Beaumont Butterfly

2011 Recap

2011-12-31T22:50:00.001-06:00

In January a kitten took over our lives.

In February Caleb got a black eye on his first day of baseball practice.

In March we saw The Hobbit in Houston and I declared it the best day ever.

In April I had computer problems.

In May our lives were consumed by baseball.

In June my brother-in-law came to visit and we stumbled upon Robonaut.

In July I got yelled at by a policeman.

In August Caleb started 6th grade and Luke started 2nd.

In September my sister and I attended the Women of Faith Conference.

In October the boys became Scouts.

In November I blogged about the vine.

In December I shared about our terrific Thanksgiving trip.

Goodbye 2011

pretty, happy, fun, real

2011-12-29T21:59:00.001-06:00

{pretty}

Red Velvet Cake for Christmas Day

(Paula Deen's recipe)

{happy}

Italian Chicken Soup and yummy bread for dinner

(Pioneer Woman soup recipe)

{fun}

pictures with Luke

{real}

wondering why my 15+ year old vacuum cleaner is not picking up

wondering this for around 6 weeks or so

finally had the thought that I might need to change out the bag

said bag is overflowing and so heavy- it feels like a brick

thankful that it didn't explode

vacuum cleaner is as good as new now

I'm linking to {pretty, happy, fun, real} at Like Mother, Like Daughter.

Capturing the context of contentment in every day life.

Sunday Comics

2011-12-27T21:56:00.000-06:00

We are a newspaper family. Every morning Aaron, Caleb, and I read the paper. Luke hasn't shown much interest. But a few weeks ago on a Sunday, he read the all of the Sunday comics and then pointed out the ones he liked to me.

His favorite one that day:

Christmas Day

2011-12-26T21:02:00.004-06:00

We told the boys the earliest they could wake us up Christmas morning was 6:45. At 6:45 on the dot they bounded into our room and woke us up. Caleb said he woke up at 4:00, 4:45, and 6:00, and then laid in his bed until 6:45.

Luke's favorite gift- a tree filled with stuffed animals. He is so easy to please.

Caleb is now the proud owner of a Nintendo 3DS, which was a 2:00 in the morning, Black Friday score from Target that I made with my niece Camryn and Sister-in-law Amy.

We are so blessed! We have been busy selling items on ebay and a large majority of our Christmas was paid for with ebay earnings.

Aaron went all out and gave me some of my favorite things: a purse, gloves, CDs, gift card for books, and a necklace. I LOVE my gifts!!!!

My beautiful butterfly necklace! I may wear it every day.

After presents we went to Aaron's parents house to spend the day. Of course we had a Christmas feast.

I missed my family in Dallas, but so glad we got to spend Christmas in Beaumont and with Granna and PawPaw.

So far

2011-12-22T10:32:00.002-06:00

Our Christmas so far......

chummy brothers by the tree

happy baking days

ready to decorate gingerbread

immeasurable silliness, fun, and laughter

shimmering lights on the tree

taking the time to play

making the season about the birth of Jesus

acknowledging the blessings in our life

sweet decorations and memories to go with them

Loving this Christmas season

Thanksgiving Recap

2011-12-04T13:10:00.001-06:00

We traveled to Dallas to spend Thanksgiving with my parents and my sister and my brother and their families and had the best time.

55 things I don't want to forget about our trip:

1. The yummy Thanksgiving feast

2. Meeting baby Nix and getting to hold him.

3. Discovering Gold Rush on Discovery

4. Seeing the San Antonio kittens

5. Sitting by the fire

6. Pumpkin pie and pumpkin cheesecake

7. Cooked breakfast courtesy of my Mom (fried eggs, bacon, grits, biscuits, pear butter)
8. Cooked breakfast courtesy of my Dad (his yummy breakfast casserole)
9. Thanksgiving leftovers

10. Hearing my Dad play Christmas carols on the piano (Sleigh Ride!)
11. Hearing Julie sing
12. Seeing these three together in action

13. "It's Panda Day"
14. Listening to Kaden's CD. He is a future superstar.
15. Robe buddies

16. Seeing Karson's smile
17. Being entertained by Karson
18. Witnessing Karson give his Dad a hard time over the oranges in the bowl

19. Being around Tim and Julie (two of the smartest, most talented, and all around terrific people I know!)
20. Gone With the Wind

20. Sledding in 60 degree weather

21. Walking around downtown McKinney

22. Luke's popular coonskin cap

23. Riding in the van to the Gaylord

24. Steak and Shake

25. Snow in McKinney

26. Black Friday Shopping with Camryn and Amy
27. Not knowing where the store's are located
28. Coffee run at 11:00 p.m.
29. Old Navy and $1 scarves
30. Target
31. JCPenney and Tim's shirts

32. My Mom taking the kids exploring on her land
33. Not knowing how to use Tim's iphone and accidentally taking a video of them instead of a picture

34. Laughing uncontrollable with Camryn over something Kaylin did
35. Thrift store shopping

36. Ham and my Mom's famous potato salad

37. Continuing the tradition of seeing the lights at the Gaylord

38. Seeing the Lego Gaylord

39. Spending time with some of our favorite people

40. Monopoly Deal with Camryn and Kaylin

41. Camryn- one of my two favorite girls in the world!

42. My other favorite girl in the world- she is so full of life and laughter!

43. Kaylin and PawPaw telling jokes

44. Monkey bread

45. Luke crying on our last morning

46. A last walk around the farm in the cold

47. Exploring Grannie's secret garden

48. Having the best Thanksgiving ever!

49. Visiting the animals at the barn.

50. The kids hike and avoiding stickers and Caleb using his pocket knife.

51. The big beautiful trees shedding leaves.

52. Enjoying my parents and their hospitality

53. Making memories to last a lifetime

54. Cultivation relationships with my delightful family

55. Knowing we can return anytime!

Thanks Mom and Dad!

Guest Post by Gina Holmes

2011-12-02T13:58:00.001-06:00

“We have much to be judged on when he comes, slums and battlefields and insane asylums, but these are the symptoms of our illness and the result of our failures in love.” -- Madeleine L'Engle

When my brother traveled to the Sudan he had an encounter that changed his life—and as it ends up, mine too.

He stood in Darfur at an orphanage filled with children leftover from the genocide. There were over 800 children, and during the night wild dogs were dragging them off and killing them.

My brother already felt shell-shocked from the travesties he'd witnessed in Uganda.

The day was hot. The sun beat down upon him. His camera had nearly been ruined from all the dust. He'd barely slept. His gear was heavy. Yet his conscience was seared by the numbness he felt, so he turned and confessed to a Sudanese pastor.

"We shall pray right now that your heart will be opened," he was told.

Not long after that prayer three young children approached Joshua and started to follow him. After a bit, his father nature kicked in and he stopped and sang Father Abraham. It didn't take long before the four of them were dancing and going through the motions.

When they finished, he asked the children to tell him how they came to be there.

The oldest, a girl, answered. "The soldiers came and shot my mother and father, so I came here."

The two other children nodded in agreement. "Me, too."

He was grief struck, but it was what transpired next that tore my heart. "Do you have a Mommy?" The little girl asked my brother.

"Yes," he answered.

"And a Daddy?"

Again, his answer was yes.

"Oh," she said, her voice hinting at a strange intermingling of numbness and grief.

Her question stirs me still. For I believe it came from her soul and revealed the thoughts of her heart. She didn't want to know what his country was like, what kind of food he ate, or what he did for a living. She had her own bullet holes leftover from the genocide. Her world consisted of this single question: Who still had parents and who didn't?

In her questions I heard her worry and fear. Imagine being trapped in a war-torn country, a land of famine, drought and disease. Imagine trying to survive it as an orphan with death threatening you every hour. No matter how much she's endured, at the end of the day, she's still just a little girl. And all she really wants is her Mom and Dad.

I imagined my daughter living as an orphan in the Sudan. If I were shot and dying, it would be my hope that my brothers and sisters would care for her. But what if her aunts and uncles were killed too? What was it then, that her parents hoped?

As members of the body of Christ these children are not alone. They have aunts and uncles. Multitudes and multitudes and multitudes of them. Talk about staggering! These kids are our nieces and nephews! Mine. Yours.

So who, I wondered, within the church has the responsibility to step in?

I didn't like the answer that came. Earlier that week I was shocked to learn that globally I was one of the richest people in the world—even though as an American, I'm pretty poor.

Like it or not I was the rich aunt. I had knowledge of the situation. That made me accountable.

I wasn't comfortable with the knowledge then, and I'm not comfortable with the knowledge now. But I am determined to do something. Anything.

That day Joshua had in his possession a picture book that someone had asked him to give to someone in the Sudan. It was a children's book with a story about how we have a Heavenly Father who always loves and cares for us. Joshua read the book and gave it to them.

An American woman took it upon herself to raise the money to build shelter. Every person who donated, even a dollar, helped to create a place where the little girl now sleeps safe from wild dogs.

When Joshua told me he's going to start a branch of Watermelon Ministries called Media Change, a non-profit encouraging Americans to give up a portion of the money spent on entertainment to serve those fighting world hunger and thirst, I wanted to support it.

For seven years he's helped non-profits raise money that serves the "least of these." He's seen the impact a small investment can have. This is a brand new initiative. He's not quite ready to launch, but you can sign up and be kept updated at www.mediachange.org. His first goal is garner the support of 10,000 people who are willing to give $10 a month. I'm number #3.

This is only a blog post, but who knows what one blog post can do.

What if the task of helping others isn't as overwhelming as we make it?

Some Days

2011-11-22T23:55:00.001-06:00

Some days are wonderful, filled with learning and joy and kind words and happy, obedient children and a somewhat clean house and a longsuffering mom.

Other days I'm grouchy, short-tempered, my house is a wreck, the kids are fighting, and I'm overwhelmed with day to day life.

Branches trimmed from the front yard tree waiting for trash pick up.

On those days, I feel like the branches above, withered and dry and disconnected from my source.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. John 15:1-8

Hiking at Heritage Village

I so need to remain in Him. I love those verses above. I can do nothing outside of Jesus. So thankful for His grace and love and forgiveness and the hope in a new day.

Thankful for:

2011-10-12T21:41:00.001-05:00

1. Family game night (Monopoly Deal- best card game ever.)

2. Funny Luke

3. Happy Caleb

4. Excited Scouts

5. Birthday presents to read.

6. An almost complete kitchen

7. Excellent books: Caleb just finished Robinson Crusoe, and me and the boys together just finished The Sign of the Beaver.

8. Birthday dinner at my sweet in-laws house.

9. Yummy birthday cake.

10. Goodies I can make from a box.

This post inspired by this blog.

Pretty, happy, fun, real

2011-09-15T23:27:00.001-05:00

{pretty}

The new paint on my kitchen cabinets. I'm almost done putting the cabinet doors back on.

{happy}

Not just any Goodwill, but a Goodwill Preferred is opening soon, and it's just a 1 1/2 miles away from my house.

{fun}

The boys both worked diligently to make Grannie the perfect Tye-dye shirt. Two colorful tye-dyed shirts are ready to go out in the mail.

{real}

I asked the boys to help fold some towels and put them away.

I'm linking to {pretty, happy, fun, real} at Like Mother, Like Daughter.

Capturing the context of contentment in every day life.

Educating Caleb, Lori, and Luke

2011-09-06T22:58:00.000-05:00

School is in session for the three students.

