Status!

The other day, someone commented that they hoped I was making copies of my Facebook status updates because they would make a great book for my girls one day. I responded that I wasn't doing that but that I had a blog where I recorded a lot of things.

I kept thinking about it though and realized that there are a lot of "little" things that I put in my status updates that might not make it into a blog post. Things that I'd love to have recorded for my girls one day.

So.....beginning in 2010 up til today, I have copied many of my status updates. I didn't do all of them but many of them that I thought the girls might like to read one day. I will try to do this monthly. I love the thought of my children & grandchildren having all of these memories recorded into a book.


These start with "Jacinda Shanks....."


Would like to 'thank' her niece, Ann Elise, for teaching my girls a Girl Scout song that uses the phrase, 'Bazooka, zooka, bubblegum' over & over & over. It's been great on this long cartrip. ;) (1/2/10)

Is thankful that after traveling over 860 miles & 14 1/2 hours in the car today, God has blessed us with getting home safely! Ready for some sleep in my own bed! :)
(1/2/10)

just called 911. Something about the flames & smoke coming from the electric pole down the street made me feel it was necessary. (1/4/10)

played Chinese Checkers tonight with Gracie, Katie, & Chris. Katie makes everything just a little bit more frustrating....but also just a little bit more fun! She's awesome! (1/4/10)

thinks if I'm going to have a part time job, working on my work while listening to 'Winnie the Pooh Super Sleuths' and getting my hair combed by the cutest 18 month old little girl is the way to go! I just hope we don't accidentally end up with the Sesame Street theme song in our Sunday morning song service some week! (1/6/10)

and Chris hung some more things on the wall in the house. We've been in the house almost 18 months, and we're s.l.o.w.l.y. doing some things around here! The 'to do' list (a.k.a. WISH LIST) will always be full though! What a blessing to have a house to decorate and a family to fill it with love & laughter...decorated or not! (1/6/10)

thinks a good way to get your heart racing is wake up to a sputtering, sizzling, flashing, booming transformer outside your window! I was worried about the end result of all the commotion! 911 was called, appropriate people came then came again and now the road is blocked off and the still smoking pole has been spray...ed down. I THINK CenterPoint may need to replace the transformer..you think?! (1/7/10)

thinks Friendship School must have been extremely exciting today. Ellie fell asleep on the way home and went down in her bed after getting here! She'll get to sleep a bit more then it's off to pick up Gracie & Katie then home to wait for a couple of Gracie's friends & their moms who are coming over to work on the gir...ls' Science Fair project. They've done their research; now it's time to experiment! (1/7/10)

feels a bit bad for Ellie. She was playing with the remote and didn't have very good control of it and WHACKED herself in the head with it! It was loud...and now SHE'S loud. Poor thing. She has been cuddled & kissed. Now she just has to get over being mad about it. LOL (1/8/10)

-in working with Gracie on her Science Fair project, I have just been reminded once again of one of the reasons I choose not to homeschool my children! (Hats off to those who do, though!) Love that girl though! :) (1/11/10)

enjoyed a surprise visit from the "Hand Me Down Fairy" this afternoon! The girls especially enjoyed it because it meant lots of running around & laughing with friends who tagged along! (1/12/10)

figured out when picking up someone from Bush airport here in Houston, it is very important to make note of exactly where in the parking garage you are parked. Otherwise, you will spend a lot of time riding up & down the elevator and walking around the garage. (1/13/10)

is happy that the weekend is (almost) here! It's been a day filled with a bit of frustration that was diminished greatly by the excitement & happiness of seeing a friend glowing in the light of a new engagement and the excitement & happiness I have in looking forward to spending a weekend with the man who married me o...ver 15 years ago! May my friend still be as happy in 15 years as she is today! (1/14/10)

May be the youngest person in the theater & maybe one of the only ones who didn't ride in on a 'scooter,' but I am a happy lady sitting next to my sweetie and waiting for Tony Bennett to come on stage. (1/15/10)

Is blessed & happy. (1/15/10)

