Lucky Me

Well, keeping with the tradition of the monthly blog post, here are the updates from 10/28:

For Halloween, Kenlee was a "Japanese Girl", and Kelton was Snake Eyes from GI Joe.
Justin & I wore camo since that's all we had that fit me.

November 7th we went to Austin for a cheer competition. Kenlee & her team worked so hard, and they earned Division Champs and Level 2 High Point. We had fun traveling as a family and spending time with our travel buddies (Miller family). It was 11 PM when I realized we had driven to Austin, and I had forgotten Kenlee's cheer uniform! My pregnancy brain! Luckily Scott & Nikki went to my house, got the uniform, delivered it to Abilene around 1 AM, and Tracy brought it to Austin with her the next morning. "I get by with a little help from my friends!"

So it seems appropriate to toast my friends now.

They make me appreciate every aspect of life more. They each serve a different role in my life, and it is so evident why God has put us together to navigate. It's within that circle that God shows His magnificence to each of us and uses earthly arms and mouths to reach and speak to us. I'm grateful to have a place where tears can be raw and laughter can give me an ab workout.
Stacey, Lisa, Erin, Tif, Kandi, Nikki, Holly & Dayna after Christmas Carousel


It was these lovely ladies (Dayna, Nikki, Kandi & Holly) who whisked me away for a Pre-Three-Oh weekend to celebrate turning 30. We missed Erin, but we had a great time on the road trip to Fredericksburg where we had great food, a fireside chat, and then shopped 'til we dropped onto the massage tables!
Seems like the whole last year has been Thanksgiving. Here's a fun picture of The Cousins... can you imagine Easter when we have two more babies to add to the picture??? Kenlee's lap isn't big enough for all of them! I LOVED the barrel races, trampoline games, and playing Ninja Turtles with my cousins. It's so much fun to see our kids play together, too.

Audrey (21 months), Kenlee (8), Kirsten (8 months), Corbin (14 months), Layton (20 months), and Kelton (6). Coming this February: Brenna and "Cricket"!
Here's a picture of me at 30 weeks and my cousin Amber at 29 weeks. We had a sonogram 11/21 in which they estimated Cricket to be about 16-17 inches long and 3 pounds! She was too smooshed for us to see her sweet face, so we will try again 12/1. Her feet were pushing against the uterine wall toward my ribs. She was sucking on her fingers. We have been busy working on home renovation, picking out nursery furniture & colors, and choosing a name. The next 10 weeks will likely fly by!

Corbin Sweetness!

When my nephew Corbin turned 1, the kids and I took him a cake to celebrate. I think he wants his Aunt Tif to come back with cake anytime!

Beamers Blue Squad

Cheer Power Competition

Level 2 Champions!

"Enjoy Life. There's plenty of time to be dead."

I'm really bad at the blog updates. I'm furiously trying to get scrapbooks caught up, so that's where all of my free time goes. Here are some pictures of what we have been doing this Fall.

Kelton's Gravity-Defying Birthday Party at The Jump Around

Soccer Time!

Somehow I was lucky enough for both kids to be in the 6-8 League this year.

They're having a great time with soccer, but it was 47 degrees at our first game!

Pictures of Kindergarten

Kelton is in the ABC Club, the 5-Mile Club (he proudly announces that he

is the 2nd fastest kid in Kindergarten), and the 100 Club.

He also had Perfect Attendance, and he brought home the ribbon and said, "Mom, I got this ribbon for going to school 6 years!" I think he meant 6 weeks! They don't do Honor Roll in Kindergarten, but he did very well on content mastery and TPRI exams.

Baby Cricket Update

Currently 25 1/2 weeks along (age of viability- YAY!)

Our 4-D sonogram is scheduled for 11/21

We also have pictures of my nephew Corbin's 1st Birthday and of Kenlee's Cheer Squad, but I am having posting difficulties, so I decided to post separately rather than starting over a 4th time! Kenlee is enjoying Musical Theater and cheerleading. Her squad got 1st place at their 1st competition this year (10/17 at the Fort Worth Convention Center). Next competition is 11/8 in Austin. She made A Honor Roll & Perfect Attendance, and she is excited about representing Anson for the UIL competition in the Spelling, Ready Writing, and Music Memory events.