We use the classical approach to education modeled by The Well-Trained Mind. We are on a four year rotation for history and science. This year history is early American history and goes from Christopher Columbus until Pre-Civil War. Our main text for history is A History of US, but we also incorporate lots of other books. History is heavy on reading.
Some of the history books for both boys:

For Luke I am focusing on reading, writing, and arithmetic.

At home we are using:

We'll make lapbooks, read lots of books, and try to have lots of adventures and fun.

At our weekly homeschool co-op Luke is taking Character First, Science, History, Literature, Music, Art, and P.E. Some of these classes have take home work he completes Tuesday through Friday.

I need to add spelling and continue to work on manners with Luke.
I'm hoping for Luke to develop a love of reading.
I'm thinking of having Luke take piano lessons.

Extracurricular activities for Luke: Cub Scouts. He wanted to join Cub Scouts last year, but I just couldn't make it happen. This year he is so excited and can't wait for his uniform and the fun stuff (camping, archery, pine wood derby!).

Since Caleb is in junior high his classes at the co-op are a bit different than Luke's. For all of them he has work to complete at home and bring in to be graded the next Monday.

At co-op Caleb is taking:

Latin (Latin for Children: Primer B)
Science (Exploring Creation with General Science)
Writing (U.S. History-Based Writing Lessons)
Literature
History
Drama
P.E.

Additionally at home Caleb has:

I need to have Caleb memorize some scripture and work on character/manners.
I'm hoping to have Caleb become adept at typing this year.

Extracurricular activities: TaeKwonDo (Caleb loves taekwondo.), Fall Baseball (starts this week), and Boy Scouts. Caleb didn't want to miss out on all the fun Luke would be having in Cub Scouts, so yes he had to join too. He's not quite as excited as Luke though so, we'll see.

Our school day starts each morning at 9 a.m. with a devotional, prayer, and the pledge. Then we dig into their subjects. Have I mentioned I love homeschooling the boys? Have I ever mentioned it is not always nice and pretty and fun? We have wonderful days and we have horrible days where we are all at odds with each other and yelling occurs. That's life. At this moment for us though homeschooling works.

Lastly, this semester I am taking Political Science, Drug Use and Abuse, Promoting Social Justice, and the dreaded College Algebra. The first three classes are online classes, but for Algebra I knew I needed to take that in person. The first night of the class I was a bit nervous about it. Two years ago I would think about completing my college degree and then I would think of college math and just thought that it was impossible for me.

First night, I grabbed a pencil and headed to my class. I sat down, got out my book, and pulled out my pencil. Suddenly, I notice it is no ordinary pencil. It is a pencil from Dixie Chili. Dixie Chili is a restaurant in Kentucky that my grandmother worked at for 35 to 40 years. (I'll have to ask my Mom how long exactly.) She started working there as a young mother to support her family. She labored and provided and did the best she could. I'm proud that she is my grandmother and that I am her granddaughter. I can't really explain it, but that pencil gave me strength that night. I thought of my grandmother, who never went to college, yet was an exceptional employee for Dixie Chili. That was her journey and this is mine. She made the best of her life and embraced what came her way the good and the bad. So I am following in her footsteps and embracing college and algebra and will do the best that I can with my life. Yes, all that from a pencil.

Women of Faith Conference Recap

2011-09-03T23:15:00.010-05:00

Through Thomas Nelson's blogger program, Book Sneeze, I was given the opportunity to apply for two free tickets to the Women of Faith Conference. The conference was going to be in Dallas and I knew I could stay with my parents and talk a family member in to attending with me. I applied not really thinking I would get the tickets. About a month later, I received a mysterious envelope. I opened it up and there were my two tickets to the conference!! All I was asked to do was to blog about the conference. I love going to see my family in Dallas and I love free things- so I was excited!

I invited my sister to attend with me, and my Mom offered to keep the kids. Hubby graciously encouraged me to go. Friday morning the boys and I drove to Dallas. The conference started Friday, but my sister had to work and I didn't arrive until Friday afternoon, so we made the decision to only attend Saturday.

Saturday morning we barely made it on time. As I was getting ready that morning, I realized it started an hour earlier than I thought. Um, yes not smart. Then we ran into a traffic jam on the highway that slowed us down. I dropped my sister off at the front door at 9:01. It started at 9:00. Cutting it a little close, I met her inside the cavernous American Airlines Center.

Our seats were on the floor level (YAY!) so we had to ride a special elevator down to the bottom level. Julie and I thought it was funny that each elevator had an attendant to push the buttons for us. Also, the elevator had a tv in it. Here's our secret entrance.

"Over the Top" had started.

We had great seats about 20 rows back or so. American Airlines Center was packed with women all the way to the top seats. So, so glad we were on the floor.

First up we heard from Patsy Clairmont. She is a funny, gifted speaker and a character. I would love to hear more from her. She told an impactful story about her son, who was on life support for 21 days.

Highlights from Patsy Clairmont:

Prayer matters, people matter.

Some of us create our own problems

Change can be good.

Life is hard, never give up.

Then we heard from Brenda Warner, wife of football player Kurt Warner. She told of the horrible circumstances that happened in her life, but through it all she tried to live with courage, honor, and integrity. She really has an amazing story. We purchased her book and I can't wait to read more from her.

From Brenda Warner:

Circumstances don't determine who you are.

Then the beautiful Sandi Patty took the stage and sang "When You Wish Upon a Star". I kind of wondered why she was singing this song. She told of how her dream when she was a child was to be an entertainer at Disneyland. She auditioned as a teenager, then was told she could sing well, but her dancing wasn't very good and that she had extra weight that didn't fit the Disney image.

From Sandi Patty:

God hears and knows our dreams.

He doesn't say no to our dreams, but yes to dreams we cannot see.

Dreams don't always look like we want them too.

The highlight of the day was Sandi Patty singing "We Shall Behold Him". So amazing!!

Lunch was provided to us and was great. The line was short and we quickly got our boxed lunch of a grilled chicken sandwich, chips, rice crispy treat, an orange, and bottled water.

After lunch we heard from a couple of more speakers. Um, I stopped taking notes, but rest assured they were good too.

Doesn't my sister look beautiful? She was such a trooper attending the conference with me a month away from her due date. We had adventures on the elevators and in the men's restrooms. Most of the men's restrooms were open to the ladies and of course had shorter lines.

Amy Grant then took the stage. She was gracious and funny and sang some new songs and lots of her old ones.

The review:

The conference was fun and delightful. I laughed and cried as my Mom said we would. My sister and I enjoyed it, and I'd love to attend with her next year. It was a great line up of performers and speakers. The venue was really nice and everyone there was helpful. Lunch was good and easy to eat and I loved that they included it with the ticket price.

One thing we both would like to see for next year is for there to be a schedule for the conference. We never knew what speakers were scheduled for what time. We missed hearing from Mandisa and Lisa Whelchel and would have loved to hear from both of them. So we would like a detailed schedule to be given out with the tickets. I'd also like to see them add some younger speakers/ singers that would interest teen and young adult girls. I'd love for my niece to attend. The praise and worship team was good, but very polished and some of their songs were choreographed. I'd love to see one worship leader with a guitar or keyboard next year.

It was such a blessing to attend. So thankful to be given these tickets, and to my Mom for taking the kids to a water park on Saturday too. The Women of Faith Conference is visiting more cities this fall. I highly recommend this conference to all ladies!

Goodbye summer :(

2011-08-22T22:58:00.004-05:00

Summer is over for us, today was our first day at our homeschool co-op. Tomorrow will be our first day of school at home. The boys are in 6th and 2nd grade. How did that happen?

This summer we have.....

Gone to Moody Gardens and the beach in Galveston.

Visited the Children's Museum in Houston.

Gone to Dallas and experienced Legoland Discovery Center.

Been taken on a trip to San Antonio by my generous parents and went to Sea World, the Alamo, the Japanese Tea Gardens, the Children's Museum of San Antonio, the Mercado, rode a trolley, bus, and boat in San Antonio, and had the most delicious meal on the Riverwalk.

Found 6 abandoned kittens in San Antonio. My mom took two and I took home four. Found new homes for all four within one week.

Witnessed hubby getting laid off and then starting a new job with a much better salary all within three weeks.

Started painting my entire kitchen. Cabinets, walls, everything. Still have not completed it. Ugh.

Been to Goodwill way more than my kids want to.

Taken two summer courses at Lamar Universtiy and *barely* received an A in both.

Watched Falling Skies on television.

Read a lot of books for fun.

Planned out my classes I teach at our homeschool co-op.

Made ten tie-dye shirts for the family.

Traveled to the library weekly.

I would love to blog about each of the above items, but not sure if I will get around to it.

Coming up I have....

Women of Faith conference I am attending this weekend with my sister. :)

College Algebra :( Not online, but in a live classroom. Not sure I am ready for this.

Three online college classes.

And a busy year of schooling the 2nd and 6th grader seen above.

Loving life.

Note to self

2011-07-25T17:25:00.005-05:00

We purchased a new scale, because there was something wrong with the one we had. The numbers were off somehow. There was no way we weighed as much as it was saying. We unpacked the new digital scale and stepped on. Guess what? Yes, we are delusional thinking the scale was off. In fact the new scale's numbers are higher.

Note to self: Eat less food and exercise more. The scale is not broken.

I was finally ready to finish my kitchen painting job. Yes, I am painting the entire kitchen and dining room. I am painting the old wood cabinets turquiose. Hoping it won't turn out tacky. So far I'm loving it. Anyway all cabinet doors are removed and waiting for paint. Everything in the kitchen has been painted. Today I decided I would paint the doors outside and the boys could play. We carried 20 cabinet doors outside and prepped them for painting. Got out the primer and guess what? A huge thunderstorm descended upon my backyard. I then had to pile 20 cabinet doors into the storage building. Tomorrow I will get the cabinet doors painted.

Note to self: Always check the weather report if you are planning to do something outside. And get the painting done ASAP.

In the midst of moving the cabinet doors outside and moving things around, I somehow dropped a full gallon paint can on my toe. Not a big toe, one of the little ones. It hurt so bad I started laughing. Luke was worried about me.

Note to self: Be careful with full paint cans or at least wear shoes. Take care of your toes.

Before said painting began, we had to make a run to the library to return some movies that were overdue. Yes, they were due last Wednesday and the late fee is $1 per day. (Yes, I have a problem, but the library does make money off of me.) UGH!! My fine was $13.45. I pulled out my checkbook, yea I'm one of those people who never has cash. I had conversed with the library attendant for about five minutes before this. I have also seen her on other visits. When she examined my driver's license she remarked, "Why, you're young!" Um, I don't think that was a good comment. Is she saying I look much older than my age? She thought I was much older than what I am? What does that mean?

Note to self: RETURN LIBRARY BOOKS AND DVDS ON TIME. THE LIBRARY IS SUPPOSED TO BE FREE. Also, remember to purchase and use wrinkle cream.

I purchased a lovely floral shirt from Goodwill for $3.99. I keep thinking that this is a pajama shirt and not a real shirt. Dilemma- do I wear this shirt out? Tonight I wore the shirt out on a few errands.

Note to self: Who cares if it is a pajama shirt or not. You like it so just wear it and enjoy it. See below for shirt in question.

Our 4th

2011-07-19T13:07:00.007-05:00

I'm just a little late in posting about our 4th of July, but here goes.

First we headed to a small parade in town.

