Fordging Ahead

Our new addition....

2012-01-23T10:30:00.000-08:00

(My first paragraph is underlined and blue and I can't get it back to normal so sorry in advance!)

Marlee coming home from the hospital

Lillie's first kiss in the new year.

I have been so bad about keeping up with my blog. I love working on it, it just seems like its not a priority right now. Since I have last posted I have had my baby. I was induced on the 7th of December. The Dr. scheduled for Eric and I to come to the hospital at 5:00 am. We packed Lillie up the night before and sent her to Nannie and Papa's (John and Mary Jo) to spend the night. She REALLY wanted to come to the hospital but I told her it was going to take several hours and as soon as the baby was born I promised I would send someone to pick her up at school. We had it all arranged, Sparkle and Grandpa would come get her the minute the baby was born. She was so excited!

We checked in and they started the Pitocin at 7:00 am and the waiting game began. I ended up getting an epidural at about 12:00 and it was the easiest birth I have EVER had or think any woman every had! I felt very little to NO pain. At about 4:00 pm my Dr. was called, she came in about 5:00 pm, and two pushes later Marlee was born. At 5:06 pm our little Marlee Joyce was born at 7 lbs. 6 oz and 19.75 inches.

It was such an enjoyable experience which is really a weird thing to say. I had the BEST nurse ever who stayed with me all day and was so kind and caring. Her name was Mary. I really need to write the hospital a letter to let them know what an amazing job she did. She made me feel like I was her only patient. (Not sure if I was or not) This pregnancy I was blessed to find a new Dr. Her name is Dr. Marra Francis and we could not have been more happy with her! She is so much fun and such a great doctor. My whole family loved her. She is definitely in the right field because she is so good at what she does. Unfortunately, she has moved and so she won't be my doctor any more which makes me so sad.

Life with Marlee has been so much fun! I LOVE babies and it's been great having one around again. You forget how little they are. Every where we take her people ask us how old she is and we have had several ask us if she was a preemie. She was born with dark brown hair which is so not like anyone in our families. She is incredibly laid back and only cries when she is hungry. She has big blue eyes and is trying really hard to hold her head up. She started doing that at 2 weeks which is incredible to me. She is very attached to me, which I love! Lillie ADORES her sister which I am so happy about. I was very nervous that there was going to be some jealousy and dislike but we haven't experienced any of that. She wants to help give her baths, change her diaper, and pick out her clothes. She also has moved to sit in the middle of the seat in the car so she can be right next to Marlee's car seat. It's going to be very special watching their relationship as they both grow. It melts my heart to see them together.

I am on maternity leave until the beginning of March and it is coming too quick. I am trying to cherish every moment with her because as of Wednesday she will be seven weeks old and it has flown by. Having Lillie seven and a half years ago and trying for five years to have a baby I am much more aware of things with Marlee. I want to take it all in and not push anything. I'm holding her as much as I possibly can, singing to her, getting on the floor with her, anything I can do to just be with her. Our kids grow so quickly and I don't want to miss any part of either of my girls growing up. I am so very blessed to be a Mom of two precious girls and I feel like my life is so complete!

Look here Marlee!

First time at the park with Nannie and Papa, Mommy, Daddy and Lillie.

Going ons....

2011-11-01T18:46:00.001-07:00

It has been a long time since I have posted on the blog. I look at it every day but never feel like I have anything worth posting. Tonight I just decided to post what's been going on in my life and my family's life.

School started back and Lillie is now in second grade which is really hard to believe. She is doing well even though we continue to have challenges doing homework with her. Is that going to be something we deal with until she graduates? I hope not but guess we'll take it one day at a time.

I have moved back up to the older kids this year and am currently teaching sixth grade. It is a great team, even though I miss my old team and partner terribly! I enjoy the older kids and am teaching just science which I couldn't be happier about!

I have also begun graduate school. I am attending the University of St. Thomas and in a cohort program, we meet every Thursday night for a couple of hours. Each class is eight weeks which means the work load during the week is quite heavy. We have a paper due every week, plus reading, plus message boards and so on. I am really enjoying the class and like the people in my cohort a lot.

In addition to those changes we are expecting our little girl in about six and a half weeks. We have set up her room and Lillie's baby clothes have been washed and hung in her closet. Lillie is not real thrilled with the expected arrival of the baby but I'm praying that she will change once Marlee is here. I know her world is going to change significantly but it breaks my heart that she isn't excited about the arrival of her sister. My Mom said that I wouldn't go around her for a day or two when she brought Bryce home so I know this is normal. I love Bryce and am grateful for my relationship with him so I know this is all going to work out.

Other then that not much else is happening. I think all of the changes are about all I can handle right now my plate is very full! I thank the Lord for the changes and pray that He will continue to guide us through these changes.

Chick-Fil-a

2011-07-16T20:47:00.000-07:00

As many of you know Eric and I have been given the opportunity to go to Brazil at the end of this month and we are really excited! With two of us going we have been doing some Rent a Missionary Jobs, sending out support letters and some other fundraisers to raise the 2200.00 it is costing each of us to go. God has been really good though and we are so close! Chick-Fil-a has graciously allowed us to do a spirit night this Thursday, the 21st, to raise some more money. All you have to do is print out the flyer (which is attached to my previous post) and eat at Chick-Fil-a any time from 5 -8, 20% of the proceeds will go towards our mission trip. Bring your family and friends we would love to see you there! If you are unable to print the flyer email me at cford@sbcglobal.net and I will send it to your email! Thanks so much for your support!

July 21st

2011-07-16T20:42:00.000-07:00

Disney World 2010

2011-06-18T19:10:00.000-07:00

We just spent a phenomenal week in Florida at Disney World with my parents. My parents invited us to go and we are so thankful because we wouldn't have been able to go on our own right now. We really enjoyed getting to spend the time with them and experiencing Disney World with Lillie. I must say she was the perfect age. She was amazed by everything and wanted to try it all. My mom had shirts made that we wore on the first day that all had our relationship to Lillie on the back. Here is my Mom and Lillie waiting for the bus to head to Animal Kingdom our first day there.

The funny thing about these shirts was that on the river ride three other people got on our boat and the guy said to Lillie, " I bet you are Lillie and that's your Grandpa, Grandma, Mom and Dad." and Lillie was shocked. She never figured out how he knew her name. It was really very funny!
This is us after the boat ride and getting sopping wet! We then headed over to the bugs' life 3D show. We watched many shows because it was so hot in Florida the cool air conditioning was a nice break!
This is Lillie and I waiting in line for the Ariel Show at Hollywood Studios (formally known as MGM) They have really added a lot to Hollywood Studios and it was a lot of fun to be at that park. I was not able to ride any of the roller coasters due to being pregnant so Eric and my Dad took Lillie on all of them. They rode Rockin Roller coaster and loved it, Tower of Terror (several times). Our favorite at that park and probably all of the parks was the Toy Story Pixar ride. You shoot a pop gun at 3D screens and try to win the most points which is really a lot of fun.
At Epcot we rode Soarin, the amazing flight ride and Living on the Land. This picture of the tomato tree is from Living on the Land. Lillie loved this ride! It went through how our land gets nutrients then you go through a green house and fish farm. It was pretty amazing but there was NEVER a line and I can't really say that probably many kids would like this ride. It's very scientific and Lillie found it fascinating. I think she rode it about five times!

Two things about this trip that we have never done before is the pin trading. Disney employees all wear pins and you can trade with any of them. Lillie got a lanyard and some pins and the trading began. I think she loved looking at all of the pins and the general interaction with the employees. She also told my Mom one night that she would really like to get a princess dress and wear it at the park. The problem is that their dresses are 69.00! So my Mom and I went in together to get this 45.00 Alice dress. She loved it and wore it for two days. (I washed it in between :) ) She got so much attention and she ate it up. Everyone would say, "Hey Alice!" or bow to her like she was a princess. They definitely have their employees trained to treat the guest (children) with class.
The Nemo ride was so much fun and then you come out to a huge aquarium, here my Mom is caught in Bruce's mouth. Swim Sparkle Swim!

One thing we have tried to do the past three times we have gone to Magic Kingdom is the character dinners. They are expensive but it is worth it to get the characters to come to your table and not have to stand in a 30 minute line. We didn't make reservations before going and everything was booked. They told us to check in every day to see if there were possible cancellations. It turned out that we were able to get one for Friday at 3:15 so we took it. This year we went to the Crystal Place at Magic Kingdom where Pooh and Friends came around for pictures and autographs.

This was such a fun vacation and we really are grateful to my parents for taking us with them. I know it was a trip that none of us will forget. We did four parks, swam, and stayed at a beautiful resort. We laughed and laughed and laughed. These are moments that are so precious!

News....

2011-06-05T15:36:00.000-07:00

We have waited for about 5 years to be able to share this news with Lillie. After two miscarriages and trying to get pregnant God has finally blessed us with a baby! We are very excited yet still apprehensive. We are 12 weeks right now and pray every day for our sweet blessing that it will be healthy and there won't be any problems during this pregnancy. Our baby is due December 18th! Please pray with us that the baby will grow and be healthy!

Check out Lillie's reaction which is so sweet!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mXRywozWAI

Seven!

2011-04-03T17:06:00.001-07:00

Well my little girl turned 7 on April 1st! It is so hard to believe she is already 7 and coming close to ending her first grade year. When she turned 6 it still sounded so little but for some reason 7 sounds so much older! Last year and this year I have been able to take the day off for her birthday and just be Mom. It's not only fun for her but I think I enjoy it just as much! I got to get her ready, drop her off at school, then go back up and read for her class. They were so excited! Then my Mom, Eric and I all met her for lunch. She requested that Eric bring Subway so that is what he did. Then we passed out cupcakes to her class. That evening she got to invite a friend to spend the night and then choose where we ate dinner. She wanted to go to a local Mexican food restaurant because they put whipped cream all over your face and sang to you. She really enjoyed it! I have posted some of the pictures from April 1st and will post her birthday party tomorrow! I love you Lillie so much and am so proud of who you are becoming!

Lillie wearing her new outfit that her Nannie bought her.

Lillie at school wearing her birthday crown.

Happy Birthday to Lillie at El Chapparo! She loved the whipped cream on her face!

My Mom sent one present for her because she didn't want to wait until her party. This is the ONE thing she told everyone she wanted and this is her genuine reaction after opening it I just happened to catch it. It is the singing fish off of the McDonalds commercial! It's funny what makes you happy at 7!

Go Texan Day/Rodeo!

2011-03-19T20:54:00.000-07:00

Well March is Rodeo time in Houston! We have one of the largest rodeo's in the country and it is a lot of fun to go to. You can choose to just go to the Livestock show or you can pay for the rodeo which also includes a concert. The last two years we have just gone to the livestock show which Lillie really enjoys. We go through the animals and check out the bunnies and cattle that is being shown as well as the chickens, sheep, pigs, and so on. Every year Lillie begs us to get a cow, needless to say that won't be happening any time soon! I told her this year she would have to scoop poop all of the time and she said, "That can be Daddy's job!" I don't think Eric is going to agree to that and I already take care of a turtle, dog, cat, and two guinea pigs! I'm at my limit!

This year we decided to go on Friday of Spring Break and I think that was half of Houston's idea as well. There were a TON of people there and it was hot! We stayed for a long time playing games and letting Lillie ride some of the rides. One of the fun things we did this year that we had not done before was go and watch the pig races. They have these tiny pigs that race around the track for an Oreo. It was really cute! They also have a pot belly pig that swims. They said that next week they will be in Georgia for the Guinness book of world records as the fastest swimming pig. She was really cute!

Swifty the swimming potbelly

Lillie ready for the pig races!

Coming out of the haunted house ride.

Lillie by one of the show bulls.

First grade also celebrates Go Texan day! They learn about Texas for two weeks (state bird, flag, flower, tree, the Alamo....) then each class comes up with a chili recipe and they have a chili cook off. Lillie's classes' secret ingredient this year was chocolate! One of the other first grade classes had skittles for it's secret ingredient. Who's up for skittle chili?? :) The kids also dress up in their best western duds and rotate throughout the classes making western items. It seemed like they had a great time!

Lillie and her friend from preschool.

