Family Time

I LOVE SUMMER! It has been great to have more freedom in the schedule and more time together as a family. Mike and I took the kids to the park the other day. It started to rain, but the kids found a perfect 'set up' under the playscape...perfect for a picnic for a family of 5! :)



Here is a glimpse at family fun night. This week while the big kids munched on pizza and watched a movie, Macy kept herself busy by putting on Brennan's clothes, toddling around the house, and her new favorite past time:coloring. She can't get enough of it! It is the only thing that keeps her busy for more than 15 seconds.







We are in Houston this week so the kiddos can go to Vacation Bible School at my parents Church. My parents have blessed me by taking the kids in the mornings (Mom is working in the nursery and taking Macy with her)and giving me 5 mornings off in a row! WOW! Thank you mom and dad. Dad also has the kids signed up for some swim lessons - more on that to come. So, the car pictures are somewhere east of Brenham on our way to Houston. We were in the homestretch, and the kids had some sun chips to get us through the last part of the drive. I guess I should have gotten more though...I had no idea Elmo was so hungry. And Mike, I didn't turn around to take that picture, I promise. And yes, that is why my car is SO dirty!

When I grow up

As a part of Madison's graduation ceremony, the kids got up and shared what they want to be when they grow up. I have never heard Madison say this before, and she cracked me up. I wonder if this is a compliment to my great mothering :), or a reflection of the fact that she thinks I just sit around and take it easy all day. ( Jennifer- I found this especially funny after the cartoon you just posted on your blog!).

My Graduates

Look at the difference. The picture in the blue dress is the second day of Kindergarten and the white tank top was today.







It has been a crazy couple of weeks. Brennan graduated from his first year of preschool and Madison graduated from Kindergarten. Here is a glimpse of Madison's big day. Unfortunately, I don't have Brennan's b/c they are on my phone and I don't have the needed cord to get them off. So, one day we Will get to see them...I will say I did cry at his graduation, which is so silly since he is going back to the same school next year. They just grow up so fast. Here he is singing at the 'mom's tea'. he is sitting in the middle with the white shirt.


And, my Macy update: She is a hoot. Her most recent favorite pastime- go into the kids closets and put on layers of shorts and underwear! These are all Brennan's clothes!
Her favorite words are 'no' and 'gimme', her favorite toy is her baby doll, and her cutest moment is when you can hear her singing, "papa loves me, papa loves me, yes he does, yes he does" from her crib.

Smiles...

Isn't it great to be a kid! I wonder what treasure Brennan was searching for.



Mike and Maddie's annual date to the Daddy Daughter Dance.



We made cookies one afternoon, and when we were done Madison made this note for Mike. Note the spelling of 'we'.


And, here is some food for thought...



***Brennan: "Mom, where is the throw up when you are not sick?"

***For those of you who have watched me parent all of my kids, you will get a good laugh out of this one. Macy: pointing to her eyes, "eye", pointing to her nose, "nose", pointing to her mouth, "cookie"....my how things have changed from when I just had Madison. Anyone remember the kiwi cake I made Maddie for her first birthday?

***While discussing 'smart cars' Mike told Maddie that they really weren't very smart b/c if you got in a wreck you would get crushed. Maddie argued. "They are smart daddy b/c only one person can fit in there and that means you can think because it's quiet and you will get smart."

***Maddie and I also talked about electric cars. I was telling her how you plug them in to charge the battery and then you don't need gas. She pondered what I said for a while and responded with.."I don't get it mom. I just don't see how that works." I explained it to her again. And she asked, "But Mom, what if you have to drive a long way. What if you are driving across Massachusetts?" I tried to figure out how to answer her- and why she asked about Massachusetts. I think I gave her the same explanation again. And then she say, "BUT MOM...what if you run out of cord?" HAAAAA! I got a good laugh out of that one.

***Brennan has been enamored with the wildflowers. He has Mike's appreciation for nature. We were looking for some bluebonnets by his school when he suddenly exclaims, "Oh look mom, I found some Indian Toothbrushes (Indian Paintbrushes :) )" Later he was asking me what a certain type of flower was and I told him I didn't know. I said maybe they were black eyed susans. But since I was not sure he got very serious and said, "Mom, since we really don't know what they are called, let's just call them black eyed beautifuls!" I agreed whole-heartedly.

