Richards Family Four

zumbatomic zumbathon

2012-01-31T07:00:00.000-06:00

This past weekend, I did a zumbathon for kids at local gym. I had 40 kids ages 3-8 and then a class of fifteen 9-13 yr olds. It was so much fun. I have been teaching zumbatomic for about 5 weeks and the most I have ever had has been 7, so a class of 40 was so different. It was so cute watching them freeze in their coolest poses and I could tell I fed off their energy too.

answered prayers

2012-01-30T14:28:00.002-06:00

Every day we take time out to pray for our family, immediate and extended. I created these prayer boards for us remember our prayers and so we could keep track of when God had answered our prayers.
Each family member has a small post it note pad in their fave color so they can add their prayer requests. Then, on Monday we go through the prayer requests and move over to our blessing boards, the ones God has answered.
So, far it has worked really well, we have been doing it for it about six weeks and we have seen God move and the girls are really starting to be more thankful for things God has done for us. Our prayers have become more intentional too, instead of blessing Fluffles and Pooh, we are remembering to pray for Granny when she has a cold and helping to use gentle words.

bella-isms

2012-01-27T10:42:00.004-06:00

Mommy: "Bella, you need to turn your shirt around, it is on backyards."

Bella: "It's ok, people want to see the decoration when I go."

sick baby

2012-01-25T12:18:00.002-06:00

Read has RSV and a double ear infection. I thought he was just having a hard time with this round of teething, he is cutting 3 teeth. Yesterday, his fever jumped, his cough worsened and his nose gunk turned yellow. I took him in this morning and hopefully with lots of prayers, medicine, saline, a humidifier working overtime and rest he will re-coop quickly. However, we are quarantined to the house for 10 days. We would appreciate any prayers we can get.

wordless wednesday

2012-01-25T07:00:00.000-06:00

Stone Soup Recipe

2012-01-21T07:00:00.000-06:00

Heat some water in a pot.
Add some stones you've scrubbed a lot.
Sprinkle pepper, salt and herbs.
Let it boil undisturbed.
Drop in carrots, onions too.
Let the soup heat through and through.
Stir in milk to make it sweet.
Add potatoes for a treat.
Toss in meat cubes. Let it stew.
Let it bubble, let it brew.
Taste the soup and when it's done,
Share stone soup with everyone.
~Stone Soup by Marilyn Sapienza

Richards Family Five Simplified Soup:
Boil water, add a clean stone.
Add 2 bay leaves and a whole chicken.
When chicken is cooked through, remove skin and debone. Toss bay leaves.
Add 1 pkg of frozen mixed veggies. Cook until tender.
Add 4 pkgs of Ramen noodles and seasoning packets. Cook until noodles are tender.
Serve.

croquet badge

2012-01-20T07:00:00.000-06:00

Bella got a croquet set for Christmas and this past weekend the weather was so gorgeous we decided to spend some time teaching Daddy how to play. The girls have to play three games and be able to explain the rules in order to earn their badge. They have played 2 games and they must have done a good job teaching Daddy how to play b/c he beat us all.

love for the birds

2012-01-19T07:00:00.000-06:00

I found this project on pinterest and it actually inspired me to begin our bird unit. It is using a bird suet which I found for $2 at Wal-mart. We stuffed it with yarn and hung it on our "bird tree" outside the classroom window.
We also bought a bird feeder and wild bird seed to hang from the porch of our shed.
I am hoping the birds appreciate all of this work and find it soon, so we can start journaling the birds in our backyard.

for the birds

2012-01-18T07:00:00.000-06:00

We have found great literature on birds as we have been working on our badge for keepers. The most informative book has been Even an Ostrich Needs a Nest . Our project has expanded and we have added some of our own projects. We made bird feeders out of some pine cones that Paw-Paw and Mimi picked for us on their last trip north. We spread peanut butter on them and then rolled them in bird seed. Then, we tied a piece of yarn and hung them from one of our trees in the backyard. We are hoping the birds can smell the peanut butter.

prayers needed

2012-01-17T19:45:00.002-06:00

We found out today Xai Xai, Mozambique was hit by a tropical storm. Mission of Mercy has posted the details on their website and I have seen our friends, Mel and Diane on facebook today. Our two special children, Elsa and Leo are in Xai Xai along with hundreds of other children. We are praying they are safe, but it will be awhile before we get any word. Please join us in prayer for this community, Elsa and Leo. If the roof of the metal church was lifted I cannot imagine the damage to the lean-to homes that are all over this area.

fun with family

2012-01-17T07:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Brady!
We recently drove to San Angelo for my nephew's 2nd birthday. My brother was able to get us a house to stay in and it was a holiday weekend, so we tried to make it into a weekend getaway. Problem with 3 young children is their isn't very relaxing 3 day weekend get-aways.
R2 hated the car drive and wasn't to keen on sleeping in his pack-n-play. Other than that the kids had a blast and we had great birthday food.

Keepers Badges

2012-01-16T11:38:00.001-06:00

The girls have been working really hard lately to get earn their badges for keepers. I told them when they earned ten I would order the badges for their sashes. I figured it would take them till the end of the school year to do so. Since the first of December they have earned:

abc (letter and sounds)
setting the table (5x, including linens & silverware)
reading the book of Daniel (NIV)
stamping (3 cards)
card making (3 cards)
puzzles (20, 50 and 100 pieces)
cookie baking (3 different kinds from scratch)
Jesus loves Me (learning all 3 verses)

We are presently working on our badges for birds, croquet, and cooking.

silver sneakers- check

2012-01-08T07:00:00.000-06:00

Over the Christmas holidays, I took my final exam for my silver sneakers healthway accreditation and I passed. I have taken 8 courses over the past 18 months, been observed 3 times and had to do a practical in San Antonio. I can now teach anywhere Silver Sneakers is offered and I can teach any of their formats.

Sea World Christmas

2012-01-07T07:00:00.000-06:00

Mimi blessed the girls and I with tickets to Sea World for the Christmas Spectacular. The girls have only done the homeschool days, so they were really able to experience all of the park. The weather cooperated nicely, there weren't tons of people and we were able to see all 4 shows early in the day which gave us the afternoon to play. Bella rode her first roller coaster. I sat with her and LE sat in front of us. Both girls came off crying, but I was so happy they tried it (idea of their own).

Read's Christmas

2012-01-06T07:00:00.000-06:00

Read had a great Christmas. He got the idea of opening his gifts and enjoyed playing with the paper as much as what was inside them. He got little cars, bath toys and little people. He enjoys pushing his cars, but I think he likes throwing them more. Christmas at Mimi's wore him out and he crashed in Daddy's arms, a first for him in about 8 months.