Lillie outside my classroom before the go Texan day began. She picked out her own outfit and was very adamant about wearing the tank top under the buttoned shirt! My little girl definitely knows what she wants. Sometimes that's good and sometimes that makes me very worried as to what her teenage years are going to be like. :)

100's Day project

2011-02-19T15:42:00.000-08:00

Lillie is in First grade and they make a big deal of 100's day. I don't remember us doing that when I was growing up but it seems to be a BIG day in k-2nd grade. This year Lillie had to make something creative that had 100 things on it and then be able to count her items and present it to the class. I saw some amazing projects but I was very proud of ours. I came up with idea and Lillie liked it but then she LOVED making it. She worked very hard on it and was very proud of it when we were done. We were even done a week and a half early! Here is what she came up with. Lillie's Cookies!

The almost final product.

Lillie showing off her work. She was very proud of it!

Working hard!

A Wonderful Christmas!

2010-12-26T20:34:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2010 was a good one! We began with our traditional Christmas Eve with my parents and Aunt Dana. We went to Christmas Eve's services at the new church Eric and I have been attending, then we went to Red Lobster as a family, then back to my parents house for presents. Red Lobster has been a Tewell Family tradition since Bryce and I were little. We had such a nice relaxing evening with my family. We opened presents then watched Ramona and Bezus. (The movie my mom gave me for Christmas! It is soooo cute and VERY family oriented!) Then we came home and went to bed. Christmas day Lillie woke us up at about 7:30 and we went into the living room to check out what Santa had brought her. We then opened presents to each other and had a nice breakfast together as a family. Lillie got a lot of presents and had a lot of fun playing with them most of the morning. Christmas evening we went over to Eric's family's and had a nice dinner, then opened presents with them.

Christmas this year was really a nice one because it was low key and really centered around family. My hope for the future with Lillie is to find something we can do as a family where we are giving to others for Christmas including doing something on Christmas day. The most special Christmas I ever remember is passing out presents with the Lion's Club. I want that for my family and my children. In the end they won't remember what they got on Christmas morning but I want them to remember that it was about Christ and our family celebrating His birth and doing what He has called us to do. I hope your Christmas was just as special this year and as we enter into 2011 you take time to give thanks to the ONE who gives us all the many blessing we are so undeserving of!

Frog slippers my best friend sent me!

Lillie's gift to me from the school store. I thought it was too cute!

Lillie and Maddie on Christmas morning.

Gifts from Santa!

My little blessing!

My funny girl...

2010-12-22T20:59:00.000-08:00

Lillie absolutely cracks me up! She's says the funniest things... I wanted to post two of her most recent, of course, just posting it doesn't give it justice. This past week Eric went out with some friends at work so it was just Lillie and I for the evening. As I was putting her to bed I was picking up her shoes for the 700th time and said, "Lillie you need to put your shoes where they belong!" She didn't look like she was listening so I asked her, "Lillie are you listening to me?" She replied, "Yes Mom, you said Tinkerbell is sitting on a piece of yarn!" then she started to giggle. The amazing thing about that is she came up with it really quick and it does sound like what I said.

On Tuesday my friend Amie and I took our girls to the mall to see snow (Which there ended up being none) and all of the kids rode with Amie. So Amie tells me that she is waiting for a car to back out and the guy is just sitting there so Amie forgetting Lillie was in the car calls the guy a "Jackass." Lillie says, "Did you mean jerk? Did you forget I was in the car?" Two things here... the first one is I need to stop calling people jerks on the road and second it's funny that with all of the other kids in the car Lillie points out the name calling.

Anyway... just thought I'd share because my little girl makes me laugh!

So blessed!

2010-11-24T19:55:00.000-08:00

For some reason Thanksgiving has never really been one of my favorite holidays. I am not sure why but this year I am seeing it in a whole new light. I don't know if it's because I am getting older or if I am just realizing how incredibly blessed I am! I am blessed to have Eric and Lillie in my life. I am blessed to have my Mom and Dad close and parents who continue to set a Godly example. I am blessed to have a great mother and father in law as well as brothers and sisters in laws. I am blessed to have two beautiful and incredibly smart nieces! I am blessed to have a job and to get to work with children on a daily basis. I am blessed to have such a wonderful group of ladies to work with. I am blessed to have a beautiful home in The Woodlands. I am blessed to have friends who will not only lend an ear for support but will also be honest with me when I need to be told something I might not like. I could go on and on with the people and things I am so thankful for, but most of all I am thankful that Jesus Christ died on the cross to save a sinner like me. I am grateful for his death and resurrection and that He loves me even though I am undeserving! May God bless you richly this year and may you look upon everything he has given you with a grateful heart! Happy Thanksgiving!

Us at Lillie's first grade feast

Flowers in the middle of the table ready for tomorrow!

Place mat given to me by a parent a few years ago. Love them!

The table ready for my family tomorrow!

Some of my favorites....

2010-11-14T19:54:00.000-08:00

I love looking at pictures and tonight as I was browsing through the pictures on my laptop I thought I would post some of my favorites. Lillie is growing up so fast and I know that but it is much more obvious when I look at the pictures. Here are a few of my favorites.

Lillie and Maddie on a recent hike in Huntsville State Park.

Lillie and her faithful friend, Happy. Notice the hedgehog on her face! :)

This is just a cute genuine smile.

Lillie usually flashes her "camera" smile so I love this picture!

Lillie a few years ago at Disneyland. She's preforming with the New Orleans band.

Lillie wearing this helmet when we were house sitting. This was in one of the boys rooms.

Anyone else do homework like this?

2010-11-03T17:49:00.001-07:00

Our little girl is now in first grade and there is nightly homework that we are supposed to work on, however, Lillie does NOT like to do it! Every night we sit down to do homework is followed by a lot of whining and frustration on Eric and my part. We are supposed to practice the weekly spelling words, go over Math facts, read, and then whatever else comes along with the unit for that week. Usually Eric sits down to do the work because he has wayyyy more patience then I do and after being with children all day I am sometimes at my limit. Well the other night this is what Lillie came to do her homework in. I had a hard time not laughing and she was getting a kick out of it as well.

Lillie and Eric practicing math facts.

Lillie showing off her outfit. The go-go boots are a gift from my really good friend Donese.

Being silly.

For those of you that read my blog (if anyone) that don't know Lillie she is a very smart little girl. For three years now her teachers have told us that. She is very imaginative and a great little reader! On a flip note she is also very stubborn and strong willed. She has always been a bit of a challenge for Eric and I and at times I feel like a failure as a parent, but what I try to remember is that Lillie can bring so much joy and she has a very giving heart. I have learned as a parent that children come with personalities when they are born and that it is my job to teach Lillie about who she is in Christ and guide her to find out what His purpose is for her. I know some of the more difficult traits will come to serve her well in life and that God continues to teach me so much through her. I just hope we can make it through the school years and the homework every night in the mean time! :) Please tell me does anyone else do homework like this???

Early Halloween

2010-10-30T20:57:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again - Halloween, Lillie's favorite holiday! If Lillie had her way our house would be decorated as much as it is for Christmas. This year Lillie had to come up with a costume that would not only work for Halloween but also for her school storybook parade. So she decided to be a black cat. One of her favorite books is Kat Kong by Dav Pilkey. She checked it out so much last year from the school library that Eric and I finally bought her her own copy. It is a pretty funny book and Lillie loves cats so we understood why she liked it so much. The storybook parade was on Friday and grades 2-6 line the hallways clapping and cheering on the kinder and first graders as they walk through the hallways. When Lillie's class came around the corner I could see her making these funny/sad faces and I wasn't sure what was going on. When they got closer I noticed that the teacher leading the class behind Lillie's was banging cymbals the whole way and it was beginning to get to Lillie. By the time the parade was over and Lillie's class was in her classroom she was crying. Eric asked her what was wrong and she said she had a huge headache from all of the noise! Poor Lillie! For those of you that know Lillie she is super busy and she can actually be very loud herself, but Lillie has never liked to be in loud environments. I think it is too over stimulating for her. Anyway over all she had a great time being Kat Kong!

Tonight we went to a carnival in our neighborhood and we are planning on trick or treating tomorrow. I think she's a pretty cute Kitty!

Lillie at the carnival.

Me at the carnival.

Lillie after the storybook parade.

Kat Kong

Lillie striking her pose.

GREAT idea!

2010-08-17T18:06:00.000-07:00

OK so lately I have found some wonderful new teacher blog sites. In fact I could easily see this becoming an addiction reading all of these so I have to refrain and watch my time on the computer. However, in reading one of these sites I discovered a cool way to make your blog into a scrapbook reality! For those of my friends, which there are several of you, who use their blog as a way to track the lives of your precious ones my thought was of you! Check out this site

http://blog2print.sharedbook.com/blogworld/printmyblog/index.html.

I would love to know if you end up ordering one! I think I am going to!

Lillie imitating Eric

2010-07-27T20:28:00.000-07:00

Tonight Lillie came in the room grabbed Eric's jeans and shirt and then proceeded to "be Daddy." Here is her silly version of him!

The truth of it is, is that Eric is a wonderful Daddy. He works very hard for his family and is a very involved Dad. He is the one who taught Lillie to ride her bike without her training wheels, pulls her loose teeth, does her homework with her in the evenings, gets her ready for school, and makes her breakfast. I could go on and on because he is very involved. We love him very much!

We LOVE Texas!

2010-07-14T19:39:00.000-07:00

I know that a lot of people from other states get irritated with the way Texans are about their state but I am a VERY proud Texan and always have been! I'm born and raised here. (For the most part!) We are so proud of our state that there are crackers, ice cubes, tiles, stepping stones, and bumper stickers, that all have the shape of Texas on it. (And I'm sure many more items!) I think you would also be hard pressed to find a Texan who didn't know Deep in the Heart of Texas! We teach our children that song early and sing it at our ball games! Here is Lillie's very short version of it.

summer happenings

2010-06-21T15:28:00.000-07:00

The summer has begun and we are having a great time! This past weekend my parents took us to a Dude Ranch in Bandera, TX. The ranch is run by a family and several generations work it. It was so much fun! It is perfect for children and it is very family oriented. Lillie was able to run around with the other children and we knew she would be safe. Every morning when you wake up there are planned events throughout the day that you can attend and it is different from day to day. While we were there we went horse back riding several times, fished, tubed the river, watched the wildlife, swam, watched a show put on by the family, took hay rides and so much more. It was really fun and I look forward to possibly going back!

Lillie on Oreo the 1000+ steer!

Lillie on Black Diamond, her horse for the ride.

The peacocks that roam the property. These things are LOUD!

Black Diamond, Lillie and the wrangler.

Bryce and Lillie fishing.

Lillie also set up her Lemonade stand one night and I called family to come by. (Very last minute) Eric's niece and her boyfriend stopped by as well as his parents and sister and hubby. She has been begging to sell Lemonade since I bought this little stand at a garage sale. Her little friend from across the street and her have big plans to take it up to the park and sell this summer!

Kindergarden Graduation

2010-06-03T18:57:00.000-07:00

I remember thinking when I had Lillie what a joy she was and how I was amazed at how much love I could have for one person. I was and still am fascinated by what she learns and says and when I slow down and really treasure what a gift God has given me I feel so extremely overwhelmed and undeserving.

This week we saw our little girl graduate from Kindergarten. I remember crying and crying when she went into preschool at four knowing that, that was the beginning of many years to come in school. Then I remember at the beginning of this year hardly believing she was ready and old enough for Kindergarten and now we are done! Time goes too fast!

This year has been a great year in many ways. Lillie is an incredible reader, she is extremely creative, and an excellent writer. Her vocabulary exceeds a lot of children in her class and her teacher said she was often the source of getting the higher level words to come out from the others. (I'm convinced this is because she has no siblings and is around adults all of the time!) Lillie likes to be challenged and is proud of her accomplishments. In some ways this year has also been very difficult. Lillie is and always will be a very busy little girl. As teachers, we know that good teachers are those that can let children be who they are and learn in ways that they are best learning in. Unfortunately I don't feel like Lillie had a fair shot at that this year. I know that we will encounter years where it will be more of a challenge and years that are going to go really well. My goal and hope for Lillie is that through it all she remains happy and feels successful in her journey throughout school. My mom used to always tell me that I will be a better teacher once I have children of my own because I will understand the parent perspective more. I didn't believe her then, but completely understand now. You send you pride and joy off to be in the care of someone else for long periods of time and you hope that they are able to get a small glimpse of who it is you would put your life on the line for. I am VERY proud of Lillie and all that she has accomplished in her first year of school! I pray that I take every day we are given and live it to the fullest, because time is going too fast! I also pray that as she continues to grow she can become all that God has meant for her to be! I'm very blessed!