Feels blessed to have had such a wonderful weekend with my hubby. Now, it's time to go back to the reality of my life as a mommy to our 3 girls-just another kind of wonderful (but perhaps a bit more loud & hectic!) (1/18/10)

thinks that Mrs. Burger has a big job today. Katie has already cried over thinking we were laughing at her, milk getting on her Mickey blanket, and Daddy throwing away the special birthday coupons she made for Gramme (on accident). This was all before 8:05 a.m. (2/22/10)

just signed Katie up for softball! She is going to be so excited! (1/22/10)

is blessed to have enjoyed such a fabulous weekend with Chris & her church family. I am truly thankful to the planning committee of the marriage retreat and for our elders for being 100% supportive of it, prayerfully & practically. We had so much fun, and it was wonderful being able to visit with established friends more and get to know new people better! (1/24/10)

just had to tell Ellie that we don't eat mud. (1/25/10)

when I went to get Ellie up this morning, she had thrown up in her bed! She had no fever & seemed fine, so I thought it was no big deal. We hung around the house then headed to meet a friend for lunch when she decided to get sick again! I brought her home to clean her up when I found a little "gift" she left for me ...in the bathtub this morning. How in the world I missed that, I do.not.know! This is my life! :)
(1/26/10)

thinks this is such a beautiful Houston day...a great day to go to a Science Fair tonight to see how Gracie's group does. :) They were chosen to be one of the finalists for 4th grade. It is cute how excited she is! (1/26/10)

has "Mickey" washed & ready to attend the Kindergarten Pajama Party tomorrow! We have had meltdowns over the Mickey blanket getting a 'bath' before, but Katie (reluctantly) agreed for me to wash him before he heads off to school. I'm always relieved when he comes out of the washing machine intact. I'm thankful for t...hat handwash setting! (1/27/10)

is sad that little girls who throw up 7 times between the hours of 6:30 & 9:00 p.m. don't get to go to Kindergarten Pajama Parties. (1/27/10)

is sleepy after spending a few hours in the ER with Katie last night. Trying to wake up enough to take Gracie to school. (1/28/10)

is so amazed at how Katie is reading 'everything' these days. I ♥ when it 'clicks' and their world is never quite the same. Of course, the other day I was sending a friend a text ABOUT Katie (something kinda embarrassing) and she started reading it as I typed while sitting next to her. So, yeah, my world will never... be quite the same either! LOL (1/29/10)

thinks this should put a smile on our faces. On the way to school, I said something to Katie about having a good day. She matter of factly said, "I always do." Now, THAT'S being positive! (2/1/10)

is a bit distressed that Chris is coming home because he felt like he was about to be sick. I kinda felt like that this morning myself but pushed it to the back of my mind b/c what else am I supposed to do when I have 1 kid to get to school, 1 kid recovering from being sick, & 1 19 month old running around? I pray tha...t Chris comes home to rest and then is all better. "Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming." (2/2/10)

my husband was up at 4:30 this morning to go workout at the gym. I'm not sure this is completely normal. (2/3/10)

was a bit surprised when a routine, consultation ENT appointment for Katie (for chronic sneezing, congestion, etc. that she ALWAYS seems to have) turned into allergy testing. I figured it was in her future; just didn't expect it to be today...when I had Gracie & Ellie with me as well! I'm pretty proud of Katie though. All in all, she did great!(2/4/10)

read to a group in Katie's class this morning. "Franklin's Valentine's," "Arthur's Valentines," & "The Crayon Box That Talked." I enjoyed watching the lady greet the children who walk in the front door...a very friendly way for them to start their day! (2/5/10)

wonders if it's wrong that we have to change Elllie out of her pajamas before we go to dinner? Is it okay that she's kept them on this long? (2/5/10)

thinks Chris is a cool daddy (& husband) for taking the girls out to breakfast and to Home Depot for Kids' Workshop. Hopefully, Katie will get to use some real tools
(2/6/10)

Katie has a red bump on her forehead because she tried to walk through a brick pillar to get to Hogwarts. Really. (2/7/10)

"Actually, the most important thing we have in here is our Bibles." (Quote from Katie when I was teasing Chris about being careful on the ladder and not falling & breaking the t.v. and how that was the 'most important thing!') Out of the mouths of babes........ (2/8/10)

is happy to announce that Chris has hung curtains in our living room! Neither one of us is meant to have a career in home building or design, but they are hung, and we both like them! Of course, I think Chris phrased it more like, "You BETTER like them for a LONG time!" LOL (2/8/10)

was leaning over the kitchen island reading something. I felt something behind me and looked to see Ellie holding a measuring tape up to my rear end! (2/9/10)

this morning, Katie was coughing & sneezing more than usual. In an effort to make her room better for her based on her allergy findings last week, I dusted & vacuumed & changed her sheets, etc. while she was at school. She found me in the laundry room after school and said, "I wanted to say thank you for cleaning my... room." That made it ALL worth it! (2/9/10)

just heard Chris telling Gracie that Valentine's Day isn't about who can spend the most money on gifts for someone. Hmmm Did he say that to really teach her a lesson about what's important in life or to get out of buying me a nice Valentine's gift?! LOLOLOL (2/10/10)

