The Great Brittains

Laura Ingalls

2009-09-24T08:44:00.002-05:00

Today is dress as your favorite book character at school. Em wasn't sure what she wanted and I wasn't sure we had much for her to do. Then the thought crossed my mind that some of our friends girls had a Little House on the Prairie party awhile back. So I sent an email out and was told that they had a dress and bonnet. I didn't tell her till I knew for sure we had the goods. When she found out that she could dress like Laura she was so excited and gitty. She told me last night that she couldn't wait to dress up and wear her bonnet. Little House on the Prairie is one of her favorite shows, we also have the books, but have watched the whole 10 series of them. Here are some pictures I took this morning.

The pale has an apple in it for her teacher!

Oh Baby B Where Art Thou?

2009-09-14T19:37:00.004-05:00

This morning D-daddy and I were double teaming to get the girls ready for school. I was working on braiding hair and D-daddy was working on tying shoes. I hollered at Baby B to see where he was at. He hollered back and said some "words" like he was telling me something. I figured he was just playing in the pass through of the Laundry room and our bathroom. But he kept hollering at us. I told him to come and he would just yell back. So when I was done I went to the Laundry room to find him here!

Poem

2009-09-11T16:52:00.002-05:00

I got this today in an email and thought I would post it.

BEAUTIFUL CHRISTIAN SISTER

By Maya Angelou '

A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ

That a man should have to seek Him first to find her.'

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not shouting 'I'm clean living,'

I'm whispering 'I was lost, Now I'm found and forgiven.'

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I don't speak of this with pride.

I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not trying to be strong.

I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on.

When I say.. 'I am a Christian' I'm not bragging of success.

I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not claiming to be perfect,

My flaws are far too visible, but God believes I am worth it.

When I say.... 'I am a Christian' I still feel the sting of pain...

I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not holier than thou,

I'm just a simple sinner Who received God's good grace, somehow!

Pretty is as Pretty does... But beautiful is just plain beautiful!

Little Miss Sunshines first day of Preschool

2009-09-09T08:41:00.003-05:00

Today is El's first day of preschool. She wasn't too thrilled about it this morning, which is not uncommon for her with new things. She is not one for change, but I know that once she is there she will be fine. She actually rode with her Aunt L and Nate to school and was excited about that. We will also have our first day of dance class this afternoon. I will post picture of that later. Here are some pictures from this morning.

Our Little Miss Sunshine and the backpack to match!

The three Amigos with their serious faces on!

I call this their beaver smiles!

Sunshine ready to go!

Little Miss Dress Up

2009-09-06T17:12:00.002-05:00

Friday night we had some friends over with their 2 girls and my girls just love to play with them. We had homemade pizza and the girls had a bunch of fun playing. Here is a picture of El dressed up in her gear.

Oh So Serious!!! NOT!

The Cutest Boy Ever!

2009-09-06T17:02:00.002-05:00

My baby boy is no longer a little baby. He is walking now more than he is crawling. He is such a sweet boy and I am just enjoying every minute with him. Here are some pictures of some of the things that the little man has been up to lately.

He loves to sit on the bottom of the bookshelves and try to fit in tight spots. Here he is in the kitchen reading Clifford.

El put the chef's hat on him. So here he is cooking in the kitchen. Isn't he the cutest thing you have ever seen?!

Dress Fairy Came to town!

2009-08-31T11:13:00.004-05:00

My girls had new dresses Sunday for church. That is because the "Dress Fairy" came to town. My parents came in for a visit and my mom brought dresses she just finished making. She is getting so good at making dresses for my girls and my girls just love them. This one was smocked and she used little buttons to make the flowers, bees, lady bugs, and worm. I think they just came out adorable! Thanks MOM!! You save us tons of money and my kids look so stinking CUTE!!!!

Here are some pictures:

Lady bug on back sash.

Front of dress

All dressed up!

Oh NO, he's on the run!! I love El's face in this picture!

El's holding him back!!

Em's first day of Kindergarten!

2009-08-28T10:21:00.002-05:00

Monday was Em's first day of school. She was so excited, she had the opportunity to meet her teacher the week before and find out who was in her class. She has 2 kids from our subdivision in her class and S who was in her 3 yr old preschool class. She was very excited and also learned that S is sitting next to her at her table.

Every day I remind her to be a good friend and to shine her light for Jesus. She came home the second day and was talking about lunch and how they prayed over their lunch. I continued to ask her who prayed with her. She told me that her and S prayed the "Oh the Lords been good to me song". I asked if any of the other kids sang with them and she said some, but most of them didn't know it but they were teaching them it. The next day I asked if they prayed for lunch again and she said yes and some of the other kids sang with them. We pray that she continues to shine the light of Jesus to those around her to those that don't know HIM, so that they can come to know the love of Christ.

Here is a picture of her before we left for school.

Em at her table ready to get started.
She was so excited to ride the bus with her cousins. They rode the first day home from school. The bus drops off at the stop sign right in front of our house. I have asked her what her favorite part of the day was and she tells me riding the bus.
The first day when she got home she said "mom, the bus doesn't have any seat belts!" I answered " I know, it is because it is a big vehicle and they are not required to have seat belts." To which she replies with excitement, "IT WAS SOOOO COOL!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday El!!

2009-08-28T10:02:00.002-05:00

We decided to do a friend for all the kids in July but on their birthday we would celebrate thier day. El birthday was Sunday, and we were having friends over from out of town on Saturday night. So we decided to make her cake for Saturday night and have everyone sing Happy Birthday to her. She wanted Chocolate Cake and Chocolate icing, just like her mom!

Favorite party, licking the bowl! They had batter up to their arm pits!

Theirs my Sunshine girl!!

El you are such a sweet blessing to our family. We love you and enjoy your fun personality. We call you our "sunshine girl" because that is how you wake up, like a ray of sunshine. You are either 100% happy or 100% grumpy, no in between. You are a great loving sister to Em and Baby B. We love you just the way you are and are so blessed to have the privilege to raise you!! May you grow to know Christ and be all he has called you to be!! May you shine HIS light to those around you!

Process of making a little girl into a Princess!!

2009-08-28T09:36:00.005-05:00

Em was invited to a party at the "Fairy Godmother" store. There they let them dress up and they get their hair, make up, and nails done. Then all the girls line up and do a fashion show on the stage. It is a little girls dream. Em was excited to get all the services done on her. Here are some pictures of the process.

Princess Em before beauty treatments. Isn't she just beautiful!

Em's turn in the chair. They comb their hair with gel.

Braiding

This is a tub full of glitter they sprinkle in their hair.

let the sprinkling begin!

Finished product.

On to make up

And nails

All beautiful!

Princess Em really liked the umbrella.

Princess C (birthday girl) and Princess Em.

Children's Museum

2009-08-28T08:47:00.007-05:00

A group of mom's decided to take a trip to one of the children up the road about 1.5 hours away. We left in the morning, had lunch there and stayed till about 3:30pm. The kids had a BLAST!! There were about 17 rooms in the children museum part and they also had a local museum attached to it. The girls had soooo much fun!! We are trying to figure out when we can go back now that school has started.

Beware there are a ton of pictures below:

Kids ready to get in the car.

Our group, it's amazing what 4 ladies can produce!

Em as an Indian.

Pull El, Pull!

Baby B on the wagon

Em posing in front of the covered wagon. She loves Little House on the Prairie, so this was right up her alley.

Kids typing

Baby B sitting in a chair he climbed in.

El taking a rest, she was getting tired.

El and Lu Lu playing the drums.

Em in front of a long horn cow, her favorite.

Mona El.

Mona Em.

Tea Party time.

Tea Party room.

Indian room.

1 little, 2 little, 3 little, Indians!

Kids on the wagon with cousin A.

Cousin A the driver and Em and El are Laura and Mary Ingalls.

Baby B playing in the little town.

Em planting her veggies in her garden.

Em taking a rest in her "house".

Grocery Shopping

2009-08-26T15:27:00.002-05:00

Kroger had a Saturday where they doubled coupons up to $1. So I sat down with my coupons and a list from the computer and got my stuff together. I had to wait till later in the day to go since I had sleepover with some girls from my Sunday School class at my home. The kids and Daddy B slept at Daddy B's parents that evening. When they came home that Saturday we headed to the store. The girls were doing really well and I was wondering why they were so quiet. Not getting out of the car, not touching anything on the isles at eye level. I credited it to my super parenting ablilty! HA! Until I walked away from the basket to get some yogurt, when I returned this is what I found..........