Easter

We had a great Austin Easter. My parents were here and we just had a relaxed weekend. I haven't actually uploaded my pictures yet, but here are two that my mom sent. Thank goodness she is on top of things :)!

Let's go fly a kite...

We have had so much fun over the last week flying our kites at the park.  Honestly, I didn't really think the kids would be able to do it...boy was I wrong.  They have done so well and it has been such a blast. 

Our Snow Day!! :)

Really?

Today in the car on the way home from the store:
Madison: Did you guys know that sometimes we call William in my class William Shakespeare.  HAHAHA!
Me:  Haha :)  Maddie, do you know who the real William Shakespeare was?
Madison: Uh, yeah...he is the one that made the Baby Einstein movies.

Another Happy

Madison and I were playing a game the other night before bed when I was blessed with another laugh out loud moment :).  She was showing me some stuff she had gotten at school, and she pulled some stickers out of a bag.   She proudly showed me two American flag stickers and announced, "Mom, I need to say the pledge."(each morning at school, the kids say the pledge to the American flag, and then to the TX flag.)  So she started..."I pledge allegience to thee...TEXAS."  I started to giggle and I said, "Maddie, that is not the Texas flag, that's the American flag."  Completely shocked, Madison looked at me and said, "WHAT.  That's not the Texas flag.  OH NO, MOM.  I have been saying the pledge to the wrong flag ALL YEAR LONG!!!"  We had a good laugh together :).

My Happy Moment

Yesterday, I was blessed with one of those 'laugh out loud' moments, right as I was feeling at the end.  It was around 4 or 4:30...you know the time of day when you think you just can't make it until Dad gets home from work.  The kids and I were in Brennan's room plaing dollhouse.  Brennan and my doll were going to bed (we were the mom and dad and he wanted them to go to bed...which just made it harder for me to want to stay awake in real life!)  Maddie was playing the big sister and she asked the parents if she could bathe the baby and put her to bed by herself (another moment that made me daydream about what it would be like if our game was reality).  So, on we played...it really was a sweet moment, but just at a hard time of the day.  And then, Macy, who had just been toddling around playing with different dollhouse things, turned it into an even sweeter moment that made me laugh out loud.  She was pretty much in her own world, organizing, trying to fit the horse in the stable, etc. when I turned my attention to her (although she didn't realize I was watching her).  She walked across the room, picked up one of the chairs from the dollhouse kitchen, cleared a space in the center of the room, put the chair down, turned herself around, and slowly and strategically tried to sit down in it.   I laughed so hard!!   When she hit the ground she was confused, but not deterred.  She searched around for the little chair, found it (under her :) ) and went through the same process 3 or 4 more times.  My heart just lit up as I saw her little mind working, and her curiousity drive her to keep trying.  I don't know that she ever noticed me, but I cherished each moment.  After a while she gave up on that and went to answer the dollhouse phone.  And yes, I laughed out loud again as she tried to position the 1/2 inch phone receiver to her ear.   Thank you Jesus for these precious blessings!!!

January...and February! :)

Ok, I have some catching up to do.  I realized that not only have I not updated my blog, but I haven't really taken many pictures lately.  But, here is a glimpse at what I do have.  My parents stayed with the kids while Mike and I went to the Bridges conference in San Diego.  It was a great week.  One free afternoon we went to the San Diego Zoo and enjoyed the city a little.

Macy is in a super cute, although somewhat challenging stage.  She is entertains herself well for short times, and she LOVES to play with the big kids, but she also never ever stops.  She is into everything and enjoys the attention she gets when we try to catch her before she.....eats the toothpaste, throws away the remote, or walks away with your wallet to name a few.  Her personality is really coming out, and it is a joy to watch.   When I try to read to her at night, she often refuses.  She instead prefers to sit next to me and pretend to read her own book, while I read a different book.  I will try to remember to upload the video of her 'reading'...it's cute.  So, here she is all dressed up in Maddie's stuff, cuddling with Daddy, and just being cute.

A night of bowling with students.

