Summer Daze

Trying to stay cool and busy at the same time. Not easy in Texas or with three kids who want to do three different things. We ended up at the Mayborn Museum yesterday. We used to spend a lot of time there before the kids started school. They have grown up a lot since then. I didn't realize how much until they tried to get out of the little cars in the play area.
Mark made a good friend at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center. I think this guy wanted a kiss!
Dinosaur Valley State Park. I think the dinosaurs became extinct because they got TOO HOT! Just a thought.
By the end of this short trip, everyone was exhausted, especially this little girl!!!

Lindsay finally lost her tooth!

Lindsay lost her first tooth on Wednesday, July 9, after many, many months of "looseness." I'll let her tell you about it...



(Evan is shooting a wasp with his airsoft gun in the background, in case you were wondering.)

From water slides to bed rest

Great Wolf Lodge is a very fun place to visit. The kids loved all the water activities and especially their "Kid Kabin." While we were there I got sick. I didn't think much about it then but it progressed into an ugly monster ending with a visit to the ER and an overnight stay at the hospital. Needless to say, my plans for the week will have to be altered. Drew is at Scout Camp, Evan at Math Camp and Lindsay is doing VBS. I am suppose to be teaching in her class. Instead, I am stuck at home in a narcotic stupor!

But most of all...

Last night was 5th grade graduation. Drew was excited, not about the graduation ceremony but the lock in at school afterwards. I am sure he had a great night filled with autograph signing, laughing, eating and a great trip down memory lane. This is the only school he's ever known.

We knew Drew would get a few awards--regional history fair, UIL, TAKS Commended, math, etc. We even knew about his surprise Baylor baseball camp scholarship. He got the Principal's Outstanding 5th grade Award but this wasn't too much of a surprise since grades are an important part of the selection. What was most meaningful to Mark and me was what his homeroom teacher said about him. He said that Drew lives what he believes and stands up for his morals. He choses not to participate in things others are doing if it's not the right thing to do. WOW!! You never know if the words you speak to your child really sink in. He doesn't always appear to be listening. He often disagrees with us. We don't always see him making wise choices at home but it sure is reassuring to know that he is making good choices when we are not with him. 

Time for some summer sun and fun!

Then off to the next adventure, MIDDLE SCHOOL!

Blog neglect

I have to confess, I have been spending too much time with another online obsession. I fought it for a long time but ultimately, I was sucked in. I am a FACEBOOK addict. It began as a way to keep up with the students I supervise. Then I connected with people I hadn't seen in a long time. Soon, I was staying up late on the computer. While I don't like sitting around wasting time, I think it is fun to travel the world, go to prom, see new babies, etc, all at the click of a button.

So, if you are on facebook, I'd love to be your friend.

A new scout

It's official. Drew has made a commitment to scouts! He has his eye set on the EAGLE!

UIL District Champ

UIL results are in. Evan decided not to compete this year. That won't happen again!

Drew did well. He placed first in Number Sense and first in Maps, Graphs and Charts.

He placed 5th in Social Studies. I didn't even know he was competing in this subject until 2 days before the competition. He thought it was easy so he was a little surprised that he didn't do better. I don't know how he was suppose to know some of the answers. One question he asked me about after the test was "Who was the founder of the NAACP?" I don't have a clue and apparently he doesn't either.

School is almost out for summer. I am looking forward to it but also a little worried about keeping the kids busy.

Earth Day

I just had to share this with all of you in blog world. The cool people from Baylor created a bicycle powered smoothie machine. We talked them into taking it to Hillcrest for our Earth Day celebration. The smoothies were YUMMY!

Race for the Cure

The guys in our family ran the Race for the Cure Saturday morning. It was a chilly morning. They all ran well. Evan ran with his friends from school. They had a great time for a great cause.

Bible Drill Report

Well, all the hollering and fussing was worth it. Drew memorized all 24 verses, 10 key passages and memorized all the books of the Bible. He made a perfect score at the church drill and associational drill. This weekend at the state drill in Dallas he also got a perfect score. We are so proud of him. I can't say he enjoyed the journey but he was proud of this accomplishment.

life as we know it

Kids say the funniest things. Here are a few examples from last week:

Drew doesn't particularly like our rules. He thinks all his friends have more freedom than he does. One night last week he thought we were being especially unreasonable. After we told him how we felt about the situation he said "this place is worse than IRAQ." This kid isn't even a teenager yet!!!

Evan used to like going to "Friday night church." We love it because childcare is $1 per child a couple of times a year. We treasurer these times since we don't have family in town and sitters are hard to find. Date nights are rare for us. This week Evan really didn't want to go. He has turned into a health nut. He is one active little boy. He wears a pedometer daily because he and I are "Walking Across Texas." He easily takes more steps a day than I do. So Friday night when we were ready to take him to church he said "I don't want to go. They make us sit down the whole time. They want to make us fat and unhealthy."