loves having a friend who plans Disney vacations! I just put down a deposit on a Disney World vacation for this summer!!!!!!!!!! Shhh...don't tell the girls!!!!!!! (
2/12/10)

is happy for all of my Dallas friends who got snow, but bummed that the 10 inches our friends got has caused us to cancel our plans to go visit them this weekend. Who would ever think this scenario would happen...can't get safely from Houston to Dallas because of SNOW and ICE?! Crazy weather!!! (2/12/10)

saw a Folger's commercial tonight that almost brought tears to my eyes. I've always loved the one when the brother comes home from college at Christmas and the little sister is happy to see him. The one tonight showed a daughter telling her daddy she was engaged. Very sweet. Kinda made me want a cup of coffee! (2/14/10)

is enjoying looking at old pictures for Katie's "All About Me" book for school. She was such a pretty, bald baby! (2/15/10)

was straightening up our bedroom and put away 11 ballcaps belonging to my husband. (
2/17/10)

enjoyed going through the closet of "in between" dresses because I discovered some really nice dresses that Ellie will be able to wear this Spring & Summer. Yea for hand me downs from the big sisters! ( (2/18/10)

looks forward to having 5th Ward Church of Christ join us at Memorial tonight. This is something to look foward to! The singing will be wonderful!(2/21/10)

wishes she could bottle the pure joy felt by my sweet Kindergarten girl over being 'Falcon of the Week' for her class this week. She has been waiting for this week all year! (2/22/10)

is glad Katie was sitting at the kitchen table so she could tell me that Ellie was ON the kitchen table! I don't think either of the other 2 ever did that! (2/24/10)

& Chris both just raced downstairs at record speed because Ellie's screaming surely meant blood & extreme injury had just occured. Nope...she was just ticked off at her sisters. Oh, the drama! (2/26/10)

Gracie is drawing next to me in bed, Ellie has been walking around with a pacifier & sunglasses on banging on the air vent, Katie has had on all sorts of things and is pretending to be Buzz Lightyear. It's a good Saturday morning with young children.
(2/27/10


& family spent an afternoon at the zoo on what has to be one of the most beautiful days Houston has ever seen! (2/27/10)

just painted Gracie's fingernails & toenails and is now watching 'Little House on the Prairie" with her. I have to admit, I really like it when she's home with me (just wish it wasn't because she was sick.) She feels much better though! :) (3/2/10)

sent Gracie off to school to take the Writing TAKS. I am thankful for her teacher who has prepared them well but made it clear to me in an email yesterday that Gracie's "health is MUCH more important than any test." (b/c I was a bit stressed if she would be well for today's test.) I am thankful for her teacher havin...g this compassion when she could have needlessly pushed for her to come regardless of how she felt (3/3/10) Her teacher has made it clear that she has faith in God & follows Christ, and for that I am most thankful! May God bless ALL teachers & students today! ♥

Gracie survived the Writing TAKS and came out smiling. I wish I was as laid back about EVERYTHING as she is! (3/3/10)

got Ellie's hair cut, and the curls stayed! :) (3/4/10)

Is sad, scared, & really mad that someone kicked in our back door and stole a bunch of things from our house in the space of about an hour in between when I left the house & Chris came home. VERY thankful we are safe though. Still mad, too. (3/5/10)

Is in the van with the girls waiting for Chris to get back from running an errand. The girls are watching a Hermie video about having faith in God. There is a lesson to be learned from all of this and a lesson to be taught to my girls as well. I pray we will teach it well. (3/5/10)

Is thankful for friends who stay late into the night helping put up a new back door (almost done!) I am sad to think of things I am realizing are gone...the diamond from my grandmother's engagement ring, Chris's grandmother's pearl necklace, and my 'mothers' bracelet' with my girls' names on it. I am just thankful my f...amily is all safe though. I feel this will stay with us a long time (3/5/10)

Thinks it is so nice of 2 of our neighbors who came by with cake & other gifts to help us feel better! The new back door is ALMOST finished thanks to Chris & a dear friend who has 100% earned a HUGE pancake dinner! (3/6/10)

has an almost 6 year old with the flu AND strep. Really? On top of everything else? Chris is home dealing with the aftermath of what happened last week. Not an easy thing to recover from, emotionally or otherwise. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (3/8/10)

