Annie's Baptism

Several weeks ago, Shawn & I had the privelege of baptizing our sweet Annie Girl!  She gave her heart to Jesus a few years ago and recently began asking about baptism.  She was ready to tell the world that she will follow God all the days of her life! 

We are so proud of the young woman she is becoming.  We believe there is a prophetic gift on her life and that she will use the arts to communicate God's heart to people!  Already we see her LOVE for anything creative and can't wait to see her mature in her giftings!

Shawn baptised her & I got to pray for her afterwards. 

 What a joy to know that our children are following the LORD!

Super-Dooper Pooper

Emily is potty trained!



Soccer Star

Josh is in his second season of soccer. And I must say he's greatly improved from last year.  Our team is once again the FIREBOMBS!

Go #7!

Let's just say Shawn is one proud Dad! Josh is super aggressive, in a good way. He goes after the ball, hustles like nobody's business and has scored several times in the past few games.  Last week he played so well Shawn was on cloud 9 for several days after the game.  We're really proud of how much he's getting into the game & really enjoying playing. 

Josh going hard after the ball!

It's also really fun that Shawn is coaching.  He's a great coach.  He wants the boys to learn the game well but also learn to be good sports on the field.  I'm really proud of him too. 

                                  

Coach Dunn giving some good High-Fives!

So, I guess we're officially a soccer family.  And I wouldn't have it any other way!

Playing Catch Up

I feel like so much has happened over the past month since I last blogged. I am trying to play catch up in so many areas. Josh is a super soccer player, Annie & Josh learned to ride bikes, Emily is potty-trained, the fair, pumpkin patch, dairy farm, Annie's baptism. The list goes on.

Since I found out about my dad's cancer diagnosis & my mom's emergency surgery and week-long hospital stay, I've done well to keep my house clean & kids fed. I'm doing ok, but the stress of it all has put anything other than daily tasks on the back burner. I will get pictures from all of these things and some stories to go with each online one by one.

This is less of a promise to the few folks who read this as it is to myself. It will happen. Life will get back to normal; even if it's a new normal.

Alphabet Realizations

Today at lunch the light came on in Josh's head regarding the alphabet. Here's our conversation:

Josh: "Mom, how come "minnow" is in the alphabet?

Mom: "What do you mean?"

Josh: "You know, 'H, I, J, K, L, MINNOW, P"

Mom: "Well, Josh, it just sounds like 'minnow'. It's really saying the letters M, N, O, and P really fast."

Josh (nodding): "Ohhhh."

Learning is so much fun!

Emilyisms

Emily says some really cute things and I had to write them down.
It's been raining a lot here lately & she is very cautious about stepping in the "MUDDLES", or puddles to the rest of us.
This morning she informed that she's going to high school after breakfast.
She tells EVERYTHING, from our dog Baxter to her big toy horse, that "You have to obey."
Yesterday she came up to me, rubbed my face so sweetly & softly said, "Mommy, you have to use your imagination."
She also got firm with Shawn & told him, "Don't leave mommy. You understand me!". (let's just say she understood clearly that she can't say that to daddy).
She's really turning into a prescooler & not a baby. Where has the time gone?

New Title

Today, as Josh asked me the meaning of the word grudge I earned a new title:

WORD MOM

This puts me in the league with "Word Girl" the famous PBS Kids character.

I feel as though I've arrived.

Back to School

Another school year has begun! Annie is in 2nd grade & Josh is in Kindergarten. They both LOVE school. Well, I guess a more accurate statement is Annie LOVES school everyday and Josh loves school most days.

Annie is becoming quite the elementary school girl...lots to say after school and has even began to give her girlfriends nicknames. It's really fun.

Josh is adjusting to say the least. He asks me multiple times a day when his day off is...meaning Saturday. He's also concerned about exactly when he has to eat lunch at school....meaning how long til he has to stay all day. He just wants to make sure it's not coming too soon. He also double checks most mornings to make sure I'll be picking him up at 12:30!

All in all we're off to a great start. They have wonderful teachers and go to a great school.

Here's Josh with Mrs. Steinke. She was also Annie's teacher so Josh has history with her & loves her. She's perfect for our little man!



Josh & some good friends in his class with him. They have all been in class together since the nursery at church. So fun to be in Kindergarten too!