Lillie on stage

Lillie and Sparkle. (My Mom)

Lillie and Grandpa (My Dad)

My sweet little girl! I love you Lillie!

long time....

2010-05-15T16:08:00.000-07:00

The girls at Lillie's party and Joshua!

Lillie hunting for eggs

Well since my last post my little girl has turned SIX years old! We had an Easter egg hunt for her birthday this year which was a lot of fun! We had the party at my parents house and my Dad built this incredible tree house for her for her birthday! We also rented a bounce house. She had a lot of fun and I can't believe she is six and almost done with her kindergarten year of school!

Getting ready to begin!

Swim Colleen Swim!

Also since the last post we have completed the MS 150, which is a 150 + mile bike ride from Houston to Austin. The ride is done in two days ending the first day in La Grange. My Dad, Eric and I have ridden in it three times now. It is incredibly hard but it is so much fun and rewarding. I also really enjoy that it is time spent with my Dad and husband. I also took on another challenge this year and did my first triathlon! I didn't train as much as I should have but was proud that I finished! It was a 500 meter swim in a lake, a 15 mile bike ride and a 5 K run. The run was definitely the hardest for me, in fact I walked most of it. My goal is to do another one, but to really train! I am proud of myself for taking on the challenge! While I was riding my bike I was thinking that last year my Dad and I were sitting in one of the local restaurants during the triathlon and I was telling him I would love to do that one day. It wasn't even a year later and there I was. It was an exciting feeling!

Spring Break 2010

2010-03-20T23:31:00.000-07:00

Well we are coming to the end of our week off. It has been very busy and a lot of fun. Eric has been able to take most of the week off as well so we have been able to spend it together as a family. On Monday, Lillie and I ran some errands and then Tuesday we went to the Houston Livestock Show. It is one of the largest rodeos in the United States and is always here the week of spring break. We went through and looked at the animals then Lillie rode several rides. We also ate lots of yummy carnival food! Here is Lillie ready with her boots on for the rodeo.

On Wednesday we headed for San Antonio. I had bought tickets to the Disney on Ice for Lillie. It was really a good show and we had fantastic seats! Lillie had never been to anything like this before so she was quite fascinated with it all. The skating was really quite good and it went through all of the different characters. It was a fun way to begin the trip. My only complaint is that Disney charges an arm and a leg for any "extra" items and of course children want those things. Eric had dropped us off so we wouldn't miss any of the show and Lillie had asked for some Cotton candy. I texted Eric to get some on his way in and when he sat down he said the cotton candy was 12.00! I couldn't believe it. He asked the girl selling it if she was joking and she said, "No you get the hat and blower too!" So here is the hat that Lillie got and the blower is basically a large birthday blower.

The next day we headed to Sea World. Eric had said it was supposed to be 75 degrees so we dressed in shorts and t-shirts. It was so cold when we got to Sea World and the wind was blowing pretty hard. The first show we went to see was the Shamu show. We got great seats but Lillie wanted to sit in the soak zone. My initial thought was this will be fine because we had sat in that area before and gotten just a tiny bit wet. We were about five row up and able to see everything perfectly. It was really neat because a baby whale was born in January and she was out swimming with her mother. It was too cute! The show was getting to the end and before we knew it we see the large tail coming our way and needless to say, we were COMPLETELY drenched! We had no time to react. I looked over at Eric and Lillie and all three of us were wet from head to toe! I laughed so hard! We had to go buy Lillie another t-shirt and me a towel because it was so cold! We had a wonderful time though. We were able to see every show and Lillie played in the big play area for about two hours. It was really a nice day!

The last thing we did before heading home was visit the Alamo. When Lillie heard it was there in San Antonio she wanted to visit really bad because they had learned about it in her class. We went through the inside then the outer quarters. I know we all think our children are really bright but it amazes me the amount of information that Lillie takes in and remembers. She is always listening and taking it ALL in! She could tell you more about the Alamo than I could.

When we returned Lillie spent the night with Eric's parents and this morning when we picked Lillie up Mary Jo told us that they asked Lillie what her favorite part of San Antonio was and she said, "Being with my family!" It was so sweet and really made me treasure our week together all that much more!

Big Girl Room....

2010-01-18T14:34:00.001-08:00

Last weekend we bought Lillie some new (to us) furniture for her room. I have always loved Lillie's "big girl" room but she has always wanted matching furniture. Her room is so small that we have only had a bookshelf and a day bed in her room up until now. Eric and I had discussed getting her some new furniture for her birthday this year and it turned out a friend from my mom's church needed to get rid of some furniture and it was a good price. It also happened to match Lillie's room so we bought it. Lillie LOVES her "new" room, in fact her response was, "This is AWESOME! It's what I have wanted ALL of my life!" My daughter is a tad bit on the dramatic side. :) But her room does look really cute if I do say so myself and she is really enjoying it. Her favorite part is her new desk! She loves to turn on her music and sit down and go to work! Too cute! I have posted some pictures so you can see what it looks like!

This is Lillie when we were headed out the other day. I was calling her a fashionista! I thought she looked really cute in her boots and vest with the fur on it. The boots were a gift from my mom at Christmas!

Lillie posing!

Her new bed. The bedding and everything she has had but it looks really cute with the furniture.

Another view of her bed.

The other side of her room and Maddie sitting on Lillie's pink shag rug.

Lillie's new desk

Catching up....

2009-12-29T19:16:00.000-08:00

An entire month has gone by since I have updated my blog.... let me try to catch you up with a month of review. There have been a lot of events going on with school and such and then I caught some terrible cough/bronchial something and couldn't seem to fight it off. I called the Dr. to see if he could just call me in an antibiotic and another Dr. was on call so I had to go in. He said I was actually "Really sick!" so I tried to spend the last two weeks of school not missing too much but fighting off the sickness. Needless to say by the time the break came I was so ready and in need of some rest. I would try to go Christmas shopping and just get too tired in a few hours so it was a rough couple of weeks. We got our house decorated in early December this year which was nice. Here are a few pictures of our decor.....

Our Tree

We got a new tree topper this year, Tinker Bell!

Here is Carson, our elf Santa sent us. This was such a fun tradition we began this year. Our elf was delivered the second week of December and every morning Lillie woke up in search of Carson. This particular morning he was hanging from the ceiling fan chain.

This is our new addition... Eric's parents took Lillie to a Guinea Pig show the second weekend in December and I got a phone call begging for a new pet. I told her I was OK with it as long as it was a girl since we already had a girl, but I caved and she brought home Charlie Black. I could see why Lillie was sold on him. He is really cute and very small. He was only two to three weeks old when she brought him home. Let me just say for the record that I have a very kind husband who allows me to get all of these crazy pets! I take care of them all but I still appreciate it! Charlie Black now makes pet number 6!

Since Lillie turned about two or three we have done Christmas in the same fashion every year. We spend Christmas Eve with my parents, going to church, then to Red Lobster, then on to one of our houses to open presents. This year My brother and his girlfriend joined us as well as my Aunt Dana. We had a wonderful time attending church then being together.

Christmas morning we always stay home so that we can spend time as a family and let Lillie open her presents and see what Santa brought her. This year Santa brought her an American Doll which she had asked for as well as a Pillow Pet and a camera.

Lillie looking at her Pillow Pet after just waking up.

Lillie and her new doll "Katie"

This was Lillie's reaction to getting a new scooter from Eric and I.

After we opened presents we had a nice breakfast then just relaxed. Usually the day after Christmas we go over to Eric's family's house and do our Christmas with them. The timing usually depends on when Eric's sister, Katie and husband, can come down from Colorado. They made it here the day after this year and we had a wonderful time having dinner and opening presents. This year we had such a wonderful time and I believe it was because we tried to keep it low key and keep in mind the meaning of what this time is all about. The older Lillie gets the harder it is to do that but also all the more important! Another one of my favorite parts of this time of year is getting all of the Christmas cards from all of our dear friends and getting caught up on their lives and seeing family pictures, which I love!

As we draw near to the close of 2009 I pray that we will continue to be able to focus on the many blessing God has given us this year and look forward to where he is taking us in the New YEAR!

Plymouth Day and Thanksgiving...

2009-11-25T15:23:00.001-08:00

On Tuesday every class had their Thanksgiving feasts. Kindergarten preformed, sung some songs, then had quite the feasts in the cafeteria. Each of the students were either pilgrims or Indians and they all looks so cute! They had colored their own vests and head pieces. This is Lillie after singing and sitting down to lunch. Her teacher is the blond with the blue shirt on standing behind her.

The kindergartner's singing. It was very cute and they did a great job!

Lillie with mouth full and fake smile!

The Friday before Kindergarten had Plymouth day. Each classroom had a different craft and all of the children were dressed up and traveled through. She has such a fun time. She came in my classroom after getting her hat and collar on all embarrassed, I thought she looked adorable!

Plymouth Day and Thanksgiving...

2009-11-25T15:23:00.000-08:00

When your heart breaks for your children....

2009-11-12T17:52:00.000-08:00

I don't know if anyone even reads my blog but as a parent it is so hard when your child is hurt. This evening we kind of had our first experience of I am sure many hurt feelings. We had taken Lillie and one of her little school friends to the park and on the way back to drop off her little friend the little girl proceeds to tell Lillie that tomorrow night is her birthday party and that it is a sleep over. She also tells her that only four people have been invited and those are people she knows really well and she just didn't know Lillie really well. Keeping in mind that the two play after school every day and have since two weeks before school began. I could see it in Lillie's face that she of course was hurt. She kept looking out the window as if she wasn't affected by what she had just heard but as a mom I knew her little heart was breaking as was mine. When the little girl exited the car Lillie started crying pretending there was another reason she was upset. Me being her mom, wanted to fix things and was trying desperately to think of someone that we could invite over to spend the night, but at five most people just aren't ready for their children to spend the night at other people's houses. So I just sit in pain aching for my precious little girl. She has fallen asleep but I know this is just the beginning of seeing and feeling things like this. I just wish I could protect her from this but I know I can't. It makes me realize the deep love that I have for her and I am very grateful for that, but I pray for strength as she gets older to know how to handle situations like this.

Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines...

2009-11-08T20:28:00.000-08:00

This weekend Eric and I went to Colorado (Alone!) to go see a football game! We had a fast and furious weekend but it was a lot of fun. Eric's cousin, Scott, is a senior at West Point and they were playing the Air Force this weekend and we were invited to go. We flew into Denver and then drove to Colorado Springs for some family time and the game. It was so much fun!
I have the utmost respect for those that serve in our military and love all of the traditions behind it all. My Grandpa served in the Army for a term then reenlisted and my Uncle Dennis was a Colonel in the Air Force most of my life. My Granddad also served in the Army and fought during WWII. A few years ago Washington put up a memorial for The Greatest Generation and my mom was able to go with my Granddad to be a part of the memorial. I would say I am a very patriotic person and get very emotional whenever American songs are played or veterans are honored. So the game on Saturday was so much fun! There were cadets in uniform everywhere. Before the game began they had two fly overs, One of the planes was a B1 Bomber! There were also five paratroopers that jumped out of planes who have served in the military. They landed on the field telling then the announcer told about their years of service. During half time the Air Force Academy brought out their mascot, the falcon, and had her flying all over. It was really neat! We had a nice time and I am really glad we got to go!

This is half time when the band was playing. The students with the flags are carrying all of the different flags that have been flown.

Here are the shout leaders for West Point!

One of the paratroopers

This is Eric's Aunt Susan, Cousin Scott, and Uncle Johnny

This is my Sister in law Katie, Scott, and Mother in law Mary Jo.

Busy Busy Halloween...

2009-11-01T20:50:00.000-08:00

Lillie and her cousins Amanda (a pirate) and Allison (Alice, from Alice in Wonderland.) I thought this turned out so cute!

This year was a fun Halloween year because Lillie could hardly wait to get in her costume and go trick or treating. We started Friday out with the Kindergartners and First graders at our school doing a story book parade. We were very fortunate because we had already picked out our costume and it was Raggedy Ann so it fit perfectly.

