my sidekick

What about Sam? Well, he is so very two. He growls when he talks. He is aggressive and tough. He climbs, jumps, runs, and throws everything. But, everyday, in the quiet of his room, we rock, cuddle and sing songs together. He is my baby boy, my sidekick, and he is always with me.

Dear Kate,

For weeks you have been talking about "turning" four. You long to be a big kid. I have seen you grow so much in a year, and I am so proud of you. You are still on the line between baby and kid....one moment you want me to hold you and carry you when you fall, and in the next moment, you demand to pick out your own clothes and get dressed on your own.

You have always been the kid that surprises me. Even at birth, I couldn't figure you out. You cried a lot. You had a ton of dark hair. You didn't want your blankie, a pacifier or a swaddle! You humbled me in a way, and I learned to trust God more. Because you have always taken up so much of my time and energy, I think the rewards of being your Mom doubled as well! Your smile warms my heart. Your sweet little voice touches my soul. Your hugs make everything ok.

Now at four, you are needing me less, and it is bittersweet. The things you love, you love fiercely - babies, dress-up, Veggie Tales, dancing. I know in my heart that God has great things for you, and I am excited to watch His plans unfold. This year I will homeschool you for pre-K and you will go to a speech class for a few hours a week. You have come so far, and we are so proud of your speech. Your vocabulary is amazing and we marvel everyday at the little expressions you use. Just today after I braided your hair, you told me, "Mommy, I really need to go show the mirror my hair. It's just so.....nice."

I want you to know, Kate, that God made you for His own glory. Our prayer for you is that you will reflect Him in all you do, even at the age of four. This is going to be a great year - a year of growth and adventure. I am so thankful to be your Mommy.

Happy four, dear KatieKate. You are loved.

Dear Josie,

This morning you started a new adventure! It was your first day in kindergarten. I feel like you have been doing school for a while with me, but this was different....you are making new friends, you have a new teacher, and you are wearing a uniform! We are so thankful for the privilege you have to go to Grace Prep Academy this year. You will be at school on Tuesday/Thursday, and I will homeschool you on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. What a privilege I have too, to be your teacher again!

Just the thought of you makes me smile. You are my joy. You are sincerely kind and compassionate. You are seriously funny, and such a storyteller. You go back and forth between a dolphin trainer and author as your future career path! You are innocent and think the best of everyone. You still love to cuddle with me, suck your thumb and rub your blankie....but have no problem being independent from us.

It was the best summer with you, but you and I have been counting down the days to school! You are ready in every sense, and thankfully, it has been a good transition from homeschool to part-homeschool. It will be fun and challenging to do schoolwork at home with you and Jack!

I am not sure how kindergarten got here so quickly. I must have blinked. I know I will blink again and you will be a teenager! For now, I cherish this time with you and look forward to a great year. Daddy and I pray for you every day....that you will glorify and honor the Lord in the way you learn, listen, and treat others at school. We want you to do well and be excellent, but mostly we want you to make Him famous every day!

We love you, sweet Josie. I am your biggest fan.

Mommy

"can't stop the memories, man!"

We've been reminiscing a lot lately. Something about starting a new school year makes you reflect on years gone by. Lately it's like I have been looking at Jack and Josie for the first time. I look at them and I see the babies they were. I think about Jack coming to the hospital (at 18 months old) to meet his new sister. I think about Josie wrapped in her swaddling blanket and sucking her left thumb. I think about the two of them singing happy birthday to Jesus that Christmas in 2006....so many memories.
And tomorrow, Jack begins his 2nd grade adventure and Josie starts a brand new adventure of school, away from Mommy, for two days a week. It's a big step for our family. We celebrated today by taking the "bigs" on one last hurrah to Hawaiian Falls. Will and I got a little teary as we watched Jack and Josie hold each other's hands as they walked through the park and ride all the rides together. What a bond they have!
As little memories have come to mind the past week, I have retold the stories to the kids. Some have been funny. Some memories make me a little sad. But all of them have been special and important in making us the family we are today. When I asked the crew to try to remember a family memory, Jack got a far-off look in his eyes, shrugged his shoulders, and said, "you can't stop the memories, man!"
And we won't.

my girly-girl

At three years - almost four, she would say - our Katherine Joy is such a girly-girl! God made her a lover of all things feminine - clothes, hair, princesses, accessories, babies, you name it. Her favorite all-time activity is dressing up. I love to see what she puts together. I also love that she doesn't mind doing it alone...especially since big sister would prefer to be playing outside and getting dirty.
Kate is also very "girly" when it comes to her emotions! She feels things so deeply, and comes to me several times a day with hurt feelings or disappointment. Thankfully she is also easy to distract....a costume change fixes any problem with her!