The Boy Down the Street

Meet Cooper...

(Also pictured is friend Kylie)

He is the boy Justin fears. His house is positioned around the corner in such a way that his back yard is traversed to our yard by foot, a bike, a golf cart, or a 4-wheeler. Cooper is allowed to drive all of those. Cooper was born 1 week before Kenlee, so they've "grown up" together. When they were 4 years old, they had to be separated at VBS because they would not stop kissing. When they were 6, Cooper announces to me that he and Kenlee are playing "Married" in the playroom. My intention was to approach this the best way I could--- ensure that they grew up so close that Kenlee would never find him attractive because he would be seen as more of a brother and protector. Besides, my little Boy-Crazy Girl has always had a thing for older men... her "boyfriends" have all been in high school since she was 3 and decided she was smitten by them.
So the other day I answer a knock on the door, and Cooper asks, "Can Kenlee come ride around the block with me on the golf cart?" I think I just stared at him. 8 years old is not when I thought a boy would come to our house to pick Kenlee up and take her riding around! Later that week, I was making petit fours in the kitchen, and I hear the computer Jukebox playing Cinderella by Steven Curtis Chapman very loudly. I peek into the living room, and Cooper is teaching Kenlee to Two Step!! I almost started bawling! Partially because of the lyrics from that song of choice:
"She spins and she sways to whatever song plays, Without a care in the world.
And I'm sitting here wearing the weight of the world on my shoulders.
It's been a long day and there's still work to do,
She's pulling at me saying "Dad I need you!
There's a ball at the castle and I've been invited
and I need to practice my dancin'"
"Oh please, daddy, please!"
So I will dance with Cinderella While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh I will dance with Cinderella I don't want to miss even one song
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone.
She says he's a nice guy and I'd be impressed
She wants to know if I approve of the dress
She says, "Dad the prom is just one week away And I need to practice my dancin'
"Oh please, daddy , please!"
Chorus: So I will dance with Cinderella While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh I will dance with Cinderella I don't want to miss even one song
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone
Well she came home today with a ring on her hand
Just glowin' and tellin' us all they had planned
She says, "Dad the wedding's still six months away
but I need to practice my dancin'
"Oh please, daddy , please!"
So I will dance with Cinderella While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh I will dance with Cinderella
I don't want to miss even one song
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone"
I wanted to call Justin and tell him to get home and dance with Kenlee because Cooper already was! So I practiced the art of distraction: "Kenlee! Coop! Want a popsicle?" So they stopped for a popsicle and then resumed the lesson on slow-dancing.
Last night at the football game a neighbor told me, "I think there's something serious going on in my neck of the neighborhood." I was trying to figure out if she was talking about the rash of babies being born on the street, and then she said, "I saw Kenlee riding her bike past my house again Wednesday, and I visited with her and asked what she had been up to. She said she was headed over to Cooper's to see if he wanted to ride bikes. I think it's getting pretty serious. They ride bikes several times a week, and Wednesday evening they came over together to visit me and Gracie (the dog)". At least the neighbors are keeping an eye out!
Well, the whole situation is good for a giggle. But in the back of my mind I am very aware of how quickly we are approaching that age where we have to tell her she's not old enough to date. For now we are sending chaperones on the play dates. Cooper has a little sister Claire who was born 2 weeks before Kelton, so a pesty little brother and little sister following them around will limit the kissing... then again, having Clarie and Kelton together could eventually become a problem as well!

"You Know, I'm Almost 7 Now..."

Hearing Kelton remind me he is "almost 7 now" made me cringe on several different levels. But I think the level that pained the most was the realization that he is right.

I remembered being flat depressed the day after Kenlee's 1st birthday. Justin thought I was crazy, but when I explained to him what was bothering me, it was so clear to me that I was already fighting a losing battle of hanging on to moments. The 1st year passed so quickly that I felt like I hadn't been able to relish in it as long as I desired. I told him "everyone says it just gets quicker as they get older. I cannot imagine the next 17 years passing at the rate the 1st one passed, much less having it pass even more quickly!" And looking at the 8 year old and 6 year old who bless my life, I can raise my eyebrows and say, "See? I was right." How can we wrap our brains around the fact that they are growing up so quickly?