Then Saturday morning we woke up and headed over to the Jr. High for a Halloween carnival of sorts. The different schools in the area hosted different games and activities. Lillie painted a pumpkin, fished for treats, threw hoops around pumpkins and more. We headed from there to one of the parks and did a few more activities. While we were there Lillie found a friend from her class last year and they chased one another around for a while. We left the park and stopped by my friend Donese's house for her to see Lillie then headed home to meet my parents. My parents came over and we went to a non existent Trunk or Treat (It was the wrong church!) and then trick or treated around our neighborhood. After that we went over to Eric's sister's house to see his side of the family. It was a VERY eventful two days and I am glad it is all over with but we had a really nice time and best of all Lillie had a BLAST!

Lillie, Tatum and Jadan

Eric's pumpkin he carved. Eric and Lillie carved two this year! Every year Eric does the carving and the baking of the seeds. He gets very excited about the carving!

Lillie at the story book parade.

Maddie in her princess outfit. She walked with us around the neighborhood but her hat wouldn't stay up. She got a lot of compliments!

This is Lillie at the zoo the week before. I will post more on that later but I thought it was a cute picture!

Fall Fun...

2009-10-12T17:25:00.001-07:00

Lillie and I had the day off of school for Columbus Day and I wanted to take her to do something fun, so we decided to head out to Oil Ranch. Oil Ranch is a working ranch where children can pet animals, milk cows, ride pony's, go through a hay maze and much more. Lillie has enjoyed going out there since she was very little. When you leave the children get to pick out a pumpkin and take one with them. Eric took the day off so we headed out there as a family. We were worried because this time of year in Houston it rains constantly. It has been raining on and off for several days so we were afraid it was going to be too muddy. It turned out to be a perfect day! It was VERY humid which is normal for this area, but there were very few children out at the ranch so we didn't have to wait in line for anything which was really nice!

When we first arrived I had Lillie sit in the pumpkins to take a picture. I love Fall time and I really like these pictures with her surrounded by the pumpkins. They have scarecrows and hay trailers all over the property so it was fun to get to take some pictures!

Here is Lillie riding around on the pony. She always has a great time being around the animals!

There is an area called Indian Village at the ranch, in the area there is this sand bag swing set. This was Lillie's first time to ride it but it was fun. All under the bags was water so we had to be careful getting on and off. Eric ran around pulling the swings. It's a lot of work for the parents but the children LOVE it!

This is one of the two petting areas they have. There are bunnies, turkeys, cows, chickens, sheep and goats. Lillie just loves the animals and isn't afraid of any of them. She gets right in there, gets the food, and heads for the animals. At this particular petting area the lady working said we could pick up the chickens. The challenge was on! Lillie and I ran after those chickens until I finally caught one. Lillie had no problem after that getting them herself! They are actually really calm once you are holding them. This is one of the unfortunate ones that we caught! HA! We had a great time spending the day as a family and letting Lillie enjoy the outdoors and animals. I am thankful for days like this when I get to enjoy my husband and little girl!

New Addition to our Family....

2009-09-22T18:10:00.001-07:00

Ellie - our new baby bunny

Lillie and Ellie

We love her already!

NO, I am not pregnant! I wish I was but am not right now. We did however get a new little bunny! Yes, we added to our mini zoo. We have a cat, dog, turtle and guinea pig and now our little bunny Ellie! Lillie named her and I thought the name was precious! She is a blond bunny who is missing part of one of her long ears. We went in to get a different bunny that we had seen on Saturday but Lillie and I were sold on the little injured bunny. We now have two pets with "defective" ears. Our cat, Chloe, who showed up at our house a little before the hurricane last year, also has an ear that looks like it is smooshed down. (I think it is a birth defect.) Anyway... we are enjoying our new addition and I know my kids at school are SUPER excited about the new class pet that will be joining the room tomorrow!

Funny pets and dollar stores...

2009-09-13T16:05:00.001-07:00

If you have pets and children you know how entertaining they can be at times. Lillie LOVES our dog Maddie and is constantly telling her what to do and tying her up to things. Lillie loves to put her on a leash and take her to the playroom and just make her wait in there while she plays. I, of course, only let this go on for a limited amount of time because I feel bad for Maddie. Maddie is eight years old and such a sweet dog! Since Halloween is coming up (in two months!) and costumes are already popping up in stores everywhere, Lillie wanted to buy Maddie a costume. When we were in the dollar store today we found this lovely get up and I thought I could afford .99 cents! :) So Maddie being the good sport that she is allowed us to put on the cheerleader outfit and take some pictures. Then she went and hid under the bed! :)

Lillie and Maddie

Maddie in her Cheerleader outfit! Go Cowboys!

Are you ready for some football?

In addition to our dog we have a guinea pig names Zoe who is a little over two years old, a cat named Chloe who got left behind when someone around us moved, and a turtle named Shelly. Shelly was bought by my mom at the dollar store and has been with us for over two years now. She sits in between our kitchen and living room. When you are washing dishes she swims over and watches you. When my mom first brought her over I wasn't thrilled and she was tiny! She has grown quite a bit and we really do enjoy her. She'll stand on her hind feet and it looks funny so I took a picture of her one evening. This is probably just cute to me but I still thought I would share. :)

Shelly

She's standing on her back legs sticking her head out of the water.

Can't believe it is already here!

2009-08-23T20:15:00.000-07:00

My sweet baby girl just a few weeks old.

Peek a Boo

Lillie doing her favorite thing - entertaining!

Tomorrow my little girl starts Kindergarten! I am very excited for her as she begins this new adventure in her young life but so sad that the time has come so quickly! I am putting her out there in the world to learn from other teachers and students. I pray that as she encounters these new people and challenges in her life that they will have a positive impact on her and that God will protect her and keep her safe. My biggest prayer is that this year she will feel loved and accepted by her teachers and her classmates. As a parent you want to protect them from all that believe different then you do but knowing that isn't realistic I just pray it brings opportunities for us to share our faith with those around us. I pray that she will be a little beacon in her classroom of Christ's love. Last year she was so saddened by the fact that she wasn't going to be going to a school where they taught about Jesus, but I told her it was our opportunity to be "missionaries" and tell others about him.

Here are some things about Lillie that I hope others will learn and love about her too!

Lillie is:

Funny

Bright

Inquisitive

Thoughtful

Energetic

Caring

Sensitive

Stylish

An Entertainer

Loves to read

Loves to sing

Loves Jesus

Innocent

A Learner

LORD protect her and keep her safe tomorrow and give Eric and I a sense of peace in knowing that you are in control of her life. Amen

Going's On....

2009-08-11T14:27:00.000-07:00

Just some pictures taken lately. Our guinea pig that Lillie likes to "baby sit."

Zoe in the pack and play being baby sat.

Lillie and her new western wear. :) We bought it at Buc cee's!

Well today I was blessed with a new position for the year! I was offered a job at an elementary school five minutes from my home. For those of you that I hadn't spoken with I quit The Christian Academy at the end of this past year. We got a new administrator that I didn't agree with or like for that matter. It was very sad leaving that school because when I was hired I had nothing but wonderful things to say about it. I LOVE the families that attend there and love my students. I just felt like God was moving me on and it had been a very bitter sweet leave. I have dreamt many times about it this summer because it is on my mind and I am saddened by many things happening there. Knowing that I was no longer supposed to be there I sought out another position. I had applied with several private schools and four different districts. We had decided to put Lillie into the school she would be zoned to go to UNLESS I got a job at one particular school that was still close to our house. God is really good because I had gone all summer without hearing much from anywhere. I have a friend who I taught with several years ago who suggested my name, she's an AP at this school, and therefore I was offered an opportunity to interview. Today I was called in after interviewing yesterday and was offered a position. I will be teaching third grade self contained, which means all subjects to one class for those of you who are not teachers. I am SUPER excited for so many reasons and know that God has been in full control the entire time. When I had little faith HE reminded me that HE had it under control. He always gives me so much more then I deserve. I believed that when I started at the Christian Academy and I believe that now. I am very grateful!

Another first...

2009-08-04T21:15:00.001-07:00

Well this evening we had another first... seems like a lot in the last few days. Lillie has had a loose tooth for the past few months, we discovered it on Father's Day. She has been wiggling that little thing like crazy. Tonight it was hanging on, very loose, but she was determined to have it out this evening. One thing you need to know about me is that I don't do loose teeth! Even when my students come up to me to show me their loose teeth my stomach gets very queasy and I am always telling them to please, "STOP!" then I kindly send them to the nurse. :) So I told Lillie when Daddy gets home you can ask him what he thinks. As soon as Eric walked in she asked him to pull her tooth and so it began. About ten minutes later it was out! I can't believe my little girl has lost her first tooth. I remember the day we saw her first one coming in. Time goes so fast!

The tooth is gone!

The tooth in Eric's hand.

This is the tooth loose. It's hard to tell but it was out of place with the others.

Last time we will see a full mouth of baby teeth. :(

Firsts...

2009-08-03T21:46:00.000-07:00

Lillie and her cousins, Allison and Amanda

Such pretty girls!

Lillie doing her favorite hobby, SWIMMING! I must say she is quite the little swimmer and had improved drastically this summer. Next summer we may need to get her in swim team. I could see her doing very well at that sport.

My precious little girl!

Well today was a day of firsts. We started out this morning heading to the dentist. Lillie had her first cavity and had to have it filled. I was so disappointed when I found out because I felt like I had let her down. The dentist was very kind though and said that I wouldn't have been able to see it or catch it because it started from the bottom of the tooth. Anyway... she did PERFECT getting it filled. She just laid there and let them do what they needed to do. She did have laughing gas though so maybe that was the calming factor.

The second thing we did today was head over to where Lillie is going to be going to Kindergarten! This will be her first official school year! Where has the time gone? I am so not ready for this. The time has gone so fast and she is still my little girl! The funny thing is that as hard as it is for Eric and I, I think it has been even more difficult for our parents to handle. I pray that she will just have the right teacher and that she will begin her school year feeling successful and find herself craving knowledge. I also pray that she will build some great relationships with the children in her class.

And the last first which is kind of an inside joke with my family members and close friends, is that I used my treadmill tonight!

Big Bang Theory...

2009-08-02T21:52:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite shows is the Big Bang Theory. Sheldon makes me laugh so much! If you don't watch it, the idea is that there are four incredibly smart scientific friends but they are socially inept. Penny is the girl who lives next door that adds another funny part to their social dynamics. Anyway tonight we watched the one that had recorded and it was about Sheldon trying to be supportive. His friends told him to just smile and this is what it looked like. It made me laugh so hard! You may have to have watched the show before to find it funny but it just makes me laugh every time I see it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WtD23tWJAM

Time to Eat!

2009-07-23T22:45:00.001-07:00

Lillie and the Rabbit from Alice and Wonderland

This is the third year we have done the breakfast with the characters for Lillie to get to see them up-close. We have done Minnie and Friends three times and the Ariel's Grotto once. It is very expensive but I have to say it is worth it. We buy the autograph albums and have the characters sign them then take her pictures. I look forward to having those as Lillie gets older to see how different Lillie was each year. This year she REALLY enjoyed it. She was so excited she didn't want to eat. We got to see many of the characters and this year is a Celebration theme at Disneyland because they are celebrating their 50th birthday. With that theme comes lots of balloons and special events. FYI if you go ON your birthday to Disneyland you can get in FREE! You have to prove that it is your birthday, but it's true it is totally FREE entrance. I think that is a good deal! So you see all kind of people with tags on that says, "Today's my birthday!" I digress....

Because of the Celebrations theme at one point during the breakfast they all came out to "Celebrate" which meant they danced around with the kids. It was very entertaining. Whoever was Eeyore was quite the jokester. He danced in a hula hoop position making the belly go around and around it was too funny! We really enjoyed ourselves and Lillie had a GREAT time!

Lillie and the Fairy Godmother. She was very sweet!

One of every one's favorite - Minnie!

Pooh and Lillie

Rafiki from the Lion King.

The funny thing about him is that on our way the one person Lillie did NOT want to take her picture with was him. Last year Eric had to take his picture with him because Lillie was too afraid. So we get seated and who is the FIRST character to appear at our table? YEP, Rafiki. He was nice though and Lillie did end up getting her picture with him as long as Mommy was in it too! :)

The Beginning of our Trip...