Friday I went on a field trip with Lindsay to Dinosaur Valley in Glenrose. It's a great place to visit. I think we will have to go as a family this summer. While I was there, one of Lindsay's kindergarten friends shared some interesting news with me. He said "Guess what my dream is? I want to be on Dancing with the Stars with Lindsay!!!" I could hardly control my laughter.

I saw #5 yesterday...

I don't remember where I first saw this blog (maybe it was on TexasInAfrica), but, having grown up in the church, I find much of it funny. This post, in particular, actually made me laugh out loud, which doesn't happen very often when reading.

(By the way, it really bugged me that I had to type "laugh out loud" because all I could picture was "LOL" and when people type that how often are they really laughing out loud? But I really was laughing, so I felt compelled to write that. I know- I'm weird.)

This one made me laugh, too. Probably because if I'm left on my own to clap, I'll never get it right.

Vote for Hillcrest

Even if it's not the best video, vote for it just because Drew's in it.

yeah, we're loaded...

Now, I realize we live in Texas and Texas is very different from NYC, but just in case anyone ever wondered, I'm announcing it here and now: We had 3 kids just so everyone would know we are rich.

Our friends with 2 kids and expecting twins? Millionaires!

how cool...

How cool is it to live in a college town? We love it. Our kids, well at least the boys, love following Baylor sports. Drew is the most intrigued. He follows the stats of many of the players. This year he started a blog to keep track of Freshman Basketball player Lace Darius Dunn's stats. I think this is what keeps him busy at school when he is done with his work. He got to meet Lace and a few other athletes at our PTA meeting Thursday night. The boy was in HEAVEN!!!

Lindsay's kindergarten class performed a PE program. Anytime she is on stage, she is a happy girl!!!!

Easter

This is the first year that Lindsay is not scared of the Easter bunny. This is also the first year that she really understands the true meaning of Easter.

We managed to get the two younger kids to pose for a picture. We just didn't take enough pictures Sunday.

No more trips to Plano

Great News! Evan has been released from the care of his pediatric neurologist. Although this doctor is good, we believe that God is ultimately responsible for healing Evan. We've had a tough 2.5 years but God is good! To God be the glory. Amen and amen!!

We still appreciate your prayers. We go to God every day for continued provision of good health, habits and attitudes.

Thanks to those of you who have supported us during this time.

Prison Break

We've returned from prison. We went on a choir mission trip with 70+ members of our church. What an amazing trip! It's taken me a little while to reflect on the impact that the trip has had on my life. I can't imagine life behind locked gates and razor ribbon. I wonder about the stories behind each inmate. Did some of them even have a chance in life? Did they grow up with drugs scattered around their homes? Were they born with drugs flowing through their veins? At the first couple of units, I tried not to make eye contact with the prisoners. I didn't want to see their pain. As the weekend went on, I realized that most of these inmates loved being at our concerts and came to worship. I'm sure there were still many cons there but there were also those who had an evident relationship with God and love for their fellow Christians. The spirit of God was so evident at many of the units. This trip has changed me. I'm not sure how, but it has.


We enjoyed spending time with friends without having to worry about kids. When asked about my favorite part of the trip, I was trying to think of something spiritual. Now that I've had some time to think about it, my favorite memories are not spiritual at all. I loved sitting at IHOP at 10 PM laughing like teenagers. Playing Farkel in a box on the bus was pretty fun too. Learning bathroom protocol for large groups of women trying to use two stalls was a life lesson I will not soon forget.

We are grateful for Meme and Papaw for spending some quality grandparent time with D, E and L.

The trip was smooth sailing--until a buzzard decided to try to join us for the last leg of the trip!

Now back to the real world.

This is one of my favorite new pictures. Lindsay has always loved animals. She is particularly fond of horses. We gave her an equestrian outfit for Christmas. She wants to be a vet when she grows up. We'll have to see if she sticks to it!

Middle school mania

I never thought about having a middle schooler. When you are expecting a baby, you never think about them as a middle schooler. But here we are, looking for a place for our oldest to spend the next 3 years. The decision is not an easy one, especially since the district is possibly making some big changes soon. We have talked to parents, researched and visited schools. We think we've found a good fit for Drew. You just never know until he gets there. You can't control who else goes to the school. We want a strong positive peer group for him. These are crazy years anyway. Hormones begin flowing resulting in very unpredictable behavior. Braces, acne and armpit hair--Need I say more?

(Under) Ice Hockey

I'm thinking of forming a league in Waco, if only I could find an appropriate venue...



(Original Source)

BACK?

Getting around to blogging just hasn't come easily.

