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.

A new school year

All three kids are now in school. Everyone had a great first day despite a few bumps in the road. Lindsay woke up with a bloody nose. She was also too nervous to eat breakfast. She has practically grown up at Hillcrest PDS but being there all day is something new. There were no tears shed as we parted ways. She and seven of her Kindergarten classmates were stung by bees at recess. She was a trooper! She didn't even cry. I stopped by the school, gave her a Benadryl and she ran back to class. She was very proud to announce to me that she went to school for the first time, visited the school nurse for the first time and got her first bee sting all in the same day.

Evan and Drew are old pros. We got to school and they were off to their classrooms without much ado. Drew didn't even say goodbye. Anyone surprised? Of course not. Today was much calmer. I've been very anxious the last two days. I'm trying to relax. I rush to get my errands done forgetting that I have all day to do them. I've been home for the last 10 years with children. It's hard to believe we are in another season of life with our kids. The house is so quiet. The house stays clean all day. This only child is happy to have some peace and quiet. I miss the kids. I'm glad to see them at three. Our newest challenge: three kids trying to tell me about their day at the same time while I drive them home from school. We are going to have to draw straws to see who gets to talk first.

On another note, Annie opens in less than 48 hours! Rehearsals have ruled our lives. Lindsay is still really enjoying performing. If she didn't love it, I would have pulled her out long ago. I'm not impressed with the way the actors are handled. I think somewhere along the way, the director has forgotten that she is dealing with lots of little girls who have just started school. As I write this, the boys are asleep in bed and Lindsay is still at the theatre. Shame on them!

Happy Graduation/Anniversary

We had to say goodbye to the beloved Trooper. Mark got it the summer we got married. He loved that car. The car had no love left to give. After lots of looking and teetering back and forth, we settled on this:
It's a "tight ride" as Evan says. I think Mark is going to learn to love it as much as he loved the Trooper. I am a little worried that he is going to look for a few accessories at the truck stop. I heard something about mud flaps with naked women on them. So if you see him at a the Flying J, please don't let him buy anything!

My love...

Yesterday was our anniversary. Not a day goes by that I don't realize how lucky I am to have found Regina and that I get to spend my life with her. So, it's only too bad I didn't see our friend's blog post yesterday with this killer music video, because, well...

I love you, Regina!!!



(if you'd like to know what this song is about, you might want to check out our friend's blog who is wrapping up a summer in Africa working on her Ph.D. dissertation)

Physics Master

He did it! Mark is officially out of graduate school. He is the proud owner of a Master of Science in Physics degree. The monkey has been lifted off of his back! We are mighty proud of him. If you are interesting in reading his thesis, An SEGF of the Rh(001) surface, I'm sure he would be willing to share it with you. Just be prepared to not understand a word that you are reading. At least I didn't. There are words and symbols I'd never seen before. Now he's got to put up with us calling him Master! I think he kind of likes it though.

Little girls are not little boys (duh)

In the last five years, I've learned girls are so different from little boys. I know I'll never figure boys out. They think hitting each other is fun. They think anything associated with the bathroom is funny. They can watch endless sports on TV and even more puzzling they listen to games on the radio. One thing I love about boys is that they can be furious about something and in an instant forget about it and move on. As a mom of two boys, I've learned some things like the difference between baseball cleats and soccer cleats. I also know now that a cup isn't just something you drink out of or measure flour with to make chocolate chip cookies.

Though there are many joys associated with having boys, I LOVE having a daughter. Lindsay and I went to a dance shop to buy Jazz shoes last week. I felt so out of place. We were surrounded by pink things, leotards, tights, feathers, tutus. Lindsay was in heaven! She can hold her own around boys. She's tough. But I got to see another side of her. She was in her element. She surprised us all when she wanted to audition for Annie because she had to sing alone in front of a crowd. She overcame her shyness because this was something she really wanted to do.

Little girls are full of hugs. That's the best part. Painting nails, brushing hair and dressing in cute clothes are icing on the cake. Life is SO good.

Up, Up and Away!

The annual family trek to the beach was abbreviated this year. We were fortunate to be able to go at all. Lindsay is going to make her acting debut as an orphan in the Waco Civic Theatre's production of ANNIE later this month. She had mandatory rehersals 3 of the 4 days we were to be at the beach. We left for Port Aransas around 9:30 p.m. Friday. We got into our condo around 2:45 a.m. We spent all day enjoying the sun with family. I am amazed at the size of the M family, 23 of us! The kids really have a tight bond after seeing each other so much during the summer. Uncle David took us up in a two seater airplane. The kids LOVED it! The beach looks so cool from up high! I thought Lindsay might chicken out but she didn't!We headed back to Waco by 8 a.m Sunday morning to get Lindsay back for a 2:00 rehersal.