This is the best way to get some shopping done. There was no complaining and I got what I went for. So much for the super parenting!

Cousin Camp

2009-08-26T10:59:00.005-05:00

Every year my in-laws take all the cousins for a week. This year they took them in July and they had 8 kids and 5 werre under 6 yrs old. They had a blast and enjoyed swimming in the pool, playing at the splash pad, and going to the Blue Bell Creamery. The creamery has become a tradition. We also eat at the airport, which is really neat and decorated as a 50's diner. My kids really enjoy spending time with their cousins, the ones they see everyday and the ones they see only on special occasions.

Here are some pictures from Cousin Camp.

Princess El in her towel.

Em playing at the pool.

Em at the splash pad.

El with her Blue Bell hat on.

The Gang

All the cousins who live in town. It was so hot that the kids were ready to get off.
Favorite part of the tour, FREE ICE CREAM!!
El, Baby B and Em.

Baby B sitting in a chair, he was so proud on himself.

Baby B

Where have I been?

2009-08-26T10:45:00.002-05:00

You may be asking that question. I have been addicted to facebook and haven't taken the time to post. Wow, I have a lot of catching up to do, so here it goes.

We took the girls to the rodeo for their bithdays. Always a hit with them, they just love the horses. We got there early and they got to ride the pony and pet some animals. There was even a kangaroo in the mix. I was suprised to see it, it even jumped over a little boy to get out of the way of the kids. It's fur was so soft and neat to touch. The highlight of the night for the girls was barrel racing, by far their favorite thing to watch.

Here are some pictures of the night.

The girls looking over the stall to see the horse.

Waiting to ride the ponies.

Petting the Kangaroo.

Em riding.

El riding.

Happy Birthday Sweet Em

2009-07-15T20:59:00.003-05:00

Yesterday Em turned 5! She was woke up by Baby B, B daddy and I going to her room to sing Happy Birthday to her. In the process El woke up and started singing also. Em woke up and smiled and when we were done got up and gave me a hug, Baby B a kiss, and El a hug for singing to her. We had bible study that morning and afterwards went to Chick-fil-a to eat with B daddy. Then we came home and had 2 friends come over to play and spend the night. We made homemade pizza and brownies at my in-laws and swim till 8:30pm. One of the little girls decided to go home with her parents after swimming and the other stayed the night with us. The girls had a great time playing and having fun.

We love you sweet Em! You are such a blessing from God and a joy to our family.

We are planning on taking the girls to the Rodeo Thursday night as part of their birthday gift. My girls love horses and animals. I just pray it is not crazy HOT! I know they will have fun anyway.

Happy Birthday Brittain Kids

2009-07-11T19:45:00.006-05:00

We decided to have one BIG party to celebrate our kids' births instead of 3 separate ones. So our first plan was to have a pony come and do rides at our house and have cake and ice cream. The problem with that plan is that we live in a HOT place and having an outside party, where water is not involved is not a very good idea. So plan #2 is to go to the in-laws pool and have a pool party.

B daddy and I usually make some fun cakes for their birthdays. So I was thinking that we needed a good bit since we had so many people coming. So Em wanted a pink cake so I decided to do strawberry cup cakes with strawberry icing. Then I made some yellow cake cup cakes and a choc sheet cake. I was trying to decide what to do with them and found this cute cake online that was a pool cake that is make to look like an above ground pool with teddy grahams as the people, but the cake is ice cream. I thought that I could do that and cup cakes. When I came home with the stuff that I thought would work for the pool part, I discovered that I had about 1/2 of what I needed, so I nixed that idea and went with the sheet cake idea, because that would have cost more at this point. So I found some cute cup cakes with blue icing that had life saver rings and a teddy graham in it to look like an inner tube. I thought I can do that. I bought all the stuff and started Friday baking. I made 2 batches of cup cakes and decorated them and put them in my cup cake storage containers. I also make a sheet cake and did graham crackers on one side to be a beach and the other side with blue icing to be the water. I put the life savers with teddy grahams in the water with some edible fish I found at Hobby Lobby. When we checked them Saturday afternoon about an hour before the party we noticed that all the icing was melted off and the rings were busted and the teddy grahams we mussy... So I took them out of the container and took all the stuff of them and put them in the fridge to start over. Good thing that I saved some icing!! Needless to say it all turned out fine and their party was a big success.

The kids blowing out their candles

Brother B after his cake and ice cream.

Water balloons in hands and ready to go!

Em and Cousin A

A Pool full of friends.

Me and my girls

We decided to have people bring items for a pregnancy center in town instead of gifts for the kids. We ended up with a good stash to take over to them. Thanks to all who came and contributed to this great cause.

My Sweet Boy Turns 1!

2009-07-01T10:39:00.004-05:00

Well June 30th was Baby B's birthday. We all walked in his room that morning singing Happy Birthday to him. We get ready and headed to bible study, then off the lunch with daddy. That evening I made a cake and a cup cake for him and we had dinner with the family that is in town.
What a sweet boy we have been blessed with. Here are some of the things that make him special:

*He is so loving and fun to have around.
*I love his easy going spirit and his wonderful smiles.
*He loves his daddy so much. He wakes up asking for him and continues to look for him when we leave his room. If daddy is in the room most of the time he needs to be holding him.
*He loves blueberries and can eat them so fast. The first time he had them I thought he dropped 1/2 of them until I realized they were all gone.
*He loves to eat in general. The boy can put away some food!
*He loves his sisters and loves playing with them.
*He lights up when he sees any of us.
*He loves to play in their room. He likes to crawl on their bed and just sit and play. When he is done he comes down head first and keeps on going.

* He's got the plasma car riding down. He rolls all over the house.

* I am so blessed to call him my son, he is so special and sweet. I just love getting some sweet loving from him.

Here a some pictures when he was first born followed by some recent ones.

Happy 1st Birthday Baby B!

God is Powerful like Diet Coke!

2009-06-21T19:39:00.003-05:00

Let me explain, Em went last week to a VBS at a local church. She was unsure about going since she didn't know many kids there. I told her Sunday night that if she didn't have fun and she didn't want to go back she could stay home, but she had to go the first day. She woke up Sunday and I told her that today was VBS! She responded, "But if I don't have fun I don't have to go back!" Well when I picked her up Monday at 12:30 she was all smiles and told me she wanted to go back!

Getting back to the title of this post. On Tuesday they learned that God is powerful. With the reference to Pharaoh and the Israelites getting out of Egypt and the plagues that God brought on Egypt before Pharaoh let them go. I was there a little early so I saw a class in the parking lot chanting "God is Powerful, God is Powerful!" Then there was a person on the side who was shaking a 2-L of Diet Coke. They opened the lid and out spews Diet Coke, like a fountain. So there you have it people, GOD is Powerful like Diet Coke~!!!

Cowgirl/Cowboy Pictures

2009-06-11T14:57:00.003-05:00

Here are some of the pictures that B-Daddy's sister took of the kids. We did them at my in-laws under their trees. They came out so cute. Hope you enjoy.

2009-06-02T16:26:00.002-05:00

I haven't been posting lately, but there is a ton going on here. We took some cute pictures last week of the kids in cowboy wear, I will have to post some soon. This past weekend we went home to celebrate my younger brothers birthday.

I have been doing boot camp (exercise program) since about April. I went this past Monday and was there a whole whopping 5 minutes. We were doing high knee skips and I felt something pop in my Rt calf. I couldn't walk without pain. So I picked up my stuff and headed home. I was home before 6am with a painful leg. I called around and found an orthopedic Dr with an opening. I went that afternoon and found out I tore my calf muscle. I will have to rest with it elevated and iced. Today it is a little better, but now my foot is swollen some. I have had it wrapped so that helps some. We were suppose to go to Schlitterbauhn on Sunday, but I am unsure if that is going to happen or not. I am hoping it starts feeling better soon. My in-laws have been a great help with the kids since I can't take good care of Baby B because I can't pick him up.

I will post pictures soon.

Baby B's cooking!

2009-05-13T14:35:00.002-05:00

Baby B was at the girls kitchen yesterday, so I ran to get the camera so I could take a picture of him standing there. When he saw the camera he immediately started smiling. Here is what I got. He is such a great baby and we are so blessed to have him in our family.

Em's Preschool program

2009-05-13T14:03:00.004-05:00

Today was Em's preschool program. They sang 4 of their favorite songs and got a Godly trait award. Her Godly trait was for displaying sincerity. She had a great teacher this year and has learned a lot. She really loved Mrs Letz and will miss her. She has enjoyed her class this year and her new friends. She is looking forward to kindergarten "because she is going to be five."