It was a small parade, with a small crowd. I loved it. Anyone can participate in the parade. You can walk it, bike it, or drive it, all they ask is that you decorate your vehicle.

Luke has already informed me that next year he will be riding his bike in the parade.

It really was the sweetest parade. Girl scouts handed out flags to the crowd, there was a girl dressed up as the Statue of Liberty handing out frisbees, and there was this boat. Not sure who this man is dressed up to be. George Washington maybe?

After the parade something exciting and wonderful happened that made me so happy. I got a new smartphone. Husband and I have shared a cell phone for years. He was getting ready to spend a week in Houston for training and needed to take the phone. He didn't want to leave me without a phone, so he got one for me. Never have I enjoyed going to Best Buy as much as this time. I am amazed at what my phone can do and having so much at my fingertips. I love my new toy!! :)

After the shopping trip, Luke wanted to ride his bike. He is riding so good and hasn't fallen at all!

July 4th dinner consisted of hamburgers from the grill, baked beans, and almost my Mom's potato salad. My Mom makes the most amazing potato salad. I have watched her make it many times and I pretty much know her secrets, but mine never tastes as good as hers.

Then we ventured downtown for the fireworks. Another momentous thing occurred this day. I got yelled at by a policeman. Yep. We were walking and wanted to get close to the fireworks. A certain street was closed off, but I could see people further down. We thought to head down by those people. We passed the barricade and then a policeman came and yelled at us and said we weren't allowed past the barricade. Um, yes sir. We backtracked, and walked a little and a lady called us over and said there was room by her family. I think she felt sorry for us getting yelled at. (Thanks, kind lady.) We sat down and waited for the show.

We couldn't figure out why we weren't allowed down that street. Countless other people got yelled at after us. We weren't even sure we were going to be able to see the fireworks from our spot. The fireworks began and they were right in front of us. Front row seat!

July 9th

2011-07-09T22:19:00.008-05:00

Today is my Dad's birthday. He is smart, kind, funny, talented, and wise. Happy Birthday Dad!

I really want to go visit my family soon. I'm hoping to make a trip to see them in the next couple of weeks. I miss them! But glad they are only five hours away.

Summer so far (hodge podge)

2011-07-06T23:33:00.008-05:00

We are having a delightful summer. I always dread the start of July, as then we are getting that much closer to August and school starting. I have been loving all of our free time and sleeping in and relaxing. Here is some of what we've been up to.

Sadly, Luke got sick with strep throat a few weeks ago. He laid on the couch most of the day and watched his favorite show Cats 101. Even Paws likes it.

We had PawPaw's birthday and the massage train occurred.

Texas is in a horrible drought. Look at the ground. We are watering our yard- this was at the park.

Big A's last day with his company was June 15th. He starts his new job July 11th. We have had three and a half weeks of bliss, enjoying having Dad around. Each afternoon we have done something, a trip to the library, Goodwill, grocery store, etc. Then we have a nice dinner at home, many times husband grills for us. Then each evening we have been going to a park to run/ walk/ ride bikes. One night we ventured to the Disc Golf Park.

It took me about two days to get used to Big A being around all day long. Now I love it and will miss him when he is back at work. He'll have some training in Houston, so we will really miss him.

We love the disc golf course. It is right down the road from us and some of the course is in the woods.

Every time we have gone there are serious disc golfers there. We just like walking the course and playing around.

Our playroom is in a constant state of mess, but the boys are playing constantly, so it's okay right? One Goodwill score was this race track. It was in the box, marked as is and cost $1.99. I wasn't too sure about purchasing it as I was afraid it was broken or missing pieces. We decided to get it and it works! The boys have been loving it.

Paws is the boys constant companion and whenever they are playing, he is in the middle of it.

One day they were bored and wanted to play twister. We don't have twister so we got out our color quilt and improvised.

This is the perfect summer dessert- fruit tart from Rao's. YUM!

Twice in the last three weeks we have gone to our favorite little hole in the wall catfish restaurant. For $6.99 we get a cup of gumbo, cole slaw, hush puppies, pickled tomatoes, three pieces of catfish, and a baked potato. It is the best catfish and gumbo. I love to eat there. It's in a old building and is the complete opposite of fancy. But that doesn't matter because the food is so good.

On a walk the boys discovered a huge dirt pile. Because of our drought it was hard packed dirt and they wanted to conquer it. They had a blast climbing to the top.

Climbing this dirt pile and throwing sticks and rocks down was so much fun for them. I need to remember it's the little things not the expensive, big, planned out things that boys like.

One morning Luke went out to get the newspaper in his robe. Doesn't he look like a little man?

Luke attended a birthday party. I love this picture, it shows Luke's skill. He is sticking out his tongue, giving double peace signs, all while jumping.

And lastly, I have been working on my two summer classes, Gerontology and Criminology. I have been reading this book. It's a slow read for me. Book critique due this Saturday. I've got to get working!!!

Loving this summer, not this book.

Today...

2011-07-03T22:33:00.003-05:00

we visited a new church,

I wore my new outfit from Goodwill. The greeter at the door said to me, "Hello Miss Butterfly."

This evening we went to the park and Luke mastered riding his bike without training wheels!

Throne of Grace - Vineyard

2011-07-01T08:07:00.002-05:00

Yes, Lord. Thankful for your kindess, mercy, and grace.

Feasting

2011-06-30T06:56:00.008-05:00

We are feasting on the goodness and kindness of God. Our week has included these blessings:

free dessert of Strawberry Shortcake given to us at Jason's Deli. YUM!

Luke won, from the library, a family four pack of tickets to Moody Gardens. Worth $150. YES!

And the big one- husband starts a new job in a week!! This job has a super salary, great benefits, and incredible opportunities for advancement. WOO HOO!

I'm grateful and thankful for God's provision in our lives. To those of you going through hard times and waiting for your break. HOLD ON! God is faithful and merciful and kind!

This has been the year of baseball around here

2011-06-25T10:15:00.005-05:00

On our summer wish list was attending a Houston Astros game. Problem was money. It's hard to spend money with an impending layoff. Yes, husband was laid off from his job effective June 15th. His company sold off the division he worked for and all of the employees were laid off. Yes, we just lived this a couple of years ago. God provided for us amazingly then and is already providing again for us in big and small ways.

A friend of ours who has season tickets to the Astros offered us 8 tickets to a game. They were attending a wedding that day and couldn't attend. We quickly said yes and invited husband's parents to attend with us.

We had amazing seats and enjoyed the game even though the Astros lost.

It was family day at the ballpark and after the game the kids were invited to run the bases on the field. If you look closely you can find Caleb and Luke.

We had a great day spending time together and the tickets were a blessing. I am amazed how God blesses us in both big and small ways.

:)

2011-06-24T22:13:00.004-05:00

These

boys make

me smile!

VBS time!

2011-06-21T22:24:00.008-05:00

Both boys attended VBS last week. A church in town is known for having a spectacular VBS and they delivered. The boys went last year and it was a highlight of the summer.

First, the kids were assigned to one of the 12 tribes. Luke was in Ephraim and Caleb was in Dan.

Each tribe's room was decorated. The tribes traveled around to story time, music, snack, and to the market.

It's blurry, but here is Luke in his room.

The kids wore tunics and had a money pouch with pennies. Each day they would go to the market and visit a booth for the craft of their choice and earn a penny. They could then purchase snacks with their coins, give coins to the beggar, purchase wares from the woman at the well, and sometimes have to pay the tax collector. Luke told me one day they let him hide from the tax collector behind a tent.

Don't you love the woman at the well? I asked her if I could take her picture and she replied that she might break the camera. I think she is beautiful and so special. I don't know her personally, but I love that she gave her time and made an impact on my kids.

One day they had a petting zoo.

The boys loved attending this VBS. I'm so thankful for everyone who worked and helped make this a great VBS.

A Super Weekend

2011-06-15T17:17:00.007-05:00

A few weekends ago, husbands brother came to visit Texas for the weekend. He is a youth pastor and was in town to preach at two churches. It was a perfect weekend, except that we missed his family who weren't able to come. Caleb and Luke loved their weekend with Uncle Joel.

On Friday we headed to Space Center and Kemah.

We love Space Center, and have been there repeatedly since we have a couple of boys who love space and space travel. At Space Center we took a tram tour of NASA (right next door) and got to tour several of the buildings. This is one of the astronaut training facilities, were they have a life size mock up of the space station and the space shuttle.

The gang- we missed husband's mom that day, she was not feeling well and stayed home.

NASA is developing Robonaut, yes that is it's real name. Funniest part of the day Big A and Joel making Robonaut jokes while speaking like the Terminator.

NASA is also developing a spider-like robot named Charolotte. Our tour guide said that Charlotte would be used sometime soon in space.

NASA has a Saturn V rocket on loan from the Smithsonian. It is huge!

Caleb and Luke love visiting Space Center and NASA.

After a full day at Space Center, we drove five minutes down the road to Kemah Boardwalk.

First stop, dinner. PawPaw treated us to dinner at The Aquarium Restaurant. YUM!

Then strolling on the boardwalk. This was Friday night on Memorial Day weekend. We were afraid Kemah would be crowded. Surprisingly, there were not many people there and we had a fabulous time.

The Guys

We saw dolphins and just enjoyed the evening. I love, love the water!

Next up, the rides. Now reader, Caleb and PawPaw both had a traumatic experience on the roller coaster at Kemah. They both vowed to stay far away and never ride it again. Their word was true.

We choose calmer attractions, like the train.

But then Luke, my seven year old dynamo, begged PawPaw to ride a particular ride with him. It was small and looked like a kiddie ride. PawPaw obliged. This was the funniest thing ever. During the ride, Luke was screaming, "I love this" and "This is awesome" while everyone else on the ride would moan as the ride would go up and down. Just look at PawPaw's face. It wasn't quite the roller coaster experience, but it wasn't a gentle ride. But, PawPaw made Luke's day.

It was then time to head home. So thankful for husband's family and the great time we had that weekend.

Loving....

2011-06-13T23:26:00.011-05:00

Gardening

Boys on the slip and slide

Summer smiles

Magic Nuudles

Dad, Mom, Caleb, and Luke holding hands

The Pioneer Woman's Blackberry Cobbler

Boys happily playing together

Goodwill finds

Loving life

Bravo Caleb

2011-06-03T08:51:00.006-05:00

Last month Caleb's drama class at the homeschool co-op we attend put on two plays, "The Emperor's New Birthday Suit" and "The Glass Slipper". Caleb was in the Emperor and played the part of the Prime Minister. This part was extensive with many lines. He had so many practices. It was all worth it and the kids put on a spectacular show!

Caleb nailed it! Great job Caleb.

Would you like more from Caleb? Yes?? Well he has started his own blog to review toys, video games, movies, and books. His own idea.

All Smiles

2011-05-25T10:03:00.003-05:00

My current state of mind is happy and carefree. I am all smiles!

Why? My college semester is over!

In July of last year, I felt lead to return to college. I had not been to college in 14 years. In August of last year I started back with a full schedule of online classes from our local university. My first semester back I earned all A's. I was hoping to earn all A's this semester again. I ended up with three A's and one B. My B was not in the class I had a test catastrophe. In that class, I received a 98 on a paper and ended up earning an unexpected A in the class. My B was in History, and the reason I got a B is solely my fault. Each week I had three discussion questions to answer online. I got behind on the questions and didn't complete them all. The professor gave us until the last week to get in all of the posts. I had a choice, work all night and get in the posts to get an A or not complete them and get a B. I really wanted to get all A's like my Mom and Big A did when he returned to school. But I took the easy way out and went to bed and took the B. I'm okay with this.