We live in such a fallen world, full of those who steal, destroy, & frighten. May those of us who know Christ share Him with those who don't & pray for them as well. "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10 (3/8/10)

who would have thought a soap opera (yes, I admit it!) and my DVR could pinpoint
exactly what time the tv in our living room was stolen?! Talk about getting a chill when my recording stopped at exactly 36 minutes into my 11:00 taping. If Chris hadn't run his last errand, he probably would have come home while they were here. There's another chill. (3/9/10)

remembers that 6 years ago tonight, we ate at Outback in Aiken, SC. I'll always remember because our sweet Katie Brooklyn was born early the next morning. ♥ Our sweet Katie Boo! What JOY she brings to us daily! (3/9/10)

thinks what happened to us last Friday STINKS, but we have been so blessed in different ways through this. I feel so thankful & humbled and hope we learn the lessons we should b/c of all of this. (3/11/10)

trying to put parenting class into practice. This morning, Gracie had to wear shoes she didn't want to b/c she couldn't find one of the ones she did want. She blamed Ellie (which is probably accurate) BUT she should have put them up. Katie left her homework & folder at home. I am tempted to take it to her, but I wo...n't. She may get a yellow for this, which will be devastating, but it will be a lesson learned. (3/12/10)

knows it's a telemarketer when they ask for Christopher Shanks and upon hearing that
he's not home, they say, "and probably you're the very lovely wife?" I promptly said, "We're not interested!" (3/12/10)

is proud of Gracie for being selected to on the Newsletter Staff at school! She is excited, and that makes me happy! (3/12/10)

Is going to just keep on swimming... I'll just keep the thermometer & Motrin close by for whichever child needs it. My mom keeps saying, "This too shall pass." I'd like it to do so now please. (3/13/10)

is ending the day with 4 of my greatest blessings already sleeping peacefully in our home. I hope to join them soon if only I would stop hearing every little "bump in the night." We were blessed once again today by friends who love us. We are thankful. ♥ (3/14/10)

could mention that our oven doesn't work. I could also mention that our upstairs A/C is broken and our warranty won't cover quite a bit of it. I could mention other negative things. Instead, I will mention that the girls & I enjoyed our 1st day of Spring Break with friends in beautiful weather, and we are all curre...ntly healthy and looking forward to going to the rodeo tomorrow night! I ♥ my family! (3/15/10)

Thinks two of the best parts of Rodeo Houston so far are seeing Ellie roll her eyes when she tried the funnel cake and hearing Katie exclaim while reading the program, "They have 'bear' back riding!" (3/16/10)

enjoyed going to 2 Christian bookstores tonight with Gracie & Katie. I bought Francine Rivers' new book and one by Beth Moore (just a small one; not one of her main ones). I bought a new book for Gracie (5 books in 1) that will possibly be a new series she will enjoy and 2 'Easy Reader' books for Katie that she chose.... It has lots of PICTURES, so she is happy! She enjoyed getting to choose her own books.
(4/19/10)

so, a friend & I decided we would meet this morning to walk. We can meet right there on the sidewalk as we walk the girls to school. So, as I was (almost literally) dusting off my New Balance tennis shoes, a TOOTSIE POP fell out! I mean really, what does THAT represent about my life?! (3/23/10)

sent my little Lois Lane off to school early this morning to start work on the newsletter team. Of course, she exasperatedly informed me that Lois Lane and Superman are just PRETEND. There may have even been a bit of a 4th grade eye roll involved. So, I'm guessing that she will be writing more of the factual article...s rather than any fiction ones! LOL SUCH a realist! (3/24/10)

"For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required..." (Luke 12:48a) Our family was blessed immensely once again today by people who care. It makes me thankful, grateful, humble, and makes me want to share with others as we are able! May we look for the opportunities to do so. (3/24/10)

ran today. To be honest, it was only because Katie came downstairs and after about a 5 minute intro. finally came to the main idea of her upset...that Ellie had fallen off of the bunk bed! (3/25/10)

enjoyed walking around the neighborhood with Ellie this afternoon...except the part where the HUGE dog banged into his 6-7 ft. fence as I walked past. I jumped about a mile and as I glanced over, I saw the dog's head slightly above the fence. I sure did walk a bit faster til I got past that house. Now, THAT'S the kind of dog that will keep away thieves! (3/26/10)

wonders if you've ever driven down Fry Rd. listening to 2 9 year olds say The Pledge of Allegiance AND the Texas Pledge EVERY time they saw the flags?! There are A LOT of flags out there people! (3/27/10)

is thankful for being able to witness a teenage boy deliver a wonderful sermon tonight and then baptize his father afterwards! (3/28/10)

thinks maybe Ellie finally figured out why we always tell her not to stick her fingers in between the door and the wall when the door is open. Yeah, I think she figured it out when I closed the door and that's where her fingers were! :(
(3/30/10)

wonders if you've ever gone to Target with your children & husband and felt like your family was a bit like an out of control circus act. I have. Recently. (4/1/10)