Bella's Christmas

2012-01-05T07:00:00.000-06:00

I got to surprise Bella with a gift from DW of little prince dolls to go with her vast collection of princess (Polly Pocket-sized). She also got 2 more Pooh Bears, one a pillow pet, a Belle watch, slinky dog, a croquet set, Barbie furniture, pair of winter boots, and a new backpack full of activity books. She also got a glow-in-the-dark etch-a-sketch, but thankfully she has not discovered after bedtime yet.

more adventuring

2012-01-04T15:40:00.001-06:00

Read let go of the couch and took his first steps last night (13 months, 2 days). I think if he had slowed down, he might have gone a little farther, but sense he wants to run before he walks, he doesn't get very far. Look out world~

Landry's Christmas

2012-01-04T07:00:00.000-06:00

Landry's wish list included a light saber, go-kart, nativity and a miniature Christmas tree. I guess one out of four isn't bad, but she got some great alternatives. Mimi found a re-purposed American Girl Doll on her vacation this summer and was able to keep it secret even from me. She made her a pioneer dress and matching jammies for LE. She found glasses and winter boots to match LE's. Bella surprised her with a Mickey and Minnie doll b/c she didn't want one while we were at DW, but changed her mind about a week later. She got a hot pink bath robe, Hello Kitty watch, Princess and the Frog cookbook, backpack filled with busy books, Barbie furniture, games, new boots, and a lightsaber.

stocking sutffers

2012-01-03T07:00:00.000-06:00

13 month old adventure

2012-01-02T11:50:00.003-06:00

Mommy forgot to close the baby gate today and I went on my first adventure up the stairs. I called her and told her I was going up, and she must have not heard me or she trusts me. I made it up 6 steps and then Mommy followed me the rest of the way. Afterwards, I needed a big nap.
Mommy also forgot to tell you I give open-mouth kisses now, but only to Mommy.
-Read

13 months old

2012-01-02T07:00:00.000-06:00

Apparently no one told R2, there is no crying at Christmas.
Happy 13 months Sweet Boy!
This past month was HUGE for him. He is still not walking, but boy is he talking. He says, Go, Up, Down, Touchdown, plus all of the other words he already knew.
He LOVES food, lots and lots of food and he WANTS to feed himself. No more bottles, cup (another word he is learning) is his preferred method of drinking. He likes juice, whole milk and occasionally water.
He likes to play ball, push his cars, and dump his sister's markers out and put them back in the basket. He hides his toys under the bed and in the couch cushions. I have found things behind desks and I am quite sure the trash is where the majority of his magnetic letters have disappeared to. Bath time is his fave time of day and I thought it was b/c of sisters, but discovered this week he has even more fun when they are not in the tub with him. We love you sweet boy.

visit with Paw-Paw Claus

2012-01-01T07:00:00.000-06:00

Top 10 of 2011

2011-12-31T07:00:00.000-06:00

My favorite post of the year, I get to look back and read my blog from January 1st to today and pick my favorite events. This year was a hard year to narrow down 10 things and hard to choose our favorite, biggest events.

10. teeth, teeth and more teeth- Landry lost teeth, Read gained teeth, and Bella got over her fear of the dentist.
9. a combined birthday party - celebrating 2 girlie girl's birthday's in a pink room, with pink cupcakes, pink nail polish, hair and make-up, how could that not make a list?
8. fitness for a family of 5 - Ben started working out again, the girls discovered zumbatomic which excited Mommy and Read learned to crawl.
7. strabismus was diagnosed - Landry had to get glasses and Read has an appt with Landry's specialist after the new year for possible strabismus tendencies.
6. planning the biggest family vacation to date - I compare planning our DW vacation to 9 months of pregnancy. I cannot believe the time and prep it took.
5. movie productions began - Ben got his first job working on a feature length film working on the visual effects (he is still at Dell, working on the film on weekends and evenings).
4. fitness jobs and more fitness jobs - Kristi went from teaching two fitness classes to teaching 8 different fitness formats; yoga, silver splash, cardio fit, cardio circuit, muscular strength (all for seniors), aqua fitness, aqua zumba and zumbatomic for kids.
3. someone turned one- too bad he discovered he liked cake after his birthday!
2. a whole lot of learning going on- I cannot believe all of the projects the girls worked on this year. I think my favorite accomplishments would be Bella learning to read, and both girl's passion for writing and art (thanks to their weekly art lessons).
1. DISNEYWORLD - By far the biggest, most memorable event of our year.

gingerbread houses

2011-12-30T07:00:00.000-06:00

The tradition continued, but this year we enlisted help from Grandma (my grandmother), Mimi and Emmie. We made mini houses this year and the girls had just as much fun.

Christmas Play

2011-12-29T20:06:00.000-06:00

Everyday the girls have to write in a journal. Some days I give them prompts, other days they get to choose their topics. LE got inspiration from a C-mas book and wrote her own C-mas play. She had speaking parts for Mary, Joseph, an angel, 2 shepherds and 3 wise men. She told her Paw-Paw she wanted him to create her a manger and animals, specifically 2 camels, 3 sheep and a donkey.
Knowing we didn't have enough people to do all of the parts, we decided to wait till we went home for C-mas and present the play at Mimi's. Mimi made cookies and hot chocolate and we had a small play date with time to practice and then present our play. She agreed to allow the younger cousins be the wise men and they didn't have to recite lines. LE was Mary, Cameron was Joseph, Adom was a shepherd and Bella was an angel. They each got to pick their costumes out of Mimi's fabric closet. The wise men presented Jesus with C-mas presents and most posed long enough for a photo.
It was a memory I know I will cherish forever. Paw-Paw and LE have already started planning next year's production.

Crafty Christmas

2011-12-26T07:00:00.000-06:00

With my fascination of pinterest and my desire of always wanting to make C-mas presents I was finally able to do it (with a few exceptions) this year. I made these for the siblings that lived near by. I combined souvenirs from DW and C-mas this year by giving every niece and nephew on of these. I made my grandmothers personalized calendars with the great-grandkids pics and everyone's bdays and anniversaries. The girls created personal artwork for the grandmothers and R2 made baseballs with his handprints for his Daddy.

wrapping the presents

2011-12-25T07:00:00.000-06:00

I was so thankful to have little elves help me with all of my wrapping this year.

Merry Christmas! Happy Birthday Jesus!

Christmas ornaments

2011-12-24T07:00:00.000-06:00

Remember our yearly tradition of exchanging ornaments? This year, I hit the jackpot (six retired ornaments) for Ben's collection. I was able to find an R2D2 for Read and the rest were ornaments that Ben did not already have.

When we opened the ornaments while we were decorating the tree I discovered R2's box only contained the bubble wrap. I have yet to find another ornament for my R2.