The kids and I went to Houston to see my parents last weekend...always fun!  They didn't want to leave.

My birthday! 37!  Enjoying leftover cake from Madison's birthday! :)

A Glimpse of Christmas

After Church on Christmas Eve I was determined to take a few family pictures.  The kids did great.  (OK, so I bribed them...I told them they could open one gift before bed if they cooperated.)  They were so excited about that setup, they really started to ham it up.

I don't think we actually got any pictures where all 5 of us were looking the same way and smiling, but at least we didn't have any meltdowns. 

Brennan and Uncle Michael playing with his new toy.

Macy got Maddie up and then we had to pull Brennan out of bed.

It only took a few minutes before he was awake and ready to go!

On the 27th Mike and I left for our Bridges conference in San Diego, while my parents stayed with the kids.  We were so thankful for their willingness to allow us to go together (it was really MUCH harder than I anticipated for me to leave for so long.  I have never been away for 6 days, and I had never left Macy before.).  But, on Christmas morning, everytime the kids received a new movie as a gift mom and dad cheered!!!!

Mom and Dad got the kids the most adorable marionettes. They have enjoyed putting on little shows.  Mom's next goal is to build a stage with them!  So fun...if I had just half her energy. 

The biggest hit of the day was the selection of puppies from the "Santa Buddies" Movie from my brother.   You know it is a hit when weeks later the kids are still taking them everywhere.  The other night we were over at the Culwell's house, and Brennan's favorite dog, Butterball, got stuck in their entryway chandelier.  How?  Well, the kids were tossing them from the second story...why did we let them do that?  I don't know.  But Butterball is stuck, and we can't get him out.  I am so sorry Warren and Barbara.  They were very gracious :).  Brennan cried a river.  We are still working on a plan to rescue Butterball...or should I say to rescue the Culwells entryway.

So, by the afternoon the kids had gathered up lots of Christmas yummies, gotten a table and a cash register and set up shop in the driveway.  Maddie was trying hard to make some money, and Brennan was eating cookie after cookie yelling, "Free cookies for sale!"  Grandpa offered to buy her out for $4 and take her out to get a smoothie, but she declined the offer since that would put her out of business.  I will tell you, she made a few dollars (from us and a few sweet neighbors)  and we went out and she bought herself a smoothie!! 

And then there were the Christmas Programs

Bear with me as I play catch up :).  I am going on the Orthadox calendar this year.   The kids both had really cute Christmas programs this year.  Brennan actually sang, which was an improvement from Thanksgiving when he just hugged the kid next to him the whole time!

coming soon...Christmas Day! :)

Happy Birthday Mike!

December was full indeed!  On the 18th we celebrated Mike's birthday.  The kids and I got all dressed up in our Montana Grizzly gear (The University of Montana was playing for some title that night) and took him out to lunch.

(my fleece was a grizzly one :) )

Then, the kids made Mike cupcakes for our celebration that night...

I don't think Mike actually ate any of those, but the kids loved them and they worked very hard on them...as you can see.

In the evening, Mike and I actually got to go out and watch part of the Grizzly game.  It was fun that the game fell on his birthday...and they almost won...hehe!

Happy Birthday Mike.  We are all so thankful for you.  You are such a gracious husband and a loving, fun and hands on dad.  You bring laughter and and joy to our home everyday.  We love you!!!

Surgery Day

Her is a glimpse into Macy's surgery day...

Here we are passing the time while waiting for the doctor.  We were at a great children's surgery center.  I was very impressed by the staff and the center in general.

Macy came out of surgery all smiles and full of spunk!  The nurse said she woke up smiling and giggling and ready to play.   We tried to keep her busy until they took the IV out.  I was a little disappointed she was so wound up, because I was sure I would get lots of good cuddle time as she was coming out of anesthesia.  But I am so thankful that, even though the doctor ended up having to do more than she anticipated, everything went well.

Recovery!  Macy Grace looked pretty rough for a few days, but she bounced back so quickly.  By day 4 or 5 she just had a black eye.  She never even missed a beat.  I was looking at her eye today and there is still a bump (maybe there always will be?) and a small scar, but when it fades it will be hardly noticable.  I hope we are done with this little cyst for good!