So as Kelton celebrates turning 6 (which makes him almost 7, of course... just ask him!), I'll share a mini-memory lane of the growth and changes. From a picture of my pregnant tummy the week before he arrived to a picture at the lake last month. I'll upload birthday party pictures when I get around to getting them off of my camera ;-) Born Thursday, September 4, 2003 at 11:17 AM; 7 lbs, 4 oz; 20" long
Favorite pastime was entertaining Kenlee and making her laugh.
First steps were at 9 months old at a family reunion in Kerrville in June '04.
By Father's Day he was showing off his walking skills all over the yard at a Father's Day cookout. He has been Full-Speed and Full-Throttle ever since!
At 1 yr old, Kelton enjoyed bathtime, making messes, playing "phone", and playing ball.
He got his 1st haircut after his 1st birthday. He loved to hide and was very loving toward Kenlee.

At age 2, he liked wearing hats and oversized gloves. He loved jumping, swinging, eating suckers, and wearing sunglasses. He had several "buddies" he called his brothers.
He liked to hit balls and slide down slides the best.

Age 3 brought us the train era... a fascination with all things Train and Thomas. Kelton painted his first pumpkin that year, and he decided that some of his favorite things to do were to play golf with dad and ride horses with Uncle Rylan. By this time Kelton had a full-on addiction to sprinkles at Granny's house... the only place you get handed a full bottle of sprinkles and a spoon that fits right into the sugary heaven! He learned ABC's while brishing his teeth ALL those times after ALL those sweets! This boy sure has a sweet tooth!

By age 4, Kelton had taught us that tasks requiring concentration are much easier when you stick your tongue out while you concentrate... a trait from great-grandmother Evelyn ;-) Age 4 revolved around dinosaurs and growling and a few sword fights here and there. He exhibited his love for THRILL~ everything is better when it is faster, higher, and loopier.
He could write his name and identify shapes & colors.

At age 5, Kelton asserted his position on top of the world! He believes he can conquer anything, do anything, and he is Very Frustrated when we tell him he cannot do something because he isn't old enough yet (or tall enough-- he cannot wait to ride the Titan-- I'm glad he's not at that height requirement!!) This boy tries more things than I would ever consider trying. His favorite past times are Wii Sports, Mario Kart, and playing Superhero/Villain. He strips to his underwear as soon as he is home, and he prefers it that way! He loves dressing in costumes, though, especially when his "dudes" are over here to play.

"Almost 7" Well, I am sticking to SIX! No telling where age 6 will take us, but I have no doubt it will be a wild ride! With lots of negotiations and protests, I'm sure! But hopefully, he will not outgrow his loving spirit. Something about a boy being loving with his family that will make your heart melt. But we also know we will be entertained the whole way!

We are learning

We made it through Week 1 of End of Summer, Start of School Year! I'm learning lots of Mommy Lessons that I hadn't anticipated God would throw into the kids' lesson plans :-) Day 2 of school I went into Kelton's room to wake him and tell him that it was time to get up for Kindergarten. He says, "Again?!?! I went yesterday!" To which I replied (of course) that we get to go again today, too! Yay! As his balled up fist and rubbed his eyes, he said, "Mom, we don't have to go every day! I'll go tomorrow." Soooo, we made a calendar showing 5 days of school, Cartoon Day, and Church Day. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Labor Day weekend is gonna throw us off, but I can at least tell him he got an extra day off for his birthday... he thinks the West Texas Fair is in honor of his birthday, so for now we go with it!