2009-07-20T16:04:00.000-07:00

We have made it to California! We left on Saturday and our plan was to fly into LA and go to Disneyland and California Adventure for a few days. Then we are going to leave on Tuesday to head to San Francisco. Lillie has flown several times in her short lifetime but doesn't really remember those flights and she couldn't wait to get on the plane. We were sitting in the airport and she asked me, "Mommy where does our luggage go?" I explained to her that they put the luggage on the bottom of the plane and her next statement was, "Oh, do they use sticky tape?" She thought they stuck our bags to the bottom of the plane. Wonder if that would save us 15.00 a bag?

When we arrived in LA we rented a car then headed to Anaheim. We checked into our hotel and then met up with my best friend Cassie and her husband Tom. We went to lunch then headed over to California Adventure for the evening. We were able to squeeze in Soarin', The Toy Story Ride, Tower of Terror (twice), Monsters Inc.,The Light Show Parade, and much more! Lillie LOVED Tower of Terror. One thing I love about Lillie is that she isn't fearful of anything. She is always willing to try everything and usually likes it too! She is a little adventurer so coming to places like this are fun because she will do everything. Bryce and I were very much like that as kids as well. My parents were great about taking us on family vacations and we always tried everything! My Dad's theme was, "We're on vacation we can do whatever we want!" I always loved that because they really did follow through with it! I hope Lillie will have as fond of memories of our vacations as I do of when I was a child.

Lillie in the big basket of fish at California Adventure.

Lillie while we are waiting for Eric to get our rental car.

Lillie was so excited about everything that by the time we got in the car and headed out, SHE was out!

Cassie and Lillie on the Toy Story ride! This ride is the BEST!

Seven Wonderful Years!

2009-07-10T21:37:00.000-07:00

On Monday July 6th, Eric and I celebrated our seven year wedding anniversary! It has been a great seven years and I look forward to many many more. One of the biggest blessings in our marriage has been the birth of our little girl Lillie. I had told her that it was our anniversary the day before and that she was going to be going over to her Nannie and Papa's on Monday and Mommy and Daddy were going to go to dinner. She woke up on Monday and came in at 7:30 to wake me up and tell me that she had made Eric and I breakfast for our anniversary. I asked her if we could eat it a little later and she said, "No, it will get soggy!" So we rolled out of bed and went in to find the table set with two little bowls of cereal. We keep our cereal on the very top shelf in the pantry and she had gotten a chair to get it down and the milk, poured it, then put it on the table with a spoon. It was such a SWEET gesture and makes me proud that she has such a kind heart. Here is what we found.

The evidence from the breakfast making. :)

Our cereal waiting for us on the table.

Tonight while Eric was out Lillie wanted me to dress up and she did my make up. In dressing up I put on my wedding veil and Lillie wanted to try it on so I thought it would be cute to show with one of our wedding pictures!

Eric thank you for all your love and support throughout the last seven years! I am a very blessed person and hope to never take that for granted. You are a wonderful husband and father and I look forward to the rest of our lives together! I LOVE you!

Fourth of July...

2009-07-08T21:05:00.000-07:00

I have always really enjoyed the fourth of July. I love that we live in a country that we are free to be who we want to be. My friend and one of Lillie's teachers is about to enter into the mission field and will be living in North Africa. She will be in a location that she is not even allowed to share with many people due to her safety. I appreciate all those who have fought and are currently fighting to maintain our freedom in this country! On the fourth we had mine and Eric's family over for a cook out then a few of us went to watch the fireworks show at the mall. My Grandparents came over as well and my Granddad had on his WWII Veteran hat. The fireworks hadn't started yet so he went over to ask someone in the parking lot if they knew what time they were to begin. I saw the lady stand up from her truck, come up and shake my granddad's hand, and then speak with him. Right before he headed back to us she gave him a hug. When he returned I asked him what she had said and he said that she had thanked him for serving. I am sure it was a proud moment for him as it was for me that he was my Granddad. My cousin Shawn is currently serving as well and I just want to say THANK YOU!

Nannie (Mary Jo - mother in law) and Lillie before the fireworks.

Sparkle (My mom) and Lillie

Grandpa (My Dad) and Lillie (I just love this picture!)

And Maddie, our dog, and Lillie right after she got groomed. She had her patriotic bandanna on!

Time to catch up....

2009-07-07T23:11:00.001-07:00

I need to do some catching up on my blog. What have we been up to this summer? Well swimming! If Lillie had her pick of what to do for the day it would be go to the pool. Next house we move into both Eric and I have agreed that we need to consider one with a pool. Bryce has a pool at his house and my good friend Donese has one too that she has invited us to use several times. We spent the morning of the fourth at the pool and I will post more pictures later.

These are just some cute pictures I thought I would post that are recent.

Lillie in Bryce's pool.

I love this picture of Lillie, getting ready to head out to swim again!

Lillie's five!

2009-04-30T19:48:00.000-07:00

The kids about to make their pizza's! Aren't the hats cute!

Lillie after decorating her cupcake

Lillie's ADORABLE birthday cake that my mother in law made. She actually made two of these!

Lillie on her birthday at school. Eric and I took in cupcakes for her that day.

Well I am a little late but my little girl turned FIVE on April 1st! We had a cooking party which was a hit and there were a LOT of people who came! We had more then 22 children and then include least one parent with each of those children. What was I thinking? BUT we had a wonderful time and the kids enjoyed making their own pizza, decorating a cupcake, and making candy sushi. We also decorated our own aprons before beginning to bake. It was a huge success and I couldn't have done it without my friend Chandel that ran the party! It seemed everyone had a great time and the kids left with very full little tummies!

We WON!

2009-01-08T09:32:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to thank everyone who went onto the web site and voted for Lillie Jo! I was so excited to see all of the names of people who took the time to vote. If you are in the Houston area Laura really is a great photographer and she is wonderful with children, especially busy children! I Do recommend her - we hire a person to take pictures every year for Christmas cards and just love the ones we have gotten! It brings back so many memories for that year! Thanks again for your help! Check out the winning post if you get a minute! http://www.laurawatsonphotography.com/blog/

Does Anyone's Else's 4 Year Old Sleep Like This?

2009-01-05T23:47:00.000-08:00

Lillie was given this pillow by her Aunt Cindy for Christmas. I think it says it all when you see the next picture.

Please tell me others out there have four year old's that sleep like they are the Queen of everything. This is so Lillie that Eric and I just started cracking up when we went in and saw her. She has a funny little personality. Should I be worried about what is to come in the teenage years???? :)

VOTE

2008-12-31T21:00:00.000-08:00

OK friends and family I need your help! The photographer that we used this year for our family Christmas photos is running a contest. She has chosen 20 images from this year that were her favorite and has posted them on her blog. The image that receives the most votes between now and January 7th will will a canvas picture. I would LOVE to have that picture! It would be a great birthday present! (My birthday is the 13th! :) ) You can vote once a day until the close date. I would love your help and if you would pass it on to whoever you can think of that would be fantastic! I have a link on my blog Laura Watson Photography or here is the link;

http://laurawatson.typepad.com/photography/

Thank you so much and happy voting!

Some fun pictures...

2008-12-26T22:18:00.001-08:00

Believe it or not it snowed in Houston! I went and got Lillie at school to come out and play in it. Here is her snow ball. She is always telling me, "Mommy you said it doesn't snow here but it did!" It was an exciting day for us Houstonians. :)

This is one of the rides at Santa Land up in Colorado! It's a Christmas themed amusement park - very cute!

Here is Lillie dressed as a Biblical Character for AWANAS! I don't remember what she was laughing about but this is typical Lillie! I just love her!

This is also typical Lillie. Donese my dear friend and teaching partner is a dancer and gave Lillie some fun outfits. Lillie puts them on all of the time and dances around the house. Eric and I, of course, have to join her and put on our "fancy" clothes!

Where to Start...

2008-12-26T22:08:00.000-08:00

Well it has been since IKE, September, since I have last posted. I am off for a break at school and have sworn to myself that I would get caught up on my blog among other things. I included my blog link in my Christmas cards as a way to keep myself accountable on updating my blog. I really enjoy doing it I just don't feel like getting on the computer once I get home from school. :)

Anyway... things are going really well. Lillie has had a good year overall in Pre-K4. We have had some minor issues with Lillie being left out which is really hard on a parent but the issues seem to be resolving themselves so Eric and I are pleased about that. Over Thanksgiving we were able to go to Pueblo, Colorado to visit Eric's sister Katie and her husband Dick and to spend some time in cooler weather. We took Lillie to a place called Santa's Wonderland (I think) and she had a wonderful time. It was the perfect place for her because she was able to ride a lot of the rides on her own. She had a fantastic time. It was very cold but other then that we all enjoyed ourselves!

This Christmas has been a really good one. Lillie is at an age where she can understand Santa and was very excited! She told us she saw Rudolph's nose out her window when she woke up in the middle of the night. She was given many many presents and is having a great time discovering them one at a time. Her favorite things right now are My Little Pony and Littlest Pet Shop. She also loves Barbies and Princess things. She really is easy to please and is fascinated by toys in general! She is a BIG pretender and very girly! My friend and teammate at school gave her a makeup kit from Libby Lu and she hasn't put it down in the past week. She puts every one's make-up on and then gets all dressed up. We have had to play beauty shop MANY times!

I am going to post some recent pictures to get caught up.... hope you all had a wonderful Christmas filled with God's love and many blessings!

More Pictures of Ike....

2008-09-21T09:42:00.001-07:00

This is the tree that fell in our backyard.

Here is one of the lines for Kroger gas. It is hard to get the real idea from a picture but there are two lines that go about 1/2 a mile down the street just waiting to get in the station.

More of the Kroger gas line.

Our neighbors across the street. This tree fell on the roof of their garage. As it sat on there for a few days their garage sank in a little more.

Please keep praying for those that still do not have electricity and water. We don't realize until it is gone how much we depend on it. We didn't have it for five days and by day four I wasn't in the best of spirits so I can't imagine how those feel that have now not had it for over a week. We thankfully had some cool weather come in right after the storm but it is beginning to get warm up again so nights can be pretty hot. Also people are having to go back to work and school and when you can't get ready or do laundry or pack lunches that can make those tasks even more difficult to prepare for.

Children and hurricanes...

2008-09-21T09:26:00.001-07:00

So what do children do in the aftermath of hurricanes? Well when we were able to go outside to begin the clean up process along with all of our neighbors we pulled out some toys from the garage for Lillie to play with since we knew we were going to be outside for a long time. She played with her rain gear for a little bit then she played with her easel then she found a mud puddle! Oh, boy she was covered from head to two in mud but she was having the best time! So here is what children do in the aftermath of hurricanes.....

Lillie with her rain gear even though is wasn't raining any more!
Lillie found the mud puddle then went to play with her easel.

Muddy Feet!

Oh, boy such fun! She was covering her shoes with mud.

LOVELY!

Aftermath of Ike...

2008-09-20T20:31:00.000-07:00

Well the day after the hurricane we went out to survey the damage. Our neighborhood was hit hard. We had a tree fall on the back of our house and as it fell it hit another tree that broke off and also fell on our house. Our front and back yard had leaves and branches everywhere! Our neighbors across the street had a tree fall on the front of their garage that took them about three days to get removed. We also had large trees fall on the left and right side of us and blocked us in our street. After driving around the neighborhood we saw trees that had fallen on houses and broken in the roofs, one tree fell on a guys truck and into his neighbors yard. We drove out towards our parents house and there were down power lines everywhere. Electricity has been out almost everywhere. They said there were over 3 million people without electricity. Ours thankfully, came back on Tuesday evening and we were fortunate not to lose water. My parents lost water and have yet to get their electricity back on. They are saying it will still be another week before they are able to get it on again. I have friends in The Woodlands who are also still out of power. It has been very interesting. All of the stores have been closed until mid week last week and even the few that opened were only letting a few people in at a time. People going into the stores were told they had 15 minutes to shop and come back out. Those who went to the store were only able to buy canned goods, there was no meat, dairy, bread, water or ice to be found anywhere. They have set up PODS (Place of Distribution) around town for people to go and get some necessities but the lines are incredibly long. The gas lines have been like nothing I have ever seen before. Police officers have had to direct traffic around the gas stations because lines form that are about 3/4 of a mile long and people are just waiting to fill up. It has been interesting and even more interesting to explain to Lillie why we can't just stop and get fast food or buy something in a store because nobody has electricity. The phone lines have also been busy so to get a call out or in takes many many tries. We are just now getting back to "normal." The malls opened today along with several stores. I was going to make my parents dinner the other night and was unable to find meat anywhere. I did finally find milk at Walmart but that was the only dairy I was able to buy. They didn't have any cheese, yogurt, eggs, or anything that needed to be refrigerated. We have been out of school the whole week but are scheduled to go back on Monday. I have posted some pictures of our neighborhood and will include more in the next post.