Here's the scoop: I went school at 8 this morning. I spent all day working on PTA stuff. I didn't even make it to the grocery store or to get gas-both of which are easier WITHOUT kids! I did get a special treat today. I got to see an old friend who is visiting from Germany. She and her husband and two girls serve the needs of missionaries over yonder. I love to see how God is using people all over the world.

We are glad the weekend is here. Well, sort of. I work at Providence this weekend. Mark has to be Superdad for a few days.
All three kids are playing Upward Basketball. We seem to always be at a games or practice. I can't imagine what we used to do on the weekends before we had kids?

Evan has had some good days but he is still struggling. School seems to be a thorn in his side. It's safe to say he is already looking forward to summer break. We are still trusting that God will heal him.

We're back in Blog-Land!

Happy New Year! I don't know if anyone still reads this blog. We haven't updated in a while. I do miss being able to connect with others in Blog-Land. I am going to try to do better this year. There is so much that happened last semester that was funny or challenging or sad. I wish I'd had the energy to write about it. I will try to back track. My goal is to have a featured picture each day and write about what was going on. This will not happen today since Blogger willn't (a Drewism) let me upload a picture. Since I no longer have time to scrapbook, I will have to document memories on the blog. In about 13 years, when Lindsay goes off to college, I will hopefully be able to work on the scrapbooks. Maybe sooner if I am up late waiting for the kids to come home from dates when they are teens.

In about 12 hours, we will get thrown back into reality. School and all the other activities will begin again. The holidays were fun and relaxing. I've gotten spoiled staying up late, sleeping late and playing all day. All good things must come to an end. Here's to a great 2008!

Merry Christmas!

The kids felt the need to make a music video for Christmas. Enjoy.

Back from Disney

We had a fantastic time in Orlando. The whole Disney experience is amazing!!! Lindsay had a great birthday and celebrated all week long. She loved having lunch with the princesses and getting hugs and kisses from Pooh. The guys rode ALL the scary stuff. More to come later.

Stupid Mirror!!

You can't have it all! That's how I've come to grips with the way Drew was designed. He's brilliant. He can understand with ease the concepts of abstract algebra. Advanced technology is second nature but common sense, well...that is a different story. Yesterday was picture day at school. I thought it was important to make sure his hair was not sticking up on top of his head. For some reason, this was not important to him but he complied. He headed off to the bathroom. After a few minutes of trying to tackle the Alfalfa hair-do, he was almost in tears.

Mom: What's wrong?
Drew: The stupid mirror doesn't even know which way I am!!

He just can't understand the whole mirror image concept. The brain is a fascinating thing!!!

No...Time...to...blog

We've been too busy to blog! I can not believe October is already here. Everyone seems to be settled into a routine.

Drew is in New Mexico this week. He and his classmates visited White Sands this morning and Three Rivers Petroglyph National Monument this afternoon. They will go to Lincoln City Thursday and Carlsbad Caverns to see the "flight of the bats" Friday. Sounds like they are having a great time. We know we are blessed to be at a school that provides such an opportunity to young students. Drew and his friends have begun writing the script to a play that will be presented as a dinner theater in November. The research they do in New Mexico will provide them with the information they will need to finish writing the play. Drew was most excited about learning everything possible about Billy the Kid.

Evan is busy these days trying to earn as many badges as possible in Cub scouts. He is proud to be a BEAR! He can't wait until his meeting Thursday where he will learn how to carve with his pocket knife! YIKES!

Lindsay is finished with Annie! She is finally getting some sleep. She is doing great in school. She and the nurse have become friends. She's had to visit several times because of fever. She is getting very excited about Disney World and her birthday.

I thought for some reason that I would have so much free time with all three kids in school but that has not been the case. I am starting to get used to going to work 2 days a week. The other days are filled with grocery shopping, washing, cleaning and working on PTA stuff.

Mark stays super busy with all his activities and then playing taxi for kid activities.

All this to say... maybe we won't be blogging much anymore.

Another show...

I think Lindsay has caught the acting bug. I don't know how she is still going with so little sleep. She had no idea until last night that she might get flowers after the performance. The boys gave her some last night. She got more beautiful roses tonight. Meme and Papaw came to the show tonight along with an aunt, uncle and three cousins from Corpus.

A surprise!

Last night was opening night for Annie! Lindsay had the time of her life. Though she is sleep deprived and worn out from her first week of Kindergarten, she sang her heart out!
We took the kids for breakfast at Leal's this morning! We gave each one of them an envelope to open. The first one (Drew's) had a calendar with October 10-16 highlighted. The second envelope (Evan's) had a picture of an airplane. Drew figured out that we were going somewhere on those dates. He was anxious for Lindsay to open her envelope to reveal our destination. They were all smiles as she showed them pictures of Disney World. Mark and I have been so excited for weeks as we have made hotel and dinner reservations. Now the kids can be involved in making the plans.