We floated through the week pretty well completing Kenlee's Life Timeline and a Family Tree (luckily it was our household on the tree... Mom, Dad, Kenlee, Kelton, Cricket the Baby, and Allie the dog)--- it starts getting pretty confusing when we map beyond that! But then on Thursday, Kenlee reports No Homework, and the assignment folders are not quite as parent-information-friendly as they were in the early grades. They rely more on students developing responsibility for their own assignments, which is a good thing. Anway, Friday morning, we are up in our Tiger gear, all ready for school early, and I am addressing Kelton's birthday party invitations, and Kenlee is putting stamps on them for me. She casually says, "I have to do a leaf collection." I calmly replied, "That's cool. When is that due?", and just as calmly, she says, "Today." I very distinctly feel the calm of the morning begin to drain from my forehead, down to my nose, down to my mouth, and I was glad I had the presense of mind to breathe and not freak out. I reminded her that she told me she had no homework, and that she does not get help nor sympathy from mom when she announces at 7:35 AM that she has an assignment due... after all, we are approximately 7 minutes from getting in the car. She lost some of her calm at that point and said, "Then what am I supposed to do? I don't want to get in trouble!", so I told her to get a Ziploc and fill it with leaves from the yard and to hope that counts as a collection. I can tell I am going to have to let her fall/fail this year to teach a lesson, but that's hard to sit back and watch. We had a similar episode Monday morning, but I'll spare you all the details. But it did lead to an apology at lunch where I told her that it was both of our faults, not just hers. That as a 3rd grader her teachers are expecting her to learn more responsibility, but that as a parent, it is also my job to run down the checklist to show her how to develop that responsibility. We are learning :-) It has been a great week, though. Here are random pictures from the week.

Kelton has had a good week. Here is a picture from his Classroom Blog.

Justin & I both got off work early yesterday, so we took the kids for a little bit of golf. Not sure how we both play right-handed and ended up with 2 left-handed players for kids.

They were putting right on top of one another, but both putted in =)
Driving the golf cart is the highlight for both kids.

Kenlee & my nephew Corbin (Can't believe he's almost walking!)

Kenlee took a pic of my 17-week profile.

We haven't been documenting that up to this point, but I figure it's time.

I can't believe we're closing in on the halfway point!!

Funny how most of the time I just feel pretty thick, but at night, it seems to grow a lot! The kids are amused how I look more pregnant at night. I bought a doppler off of eBay, so we have all had fun listening to "Cricket" as well as to Kenlee's & Kelton's heartbeats.

Turn the Page...

I knew it would be somewhat torturous to do this, but as Kindergarten began looming, I started a trek down memory lane. I read some of the journal that I started for Kelton while I was pregnant with him, considering some of the hopes and dreams I had for this baby and this family before we even knew if he was a He. I'm so glad we've packed the past 6 years with so many memories and lessons... mostly lessons he has taught me!

Over the past couple of weeks, he and I have gone through the 9 scrapbooks that hold those memories since our minds fade too easily. Lots of Gut-Laughs throughout those books! I am so grateful for each day God gives me with these 2 precious kiddos! They have created so many dimensions in my life I never knew could exist.

Kenlee's 1st day of Third Grade, and Kelton's 1st Day of Kindergarten!

It was this moment at Meet The Teacher Night where my eyes started burning... seeing his name on his desk, and seeing him sit in that tiny chair. So independent. I was biting my cheek trying not to cry and embarrass him. I'm sure these hormones are compounding the emotions!


God really answered my prayers, though! I prayed that God would give Kelton the Kindergarten teacher he needed... one who would have a loving way of teaching him to channel his focus and energy without breaking his spirit. And one who would make him feel comfortable and special and yet push him outside his personal limitations to reach the heights God has set before him.
Mrs. Jobe is amazing~ Kelton knows her from church, and she volunteers with the children's department there, so she knows him as well ;-) He is friends with her son, and Mrs. Jobe is a friend of mine, so I feel like partnering with her in his education will be easy. She is a godly woman and mother who prays for her students and her mission. And hey, if she has the patience of Job, we're in good shape ;-) AND she has a classroom blog with pictures and updates, so I feel like I can peek into the window of his day.

Mrs. Jobe is a good sport, too--- when I asked about getting a photo on Meet the Teacher night, she asked Kelton where we should take the picture. When he chose to stand IN the power point, she didn't even hesitate to smile for the photo he wanted.

But, of course, then I had to get the traditional shot.

By 5:30 AM the next morning, she had emailed me the following family picture to commemorate the night. Scrapbooking his Kindergarten year is going to be so easy.

Seeing it all fly by will not be so easy, though!

Of course there's a lot of emphasis on the Kindergarten year, but it has been equally overwhelming to realize how quickly Miss Kenlee is turning into a young lady before our eyes. She is excited about 3rd grade because this is the 1st year they get to have a homeroom teacher and rotate classes between three 3rd grade teachers.

