1st Day of Kindergarten

Well, the day has come and with no tears, I might add. With jittery tummy's and the giddiness of what is in store for Maddie today, this was the start of our day:

5:45- Maddie wakes up and comes downstairs.....she is up but not really. She sleeps in our bed for a little bit until I get up at 6:20- Then she is REALLY UP!

7:00- "Let's go, Mom, I am going to be late!" she says! I respond that school isn't open yet and besides Ally isn't even up yet!

7:40- Pictures outside and then we are on our way. Maddie has a beaming smile on her face. "I am so glad that I am big now!" she says.



7:50- We have arrived at Armstrong Elementary! I have barely parked when Maddie exclaims, "Mommy, unlock the door, unlock the door, PLEASE unlock the door!"

7:52- Maddie sees her friend from Bearfoot, K.K., they are not in the same class but they walk in together chatting about their backpacks and hair. :-)

7:55- We say our goodbyes in the classroom, Maddie says "Hello" to her teacher and sits down at her table, across from our neighbor, Hudson, and is already laughing with him! Her beaming smile hasn't changed a bit from this morning, although she already looks bigger sitting in that classroom.

This year is full of change and excitement. Maddie is going to Kindergarten, the new baby is on the way, I will start working part time in order to pick up Maddie from school, and Ally will be starting a Mother's Day Out program at a local church next week while I work on Tuesdays and Thursdays. My mind is reeling will all that I have to be thankful for right now. This is an amazing year and it is full of new things to come and I am ecstatic to see where this "path" takes us!

With a jittery tummy and the giddiness of what is in store for our family, I feel like it is the 1st day of Kindergarten for ME too! I don't know what to expect but I know that I will LOVE it!

Thinking about Maddie

(Maddie had spent the night at Poppy and Baba's. Ally was missing her and had been thinking about Maddie all morning....)

A quote from Ally this morning on our way to school~
"Maddie is WILD, wild like a wolf! AND a lion!"

Oh Ally! You hit the nail on the head! :-)

A Proud Mama

There are many reasons that I am proud of my girls that I have never written out for the "world" to see; however, today I am compelled to write about the recent events that have led to me think of how REALLY proud I am of both of them. Here is a proud Mama's take on it all....

An overview of the past week: It all starts with a game of hide and seek gone wrong...Ally knocked her front tooth back, on Maddie's knee; a 1st trip to the dentist, Ally didn't eat or drink (except very small sips) for almost THREE days, we were worried about dehydration, a trip to the Dr., she has strep, force-feeding her food and liquids AND medicine.....aaahhhh, she is FINALLY eating! Then an ear infection- all in less than a week- what is next!?!?

It was a traumatic week for Ally (and her mommy :-))but during it all she did better than I had expected. Her 1st trip to the dentist, although not under the circumstances that I was wanting, went remarkably well. Her tooth was sore and she wasn't swallowing but she cooperated, took her x-rays and let the Dr. look at her tooth. My sensitive, precious, funny little Ally was brave through it all, the dentist, the Dr. and back to the Dr. again. She is back to her old self and I am proud of the way she is handling her tooth in a "funny" position and all the medicine that she has to still take including ear drops, which until this time have always been hard for her to take. She is evolving into such a big girl with the way she has been handling certain situations and I am so proud of her. She still reverts to her old ways on occasion, like not wanting to go into her class this morning, but how wonderful it is to see her harnessing her emotions for the better.

And then there is Maddie....through Ally's trauma she stepped up her "game" as the big sister. When Ally was laying on the sofa, exhausted from no nourishment, she would kneel down in front of her to reason with her as only a big sister could. "Ally, I will give you a dollar if you drink something!" and "Ally, if you don't drink something, you will have to go to the hospital and you will cry and I don't want you to cry." She tried her best and was even frustrated when it didn't work. She wanted her old Ally back. (We all did!) Maddie reached out and tried to understand Ally's predicament and I am proud of this sweet spirit to her sister b/c I know that she would do this for any one in need.

I know that God put things in our life to remind us that He is there and to lean on Him through it all. It seems that when thing go astray, our human nature is to plan out what steps to take to fix the problem, instead of trusting God to take care of us and those we love. WE didn't get Ally to eat and drink again, the DR. didn't fix the problem but it was the many prayers offered up on Ally's behalf that made all the difference.

Maddie's Prayer: "Dear God, please help Ally to eat and drink again so she will not be sick anymore and please help her tooth to feel better. Amen" A simple prayer but exactly what Ally needed.

A proud Mama's prayer: "Dear God, thank YOU for blessing me with two precious, smart, amazing and testy :-) little girls who I feared that I would never have. They give me joy and fill my heart with a love that only comes from you. I feel blessed, in awe, loved and in love from all that you have given me. Thank you! Amen"

One, Two, THREE!

Good things that come in threes~

1. Fun Dip- My favorite childhood sugary treat that comes with THREE yummy flavors of cherry, grape and Apple/raspberry.

2. A good book has THREE parts, the beginning, the middle and the end!

3. An "eternity ring" has THREE diamonds representing the past, present and future!

4. The THREE stooges!

5. The THREE wise men.

6. The THREE Olympic medals~ Gold, Silver and Bronze.

7. A genie gives you THREE wishes in a fairy tale.

8. The THREE little pigs taught us a lesson.

9. The sun, the moon and the stars.

10. The Holy Trinity~ The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

The number THREE has been consuming me, lately. Can you guess why? For some, you know the reason! Maddie, Ally and the sweet little baby "on the way" makes THREE! I am now 11 weeks and already counting down to the end of January. I am excited and nervous and in disbelief. We are really doing this again! My biggest worry???...how will I fit all the car seats/boosters in my car?!?!? These little things along with my "evening" sickness keep me up at night and keep my mind busy.

