She Lost It!!!

Sorry, I am a little late on my weeky post but what can I say... I'm posting now!!!  So this week hasnt been that crazy but we were definitley movin' and groovin'!!  Emma Lee has started gymnastics.  She started going about a month ago and is loving it!!!  She comes home and can't help but show off her cartwheels, and rolls, and the newest one ... a one-handed cartwheel!  I will post pics of gymnastics after her first family observation night.  Parents are discouraged from being there during class so I haven't actually seen her do anything on the "bouncy rug".  We also went to Family Worship Night at our church on Wednesday.  We really enjoyed all the music and the message that was given.  Emma also got to draw with pastels during the praise and worship time.  It is called "art fusion".  They are split up into groups and they all start their own drawings and then they switch and get to add their own take anad ideas to anothers drawing... so it becomes all of theirs!  She made the biggest mess and loved every minute of it. 

Oh yeah, back to the title of this post.  Emma Lee, my baby, had her first loose tooth.  And she asked me if I had one of those envelopes that have the tooth fairy on it.  Nope, those you can only get from school.  So what does she do?  She leaves her tooth alone all weekend and then Monday morning in school, she reaches into her mouth and pulls out her tooth!  Her teacher told me Emma said "Here's my tooth!! Can I have a toothfairy envelope now?"  Love it!!!

How adorable is that!!! 

See you soon!!

Melinda

My First Real Post in a Long Time

Hey there everyone!  We have been very busy lately!  But it is slowing down since the kids went back to school.  Emma is in kindergarten now and she is doing wonderfully, like we had any doubt about that!  This year Skyler is in second grade and he seems to really like his teacher and his class. 

I am trying to find my way through all the free time I have with the kids in school.  I have been doing some sewing and some knitting. And watching movies!!  Not the best use of my time but what can I say!! 

I have been making some crayon rolls for my mom to sell.  I have make five so far and have two more to do.  I have more fabric that I can cut for them but I think I might make some other stuff too!

Skyler turned eight this summer.  I can't believe how quickly time flies!!

I will be back next week with pictures of the kids and an update from our week!

Melinda

Alright ... so I lied!!!

Ok... so I haven't been posting every Thursday like I said I would!  We had a very busy year so far and it has gone by so fast!!  But I will be posting every Thursday starting this week!! 

We have been very busy with all kinds of activities that the kids are involved in.  We started going to a new church and my husband got himself a very good new job!  So life is moving forward in the best direction it could go in! 

See you Thursday!!

Melinda

Ok, so I am trying something different!

I, like so many other people, made some New Year's Resolutions! And no, one of them wasn't o lose weight, although one was to be a fitter, healthier person! One of my resolutions was to blog more often! Once a week.
Now, I realize that I am two months behind on this (already!) but I have decided to set aside some time every Thursday to do a post about what we have been up to for the last week.
I think that I am just gonna lay out what has been going on in the last week versus the last two months!
Last Saturday, Dan and I went to a Jaycee Barn Dance! We had a great time with out friends, Walter and Chanel Smith! We danced together which is something we haven't done in a long time! And afterward, we went over to the TA truck stop in town, that yeah isn't the most glamorous place but man they have some great food!! I had Sunday off from work, so we hung around the house and cleaned!! Of all the things a family can do on a Sunday, we spent the day cleaning! But man, we really needed to! We tend to be on the go so much that the house doesn't always get the deep down cleaning as regularly as it should so..... that was what we did!
The best day of all this week was Tuesday! And I say this with all intended sarcasm! Tuesday was my last day off for the week and I really was planning on enjoying it in my quiet house with the children at school and Dan at work........ well that's not what happened! We were woken up at 5:58 in the morning to the phone ringing... it was the school calling (with an automated system) to tell us that our precious little pride and joys were not going to be going to school! WHAT you say!!! Yes, we got roughly 8 inches of snow and my peaceful, quiet day was now shot all the way to you know where!! You know, and because they are kids, after breakfast, they just had to go outside and play in all of the precious white stuff that we rarely ever see out in our neck of the woods! Skyler couldn't find one of his gloves, Emma Lee was trying to go out in jeans with holes in the knees, everything was falling apart very quickly!! I gave Skyler one of my gloves, and finally wrangled her into another pair of pants, so that they could finally get to go outside in all the precious white stuff! Out they go....... 5 minutes later, they were trying to come back in because they were cold!! Well, yeah silly, it's snow!!!No... get back outside for more fun because it is all going to melt tomorrow! Yup, that was my response to them! And so out they go...... 25 minutes later I was able to coax them back into the house for some hot cocoa and dry clothes! They loved playing in it once they were so cold that they couldn't feel anything anymore!! It was wonderful to see them so happy... but true to form, the weather swiftly turned better on Wednesday, and the snow was all gone by 2:30 in the afternoon! Gotta love West Texas!!
Yesterday and today were really very quiet days without much to talk about! Nice, huh?! This morning was a bit of a whirlwind because ther seems to be no way that I can leave my MOPS group on time to get Emma Lee to school and me to work without being late!! But she made it, her friend Jake made it, and I finally made it to work!! Lucky me!!!