I feel like I have my life back, no deadlines, no assignments, no tests or papers due. I'm trying to enjoy it. I'm taking one summer class that starts June 2nd. After I complete that class I will officially be a junior. Hooray! Thanks to my three guys for all of their support and understanding this past year!

More Baseball

2011-05-24T08:57:00.004-05:00

Sunday we attended the last home baseball game at Lamar University. Yes, the school I attend and where Big A graduated from. I flashed my student ID and received free admission, and got discounted admission for the three guys. Total cost for their three seats- $9.

Yes, many, many empty seats. I guess it's not a big draw in town. We were in the front row.

Funny story, whenever a foul ball was hit into the crowd, the announcer, would say, "Keep the foul ball for your souvenir courtesy of Neches Federal Credit Union." The boys were determined to get a souvenir/foul ball. Luke and I got a little restless during the game and walked around the stadium. Underneath the left hand side bleachers was a shaded area with picnic tables. I kid you not there were four ladies sitting at four different tables reading books. Luke and I sat down, and I was wishing I had brought a book. All of a sudden we hear a loud noise and a ball falls through the bleachers about ten feet a way from us. The ball fell down between the Cardinals and Baseball sign in the picture above. The announcer says his bit about the foul ball and Luke runs over and grabs the ball. The ladies reading never looked up from their books. Luke ran back to show Dad and Caleb his treasured foul ball. Caleb was able to get a foul ball about 15 minutes later, and everyone was happy.

After the game, the announcer invited all of the kids down to the field to run the bases. I promise there were more kids running the bases then just mine. But yes, there's Caleb with Luke following him.

Catch Up

2011-05-15T16:57:00.013-05:00

February, March, and April flew by. Some of the fun we have had:

We have spent many hours at the ballpark with these two players.

Family time at Granna's house. Is it just me or does boy #1 look just like Dad in the following picture?

On a class field trip, we took a boat tour of the Neches River. This is in our town about 10 minutes from where we live. It felt like we were away from civilization and out exploring new lands.

The cypress trees were amazing.

The last leg of the journey, we spotted civilization. See that building poking out above the tree line? That's where Big A works.

Our homeschool Co-op put on a Renaissance Faire.

Amazingly, Johnny Depp came by for a visit in full Jack Sparrow costume. I made the boys take this picture. They didn't really want to.

Everyone came in costume. It was lots of fun for the students.

A random picture from my life courtesy of Luke.

Our kitten Paws is now a cat.

The boys both tested for new belts in TaeKwonDo. That's Luke on the far right.

Caleb in the back.

Yay, a new belt!

Science projects were due at Co-op. Caleb did his on the space shuttle. Here he is presenting it to his class. He is so amazing!

Luke's project was on volcanoes. He was so at ease presenting his project to his class.

We had a family night at co-op. Luke was in Down By the Creekbank. He was a natural on the stage. So proud of him.

One day Luke wanted to paint.

He worked hard on his painting of foxes.

Look closely at this picture, it sums up my life. I'm helping Luke paint, have my hot tea on the table, a load of clothes I'm trying to fold, overseeing Caleb write his report on space shuttles for his science project, all while there is a mess in the background. Yep, my life.

Baseball- Then and Now

2011-05-14T06:53:00.005-05:00

Baseball. Just three more games left in the season. Luke's team for the second half of the season switched from coach pitch to machine pitch. Luke had no problem getting hits when the coach pitched, but the pitching machine has been a challenge. He hasn't gotten one hit against the machine.

Until his last game. They were playing the one girl team in the league. Luke went up to bat and HOORAY, he hit the ball and made it to 1st base! We cheered and cheered and he had a big smile on his face.

Side note: on Caleb's team, the players have been waiting for walks and not swinging the bat. It is an epidemic. Caleb is the 5th batter in the line up and dad explained to him that he is in that position to get a hit, not to walk. We told Caleb if he got a hit we would give him a couple of dollars. That sounds bad, but we were trying to encourage him to hit, because he is such a good hitter at practice. Well at Luke's game, we were sitting at the 3rd base line and when Luke made it to 3rd base, he yelled out to us, "I want some money- I got a hit."

Waiting for a walk is behind Caleb. He is hitting most times at bat. He also pitched again. I am so proud of him. Sadly, his team has gone win less for several weeks. I'm hoping they get a win in one of these last three games.

Last week after one of Caleb's games, we arrived home around seven and he proceeded to play baseball in the backyard with dad and some neighbor boys for an hour. Yes, he is loving baseball.

Last Sunday we took a drive and stopped by the little league park where Big A played growing up.

He had many memories as he played for six years on these fields.

There is just something special about being at the ballpark.

Little League baseball is: the sound of the ball hitting the bat, home runs, many strikeouts, the open sky, the concession stand, yelling coaches, cheering parents, and sometimes disappointed players and sometimes happy players.

Everything is in His hands

2011-04-19T22:27:00.006-05:00

Today I was reminded of how everything is in God's hands.

I had a test to take and it was only going to be available today. On the previous test I had in this class I had a catastrophe. I had one hour to take the test online. My computer has started this maddening practice of shutting down for no reason at all. I have no idea why. I just have to restart it and everything is fine. Well on my last test the computer shut down four times during the test. I ended up finishing the test in one hour and eight minutes. The professor, without ever sharing this information with the class, took twenty points off of every one's test that went over one hour. My test score went from a 92 to a 72. I was crushed. I work really hard for my grades and last semester got all A's. I emailed my professor and he wouldn't work with me and said that I was lucky that he didn't give me a zero on the test.

Caleb has a drama performance coming up next week. He has been having practice after practice during the day for it. Today he had practice from 9 to 12. Yesterday his drama teacher asked for any moms who could to stay and help with costumes, props, and backdrops during practice today. I told myself I was too busy, I just couldn't help. I was going to drop Caleb off for his three hour practice and Luke and I were going to go to the library at the university so I could take my test with no problems.

I woke up this morning and just felt like I needed to help at the drama practice. I told the boys over breakfast I would be helping and in the afternoon we would do schoolwork, chores, and that I would take my test at home. Caleb had a baseball game at five and there would be no time to go to the library.

We attended the practice and only three Moms were there to help. I worked hard those three hours. We came home and the time came for me to take the test. I laid my hands on the computer and prayed and asked God to touch the computer so I could take my test without stopping. I log on and when I go to pull up the test, there is a notice that said because of software problems the test has been moved and will be available for three days later in the week. So later in the week I will go to the library one evening and take the test. I loved how God solved my computer problems for this test today in an unexpected way.

Later I grabbed my Bible for a quick read and opened it up to Job. The chapter I read spoke directly to me. I can't even explain it, but God knew I needed to read that chapter today.

In the mail today we received a surprise- a check for over $500! We had overpaid our escrow account last year and this was our refund. I didn't even know it was coming.

It was getting close to dinner time and I needed to get something cooked quickly. Remember we have baseball at five. I had pork chops laid out that were supposed to go in the crock pot earlier, but that didn't happen. I searched online and found a recipe that sounded good and wouldn't take too long. It turned out great and we had just enough time to get ready to go.

Then the baseball game. Tonight Caleb's team was playing the Astros. There are only three teams in Caleb's division and they play each other repeatedly. The Astros have beat them every time. Tonight Caleb's team played smart and they were leading the game 10 to 7. There was lightning in the area so the game had to be called. It will be finished at a later date. But Caleb's team didn't lose tonight and they have a good chance to win this game.

Today felt like a gift to me. God reminding me that everything is in His hands. Tests, classes, plays, money, baseball games, dinner- everything.

One of my favorite songs:

Everything Is In Your Hands
by Terry Butler

Everything is in Your hands
Everything is in Your hands
Everything is in Your hands, oh God

My past and my present and things yet to come
My days are in Your hands, each and every one
I know You can handle any challenge that I face
You promised You’d be there every step that I take

There’s nothing too big, that You aren’t bigger
Remind us again Lord, that You are in control
We know You can handle any challenge that we face
You promised You’d be there every step that we take

I know that things won't always go my way. I have just felt so weary lately and worn down and have been struggling from being so busy. I needed these blessings and good things today to encourage and refresh me. So thankful everything is in His hands.

Busy Mode

2011-04-07T06:36:00.005-05:00

Recent happenings include: We celebrated something every week in March, Caleb's birthday, our 15th wedding anniversary, Luke's birthday, then Big A's birthday. It was a wonderful month! We spent one fun filled evening at the fair. Luke and I rode the Chinese Dragon little roller coaster. The whole time Luke was yelling, "Yay, this is awesome, I love it." Big A and the boys rode the balloons.

Lots of cuddles and hugs from Luke. He is seven and I know they won't last forever. :(

Baseball, baseball, baseball. You are consuming our lives, but we are loving it.

Caleb pitched the other night in the last inning of his game. The score was tied and the other team was trying hard to score. Caleb struck out the first batter, walked one, then the next two batters got hits, but the team got both of them out. Caleb's team was so excited to end the game with a tie. (Yes, they are struggling in the win column.)

So, so proud of Caleb. This is his first year to play and he has done so well. Remember he started out the very 1st practice with a black eye. He has persevered and gained so many baseball skills since then.

Counting down to the end of school. Come quickly May!

Luke's 7th Birthday!

2011-03-19T17:06:00.005-05:00

On Tuesday, Luke turned 7! We had a full day and evening, so Luke opened his presents right when he woke up. He said if felt like Christmas.

Grannie and PawPaw came to stay with us over Luke's birthday. It was so wonderful to spend time with them, it just went by too quickly. Back to our day, after breakfast Luke wanted to go to Build a Bear. He didn't want a new bear, he purchased a star wars costume for his bear at home.

Next, Luke wanted to do the bungee jump in the mall. He said he loved it. Luke did hold on for dear life the whole time.

We then had lunch at Fuddruckers, and a couple of mishaps with keys, HEB, and communication. Everything worked out okay- sorry Dad we weren't at HEB on time. Then Caleb had a baseball game and Luke had baseball practice. We made it home close to 8:00 pm and had cake. Luke kept saying he wanted a cookie cake, but when we stopped by the store he saw this orange and blue cake and had to have it.

Happy Birthday Luke! Luke is so sweet, loving, funny, and an all around great boy!

We had a super day celebrating Luke's birthday!

It was extra special because of our guests!

Luke + Caleb + Grannie = Fun

12 pictures to recap Caleb's 11th birthday

2011-03-05T17:31:00.005-06:00

Caleb is eleven. How is that possible that eleven years have gone by since he was born? I love, love my almost grown up, tween Caleb.

Since we are so busy with Little League, Caleb opted for no friend party, just time with family and presents. We had a full evening, so Caleb opened presents right when he woke up, before Big A went to work.

After breakfast we journeyed to Toys R Us. Caleb had $$$ from Grannie and PawPaw to spend.

He shopped and examined, but ended up only spending $20 that day. He wanted to keep thinking about what to purchase.

Caleb played with new toys and built Legos in the afternoon. Um, yes we took off from school. The beauty of homeschooling.

Love, love, love him!

While he played, I made him a cake. Now you have to know Caleb. He does not eat any candy or chocolate, and only specific sweets. Now Luke makes up for him, because he eats all candy and all chocolate and all sweets. Caleb loves cinnamon and we found a cake mix for Decadent Cinnamon Cake made by Betty Crocker. Caleb had to have it. So I made him a cinnamon cake and decorated it. Here is where my training at the Cookie Co. came in handy. LOL.