I got the girl's ornaments from Disney World and had the bright idea to have them sign their ornaments each year so I can document their signature as they mature each year. I also got my souvenir/ornament for DW.

Christmas Party

2011-12-23T07:00:00.000-06:00

Ben and I attended the Silver Sneakers Christmas party at the Y while the kids went to the gym's family Friday for a night of games and pizza. We had a home style potluck and ornament exchange. It was so low-key and just my kind of party. They blessed me and the other 2 instructors with a cash gift, which I have no idea how to spend. I finally went to get Read b/c everyone was asking for him. He had so much fun crawling from Grandpa to Grandma that would take him.

Christmas lights

2011-12-22T07:00:00.000-06:00

We made out yearly trek to see the lights on 37th Street and took the wagon along for R2's first wagon ride. We went pretty early in the evening and seemed that almost half of the houses hadn't turned on their lights yet. I am thinking if I spend that much on my yard decorations I would invest in the $10 timer to turn them on each night at dusk. The weather was perfect and we came home to enjoy hot chocolate and a Christmas movie.

wordless wednesday

2011-12-21T07:00:00.000-06:00

Christmas Cookies

2011-12-20T07:00:00.000-06:00

Another badge the girls are diligently working on is their baking badge. They have to learn to bake 3 different types of cookies. Baking is not Mommy's forte, luckily, Mimi was very happy to help with that badge. She helped to make sugar cookies and they kids have been taking them to their teachers at the gyms. We have 2 cookies down and still trying to get rid of them before we make the last batch.

new glasses

2011-12-19T07:00:00.000-06:00

Landry was recently diagnosed with strabismus by a pediatric opthalmologist. We noticed her eyes were crossing when she was sitting at the table across from us. I had her eyes checked at her yearly check-up last year, but nothing was detected. This year, her nurse practioner (whom I love) noticed and referred her to him. It took us 6 weeks to get into see him. We decided to hold off till after DW to find the glasses. And then it took another 2 weeks for them to come in. Talk about testing a six year-olds patience. She is so excited, but has quickly learned they are not too comfortable with headbands.

Big kid now

2011-12-18T10:24:00.001-06:00

Read has outgrown his baby carrier car seat which means Landry gets her booster seat again. All is peaceful in the accord again.

Christmas Cards

2011-12-18T07:00:00.000-06:00

Thank you to everyone for all of the beautiful Christmas cards. A couple years back, I decided to skip the card b/c I felt most of those who I would send it to knows of our family blog.
Two of the badges the girls will be working on in keepers is a stamping and cardmaking badge. We combined the 2 projects and the girls decided to make C-mas cards. We still have a few more cards to make and distribute, but they are taking their time on them to get them just right.

Judge me by my size, do you?

2011-12-17T15:48:00.000-06:00

Another really great moment on our trip was when the girls decided to take on the dark side at Hollywood Studios. I was really surprised they wanted to, but they did it without hesitation. When the Jedi Master saw them, he said "Oh look, they are cloning them." They earned a special certificate and a training lightsaber is on top of their C-mas wish list (pink one not required).

Monkey's birthday party

2011-12-16T07:00:00.000-06:00

One of Read's many nicknames is my little monkey. Erica created a really cute invite for his party and Ben had the idea to have a banana split party. Mimi made cute monkey cupcakes. He loved the ice cream, but is not into feeding himself so did not enjoy the cupcakes. He got lots of great toys including a Buzz Lightyear ride-on toy, balls, blocks, a train, and fun noise makers. He has had so much fun with his new things.

and even more...characters

2011-12-15T07:00:00.000-06:00

Apparently we spent a lot of time visiting and waiting in line to see characters, but looking back at these and their autograph books makes me think it was all worth it. One of my favorite experiences (besides Pooh) was meeting Princess Tiana and Naveen. They were the most into their true characters. Naveen kept leaping about (as if he had once been a frog with ADHD). When it was our turn he asked the girls where they were from and told them, "Louisiana and Texas, well, we are neighbors". LE told them we had stayed the night in LA and that we had eaten cajun food on our way. I told her to ask Tiana for her recipe for gumbo, and she proceeded to tell us she had written a cookbook. Naveen asked LE what her fave food was and she said chicken and dumplings. They were both quite impressed she knew and even liked dumplings. He told her he liked green beans and it was in the cookbook, Naveen's Green Beans. It was a very personal meet and greet and kind of special. For some reason LE really wanted to meet Chip and Dale. So, we were very excited to see them at the end of our last day.

How we do Disney

2011-12-14T07:00:00.000-06:00

Top Things I recommend for Disney Travel:

1. Stay on-site at Disney
• You get free transportation, to and from parks, Disney Downtown and other resorts all day
• Meal-Plans
• It doesn’t matter which resort you are in, it is Disney and you will be taken care of
2. Travel in the off season
• Free meal plans is an option
• No or very short lines
• Fewer children
3. If your kids need a nap or stroller, they are too small to take.
• There is too much walking for young children and having to push around a stroller will take away from your trip. If they are too small, chances are they will not remember it. You will have a much better time and they will to when they are old enough to enjoy it.
4. Plan with a Disney expert.
• Our travel agent had itineraries for every park based on info I had told her about our family’s needs and likes. We used Jeri Hall, she is on facebook.
• She made all of our reservations and was the one to be on hold, I just made a list of things we wanted to do and she made it happen.
• She notified me when there was a special that saved us over $600.
5. Skip the character meals. You will have an opportunity to see all of the characters in the parks. The meals are good, but the meals at the resort sit-down restaurants are fabulous. Take the time to leave the parks and escape from loudness, have a sit-down meal and relax. Plus you pay tips on your meals and it is pricier than all other meals.
6. Take your time. We visited each park with the exception of Animal Kingdom twice (seven day option). We still did not see everything, but we saw what we wanted and the things we enjoyed twice.
7. Get a meal plan. We chose the table service option. We had a sit-down meal every day, a quick service meal and a snack. I took a toaster and our mini fridge (you can rent a fridge there). We had bagels, juice and fruit every morning in our hotel before we left for the parks. There is a Target and Wal-mart just miles away.
With planning and a flexible schedule you can do Disney on a budget. We spent less than $2,000 by driving and opting to stay at a budget resort. I would love to share more budgeting tips if you want, just email me.

some more characters

2011-12-13T07:00:00.000-06:00

13 years

2011-12-12T07:19:00.001-06:00

We celebrated our 13th anniversary this weekend at Perry's Steakhouse in downtown Austin. Ben had the signature pork chop (and leftovers today for lunch and again for dinner last night, yes it was that big) and I had the filet. It was really nice to get away and have a quiet uninterrupted meal. We had a complementary dessert of a truffle, creme brulee, and a cheesecake sampler.
I love our family, love our life, love our marriage, and love you, Benjamin.