Here is Em and Mrs Letz

Em singing "I'm in the Lord's army, yes sir!"

Em "zoom over the enemy"

Em playing her sticks
Em and 2 of the girls in her class.

El and cousin A

Pool Fun

2009-05-11T14:07:00.002-05:00

Yesterday we heated up our in-laws pool and enjoyed a great swim. This was Baby B's first swim ever. He wasn't too sure if he liked being in his float. He was also tired from playing in the church nursery. We swam with him for a little while then I took him out and held him and he was out in 2 minutes. The girls had a great time sliding and playing. We had another couple and their family out with us and the girls loved playing together. There was fun had by all!!

B-daddy catching Em

El's turn

Here are some pictures of Baby B playing in the girls doll house bed. He loves playing in their bed. He played for over an hour, just laughing and thinking he is BIG stuff!

Em's Dance Recital

2009-05-05T11:12:00.005-05:00

Friday night we had Em's recital practice and Saturday was her recital. My mom and my grandmother came in to watch her, and B-Daddy's parents came also. Em had a great time dancing. She informed me earlier that she is done with dancing and El can dance next year. So El will be dancing next year and Em will go to Kindergarten. She wants to take a break for now. We will see if she wants to get back in it later. Here are some pictures we took of her dancing.

Em and me

Em ready to go

Here is our traditional picture. Last year is the one below, Em decided to put her tutu on her head so I took a picture of her. So this year we continued the tradition.

Love this picture, look at Em's face! It is so funny.

Suffle, tap

Waving good bye.

Em's ballet

Em bowing

Family Fitness Day at Preshcool

2009-05-05T10:58:00.003-05:00

Em had Family Fitness day at Preschool on Friday. El and I joined her for the festivities. They did a 1k Walk/run, Pilates, Weights (gallon jugs with beans in it), soccer, Obstacle course, Triathlon, and had lunch. The girls really had a great time and El thought she was something getting to tag along and do the events. Here are some pictures below:

Em with her race number

Em with the metal she made

Em doing sit ups

Em lifting weights

Em and El with Em's teacher

El lifting weights

El playing soccer

Hoola Hoop time

Bean bag toss

Sister loving!

My Dilemma

2009-04-20T20:23:00.004-05:00

Ok, so here is my dilemma, I took Baby B to take his 9 month pictures and they turned out great as usual. Now the hard part picking the one I like to put on the wall collage.

The girls were with me that day so we threw them in for a few also. Here are the best ones of the bunch. Hope you enjoy!

I think this one is cute!

Marathon posting

2009-04-15T14:33:00.001-05:00

Just wanted to let you know that the next 6 post are new. I haven't posted in awhile so I thought I would catch up. Enjoy!

Random Pictures

2009-04-15T14:19:00.002-05:00

Here are some random pictures of the kids.

Baby B getting his hair done before church!
El looking at a magazine. Don't you just love her hair?!

Em "cutting" El's hair. The story behind this is that Daddy B and his brother cut each others hair and this is the chair that they use when they cut it here. So the girls call it the hair cutting chair.

Em and her cousin A reading in my (our) closet. Since cousin A moved to the neighborhood Em has been so excited to play with him. Laura and I take turns picking them up and bringing them to preschool. Em like him to stay and play awhile when they come home. This day they were reading the bible in the closet. They are so cute when they play together. We joke and say that they are twin, but just came from 2 different mothers, and 5 weeks apart.

Baby B

2009-04-15T13:59:00.003-05:00

Wow how time flies. Baby B will be 10 months at the end of April. He is very mobile now and loves to play with the girls. I walked in one day after his nap and found him standing in his bed. He was just a grinning. He has been such a blessing to us. He is such an easy baby and so happy all the time, we are so blessed to have him. I decided to put him in his Tonka truck again and take a few pictures. You may remember when I took some when he was 8 weeks old. He has grown leaps and bounds since then.

Here he is at 8 weeks, this past summer.

And here he is now at 9 months.

Chillin' in his truck!!

Standing in his bed, so proud!

Em loving on him. He just loves the girls!

Easter outfits!

2009-04-15T13:48:00.002-05:00

My mom made the girls their Easter dresses. I am so blessed that I don't have to buy dresses at this point and my mom makes them for us. The girls just love getting new dresses from Granny. These came out super cute! They were so excited to put them on on Sunday.

The girls and baby B ready for church.

Baby B is wondering what is going on!

Easter Egg Hunts

2009-04-15T13:37:00.002-05:00

The girls had a few Easter Egg Hunts that they attended this past week. One was in our neighborhood, Em's preschool, and the last one at my in-laws with all the cousins. Here are some pictures of the festivities.

Em in her rabbit ears
The kids and their cousins.

El in her ears.

Em and El at El's preschool hunt.

Em's preschool class

Neighborhood hunt.

hunting eggs.

Some of the neighborhood kids. We had 8 starting kindergarden this next year.

Circus

2009-04-15T13:29:00.004-05:00

The circus came to town last week and we took the girls. Em and El were excited, but really didn't know what to expect since this was their first one. We were able to get tickets with my husbands business partner and his family. Our girls just love to be with each other so it made for a great night for them. We had other friend behind us and their was even a girl in Em's preschool class on the same row as us. The circus was a one ring so it wasn't that big, but had some great talent. They also had 3 elephants and 6 white tigers.

Em with the girls.
This man made me nervous. He would ride on the wheel while it was going around. One time he even stumbled at the top.

This lady was so strong, she could climb the rope to the top just using her arms. She did all kinds of tricks with that rope.

One of the white tigers.

The elephants.

Rodeo

2009-04-15T12:55:00.004-05:00

My girls are just in love with animals. No not the small type but the large ones, especially horses. Em loves them so much she wants to be called "Katie" and her horse is "Flicka". This is one of her favorite movies. El says she is "Faith" and her horse is "Raxie". Their "horses" are their bikes. We usually bike ride through the neighborhood during the week when it is pretty and Em will say "Hi Yah, giddy up Flicka". The other day when we were outside I had an idea to put Clorox bleach bottles out in a triangle so they could barrel race. They thought that was so much fun!
With all that said, I try to look for way to keep them entertained and get to see the real thing. So we headed out to our local college rodeo. The girls just LOVED it!! They had broncs (sp?), saddle broncs, calf roping, steer wrestling, Goat tying (for the girls), barrel racing, and bull riding. They were in heaven and enjoyed it very much. We got up a few times to go look at the horses in the back stalls. All in all it was a great night.

Em staring at the horse.

El and Em.

My Sweet Friend

2009-04-08T14:47:00.004-05:00

Do you have a friend you have been friends with a long time? Do you have great memories of sleep overs at each others home? Can you remember the home phone number of your friend from grade school? Did you go with your friend to get your ears pierced and got matching earrings? Did you beg both of your mothers to buy you a certain item so you could match, our was a red purse? Are you considered family and they all knew you just like your own family? Did you tell your friend that if you ever got married she would be your maid of honor no matter how old you were? Did you ever tell this friend that you would be her best friend forever and ever? Did you go on vacations with your friend and her family and via versa? Is your friend as close to you as your own sibling?

I can answer yes to all these questions about my friend Billie!! She and I have been friends since the 1st grade. We bonded and it was down hill from there. Her parents got another daughter and so did my parents. We would rotate sleeping over at each others home on Friday nights. We would hang, ride bikes, cook and just love being with each other. She switched to public school in 5th grade and I switched in 7th. We had no classes together in 7-8 grade, but when we got to high school we ended up having every class together. Her mom took us to the beach every year after the last day of school in high school. Once we got to college we started our separate paths, but always kept in touch. We have been through a whole lot of stuff, but we always knew that we had a true friend in each other. She is a sweet friend I can never replace. She is someone I can call and we just pick up where we left off, no awkwardness at all. I miss her dearly! I miss not being able to hang out with her and visit with her. She is married and has 3 girls and lives in La now, she has lived in Fl, and AL and is now back in La.

Today is my birthday and she has sent me a beautiful bouquet from Edible creations. Thanks Billie, I love you and miss you!! I hope my girls find a true friend, like you have been to me! We have wonderful memories together. Thanks for being such a wonderful friend.

From a FathersLoveLetter.com

2009-03-25T15:57:00.004-05:00

My Child....