This is our walkway looking from our front door.

This is our neighbors house across the street. This tree uprooted and landed on their garage.

Here is our other neighbors tree that fell on their fence and landed in the street.

Tree that fell on the mans truck in our neighborhood.

The back of our house and the trees that landed on it.

During Ike...

2008-09-20T20:14:00.000-07:00

Well Ike came and went and boy has it been interesting. I thought I would explain this experience in several entries since there are too many pictures and stories to share. We prepared for the storm by buying water, bread, and getting our cars filled with gas. We also made sure all of the batteries were working in all of our flashlights and filled the bathtub with water just in case we lost water. The storm was supposed to blow through about midnight last Friday night so we decided to put Lillie in our room for the night just because we didn't know what to expect. The wind was coming so hard that we ended up moving to the entry way about 5:00am, that is the only place in our house that doesn't have windows. We, amazingly, still had electricity at this point and I had just talked to my mom on the phone telling her I couldn't believe we still had power, however, the minute I hung up it went off. :) It was funny timing. There was a lot of rain and powerful winds the whole night and part of the day. Every time we heard a loud bang we would all run to the windows and see what it was. Aren't you supposed to stay away from the windows during a hurricane? It has been interesting going through this with Lillie because she is very curious about it and I think has been worried at times. Here are some pictures from the night of the hurricane.

Lillie's mattress in the entry way.

Lillie made a pickle sandwich that day for lunch. (Kids do very interesting things)

Lillie eating her pickle sandwich. Notice she has on her princess dress there is never a time even without power that she doesn't dress up!

Ike is coming....

2008-09-12T14:48:00.001-07:00

Our next door neighbors house. There are several in our neighborhood that have boarded up windows.
This is the gas station on the way to our parents house and Walmart. It is typical of most gas stations here!
Here's the pump.
This is our neighbor that lives across the street. He taped his windows so they wouldn't shatter.

Here is our garage filled with all of our potted plants, hose, shepherds hooks, grill, Lillie's playhouse, pool, picnic bench, patio furniture and so on!

Well for those of you that watch the news I am sure you have heard that Ike is coming to Houston. The attitude right now is similar to what it was when Rita came two years ago. Most of Houston evacuated then sitting on the freeways for long periods of time in the midst of horrible traffic! We took our dog, Maddie, and headed to Dallas for Rita. There was no gas, water, bread, or peanut butter to be found anywhere in Houston. A normal trip to Dallas for us would be about 3 and a half hours and it took us over seven to get there. So needless to say a lot of people are not interested in leaving town this time. It has become hard to get gas, bread, and water again though! Eric informed me yesterday that Ike had turned and that if I was going by the store, to pick up some water. At 6:00 on my way to school I stopped off at the store yesterday. The parking lot at that time normally has 3 cars in it and yesterday it was full, at 6 A.M.! I bought three cases of water and 2 loaves of bread. Then yesterday afternoon I was finally able to find a gas station with gas to top off my Explorer. It's always interesting to see how everyone reacts during times like this. WE have no idea what to expect this evening so from house to house the preparations have all been different. We brought in everything from our patio and front yard so our garage is full! We have also adopted a cat that lives out front named Chloe but this evening I am bringing her in to the laundry room. I am expecting heavy winds and a lot of rain and praying that the wind doesn't knock down any of our trees. We have HUGE trees in our backyard and I think that could potentially be the worst damage but we will see. We also run the risk of losing our electricity. Two years ago because so many people lost power they turned it back on and had "rolling blackouts." That basically meant that they turned power back on for an hour or two then turned it off for three -five hours. We never knew what the time period was going to be for them to be on or off. It was difficult and right now it would be HOT! But I just thought for those of you that don't live in areas like this I would share what the attitude has been around here! :) Pray that everything goes OK and that they are anticipating worse than what will really come! Thanks!

Funny things kids say....

2008-09-09T21:43:00.000-07:00

I have no pictures but Mary Jo told me something funny that Lillie said today. Lillie gets really tired in the afternoons but doesn't want to admit that she is tired and needs a nap. This afternoon she apparently went into my bedroom, where the bed was left unmade, and started scrunching up all of the covers into a large circle. When Mary Jo came in to see what she was doing Lillie told her that she still had another egg to hatch and she needed to stay in the bed. (Her way of saying she wanted to lay down) Mary Jo noticed a small lump under the "nest" and when she looked it was Happy. I guess Happy was the egg. :) Our daughter is obsessed with birds and nests lately she draws them on everything. :) Anyway we both got a HUGE kick out of the comment Lillie made today and I thought I would share! :)

First day of school...

2008-09-08T18:17:00.000-07:00

Lillie thrilled as always to be taking pictures

Her new backpack and lunch box

Another day after school.
Lillie posing!

Well the first day of school for Lillie was on August 13th but I am just now getting to the post about it. We have put her in at the school I am teaching at so that she could be close to me. My mother and father in law watched Lillie last year on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday last year but we felt bad that they gave up so much time so we were trying to not have to rely on them this year so they could have their life back. We had enrolled Lillie into the five day program at TWCA and after enrolling her I cried for about two weeks. I wasn't convinced it was the right decision but I didn't really feel like I had any other options. I just knew that once she started school that would be it and I didn't want it to be too much for her.

Well as always I believe God worked it out and I found out Lillie was the only one enrolled in the five day program. Eric and I didn't know what we were going to do. The school suggested we put her in Kindergarten two days a week or just put her straight into Kindergarten. Neither Eric nor myself like that idea and both of us felt like it wouldn't be beneficial to Lillie. The last thing I want to do as a parent or teacher is to start my child in school and it be a frustrating experience for her. I am a firm believer in not rushing children because by my grade level, fifth grade, you always know who are the younger ones in the group. It can always be seen through the maturity level of the student and sometimes academically. After a lot of thought we put Lillie in the three day program and John and Mary Jo graciously offered to keep Lillie on Tuesday's and Thursday's. We are very blessed that they are willing and able to watch her because I always think it is better for family to have her that loves her then someone we don't know.

Her class is going really well. She has two fantastic teachers and she does science and motor with a friend of mine who is also a wonderful teacher! She takes Spanish and gets to go to the library and check out books and goes to chapel. She is really enjoying it. She and I also have the same lunch time so I am able to go over and help her classmates open their food and get to know them. They are all so cute! One thing about our school is that we have uniforms so Lillie wears a uniform to school. We were concerned about that initially because Lillie has this thing that she just wants to wear "stretchy pants" she throws a fit if you put anything but "stretchy pants" on her. Stretchy pants are pants with elastic and we think she prefers those because she can get them up and down easily when she is needing to use the restroom. But all those cute clothing items for little girls don't come in stretchy pants so that is disappointing sometimes. She has finally given in to the uniforms after seeing that her classmates all have to wear them as well. Chapel days, Wednesday, they have a chapel dress which is a plaid jumper which she looks SO cute in!

I was worried about how I was still going to be able to get work done with her being with me but Eric and I have worked out a schedule where he gets her up and dressed in the morning then brings her in car line. On days that I need to fix her hair I meet her in the early morning line and put her hair up really fast. After school she goes to extended care, which she loves, while I finish up and get some work done. It is going well and we are really blessed to be where we are right now. It just amazes me how much she is learning this year and last. She knows her days of the week in order, she forgets Wednesday sometimes, she can write her name, she can count to 20, she knows all her colors and shapes and the alphabet and so much more! She even knows things like which hand on the clock does what - which shocked Eric and I! I am just amazed at what a sponge kids are and how they learn. I have posted some of her first day pictures. I obviously hadn't gotten to her hair yet but Eric had dried it and gotten her ready. He is doing a great job helping me out and we are all happy which is a good feeling.

I'm back....

2008-09-08T17:23:00.000-07:00

Bryce and I with Junction Jack - Go STROS!

Mom wanted her picture with an animal too so she went and found the guys who dress up like Puma's!

Well after a long time having not blogged I wanted to post some this evening. I have started back to school so it has been really busy! I was going to start with an event we went to in August. The second weekend in August the Astros had Faith night. Lance Berkman ( love him!) our first baseman is a Christian and he gave his testimony that evening then afterwards Steven Curtis Chapman had a concert. After those events we stayed for the Astros/Diamondbacks game. It was a really neat evening. I was excited to hear Lance's testimony and what he had to say. I have liked him for a long time and feel like he is a very normal person. KSBJ, our Christian radio station in Houston has an annual Shareathon every year to raise money for the listener supported station and Lance volunteers during that time to answer phones. I just think he is a really great role model. After he spoke Steven came out and sang while talking about what has been going on in his life lately. As many of you know he lost his five year old daughter this summer after she was hit by the family SUV. I have listened to Steven Curtis Chapman since about 8th grade so it was interesting sitting in there listening to him now as a parent and at 33 years old. He was incredible and it broke my heart to listen to him. As hard as this experience is for him and his family I think God is using his family to touch more lives to further His kingdom. His faith has grown leaps and bounds and you can tell that he is humbled by what God is doing in his life. His two sons were also playing in the band with him, which was really neat. He seems very much like a family man. I had hoped he would not sing the "Cinderella" song but after he talked about it and how hard it had been to be able to sing it since Maria's death he sang it. I cried and cried. I had to leave because it was so upsetting to me. As a parent I think you automatically put yourself in their shoes and realize the pain that they must be going through. If you get an opportunity to go see Steven I would strongly suggest it. I think you won't leave the same as when you arrived!

While waiting for the game to begin Junction Jack, the Astros' mascot, came out and was greeting the kids and taking pictures. I wanted to get my picture with him too so Bryce and I went down and stood by the field hoping he would come our way. I have included the picture we took with him and the one my mom went and got after we took ours. We had a great time and I was glad I got to share that evening with my Dad, Mom, Bryce and Eric.

Friends Forever....

2008-08-16T07:23:00.001-07:00

Most recent picture - driving from Arizona to California
Lillie at about five months
Happy times! (Look how good Happy looked!)
So sweet!
Lillie fell asleep with her stethoscope on.

A day out shopping - Lillie was a little over two years old.

Most of you who know Lillie know that she doesn't hardly go anywhere without Happy. Happy is a hedgehog stuffed animal that I had given Eric back when we were dating. When we were dating my cat had a little hedgehog that he would hide around the house. Maddie, my dog, had a hedgehog that she played with also, so I thought Eric should have one too! When Lillie was about four months old she discovered the hedgehog and would twist it's hairs when she would get tired or when she was really upset. It become a soothing tool for her. She still twists his hairs in those moments as well. I was thinking last night how much joy she gets out of this stuffed animal and what a tragedy it would be if anything were to happen to him. I have looked every valentines day for another one just in case we need a back up but never have had any luck. I mentioned it to my class the other day, a class full of boys, and believe it or not even in sixth grade with only boys in the room several of the kids mentioned their stuffed animals that they still sleep with from their toddler days. I am just touched by the simplicity of things children find joy in and reminded to take everything in stride and one day at a time. Happy has brought much joy to our daughter and us by the friendship she has created with him.

Poor Maddie...

2008-08-07T20:47:00.000-07:00

OK last post for tonight.... :) A few nights ago I was petting my dog Maddie and noticed a spot on her face that looked irritated. I watched it the past few nights noticing that it was only getting worse. After it getting continually getting worse, I called the vet and took her in today. It was infected and they shaved the spot and put her on antibiotics. The funny thing about this is she has to wear an Elizabethan collar and she can't judge how big the collar is so she keeps crashing it into the door frames and the bed frame. I know that shouldn't be funny but it is. Here she is in her new collar!

Family in town...