And the girls...Maddie and Ally have become so EASY...when did this happen? They fight just a little, Ally is basically out of her tantrum stage as it only rears its ugly head every once in a while, they go to bed WITHOUT getting back out- YEA!, they say yes ma'am and yes sir with only a little reminder at times, and they love helping Mommy clean!....sometimes! (Hey, I will take what I can get!) As with any child, they love to test and whine but they really have become these awesome little people! They are excited about the new baby; Ally wants a girl and Maddie wants a boy. They pray for the baby and for mommy's tummy to feel better every night and I always find it sweet when one of them forgets b/c it seems the other one always remembers the baby in their prayers.

My heart is full and my emotions are on overdrive.(There is so much to do!) This is an amazing time in our life. Diapers and all nighters are in our future and it IS scary b/c our life is so calm right now but it is also wonderful b/c we will see another life develop into something amazing. Thank the Lord for the good things that come in THREES!

Tulle, Makeup and Buns!

The girls have been taking dance at school and we had their dance recital the other day. (Maddie's 3rd and Ally's 1st) They were so excited to perform that they could hardly stand it! Here is a peak into their routines.


For Maddie, this is where she belongs....on stage. She runs to any stage at any time, whether it is the church stage or the stage at the book store, she is made to perform! I can't wait to see where this passion takes her.

I adore this picture! It is the perfect picture to show Ally's personality. She is a wonderful little NUT and she is always trying to make others laugh with her antics!And of course, we all did when she did this during her recital.

The recital is over and they both did amazing. This was Ally's first dance recital and we were so proud of how well she did following all the moves and even adding some of her OWN! :-) You did a great job, girls!

Encore! Encore! (clap, clap, clap)

The truth as I see it now.....

The normal truth of Mother's day is a day of warm and fuzzy feelings. Your kids are smiling extra wide smiles, excited to "celebrate" ANYTHING, your husband is covering you in cards and flowers and maybe trying his hand at breakfast and whispering to the kids to remember to be good for the WHOLE day....all of this is the norm for Mother's day. And the day started this way for me and then we got to church! You would think that this warm and fuzzy feeling would continue through out the day but Ha! not this Mother's day! And the truth is, maybe that isn't such a bad thing. :-)

The sermon was not focused on all a mom does for her family or all that she "puts up with", the sacrifices she makes or even all the time she spends cleaning and cleaning. :-)It was a challenge for us to be BETTER at what we do and in the ways we raise our children. "The time to teach them is NOW!"...this was the statement that stood out to me. At first I was taken off guard because my truth of Mother's day had changed. (Where was my warm and fuzzy sermon that gave me my pat on the back?!?!?) Just when I think that I had covered all my bases, a new truth is revealed, the wool falls from my eyes and I can see that there is still more that I can do for my children. And the more I think about it, the more it makes sense to me now...it was a perfect Mother's day sermon. What a better time to really look back at the way you are raising your children and understanding where you can improve to make sure that you are doing all you can for them than on the day that they are celebrating who YOU are to them.

We pray before every meal and before bedtime, we read bible stories and yes, God does make it into our conversation but is He our total focus in ALL things we do? Probably not. Do I stop to pray with them over the things that seems so small? No. Do they know that they can pray for anything at anytime? I THINK so. Do I spend the time to memorize scripture with them? Not so far~(Thanks for the SUBTLE hint, Poppy!) They are too young, I will start when they are older....the truth??...the time to start is now. If they can sing a Hannah Montana song by heart then they can memorize a bible verse, right?!?!? :-)

So, the truth is that I have been convicted this Mother's day and it took me a while to grasp it and take it all in. It is not about me but still, even on Mother's day, it is about them. Those two sweet little faces that are entrusted to me are still looking up to me for guidance on MY special day. And I need to be the mother that shows them the power of prayer and the power of God's word NOW and in their future. The truth is that they NEED me to be this person in their lives. This is the truth for ME as I see it now....

I am late posting these pictures, sorry Shelly! :-)
There is nothing like getting together with family for a relaxing weekend. But as much as we try, sometimes is doesn't turn out that way....the girls get too excited or are "moody" and it can be chaos. However, this visit was REALLY nice. We celebrated my Dad's b-day. (Happy b-day, Daddy!), took a walk around the land, just hung out, and watched the girls play and play.

Maddie and Ally just LOVE their cousins. It is always a huge treat for them to be able to play with Jesse and Elin. Maddie even cried when they left and at that moment I could feel how much she loved them. It was precious. I am so thankful that they have a relationship with their cousins and grandparents. There is nothing like being surrounded by family. We are blessed beyond measure.

Even our sweet Aunt Billie joined us. The girls and I picked her up in Burleson and we all drove together down to Abilene. When I was talking with Maddie about Aunt Billie she asked, "Aunt Billie is a girl??" I said yes. Then after a moment she said "Aunt Billie, I like that name...its an old name!"





I am so happy that the girls have such a longing for family. They LOVE talking about their cousins and Aunts & Uncles and grandparents. They are thrilled to be surrounded by all the love they give. And it make my heart full to know they have this connection and will be blessed from all these amazing people for all their lives!