You may not know me, but I know everything about you. (Ps 139:1) I know when you sit down and when you rise up. (Ps 139:2) I am familiar with all your ways. (Ps 139:3) Even the very hairs on your head are numbered. (Matt 10:29-31) For you were made in my image. (Gen 1:27) In me you live and move and have your being. (Acts 17:28) For you are my offspring. (Acts 17:28) I knew you even before you were conceived.(Jer 1:4-5) I chose you when I planned creation. (Eph 1:11-12) You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book. (Ps 139:15-16) I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live. (Acts 17:26)
You are fearfully and wonderfully made. (Ps 139:14) I knit you together in your mother's womb.(Ps 139:13) And brought you forth on the day you were born. (Ps 71:6) I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me. (John 8:41-44) I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love.(1John 4:16) And it is my desire to lavish my love on you. (1 John 3:1) Simply because you are my child and I am your Father. (1 John 3:1) I offer you more than your earthly father ever could. (Matt 7:1) For I am the perfect father. (Matt 5:48) Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand. (James 1:17) For I am your provider and I meet all your needs. (Matt 6:31-33) My plan for your future has always been filled with hope. (Jer 29:11)
Because I love you with an everlasting love. (Jer 31:3) My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore. (Ps 139:17-18) And I rejoice over you with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17) I will never stop doing good to you. (Jer 32:40) For you are my treasured possession. (Ex 19:5) I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul. (Jer 32:41) And I want to show you great and marvelous things.(Jer 33:3) If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me. (Deut 4:29) Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart. (Ps 37:4) For it is I who gave you those desires. (Phil 2:13) I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine. (Eph 3:20) For I am your greatest encourager. (2Thess 2:16-17) I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles. (2 Cor 1:3-4) When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you. (Ps 34:18) As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart. (Isaiah 40:11) One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes. (Revelations 21:3-4) And I'll take away
all the pain you have suffered on this earth. (Rev 21:3-4) I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus. (John 17:23) For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed. (John 17:26) He is the exact representation of my being. (Heb 1:3) He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you. (Romans 8:31) And to tell you that I am not counting your sins. (2 Corinthians 5:18-19) Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled. (2 Cor 5:18-19) His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you. (1 John 4:10) I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love. (Romans 8:31-32) If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me. (1 John 2:23) And nothing will ever separate you from my love again. (Romans 8:38-39) Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen. (Luke 15:7) I have always been Father, and will always be Father. (Eph 3:14-15) My question is…Will you be my child? (John 1:12-13) I am waiting for you. (Luke 15:11-32)
Love, Your Dad

Almighty God

I saw this the other day and just thought I would share it with you. Just wanted you to know that there is a God out there that is crazy about you and loves you dearly!

You can go to the website FathersLoveLetter.com and watch the video and get this letter in different forms. I just love the way it was put together.

Spring Break

2009-03-21T16:19:00.006-05:00

Em has been out of preschool for spring break this week. We have enjoyed not having to be anywhere during the day. The girls have just played and played. I found them playing in my pass through laundry hamper. They got their babies, food and things and called it their airplane. They played in there for over 2 hours almost ever day this week. They just loved it. El would tell Em to come on let's go to the airplane. The days have been so pretty, we have been taking advantage of them and spending most of our time outside. El has really progressed in riding her bike and just loves it. They have been having so much fun!

Here are some pictures of them playing.

El on her bike enjoying the pretty sunshine.

El holding Baby B who is growing so fast. He is almost as big as her.

El in her "airplane"; aka our landry pass through.
Em playing
Em and El in their room on their couch.

Zoo

2009-03-21T08:42:00.007-05:00

Every year we have taken the girls to the zoo. We decided to make use of spring break and go on Thursday this past week. We had another family come with us and the girls had a great time. We got there early, which was a good thing. By the time we left the line to get into the zoo was to the parking lot. Here are some pictures, I hope you enjoy.

AC, El, and Em

Me and Em being lady bugs

Em my butterfly

Baby B in his stroller, enjoying the weather.

El sliding

El and AC

Ride 'em Em

Em and El on the otter slide.

Baby B and Daddy B sliding

El and Em in front of the lobster

Em, baby B and Em

Em, Em, and El

Daddy B and El
Baby B still chillin'
daddy B and the girls.
El trying to decide which way to go.
Em and Em looking at the map

Rodeo Day

2009-03-13T15:37:00.006-05:00

Well we all get dressed up and headed to Em's Preschool Rodeo Day today. Em and El both dressed up in their chaps and vest and we headed out. El was so happy to get to come along. She thought she was a big girl! They had a trail ride on their stick horse followed by a trail mix snack, hay ride, crafts, tortilla toss, calf roping, tug a war, a Hoe down and a wild horse race. At high noon we had grub and then headed home. El was so excited to be able to participate in the activities, when we got in the car her first words were "Mom, I had Fun today!"

Here are some pictures of the high lights of the day!

Em and El all dressed up and ready to head out!

Em roping her calf.

Em tossing her tortilla through a hoop.

El's turn!

Hoedown time!

I love Em's face in this picture.

Em and El on a hay ride.

Em racing on her wild horse.

Look at that concentration.

El ready to race Em.

Em's winning!!

But no hard feelings here, a sister hug!

Tug a war time!

Em on the saddle

Ride em girl!!

2 cowgirls and a little cowboy!

Proof that there was fun had by all!!

Happy Birthday MawMaw!

2009-03-10T12:29:00.006-05:00

My Maw Maw turned 80 years old on Feb 28th. She has been such a treasure in my life. When we were little my brothers and myself would go spend at least 2 weeks during the summer. There I learned how to cook, play old maid, kill, pluck, and cook a chicken, worm cows, feed cows, pigeons, and chickens, throw out hay for the cows, milk a cow, pick the fresh eggs and the reason why they always had a golf ball in the nest, strain the fresh cows milk, work in the garden, ride smokie (a pony), drink coffee milk in bed with my maw maw (my pawpaw would bring it to us in bed!) and just be loved by my grandparents. We learns some neat things, and I have some great memories of my time with my grandparents. My maw maw is a great cook and has taught me some great things. She would always ask what we wanted to eat and we would always say rice and gravy, or fried chicken and her famous milk gravy she made from scratch, and cowboy breakfast (french toast) for breakfast!

The family decided to threw her a suprise birthday party for her the week after her birthday. They invited old friends and relatives. She is such a great cook they got her to make her own famous rice dressing for her party and she didn't even know it.

Mrs Nellie did a great job of getting old pictures from everyone, and she made a dvd with music and it started with my maw maw's little girl picture, married pictures, 5 kids, and each kids had a section with their family and their kids and grandkids. She cut it off at 509 picutes, but put all the pictures she got on a usb stick and gave all the kids one and we all got a dvd. What a great treasure!! Thanks Mrs Nellie, this is a special gift and you did a great job!! Thanks for all your hard work!!

Needless to say no one spilt the beans and my maw maw was truely suprised. She had a great time and enjoyed visiting with everyone. Here are some pictures that we took while there.

Suprise!

This is when she realizes all the people who came to wish her happy birthday. She was standing there just naming everyone she saw!

This is Mrs Nellie who did a great job on the party and pictures. She even made her a book with all the old photos in it.

Em and Baby B

Baby B such a big boy

My immediate family, yes they are Harley Riders!

What was left of the gang after the party

Fire Station Field Trip

2009-03-09T10:50:00.012-05:00

Em's Preschool class went on a field trip to the fire station and we decided to tag along. El really enjoyed her time also and thought she was big stuff being with her sister and her class. They were able to see the fire truck, the ladder truck, the ambulance, and their fire house. They also got some fire safety tips while they were there. They had a great time. Here are some pictures I took at the fire station. I hope you enjoy!

Em and El at the back of a fire truck.

Em with the 2 fireman that showed us around.

Em giving the fireman a high five. He dressed up for them so they could see what he would look like if they were ever in a fire and they can know to run to him if they see him.

El coming out of the fire truck.

Em coming out of the fire truck.

Em and El in the back of the Ambulance.

Em and El in front of the fire truck.

Baby B along for the ride!!

Halle's Party

2009-02-24T08:28:00.003-06:00

This past Saturday we went to Em's little friends party at a horse ranch in town. The girls had a blast, they took turns riding horses for about 1 hour, then they had a hay ride, hot dogs, cake and horse fun. The only bad thing was that Saturday a cold front came in and it was cold, and the wind was blowing, but my girls didn't seem to mind. They loved riding and petting the horses. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy. Special thanks to Kierstyn who remembered to bring her camera and took these pictures for us. I remembered, but didn't do it at that time and we didn't' realize we didn't have a camera until we drove up to the place. Thanks Kierstyn, these are great pictures!