"Do you think maybe one time I'll be on t.v.?" recent quote by Katie (4/3/10)

walked again this morning. After all, when I complained about it, I was asked by one of my 'precious' daughters, "Do you want to be on Biggest Loser?! Then you need to exercise!" Alllllllllrighty then!!!!!! (4/5/10)

got out my grandmother's red candy dish today to put some Easter candy in. Remember circus peanuts? Well, these are rabbits & chicks but are really the same thing. One bite last night, and I was immediately transported in my mind back to her living room where I used to get countless circus peanuts out of the dish th...at sat on her coffee table. It is now missing the lid, so they will get stale, but I don't care.
(4/5/10)

Gracie was telling me things she learned about TX on her field trip. She starts telling me about a letter Santa Anna wrote. She pauses and says she's not sure she should say it b/c it was a bad word. Not wanting her to say a bad word (but wanting to know what it was & being a bit upset that the person would tell the...m a bad word) I told her to spell it. She said, "I think it's spelled i-d-i-o-t." I ♥ her!
(4/6/10)

knows Gracie will have fun at the 4th grade girls' lock in tonight. Bless those teachers who (volunteered? agreed? were bribed?) to stay with them. It was a large group and goes til 9:30. What a way for a teacher to spend a Friday night! Ellie ate a little ice cream after seeing Katie eat some and is now 'clickin...g' her tongue. This is improvement over just staring & wanting to be held! (4/9/10)

nothing like an 8 am Saturday morning softball game for my 6 year old-in the rain-that gets canceled 10 minutes into it b/c of thunder which produces wailing from my 6year old. It was FUN though, and she made a really good play before it was called off! (4/10/10)

Gracie drew a picture of a redheaded stick figure on a skateboard and said it was, "Skateboarding Mama!" She then said something like, "Yeah, like that'll ever happen!" Aww...her sweetness overwhelms me! LOL I still ♥ her! (4/13/10)

thinks when a baby can point and say "Shoo Shoo in da booba," then maybe that baby needs to be proactive about these kinds of things & put that shoo shoo in the potty! Of course, thinking about my 'tiny' baby doing that just makes me laugh! (4/14/10)

is bracing for the upcoming years. Today, Gracie started crying. When I asked her why she was sad, her main response, through tears, was "I don't know!" (4/16/10)

enjoyed Katie's softball game. She got a hit twice and scored once! When she didn't get a hit the next time she went up to bat, she cried and blamed the pitcher...her daddy! LOL Next week: Gracie joins the team due to low numbers!!!!!! (4/17/10)

is glad I occasionally do SOME things right. I surprised Gracie with a "music" card and 2 shirts she had "admired" this weekend. I thought she needed a little treat after the whole 'no earrings' thing. I told her there was something upstairs on her bed. She then came down and put her arms around my neck and thanked me. (4/19/10)

has a tradition of rocking Ellie after her bath and singing, "Rock A Bye Baby," pretending to drop her when the baby goes 'down,' then kissing her on the nose. When she gets out of her bath, she sometimes says, "Baby," because she likes it. Tonight, she & Katie took a bubble bath together, so of course, after rocking the almost 22 month old, I also rocked the 6 year old! I think the tradition started with her years ago! (4/20/10)

enjoyed a private laugh with Chris tonight at dinner as Ellie was flinging the straw from her milk cup. Chris grabbed it, and then I saw that milk had flung all over the back of the guy's jacket next to us...and his hair, too! The guy didn't notice it, thus the private laugh. (4/21/10)

After pouring some Goldfish out of the BIG box into a baggie for Katie's school snack, we had a conversation that included her wondering if I'd practiced that (pouring goldfish) at college. (4/23/10)

pigtails, softball, & violin

A couple of weeks ago, I put Ellie's hair up into pigtails. So stinkin' cute!!!!! Her hair has only been cut once, about 7 or 8 weeks ago, and it has already grown so much. The curls have stayed, thankfully, and are so nice & thick, even more so than before.

Yesterday was a fabulous day! It was so beautiful; perhaps even more so because the forecast had called for storms, so when it turned out to be so pretty, it was appreciated.