Thankfully, Caleb's practice that night was cancelled. Luke did have practice though. So after Luke's practice we met up with Big A's parents at a Mexican restaurant in town. Another of Caleb's new loves is Fajitas.

So we had a dinner of Fajitas, presents from the grandparents, and cinnamon cake for dessert.

Here is our after dinner discussion:

Me: I just love Mexican food.

Big A: I just love Mexicans.

Caleb: Maybe that's because we're part Mexican.

So funny. Happy Birthday to one of my favorite guys! I love you Caleb!!

Best Day Ever!

2011-03-02T10:08:00.005-06:00

With our homeschool group we attended a performance of The Hobbit put on by the A.D. Community Players in Houston. The actors were amazing!

The actor who played Gollum was creepy and perfect in that part. His scenes were intense and spellbinding.

The Hobbit is one of Big A's favorite books. Happily, he took off from work to join us. Interestingly, this performance was held in a round theater with only three rows. We were in the first row and the action took place right in front of us. Towards the end of the story, the huge dragon came out right next to Big A and one of the characters shot a real arrow at the dragon to kill him. Thankfully, he was a good shot and the arrow came no where near my guys.

After the show, the cast signed autographs. Caleb with Gandalf and the Lake-town Guard.

Bilbo Baggins, Caleb, and Thorin

(Luke declined all autographs and pictures.)

Can you guess what store this is? Here's a hint, my mom and sister would have loved to have shopped here with me. Near the theater in a nice part of Houston, we found this massive Goodwill. I only shopped for about thirty minutes. Everything in the store was high quality.

*In full disclosure on the way home we stopped at another Goodwill in Houston. I did spend more than thirty minutes there. Yes, we are addicted to thrift stores.

After our first Goodwill stop, we ate lunch at Chuy's Mexican Restaurant. The food was delicious. Aaron and I ordered the same dish and our waiter mentioned that it was spicy. He wasn't kidding the food was so hot, but we loved the yummy flavors!

Best boys

Best play

Best Goodwill shopping

Best Mexican food

Best husband

Best Day Ever!

A list

2011-03-01T12:23:00.004-06:00

I wanted to do better than just three blog posts in February.
March has begun- the month that all three of the important guys in my life have birthdays, Caleb first, then Luke, and finally Big A.
I have lots of things to blog about- just no time.
Opening day for Little League is Saturday.
In preparation, Caleb's team has been practicing seven to ten hours a week. Luke's team has practiced two hours a week.
Caleb, my first March birthday boy, has agreed to no party this year with friends. Instead he will receive extra presents. YES! We just do not have time for a party. I did tell him he could have a sleep over with a few friends sometime soon.
Caleb will have a two hour practice on his birthday. He has to be there- his team did have 11 members, but one of the players (who is a great catcher, pitcher, and hitter) just broke his hand. They are down to 10 players. Nine players are needed to play. Should be an interesting season.
Luke is having big problems batting- he would rather play t-ball he told me.
My college semester is halfway over. I'm dreading April- in each of my four classes a paper is due that month. UGH!
Yesterday it was 79 degrees here people.
My azaleas are starting to bloom.
We had pancakes for breakfast and I just saw it is National Pancake Day. I added chocolate chips to mine. DELICIOUS! Why haven't I done that before?
Luke is on a Junie B. kick. In the last week we have read two Junie B. books. Luke has started his own first grade journal.
Lori out.

Cuteness

2011-02-16T13:23:00.005-06:00

Last fall Luke wrote me some love notes.

He said I was as cute as a kitten.

Last week he whispered to me, "I'm sorry to tell you this Mom but Paws is cuter than you."

Caleb gave me this card for Valentine's Day. I guess his love for me and the Saints is intertwined.

More cuteness- these pictures of the boys from three and a half years ago.

Love this one!

What has happened to my little guy?

Cuteness:

1st Baseball Practice

2011-02-15T09:54:00.005-06:00

First baseball practice and what does Caleb come home with? Yes, a black eye.

I took this picture from the van so as not to embarrass him or anything. A few minutes later the ball bounced off of Caleb's glove and hit him in the eye.

The coach talked to him and got him ice and Caleb completed the practice. Aaron and I both were worried that Caleb would be upset and want to quit baseball. He was fine, but his eye was not.

1st day- it was swollen, like almost swollen shut.

Caleb was still excited about baseball and said everything was okay.

2nd day- the swelling went down but it turned purple.

He's a trooper!

3rd day- his bruise is turning yellowish/ green and getting bigger. I think Caleb is now enjoying the novelty of having a black eye. Yesterday at Co-op he was asked about his eye repeatedly and he shared the story. He told me to make sure I posted pictures of his eye on my blog.

Last night Caleb had his second practice. Everything went well. The first thing Caleb said to me after practice was, "That was awesome, I had so much fun!"

B & B

2011-02-08T07:55:00.008-06:00

Boys & Baseball

Luke really wanted to play baseball this year. He has been talking about it for months. We went to sign him up and he was so excited. Since his birthday is in March he will be on the 7 year old team with the coach pitching.

We have been practicing and practicing. Aaron has been having to work a lot of overtime so when he gets home it is dark. Who does that leave to practice with Luke? Yours truly. My brothers and sister are probably laughing because I have absolutely no baseball skills.

We have been practicing in the back yard and at the park. The park makes it feel more like a baseball field.

Caleb was on the fence about playing. He has never played before on a team, but he loves playing in the backyard and can hit well. When we signed Luke up several of the coaches talked to Caleb and wanted him to sign up. Caleb thought about it and the next Saturday we signed him up too.

Caleb can hit the ball far and throw really good. We are working with him on catching.

Playing around at the park:

Big A came home from work early one day to practice them and spent the weekend practicing with the boys. There were some tears.

A few days ago both boys had tryouts to see what team they would be on. We spent from 1:45 to 6:00 p.m. at the ballpark. Both boys did pretty good. And they both had a blast playing on a real field.

This week they will be assigned to a team and then practice will start. Then life will get busier. Hoping and praying for a great baseball season!

The boys on tv

2011-01-31T22:40:00.004-06:00

Last week our homeschool group visited Channel 6 KFDM, our local CBS affiliate for a tour.

First we met in the conference room and learned about where they get the news, the only thing a reporter can do to get in huge trouble (use profanity on the air), how they get the news perfectly within 30 minutes, and more. Notice who is at the head of the table- Luke. Luke was asked what he wanted to be when he grows up and he replied either a vet or a meterologist.

We then took a tour. First stop the cable room. This room was filled with computers and cables that help run the station.

Next stop was the control room.

Then on to the studio. We were able to watch the live 12 noon newscast. Every Thursday James Brown the weather man has a cooking segment. We walked into the studio and he was finishing preparing the food. He does cooking shows at the local supermarket and has a couple of cookbooks out. The dish he prepared on our visit was Crawfish Etoufee.

He then demonstrated the green screen and let the kids try it out.

We learned about the cameras, the producer, and more.

Then it was time for the live news show to begin. I did take this picture during it, without the flash of course.

Here is Luke with Lance, the station's internet guru who gave us our tour.

And the boys with James Brown.

We rushed home and watched the news we had recorded while eating lunch.

They showed our group on the air. The camera zoomed in on Luke as he was beating his chest like a gorilla. I kindly asked him why he was doing it and he replied that he wanted to do something funny to make people laugh.

We had a great tour!

Marco Polo Week

2011-01-28T06:26:00.006-06:00

Last week we learned all about Marco Polo and the Silk Route. We read Marco Polo A Journey Through China by Fiona MacDonald. Marco Polo traveled halfway around the world on a search for rare plants, medicines, spices, silk, wool, glassware, metalware, ceramics, porcelain, and bronze. He traveled to the east collecting goods then returned them to his shop in Venice to sell.

The boys made a fun craft using spices. Favorite spices imported into Europe from India and the Spice Islands include ginger, nutmeg, black pepper, cloves, and cinnamon.

They made a spice map. I printed out a map of the silk road, then the boys made a collage with it using spices.

The finished project:

Then I cut up tortillas spread butter on them and had the boys top them with different spices. We warmed them in the over and had a yummy spicey snack. We talked about how spices can add so much flavor. No wonder people traveled halfway around the world for spices.

For the boys

2011-01-21T09:37:00.005-06:00

The boys love to see themselves and their creations on my blog, so this is for them.

For Christmas we gave Luke a Lego castle set and Grannie and PawPaw gave him a different castle set. He combined them to make this tall castle.

The boys received scooters from Aaron's parents. They want to ride every day!

We gave Caleb the Lego Space Shuttle. I thought it would take him a week or so to put this together. He had it complete in one day.

Paper Jamz were a big hit too!

Caleb loves anything to do with space or NASA. He loves this Space Shuttle!

Grannie and PawPaw gave this Star Wars Lego set to Caleb.

While Caleb loves the space shuttle, Luke loves jets. He built this mainly by himself with just a little help!

Their birthdays are coming up soon! More toys!

Ponderings

2011-01-20T09:35:00.007-06:00

I have been thinking a lot about my blog. I try to only have positive posts. I don't think anyone wants to hear me rant about anything. But I don't want it to appear on my blog that I have a perfect life. At the butterfly house we are not always smiling, and we have plenty of problems, challenges, and faults.

I never want to suggest that I have it all together or that my life is Camelot. So here is me getting real:

My boys pick with each other constantly. What is it with them? Then I get upset and yell. Yeah, not proud of it.

Many nights I go to bed with dirty dishes in the sink and a basket or two of laundry waiting to be folded.

I am terrible at sticking with a budget. I try to be frugal, but each week I end up spending way too much money on groceries.

The boys both got strep throat for the second time in a month last week. Finishing up the second round of antibiotics and hoping this is it. Am I a bad Mom because I didn't change out their toothbrushes the first time?

I can't sew and I'm not crafty.

I am an introvert and it takes me a long time to become friends with someone.

Many times I put my school work off until the last minute.

I sometimes worry and am anxious. Constantly working on this.

I have way too much gray hair and wrinkles for a 34 year old.

Never quite satisfied with where we are in life. I often long for change (a new city, new house, new church, new something!)

I need to dust, mop, clean the bathroom, wash the sheets. I am always behind in house work.

So that's me keeping it real. I will continue to be positive on my blog, but maybe share more challenges along the way. I do love my life and am thankful for it! I'm trusting in God everyday and trying to live my imperfect life for Him.

So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. Romans 12:2 The Message

Winter Update

2011-01-12T10:07:00.010-06:00

Good morning on this cold day! It is 10:00 and we are taking a quick break from school. We are experiencing super cold weather for us- right now it is 32 degrees.

My cold remedies are....

a hot breakfast of oatmeal and hot tea,

and a toasty fire.

My classes started this week. Last semester was successful (Yay!). I earned all A's. This semester I am taking Anthropology, Domestic Violence, Social Problems, and the second History class.

Big A is super busy. He is working about 12 to 15 hours of overtime a week. He did score a new Sorry Sliders game from Goodwill last week. Lots of fun to play.

And Sir Paws is taking over the house.

Luke adds, "Sometimes Paws gets into mischief when we are gone. Most likely Paws scratches the curtains. A lot of times if Paws is not tired he will come into my room and keep me awake. So I try to tire him out before bedtime."

