretty opposite. I come home from work and on three days out of five he passes me in the driveway on his way to teach. I miss him very much, but we have started having date night and lunches. Balance will resume one of these years.
Isabel is growing up WAY too fast. She started pre-school for the first time this year and can already recognize all letters of the alphabet (lower and upper case) and give you an example of a word that starts with the letter. This blows my mind. I have never seen a young 2 year old with this knowledge. I know they exist, but believe me when I say we have a bright one on our hands.
Emma is in year 2 of pre-school and has finally come out of her shell. She loves going to school, and seeing her friends and teacher. This year we moved schools so her and Iz could be at the same school. Every Wednesday she has chapel and twice a week they go to computer lab. E says her favorite part of the day is computer. Her class also memorizes Bible verses. They have a Bible bead bracelet and they get a bead when they say a verse. She said the first one flawlessly, and she is already prepared for this Friday. I can't wait to see both of the girls in their Christmas show this December.
As you can see, we've had some changes. I will try to get some pics of the kids up soon. Come back and see us!
J started 4th grade this year. I can't believe he will have just one more year of grade school before entering Middle school. That just seems crazy to me. What else seems impossible? He will be 10 in 2 days. It feels like yesterday that I was waiting 4 more weeks to meet my baby boy when a semi-routine Drs appt caught PROM (water broke too early). My brother was there with me at the time. They couldn't find Jacob's dad since he was at work and not answering the phone. Brendan and niece Hannah (only 8 weeks old) kept me calm during the transit to the hospital and L&D department while I waited for the rest of my family to get there. It seems like yesterday. Has it really been 10 years?
He is growing like crazy and hoping to start up swim team again, and play baseball in the spring. His foot is bigger than mine, and he could probably wear my clothes. I think next year at this time he will be bigger than me. His new area of interest is in acting. We are currently looking for acting classes and hoping he enjoys acting on the stage as much as he does at home.
Brad-
Brad started 2 new jobs this fall. One as a teacher of Harpsichord at UNT (he's done that before) and the other as a part-time stay at home dad. The girls love him! They have really developed strong relationships with him that make me feel very good about our new family life. He is better than me at helping Jacob with homework after school as well. I lack patience in the area of teaching numbers...but Brad has a way with getting though to students. Oh wait....THAT'S why he is the teacher in the family, and not me. Ha!
Our schedules are pretty opposite. I come home from work and on three days out of five he passes me in the driveway on his way to teach. I miss him very much, but we have started having date night and lunches. Balance will resume one of these years.
Isabel is growing up WAY too fast. She started pre-school for the first time this year and can already recognize all letters of the alphabet (lower and upper case) and give you an example of a word that starts with the letter. This blows my mind. I have never seen a young 2 year old with this knowledge. I know they exist, but believe me when I say we have a bright one on our hands.
Emma is in year 2 of pre-school and has finally come out of her shell. She loves going to school, and seeing her friends and teacher. This year we moved schools so her and Iz could be at the same school. Every Wednesday she has chapel and twice a week they go to computer lab. E says her favorite part of the day is computer. Her class also memorizes Bible verses. They have a Bible bead bracelet and they get a bead when they say a verse. She said the first one flawlessly, and she is already prepared for this Friday. I can't wait to see both of the girls in their Christmas show this December.
As you can see, we've had some changes. I will try to get some pics of the kids up soon. Come back and see us!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
First week?
So, how did we do?
How can you really measure. I managed to get to work every day. Brad survived with the kids. In fact, the first day of work I came home to a clean house and prepared dinner. I could totally get used to that!
I may have not mentioned that the day after I was given the position at my new company, Brad was contacted by UNT asking him to teach harpsichord. He of course accepted, but the juggling of children has really been a nightmare. I only took my job with the intention that Brad would be home with them. We are looking for a permanent solution to the problem of every other Tuesday and every Friday morning. Every other Tuesday he teaches down at Baylor and the girls don't have school. I was hoping to be able to interview sitters at some point and find a great solution, but the idea of bringing a stranger into our house is daunting. Dad has agreed to help in the short term. I would like to eventually have someone to relieve him though so he can continue enjoying retirement. We also need someone every Friday morning for Isabel while Brad is teaching and Emma is at school.