SA vacay

I mentioned in an earlier post that the days are passing quickly while Will has been away....I give the credit to a little SA getaway!
My parents, the crew and I were able to attend the annual Texas Bleeding Disorders Conference at the Rivercenter Marriott in San Antonio. We decided to make a vacation out of it! The kids had a blast playing in the "kid zone" while I learned a ton in the meetings. We love staying in hotels, and riding the escalator and elevator is really all it takes to entertain my crew. I made some great connections and met a few Moms who share in the challenge and blessing of raising a hemophilic son. A few other hotel activities were swimming, strolling the Rivercenter mall, and seeing the new Cars movie.
We then stayed with cousins Connor and Brody (thanks for hosting us Sam and Shannon) for a few days. We packed our days with Sea World and Fiesta Texas. Hot, but so much fun. We were able to see Pops and play with cousins too, and that's always fun. Here's a few pics of our four day SA vacay!

Cast-away!

On May 16th, Jack broke his left arm.
He didn't complain even once.
His attitude was such a great example to his siblings.
His optimism is a gift from God.
Six weeks later, he is cast-free once again.
I have never been more proud of this kid.

sharing Daddy

I was inspired by Ruth Graham and her attitude toward her husband's ministry. Her children have written and said that she approached each of his trips or speaking events with great optimism. She never sulked or pouted when he left. She told the kids - "what a great opportunity we have to share Daddy with ___." She got the kids on board...praying for the people he was to reach, getting them excited about what the Lord would do. How freeing for Billy to know he was totally supported by his wife and children! Free to do the Lord's work.
I can't say I have always been excited when Will is gone several evenings a week, ministering to young people, or leading prayer meeting at the church, or attending elder's meetings. And some Sundays I feel totally overwhelmed by the whole idea of being a single parent. But, I think of Ruth Graham often, and remember her words. It is our gift and opportunity to share this great man with others!
This has really been on my mind the past week and a half. Will was given the humbling opportunity to travel to Yapen Island, Indonesia. Our dear friends, Larry and Linda Jones, have spent 30 years translating the Bible into the Yawan language and the first Yawan New Testament is complete. Will was invited to share in the dedication ceremony there. We have been out of contact, except for a few emails that he sent before the hiking portion into the village began.
Here is a picture of when we took him to the airport. The days have actually gone by quickly and we can't wait to hear about his adventure. We gladly share Daddy, but all will be right with the world when we are back together again.

bubba blue

We can't get enough of our little boy blue.

summer lovin'

Josie is a summer kind of girl. She loves all things summer....pool time, gardening, farm jobs, baseball!
Last year at four years old, she really became confident in the pool. This summer she is taking off with her freestyle and backstroke, and qualified for her first swim team along with big brother. We decided to hold off until next year when Jack broke his arm. Looking forward to watching that duo race in the pool next summer!
She loves to get dirty and tend to her plants. Each year my dad helps her plant tomatoes in our backyard. She is faithful to check them every day and water. She also reminds me to water my flowers!
Josie loved her farm time with cousin Clay. They were busy from sunrise to sunset...creating forts inside, catching butterflies, picking vegetables and flowers from the garden, gathering the eggs, and roaming the farm. She is still telling me stories about cousin camp.
Our girl is playing tball for the first time this year as well. She is having fun and looks forward to each practice and game. Last week during her game she was playing the pitcher position and even got a few batters out at first by running them down! Only problem - no outs in first year tball at the YMCA. You could tell she has watched a lot of baseball with Jack! She knew just what to do.
What a joy it is to watch our girl shine in the summer!

summer ff #2: tea party

My girls love to have tea parties at home. When we were making our summer fun list, I suggested we have some friends over for a formal tea party. We made our guest list, sent out evites, washed all of our tea sets, made favors, researched games/crafts, went shopping, found a book to read, and decorated! The girls were great helpers. We had our little party last Friday and it was a sweet success.
I loved using all of my vintage linens from Granny and decorated with pink and yellow roses. Josie found our teapot at the antique store in Clifton, and she was a pro at serving. Kate's favorite part was decorating the teapot-shaped sugar cookies.
More pics to come on this lovely event but I really liked this post-party photo. Needless to say, we all napped well that day. Fun memory with 14 little princesses.

memorial day weekend

We met up with the Kennedys at the farm for Memorial Day weekend. This is definitely going to become a tradition! The kids camped out at the barn with SuperMam and woke up early to help pick the first round of corn. Everyone pitched in at the different stages - picking, shucking, scrubbing, blanching, scraping, bagging and storing. It's good for kids to see where food comes from....don't know many 5 and 7 year olds who have a work ethic like Doc and Mam's grandkids. They have a great example to follow!
We remembered our heroes as we talked about what Memorial Day means under the big tree. Mam reflected on her Papa, Kat upon her BC, and Clif upon our brother Clay and our Papa. We sang patriotic tunes and prayed. I am so thankful for my family who treasures what is important - hard work and serving others.
Thanks Doc and Mam for a weekend to remember.