Sir Paws

2011-01-08T21:19:00.008-06:00

Luke loves all animals. He has wanted a kitten for a long time. We have a couple of outside cats, but Luke didn't get to experience them as a kittens. One night Luke started crying saying, "I just want an inside kitten so bad." Yes, Luke can be dramatic.

One of my friends, a cat person, found two skinny, tiny kittens by her house that were probably dropped off. I happened to stop by her office before Christmas and she had them there. They were all bone with big heads. She knew Luke wanted a kitten and offered us one. I told her we would think about it, but we were about to go out of town for a week so we would have to wait.

She proceeded to find homes for the kittens. One went right away. The second one she couldn't find a home for. Her other three cats started acting out to show their dislike of the kitten. This past Monday, my friend again offered the kitten saying she would have to take the kitten to the animal shelter if he didn't get a home. Monday night Big A and I debated about getting a kitten. We both decided we didn't want to deny Luke something he really wants that is in our power to give to him.

I waited till the morning then called my friend up and went to pick up the kitten.

Meet Sir Paws (Paws for short).

He is the sweetest kitten.

He follows us wherever we go. During school time he sleeps under the table.

Sir Paws lets Luke play with him.

I has serious doubts about getting a kitten. But I decided to embrace life and take the bad that comes with the good.

We had a productive week schooling with no attitude problems. Caleb said Sir Paws helped them with their school work.

Paws is still skinny with a big head and ears, but is growing into them.

So cute!

This is the local news

2011-01-07T10:01:00.006-06:00

Luke is a natural in front of the camera.

Some observations:

Got to love Southeast Texas where you can go barefoot in winter.
These are some tough stuffed animals, they drive monster trucks and have guns.
Luke set up the tent and said it was his new room and that he would be sleeping there from now on.
So thankful for these boys!

2010 Recap

2011-01-07T09:36:00.003-06:00

In January change came to the butterfly house and I embraced it.

In February we were blessed.

In March we had special visitors for Spring Break.

In April I got stuck in a spinning drum.

In May Caleb was a part of Narnia.

In June Luke told about plans.

In July we celebrated July 4th in McKinney.

In August I started a new journey.

In September Luke became a Viking.

In October we went to a concert.

In November football took over our lives.

And in December I recovered from an all night shopping trip.

Christmas in McKinney

2011-01-05T08:57:00.014-06:00

The boys and I got to spend the week before Christmas at my parent's house in McKinney. Sadly, I live five hours away from my family. Big A stayed home and worked and the boys and I went to play. We left early Monday morning and arrived for lunch. That started a week of amazing meals cooked by my Mom. We had cooked breakfast every morning and a delicious lunch and dinner each day. Much appreciated Mom!!

Monday night two of our favorite girls got silly.

****This is bugging me so much about this picture. On the tv is When Harry Met Sally. I promise the kids were not watching this movie. I think it was a commercial or someone was going through channels. I like Camryn in this picture, so just forget about the tv.

Luke, Kaylin, and Kaden played with animals in the Barbie cars.

Tuesday was a big day. We went to Northpark Mall in Dallas to see the model train display. It was amazing and the kids loved it.

People in Dallas sure know how to shop.

After the trains, we walked around at the mall. Caleb headed straight for the Lego store.

Then we found a toy store with some Superman and ......

Batman.

We ate lunch at the food court then headed to the Dallas Children's Theater to see Junie B. Jones in "Jingle Bells, Batman Smells!" The show was so good and funny! After, the cousins posed for pictures with Grannie.

We took a group shot with everyone: my sister, my mom, my nieces and nephews, the boys, and my sister-in-law, Amy.

The actors were so good in the play!

Then the cousins had their picture taken with JUNIE B. JONES!

Outside the theater Caleb and Camryn looked too cool.

The next day we went to The Shops at Willowbend in Plano to see a Narnia display. Camryn took me and Caleb to the Apple store where we all proceeded to try out the Ipad.

Camryn was the expert and had to show me and Caleb how it worked. Caleb found Madden 11 and started to play.

Camryn and I had fun shopping, then it was time for dinner at Cracker Barrel. Next we headed to the Gaylord Hotel in Grapevine. Every year they have amazing Christmas decorations. It has become a tradition for us to go every year.

The cousins pose for pictures.

There are lights, model trains, music, a life size gingerbread house, and more to see!

My brother Tim gets in on the fun.

PawPaw with Kaden and Luke.

These guys are getting so big!

The next day we spent a quiet morning at home, opened some presents, and in the afternoon went to downtown McKinney to walk around and shop.

Thursday night we had the first Christmas dinner with all of the family. My brother Joe and his family came in too. I missed getting a picture of them. But, here is Tim, Amy, Kaden and Karson.

The cousins with the two lifes of the party, Jace and Justus.

My sister had the week off of work. It was so nice to spend time with her and the girls.

We had a feast that evening. The next day, Christmas eve, the boys and I packed up and started driving home around noon. It rained most of the way and was a hard drive. We finally made it home around 6:30. I had a wonderful week with my family. Such good times, food, and memories. Thanks Mom and Dad for the great week! The boys were tired, but were all smiles on Christmas morning!

First Tooth!

2010-12-29T06:24:00.004-06:00

Luke has lost his first tooth! And yes he really lost it. First thing when he woke up we realized his tooth was super loose. I wanted to try and pull it but he was scared it would hurt so I thought I would let him eat breakfast first and then pull it. He asked for a bowl of cereal, because "it is soft." Curiously, while he was eating his cereal Luke remarked that there was something hard in his cereal. I didn't think anything about it. Thirty minutes later, Luke is playing and I notice a space between his teeth. I take a closer look and yes his tooth is gone. Luke pipes up, "That must have been the hard thing I ate in my cereal." We will have to do better with tooth #2.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-19T22:48:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving

2010-12-03T12:35:00.007-06:00

I know this is late, but I wanted to share our Thanksgiving.

First we had a delicious meal at Big A's parent's house. MIL-Ann is skilled at decorating and cooking.

YUM!

Family picture time

So thankful for these guys!

Foxy, Lukey, and Me

So funny, the guys were watching the Cowboys-Saints game and Big A and his dad were sitting the same way on the couch with their arm behind their head. Caleb and Luke quickly joined in for me to snap this picture.

Then craziness began. The boys spent the night at with Granna and PawPaw's house so we could go out and go shopping. Toys R Us was opening at 10 p.m Thanksgiving night. We thought we would go by Toys R Us first, then to Walmart at midnight and possibly HEB at 4 am. Yes, we were crazy. We ended up having a failure at one store and some successes at other stores. Here is the rundown. At 9:30 we leave to drive to Toys R Us. We get there and cannot even enter the parking lot. There were people everywhere. The line of people went around the the back of the building, through the parking lot, and all the way to the road. After a few minutes of discussion we decided it would be crazy to get in line. Did I mention a cold front had come through that night? It was in the 40s and windy and rainy.

So at 10 p.m we arrive at Walmart. Now here was our strategy. The Walmart in our town is extremely busy and a bit rough around the edges. There is a nice new Walmart in the next town over. We drove to that Walmart and expected the sale items to be brought out at midnight. But when we arrived all the sale items were out on the floor. We just couldn't purchase them until midnight. Big A and I seperated and I loaded up on toys and he collected some DVDs and video games on sale. At 11:30 p.m. we get in line with our loaded cart. The line is extremely long. A manager lets us get in a lane and we are the first people to check out! We leave Walmart at 12:05. Big A and I kept saying ,"Yes, firstness!!" Early in the week we saw on the news a lady camped out at Best Buy and she said she was doing it to experience firstness. We were perplexed and wondered about the allure of firstness. Well now we know and firstness rocks!

We stopped by Walgreens and picked up some of their sale items, then took all of our purchases home. At 2 a.m. we head to HEB to wait for them to open at 4 a.m. We wanted to buy some toys on sale and Aaron was interested in a tv that was on sale for an amazingly low price.

Big A waited outside in the rain and cold for two hours while I sat in the van and stayed warm with the snuggie. Man I love snuggies so much!

At 4 a.m. we go in and make all of our purchases, yes including a tv. We head home and go to bed.

We made out really good, we got almost all of our Christmas shopping done in one night and Aaron scored a new tv. And we got to experience firstness!

Pumpkinpalooza

2010-11-24T16:11:00.005-06:00

Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin. We have been enjoying pumpkinpalooza at our house. First we had pumpkin pancakes topped with pecans and caramel sauce from IHOP. So delicious!

My sister raved about the pumpkin pie shake from Jack in the Box. We tried it and it did not disappoint. This may be the best shake ever!

At the building where Aaron works, all last week they were giving away several pies a day. Aaron put his name in the pot and later got a call that he had won a pie. He went down to pick up his pie. It was a pumpkin pie from Rao's Bakery, and who wouldn't be pleased to win a pie from there? But his happiness was short lived. A pie controversy erupted at his place of work. Another worker, whose name also starts with "A" received a call that she had won a pie. She went down to pick it up later in the day and they told her someone else had already picked the pie up. She came back to work pie-less. Aaron said several people came up to him asking him was he sure he won a pie and did he really get a call. He was round about accused of stealing his co-workers pie. Aaron stood firm in the face of accusations and walked out of the office with his head held high and his pumpkin pie. We anticipated having a slice of pumpkin deliciousness. Later that evening we cut a piece and took a bite. Something was wrong with this pie. Too many spices or missing something, but it just did not taste right. The rest of the pie was not eaten and ended up in the trash. I'm not sure what the moral of this story is. A pie in the hand.........?

Have you seen this ice cream from Blue Bell? Spiced Pumpkin Pecan. Yum!!

The 5th entry in Pumpkinpalooza is Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies courtesy of $5 Dinners. These are so delicious warm. Sorry no picture, they were eaten up too quickly.

I love anything pumpkin! Happy Thanksgiving friends!

An Update & Football

2010-11-22T07:06:00.005-06:00

Dear Blog,

I'm sorry I have only visited you 12 times in the last four months. This semester if flying by. I have so much to share with you, trips to the park, Luke dressing up, field trips, history projects, family night, and so more. But I am laboring on my college classes, trying to get everything done. Sadly, no time is left in the day to blog. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Classes end Dec. 6th and I will have a whole month of no school!

The boys have a new passion- football. They play it and watch it whenever they can. It's not much dear blog, but enjoy these pictures of the boys playing football in the front yard.

Juggling it all,

Lori

Make A Difference Tour

2010-10-28T19:19:00.007-05:00

Aaron and I had quite the date night all thanks to my Dad. He was offered two free VIP tickets to the Make a Difference Tour. But the tour was not coming to his city, it was coming to mine. Beaumont! My Dad called me up and said, "I signed you and Aaron up for these free tickets." The tickets included a dinner with special guest Max Lucado. Aaron's parents kindly took the boys for the evening, and we headed to the dinner.

We were served a yummy dinner with dessert and enjoyed the talk by Max Lucado. Then on to the concert. Do you know who was a part of this tour? Try Toby Mac, Third Day, and Michael W. Smith. Yes, all together. We had great seats near the front.

7:00 p.m. came and Jason Gray opened the show, then Toby Mac came on stage. I think he had 9 people on stage with him. He is the ultimate performer! The music, the lights, the bass, the video screen- it was quite an experience.

Our seats were off to the side, so we could see a timer on the corner of the stage. Do you see the clock with the red numbers? Each performer had 40 minutes and we would watch the clock count down for each performer. Back to the music, my favorite song from Toby Mac was "Jesus Freak". Loved it!