Speaking of school....I LOVE the girl's new school! They attend a Christian Academy much like the school I attended as a child. They attend M/W's and E also goes every Friday. It goes from toddlers up through 8th grade. We have entertained the idea of moving Jacob over as well. It would be hard on him in the beginning, but he makes friends easily. I firmly believe I had a superior education afforded to me by attending a private Christian school. And I did attend public high school...so I DO know the difference. Night and day.
Isabel had a great first day of school (it was the first time she had ever attended). I peaked in the window after we dropped her and she was actively engaged in what the kids were doing. Emma was a little different story. We arrived late and she has chapel on Wednesdays. The kids were all packed into the theater singing songs and clapping. She seemed quite shy to let go of my leg. Her teacher came over and reassured her, and she was off. It was a good day for all. They are right across the highway from my office, so it helps knowing they are less than 5 minutes away if they ever need their mommy.
We are all exhausted with our new go go go schedule. I usually leave the house by 7 am and get home just after 4:30. I wake Jacob up on my way out, but Brad has to get the girls up, fed and ready for school. Tomorrow will be his first day completely on his own. I am starting to appreciate the weekends more than I have in a long time. Now if I could just figure out how to provide healthy home cooked meals for my family and fit in my workouts....there just aren't enough hours in the day.
How can you really measure. I managed to get to work every day. Brad survived with the kids. In fact, the first day of work I came home to a clean house and prepared dinner. I could totally get used to that!
I may have not mentioned that the day after I was given the position at my new company, Brad was contacted by UNT asking him to teach harpsichord. He of course accepted, but the juggling of children has really been a nightmare. I only took my job with the intention that Brad would be home with them. We are looking for a permanent solution to the problem of every other Tuesday and every Friday morning. Every other Tuesday he teaches down at Baylor and the girls don't have school. I was hoping to be able to interview sitters at some point and find a great solution, but the idea of bringing a stranger into our house is daunting. Dad has agreed to help in the short term. I would like to eventually have someone to relieve him though so he can continue enjoying retirement. We also need someone every Friday morning for Isabel while Brad is teaching and Emma is at school.
Speaking of school....I LOVE the girl's new school! They attend a Christian Academy much like the school I attended as a child. They attend M/W's and E also goes every Friday. It goes from toddlers up through 8th grade. We have entertained the idea of moving Jacob over as well. It would be hard on him in the beginning, but he makes friends easily. I firmly believe I had a superior education afforded to me by attending a private Christian school. And I did attend public high school...so I DO know the difference. Night and day.
Isabel had a great first day of school (it was the first time she had ever attended). I peaked in the window after we dropped her and she was actively engaged in what the kids were doing. Emma was a little different story. We arrived late and she has chapel on Wednesdays. The kids were all packed into the theater singing songs and clapping. She seemed quite shy to let go of my leg. Her teacher came over and reassured her, and she was off. It was a good day for all. They are right across the highway from my office, so it helps knowing they are less than 5 minutes away if they ever need their mommy.
We are all exhausted with our new go go go schedule. I usually leave the house by 7 am and get home just after 4:30. I wake Jacob up on my way out, but Brad has to get the girls up, fed and ready for school. Tomorrow will be his first day completely on his own. I am starting to appreciate the weekends more than I have in a long time. Now if I could just figure out how to provide healthy home cooked meals for my family and fit in my workouts....there just aren't enough hours in the day.
Friday, September 4, 2009
3 isms
Today while visiting a potential pre-school for the girls (whose mascot happens to be a Lion) I asked E if she would like to go to school here and be a (name of school) Lion.
She answered deliberately:
"I don't want to be a lion, I want to be a flamingo".
She answered deliberately:
"I don't want to be a lion, I want to be a flamingo".
Thursday, September 3, 2009
No fear
I didn't mean to scare anyone by the last blog post. We just have a lot going on here in the household.
First of all, I decided back in June I wanted to go back to work. Monday I was offered a position at a software company in the Sales and Marketing department. For now it is "temporary" filling in for someone on maternity leave until March 1 of next year.
The catch is that it is full time. I have been home with my babies since they were born, and we will all need a period of adjustment.
