Getting Ready!

I am busy today with my long "to do" list in order to leave tomorrow for New Mexico! I decided to take a quick break before moving on with my agenda and watch Veggie Tales with Reese and Reid! I am excited to go on a trip with my sister and her family. We have not done anything like this since we have been adults. (so needless to say a very long time!) We usually go on holiday vacations with Bart's family but this year, my sister organized this trip for our family including my mom. I am excited for my mom to see that area. She has only been east of Texas and never west. I hope that there is enough snow or that it at least snows while we are there for her to experience that. Reese is looking forward to her first venture at skiing. I promise to take plenty of pictures! The biggest excitement for me, though, is for Bart to be off work for a week!! The schedules have been hard on us the last couple of months so at least we get a small break! That's all I have for today. Pictures and details to follow in about a week! I will leave you with a few pictures of the kids jamming out to their new Tobymac DVD. Reese is a hoot!

Reese's First Crush

Ahh..the joys of childhood. Games and friends, laughing and playing, oh and boyfriends. Yes, I said boyfriends at the ripe old age of 5. I mean, if she gets much older she would be an old maid, right? Reese is now sporting two necklaces by two different boys in her school. Not to mention the 2 others that refer to her as their girlfriend. Bart doesn't know what to think. I believe he may be a bit worried about what the future brings if our innocent sweet little girl is already showing signs of boy craziness. Me? Not near as worried. Why? Well, about 28 years ago, there was another little girl that looked quite a bit like Reese that always had a boy on each arm. I managed to pick a good one so I am not the least bit worried. In fact, deep down I giggle at the fact that the similarities are almost identical. Reese has plenty of school boys vying for her attention already but its her latest interest that has me a little giggly. She is experiencing her first crush and it is oh so adorable. The target of this affection? Well, it comes in the form of a 21 year old firefighter that works part time with Bart in Van Alstyne. I guess she is already aiming for the firemen like her mom did. Luckily, he is a sweet kid and is great with them when we visit the station. Especially sweet to deal with a 5 yr old telling him she loves him and wanting to kiss him on the cheek. Anyways, here are some pictures of Reese with her much older boyfriend, Brendon.

Live, Laugh and Love!

I can hardly believe that Christmas is just a week away! How crazy is that? I don't think it has sunk in with me yet. I haven't even taken the kiddos to see Santa. What kind of mother am I? Well, okay, so the kind that has been doing things on her own for the past couple of months!

I am so thankful for so many things though as I think about the holidays and spending time with those I love. I am thankful that God blessed me with such a beautiful family. Ross is my sweet boy. So sensitive to others' feelings. So intelligent. Reese is my drama girl. She is so creative and so full of life and excitement especially around this time of year. She is a lot like Bart's grandmother that passed away a few years ago. She literally lights up this time of year, just like Nani did. Reid is my mischievous 100% boy that loves to laugh. My cup overflows each day that I am blessed to spend with all of them. I am also glad to have gotten the opportunity to reconnect with some old friends this year. Facebook rocks for just that purpose! I forgot about all the friends I had in the past! I am also missing my best friends terribly and this is the longest I have ever gone without seeing them. For those that are new to my world, my best friends are from Ireland, here on work visa so they get moved around a lot. They are currently in the San Francisco area and have been for a few years now. Their oldest son, Iosaf is my godson. I haven't seen him since his baby brother was born in March of '07!! It has just gotten harder and harder for me to fly out there. Hopefully soon! In the meantime, I am meeting some new friends! I am so thankful for finally having peace about a church home and to be surrounded by such a good group of gals!

The downside of this time of year is, of course, missing my dad. I get a little sad at the fact that he never got to see Reid. He really didn't know Reese and Ross doesn't remember him much other than what I tell him. I feel like a piece of my heart died with him a few years ago. It has taken me a while to feel comfortable with letting anyone in but I figured its time to work on that. So, my goal this holiday season is to literally Live, Laugh and Love. Live in the moments that God is giving me. Laugh with my kids and Love like I have never lost anyone. After all, I wouldn't be the person I am today if not for all of those handprints on my life. Buying a real Christmas tree was my first step this year. I haven't had one in so many years. It just smelled like Christmas again. I forgot what that was like. Sometimes it does hurt to open your heart up again after a while. We just have to take the leap of faith and know that when our hearts break and when we start to fall, God is there waiting to hold us for a while until we feel like we are ready to try again. Before Mercy Me had a big record label, their first album had a song on it called "Sit with You". Yes, I know, this is going to hurt my rocker chick reputation but I do have a soft side. I felt like posting the lyrics because this is what's on my heart tonight. Sometimes, we just need to sit with Jesus. Let him hold us in his arms as if we were children again. I'm thankful this holiday season that even though both my earthly fathers are no longer here, I have a heavenly Father who is always ready and willing to listen to me, to sit with me and to hold me just a while longer.