new look

2011-12-11T21:19:00.000-06:00

I'm so thankful for creative friends who take care of me. Thanks Erica at Haphazard Happenstances for merry-ing up my blog for me.

some characters

2011-12-11T07:00:00.000-06:00

day 7 - day 2 of Magic Kingdom

2011-12-10T07:00:00.000-06:00

We had an early breakfast reservation at the Crystal Palace, home to friendship day and breakfast with Pooh Bear. So early that we were the 2nd family in the park and we were able to get great shots in front of the castle. The girls had mickey mouse shaped waffles and pancakes. After breakfast, the park still was not officially opened so were able to walk through the castle and right onto the Pooh Ride, Haunted Mansion and Small World. That was the last no-line rides of the day. The park was packed by 11:00 a.m. and we could not ride anything for less than a 30 minute wait. Summed up, it felt as if we walked aimlessly from one side of the park to the other. We were able to get great seats for the afternoon character parade. We ventured onto Tom Sawyer's Island, child swapped on Space Mountain, which is still a great ride. Both of the girls submitted a joke to the laugh floor with Mike from Monsters Inc. and both jokes were chosen. We decided to skip the 2 hour wait for Rapunzel. We got front row seats for the night fireworks and castle display. Another very late night, but a great ending to a great vacation.

day 6 - return to Epcot

2011-12-09T07:00:00.000-06:00

We had one free day in the parks, we went back and forth whether to visit MK for 3 days or go back to Epcot for a 2nd day. We decided for the latter and I wish we hadn't. I wanted to spend some more time in the countries and get a little more acquainted with those areas. We had heard to make sure the girls participated in the Kidcot, where they could get a passport stamped and create a craft in each country. We ended up not doing the passport, but had a Duffy bear puppet that we stamped at each country. The girls took their time in France to decorate their puppets, but other than that they really didn't enjoy Epcot's World Showcase. We did spend a little more time in the Nemo area and took some time to play. We did Turtle Talk with Crush and both of them were able to ask Crush a question. That evening we had dinner at Boma in the Animal Kingdom Lodge. It was the best meal we had during the trip. All four of us tried new cuisines and my new fave flavor is curry! Afterwards we walked around the lodge and were able to see the giraffes and zebras up close and personal. The giraffes got a little frisky after this pic and started chasing each other. It was the funniest thing to watch b/c they were cold and frolicking instead of running. I wish I had videotaped it.
Enjoyed seeing the image of the top left pic, the girls (and Pooh) cuddling, while sharing their bed. I am sure it will never happen again, so had to make sure I snapped a pic.

the castle

2011-12-08T07:00:00.000-06:00

At night in the Magic Kingdom, there is a show called Wishes. This is the castle at different moments in the show and then it ends in a large fireworks display. At one point during the day, a DW photographer asked to take a pic of Bella while she was waiting for LE who was riding the Haunted Mansion. That night, we saw Bella's pic flashed onto the castle. The bottom left picture is a collage of pictures taken throughout the day in the kingdom that forms Walt Disney. This was Ben's favorite part of the trip.

lunch in the castle

2011-12-07T07:00:00.000-06:00

The one event I was most excited about was lunch in the castle. We booked our reservation 6 months prior. Thirteen years ago, Ben proposed to me in front of the castle and when I found out it was an option I was all over it. It was really good food, but probably an event we will not repeat, but it was worth every minute. I mean, we were in Cinderella's castle, can it get any cooler for a princess (or the queen)? We met all of the princesses, received wishing stars, and wands. LE is making her wish (eyes closed). We received an 8x10 pic of the girls with Cinderella. And yes, I probably enjoyed it more than they did. This princess doesn't have to grow up.

day 5 - Magic Kingdom, FINALLY!

2011-12-06T07:00:00.000-06:00

When we originally booked our vacation we were arriving on a Saturday. We had all of our details planned around that arrival date. In September, Jeri called to tell us if we postpone our arrival date by one day we could receive free dining (think $600+savings). That being a no brainer, we had to switch around one of our magic kingdom reservations, but of course those two reservations were on my must-do list, meal in the castle and breakfast with Pooh Bear. Jeri got our reservations secured, but it meant we would not visit the MK until Thursday.

It was a perfect day. We had lunch in the castle (separate post coming) and a fairly empty park. We were able to ride almost every ride with no wait time. It was a truly magical day. I hope it is a day the girls will always remember. I remember visiting Disney World as a kid and most of the rides were still there (some of them should be retired). It was so fun to experience them with my girls.

Landry rode her first roller coaster, Big Thunder Mountain; she hated it. She cried, no screamed the entire time and yes, it was her idea to ride it.

We once again stayed all day long in the park. We had front row seats for the magical light parade, but we were in frontier land, so did not have good seats for fireworks and the special lighting of the castle. We did not make that same mistake on our 2nd day at MK.

Best Rides - Many Adventures of Pooh - Bella's choice, Small World - Landry's choice, Space Mountain - Daddy's choice, anything but Tiki Room - Mom's choice

Best Meal - Cinderella's Royal Table

Best Character meet up - Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen (separate post coming)

day 4 - Animal Kingdom

2011-12-05T07:00:00.000-06:00

It was a little harder to get going this morning. LE is usually an early riser, but this late bed time is taking its toll (on all 4 of us). We decided to mix up our schedule and do Animal Kingdom on Wednesday. The park closed at 5, so we would have to make it a shorter day or so we thought. First thing we did was to hit the Everest Roller Coaster. Great ride. We did a child swap, so Ben rode first and then stayed with the girls so I could ride with no wait. We ended up riding it 3x throughout the day. The safari was good, but it was already mid-morning and all of the cats were already sleeping. We did see an okapi (pic top right), which is LE's favorite animal. She had never seen a real one before (read about them), it is a very shy animal, cousin to the giraffe. We did not see Bell's favorite the zebra. The girls were chosen to be in the Lion King Musical. They marched around the theater in the finale and played maracas. The girls also participated in Rafiki's Planet Watch. They had tasks they had to complete around the park in order to get stamps. After they completed 6 tasks, they got a mini science book.

After the park, we went back to our rooms and rested for a little bit, cleaned up and took the buses to the Magic Kingdom. We left 2 hours early so we could ride the boats around Lake Buena Vista and the monorail around the World. Our dinner reservation was at 8:45, a tad late, but at the time of the reservations I was thinking it would be 7:45 to our central time zone bodies. Dinner was fine, we had reservations at Chef Mickeys, the parental units' least favorite dining experience, but LE's fave. She liked dancing with Pluto. We felt rushed, it was a so-so buffet (prime rib was good), but not what worth what we paid even in the tip. Yes, you have to tip at a buffet at DW!