Brad has eagerly accepted the challenge of being a (mostly) stay at home dad. This week we are looking for a loving and nurturing Christian pre-school to allow Brad to teach his harpsichord lessons as needed. The school E attended last year has no openings this year for their age groups. And both girls will need to be cared for.
Changes changes changes. Must trust in God.
First of all, I decided back in June I wanted to go back to work. Monday I was offered a position at a software company in the Sales and Marketing department. For now it is "temporary" filling in for someone on maternity leave until March 1 of next year.
The catch is that it is full time. I have been home with my babies since they were born, and we will all need a period of adjustment.
Brad has eagerly accepted the challenge of being a (mostly) stay at home dad. This week we are looking for a loving and nurturing Christian pre-school to allow Brad to teach his harpsichord lessons as needed. The school E attended last year has no openings this year for their age groups. And both girls will need to be cared for.
Changes changes changes. Must trust in God.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Has it really been this long?
Wow. I didn't realize the blog had fallen of the face of the web. We went on our annual beach trip, came home to no internet for a week, then the hussle of birthday parties and school starting has made time for blogging non-existent.
The beach trip was wonderful as usual. It rained more than it did last year, which made me sad (being the beach bum I am). But it didn't really affect the girls. They weren't really fans of the beach.
Here are just a few pictures.
As for the rest of life...things have gone crazy. You'll have to trust me for now and just pray that our family is easily adaptable. I will post more about these changes as they become more clear.
God bless!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Two year old talk
The girls were playing outside today while I was making lists for our annual beach trip (we leave on Friday for a week). I noticed that E was holding dish towels and handed one to Iz as she said....
"Here Izzie, put this on your head. I am Mary and you are God".
I laughed so hard my iced tea came through my nose.
"Here Izzie, put this on your head. I am Mary and you are God".
I laughed so hard my iced tea came through my nose.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Royalty rules!
Isabel received a few cards with money in them for her Bday. My first thought was to buy her something she needs (the girls are in desperate need of clothes for fall and pajamas)...but then in the birthday spirit I let her decide what she wanted. She wanted princess shoes....
The only way I could buy princess shoes at 8 pm on a Sunday was to buy the whole princess outfits. Since she loves dress up, we bought two outfits complete with shoes and purses. Iz loves the "Apple princess" costume so much, she doesn't mind sharing with sis. They pretty much live in these costumes now...so I guess we don't really need clothes as much as I thought.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
GIrls in curls
Pictures of the girls were a part of Brad's father's day present. (He also got a home made ice cream maker, something he has wanted forever). He always wishes that he could freeze time and keep the girls this age forever. I handed him a collage frame with some of these in it and said "I can't keep them this age forever, but here is what I CAN do".
My friend, Dawn (also Jacob's god mommy), is a natural photographer, and is the only person I've ever known to be able to capture all three of my children's personality on film. The dresses they are wearing wear purchased by Brad in Peru last year while he was touring in South America.
There were SO many beautiful images to choose from, but here are some of my personal favorites.
Enjoy!
My friend, Dawn (also Jacob's god mommy), is a natural photographer, and is the only person I've ever known to be able to capture all three of my children's personality on film. The dresses they are wearing wear purchased by Brad in Peru last year while he was touring in South America.
There were SO many beautiful images to choose from, but here are some of my personal favorites.
Enjoy!
Monday, June 15, 2009
A day in my life!
Being a parent is one of life's greatest sources of entertainment. At least once a day all three of my children say something that is news worthy...at least in my eyes. The cuteness never ceases to amaze me. These quotes happened in thepast couple of days. I am hoping to blog about these memorable words so one day, when they are all grown up, and being cranky teenagers, I can look back to time when they were naive innocent and brilliant, all at the same time.
I'll start with the oldest. This one needs no setting up except for the fact that it was completely random. Nothing was on tv or anywhere around us regarding the topic.
Jacob: "Mommy...I don't think I will ever run for President"
Me: "Phew, that's a relief! But what made you decide that?"
Jacob: "Well, I'm going to be in a band...so I can buy a mansion. And I don't really want to live in the White House. You have to actually WORK when you live there and I will already have a job...playing in a band. Oh and some presidents get shot."