Em waiting in line to ride.

El is on the 2nd horse.

Em waiting again!

El and Em petting the horses.

El Riding

Em Riding

All of us looking at the horses in the stalls.

El riding again!

Valentines Package From Granny and Pa Paw

2009-02-16T19:08:00.005-06:00

This past Valentines day the kids got a package from my parents in the mail. They were excited to see what was in there. They each got a card, some clothes, and a movies about horses, which we watched that night. It turned out to be a really good film called "Second Chances." Here are some pictures of the action.Baby B with his card. He liked to eat his. The girls got ones that sing.

Here is a picture of their shirts and cards.
Thanks Granny and Pa Paw

Random Pictures

2009-02-16T18:35:00.002-06:00

Here are some pictures of the last few weeks of the kids.

I have been looking for a baby bicycle seat that would go on my bike that Baby B and El can ride in, one for mine and one for B-daddy's. I was at Wal-mart after Christmas looking at things and came across them for $12 each. I snatched 2 of them. Later on when I was in the other Wal-mart I saw them in the bike section and they were over $30/each. Needless to say I was excited for my find. So B-daddy put them on this weekend and we went riding in our neighborhood. We were gone for over an hours. Em did good keeping up on her bike. And this is how Baby B felt about the whole situation!

Baby B sitting on his blanket.

El and Baby B

Baby B, Em and El
El came in today and told me she was a cowgirl! She dressed her self, can you tell? The hat makes her a cowgirl!

She has done very well on the potty training issue. She is very stuburn, and I know she can do it. I told her that Mrs. Jamee doesn't want babies in her class and if she doesn't potty in the potty then she can't go to preschool in Mrs Jamee's class next year. I know what you are thinking preschool is in late Sept, but you have to understand nothing was getting through to her and I know she can do it. I am tired of buying pull ups and diapers for her. This past Friday was a day for the moms to go to preschool and have a valentine lunch with the preschoolers. So we all went to eat with Em. I told Jamee that it was working pretty good so far. El has had 1 accident a day, beacuse she was playing too long and loves to wear her new Dora panties she picked out. Jamee told EL that she was proud of her and that she could go to preschool next year if she keeps it up. El was on the potty later that day and she told me she was a "big girls, because Big girls get to go to Mrs Jamee's class."

This is for you Becky!

2009-02-09T10:13:00.003-06:00

Ok Becky, I am finally posting some pictures of our home. The first picture is of the living room. The right side is the girls room, baby B's room and a jack n jill bath between their rooms. The Left side is a guest bath, guest room and a door to go up stairs for future growth.Living Room view from the island. That is Baby-B's head, he was sitting on the island doing a breathing treatment. He is now too big to sit in his Bumbo, he knows how to get out on his own.

Kitchen view from the living room, pardon the pantry door being opened. The opening to the Rt is to the garage, utility and the master room and bath.

Kitchen view from the dining area.
Dining room
View of Living room from the front door.
Porch, which will eventually be screened in and a patio that is going to have a fire pit.

Our tub, I took this picture for my wall words.

Daddy Daughter Dance

2009-02-09T10:03:00.003-06:00

B-Daddy took Em to the Daddy Daughter Dance at the Children's Museum this past Friday. Em was really excited to go. They had a great time. El can't wait to go next year, she told her daddy that she wants to go to the dance and get some flowers to go on her dress also. Next year he will be taking 2 little princesses. This years theme was a "Night of Enchantment." They had Cinderella, Bella and Sleeping Beauty there. Em was all excited when she came home that night!

Em and her Daddy

Em Dancing

Em and her crown she decorated.

Em with Cinderella and Belle

Our oldest little princess!

Scoop

2009-02-03T14:10:00.002-06:00

Ok, so here is the scoop. B-daddy and his business partner John have worked out a deal to buy one of the Re/Max Franchises in town. We had to wait till yesterday to say anything since none of the agents knew about it yet. Yesterday was their official first day.

The amazing thing is that they were going to try to put another franchise in, but that door was closed. So they started looking at options. This Re/Max had 5 owners and we were told that maybe 3 would be willing to sell. When they approached them they all came back saying they all wanted to sell! What a praise!!

We are excited to see what God has planned for us in this business. We think that a few of the agents are not pleased with this decision, but we know that God is in control and he will work out what needs to be worked out. Overall most of the 20 agents seem happy about the change.

Pray that B-Daddy and John will have guidance and wisdom on how to handle situations that will come up. May God be glorified in all our decisions!!

God at work

2009-01-28T14:48:00.003-06:00

It is amazing how awesome God is. B-Daddy and his business partner have been working on a business deal for almost a year. This deal is what will provided for our families in the coming years. We can see God's hand in the situation from the beginning. This process has been covered in prayer from all sides, but kept secret from anyone not immediately involved. God has closed doors and opened some amazing ones for us. He has done what we would have said was impossible. We were even told at one time that this would probably not be an option, But God had other plans. I am excited to see what he has planned for B-Daddy and his business partner in the coming year. We know it will work out the way God wants it to because we can see his hand involved.

I can't spill the bean until after Feb 2nd, the deal will be official on the first, but there are other that have to know before I can say anything. But know that God is faithful and cares about the little decisions in your life and the major ones.

A day of Catching up on Blogging

2009-01-18T11:24:00.000-06:00

Well I haven't blogged in awhile so here is my marathon of postings. I hope you enjoy!

Baby B

2009-01-18T11:09:00.002-06:00

I had called on Thursday to get Baby B a follow up flu shot. When the nurse called me back I told her that I would rather make an appointment to get him seen since he had a running nose and a funky cough. She we got an appointment for the next morning. I took him in and the Dr listened to his lungs and said that he was wheezing, which I had noticed the night before. She took a swab from his nose and came back and said that he had the RSV virus. So she sent me home with a scrip for a breathing machine and albuterol. I have given him 3 treatments so far and he has done great. He just sits in his bumbo with his mask on for 12-15 min and barely cries and doesn't even try to take the mask off. He has done well and hasn't gotten any worse. He has never stopped sleeping through the night and his running nose seems to be clearing up. He is still just as happy as ever. I think that we are on the mends, but to be sure we are hanging out at home and not spreading it around.

His little mask has a elephant on it and it looks so cute on him!

Here he is chillin' in his tub after a treatment. He was just a kicking and splashing.

Baby B's 6 month pictures

2009-01-18T10:43:00.002-06:00

I took baby B for his 6 month pictures on the 9th of January. He did a great job! Marcy took about 50 pictures and he was smiling or grinning in each one. She told B-Daddy that she edited out 2-3 pictures because his eyes were closed, but he was still smiling.

We started off with bath tub pictures, and then changed him 3 other times after that and he never stopped smiling! We got some good pictures of him. Here are some of the best ones.

Christmas

2009-01-18T10:30:00.003-06:00

We had Christmas day at our new house then headed over to the in-laws. Em and El were all excited to get anything horse related. They both love horses. Em says that when she grows up she wants a big barn with some horses and animals. She wants to be a cowgirl!

Baby B's reaction to his cowboy pillows

Em's reaction to a horse throw she received

This is Baby B's seat in the house, on top of the island where he can see the action.

Em's dance party

2009-01-18T10:23:00.002-06:00

Em is taking dance lessons for the 2nd year now. They did a dance for us then they had a ornament exchange. Here are some pictures of her party.

dancing
in action pose

ornament exchange
Em's ornament

Em's class with her teachers

Em's Christmas Party at Preschool

2009-01-18T10:16:00.003-06:00

Em just loves preschool and has a wonderful teacher. They did a program and had a party. Here are some pictures from that.

Em and her teacher
El, Baby B and Em

Em singing "Go Tell it on the Mountain"

Em singing "Mary had a baby boy" to the tune of Mary had a little lamb.

The Shepherds were watching to see the baby Jesus.

A Night in Bethlehem.

2009-01-18T09:52:00.006-06:00

Well it has almost been a month since I posted. Wow were do I begin to catch up? We had a great Christmas, we are settled in our house, and all seems to be well. Becky the pictures are coming, I want to get the pictures hung on the wall first. Still working on that.

I will try to start were I left off. Here are pictures from a night in Bethlehem. Our church did this for the first time this year and it was a great success. The kids had a great time doing all the activities and "meeting" Mary and Joseph.