After dinner, we were supposed to grab a bus back to Disney Downtown that would transfer us back to our resort. Buses are supposed to run every 20 minutes, let's just say they must have forgotten to tell our bus drivers. 5 rounds of buses came by before (i.e hours, not minutes) before a bus arrived and then it was packed and no one offered 2 young children a seat. After finally making it to DD, we had to transfer to another bus, and wait again. This time we got seats, and for the first time since infancy the girls fell asleep in public. We had to carry them from the resort bus stop back to our room. Worst experience of the trip. I wish we had taken our car, but the hotel staff made it sound so easy to make those "quick easy" transfers. It was after midnight before we even walked into our room.

drawing lessons

2011-12-04T07:00:00.000-06:00

At Hollywood Studios, Ben and the girls got to participate in art lessons (they overbooked it, so I gave up my seat to take pics). The instructor demonstrated at the front of the room step by step how to illustrate Carl from Up. I always thought the girls had talent, but to have an illustrator from Disney call their work out made both me and the Papa proud. She could not believe the girls' age and talent. (Landry's is on the left, Bella's on the right - middle row. I actually drew the outline square of Carl for LE b/c she was too busy pouting she could not draw Tinkerbell. Thankfully she quickly got over it. The instructor was actually more impressed with Bella's talent, which was great b/c LE usually gets the acknowledgment in the art dept.)

day 3 back to Hollywood Studios

2011-12-03T07:00:00.000-06:00

Hollywood Studios was probably my favorite park to visit as far as attractions and I think it was more fun on day 2. We did all of the autograph thing on Day 1, so we got to spend more time on rides and shows day 2. We were at the park at rope drop, so we went straight to Toy Story Mania, rode it and then got a FP for later. We ate lunch at Sci-Fi cafe. Setting is a drive-in movie theater, we sat in cars and watched old time Sci-Fi flicks, so fun and great food. When you are on the meal plan, your key to the world is your hotel key, meal plan, tickets to the parks all in one. Since it was dark, Ben gave the waitress Bella's key, so the waitress asked Bella to sign the "credit card" slip. She was so excited to be so big. The girls and I were in a flash mob while waiting for my favorite parade of the week - Pixar Pals.

Best Food - Sci-Fi Cafe

Best Ride- Rockin Roller Coaster

Best Show - Illuminations

Best Moments - Girls partricipating in Jedi Training Academy and Art lessons (seperate posts coming soon)

one years old

2011-12-02T07:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Sweet Baby Boy! I cannot believe it has already been a year since you came into our lives. We are so blessed you are our boy and cannot wait to see all you become. We love you Reader.

Accomplishments this month: finally drinks from a cup, no more bottles. Prefers whole milk, but drinks juice and water.

Still prefers to eat from a spoon, but will feed himself puffs and nilla wafers.

Throws right handed.

Speed Crawls.

Says Go, Doug (dog), Mama, Dadda and Didta (sister).

Loves books, balls, blocks (knocking them over), watching the dogs out the back door, and pulling things out of the cabinets and off shelves. He is all boy.

Still has no interest in standing or walking, maybe next month?

He did so great at spoiling his grandparents while we were on our vacation, first time away from home without Mommy and Daddy.

day 2 Epcot

2011-12-01T07:00:00.000-06:00

Epcot is divided into 2 sections, Future World and the World Showcase. We spent most of the morning in Future World. We rode Soarin' (which was a little over hyped), Fast Track, Finding Nemo, Turtle Talk with Crush and Mission to Mars. We traveled through most of the World Showcase and decided to try some Japanese food. The girls tried and liked Chicken Teriyaki with CHOPSTICKS.

We decided to break during the day and take a nap at the hotel before our dinner reservations. I surprised the girls by packing their princess dresses and accessories and dressed them before we entered into the Princess Storybook Dinner. The girls had their pictures taken with Belle and all princes and princesses were paraded around the castle. Dinner was pretty good, probably a one-timer. The girls did not want to change out of their dresses (we saw kids dressed up all day long), but I insisted they put on their tennis shoes. We visited a few more countries and the girls asked Daddy to dance in the Italian Piazza and watched the Chinese Acrobats before the nightly fireworks display. Once again closed the park down, but at least most of us had a nap that day. 11pm bedtime, 7 am wake up call.
Best Ride - Fast Track
Best Show - Turtle Time with Crush
Best Moment - Princess Parade at Dinner
Best character - Mary Poppins and Belle

a girl and her bear

2011-11-30T07:00:00.000-06:00

If you know anything about my Bella, it is that she loves Pooh Bear. My favorite part of the entire trip was this first day when Bella got to meet Pooh for the first time. She was so excited. Pooh's assistant could hear the girls chatting about how excited she was and overheard Bella say she slept with 4 pooh bears. She told Pooh as Bella was walking up to meet him and Bella almost tackled poor Pooh. He hugged her and cuddled her, and I of course got teary-eyed. After pics galore, autographs and hugs, Bella was all smiles. It was the highlight of her trip too.

Hollywood Studios

2011-11-29T07:00:00.000-06:00

We checked into our hotel at 9 a.m. and hopped on a DW bus to Hollywood Studios. Our DW travel expert (BTW if you are planning a DW trip, I HIGHLY recommend her for MANY reasons) had planned out an itinerary for us for every day we were in the park; complete with dining reservations info, recommended rides for each section of the park, info on what rides had restrictions or were appropriate or inappropriate (ie too scary) based on the info she had for the girls. She told us what rides could be skipped if the wait times were too long, which ones were worth the wait. It was so helpful. The only ride we waited in line for was Toy Story Mania. It was so fun, we got a fast pass to ride it again. (FP gives you a scheduled time to return and you can return and most times walk right up to the ride w/out any wait).