This one might be my favorite. This one needs a little background info. We had severe storms blow through last Wednesday and knock down several trees and power in our neighborhood. The surrounding area was hit pretty hard as well. We promised Emma we would take her to the Disney princess store if she took a nap on Thursday. (Which she did). We went to the store and it was closed due to store damage. Oh, and my parents were out of town.
So, we took her on the carousel instead. She didn't seem to be too bothered by it. Until we were driving to church on Sunday and I heard this:
"Mommy, I need Papa to come home so he can fix the Disney princess store so I can go shopping and buy Apple princess (aka Snow White)"
I'll start with the oldest. This one needs no setting up except for the fact that it was completely random. Nothing was on tv or anywhere around us regarding the topic.
Jacob: "Mommy...I don't think I will ever run for President"
Me: "Phew, that's a relief! But what made you decide that?"
Jacob: "Well, I'm going to be in a band...so I can buy a mansion. And I don't really want to live in the White House. You have to actually WORK when you live there and I will already have a job...playing in a band. Oh and some presidents get shot."
This one might be my favorite. This one needs a little background info. We had severe storms blow through last Wednesday and knock down several trees and power in our neighborhood. The surrounding area was hit pretty hard as well. We promised Emma we would take her to the Disney princess store if she took a nap on Thursday. (Which she did). We went to the store and it was closed due to store damage. Oh, and my parents were out of town.
So, we took her on the carousel instead. She didn't seem to be too bothered by it. Until we were driving to church on Sunday and I heard this:
"Mommy, I need Papa to come home so he can fix the Disney princess store so I can go shopping and buy Apple princess (aka Snow White)"
And finally our little Izzie B. She has a sweet demeanor that is very tender at times. She will come up and put your face in her hands, stroking your cheek and whispering softly to you. Sometimes she does this while saying "go to sleep" or "I love you".
Yesterday at lunch she was stroking my face sweetly and looking into my eyes. Then she lovingly whispered, "Mommy....you have boogers".
Saturday, June 6, 2009
The First Communion
What can I say? She was absolutely beautiful. Friends who saw her said she looked like"a princess" ..."an angel". She was breathtaking.
I will say she had a wonderful day. She said she didn't want "Jesus' blood because it's gross". But as we walked away from the rail she changed her mind and we kindly, yet firmly, reminded her it was too late and she could try again next week. She received some beautiful gifts including three necklaces (one of which she wears every day from god parents Allen and Cynde) a little girl's Bible from Nana and Papa, and a beautiful angel figurine from god parents Blair and Lisa. Here are some photos of our beautiful angel from God.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Dress rehearsal and dance recital
Day of the recital:
Hair and make-up done!
Ready for the show!
E refused to nap on Friday, so on the way to the dress rehearsal she passed out
and proceeded to stay asleep in my lap until right before her class went onstage.
Day of the recital:
After a minor tap shoe emergency was solved by Super Nana,
we were off and ready for the show!
Just happy to be here!
Here she is!!
With daddy after the show.
Flowers for a job well done!
That's all folks!!!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Such a big girl!
Emma will be taking her First Communion this coming Sunday (Pentecost). She has had a series of classes preparing her for this big step. We weren't sure we were doing the right thing by having her do this at such an early age. Fr. D assured us that is she felt like she was being left out at the altar, then she was ready. Several outbursts (during Communion) later, we signed her up. "I WANT SOME!" she would scream.
This past Sunday (her last class) as she sat in class quietly with her legs crossed and hands folded in her lap, I wondered if she was hearing anything at all. Would she go away with a message at all?
She has picked out a beautiful pink dress and "princess" crown with veil to wear on Sunday. While trying to figure out her hair in the veil yesterday we talked about the reason she was wearing this beautiful dress and veil. "Are you ready to take your First Communion?" I asked.
"Yea, Jesus' body" she said. My mom had mentioned she said this the day before but I was skeptical until I heard it myself. If she has that figured out...I think she is more read than some adults. I'm so proud of my girl.
Friday, May 22, 2009
E prepares for her first dance recital
E will be performing in her first dance recital next Saturday. Last week they had studio pictures, so we we able to try on the costumes and see what adjustments need to be made. She wasn't really sure what was going on, but she looked pretty cute!
They will be tap dancing to "Big Girls Don't Cry!".
They will be tap dancing to "Big Girls Don't Cry!".
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