2008-08-07T20:29:00.001-07:00

Dick, Katie and Lillie

Lillie's face painting - Ariel!

Lillie and Sponge Bob

Dick and Lillie on the train as it rode by!

This past week Eric's sister and husband came into town from Colorado along with some close friends of theirs. We had a lot of fun tromping around the city doing different things. We went to Splashtown Waterpark one day, to see a cheesy 3D movie (Journey to the Center of the Earth), to get Facials and Massages, and to Kemah one day. Kemah is a boardwalk along the ocean that has a lot of restaurants and rides. It was a fun HOT day! We took a speed boat ride that I laughed and laughed on. Because it was so hot we sat in an area on the boat where we knew we would get wet, we never dreamed how wet though. Mary Jo and John, Eric's parents, sat in the wettest seats on the boat. It was too funny watching them just get drenched with ocean water! After eating we headed to the rides - Katie, Eric's sister, is the only adventurous one that would go on a ride called Chaos with me. You sit in a two seater "cart" and when the ride starts it spins then flips up side down. It was a lot of fun! Lillie asked Dick, Katie's husband, to go on the train ride with her around the boardwalk. Dick is a big kid himself and Lillie loves him! We had a great time and it was so good to get to see them!

Amanda's birthday....

2008-08-07T20:16:00.000-07:00

Eric, Allison, Amanda and I on Allison's birthday at Chuck E Cheese.

(not the best of Eric but I loved the girls faces)

Amanda and Lillie on her 15th birthday. She was so sweet to let Lillie help blow out the candles.

Amanda and her boyfriend Andy.

I have been meaning to post some new events but am just now sitting down to do it so there are going to be several short ones. One July 29th Eric's precious niece Amanda turned 15! I can hardly believe how she has grown in the past few years. It has been a joy getting to see her grow and mature into a sweet, beautiful, caring young lady. I wanted to post some fun pictures from her birthday, and one of her when Eric and I were dating. There is such a difference and I can't believe she will be learning to drive this year and then be driving on her own next year! WOW! Hope this year is one of many memories and fun times with your family and friends Amanda!

Happy Birthday Tom!

2008-07-24T12:29:00.001-07:00

Tom and Lillie (five months old) - notice Tom's sweatshirt. :)

Tom with the purse - "That's how I roll."

Cassie and Lillie (I just had to include this picture because it is so sweet)

OK - I love blogging and I know Tom looks at my blog so I thought I would wish him a Happy Birthday! Hope today is a great day for you and that you are all healed and no longer stuffy. In honor of your birthday I went through my pictures and pulled some that I liked. I know I mentioned it while we were in Arizona but the progression of Tom and Lillie has been amazing and can be seen through the pictures we have taken throughout the years. I wanted to post some of those. Tom was very apprehensive at first of children and Lillie and they seem to have grown fond of one another. Well Lillie loves Tom! :)

When I first met Cassie, she and Tom were dating but he was living in Phoenix while we were in Flagstaff. Throughout the years I have grown very fond of Tom. Tom and Cassie are perfect for one another and he treats her with such kindness and love. I appreciate how Tom has always accepted me being around (or pretended to :) ) and I enjoy the friendship that we now have as couples. I also really appreciate the love that both Tom and Cassie show to Lillie and the patience they have with her and us. It means a lot to know that they both care about her. Here's to you TOM! Have a Happy Birthday!

Love,
The Ford Team!

Lillie took off her white shirt to eat lunch and didn't want to put it back on so yes, she is shirtless - sorry. :)

Arizona and Disneyland 2008 - Slideshow

2008-07-22T12:40:00.000-07:00

The Happiest Place on Earth...

2008-07-21T19:43:00.000-07:00

On our family vacation this year we wanted to get to spend some time in Arizona but we also wanted to take Lillie to Disneyland. My best friend and her husband are Disney enthusiast so we asked them if they would like to join us - they of course accepted! We left Arizona in our rental minivan on Tuesday morning and arrived in California that evening. We stayed at a quaint little place called the Candy Cane that is within walking distance from the parks. We have stayed there before and really enjoyed that hotel. Our first day we headed for Disneyland and went straight to the new Nemo ride on recommendation of Cassie and Tom. There are no fast passes for this ride so you have to wait in the long line. Getting there at 8:30 we still had to wait a little over an hour. They have taken the old submarine ride and updated it to a very cute Nemo ride. Lillie thoroughly enjoyed this ride and was more willing to wait in lines after realizing the fun that was at the end of the line. We tried to fit in as much as we could the first day. We rode the Matter Horn, Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Toy Story and so much more! We also reserved a table for the Princess lunch knowing that Lillie would love to get their autographs and pictures. The first princess waiting at the bottom of the steps was Ariel who is Lillie's favorite! She went up and started talking to her like she knew her. It was cute to see her reaction. Lillie was wearing a shirt with flamingos all over it (her favorite animal) and Ariel said that she had talked to flamingos and they were silly birds. It was very cute and the ladies are very good at staying in character. As the lunch progressed the princesses were announced and then would come around to talk to each table. We were greeted by Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Belle. Lillie barely ate she was so excited about those princesses!

The second day we went to a character breakfast to meet more of the characters up close. If you haven't done the character breakfast it is well worth it. It is very difficult to get the characters to take pictures and sign autographs throughout the park because the lines are so long. The meals are expensive but Lillie has always enjoyed it and it has been worth the money spent. We tried to fit in as many rides in the second day as possible. We were able to get a great seat for dinner where we were able to watch the light parade as we ate. We ended up staying until closing at both parks. California adventure closed at 10:00 then we headed to Disneyland until it closed at midnight. We had so much fun.

The only bad thing was that Tom caught a virus and was sick the whole time. He made it out the first day and then had to head back to the hotel right after lunch. Cassie felt bad so she spent a good portion of her time in the hotel taking care of Tom. She came to meet us throughout the day and rode several rides. Unfortunately, Cassie ended up getting sick on the way home so it was an interesting trip for them. I am sure nothing like they have experienced before and hopefully don't experience again while at the Happiest Place on Earth.

Some highlights - My two favorite things were the new Toy Story ride and the Pixar Parade. The Toy Story ride is an interactive 3-D ride. You have these pop guns that you shoot at different objects on the screen. You end up playing as a team of four trying to beat one another. Some of the objects when shot send off bursts of air or water which is a lot of fun. I just want to make it known that I beat Tom AND Cassie in this game! :) My other favorite was the Pixar parade. It is also at California Adventure. It is an interactive parade where the characters shoot water and interact with the crowd. You see the cars characters, Bug's Life, Monsters Inc., The Incredibles, Ratatouille, and Finding Nemo. It was a lot of fun and one that I highly recommend. My least favorite was the giant Ferris wheel at California Adventure - it was huge! I am not normally afraid of rides however this one was scary! Some of the cages were on tracks which you swing around on as the Ferris wheel is turning. The problem was that there was this tiny lady and a little boy on the bench across from us so we were heavy on our side which made us swing back and forth for a long time. If you are afraid of heights this would not be a good ride for you. It was too much for me but Lillie liked it!

Eric's favorite - Eric liked the Indiana Jones ride the best. This was the only ride Lillie was not able to go on. You have to be 50 inches and she was a few inches short. It was upsetting to her because she had been able to go on every other ride in the park. The trick to Indiana Jones is to get a fast pass or else you will be waiting in line for over an hour.

Lillie's favorite - Big Thunder Mountain as she would say. I think we went on this ride about 6 times. She LOVED it. One thing about Lillie is she has no fear. She went on everything with us and really enjoyed it all. She liked the goat and the glowing eyes in the cave. When we went on our first big ride I thought to myself, " Am I crazy putting my four year old on these rides?" but in the end I am glad we did, because she enjoyed herself so much!

I have posted an album of some of our pictures. These were just the ones that I thought were the best.

Rock Band!

2008-07-20T19:42:00.000-07:00

Staring Cassie on the guitar,

Thomas on the drums,

And Eric on the guitar!

One evening we stayed up really late playing Rock Band on XBOX 360. Cassie and Tom apparently play this game often! Tom pulled out the drums, two guitars, and a microphone and we got started. We had a lot of fun. Cassie and Eric played the guitars, Tom played the drums, and I had the microphone. We all attempted the drums but they were really hard, I think you need practice for those and Tom apparently has practices a LOT! If you haven't played it is a lot of fun and time gets away from you. There were hardly any songs I knew but we did them anyway. None of us look like the rock band type but we were rocking it out that evening!

Time spent with friends...

2008-07-20T19:25:00.000-07:00

Trinity and Lillie at lunch

Janelle and Trinity playing a game on her kids menu.

Trinity and Lillie with their Fancy Nancy glasses on! They also both had feather purses!

Lillie, Cassie, and Trinity striking a pose walking to the stores. Notice Lillie's Elvis lip! :)

We arrived in Arizona on Friday evening and didn't stop until we got home today. On Monday Cassie, Tom, Eric, Lillie and I drove to Casa Grande (half way between Queen Creek and Tucson) to meet with my friend Janelle and her daughter Trinity. Cassie and I were roommates in college and our second year there we moved into an apartment with Janelle and Melissa. My other dear friend Carrie lived across the street from us. The four of us Cassie, Janelle, Carrie and I have only grown in our friendship since college. We always have mini reunions when I am able to go to Arizona. They are the reasons I go to Arizona! Janelle now has a five year old daughter named Trinity who is a doll! We met for lunch and then went shopping for a little bit before everyone had to head home. Like always we had a fun time even though it was short. I know I don't say it enough but my friends mean the world to me and I am very blessed that God placed them in my life. I don't take that for granted - love you girls!

On a side note - Janelle is currently in Central Asia doing mission work. We are praying for you Janelle and know that God will use you in a mighty way!

Memories.....

2008-07-20T19:13:00.000-07:00

The five of us at New Port Beach on our first day in California. The sunset was beautiful! I wouldn't normally post me in my bathing suit (Yikes) but I do like this picture.

We just got back from our vacation and I am finally able to sit down and blog. Oh, how I have missed it. :) My intentions were to blog every day as we were on vacation but the time just was packed with things to do and there were times when we were not able to get on the Internet. We left on the 11th and just got back home today (20th). We flew to Arizona to stay with my best friend and her husband, Cassie and Tom, and then the five of us headed to California to go to Disneyland. I am going to break up events in our trip because there were too many to do in one post. We had the best time this year and thank our dear friends for letting us invade their lives for a week!

Yummy!

2008-07-09T08:46:00.000-07:00

I gave Lillie her lunch yesterday before heading to the pool and told her to save her pudding for last. I think she scarfed her lunch to get to the pudding. Looks like she enjoyed it!

Getting Tagged?

2008-07-09T06:43:00.000-07:00

Tagged!
My first tag OK Serena tagged me even though I don't really know what that means so I am just going to fill this out :)

Things On My To Do List:
1. Get laundry done for our trip
2. Mail Serena's girls package.
3. Clean the guinea pig cage - So much fun!
4. Work on moving my classroom
5. Go up to school and get my Bible curriculum

Jobs I've Had:
1. Hostess at the Cotton Patch Cafe
2. Waitress at the Olive Garden (for 2 1/2 years)
3. Crossing Guard (while student teaching)
4. Trainer for the Texas Legislature
5. Elementary Teacher (Upper grades 4-6)

5 Places I've Lived:
1. Houston, Texas
2. Richmond, Virginia
3. Rio de Janerio and Sao Paulo, Brazil
4. Flagstaff, Arizona
5. Austin, Texas

5 Favorite Snacks:
1. Pickles
2. Popcorn
3. M&M's
4. Almonds
5. Bread

5 Things You May Not Know About Me:
1. I am going with Serena's eye brow theme - I LOVE to get my eyebrows waxed. I think it feel really good.
2. I loved college and miss it sometimes!
3. Eric and I met on a blind date. My cousin set us up.
4. I like Karaoke
5. I want three children

5 Things I Would Do If I Were a Billionaire:
1. Share with my parents and brother
2. Give to something that would make a difference in others lives (not sure what)
3. Set up my children's college fund
4. Pay off all of my bills
5. Travel

5 Things I Love:
1. going out on dates with Eric
2. Spending time with Cassie scrapbooking
3. Laughing with Bryce
4. Hearing Lillie laugh
5. Taking Lillie fun places

5 People I Tag:
1. Suzanne
2. Jenifer
3. Cassie (through Tom)

I don't know anyone else who has a blog. :)

I am going to be a little sappy....