The girls also had their first encounter with a character at Hollywood Studios and it was Piglet. Who could be afraid of Piglet? I promised to hold their hands and we would ask Piglet for his autograph. I could feel the resistance in LE's hands, but Bella walked right up to him and hugged him. By the end of our time with Piglet, we had autographs, hugs and pictures, SUCCESS! And that was the beginning of a whole new adventure, to try and collect every character's autograph (and the only other thing we waited in line for the rest of the week). We had lunch at Pizza Planet, it was a quick service meal, meatball sandwiches and salads for Daddy and I, snack packs for the girls. It was OK, decent for quick service. It was fun for the girls to eat in the Pizza Planet from Toy Story.
We got a text mid afternoon that our room was ready, but ended up closing the park down. We went to Target and bought bagels, juice and fruit for our breakfasts, another recommendation by travel expert. Bed time 11:00 pm. with a 7 am wake up call the next morning.
Best Ride- Toy Story Mania
Best Moment - Bella meeting Pooh Bear
Best Show - Beauty and the Beast
Best Downtime - Honey, I Shrunk the Kids playscape

travel days

2011-11-28T20:21:00.001-06:00

The girls did awesome on the drive to and from Disneyworld. I did a lot of prep work to keep our sanity. It paid off greatly. I packed snacks for all of us and had them tucked into the pockets of the car doors. The girls did not get drinks and we only had to make one potty stop that was not a lunch or gas stop. Our first stop was outside Houston for lunch and then onto Louisiana where we stayed with my Uncle Chuck and Aunt Martha (arrived at 4:30). I surprised Ben and made arrangements for us to eat at Ben's favorite seafood restaurant Middendorf''s, which kicked off our 2 weeks of gluttony behavior.

The next morning we were on the road at 7:30 and stopped near the Louisiana border for breakfast. We drove all day and arrived around 8:00 and decided to go ahead and hit Disney Downtown. We had dinner at the Earl of Sandwich (best quick service meal we had- awesome hot sandwiches). We decided to arrive the night before and stay at a non-Disney World hotel. I found an app called hotel tonight (last minute hotel deals) and with my initial registration I received a $25 credit. Our hotel bill was $20. We had breakfast at IHOP and checked into our resort and spend the day at Hollywood Studios for our first adventure.

the big reveal

2011-11-22T21:20:00.000-06:00

Originally we decided to not tell the girls we were going to Disneyworld until we arrived at the parks. But changed our minds b/c we wanted to capture the moment on video.

We decided to tell the girls the morning we were leaving and would announce we were late for a very important date. The girls earned all of their tokens and so we were going to celebrate with a tea party. I was able to get an Alice and white rabbit costume to seal the deal and the girls dressed up in silly costumes too. At first, they were excited, but then it got a little too silly for them at 7 a.m. and Bella ended up in tears wanting to go back to bed. We were able to coherse the girls back to the breakfast table, but they were not getting into the tea party vive. Ben told them we were late for a very important date, and I asked where he was late too. He said Disneyworld. I asked who was going to Disneyworld, his reply was; me, you and these 2 princesses. They did not believe us. We finally had to show them the car packed with suitcases before they believed us. They were still a little aprehensive, but as it sunk in, they got more excited.

Delirium

2011-11-21T17:19:00.001-06:00

Things I have heard today:
Ahhh, my juice got smaller. - Bella
Its Nornia, not Narnia. - Bella
I rode the roller coaster called child swap. - Landry
We aren't in Texas b/c the roads are too bumpy. - Bella
Chicken, chicken, chicken, what combo you picken? -lunch stop in Baton Rouge
Are we there yet? - Mama

Movie time

2011-11-11T13:45:00.001-06:00

Games - $10, books -$20, map pencils-$2, ipods loaded with movies - priceless

on the road again

2011-11-11T07:00:00.000-06:00

I have been scouring pinterest and the Internet for road trip ideas. Here are a few of my faves:

atlas for each girl with a highlighter to mark our progress
clipboards with a ream of paper, map pencils, sharpener, pencil attached with a string
gifts to unwrap as we cross each state
clip for each girl, if they disobey their clip is removed = discipline next pit stop
roll of quarters for each girl, each time they ask how far or if we are there, I get a quarter; leftover quarters for arcade in hotel.
tons of healthy snacks in snack bag servings
rubbermaid container between their seats for all of their goodies
a rubbermaid cereal box for trash

marker boy

2011-11-10T07:00:00.000-06:00

"Hey Mom, I figured out how to get the lid off markers!!"

birthday girl

2011-11-09T07:00:00.000-06:00

The family is complete.

"family party"

2011-11-08T07:00:00.000-06:00

If you ask Bella at any given family time what she wants to do, 9 out of 10 times her response, is "family party". She makes decorations, creates food and menus for all of us.
On Sunday, we were able to surprise her with a family party.
LE gave her Buzz, R2 gave her Bullseye and Mommy and Daddy gave her a pair of twinkle toe shoes.
Her menu choice - girl cheeses, strawberries, grapes, lemonade and surprise pink cupcakes.

5 years old

2011-11-07T07:00:00.000-06:00

Oh my, Bella Boo Bunny.
I love hearing your stories, and your ideas. I love to hear you read. I love how you write your numbers backwards and insist they are right. I love how you sleep with 42 stuffed animals every night. I love how every morning you talk in grunts and sign-language until after you have had breakfast. I love how you cuddle in bed with me and put your cold feet on my legs. I love you how you insist to pray first and how you lay your hands on everyone when you are praying for them. I love your very colorful sense of style. I love how you love to sing and always want music playing. I love how you love your family and always remind us.
You are my joy, my laughter, my unique kid. You are so free-spirited, so lively and creative.

You are so very special to Daddy and I. You are Landry's best friend, and Read's favorite person to laugh with.
I love you, Boo.

best buds

2011-11-06T07:00:00.000-06:00

R2 and Uncle Troy

SuRpRisE!

2011-11-05T07:00:00.000-05:00

I called Granny last Thursday just to chat and she told me the family was taking her out for her birthday that night. I was kind of surprised mom hadn't told me, but figured she had forgotten. I got home and was very upset to miss. Even my Bryan and Susan were going to be there. I called Ben downstairs and tried to hold back the tears. I knew money was tight, but I really wanted to be there. I called Ryan and he filled me in on the details, even with mom at the table. I told him to keep it a secret. Called Ben's parents to make sure the kids and I could stay the night, packed the car and headed back home. When we left it was 71 degrees, when we arrived it was 51. I had to pull over and change the kid's clothes. When we walked in my mom's brother said, "there's Kristi". The look on my mom and Gran's faces was priceless. Mom told me she didn't tell me b/c she didn't want me to be bummed about missing. I am so thankful Ben made it possible for me to go and so thankful we got to be there for the night. I even got to watch the world series with my brothers, Gran and Dad, nothing like watching tv with fans.

Hook ' Em

2011-11-04T07:00:00.000-05:00

On Saturday afternoon, I was in the dressing room at the outlet mall and I get this text from Ben:

"The game is only on the longhorn network? Want to go see it live?"

"Live? Where?"

"DKR"

I can say he has never gotten me out of a dressing room more quickly than that.

We drove home, changed clothes, bought tickets and drove downtown. And we won!