Working hard on a Christmas ornament.
Kneeding bread

Painting a pot

Watching the potter.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

2008-12-25T20:27:00.002-06:00

We would like to wish all of you a Very Merry Christmas and hoped you enjoyed celebrating our saviours birth. What a great gift he gave to us.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that who ever believes in HIM will not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16

We are moved!

2008-12-25T18:14:00.004-06:00

We moved in this past Saturday and the house is coming along well. We have a few boxes left to unpack, but that is it. B-daddy just finished organizing the garage and I have the house pretty much in order except for the pictures on the wall. We had some stressful times during the last week. The night before we were to move in our dishwasher line leaked and most of the wood flooring in the kitchen and study was ruined. The pantry and study closet was all ruined and we had to move the next day. So we spent most of the night tearing out our flooring and cleaning up. The girls are going to stay at my parents till New Years day so we are planning on finishing all the little projects we need to get done including the flooring (maybe)!

My last post was Dec 10th. Since then we have rented our old house and had to be out by last Monday. They are moving in tomorrow (the 26th). We have been going crazy and are ready to slow down. It feels good to be in and unpacked and down to going to one house. We are liking the fact the Grandma and Papa are 2 houses down. Easy on the running back and forth!

If you are out and about and want to stop by, just call. I'll add some pictures later.

I've been Tagged!

2008-12-25T18:07:00.002-06:00

Ok, I've been tagged by Kelly so here is how it works.

This is a picture tag!!
Here's the deal:
1. Go to the place on your computer where you store all your pictures and open the 4th folder.
2. Open the 4th picture.
3. Post the picture and give an explanation of what it is.
4. Tag 4 people.
DO NOT CHEAT!! You cannot edit or crop the picture!!

This is Em when she was 11 months old eating in her high chair.

I tag Jamee, Lora, Laura, and DeAnn (and anyone else who wants to play!)

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

2008-12-10T21:59:00.005-06:00

We had SNOW today at our house. We woke up with some dusting the ground this morning, and it started snowing about 3pm till after 7pm. We went to church for Em's Christmas program and it was really coming down then and when we got out it was covered with snow, and still snowing. We came home and made a snowman and had snow ball fights. Em and El had a blast. Here are some pictures.

Our little snow man. I made this while the girls were taking a nap. It had just started collecting on the patio table.
Em and El with their little snow man.

After the church program.

Here is a snow man we found on the way home.

Central Park lights. This is almost a nightly visit for us. The girls just love seeing the lights.

Outside to make a snow man. NO Baby B didn't stay out the whole time. He sat in his exersaucer and looked out of the front glass door.

Em and our snow man.

Baby B ready to go outside.

First Friday in Downtown Bryan

2008-12-09T21:58:00.003-06:00

This past Friday was the First Friday in downtown Bryan. We took the girls so they could ride the carriage. We invited our adopted Aggie Kate to come with us. Em was so excited to see her and have her come with us. While we were waiting for the carriage there was a man there making balloon animals. He made Em a flower and El a puppy hat. El kept taking her hat off and her hair had a ton of static in it. She kept till B-Daddy to "take a picture." After that we went to see the Christmas village they had set up in an old building. Then we came home to make some smores in the fire place. The girls had so much fun doing that. There was a fun time had by all!

Em and El with there balloons.

El with her static

Baby B with El's puppy hat

Baby B on the carriage

Em, El and Kate

Our carriage

Smores

FYI

2008-12-05T14:32:00.002-06:00

Just in case you ever wonder, Dark golden blonde, from Clairol does not come out like the picture on the box. The box has a golden honey color on it, when you put it on your head it is actually red! I now have alburn hair. It is a great color, but so not the color I was looking for. Needless to say high lights are coming up next!

Trying to get Christmas pictures.

2008-12-05T14:23:00.001-06:00

B-Daddy's sister was in town for Thanksgiving so we all got together to take some pictures. We decided to do them under the tree in my in-laws back yard. B-daddy had a great idea to put the kids on the limb and for us to stand beind them and hold them. We actually had to stand on top of the picnic table to get to this limb. We are using some of these for our card that B-Daddy made. Hope you enjoy.

Christmas Tree Farm

2008-12-05T13:58:00.004-06:00

We went to my parents this past weekend for Thanksgiving. On Saturday we went to the Grant Christmas Tree farm in Grant La. They sell trees, which we didn't buy, but we went for the hot homemade biscuits, syrup, gravy, and sausage. The girls also got the ride a donkey, feed the goats, watch the mule churn the sugar cane so they can make pure cane syrup, and watch how they make the syrup in a large pot. They also had hay rides, and a horse drawn carriage ride,but we didn't get to do that. Here are some pictures from our trip.

Em and Brey in front of a tree.

El, Brey and Em.

3 little girls in a T pee

Making the syrup.

Playing on the hay

El riding the donkey

Em on the donkey

El listening to the movie on the way home.Signs of a fun day! Worn out at the table. Em was coloring at the table with Brey. She told Brey she was tired and the next thing we knew she was out!

Em's Thanksgiving Feast

2008-12-05T13:36:00.002-06:00

Here are some pictures of Em's Thankgiving Feast she had at preschool. They sang some songs and we enjoyed some stew that they put together.

Em's Turkey made out of her hand print.
Em's Turkey Cookie

Singing with her Turkey hat.

A Good Reminder about Worry

2008-11-11T07:20:00.003-06:00

This is one of the devotions I get daily from Charles Stanley. It is well said.

November 11, 2008
Unraveling Worry From Our Life
Philippians 4:8-9

People fret over all kinds of issues, from safety and job security to election results. For many folks--and maybe you are one--anxiety is woven so tightly into the fabric of their day that they've learned to live with it.

We treat worry like a benign emotion when in fact it can actually be harmful. Anxiety clouds our thinking, divides our focus, and robs us of concentration. To complicate matters, the body can react to prolonged pressure on the psyche. Stress can manifest physically through tension headaches, elevated blood pressure, and even heart attacks.

Drifting through a mentally and physically exhausting life is not the Lord's plan for us. Our challenge is to take captive anxious thoughts (2 Cor. 10:5) and replace them with God-pleasing ones--dwelling on that which is pure, good, and right.

The best way to remove stray threads of worry is to crowd them out with something positive: weave Scripture into your mental grid instead. God has something to say about everything that concerns us. Feeling weak or under-qualified? "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13). Afraid your paycheck won't cover this month's rent, clothes, and food? "Do not worry . . . for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things" (Matt. 6:31-32).
Jesus said worry adds nothing to our life (Matt. 6:27). In fact, we waste time and energy dwelling on concerns instead of affirming our trust in the Lord. We must choose to set our minds upon Him before anxiety leaves us feeling frayed.

Getting Closer

2008-11-04T20:57:00.004-06:00

We now have our trim, paint, stain, and counters done. We are getting closer to being done. Here are some pictures of the finish product. I had to have one bold color in my house. I really wanted a red kitchen and Love the way it turned out! The Island will have the sink in it and across from that will be the cooktop.

Eating/Dining area

Living Room windows, we plan to screen in the back porch.
Back porch grill area.

Another Kitchen picture.

New Subdivision Halloween Party

2008-11-01T14:36:00.004-05:00

Last night we went out to our new house (the one we are building) and we had a Subdivision Halloween Party. There were hot dogs, a costume parade, hay ride and trick or treating. We didn't do the hay ride because the trailer was full of kids. We opted on walking to all the houses. I ended up leaving Baby B with Grandma and Papa and the girls rode in the stroller. Em was so excited, she kept saying "Mom, I never been trick or treating before!" We usually just do the church thing and a few houses on Halloween Night. We got back to Grandma and Papa's house about 8:30pm, the girls were all excited about their candy.

It was a great night to walk and see all the stars that God created. All the neighbors were very friendly and it was nice to meet them and put a face to the house. Some of the houses just left their bucket outside on their porch, because they were trick or treating also. I just love it out there! I am looking forward to our move in the next month (hopefully!)

Here are some pictures of our kids dressed up.

This outfit came from one of my friends box of clothes that she let me borrow. She told me that it was her nephews and it is 15 year old. It has only been worn 2 times. It looks awesome and went well with the theme we went with. He was so cute in it!

Fall Festival

2008-10-27T21:37:00.004-05:00

Last night was the Fall Festival at our church. The girls were cowgirls and Baby B was a sheriff. My mom helped me make their chaps and vest this weekend.

