birthday girl

Last weekend we celebrated Avery's 7th birthday. For her first party, she celebrated with her friends at Sweet and Sassy. Avery and her friends got to choose an outfit to dress up in, then have their hair, make-up and nails done. Then, they danced, put on a fashion show, ate some cookie cake and ice cream before heading out for a ride in a pink limousine! Oh my! I can tell you, those were some very excited little girls! Admittedly, the limo was a little over the top, but it was actually free so how could I refuse?
On Sunday, we invited our families over for another party and, of course, more cookie cake and ice cream. Avery had a great time at both parties and received lots of wonderful gifts. I, on the other hand, was exhausted and in denial about the whole thing :-)

just to make you smile

This is what we saw when we went outside after dinner tonight.

seven years ago

Seven years ago today I became mother. I woke up that Friday morning feeling bone-tired and wanting so badly to call in sick to work. I forced myself to go anyway, as it was to be my last morning with my boss before she left for vacation. I told myself that I would just work for the morning and go home at lunch. But, my commute was a good 40 minutes each way and at lunch I decided to just stick it out for the remainder of the day. As the afternoon wore on, I continued to feel worse and worse. I was exhausted and I ached all over. When I came home from work that evening, the first thing I did was get into a hot bath thinking that it would ease my aching muscles. Instead, I started having contractions. Almost from the beginning, they were the sort of contractions that stop you in your tracks. My due date was four weeks away, I didn't have my bag for the hospital packed, we were planning to host a wedding shower at our house the next day and neither Jeff nor I could wrap our heads around the idea that I might actually be in labor.

After about an hour and a half of trying to walk around the house and hoping for the contractions to go away, we called the doctor who advised us to go ahead and go to the hospital. I arrived at the hospital with nothing more than the clothes on my back and a picture of our dog that Jeff had grabbed off the refrigerator so that I could have a "focal point." After the nurse confirmed that we were indeed going to have a baby that night, Jeff made the phone calls to summon our parents, his grandparents and his sister. We also had to call our friends and let them know their shower would have to be cancelled. I think we arrived at the hospital somewhere around 8 pm. Everything seemed so surreal and so fast.


Avery Alexandra was born at 1:45 am, weighing 5 lbs 1 oz and measuring 18 3/4 inches. She was welcomed by a waiting room full of sleepy friends and family and two awestruck parents who couldn't take their eyes off of her.

Today she still occasionally stops me in my tracks. And, after seven years, I still can't seem to take my eyes off of her.

happy birthday hannah!

Our little Hannah turned 4 this past week and so we celebrated with a party at Jump Town on Saturday. She had invited several of her school friends as well as some neighbors and cousins. She had so much fun running around with all of her friends! Jump Town is one of those places with all of the inflatable slides and bounce houses where the kids run wild and scare themselves silly sliding down the big slides. As luck would have it, Hannah's was the only party there that morning and so we had the place to ourselves! After the kids played for about an hour an a half, we sat down for some ice cream and cupcakes.

I can't believe that Hannah is four now and that this coming year will be her last year of preschool. It is such a cliche but time truly does fly by. She is such a fun little girl and is so charming and has a loving spirit. Over the past few months, we have also begun to see a bit of her sassy side and she has certainly learned to stand up for herself when it comes to her big sister. Hannah loves to color in her coloring books and to play with her baby doll and her Barbies. I am relieved that she is finally starting to grow some hair and the more it grows, the curlier it gets! I hate that she is four because it means that she is growing up and I love that she is four because I get to know her more every day.

happy independence day!

I started to title this post "4th of July" but changed my mind because all of our Independence Day activites actually took place on the 3rd of July. I guess the town where we live figured that not all that many people would have the day off work on the 5th, so they planned all of the festivities for the day before. Fine by me, I guess.




We started our day with our local, family-friendly parade. It really is a cute parade, very patriotic and informative. Informative because there are floats from all sorts of organizations that I never knew existed, most of them associated with the Republican party. Anyway, they pass out flags, necklaces and candy for the kids and the kids, of course, love it. This year we went with some of our old Baylor friends and their two little girls. Everything is more fun when friends come along.