Until next time!! Next Thursday could be a doozy because it is Emma Lee's 5th birthday and I seem to be having a bit of trouble with it!

Fall Fun!!

So I know it has been a while since I last posted and much has happened since then. I have been really busy all summer with activities! But... I should tell you that I have also been a little lazy! But the kids are now back in school and doing great. Skyler is in first grade and Emma Lee is in pre-kindergarten! Growing up so fast!!

The weather is getting cooler and it is Halloween (I will post pics of the kids in costumes by Sunday, hopefully!)! The kids really do like this time of year. The leaves are changing, the air has a nip to it, and we like to curl up and drink lots of cocoa!! Several weeks ago, I took the kids to the Pumpkin Patch with my MOPS group. I was a little different than what I was expecting. I was remembering my childhood when my mom would take us to the pumpkin patch which was on a farm and you could actually cut your own pumpkin from the vine. Silly me, I forget sometimes that I am not in New England anymore!!! Anyway, we went over there and they had pumkins everywhere!! Not just regular pumpkins either, but ones that were pumpkin/gourd hybrids, all bumply and funky!! It was wonderful and the kids loved it!!!

My friend Kit, who is a professional photographer, organized the trip and she brought her camera. She ended up taking some great pictures of the kids and I. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful friend!! I can't wait to take them and have prints made! The colors were just wonderful!! When I get them, I will be posting them here for all to see!!

Happy Mother's Day!

This weekend was incredibly busy with many events going on. First off, I graduated with my Associate's Degree on Friday evening. I was unsure if I wanted to go through all of the stress of getting me, Skyler and Emma Lee ready for the ceremony but when my name was called and I walked across that stage, I realized it was so incredibly worth it. Dan tells me that this one feels good, but the next one feels so much better. A bunch of people came to the ceremony which made me feel really good.
The second thing that happened was that Dan came home after spending 18 days in Nebraska and Colorado. This trip was really difficult for me and for the children for some reason. He is leaving tomorrow for Texoma on Monday. This trip should be for about 2 weeks. So maybe it will be better than the last one, pray for me!!!
Also, this weekend was Mother's day! My parents took the children Saturday night through Sunday afternoon so that Dan and I could have some time together before he leaves again. I haven't been sleeping well since Dan left and I am pretty sure that I caught up on all of it!! I woke up this morning at 11:30, at breakfast, went back to bed until 3:30 in the afternoon. It was wonderful! Nobody needed me to handle anything today and I relished it. Because Monday, Dan leaves and it starts all over again.
On Monday, my mom and I are going to a local greenhouse to get some great bedding plants (and maybe a few others!) for my front flowers beds at the house. She wanted to give me a graduation gift that would keep for a long time and would be a great reminder, so this was her plan. I think it sounds wonderful!! My house needs a lift, seriously! I will post some pictures of the flower beds as soon as it is done!
But for now, I just want to say Happy Mother's Day to every mother out there!

Mindy

Summer has Arrived and so has T-Ball!

We are really excited for this season to start. Skyler is playing T-Ball! He is loving it. This morning, he had his first "game" (more like a two innning scrimmage, but I am not telling him that!) They also took picturesand had opening cerimony. My dad and my uncle came to support our little Slugger. Dan couldn't make it because he is out of town for work. He is working in Colorado, but staying in Nebraska! I know he would have loved to see Skyler play.


This is our first T-Ball practice. I think I was the only Mommy there with a camera taking pictures of practice! But like I said, Dan is gone and I wanted him to see some of that too!



This is Skyler, right in front #10, heading to the dugout for their scrimmage. Remember, I am preserving memories for Dan, don't poke fun at all the questionable pictures.



I looked out, saw Sky on second base, turned and told my Dad (excitedly) "He's on second base!". My Dad looks at me, in a very serious way, and says "Isn't he a little young to be going to second base." Only my Dad would turn it into something ... well, a little dirty , and really funny!



Here he is getting ready to hit his first ball in his first game! I know... I know, a little sappy but I don't care!



He missed the coach-pitched balls, so they gave him the tee. Man, he ripped that ball. It went passed the infield (which was the furthest hit by both teams playing). He said after the game that he was trying to bust the stuffing out of the ball.

The best part of his game was when he slid into home! I missed it because I was looking for Emma Lee under the bleachers. THat would have been a fantastic picture but, of course, I missed it.

We had a wonderful time, except for the high winds, both kids did great. Emma Lee found some friends under the bleachers, playing in the dirt. She got nice and dirty, but that's why we have bathtubs!

I will leave more for another day!

Mindy