Next, on a smaller stage in the back of the auditorium Michael W. Smith and Mac Powell from Third Day came out and did 20 minutes of worship. Then Toby Mac came out and all together they sang another of my favorite DC Talk songs, "In The Light".

Next was back to the main stage with Third Day. I love, love their song, "Give Me Revelation".

Give me revelation,

Show me what to do,

I'm just trying to find my way,

I haven't got a clue

Tell me should I stay here,

Or do I need to move,

Give me revelation,

I've got nothing without you

Next Max Lucado came out and he got twenty minutes on the clock. He spoke about helping others and asked people to sign up to sponsor children through World Vision. Then we had a 15 minute intermission. The following picture is during that time.

The concert then started back up with Michael W. Smith. He sang some of his new songs, Secret Ambition, but what I enjoyed the most was his worship songs. He sang Breathe, Above All, Draw Me Close, and more.

I had never seen Michael W. Smith play the guitar before, but he played the guitar and the keyboard.

Wait, the concert is not over! Then Toby Mac and Mac Powell came out on stage and joined Michael W. Smith. Together they sang, "City on its Knees" and "God of This City". It was amazing!

After three and a half hours, sadly the concert was over. We had a super time! Thanks Dad!

10-10-10

2010-10-14T09:35:00.004-05:00

First an update. We are enjoying the milder weather, and spending lots of time outside. I joined Facebook, and am trying not to spend too much time on there. Whenever I have free time (free time what is that) I have to choose between the blog and facebook. Lately, facebook is winning. Sorry blog. I am super busy with my classes, but hooray I am at the halfway point of this semester. I got an A on my Philosophy midterm last week. This week I have a history test and film appreciation test and quizzes in my other classes. I have been so busy that housework and grocery shopping have been neglected. Yesterday I planned the menu for the week, wrote out my list, completed my shopping and put everything away. This morning I wake up and my refrigerator and freezer aren't working. What?! A repairman is coming this afternoon. Hopefully it will be an easy fix. Sadly, two half gallons of Blue Bell Ice Cream were melted this morning and are ruined.

On to 10-10-10, my birthday. I turned 34 and it was a lovely day and weekend. Saturday, Aaron and the boys took me to my all time favorite restaurant, Saltgrass and it cost us 50 cents plus the tip. Here is how: in the summer we ate at Saltgrass, they told us about their dining club. It cost $25 to join, but if you logged on and registered your card within 24 hours they put the $25 back on the card to use. Also, in your birthday month they give you $25. So we registered it within the 24 hours and under my name since my birthday comes first. October 1st we had $50 waiting to be used. I was so looking forward to this dinner. Aaron got ribs and shrimp and I got steak and coconut shrimp. Saltgrass really has the most delicious food. With all of our food and after using our card we owed 50 cents.

Sunday morning the boys delivered my birthday presents. I received a purse, a candle, and some new tennis shoes. I loved all of the gifts!

Sunday night Aaron grilled my favorite dinner, chicken fajitas. It was just as scrumptious as Saltgrass. Our after dinner pictures:

34 on 10-10-10 was pretty terrific!

Kindness and Fish

2010-09-29T23:16:00.008-05:00

One morning we felt the pull of nature and had to get out of the house. So we packed up our school books and headed to the Botanical Gardens with the intent to walk around some then sit down and complete some school work. We meandered around and had the place to ourselves. We found a shaded spot with benches and started on school work. Then a gardener came over to us with a bucket of fish food. He thought the boys might like to feed the fish in the pond. We put down the books and headed back to the pond. The boys loved feeding the fish and turtles, and even noticed a snake in the water. The boys didn't get much of their school work done that morning, but we had a delightful time at the gardens. Of course we stopped by the playground before heading home. I so appreciated the kindness of the gardener to us, it really made our morning special.

It doesn't get much better than this...

2010-09-09T14:02:00.005-05:00

How can I repay the LORD
for all his goodness to me?

Psalm 116:12

Still playing

2010-09-06T23:05:00.003-05:00

I am still playing around with my new camera. It has an option to turn the picture into a drawing.

My Love of Aprons

2010-09-05T23:36:00.004-05:00

I love aprons. I do. Last week my Mom sent me an apron in the mail. I loved it when I first saw it. The patterns on the fabric are so pretty, the apron is well made, and it is just a fun apron. When I first got it in the mail I put it on right away and didn't want to take it off.

A few days later my Mom told me the story of the apron. A lady at her church created different aprons to sell. She was trying to raise money so that her son could go on a school trip to Washington D.C. Yes, a class field trip from Texas to Washington D.C.- I'm sure it was a large amount of money to raise. This hard-working mom made dozens of different aprons, in her spare time, after working her full time job. From her apron sales, she was able to raise enough money to send her son on the trip to Washington D.C. This lady is an immigrant and about three years ago became a citizen of the United States. How wonderful for her son to travel to the nation's capitol and experience this special city.

The background of this story makes me love this apron even more. An apron represents work, cooking and cleaning, but work I choose to complete happily for my family. Just as this talented lady labored making aprons for her son, so I labor in my apron for my family.

All Ready!

2010-09-04T14:06:00.003-05:00

Luke recently earned his green belt in TaeKwonDo. Becoming a green belt is a big deal as green belts begin sparring. The instructor calls green belts "fresh meat", but really it is very safe and controlled. Luke wanted to try on his sparring gear right away.

Then Caleb and Luke proceeded to practice.

Viking Week

2010-09-03T08:39:00.004-05:00

We have been learning all about Vikings this week.

We examined the Viking longhouse and ship Caleb made 4 years ago for his history project.

Luke dressed up as a Viking warrior.

And a Viking battle occurred.

Meet Foxy

2010-09-01T22:23:00.005-05:00

Luke had a little bit of money to spend and with it he purchased a stuffed animal fox, whom he named Foxy.

Foxy is a boy fox.

I love how Luke still likes stuffed animals. I'm sure his stuffed animal days are numbered. He will soon become too old for stuffed animals, I know it is inevitable. Luke is growing up!

The Journey

2010-08-31T08:44:00.011-05:00

Returning to college has both been easy to do and extremely difficult to do. How easy it was for me to reapply to Lamar, since I was a former student. But certain parts of this journey have been hard. I document this not to complain, but so I can look back and remember.

Step 1: Meet with an advisor. I made an appointment to meet with my advisor early in the day. Husband had worked out to go into work late and make up his time so that he could stay home with the boys. I have a building and room number on campus I am to go to. I know where there is some visitor parking and head to that parking lot. I arrive to the parking lot five minutes before my appointment time. I look at the campus map and see that the building I am to go to is halfway across campus and far away from were I am parked. And it is pouring. And some dear person in the family broke my nice, new umbrella. So I have to book it across campus in the rain with no umbrella. I near the building where I am to have my meeting wet and hot, and immediately notice visitor parking spots RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE BUILDING. If I had parked there I wouldn't have gotten a drop of rain on me. I quickly stop by the restroom to try and repair my frizzy hair. Not happening. I head to the office I am to go to, sign in, sit down to wait, and I am burning up. I get called back to meet the advisor in a few minutes and I at least stop sweating a little. I felt a bit flustered, but the advisor was helpful and encouraging and I get signed up for my classes. I did not enjoy the walk back to the van through the rain.

Step #2 Apply for Financial Aid. This was fairly easy to do since everything is online. I entered our numbers and was thankful to see that I would be eligible to receive a sizable grant that almost payed for the entire tuition. YES! But before the aid can be released I have to take paper copies of our tax return to the financial aid office at Lamar. The boys and I head out and make the twenty minute drive to the Lamar campus. We head to the financial aid office and there is a line going out the door. The boys and I wait for 30 minutes and finally get to talk to someone and show my documents. It passes inspection, we are done, I am on my way home and I won't have to drive back out to Lamar again. I get home and husband mentions that I need to get my student id card. The student id card is like a debit card and is how they give you your financial aid money. The next day the boys and I have to drive back out to Lamar to get the id card. We find the location and the kind lady takes my picture. She lets me know the picture doesn't look good and we need to try another one. She approves of the next picture and I am all set.

Step #3 Orientation for Online Students. Husband has some vacation days scheduled right before school starts so I am able to go to Orientation for online students. Big surprise- it is raining that day and I still have not replaced my umbrella. This time I leave early and drive up to the building and see a close parking lot. I still get rained on. I head to the room. It is comforting to see young students, middle aged students, and several older students. I'm not the oldest! I learn all about how to manage online classes and how they work. I'm ready. But disaster strikes at our house. Our nice, somewhat new computer crashes. It won't even come on. This happens six days before classes are to start. I begin to panic- how will I take online classes without a working computer?? Husband takes the computer to the repair shop and they predict they will have it back to us by the end of the week. This will work, the computer will be back before classes start. We do have an older computer but it only sometimes works and the Internet is extremely slow.

Step #4 Getting the Computer up and running. I love computers, yet I hate computers. It is so frustrating when something goes wrong with them. Friday comes and goes and we don't hear from the computer shop. I call them on Monday, THE DAY CLASSES START, to inquire about our computer. Their non-helpful answer, "Well we haven't had a chance to look at it- we will soon." WHAT!! I am totally stressed out. Monday I try to use our old computer and check into my classes but I can hardly do that. Tuesday I am really feeling the pressure. When husband gets home from work he encourages me to drive to the Lamar campus and use the computers in the library. (I do pay a library and computer fee so I should use it right?) I head to the school at 7:00 and I am there until past 11:00. I am able to answer my discussion questions, print out syllabus', and take a few quizzes. On Wednesday I call the computer shop and they say they are unable to figure out what is wrong with it and they will have to take everything off and reload windows, etc. I say okay just do it. They think it won't take long. We don't hear anything until Friday afternoon at 4:00. The computer is ready. We get it home but have to reload Microsoft Office, our printer, all that fun stuff. I am ready to go and ready to work. One of my classes has an hour long lecture I need to watch. I turn it on and there is no sound. Dear husband looks and looks at it and spends hours trying to fix it. Monday night I start to freak out. I am tired and so frustrated about this computer!! This morning I call the computer shop and they say to bring it by that they should be able to fix it quickly and that I can wait for it. This afternoon the boys and I head to the computer shop and it is RAINING! I take it in and at first the man tells me I have the mute button on. But then he says no that is not it. He takes it in the back and we wait for about 30 minutes. He comes out and says he will try one more thing and if that doesn't work I will have to leave it. I have already decided I can not leave it, I have work to do for my classes. He walks out five minutes later and says he fixed it. YES! The heavens sing!! I love sound!!

Step #5 The hard part really starts. So everything is working- computer, sound, printer! Now I have assignments like having to post a substantive response to the discussion question, "Was Descartes Insane?" and "Can we trust the five senses or do they lie to us?" and "Compare the approaches to colonization of the English, French, and Dutch." And this is just the beginning.

My Role Models.
My Dad earned his bachelor's and master's degree. When he was first married him and my mom had one car. She was working and he was taking college classes. He didn't have money to buy the textbooks for his classes so he would visit the college library to read the textbooks and study. Sometimes he was able to drive and other times he would ride the bus. The bus would drop him off at the bottom of the hill and he would walk up to the library. Other times people in his classes would let him borrow their textbooks for a day.