After the parade, we went home for lunch and naps in anticipation of a late evening. Then, we headed out with our neighbors to Jeff's parents' boat at the lake. We had planned to cook chicken fajitas, let the kids fish and then take a boat ride and swim for a bit before the fireworks show. Unforuntately for us, the remains of Hurricane Alex had other plans. About an hour after we got to the lake and just as we were sitting down to eat, the sky opened up and it poured for several hours. The boat was still in the slip at the marina but it was raining so hard that all 15 of us sought shelter down in the cabin of the boat. As the rain eased up, more and more of us ventured upstairs to the dock and went on with our afternoon, minus the boat ride and the swimming.




What happened next can only be described as divine intervention as the rain stopped literally just as Jeff was driving the boat out of the slip on our way to watch the fireworks. The sky cleared, the rain stopped and the fireworks were spectacular! Everyone, except our little neighbor who thought the fireworks sounded a little too much like thunder, loved it. And no one could remember a 4th of July celebration where we were huddled under blankets instead of sweating like pigs. It was a day to remember!

vacation bible school

Last week the kids and I were busy with Vacation Bible School at our church. We look forward to it every year and it is always one of the highlights of our summer. But man, it is exhausting!

Our VBS meets Monday - Friday from 9 am to noon. By 11:30 all of the mom-volunteers are walking around shaking their heads and saying, "I just don't understand how 3 hours can be so tiring." It is tiring but wonderful!

This year I taught Hannah's 4 year old class. I teamed up with the same co-teacher I had last year and we had a great time. My co-teacher has 4 kiddos, the oldest is going into 4th grade but her younger 3 are the same ages as my 3. So, her 4 year old little boy was also in our class. We had 11 kids in all, plus 2 teen helpers who provided much needed extra hands.

This year's theme was "High Seas," so everything was nautical somehow. We learned:
Day 1: God's Word is True, with the story of God freeing Peter from prison. Acts 12:1-19
Day 2: God's Word is Comforting, with the story of God comforting Paul in a storm at sea. Acts 27
Day 3: God's Word is Surprising, with the story of Paul surviving a bite by a poisonous snake. Acts 28:1-10
Day 4: God's Word is Life-Changing, with a story of Peter and John teaching about Jesus. Acts 3:1 - 4:12
Day 5: God's Word is for Everyone, with a story of how a community of believers share. Acts 2: 42-47

We took the kids all around the church where they made crafts, sang songs and danced, ate snacks, played outside and even saw puppet shows. They had a great time!



But for me, it just wouldn't be VBS without someone getting sick. On Thursday night Ethan came down with a fever and so I had to stay home with him on Friday. Turns out, he had an ear infection. It stunk that we had to miss the last day, but what can you do?

On Saturday we realized that Ethan is allergic to the antibiotics they gave him for his ear infection. He developed a terrible rash and some pretty awful diarrhea. Since we had been out at the lake and I was worried about putting him to bed, a 10 pm trip to the after-hours pediatrics office was in order. The doctor there confirmed that his rash was probably a drug reaction, assured me that his throat would not swell shut during the night and wrote him a new prescription.

On Sunday, everyone was tired from staying up so late the night before. Avery had a birthday party in the afternoon and came home running a fever. So, we'll see what the day brings...

happy father's day

I'm not big on sappy holidays and neither is my dad. But, I do think it's nice to have a day to remind us to stop and show appreciation for those we love and the roles they play in our lives.

My dad and I have a particularly strong bond. We have been through some of the worst heartache that life has to offer and come out on the other side the stronger and wiser for it. He is the only person who has known me from the beginning and I take comfort in knowing that he is my strongest supporter. I cannot go for more than a few days without hearing his voice on the phone and am forever turning to him for advice.

Despite our bond, I do not consider us friends. He is my dad and would never want to be anything but. Today, as I reflect on Father's Day, I smile knowing that I will never outgrow my dad and that I love him more than words can say.