Here's Annie with her teacher Mrs. M. Mrs. M is a really cool teacher! She has 2 gerbils, a mouse & a bunny IN the classroom. Somedays the bunny just hops around while the kids are working. Annie LOVES it. Plus seeing all of her BFF's again. (yes she uses that term).

WBA 2nd grade class!

Family Vacation 2010

We had a wonderful family vacation this year in Tennessee.

We had a few days in Byrdstown, TN staying at a friend's cabin on Dale Hollow Lake. It was so beautiful & restful. We played Wii, swam in the lake, rode on a boat & rented a jetski. It was a great few days together.

Then we travelled farther east to Gatlinburg, TN where we spent a few days with my paretns. IT was great. Our cabin was nestled on the side of a mountain, truly gorgeous. We swam in the pool, played in our cabins hot tub, hiked 2 1/2 miles to view a beautiful waterfall (that even had a snake swimming with us as we played in the pool at the bottom of the fall). We also went to "Ober Gatlinburg" where we rode a sky tram up a mountain, rode lots of waterslides & even Emily braved the alpine slide.

Emily LOVED swimming this summer.

Josh & Annie posing on the rocks near the waterfall.

This vacation was the perfect ending to our crazy busy summer. Thanks Mom & Dad for making this possible. :)

Happy 7th Birthday Annie!

Annie turned 7 on July 26. I can't believe how big she's getting. As she's growing, she's turning into such a sweet young lady. She is so creative. She loves to make things....from coloring & painting to making something from random objects. I love how God made her this way and I enjoy watching her skills develop.

Also, one of the first Bible verses she learned is from Proverbs: "A kind hearted woman gains respect." As she's getting older I see her kindness shine whenever she's with her friends. She truly cares for others and treats them kindly. The result is she's trusted by her friends & they look to her to keep their secrets safe & they depend on her to be there when they are sad. It's fun to see this already happening at age 7....can't wait for what the future holds.

Annie is also super feminine...and we all love it. For her birthday she asked for a purse with things a 2nd grade girl would put in it. So that's what she got along with tons of art supplies from friends & family.

I am one blessed mom to have such an amazing daughter!

And of course, we had a pool party. Annie has had every birthday party at "Lauren's pool", or Mark & Andrea Owen's pool for the past 5 years. It is such a great place to have a party & we appreciate their generosity.

Here's this year's cake....Flowers & Flip Flops. Annie loved it!

Family Fun at iCON 2010

Even though we were so busy at iCON we did manage to have some family fun while in Keystone. One hi-light was riding the lift up to the top of the mountain. It was breathtaking.

Annie & me on top of the mountain--11, 400 feet above sea level. Those are 14,000 feet peaks behind us. STUNNING!
We also connected with some friends who live in the middle east. They are great friends & it was fun to watch our children play together once more.....they LOVE each other so much.

Halfway thru the conference there was a "day off". So our family took a train ride on the "Georgetown Loop". We rode a REAL steam engine which was better than Geo Trax in Josh's opinion.

ICON 2010

From July 10-24 our family was in Keystone, Colorado for our church's iCON (international conference)which is when we gather all of the missionaries who serve all over the world for a time of refreshment & equipping. Shawn & I were in charge of the conference for the grade school aged missionary kids. It was a great time. Really hard work, but a good time. We experienced the presence of God so deeply....watching these kids respond to God was amazing.

I worked with the 3rd grade girls....which was great fun. They were bundles of energy, and I realized I am NOT as young as I used to be. Being a camp counselor & a mom with young children maxed me out. But God was faithful to give me what I needed each day. I'm glad we were there and also really glad to be home!

Creative Teaching is one of Shawn's specialties! The kids LOVED the daily skits.

We are glad we've done iCON since 2002---5 iCONs later we're still loving it and thankful for the opportunity to serve these sweet kids!

I Love My Kids!

"Behold, Children are a gift from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward"

Psalm 127:3

I am so thankful for the beautiful, healthy children God has given me.