My Mom started her college journey after she had us four kids. She begin attending a community college. Our family moved and college was on the back burner for her. When I was in high school she started taking correspondence courses. She then earned her bachelor's degree and received a teaching job. But she had to take more classes to get her teacher certification. She taught school all day and would drive across one of the busy highways in Dallas to attend night classes at University of Texas at Arlington. She took a full load of classes. Many weekday evenings that she would be at class the weather would be awful- terrible thunder storms. But she powered through and got it done. Then she later earned her master's degree while working and taking a full load of classes.

My husband was able to finish his degree in December 2009. He started back taking classes while working full time from home. He would drive to campus sit through a couple of classes come home work eight hours late into the evening, then spend the rest of the night studying and completing assignments. He got all A's in four classes and he was taking upper level classes in Finance. I know this was hard.

So when I am overwhelmed this semester I will think of my Mom, Dad, and husband. I am following their footsteps.

First Day of Co-op

2010-08-29T23:21:00.008-05:00

Haircuts? Check

New shoes? Check

New clothes? Check

Backpacks? Check

Lunches? Check

The boys enjoyed their first day of co-op for 1st and 5th grade. Our at home school Tuesday thru Friday was successful as well last week! We are off to a great start!

2010-08-28T17:07:00.004-05:00

On August 29, 1970 Glen and Diane were married.

Diane was the oldest of eight children with an alcoholic father.

Glen was the second oldest in his family of twelve children. He was the son of a preacher, was raised in church and was already preaching and playing music in church.

They were young and in love so they married.

Soon after they began their family. They lived and pastored in Kentucky, Virginia, Maryland, and Texas. They raised two daughters and two sons. They earned college degrees.

They lived a good life.

Through thick and thin, they always supported each other. They put the needs of their family above their own. They served others in their church and community. They educated and bettered themselves. They never backed down from a challenge. They sought out a better life for their family. They were positive thinkers. They raised their children well.

My parents, Glen and Diane, continue to live a good life. They will celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary. I celebrate with them for the Godly marriage they modeled to us kids, their love for each other, and the good life they have lived.

Here is to many more happy years together.

Happy 40th Anniversary!

Pictures have returned

2010-08-14T20:46:00.006-05:00

Two weeks ago our camera broke. Completely. That is why the blog has been lacking pictures. Last night we purchased a new camera. First pictures: TaeKwonDo testing for the boys. They both did great. Awards ceremony will be next week where they will receive their new belts.

I played around with the camera some today. I took this picture of husband as he was about to take a nap. Your welcome, dear husband.

One more picture from today. Luke avoiding the camera.

Change and Growth

2010-08-11T09:20:00.004-05:00

I want to change and grow, but sometimes it is hard and scary. God is stretching me and I am learning more and more every day to trust Him.

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. I Peter 5:7

When dear husband received his college degree we both expected him to land an amazing job with an equally amazing paycheck. He did land a job (Praise God!) but we have had to budget and live frugally. God faithfully provides for us in big and small ways.

In the last week:

Hubs had jury duty for two days and was paid from his work for those days and received a check for jury duty for $46.
He was one of two employees asked to work five hours of rare overtime.
He spent a few hours listing some items on ebay we had collected from yard sales and Goodwill and he made $150.
And just yesterday the boys and I decided to meet Aaron for lunch. We headed to a restaurant near his work where he gets an inexpensive lunch 3 or 4 times a week. We ordered our food then the manager asked him if we were his family and she gave us our lunch for free. FREE! Yes, in the scheme of things $20 is not a huge amount, but it made our day.

God is good!

And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

So I am continually learning to look to God as our provider. But also, I am learning to be content and that God's plans are better than our plans. And that all things work together for good. I believe this!

Another big development in our life is that I am returning to college. I looked into our local college which I attended before we got married. They have a degree that is offered where all of the classes are online. I thought, "Okay I can do that." So I have decided to take some classes this fall and work on finishing my degree. This decision has not come without anxiety. I woke up in the middle of the night some days ago and was unable to go back to sleep. The thoughts of how on earth will have time to homeschool the boys, commitmens to co-op and church, take care of the house, handle the laundry, cooking, grocery shopping, and take the college classes with papers, assignments, and tests and somehow get good grades.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8

This feels right and the perfect time for me to go back to school. I still had doubts though. But this week I was notified that I will receive a large grant that will cover almost the entire cost of my schooling.

The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." Deuteronomy 31:8

So thankful for change, growth, and God's provision!

Powerful Luke!

2010-08-02T10:07:00.002-05:00

Fortunately

2010-07-25T07:06:00.007-05:00

This post is inspired by one of our favorite books: Fortunately by Remy Charlip.

Unfortunately, my usual tasty crockpot chicken wasn't so good last night. (picture from a better time)
Fortunately, the sopapilla cheesecake made up for it.

Unfortunately, the playroom is a mess.

Fortunately, the kitchen is clean!

Unfortunately, a bad guy showed up at our house.

Fortunately, my protectors took care of him.

Unfortunately, Caleb got upset during the three hour Monopoly game.

Fortunately, he won the game!

Unfortunately, the day came to an end.

Fortunately, it's a start of a new day!

The Adventures of Lego Luke

2010-07-23T21:27:00.006-05:00

Meet Lego Mom, Lego Luke, and Lego Dad.

They visit the Eiffel Tower.

The trio explore a castle.

They have fun on a giant slide.

A boat ride is next.

Lastly, their favorite traveling to a campsite.

Mom and Dad relaxing at the campsite.

Just as long as there isn't a snake in the RV

2010-07-16T23:37:00.006-05:00

Aaron's Mom invited us to tag along with her to the Peddler Show/ Outdoor Show, the "His and Her" show in town. We enjoyed browsing the booths in the peddler show. But we really enjoyed stepping into the world of hunters, outdoorsmen, RVers, and boaters at the outdoor show as we do none of those things in real life.

We touched an alligator courtesy of Gator Country. Gary and Jana were there from the show Gator 911. I thought about snapping a picture of them, but I didn't want to seem like a groupie.

We also witnessed snake handlers acting extremely unwisely if you ask me. One of them kept kissing this cobra on the top of his head.

The snake handlers also had rattlesnakes with them. They demonstrated to us how to get out of a sleeping bag if a snake gets in with you. One of the guys climbed into a sleeping bag, then the others filled it with snakes. What!?! This totally game me the creeps and I kept thinking of two things, religious snake handlers and an extremely creepy episode of The X Files about snake handlers that I WISH I HAD NEVER WATCHED!

Luke and I had to step away from the snakes. Luke found something just his size.

The boys tried out every boat, this one was the winner.

One thing the whole family loved was the RVs. I am so ready to purchase an RV and travel around the US. Wouldn't that be fun?

We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. A big thanks to Ann for taking us to experience this other world of boating, hunting, and RVing. Oh and Aaron was the big winner of a door prize. His prize was a hunter's gift basket with hunting accessories worth $80. I'm not sure what he will do with it though.

A Garden Update

2010-07-12T12:25:00.007-05:00

If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.

-Marcus Tullius Cicero

I love, love our yard with the many trees and the plants that bloom every year without any help from me. During the year we have azaleas, gardenias (my favorite), and currently the crape myrtles are in bloom.

My tomato plants keep getting taller.
There are some good looking green tomatoes on the plant right now.

We also planted squash, green peppers, cucumbers, and zucchini. But so far I haven't seen any of those. A mystery vegetable has appeared. I'm not for sure what it is.

This is the squash or the zucchini. It keeps flowering, we are waiting for the vegetable.

If you want to be happy for a year, plant a garden; If you want to be happy for life, plant a tree.

-English Proverb

July 4th Holiday Recap

2010-07-09T13:25:00.012-05:00

We had a busy weekend. We traveled to my parents house for my sister's wedding.

Friday:

The rehearsal dinner was supposed to occur outside at my parents' house.

But just as everyone sat down with their food it poured and everyone moved inside.

Camryn and Caleb

All the cousins minus little Karson.
Saturday:
The wedding was Saturday morning. My sister looked beautiful and so happy.

My Dad and Julie.

The happy bride and groom, Julie and Nathan.

The cake.

Camryn looked lovely. Her hair is so stylish!

The kids enjoyed the candy-bar with take home bags.

My beautiful sisters-in-law. Both of my brothers are so blessed to be married to these ladies.

Caleb and Luke chilling

Camryn and me. How is she as tall as me?

Sunday:

Service at my Dad's church with my brother Joe preaching. Yes, I did take a picture during a prayer.

Birthday lunch for my Dad provided by the ladies of his church. So good!

Joe Jr. I mean Justus.

July 4th cookout on the deck. I wonder if Tim will be mad at me for posting this picture.

"Okay, Lori that is enough pictures of us getting our food."

We waited for the sun to set,

then Joe put on a fireworks show for us.

Everyone gathered around.

And some held their ears.

The fireworks were amazing and fun!

Monday:

Lunch at Saltgrass for a birthday lunch and then time to head home.

We had a wonderful 4th of July with my family!

Happy Birthday to my Dad today!

For Grannie

2010-07-01T14:11:00.005-05:00

Swimming lessons are complete and preparations are ongoing for a trip to Grannie's house.

Caleb remarked to me this week, "My favorite place to be is at Grannie's house."

One morning Luke woke up and told me, "I was dreaming I was at Grannie's house."

Soon!

Black Beans and Coconut-Lime Rice

2010-06-29T20:21:00.003-05:00

My Mom sends me her copies of Southern Living magazine when she is done with them. Is there a better magazine? I love to look at the recipes and sometimes I actually attempt them. In the May issue one of the recipes that caught my eye was Black Beans and Coconut-Lime Rice. Husband and I love anything with coconut plus this recipe uses cilantro, cumin, and lime- all flavors that we like as well.

Ingredients assembled. Total cost under $10.00

mango- .50
onion- .35
radishes- .69
Basmati rice- $2.79
2 cans black beans- $1.34
poblano pepper- .44
lime- .25
green onions- .59
can chicken broth- .58
cilantro- .34

on hand already- coconut ($1.69?), butter, salt and pepper, and cumin

We loved this dish. At least the adults did, kids only ate the beans. Dear husband kept saying, "This so good." The combination of the flavors from the coconut, lime, and mango is delicious.

Recipe here from Southern Living.

Linked to: Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam

Boys will be boys

2010-06-28T14:43:00.008-05:00

Of all the animals, the boy is the most unmanageable. ~Plato

My boys are growing up.

Caleb is big and strong and tough.

But I can get him to smile.

Luke is a thinker and so sweet and getting big too.

What do these boys want to do?

Run,

get hot and sweaty,

and play football with Dad.

So thankful for these two boys and one man.

Kindergarten Graduation

2010-06-25T09:48:00.007-05:00

Our homeschool Co-op recently had a Kindergarten graduation. It was a short and sweet ceremony. Luke was excited to wear a cap and gown like Dad wore.

A biography was read for each graduate.

Luke's bio:

Luke is six years old and has one older brother, Caleb. Luke's favorite color is blue. He loves to build Legos and play with Star Wars toys. Luke also loves to swim and play baseball in the backyard with Dad. Luke recently started TaeKwonDo and hopes to become a black belt one day. Luke loves animals, especially cats. When he grows up he wants to write children's books and live on a farm with ten cats.

Luke walked across the stage and received his Kindergarten diploma. Surreal- the building our co-op uses previously was a Christian school that I attended my senior year. I had my high school graduation on the same stage 16 years ago.

We are so proud of Luke. He is now ready for 1st grade and many more adventures.

Luke "surfing"