Due to low numbers, Gracie has now joined Katie's softball team which is quite exciting for us all. Gracie is really doing us a favor by being on the team; I could tell she didn't really want to be on it, but she agreed to it because we asked her if she would help them out. Judging by the smile on her face, I think she enjoyed it! If you ask her, she still acts rather noncommital about liking it, but she acted like she enjoyed it...and did really well!

She is allllll legs in her uniform! ha!

It was really funny here when she was batting and accidentally let go of the bat! LOL

Here are the 2 sisters playing outfield together!

It was fun to have some friends from church come watch the girls play this week. Russell had a game after the girls, so we were able to watch him play some, too.

At practice earlier in the week, sweet Ellie wanted to be a part of the action. It is hard on her when her Daddy comes home and 10 minutes later he is out on the field and not able to play with her. He takes her out there sometimes, but it's a bit easier for him to help the big girls if she's not with him. This week, she was distracted by sticks and a couple of little boys who were playing, so that was good.

At the game yesterday, Ellie decided she needed to be like her big sisters and wear the helmet!

After the game, we went home and ate lunch and Gracie & Katie got cleaned up because Gracie had a violin recital that afternoon.

Here are my 3 sweet girls in front of some beautiful Spring flowers.

Here is the best Daddy ever being silly before the recital.

Gracie with her violin teacher.

playing in the recital-she did a fantastic job!

After the recital, we went back home, then Chris & Gracie left for a "date" together while Katie, Ellie, & I took a nap! :) We then met Chris & Gracie later to watch "Oceans." It was a really good movie. I think God must have had tons of fun the day He created sea creatures! There are some beautiful-and weird looking-ones out there! The movie talked about wondering where the ocean came from, etc. I'm glad to know that God had a plan all along for the ocean and all of its creatures!

Everyone needs a Mimi & a ChaCha

Just one of the sweet things about Ellie right now (there are MANY sweet things of course!!!!) is her love for "Mimi" and "ChaCha." We're not sure where the names came from, but somehow she started calling these 2 bunnie "lovies" Mimi & ChaCha. Mimi kind of got banished for a few days. We're not sure what happened, but after Mimi got washed last week, Ellie decided she didn't like her anymore. She would scream & cry and push her away. It seems that she is being accepted again, but ChaCha definitely took the place as "1st best friend" for a day or two. Sometimes she calls ChaCha Mimi which I think is weird and don't understand (unless she's just like her Mommy and can't remember their names...kind of like me calling the girls by the wrong name LOL). Ellie is such a sweet, feisty baby!!!!!!

Mimi

ChaCha

One thing that's not quite as cute about Ellie right now is her love for her paci, or "BaBa" as she calls it. At home, it seems that there is no way she could go to sleep without her. However, she doesn't use it at Friendship School, so I THINK this is really more of Chris & mine's problem! She just seems so pitiful sometimes and really seems to love it, so we give in. The doctor said "2" is her age to want them to give it up, so we have a bit more time. (Not much though!) I did buy her new ones the other day because I figured the old ones were probably gross with germs from being used so much and dropped, etc. I bought the cheap 99 cents for 2 kind. I wasn't going to invest a lot of money since we're hoping she drops the habit soon!

Here she is pretending to go "night night." Look at those tightly closed eyes. She's such a silly baby!

I'm so thankful for my little girl!

Katie's 1st Softball Game!

Today was the day...Katie's 1st Softball game! She was so excited. She told me last night (paraphrased) that she was excited that it was getting darker because that meant tomorrow was coming! Sure enough, she was the first one out of bed for her 8:00 AM game! I was glad of that because she can be a bit draggy when it comes to getting out of bed, and she didn't go to bed til probably close to 10, but she was up and at 'em! We didn't get her jersey & visor until we got to the game, so we weren't sure what kind of socks to get, and we couldn't really find the right kind anyway at the last minute last night, so pink socks is what she was wearing with her blue shirt! I will be making a trip to Academy this week to get the right color socks!

She did a great job playing and going after the ball when the other team hit it. We're a bit confused about the teams. I thought we were playing in a 6 & 7 year old league, but I guess there aren't very many teams, so there were some old & big players on the other team! Oh well! It started sprinkling before the game and then thunder came, causing them to say we had to suspend the game. After about 10 minutes, they called the game, causing tears & wailing from Katie! A bit embarrassing! One of the dads said he liked it that she was so into wanting to play! LOL

Ready for the game to start.

with the teams saying the YMCA pledge (?) before the game

playing outfield

eating a cinnamon roll afterwards!