Just Can't Do It

Annie & Josh were trying to decide what movie to watch on this rainy Wednesday afternoon. So Annie suggested they watch "Trady & the Lamp". Most of you know this movie as "Lady & the Tramp".....but not in our house. It's been "Trady & the Lamp" for 4 years now & I just can't find it in me to correct them. Someday they'll figure it out, but until them I'm keeping my mouth closed! :)

Baby Corban

Melissa Hammond had her sweet baby boy on May 19. Corban Brooks Hammond is a SWEET little man & our family loves him already. Clark, Mel & Corban came over for dinner a few weeks ago & the girls got to practice their nurturing skills as they held Corban as he slept. They were so sweet to him....they're gonna be GREAT moms someday!

Annie holding Baby Corban--she loved holding him.

It was funny seeing Emily hold him.....she didn't look much bigger than him, but she felt like such a BIG GIRL!

T-ball Star

This spring Josh played t-ball for the first time. It wasn't his favorite sport....but we all persevered til the end. His team was the TIGERS. They had a record season....a tie every game. Every team in the league tied every game....let's just say the competition side of t-ball was lacking. But he sure looked adorable in the helmet & in the ready position. I think we're gonna stick with soccer!

T-Ball Stud

Here's my Little Slugger!

Ready Position!

backseat discussions

Yesterday, we were driving in the car & I overheard this discussion between Josh & Annie:

Josh: "burp" Oh wow--that was big. What if God burped. It would shake the whole earth.
Annie: Yeah...I bet that's what makes earthquakes!
Josh & Annie: Uncontrollable laughter

In the name of You

There are things my kids do that I never want to forget. Here's one of them:

Whenever our kids pray & are asking Jesus to do something, they always pray something like this...
"Lord would you help us not be afraid in the name of You. In Jesus name, Amen"

Most of us would say in the name of Jesus. But they're talking to Jesus, so naturally they say "in the name of You." It's really cute. I love they're learning to pray and believe God for things. And I love that for them it really is conversation with God.

Happy Birthday Josh

My Josh is 5 years old! CRAZY! It seems like just yesterday he was my sweet little toothless baby smiling at me with his bright blue eyes. And today he's my sweet dirty little boy hitting me with a sword!

For his party we went with a RESCUE HEROES theme & it was so fun. We had Rescue Hero Training Camp. All of the boys did games that earned them stickers on thier badge so they could become official Resuce Heroes. Shawn gave them all Rescue Hero names & they wore fireman hats. Josh, or Wolverine, had a ball. His favorite part was using the water gun to put out the "flames" (or red cups) on the cardboard box house we made.

Of course I can't throw a party without testing my skills as a cake decorator. This year it was a Fire Engine Cake. It turned out ok.....it leaned forward a little bit but Josh loved it. While I probably will never get asked to work for the Ace of Cakes, I find great fulfillment in making a fun cake & throwing a killer party for my sweet children.

So here are some things I love about my little man:
1. He is so snuggly. He loves to sit close & snuggle up with me. There are times when he'll sit next to me & just rub my arm for 10 minutes.

2. He's so funny. He's just like Shawn. He is funny on purpose & on accident. He makes us laugh all of the time. Just today he annoucned that he stayed up all night so he could pretend he was nocturnal.

3. He's so thoughtful. He often will help me with something on his own initiative. It's so sweet. He opens my door & carries bags in for me so I "don't have to work so much."

4. He's got a tender heart. He genuinely cares for others and notices when they are sad. The other day Annie wasn't allowed to have candy because she didn't eat her dinner and so he told me he wouldn't have any either. Wow---what a good brother.

5. He has a heart to protect. We're teaching him that boys are made of strength & honor. They are strong to protect..especially girls and they are to treat people with honor. His way of displayiing this is by telling his granny that if anyone tried to take his baby sister he would tell them "NO! and then whack them in the face."

Well, I could go on. But I won't. Instead of blogging about my boy I'm gonna go kiss him as he sleeps & thank Jesus for this precious gift.

Easter Celebration

This year we had a great Easter weekend! On Good Friday we had several friends over for lunch and an Easter Egg hunt. All of the kids (all 14 of them---6 years & under) had a blast. They played so well together. And it was refreshing for us because we got to spend the afternoon with friends who refresh us too.

