visiting family

I am at my parents for a couple of days. I had a card class today and got to spend some time with great friends and make cards together. I am going to make some rounds tomorrow to garner support for my upcoming trip.
I found out this past week one of my close Kerrville friends is moving to Arizona so I had to come see her (not sure if she is telling everyone yet). I am hopefully escaping some ragweed pollen for a few days and going to eat at my fave sandwich shop! So, posting on hold for a couple of days. I do have some great pics of my new clean garage that I will post when I get back and some fun surprise party pics of my girlfriend from church's 40th birthday.

a girl after her daddy's heart

spring cleaning?

The girls are at Mimi's this weekend!! I am on a massive get rid-of-it-all kick. This next weekend we will have been in our rental for one year. It was only supposed to be for six months so I kept almost everything from our "bigger" house not into this "smaller" house. This past weekend, I told Ben if the girls were gone for just 2 or 3 days I would clean out the garage, which was more of an over sized junk drawer (thanks Sean Bouldin for the analogy). So, yesterday after my duties at the church and haircut was complete I began tossing!! In the 2 hours I worked I already made 2 Goodwill runs, 1 box of books to sell at Half-Priced Books, 2 boxes of teaching manipulatives for church learning center, 1 box of baby toys for baby Emmie, puzzles and books for Mimi and Gigi's houses (a cool dino puzzle for Adom) and 2 full cans of garbage. Hey, I just noticed garage is garbage w/out the B! Sorry, it is still early! So, I am off to the garage this morning to begin the day! Oh, yeah some great finds too - For my three brothers I found books from our childhood. I guess mom gave them to me when I was teaching - books that were signed by our Nana, she passed away 7 years ago and our wedding time capsule that I will now remember to open when I get back from Africa.

Down on Kendall's Farm

chalk art

Some of our chalk drawings, LE on the left is "sun and a castle. Bella's on the right is entitled "colors"

allegy season

I am sick, it does not happen very often that I do not get out of pajamas or lie in bed or on the couch all day. But today the beautiful fields of ragweed that are in season have not knocked me out. No gym today, no playgroup this morning and probably no church tonight.
I hate this feeling that there is something stuck in the back of my throat & head pounding. Gigi spent -the-night last night and she made me hot tea before she left, which felt so good. I am too lazy to go make my own. Ben is coming home soon, so I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! The poor girls had to take an early nap which they protested and I put a pillow over my head and prayed for their safety (not from me), b/c I was out! I fear allergy season is going to get worse before it gets better, but hoping the drought has killed these yellow flowers!

sprinkler fun

family night

The thought of getting another pet NEVER crosses my mind. I love our dogs and our outside cat, but really, no we will probably not get another pet. But man, it sure was tempting when we went to the pet store for some family time. I could not believe how cute these puppies were. And the bunnies, oh my goodness I wanted one. I kept thinking of Stefani and her chickens and the learnign experiences those boys were getting. Then, I thought what would they learn from rabbits and I was brought back down to earth. My Paw-Paw had a cockatoo when I was little and oh he was fun, but messy. So, nope not a bird. Although I vaguely remember a Gigi wanting birds. Then, Ben tells me he has always wanted a ferret. Needless to say we walked out of the store with just memories, but man I wanted a puppy!

last water park play date?

We did not get to do our weekly water park playdate this past Wednesday b/c of a so-called cool front. It did make things more pleasant all week, but the thought that it will be May before we get to see bikini bellies again kind of makes me sad! Miss Christine (pictured) made me cupcakes for my b-day and the kids did not care that it was an adult's b-day. The girls have had so much fun this month meeting their friends every Wednesday and I look forward to it more than they do some weeks.

Sunday in the park

Is this weather awesome or what? We had a great picnic after church last weekend and spent the afternoon in the park. (I told you I am behind on blogging). This weather has been amazing. We have spent so much time outdoors, I never want the day to end, OK, maybe a little bit that I want it to end.

Papa Richards' birthday

We got to take Daddy to Salt Lick for his birthday and we did not have to drive all the way to Driftwood, just right down the road! Ben'sfave BBQ is Saltlick, no one can beat their ribs. We had a blast with Marcus, Anna and Baby Abby Lu. Good food, good sauce, good friends, carrot cake and a fun patio area to hang out.

a princess and a Duke

I am telling you we cannot get enough of Duke's BBQ. I just love to sit in their backyard. We did not plan a family day last weekend b/c we were anticipating Ike. Last minute Ben said lets get outside and enjoy the night out. LE looks so grown up to me in this pic.

wore her out

In the evenings if LE does not nap I will put on PBS kids for her while I cook dinner. This is a typical early evening find.

Africa is a go...

Passport - check
1st planning meeting - check, I will be responsible for crafts for hundreds of children
fundraising letter written - check

Trip is planned for December 3rd - 13th, so I will be leaving Africa on my 10 year anniversary.

tears

I know my mom is going to be mad that I posted this pic. But I remember a certain red photo of me in tears on a wall for many years as a kid. Does anyone else in their 30's have a photo that turned red?

they have a teacher for a mommy

I was a teacher for 10+ years before I became a Mommy so I am one of those moms who buys books, crayons and educational stuff for my kids any chance I get. This week we went to Wal-Mart and purchased sketch books and chalk to discover with. Although today LE told me she preferred to use colored pencils over chalk, they were more fun.
In the past month, PBS Kids have changed their scheduling and I am very disappointed with some of the new line up, but one show we are loving in the Richards Family Four is - Sid the Science Kid. Today, we learned about non-standard units of measurement. You are laughing now, I sense it, but my 3 year old got it. She has been walking around the house all afternoon measuring things with map pencils. This is 3 pencils long, Mommy, you are 10 pencils long. She is not precise, but it clicked with her. I do not know why I am amazed by my children every day. I did teach a 3 year old class a couple of times, but it is amazing to watch them grow and discover new things. Bella is right along side her measuring too. I did find her a ruler and she has been playing with it too. She is taking a nap with it now.
I apologize for the lack of postings and comments lately. I have been really trying to spend the girls' nap time off the computer. I have found another book to recommend - How to be a God Chaser and A Kid Chaser by Tommy Tenney. It is for those of us who are trying to seek the Lord, but too busy b/c we are chasing kids. I have really enjoyed it and HIGHLY recommend it. It is so reassuring to know that there other people out there, mighty servants of the Lord who have had to juggle schedules around diapers, laundry, meals, play time etc.

My sweet niece

I love babies, I really love baby girls and so I really love my baby niece, Emmie. Her mommy has finally created a blog to keep us posted on her. But bring a tissue for the videos~

http://www.walkinginaboundinggrace.blogspot.com/

measuring fun

The girls had so much fun measuring how tall each other was yesterday. Mommy had to get in on the action too.