I could tell she was a little nervous when she saw her name on the list under Mrs. Logan's name. Mrs. Logan grew up in Stamford, but she is new to Anson this year, so Kenlee had no frame of reference, no familiarity. In 1st and 2nd grade, Kenlee had teachers she knew previously from church. However, as soon as we got to the room, Mrs. Logan put us at ease. She is very friendly, and she had Kenlee's desk next to her workstation by the Prometheum Board. Of course, to Kenlee, that meant that Mrs. Logan purposefully put her there because she knew she would be a great helper... I love her confidence! Random tidbit: Kenlee thinks Mrs. Logan looks like her favorite meteorologist! LOL! The KTXS field trip last year had an impact!

As I think back over my 21 years of school, 3rd grade was my absolute favorite year. I loved high school and the many opportunities I had, but 3rd grade stands out as a year of many firsts, and it is the 1st year I had so many distinct memories of learning something. Oddly, it is the only year I ever got paddled... talking too much... imagine that! From my favorite elementary teacher, too! I think she went easy on the swat, but it sure hurt my pride. It's hard to imagine that my daughter is at that place in her life... that place where I got to decorate a set with tempora paint, use colored macaroni noodles to practice multiplication & division, (I learned cursive in 3rd grade, but now they are tackling that in 2nd), and also the place where I got that "check yes or no" note passed to me from across the classroom... and confiscated! At the Disney store this weekend, I bought her a gown just because I was hoping she would still wear a gown. In our world we are into Hannah Montana, HSM 3, and Camp Rock pj's; so I was relieved when she agreed to the gown. At least for one more year...

It was a successful first day for us all. No tears from the kids. No tears from me (well, not until the parking lot). I got to have lunch in the cafeteria twice to check in and see how the day was shaping up for each of them. Then they overloaded my car with friends after school. Kelton had 2 friends over and reported that his favorite part of the day was "all of it. I can't pick." Kenlee had 1 friend over and said that her favorite part of the day was getting to know each of her new teachers. They were both exhausted and ready for bed without negotiations. We have begun a new chapter.

"One Love! One Heart! Give thanks and praise to the Lord and I will feel alright!" ~ Bob Marley

What happens when you have several hundred pictures from vacation? It's takes a while to find the drive to upload, edit, sort, condense, and post ;-) Here are some photos from our 9th anniversary vacation in Jamaica with the kids.




Our hotel was the Iberostar in Montego Bay, and the staff there were phenomenal! The food was amazing! Kenlee was interested in trying the many different tropical drink concoctions, but Kelton found an old faithful on Day 1 and never deviated: The Miami Vice (pina colada, strawberry daquiri swirl).


Kenlee had a good time trying new things and learning about the culture. She discovered guava jam! When asked about her favorite things from the trip she says, "the beach and the resort and shows there" (the resort had nightly entertainment. Kelton even joined onstage performing The Chicken Dance ;-)


Kelton just loved that there was so much water and that it was so accessible~ he didn't care if it was the ocean, the lazy river, one of the resort pools, or the water falls, he just loved to go head first! His favorites are: "Snake, lizard, macaw, stingray, shark, dolphin, and Miami Vice!"


Here are some pictures from the many wild things the kids came into contact with~ Kelton even snorkeled with the stingrays!

Rick's Cafe in Negril is a place I have been wanting to go to for years. It boasts amazing Cliff Diving into the most unreal water~ Although locals were showing off their spectacular dives from 75 feet and 95 feet, visitors are limited to 55 feet and less. Justin went for it, taking the plunge from 55 feet up! Then he jumped with Kelton from the 15 feet ledge, and Kenlee took the 15 foot ledge with a running leap!

Rick's Cafe was also the site where we told the kids about their new baby brother or baby sister. We told them we took them to a memorable spot with a famous sunset to tell them exciting news about our family... God had answered our prayers and is sending a baby to our family!

In July on the day we told the kids we were taking a family vacation in August, Kenlee wanted to go eat at China Star. Her fortune said "You will step on the soil of many countries." (Of course, I kept that for the scrapbook), so we got a picture of the family's feet in the Jamaican soil/sand. We hope to add more to that over the years.

We also went to climb Dunn's River Falls in Ocho Rios, one of Jamaica's National Treasures. 600 feet of cascading falls, and also a location shoot for the movie Cocktail. The water was so cold! This was one of the kids' favorite ventures.