Ellie has been sick with the flu, but we took her to the game. We figured she wasn't going to be in anyone's face or playing with anyone since we don't know people that well yet, so contagion wasn't an issue, plus she's been on her flu meds since Thurday. She did okay but was a bit fussy. Of course, she might have been fussy anyway! She didn't seem to have fever this morning, but she has this afternoon, so it looks like no church for her and either Chris or myself in the morning....again! :( We'll see about tomorrow evening. I pray she gets well soon. She is better but obviously still suffering some from it...feverish, clingy, congested, fussy. Poor thing.

Katie has been bugging Chris to go on a date, so the 2 of them are out this afternoon to see "How To Train A Dragon." I've heard it's really cute. Gracie & I may go later. Ellie necessitates the 'switch off.' I don't want her to grow up too quickly, but it will make it easier to do things like movies as a family!

Katie made this cute list the other day that melted her daddy's heart. She is a daddy's girl for sure!

crafts, flu, softball

A friend helped me with a crafty project for Gracie's room that I've been wanting to do for awhile now since I saw something similar at a friend's baby shower. I love how it turned out! She is a scrapbooker, so she has all sorts of fun tools AND ideas! I need to find some good scissors and trim the ends of the ribbon a bit, but other than that, it's done. I love it and now look forward to doing some fun things for Katie's room and Ellie's room, too! They both need to be painted, too. We are eventually going to paint Katie's room the same color green she had in Aiken. I loved it, so I kind of 'prompted' her to agree to it again! :) I'm not sure what we'll paint Ellie's room yet; it won't be until we do her "big girl room," and I'm not ready for that yet!

Poor Ellie is sick again. Flu, this time. :( She has had a cough for about a week and a half, and we'd eventually called her allergist last week about it. He called in a steroid prescription for her, and it did seem that she was getting a bit better. She has struggled with sinus infections over & over (about every 2-3 weeks) since around September. Her nose was running some this time, but it wasn't colored (sorry if that's TMI, but this is my family's journal) so it did seem different. Last night, she was more puny acting and then ended up actually getting sick and running a fever. I didn't take it, but she was really hot. This morning, we took her in to the doctor (Chris was home because HE was sick....ear infection & upper respiratory infection) and the doctor said it appears to be the FLU. :( When she has Motrin, she's happy. When it wears off, the fever goes UP and she goes DOWN. It's really pitiful. Our family has been hit HARD with sickness the past few months; not sure what's going on. I think we need a good disinfecting like they do to the guy on Monsters, Inc. when he comes out of the door with the child's sock on his back! LOL

Here she is tonight sleeping on her daddy.

Katie has her first softball game at 8:00 AM Saturday morning!!!!!! I will be praying that Chris & Ellie both feel well enough to attend. This is history in the making! :)

LTC 2010-The Rock!

This weekend, we were blessed to be able to attend LTC 2010 (Leadership Training for Christ) in Dallas. We had such a good time at LTC last year, so we were really excited to come back this year. It didn't disappoint; it was really fun! It is so amazing to watch the kids perform in their events, knowing that they are having fun and learning to lead others to Christ at the same time.

One advantage of being in Dallas is that we were able to meet up with our friends, the Bronnimans, for lunch! We did this last year, too. We love this family! Both of them went to ACU, and Bret & Chris knew each other while there. I knew who Krista was part of the time, but we didn't really know each other. (She didn't know me! LOL) We got to be friends when we were both newly married living in Lubbock in 1995-1997. We've been friends ever since then! We were excited about plans to spend the weekend at their house back in February, but Dallas ended up getting a lot of snow (!) so we had to cancel. That made being able to meet for lunch even better!

Bret & Krista have 3 children, but 2 of them were with their grandmother, so we only got the pleasure of being with 1 of their children at lunch. He & Gracie acted like they've always known each other, when in reality they've only seen each other a few times.

It can be hard to move, as Chris & I have done quite a few times throughout our marriage, but one of the BLESSINGS of this is meeting friends ALL OVER the country. The Bronnimans are one of our BLESSINGS!

After eating lunch, we headed over to the hotel and began the somewhat chaotic process of getting our room keys. Gramps & Gramme were already there because they had come to watch Gracie perform and help watch Katie & Ellie for part of the time. There are THOUSANDS of people at the hotel for LTC (only 1 of the 3 hotels in Dallas holding LTC this weekend, not to mention it being held in other cities), so the hotel is packed. Sometimes you can wait for 15 minutes or more just to get ON the elevator. I walked up to our hospitality suite (on the 15th FLOOR) once because the wait was just too long. *pant, pant, gasp, gasp* I actually stopped on floor 7 to catch the elevator, but it never would come, so I headed back to the stairs. *whew, that was hard*Katie's special friend, 'Juice,' carried her on his shoulders up to the 15th floor! I sure couldn't have done that!