On Sundaywe had lunch with the Carpenters. We've been eating Easter lunch together since Annie & Emma were babies. We are always together & then we invite those who don't have family in town. This year it was our 2 families plus Clark & Melissa, Jessica, Vincent's intern & Vincent's sister. It was so fun. This year it was different because we're reaching a turning point as a family....no one was melting down because they needed a nap. With Emily at 2 1/2 we have more flexibility as a family.

Also this year I officially felt like a mom. You know the bonafide mom who does the "heavy cooking" for a holiday meal. Why? Because I cooked a ham! And it was good. It made me feel like I'm a for real cook. I know it's silly, but I felt like I was reaching a turning point in life. At most holiday meals I'm the one who brings the bread or the potato salad or whatever that's "simple". It made me, a 34 year old woman, feel grown up. It's about time! :)

I survived

Tonight is the last night of the Easter Play at our church. It was wonderful, Shawn did a great job & I feel like I've been hit by a Mack-Truck. Exhausted......but worth it. My greatest joy is that Daddy will be home again!

Where has the time gone?

Where has my little girl gone & where did this big girl come from? A few days ago I jokingly asked Annie to change Emily's diaper. I thought I'd let her try it & see how she'd do, thinking I would quickly have to intervene. Well, this mature big girl appeared & she did it all by herself. She only needed a little coaching on which way the diaper goes on (picture in the front) and then a little assitance on closing the tabs. Wow--I was both proud & sad. Proud that she could do it--she wiped like a pro! And sad that she could do---she really is growing up.

Spring Break Vacation

Last week was Spring Break for Annie; and what a break it was! As a family we travelled to Ruidoso, NM. Connie & Steve Williamson, friends of Shawn's parents, let us use their AMAZING cabin for the week & it was truly wonderful. It snowed everyday we were there--one day we got about 4-5 inches!

This was the first time in a while that we've been on vacation with just our little family and it was worth it. God truly blessed our time. We had lots of time to relax and lots of time to play. We would eat breakfast around 8 each day. Then we'd go sledding or hiking, come back, eat lunch and have some quiet time at the cabin. After Emily's nap we'd head back out for a while before we would come back to the cabin for dinner. We always had lots to do and we didn't spend a dime on activities.

The cabin we stayed in was great.....very warm & cozy. They also had all of the winter gear we needed--sled & saucer, snow boots, gloves, etc. It's amazing how warm the cold is when you've got the right clothes on....which is crucial for the cold weather wimp that I am!

The kids were so brave. Annie conquered her fear as she climbed to the top of the very steep hill we sledded down. She was really scared, but she prayed with Shawn & was able to make it to the top! Josh went bravely down the hill and hit the bottom at record speeds. He hit a snowbank at the bottom and he went one way and the sled went the other. He flew about 4 feet (and he was about 4 feet off of the ground too), landed on his back & bit his tongue. But my cowboy got back on the sled later that afternoon---fearless! And Emily bravely wore her ski bibs (which she hated) as long as she had her big pink bow! :) Shawn & I had a blast watching our kids go bonkers over so much snow. It was a delight---and we didn't even fight once!

As you can tell--this was a much needed & much enjoyed vacation. I am so thankful that God provided everything we needed...from the money to the snow. As I sit here writing this blog, I have a smile on my face & a full heart!

Josh declaring that the hill won't beat him!



Annie celebrating after she climbed the steep hill!

Emily happy in the snow as long as she had her pink bow!

Another Snowy Day

The last week in February we had yet another snowy day in Waco. This one was way more snowy & way more fun! It started snowing around 8:30 a.m. and didn't stop all day! Annie got out of school early so we had lots of time to play in the snow! In all we got about 3" of snow. It was one of the snowiest days Waco has had in years! Thank you God for snowy days!

Snowy Day

We got a little bit of snow last night and it managed to stick around for a bit of this morning. The ground looked like someone sprinkled powdered sugar over it instead of actual snow, but it was enough to make my kid's day. School started 2 hours later than normal so we were able to go out & have a good little snowball fight. While the snow was not abundant, it was nice & wet which made for some GREAT snowballs. The kids were rolled around it and made "snow angels". They were thrilled. And my heart is full!

Disclaimer:

Anyone from any place other than Waco would probably not call this a "snow day" but when you live in Central Texas you take what you can get....especially when you're 6 & 4 and don't know anything different.