2008-07-07T07:04:00.000-07:00

Eric and I two days before we got married. Bryce had us all wear hats while playing cards.

July 6, 2002

My bridesmaids - Wendy, Vicky, Janelle, Carrie, Cassie, Allison, and Suzanne.

Our honeymoon in Hawaii!

Eric and Lillie on July 4, this year.

Yesterday Eric and I celebrated our six year anniversary and I wanted to post some things about my husband that some of you know and some of you don't. Our wedding day was the happiest day of my life. I loved everything about it. I loved the people we were surrounded by, I loved that my Dad and a close missionary friend of ours did the ceremony, I loved that I had seven bridesmaids that were all people I loved and cared about, I loved my dress, I loved the church we got married in, I loved the reception that my mom and aunts decorated for, and I loved my bouquet. But most of all I loved the person I was about to spend the rest of my life with, Eric, more then I thought I could love a person. In the six short years we have been able to travel to many fun places. We have experienced having a baby and what it means to be parents, and we also experienced the loss of a baby. We have experienced living on two incomes and then trying to live on one income. We have also experienced trials within our families, and learning how to get through it. Through all of the easy and the hard times we have been able to be a strong team and work through it all which has only allowed us to grow closer in our relationship. Eric is one of the most caring, loving, kind, intelligent, thoughtful, and selfless people I know. He is a fantastic Dad and a wonderful husband. I look forward to many many more years to come and consider myself very blessed that I am able to be a part of his life. I love you Eric!

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

1 Corinthians 13:4-7, 13

Libby Lu

2008-07-02T22:30:00.000-07:00

Lillie observing her glitter stickers and make up

Lillie first wanted the microphone but then chose the head set. Here is her sash after getting all dolled up.

OK - the other night Eric and I took Lillie to the mall, a place she thoroughly enjoys, and she and I went into Libby Lu. If you don't know what Libby Lu is it is a girly store where you can get all kinds of trendy things - right now it is anything Hannah Montana, Jonas Brothers, or High School Musical. This store was right up Lillie's ally! While in the store you can also have your hair, make-up, and nails done. We decided to let Lillie do this so she chose the hairstyle (trendy), got her nails painted purple, then was allowed to pick out one accessory that came with the package we purchased. She chose the headset with microphone! (No surprise if you know Lillie!) Afterwards the girls that worked there wanted to know if Lillie would want to dance. Lillie dance? - that would be a YES. The girls there have choreographed songs but Lillie didn't know this so she just started to dance on her own. When the song came on she realized she was supposed to follow the two girls leading. Needless to say this whole experience was not only fun for Lillie but I was thoroughly enjoying it. I laughed so hard when she was dancing with her new little fancy hair do and glittered hearts on her face. I noticed that there were several observers in the mall that had stopped to watch as well. I saw one lady walk by, then back up and call her friend over to watch Lillie dance. Lillie has already asked if we could go back there to get her hair done again. It really was a fun experience and one that I am sure we will have many more of in our future.

One of the qualities that we love about Lillie is that she has no inhibitions - she will do pretty much anything, a quality I hope she has for a long time. She loves to get dressed up and be the center of attention. She has such a sweet and fun personality and Eric and I are very blessed! It's amazing how much our children can bring joy into our lives. This evening at Libby Lu will be a memory I cherish for years to come! I have posted some of the pictures and two of the videos. Enjoy!

The first video is Lillie's dance pre-Hannah Montana and the second video is her shimming with the girls who worked there.

My husband is obsessed!

2008-06-29T09:18:00.000-07:00

The trap

The Culprit

Success!

We have a very nice yard and a large backyard for where we live. We have been trying this year to get some more flowers planted, however, every time we get new blooms the squirrels dig up our plants and eat all of the flowers. We keep telling people about our dilemma and every one's response is, "I have never heard of a squirrel eating flowers." Well... they do and they also like the roots at the bottom of the plants. So Eric and his Dad have been thinking of ways to get rid of the squirrels. Their plan was to shoot the squirrels but after much talking with Eric (and complaining) he decided to get a trap. The plan was to put peanut butter and bird seed in the cage and trap them. I told Eric I wasn't sure that was going to work because they were smart. He begged to differ! The first day the trap was set and THREE squirrels played on it, around it, and in it, while Eric watched. (I had to say I told you so!) So he left it out a few days hoping the squirrels would get used to it being there. After about two weeks it was time to reset. Yesterday, he put more peanut butter and seed in and set the trap out again. The squirrels dug under the cage and got the food. This only fueled Eric's drive to catch the rodents! Today he watched and waited and this morning I hear, "WE CAUGHT US A SQUIRREL!"

Busy Princess...

2008-06-29T06:56:00.000-07:00

Lillie has a fascination with princesses as do a lot of little girls right now. What was it when we were little? Strawberry Shortcake? Care Bears? Hard to remember... I remember when Bryce and I were little we were always wanting to put on a show for my parents. We would come up with some "great" idea, put on a silly outfit, then come out and ask if we could preform for them. I just remember them telling us to "go and practice" and "keep practicing" (a stalling tactic!) Then we would come out and preform. Now I understand how my parents were feeling. :)

As soon as we get home every day Lillie puts on her favorite dress up gown and high heels and tromps around the house. She had been asking Eric and I if we would come to her concert all day so we headed into her room where there were two little tinker bell chairs set up, ready to be sat in. After telling her there was no way we would fit in those two little chairs we sat on the floor and took in the concert. She decided she would sit in the tinker bell chair, walked over started her CD, and then got her song book. Here is one of the songs she sang at her concert.... Keep in mind this is late in the evening and she never wants to keep her hair fixed! :)

Schlitterbaun family fun!

2008-06-23T19:48:00.000-07:00

Bryce and Lillie
Dad and Bryce taking a break from swimming
Bryce and Lillie chillin'
Lillie attempting to cross the lily pads and alligator
Just out for a swim (again!)

This weekend we went on our annual mini family vacation to Schlitterbaun in New Braunsfels. It is a huge water park that my family has been going to since I was a child. We always have fun when we head up there but this year was really fun! Lillie was older and able to do more and Bryce was able to join us. My parents spent most of their time with Lillie while Bryce, Eric, and I were able to go on the slides. My Dad went on several slides with us as well. This year Lillie was able to go on some of the rides and she had a great time! She would just laugh at every drop, it was fun to watch. Lillie can swim all day every day if you let her and my mom is always happy to join her. I think the two of them swam about 15 hours each day. Needless to say when we got back on Sunday everyone was worn out but we had a REALLY fun time. Lots of laughs, which is what spending time with family is all about! Can't wait for next year!

Love of reading...

2008-06-13T12:36:00.000-07:00

Lillie loves to read which we both think is fantastic! She will sit and read through ten books at a time. This past year she learned all of her letters and likes to spell things out and have you tell her what the word is. Some of her favorite books right now are the Fancy Nancy series by Jane O'Connor. She loves learning "big words" and then using them in sentences. These books are all about Nancy who likes things to be big and exaggerated, much like Miss Lillie. The main character is also very girly which is also a lot like Lillie. Every night when putting Lillie to bed we let her pick out a book or two (sometimes three :)) to read. Last night Lillie chose her Fancy Nancy book and I read it to her. Afterwards she always wants to read the book back to you. Here is Lillie's version of Fancy Nancy last night in typical Lillie style - notice the "yup, yup" in the middle of her telling the story.

PLAYFOAM - FUN!

2008-06-12T19:54:00.000-07:00

OK - my sister in law gave Lillie some PlayFoam for Christmas and I wasn't sure to make of it at first. It is made of a little bead like material that looks a lot like the stuffing of a bean bag. I just envisioned opening the foam and it being like an exploded bean bag, however I was wrong. I brought it out yesterday for Lillie and I to play with and it is addicting. It is not messy like Playdough and it isn't sticky to the touch. It really is neat and it kept Lillie's attention for a long time. She has played with it nonstop for the past two days. If you haven't ever seen this or wondered about buying it I would say it is well worth it! I wish we would have taken it out earlier!

skating...

2008-06-12T19:35:00.000-07:00

Lillie could stay busy about 20 hours a day, she is always wanting to go and do something. (Wonder where she got that from? :) ) Even though it has been incredibly HOT here we ventured out this evening to go skating in the neighborhood. Lillie got some skates for Christmas and has only gone out with Eric a few times. She did really well and could go a long way. I was very impressed! Here are some pictures from today.

It's me again....

2008-06-06T19:25:00.000-07:00

A friend sent this to me and I thought it was very touching. I wanted to pass it on in case you hadn't seen it. When watching this I am inspired to try to be more bold in my faith. I long to be a person on fire for Christ and not luke warm, sharing with others God's grace, mercy, and forgiveness. God has truly changed my life through the death of his son Jesus. May God push you (and I) to be BOLD in our faith and share HIS love with others around us.

"The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught." Isaiah 50:4

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

Get your Kleenex and watch...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvDDc5RB6FQ

Nacho Libre

2008-06-06T14:04:00.001-07:00

Bryce (my brother) has chosen a new profession!

Lillie's Four Year Old Pictures

2008-06-06T13:51:00.001-07:00

In this picture Lillie is a brand new baby! She was only a couple of days old. It is so hard to believe how fast they grow. Lillie turned four on April 1st this year. Sometimes in every day life it is hard to stop and cherish each moment you are given. I am very thankful for my little girl!

A ride through Africa...

2008-06-06T13:27:00.000-07:00

On Memorial Day Weekend we went to San Antonio for Eric's birthday. We went to Sea World and the Wildlife Reserve. If you have never done a drive through zoo you should once in your life. It was a lot of fun and I laughed harder then I have in a long time. Eric drove through the first time and we were able to feed some ram looking things, zebras, and a few other animals I didn't recognize. Then we swapped and he held Lillie and I drove. Eric is much better at things like that - less fear! But the funny thing was that there were these huge ostrich's and it seemed like a good idea to feed them until they got close to the car, then it was scary. I watched as several people shook their bag of food, the ostrich would come over, then once realizing how large they were and the length of their neck they would begin to roll up their windows. It was very funny. The funniest part of the ride was in the end when we still had half a bag of food left. There was an ostrich running along side our car wanting to cross the road, but Eric wanted me to keep it on the passenger side to try to feed it. In trying to do this we angered the ostrich and it came running after our car. I thought I heard Eric say slow down so I stopped. The next thing we knew the angry ostrich was at our widow. Eric rolled up the window quickly and yelled, "Go, go!" It was a lot of fun and I am glad we made the turn off. It was a birthday I will never forget and one I hope Eric enjoyed! I love you Eric!

Anyone want to fish?

2008-06-05T17:12:00.000-07:00

These are some pictures of Lillie taken in the beginning of May when we went out and spent time with my parents for my Dad's birthday. They have five acres and a pond filled with sun fish and catfish. Lillie loves to fish! She is very funny to watch. She uses marshmallows as bait and taps the line in the water saying, "Nope, Nope, Nope" until she snags a fish! I love this last picture because it just shows the carefree lifestyle children have and what a joy they are!

New to this....

2008-06-05T15:00:00.000-07:00

OK... several of my friends have blogs and I LOVE going on them to check out new pictures and events in their lives. I was inspired to create our own blog to keep friends and family up to date on the latest in our lives.

Here is a brief update for those of you that I haven't been great about keeping in touch with - SORRY!

I am married to Eric Ford. He works at Hewlett Packard and is a very devoted Dad and husband! Eric is an avid sports fan and enjoys working in the yard. I have been very blessed in my marriage and we will have been married for 6 years this July 6th!

Lillie Jo is our four year old daughter. She is an entertainer and is a very happy little girl. She is the joy in both Eric's and my life. She loves to dress up, sing and dance, swim, pretend, do crafts and read. She loves being outside and with family. She is such a sweet girl!

I am currently off for the summer and enjoying every minute of it! I went back to teaching this past year and work at a Christian school. I taught fourth grade but will be teaching fifth and sixth next year. I have been truly blessed this year with this job. It has been a good transition back into work because of the wonderful atmosphere.

OK I think that is all for now. I am trying to figure all of this out and it could take some time but please keep checking back and post comments! Colleen