The favorite part of the evening when we have these functions at church is riding Doodle Bug and Pistal Pete (those are the ponies). That was our first stop since the girls are big fans. We stood in line for about 20 minutes, only to discover we were in the wrong line. Em was insistant that she just wanted to ride Doodle Bug. So El rode a big horse and Em and I went to the pony line. Em loves Doodle Bug and was waving on the way to the line when she first saw her. So we waited in the pony line and Em and El got to ride the ponies. We then went to eat and by the time we were done with that the girls played 2 games and got 4 pieces of candy and off to petting the goats and calf. After that we were done for the night. Give my girls a farm and they are happy, who cares about the games and candy?! Fun time was had by all!

El riding

El on Pistal Pete

Em on Doodle Bug

My little Sheriff

Petting the goat and Calf

Pictures

2008-10-27T21:27:00.002-05:00

Here are some pictures from the last week or so.

B-Daddy and all his babies! They all just woke up from their naps.
Brey rocked Baby B to sleep.

Sweet Baby!

El Chillin' under the table with baby B.

YearBookYourself.com

2008-10-18T13:24:00.004-05:00

This is really funny. Go to this website and you can upload a picture of yourself and click to see what you would have looked like that year. It goes back to 1950.

I was rolling at the pictures of B daddy. Thanks for sharing this website Lindsay! We had fun playing around with it. If you haven't seen this before you need to try it. It is well worth the laugh. I chose B Daddy's and he chose mine. I just laugh so hard when I see his. It is so stickin' funny!!

me 1972

me 1990
Me 1996

B-Daddy 1976B-Daddy 1984
B-Daddy 1990

Who said a 2yr old couldn't drive?

2008-10-13T22:15:00.002-05:00

When we were done looking at our house today we drove over to my in-laws. Last time we did that we let Em steer and "drive" over there. This time it was El's turn. She was so excited and giddy. She actually did quite well. Here are some pictures.

Housing update

2008-10-13T21:59:00.004-05:00

Here are some pictures of the house. They have started the rock last Thursday and the trim carpenter and the cabinets have been installed. We are really liking how it is all turning out. The trim guy is doing a great job. He is still working on the base boards and crown.

Kitchen cabinets. The middle cabinet will have glass in it and the 2 opening are for the microwave and oven. The door opening is the pantry "closet". I am really looking forward to that!
This is the back wall, it faces the living room. The island has the sink in it and will have sitting on the back and the Rt side. The island is 11 feet long and 54"wide. I am so going to love that!

This is the living room. This is the view you see when standing at the kitchen sink. There are 2 rooms to the Rt with a Jack and Jill bath and a room and bath to the Lt.

Here is our foyer and the door to the study is to the Rt. This is the temp door.

The Barn Yard

2008-10-13T21:50:00.003-05:00

Em had a field trip last Wednesday to the Barnyard. El, Baby B and I went along. The girls had a great time looking at all the animals. I think that Em really liked the horse, and the baby chicks. She told me later that she wanted to take the baby chick home. I told her that we couldn't, that it needed to stay there and stay warm under the lights. We then went to Target afterwards and she found a basket that she said would be a good thing to get so we could keep the chick in.

Here is Em's class.

Random Pictures

2008-10-13T13:10:00.003-05:00

Here are some random pictures.

Baby B is now 3 mo old and about to out grow his bath tub! He is such a sweet baby!
Here are some pictures of the girls loving on Baby B. The last one is El's way of giving a kiss. Cheek to cheek. Don't you just love the wild hair?

Here is Em, she was watching me sew and waiting to play some cards, but fell asleep before I got done. She can sleep anywhere!!

Lil Chef El and Teacher Em

2008-10-01T14:31:00.003-05:00

El was cooking "pampakes"today. I just love that hat!

Em was reading the "Three Little Pigs" to baby B today. He was really enjoying the attention.

We got to meet Mike Huckabee.

2008-10-01T08:24:00.001-05:00

Last night we went to Dessert and Coffee with Mike Huckabee benefiting Hope Pregnancy Center. He was the keynote speaker. He is quite the character! He told us about times he has been traveling and people think they recognize him and say he is someone else and that everyone he meets tells him they voted for him. He said if that many people voted for him he would be the nominee! After the program you could purchase his book and have him sign a "sticker" to put in the book. The book is not released till Nov 18th. So we got in line and got some signed and took some pictures.

"What was I suppose to be?"

2008-09-25T22:00:00.001-05:00

Working is a Family Affair

2008-09-17T22:14:00.002-05:00

Tonight we went out to our house to clean up after the sheet rocker. They are planning on taping and floating tomorrow. The girls wanted to help so they came with me to the house and papa watched Baby B at his house. They actually were a big help with picking up the pieces of sheet rock. They were so excited to help and you can tell they felt so big. El was so dirty, she had dust from head to toe. She even had some on her face and it looked like she had been cooking with flour. Em liked sweeping the dust into piles. She kept saying "I'm working hard mommy!"

We also have the forms set for our driveway and sidewalk. They are planning on pouring that on Friday. They also got our door side lights and temp door set on Friday last week before the storm. Which worked out great, we were able to close up our house before the storm hit.

Sitting on the front porch.
Em and El were so dirty. Their crocks are actually maroon!

Baby B smiling

2008-09-16T15:08:00.003-05:00

Baby B is all smiles lately. He is such a good, easy baby. He has been sleeping 12 hour stretches at night, which are really nice!! He is a great cuddlier and enjoys watching the girls, and the girls just love him. He is so funny, he likes to just give you a half smile most of the times. You have to work to get a full smile out of him, which is just like his sister Em when she was his age.

Here is his half smile!

Awana's

2008-09-16T15:04:00.003-05:00

Em started Awana's this Sunday. She was so excited to get started. B-daddy and I each teach. He has a 4 yr old class which Em is in and I am with the 3 yr olds. El really wants to be in cubbies but she will have to wait till next year. El has resorted to just wearing Em's vest around the house.

El is trying to take off Em's patch.

Housing Update

2008-09-04T21:30:00.003-05:00

B-Daddy and I spent last Thursday and Friday cleaning up all the wood piles from the framer. We made 8 trailer loads of wood to the dump for a total of 10 tons. Yes that is 10,000 pounds a piece. Needless to say I was so sore by Saturday I could hardly walk!!! We now have to go back and clean up some of the hardy that is scrap, but that is nothing compared to what we hauled off.

Here is what we have done on the house since the last time I posted. We now have all the hardy done and painted, Electrical, A/C, security and plumbing set. Our culvert is set also. We also picked out our lighting today. The next step is roofing, Rock, insulation, and sheet rocking. When we get the rock on I will post a picture.

Em's first day of Pre K 4!

2008-09-04T21:20:00.003-05:00

Here is a picture of Em on Wednesday. That was her first day of pre-K 4. She was so excited to be going back to school. El missed her and wanted to put on her backpack and go to school also. When we got back to the car El asked where "I'm?" I told her that Em went to school, so then proceeded to say that she wanted to go to school. I told her that she will go next year and she said "and no crying?!?" I told her "yes, and no crying!"

Baby B is 2 months!

2008-08-26T21:19:00.002-05:00

We had our 2 month appointment this morning for Baby B and 2 year appt for El. He is 13 lbs 5oz and 23.75" long. He is in the 85% for height and weight. He also got 5 shots today and has not been too happy since.

El was 29lbs and 35.75" long. She also got 1 shot and was caught off guard, but a sticker and bandaid helped her get over it. She seems to be pretty proud of her hello kitty bandaid and doesn't want to take it off. She even took a bath with it and it is still on! B-Daddy asked if she wanted it off, but she said no. She is going to try to get the most pitty out of it as possible.

Happy Birthday EL!!!!

2008-08-23T21:24:00.005-05:00

Here is a picture of El the day she was born.

Sweet Em at 2 holding El for the first time. She was so proud!

Today my sweet El turns 2. She is so full of energy and such a fun kid to watch. She loves to put on a show and be the center of attention. Right now she is showing it up in front of Granny and Papaw because Em is asleep.

Em has been out since we got home from Grandma and Papa's this afternoon. We had a party for Em and El today at their pool. B-Daddy and I made them their castle cake, and they had their cousins and a couple of friends come out to swim. They had so much fun playing. It turned out to be a nice day.

Here is the making of the cake. Em watched the whole process and what a process it was. We decided to make it Friday night at Grandma and Papa's house so I wouldn't have to transport it. So Em said she wanted a pink cake, so I get the food coloring out to color the icing and grab the bottle that looks red, I put some drops in the icing and it happened to be yellow. I would have known that if I would have looked at the lid. So, no fear I have another tub of icing. This time I grab the correct bottle, and put about 6 drops in it and we got Red icing, So we had to open the 3rd tub of white and mix it to finally get pink.