We got our keys and Chris and Gramps & Gramme got unloaded into our rooms while I helped Gracie get her artwork checked in and got her where she needed to be to practice for chorus. We then met for dinner in the hospitality suite (we have great coordinators who do a great job of feeding us all!) and headed over to Bible Bowl, which was over 2 Samuel this year.

Gracie & friends needed to get a little giggling over with before they began.

Gracie was a little nervous about Bible Bowl this year; it was hard! Next year is Revelation (yikes!) We are very proud of Gracie for working hard at Bible Bowl!

Bible Bowl isn't really a spectator event, so Ellie & a friend had a little fun together during it.

After Bible Bowl on Friday night, we enjoyed a devo and time to visit with lots of people in the hospitality suite. It's a bit chaotic at times, but really fun and the phrase "community" keeps coming to mind when thinking about the weekend. I love to see my children interacting with friends their own age, as well as younger & older. I love times like LTC weekends where you have a chance to sit & visit and know that the reason you're all there is because of a common love for Christ!

Gracie had chorus practice at 8:00 Saturday morning. Her chorus coaches did a fantastic job of leading the group. I thought they sounded so good!

One of the highlights of the weekend was seeing Susan!!!!! Susan & I were roommates at ACU our Junior year; in a house with 5 girls total 1 semester and 4 girls the 2nd semester. I haven't seen Susan since November 2003 (when I was pregnant with Katie!) when we stayed the night with she & Jim on our way from SC to NM. I was so happy that they were at LTC this year since their daughter is now old enough to participate.

I loved the way our kids interacted. Gracie & Susan's little girl (1 grade younger than Gracie) got along and played like they've always been friends. Our time at ACU was so great in so many ways, and seeing our 5 children together is awesome! Chris & Jim were roommates, too and we were all in each other's weddings. It was such a blessing that we were able to meet; if even for just a few minutes. I loved the way I felt like Susan & I just fell into conversation like we see each other all the time rather than the 6 1/2 years it's been since we've seen each other in person!

Another of Chris's roommates, Jason, showed up too! Jason's family attended church with us here in Houston for a few months, and it was great. He & Deana have 3 girls like us, and Gracie & his youngest hit it off immediately. They recently moved back to Oklahoma, and Gracie has missed her, so she was extremely excited to see her at LTC!

It was a beautiful day on Saturday, and the hotel has a beautiful park-like area which makes it nice for spending time outside. Katie enjoyed getting to play with the big kids some; frisbee & football.

After Bible Bowl on Friday night and chorus on Saturday morning, Gracie had her drama skit on Saturday afternoon. Her coach, Mrs. Molly, did a great job of coming up with the script, and the kids had fun performing it. They did a really good job; it focused on not getting caught in sin, a "sin box," and how to get out of it if you did find yourself there.

The hospitality suite is a nice place to have because everyone can just hang out there; eat, visit, watch basketball, have a devo, etc. There is an LTC Convention held here in Houston, but I'm glad we attend the one in Dallas. If we went to the one here, I don't think it'd be as much fun because most of us would just come & go from our houses, I think. Going to Dallas, it's fun b/c of all the time spent together.

The Easter Bunny even found his way to the hotel to leave the girls a few little treats. Since we weren't home, and were attending church services there at the hotel, we opted to go casual (some did, some didn't!), our Easter morning picture isn't your typical one. I think they still look like my sweet girls! We were happy that 3 of the young men from Memorial were able to participate in the service this morning. One did sign language, one led a song, and one preached. The most special thing about the young man preaching is that last Sunday night, he preached his sermon at Memorial. Afterwards, his own father came forward to be baptized, so this young man was able to baptize his own father who had made the decision to be baptized & become a Christian. I think this young man has a bright future ahead of him, influencing others for Christ!

One of the ladies organized an Easter Egg Hunt for our kids, so the girls were excited about participating in that. Ellie pretty much had the "little kid" part to herself until she had too many eggs and the older kids came over to get some of them. She had plenty!

It was a great weekend! LTC is an amazing experience, and I look forward to many, many years of it with our girls. In the picture above, Katie is sitting with one of her friends who has 2 much older brothers. His mom told me when it's all said & done, they will have participated in LTC for something like 29 years...with 1 year off b/w when her middle one graduates high school and her youngest can begin (3rd grade). I'd have to think about how many years we will be able to participate, but I look forward to them all!