I love spontaneous events. It was one of the best nights. Thank you honey for an awesome date and thank you Mimi for staying ALL day long with the kids.

pumpkin carvin' party

2011-11-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

We enjoyed a fun night of burgers, hot dogs, and pumpkin carving at our friends the Richards last week. Daddy carved Bella a special Pooh Bear Pumpkin and LE created her own special pumpkin complete with makeup.

11 months old

2011-11-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

We now say Mama and hi dad; but more communication is happening with non-verbal cues. He shakes his head no, waves hi and bye, pulls his head away and makes the worst faces when he doesn't like something.
He has become a very picky eater. It has to be on a spoon and someone has to feed him, except for his puffs (no cheerios!) He will not drink out of a cup and will not drink water.
He pulls himself up and is a speed crawler. He pulls books off the shelf and his favorite toy is a dinosaur-ball game. He can throw a ball, which makes his dad so proud.
He has 8 teeth now, 4 came in at the same time this past week.

the costumes

2011-11-01T07:00:00.000-05:00

the veterinarian

Yoda

Barbie

HaPPy HaLLoWeen!

2011-10-31T07:00:00.000-05:00

art for the wall

2011-10-29T07:00:00.000-05:00

The girls painted these great mosaics for our masterpiece wall that we are creating. We used a stretched canvas board and taped a design using masking tape. Then the girls painted in the shapes with different colors of acrylic paints. After they dried we removed the tape and voila, instant masterpieces.
Do you remember scribbling on white paper as a kid and then coloring in the shapes? It is still one of my fave things to do when I am coloring with the girls.

autograph books

2011-10-28T07:00:00.000-05:00

I am full swing Disney mode. I recreated these autograph books using 50 cents spiraled-index cards, mod podge, and scrapbook paper (added the mickey sticker to red/white pocket dot). I turned the spiral over so the back cover is the front. In doing so the lines are now on the back side of the paper and the blank side will be for the character to sign. I ran a ribbon through the spiral to keep the pen handy. I think I am going to purchase retractable sharpies for the characters to sign with. Now all I have to do is make sure LE gets over her fear of characters before we leave. Total project cost - $1.00 (by using craft supplies out of my craft closet; before purchasing pens).

fall backyard campout

2011-10-27T07:00:00.000-05:00

Cooler weather = Daddy and girls camping in the backyard. R2 and I enjoyed our own beds. All 3 of them stayed out all night and I woke them with the camera around 8:15 a.m.

wordless wednesday - free

2011-10-26T07:00:00.000-05:00

punkin paintin'

2011-10-25T07:30:00.000-05:00

Missions Monday - Christmas at the Care Point

2011-10-24T12:00:00.000-05:00

It's time to start Christmas shopping - here is what I want...give $10 for a child to attend the Christmas Parties in Swaziland and Mozambique.

expect the unexpected

2011-10-21T22:33:00.000-05:00

To say, I overbooked last weekend would be an understatement. It drives Ben nuts when I try to do too many things in one day, mainly b/c things always come up unexpectedly that throws 3 blondies and a Mama out of sync.

I met Mom and Ben's Mom on Friday in Marble Falls, so the kids could spend the weekend away while we were traveling out of town for a training. R2 was fed and ready for a nap and I had it timed perfectly to arrive and feed him. Unexpected incident #1 - major wreck on the way which left us sitting on the highway for 45 minutes next to an idling semi-truck. R2 does not like to be in his car seat; he does not like to be anywhere that has him immobile. Needless to say there were a few too many tears on that car ride. We decided to do the pumpkin patch to break up the car rides and burn some energy (pics to come later.)

After my incredibly long afternoon drive, I had to pack up and travel to Houston for an early morning Zumba training. We spent the night with my aunt in Katy and Saturday morning we headed into Houston for my class. We stopped at Cracker Barrel for breakfast and then Unexpected Event #2 occurred. TomTom did not have the correct address for the location, it was Lane not Boulevard. I arrived 30 minutes late b/c we could not figure out the area (one way streets).

After class, we drove back home and decided to go out for a late date. We had an appetizer at Pappadeaux's and then headed over to Cheesecake Factory to split dessert. Five hours of zumba, I may have broken even on calories.

On Sunday morning, we decided to burn off the remaining calories mountain biking walnut creek, but only after sleeping in. Unexpected event #3, Marissa my SIL was in labor and a certain PawPaw wanted to share the news at 8 a.m. We went ahead and rode b/c the little Miss was not supposed to make her entrance until late afternoon. Unexpected event #4 - she came before noon. We had a quick bite and drove to Fredericksburg to meet my new niece, Avery Grace and grab our bundles of joy. Great weekend, and after 13 years of marriage I am trying to learn to listen to my husband.

got bored

2011-10-20T22:17:00.000-05:00

before

inspiration

after

apple juice slushes

2011-10-20T07:00:00.000-05:00

I am not sure why I did not think of this, oh let's say 5 years ago, cannot imagine the money I could have saved. About year ago, our Sonic stopped serving the apple juice slushes. Light bulb moment - we decided to make our own for the cooking lesson this week.

Toss 4 cups of ice cubes into the blender, add 1 1/2 - 2 cups apple juice and blend. Taste much better if you have a curly straw to serve it with. (oh and it tastes better than the real thing - L.E.)

Wordless Wednesday - Blu

2011-10-19T07:00:00.000-05:00

in the details

2011-10-14T23:34:00.000-05:00

filler time shelf

lesson bulletin board

filler time cans

manipulative jars

Pretty sure de-cluttering the homeschool classroom was not on the Shileen's de-clutter list. Especially after the jackpot we hit after visiting her pre-garage sale. She let the girls "shop" and insisted she was blessed to know our girls were using her girls' outgrown items. Needless to say I had to make room for some new books, games and science experiments.

I have been getting restless with the classroom. In particular the daily clutter on the girls' desks. I have been looking into workboxes, but I am not sold on the idea of having 2 more shelves in the room to hold their daily assignments. Ben started designing my dream classroom, but truth be told I like our set-up, it just needed some cleaning out.