B-Daddy making the windows.

Finished Product.

This was El's turn to blow out her candles, but she just laughed.

Our boy is getting big!!

2008-08-21T22:52:00.002-05:00

Em loves to hold Baby B. He is getting so big!

Her is El's way of dressing up! She has such a fun personality, but boy can she wear me out!

Saving Money by Couponing!

2008-08-14T21:43:00.003-05:00

I was out of my favorite cereal for a few days now. I love the Smart Start cereal, so it was off to Kroger we go! I got my coupons and kids together and we headed to the store. I ended up buying 8 boxes of cereal. I had a rebate form for $10 off if you buy 10 Kelloggs product. My total after coupons was $60.32. After my mail in rebate the total will be $50.32. Here is a picture of what I bought minus the 3 gallons of milk. I think I came out pretty good. I had $25 worth of coupons.

Pictures

2008-08-13T09:21:00.001-05:00

Here is El playing her piano.

Sunday before church.
El has to hold "it" too!
Baby B sleeping in the bouncing seat.

It has been 10 days!

2008-08-08T21:27:00.002-05:00

I can't believe that it was been less than 2 weeks since they started framing our home. B-Daddy and I walk through it and are in amazement that one day, Lord willing, we will be living in this home that we designed. It is fun to see it shaping up. We just pray that it will be in budget. We drove up this afternoon and they are already putting in our windows. They don't have too much left to finish the framing part.

It is going to be so nice to be out there in a country subdivision and our kids can walk over to Grandma and Papa's. We were looking at the house this evening and I could hear the kids cutting up at Grandma and Papa's pool. Fun times!

Pictures

2008-08-08T14:44:00.002-05:00

Here are some pictures we took a week ago today.

B-Daddy and Baby B's feet

All of our feet. That was like playing twister.

Woo Hoo!!!

2008-08-07T07:43:00.004-05:00

Baby B has been sleeping so well the past 3 nights!! He has gone 6 hours, 7 hours and last night 8 hours. He is committed now, he has no excuse not to sleep till 6am. He is doing so well, he is only 5 weeks old and sleeping well. Em slept all night at 8 weeks and El was 12 weeks. We are doing great with him sleeping so well at 5 weeks! The Lord knows that we are too old to be so sleep deprived!

Here are some pictures from this week.

This is Em and El all dressed up.

Em, El and baby B.

This is how El fell asleep the other day. Too tired to crawl into bed, and when she did crawl into bed this is how she ended up.

El sporting her sunglasses on her head. You can't say your kids don't do everything they see you doing. Isn't she precious!?

Picture From Wednesday

2008-08-07T06:34:00.001-05:00

We now have dormers on our house. This is the picture from Wednesday night.

Front Elevation and Floor Plan

2008-08-05T12:56:00.004-05:00

Here is the drawing for our house and the floor plan below that. The plan is a little busy since it has all our electrical on it also. Click on the picture of the floor plan to blow it up so you can see it better.

This is for you, Jessica.

Day 6 of the Framing

2008-08-04T22:11:00.002-05:00

Here are a couple of pictures we took today.

B-Daddy's New Toy...I mean gas saver.

2008-08-02T13:04:00.002-05:00

B-Daddy and his business partner both got motorcycles over the last week or so. The high gas prices have provided a fun excuse to have a new toy. Of course, B-Daddy spent about $12 on gas this last week instead of the usual $85-$150!

We have studs...

2008-07-31T07:15:00.003-05:00

...that is studs for our house framing going up. This is the picture after the 2nd day. Moving right along.

Baby B's First Tonka Truck

2008-07-24T10:09:00.004-05:00

I had a great idea on Tuesday. I thought that putting Baby B in the bed of a Tonka truck would be cute. The only problem is that with my post pregnant brain it took me 3 weeks to think of this. I would have loved to have gotten it taken when he was a few days old. Oh Well!! Here are some of the shots I got yesterday in my in-laws yard. Be sure to look at the last one. El didn't want to be left out!! I think I am going to try again later to see if I can get some with his eyes open. He wasn't too happy to be laying in the truck.

We have a slab!

2008-07-24T09:59:00.002-05:00

Yesterday the concrete crew completed our slab. They started at 7am and were done by 1pm. B-Daddy was hoping the rain from Hurricane Dolly would hold off and it did! Here are some pictures of them pouring. We now have to wait on the framer to finish a job to start on our. It may be a week or 2 before he can start.

They are working on our back porch. We plan on having a lot of fun on our back porch. We are planning on screening it in and having 2 ceiling fans out there to enjoy the outdoors when it is too hot to be in the yard!

Best Ice Cream in the Country!

2008-07-17T07:04:00.006-05:00

Wednesday we went to Brenham. We all had lunch at the Brenham airport (50's diner), then the Blue Bell Creamery, and St Claire's miniature horse farm.

Here are some pictures from the Diner.
El drinking daddy's malt!

All the cousins sitting on a bench!

Em and El leaving the diner.

Here are some fun facts about Blue Bell:
*It takes 50,000 cow milk to produce 1 days work of Ice cream.
* Blue Bell has it's own bakery the cooks all the cookies and other items to go into their ice cream.
* Homemade Vanilla is the #1 seller, #2 is Cookies and Cream, #3 is Butter Pecan, and #4 is The Great Divide.
*The Employees get to eat all the ice cream they want. Their break room is stocked with Blue Bell for them to enjoy.
*Each station the fills the cartons of ice cream produces 54.5 cartons per minute.
* Blue Bell is only sold in 17 states, but can be found at any Ruby Tuesday's and Outback in the USA.
* Blue Bell is the #3 seller in the US, #1 is Breyers and #2 is Dreyers.

Waiting for our tour.

Here are pictures from the Miniature Horse Farm. These horses are under 34" tall. The foals are born during March, April and May. They grow fast reaching about 90% of their adult height during the first year. The length of their pregnancy is 11 months. So only in the spring will you see the tiny newborns.

Cousin N told his mom that he wanted her to pick him up because "Those big dogs were going to get him!"

The horse below is a year old.

Em turns 4!!

2008-07-15T08:41:00.007-05:00

Yesterday was Em's birthday. She has been at "Cousin Camp" at B-Daddy's moms house. There are 4 cousins there and they are having fun. Yesterday was birthday day for Em and swimming, they made her birthday cards. Today is $1 movies, Wed is Blue Bell and the St Claire's miniature horse farm, Thurs is the Rodeo and Fri is stay at home day and Sat is coming home day. B-daddy and I only have 2 kids at home this week!

Here are some sweet things about Em:
*She loves horses.
*She insists on being called "Katie" (this is the girls name on Flicka-- a horse movie)
*She called El "Faith" and has a big brother named "Nick"
*She is very loving. She loves to sing to Baby B, which is so sweet!
*She plays well with El.
*She is very easy going.
*She has a great imagination.
*She is always willing to tell you she loves you.
*She loves to write her name, El's name and Baby B name, and does it very well (thanks Jamee and Sharyl)
*We listen to Toby Mac and he has a song called "I got a ticket". At the end of the song they say "I thought you knew!" and Em always says "I thought you man!". She is adamant that that is what they say at the end of the song. It is too funny to listen to her sing.

Em's cake, she really wanted a castle cake, but the recipe we have calls for 2 boxes of cake mix. We didn't need that much cake. So we will make that for her big party with her friends.

Em got Flicka, Yankee, and Black Beauty horses made by Breyer. She was so excited when she opened the bag.
Here is her princess watch that she had said that she liked. I have to find her another one, that one didn't work and I had to bring it back.

Syd and baby B.

The sunset that night.

Happy Birthday Sweet Em. WE love you so much, you are truly a blessing to our family.

Our Future Home

2008-07-11T09:08:00.003-05:00

Well we closed on B-daddy's office building, so now we are starting our house. We have an acre in a country subdivision and we started the process of building yesterday. B-Daddy is going to be the contractor. We are excited to get started. We will be 2 houses down from B-daddy's parents and another 2 houses down from B-daddy's brother's house. They will be building along with us. We are not getting our hopes up, but we may be in by the end of the year. That all depends on weather, and subs.

Here is our lot

Here is the forms for the slab.

I had to add this picture. This is El with lip stick on. She kind of missed her lips though.

Our Little Firecracker!

2008-07-05T21:00:00.002-05:00

Here's a picture B-Daddy's sister took on July 4.