summer family fun #1

Every summer we make our summer family fun list....and it includes random things we can do together to make memories. We kicked off our summer last week with a trip to the Ennis drive-in. We got there too early, and it was super windy, but we had fun! I still can't believe all four kids stayed awake for the whole movie. We saw Rio and it was so creative. (Jack and Josie are still quoting it - a good sign!)
Looking forward to making the trip there again when their putt-putt course is open!

get back up

"We lose our way,
We get back up again
It's never too late to get back up again,
One day you will shine again,
You may be knocked down,
But not out forever."

Last spring and summer, this quickly became Jack's favorite song by Toby Mac. Will would play it for him before baseball and basketball games to get him pumped up, and you could find him humming or singing it daily...
This year, it brings a whole new meaning to our champ. In the world's eyes, he has been knocked down again. But we see his broken arm as a way for him to overcome another trial and shine. We are learning that success for our kids, and Jack specifically, is not how he excels on the field, court or classroom. Success is how you get back up after you are knocked down. We are proud of his attitude - one of gratefulness, optimism and joy. He has never complained of pain or of missing out on his swim and baseball teams. He has never said "why me, again?"
I am proud of this kid and look forward to seeing him shine!

dance party

Most evenings between bath and bed we have a dance party. It's kind of like a celebration of our day, good or bad! It's fun for me too...to feel like a kid and be silly. Sam or Kate usually pick the tunes, mostly because they are so proud of themselves for being able to work the cd player. So, I thought it was fitting that we ended our huge weekend with a dance party with Aunt Tynan, Pops and Mimi, and Doc and Mam cheering on the kids. Here's a long video of the patio dance party.

easter people

We have been preparing for Easter for a few weeks now with our resurrection eggs and devotions. There are 12 objects inside a dozen eggs that tell the story of Christ's death and resurrection. These have been key in explaining to our kids the sadness of Good Friday, and the miracle of Easter morning! You can order this amazing tool at www.familylife.com/eggs.

Dear Sam,

I can't believe you are two years old! Yet, you have been acting two for almost a year now....climbing, running, hopping, playing ball. You are the most verbal two year old I have ever met. You are opinionated and have a strong will. You have a constant mischievous grin that makes us all laugh, and scares us a bit too! You have been compared to my Dad, "Doc", at this age.....a blonde, blue-eyed stinker!

Most of the time I am just plain amazed by you. Just the other day you were playing baseball with Jack, and you were fielding his grounders. He hit the ball to you, and you stopped the ball with your glove and ran to first base to tag him out! I was speechless.

Speechless.....yes, that describes my thoughts towards you. Speechless when it comes to disciplining your strong will. Speechless when it comes to how much I adore your sweet dimpled face. Speechless when I watch you interact with the world. You sang happy birthday to yourself almost perfectly! You just get it.

Your second year showed your strength. With six ear infections, you made it look easy. We decided you needed tubes, so hopefully your third year will be a bit smoother and happier. You are happiest when you are busy playing ball outside, or climbing something. The things you love, you love fiercely and completely....your blankie "babies," your left middle fingers, your Daddy, Jack, kicking the soccer ball, shooting the basketball, hitting the baseball, yogurt, oranges, "waters," popcorn on movie nights, playing Leapster, and giving Mommy kisses.

I am so proud of you, Sam boy. God made you just right! You will always be my baby boy. My heart is full when I think of you. Happy two years to you!

Mommy

adored

this is the stuff....

This is the stuff that drives me crazy.
This is the stuff that's getting to me lately
In the middle of my little mess
I forget how big I'm blessed
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
But I gotta trust you know exactly what You're doing
It might not be what I would choose
But this is the stuff You use." - Francesca Battistelli

Lots of "stuff" going on here that has me losing sight of blessings.
This song has been a comfort and encouragement as I am trying to see struggles, annoyances, and pain as "gifts" God is giving me to help me to rely on Him. What stuff is He is using in your life?

Today I am thinking of my first friend. I would have followed him anywhere. He was my leader and I was his sidekick. I miss my brother Clay. Today, eleven years later, I still reach for the phone to tell him whatever is going on with us. Will and I tell "Clay stories" and we smile. Here we are in May of 1981 at our Uncle Curtis' final review at Texas A&M. Clay was decked out in his Corps uniform, made by my Granny. Once again, I was just following him. I wanted to be where he was. I am thankful that, soon, I will be where he is once again. Looking forward to our reunion in Heaven!