I organized the 2 bulletin boards that used to be one for each girl to now hold lesson items on one and crafts/art on the other. I also repurposed our truvia jars (remember they once held I spy objects) to hold a whole new collection of manipulatives including keys, bottle caps, beads, magnets, pompoms, to count, sort, classify and create with. LE has been on a real recycle kick, so I up-cycled formula cans to hold a "special" project for each girl (Bella's numeral flowers were found in hers this week, LE's held these). I covered soup cans to hold pencil, scissors, etc to free up some room on their desks. I also moved their desks so they face the windows now instead of the bulletin boards. It settled my restlessness for the week, so we can hold off spending a small fortune at Mardel's and Ikea; for this week any way.

flower math

2011-10-13T07:00:00.000-05:00

Another pinterest steal with my touch-

I used my SU! scallop and circle punch to create 10 flowers. Then I attached green pipe cleaners for the stems. On each flower I wrote a numeral 11- 20. Object is to put the correct # of beads on the flower.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-12T07:00:00.000-05:00

my perspective

2011-10-12T00:01:00.001-05:00

I hear on a pretty regular basis that people do not know how I do what I do. I guess I don't know how to not do what I do.
I in sense get paid for my workout and I get to change people's lives while I do it. My kids get to go with me for free 7x a week and they finally LOVE it again.
I go grocery shopping every Wednesday, and God bless HEB for rotisserie chickens b/c grocery shopping day = rotisserie chicken day.
Wash day is once a week, Fold day is some other day in the week. Bathrooms get cleaned once a week by 2 bathroom fairies (toilets & tubs are done by the queen fairy. And they have their calendars marked b/c it is their favorite chore to do, who knew a spray bottle could be so fun?!).
I love to cook, but hate to clean up afterwards. So, the dishwasher is unloaded when school work is complete. It's re-loaded as I dirty up the kitchen while Word Girl and Kratz Brother's entertains and teaches 2 blondies and another dreams of puffs and dogs (his new fave word).
I homeschool 4 days a week from 1-4 p.m. I get the joy of seeing my first grader learn to tell time, write her name in cursive and tie her shoes. I heard my 4 year old read her very first book and then heard her run up the stairs to read to her Daddy, who also gets to work from home. I got to see my baby sit up, roll over, crawl, pull himself up and say dog the first time.
So, I guess I was a tad offended by that remark as I sat on the stairs and cried to my husband today at the thought of me not being here to live this most blessed life that I get to live.
I would not have my life any other way.

self portraits

2011-10-11T17:46:00.001-05:00

We made self portraits this week for our family night. I purchased these Crayola brand oil pastels crayons and multi-pack canvas for $7.99 (don't forget your 40 % coupon) at Hobby Lobby. I recommend practicing first with the pastels on scratch paper and do not outline your drawings with the darker colors first b/c these pastels are meant to blend. The girls really enjoyed this medium. Our next project is to use acrylics, our other canvas and masking tape to make a shape collage.

happy little helpers

2011-10-10T12:42:00.002-05:00

The girls "helped" Daddy hang my picture collage on the stairs, complete with pencils tucked behind their ears. (That's how all worker-guys work). I kept thinking about a finger play we did when I was teaching the preschool Sunday School class at age 12.
Jesus liked to hammer, hammer, hammer.
And he liked to saw, saw, saw.
A happy little helper was he.
He carried the boards to Joseph.
A house they were going to make.
A happy little helper was he.

a rare occurance

2011-10-08T07:00:00.000-05:00

a pic with all of the Richards Family 5

Landry's day

2011-10-07T07:30:00.000-05:00

Bella's day

2011-10-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

wordless wednesday - sea world

2011-10-05T07:00:00.001-05:00

all boy

2011-10-04T23:55:00.001-05:00

Because he turned 10 months old over the weekend and I forgot to update his info. This pretty much sums up the past month.

the birthday party

2011-10-04T22:54:00.003-05:00

What a great birthday party. The girls had a blast, all of them. Manicures, Pedicures, make-up, fancy hairstyles, goodies, and a red carpet runway oh my. Mimi made the cupcakes, Mommy made the pink cookies, Mommy's friend, Erica created the invites.

fishing for knowledge

2011-10-01T07:00:00.000-05:00

We are learning about ocean life through books, our field trip to Sea World, craft projects and more. To tie in our spelling words, I wrote all of the letters on bottle caps that I have been collecting and she fishes for the letters. Both girls have a set. Bella's words do not change, we just add a new word each week (does, and, she, he, i.e. sight words). She loves this project. I also have shaving cream , magnets and cookie sheet, and dry erase board and markers for her to write in/on each day. She has her own set of readers (where I get the words). She is well on her way to reading!!!

Sea World Mammals

2011-09-30T13:07:00.001-05:00

We had a great time again this year at the homeschool day at Sea World. Daddy got to join us this year (can't believe it has already been a year since he had poison oak). They only had 2 shows this year, the seals and dolphin, so the girls were a little disappointed to not see Shamu. They did get to feed the dolphins and both of them did it this year. More pics to come soon.

beautiful things

2011-09-29T21:24:00.001-05:00

Had a great time last night at David Crowder Concert. We met my cousin in line, the line that went down Red River, the length of 7th Street and half-way down I-35 access road. It was worth the wait. DCB is my favorite Christian Band, and he takes up half of my 6-disc CD changer. I knew all of the songs he sang, there was isn't anything new, but got to hear a really great new band Gungor. Highlight song for me for the evening was Beautiful Things by Gungor.

All this pain
I wonder if I’ll ever find my way
I wonder if my life could really change at all
All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found
Could a garden come up from this ground at all
All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in You

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

You make me new, You are making me new
You make me new, You are making me new

MIA again

2011-09-28T12:47:00.000-05:00

I have no idea where the past week went. I have been dealing with allergies, we went to Sea World, hosted a fashion party and had family here for the weekend. Oh yeah, thats where the week went.
My friend Shileen has been deep cleaning her house and I have been trying to keep up with her. I have cleaned out pantry/laundry room, under the sink, utensil drawers and this week I have cleaned out the craft closet, R2's closet (the girls closet was done last week), and today I am suppposed to clean out mine. I think I am going to pass b/c Ben and I are going to see my mostest favoritest band (quoting Bella), David Crowder tonight. So, I will try to catch up tomorrow while the girls are at art lessons, maybe.

wordless wednesday

2011-09-21T08:30:00.000-05:00

MiSSionS MonDaY

2011-09-19T15:34:00.004-05:00

One hundred years from now

It won't matter

What kind of car I drove,

What kind of house I lived in,

How much money I had in the bank,

Nor what my clothes looked like,

BUT

The world may be a little better

Because, I was important

In the life of a child.

As a teacher, I tried to live by these words and hoped that it was more than one child's life that I was impacting that day. Today, as a look at my kids I hope that I am instilling this attitude in them every day to serve and respect others.

Children's Cup is having their annual back-to-school project and unfortunately I have waited till the 11th hour to encourage you to help send a child back to school in Africa (backpacks are due in Louisiana Sept 30th).

Public school is not free in Swaziland and Mozambique. Children's Cup is hoping to send 150 of their kids back to school this January. They are 50 shy of their goal. For $150 YOU CAN SEND A STUDENT TO SCHOOL FOR ONE YEAR! Maybe $150 is too much for you, but if it isn't, you have the opportunity to be important in the life of a child this year.

whiskers

2011-09-18T07:00:00.000-05:00