When I can not feel
When my wounds don't heal
Lord I humbly kneel
Hidden in You
Lord you are my life
So I don't mind to die
Just as long as I
Am hidden in You
Cause If I could just sit with You awhile
You could just hold me
Nothing can touch me though I'm wounded though I've died
If I could just sit with You awhile
I'd need You to hold me
Moment by moment 'til forever passes by
When I can not feel
When my wounds don't heal
Lord I humbly kneel
Hidden in You
Lord You are my life
So I don't mind to die
Just as long as I
Am hidden in You
If I could just sit with You awhile
If You could just hold me
Nothing can touch me though i'm wounded though i've died
If I could just sit with You awhile
I'd need You to hold me
Moment by moment 'til forever passes by

It Figures

I started out this week a little sour. We had a very busy but equally awesome Sunday. For one, we were all together instead of just me and the kids. We heard a great sermon and also finally felt unified and at peace in our decision for a church. Then, we had a great time visiting Bart's family for one of many Christmases. Finally, for the big finale of the day, we were off to Winter Wonder Slam to rock out to Tobymac, Relient K and Family Force 5. Granted, I was exhausted before we ever made it to the concert but this was Reese's first time to see Tobymac, unlike Ross's 3rd. She was so excited! After Family Force 5 played, she fell in love with them. They sing one of her favorite songs, "Luv Addict". We went down to see if they had youth sizes in their shirts but of course they didn't. She then decides she wants a bandana to wear as a do-rag. She was so stinkin' adorable I can't put it into words. The picture is a little dark because all I had was my phone and the concert was dark anyhow but maybe you can catch a glimpse of her overflowing cuteness.

She finally crashed on me halfway through Tobymac and I realized it was 11:00!








Well, it was also about this time that I found out Bart had decided to change shifts with someone and be off Friday instead of Tuesday. He has been working double shifts, one full one for Frisco,his full time department and one full shift for Van Alstyne to help cover for someone out on medical leave. So he is gone 48 hours and home for 24. It has been wearing on me so much. I stay tired and a little stressed, especially with the holidays and trying to shop and figure things out on my own. He was suppose to take Tuesday off from Van Alstyne and be off a couple of days. I was so excited and that's all I could think of Sunday is that after Monday, I would have him to myself for two whole days! Yeah, so we are sitting at the concert and he gets a text and he says "great! I get Friday instead of Tuesday off!" I'm thinking..what?? I was so bummed. I know that I will still have my two days with him after a few more days but I so needed it today. My shopping isn't done. I have Christmas parties for the kids on Friday and my mom's birthday. I know when Friday comes though, I will be glad he did it. I just need to make it through the next few days and keep telling myself that!! I guess on the bright side of things, I woke up feeling very sick today with an awful sinus infection and monster headache to go with it. If Bart were home, he would have been a great help with the kids but also we would've spent the day with me in bed feeling awful and not being able to enjoy him being home. So, everything works out the way it should. My house has paid for it today but that's an easy fix and I'm so not going to think about it today. Rest, take care of the kids and look forward to Friday AND Saturday. On a side note..I just heard Reese refer to herself as "hot".

So this is how you get kids to pick up toys!

After a busy week of trying to get some Christmas shopping in, I decided that after I picked up kids from school today, I was not going to do a thing! Well, most moms know that deciding to not do a thing still means doing laundry, some dishes and cleaning up after kids...just no heavy cleaning, right? I finally got this semester behind me and felt like I needed some down time. Reid is great about pulling out every single toy he owns and dragging it into the living room so I can "watch" him play with all of them. The hard part is trying to get him to pick up after himself. I know he is only 2 but he is at the perfect age to learn. It doesn't help that his big brother and sister are not exactly the perfect role models. I even tried the whole responsibility chart idea and it lasted a total of 2 or 3 days so there goes that. Today I had an epiphany! Reid loves riding his big wheel in the house. Yes, I let him do this especially right now with it being cold and its actually hard for him to ride it much outside since we live on a white rock road in the country. Well, Reid also has a little wagon he hauls his toys around in...so....can you guess where I am going with this?? I make his wagon a trailer to pull behind the big wheel. He then proceeds to drive it around the house picking up his stuff to haul. How genius am I today?? Big Wheel-$20, Wagon-$10, watching your 2 yr old drive it around picking up after himself-priceless!! I wonder if I can teach him to pick up the dirty dishes and clothes now?

Gearing up for Christmas!

My kids got up this morning with the hopes that there would be snow on the ground but all we had was a little bit on the bushes and the roof. I tried to prepare Reese last night for the disappointment that is Texas weather. She is our Christmas girl. Always bright-eyed and in wonderment about all that is Christmas. When it began to snow last night, she exclaimed, "Its a miracle!". It was quite amusing. I can't wait to go to New Mexico after Christmas so that she can see REAL snow! She is also the only one willing to put in the hours to decorate the enormous tree that they picked out. We decided to go with a real tree this year despite allergies. So, we went to Denison to a tree farm where you pick your own and cut it down. The kids loved it. Well, after Ross got over the tragedy of cutting down a living tree. I had to explain to him that they do, in fact, plant one to replace it. He is such the environmentalist. At the tree farm, we take a hayride out to where all the trees are planted. There are trees ranging from Charlie Brown size up to 20 feet or more. We wanted somewhere in the middle. The kids picked one out and we thought it was a good size. I mean, it looked tiny compared to some of the other trees and we would be cutting some of the height off right? We all helped in cutting it down. (i.e. Bart cut it and we scraped at the bark) They put the net around it and tied it down for us. We were so proud of our tree. Reese was beside herself. It smelled like Christmas. It smelled like childhood. We get home and start dragging it inside. I'm like, um Bart, I think its a little bigger than we anticipated. Keep in mind that it still has the net on it at this point. We drag it into the office and place it in the stand. It is now dragging the ceiling. I decide I will cut some off the top. Then we start cutting the net off. Yeah. I don't know how we made it out of the office. If Ross wants on the computer, he has to hike through the forest of tree to get to his desk. I actually cut some of the branches to make a path and brought out the ladder to aid in the decorating. I was searching for the epipen by the time Reese and I completed our project. She kept asking me what was wrong and I didn't have the heart to tell her the tree was slowly killing me, while I gasp for a breath. It was huge and it definitely overpowers our little office, but it is the most beautiful tree anyone has ever picked out. I just don't want to think about how in the world we will get it OUT of our house.