My Little Stinker . . .

Caden has not liked the drop off part of VBS this week. On Monday, he threw down his nametag, wouldn't go sit down, wouldn't let go of me, etc. I sat down with him for about two minutes (so that I could get him down) and then I left. His teacher (bless her heart) told me that he was fine about ten minutes after I left. He proceeded to do that at drop off EVERY morning this week EXCEPT for today. Chris went with us since yesterday was his last day of work. It infuriated me that Caden has done this all week as a way of manipulating me and making me feel guilty for leaving him. Ridiculous. Don't expect to see me in any of the drop off pictures on the first day of kindegarten because I will not be there. I will go check on him later in the day . . . benefit of being at their school :)

I saw a funny sign the other day that I wanted to get for my classroom, but didn't b/c it wasn't really appropriate for that. . . but now I am wishing that i had it for somewhere in my house . . . it said, "Spare me the drama".

This picture of Caden has all of his favorite things, binky, baby, lovie. He still sleeps with all of the above except the binky :) Note the frog on his rear end. I guess that I was already starting his love of them and didn't know it :)

Thankful . . .

That is what I feel today. Chris and I went to the Memorial service for the Hart family today. It was an amazing celebration of their lives and their commitment to each other and to their church. They were extrememly involved in youth groups, mission trips to Mexico, VBS, weekly sunday school, volunteering and coordinating everything, and on and on. Salt of the earth people.

It really made me reflect on myself and my relationship with my church. Sure, we go to church most Sundays, we pray at dinner every night, the kids went to VBS this week, I taught Children's ministry every week last year, but is it enough? Am I giving back all that I have to offer? The pastor reflected a lot on a bible verse that really struck home to me. Matthew 25:31-40. It's not about the "projects - ex: clothing drives, food drives, etc." it's about the people that need the assistance of those projects and how we reach out and get to know and help those people. I know that I'm rambling, but as I sat in the church this morning and watched the slide show of their lives, saw the parents and children around me crying and grieving, it made me thankful for what I have and reflective of what more can I do?

My two older nephews and niece are on their way home either today or tomorrow from a mission trip in Belize. This is the link for their diary. It's so neat to be able to see what they are doing. I can't wait to hear all about it from them. In the group picture my nephew, Dylan, is on the left wearing a navy blue and white striped polo. His sister, Cassie, is right in front of him with the white shirt and long hair down. My other nephew, Matthew, is on the right in a three colored striped polo. Cassie is also in one of the soccer pictures in a red shirt, and she is playing with some of the little kids wearing a white shirt. Pray for a safe return for all of them!

I love these old pictures of them playing in the puddles after the rain!

A Fun Playdate . . .

Well . . . if my camera hadn't died and Chris's camera didn't have a dead battery I would have some great pictures to put on this post, but no such luck. Holly was in town at her parent's house with Reese and I took the kids with me to meet her. She is a precious little bundle of love. Caden was excited that he got to help feed her and Grace was content to just look. You forget how small they start out and she is just such a little doll. She has a great disposition and it was so fun to get to meet her! It's going to be fun watching her grow up :)

In The Blink of an Eye . . .

Police said a black Pontiac was traveling west on Legacy Drive just before 11 a.m. on Sunday when the driver ran a red light, struck a curb and fire hydrant before hitting the minivan, which was headed north on Custer. The Pontiac hit a pickup after striking the minivan." The black car in the picture (Pontiac) flipped and landed on the passenger side of the minivan instantly killing the mom, dad, and middle school girl. The two foster children of the family were careflighted, but also did not make it. 5 people gone in the blink of an eye.

The 6th grader . . . soon to be 7th grader in August. . . was a student at Chris's school and one that he knew pretty well. When we found out about this accident yesterday afternoon and then found out that it was one of his students that he knew, it made it an extremely difficult afternoon. It was all that we could think about. The family was leaving church and was completely wiped out because a man in an SUV was in a hurry. It could happen to any of us. Take a moment to hug your kiddos and your husbands :)

Last night, as we watched the newscast on channel 8 with tears in our eyes, I said to Chris, "I keep seeing the minivan in my head." He told me, "I keep seeing Rebekah's face."

Please send lots of prayers to the Hart family . . . to the little souls that are in heaven way before their time and to the family and friends left behind to cope with the loss of so many in such a tragic way.

Caden's Song . . .

I'm sure that you can tell by the number of entries on my blog that I have a lot of extra time on my hands right now . . . ha!! This picture was taken by Caden of Caden. I laughed out loud at this picture because can't you just see him pointing the camera at his face and taking it?!? I found the song "Fingerprints" by Steven Curtis Chapman. It's really upbeat and tells a great story. I have chosen this to be Caden's song since he could not be left out. The only thing this song is missing is a line about a little boy with a frog in his pocket :)

P.S. Chris thinks his song should be "I See Me" which I also have to agree with . . . Caden wanted me to add Delilah to the list because he knows almost every word to it :)

Happy Father's Day, Chris!!!

Sunday was actually the first day in as long as we can remember that we didn't have anything to do or anywhere to be. Chris's dad and mom left for Cancun on Saturday and my dad left on Friday to go to Minnesota to go fishing with my oldest brother and a bunch of his in-laws. So we went to church, went to breakfast at The Original Pancake House, went to Target and Market Street, and then we spent the rest of the afternoon at Lifetime working out and then hanging out by the pool. It was a very nice and relaxing day. I surprised Chris with a football signed by John Elway. He was really surprised. I finally got a gift that he didn't wear - ha! I also scrapblogged this picture and had it framed for him from the kids along with two more:and Caden . . .
Someday my children will realize how lucky they are to have a dad like Chris. He is all hands on and has been since they were born. I could always depend on him to change the diapers, get the bottles, clean the bottles,take the crying baby, give the baths, put them to bed, etc. Even yesterday, he spent the whole time in the pool playing with the kids and going down the water slides with them. He is a one of a kind gem and such an awesome dad. He's always the "fun" one and he is setting such a great example of what a dad should be like for our kids. I'm very thankful for my wonderful husband -Love ya!!

Another Cadenism . . .

I love the blog to document the funny things that the kids do and say. When Caden came out of the bathroom yesterday he had his underwear in his hand and was naked from the waist down. He looks at me and says, "Mom, can you inside these out?" He makes me giggle :)

He has also firmly decided that he is NOT going to kindergarten. "All they do is journal writing all day! I'm NOT doing that!" Insert teachable moment - "Caden, Grace loved kindergarten. We are not going to discuss kindergarten anymore until you have finished your first day. THEN, we'll be able to discuss it, but until you have been, you really are not in a position to tell me what you are and aren't going to do." This could be interesting . . .

Grace the Athlete . . .

Grace has been doing a soccer camp this week. Several members of her soccer team are doing it with her so she has had a lot of fun these last two days. She is wrapping up her softball season in a couple of weeks and she is also starting indoor soccer on the 14th. If you ask her which sport she prefers . . .she'll tell you soccer, but she is a great ball player too. At the beginning of the season it was a lot cooler out and we were in first place in our division. Last Saturday and Sunday we lost both of our games. Playing in the 98 degree Texas heat from 3-5pm is not a fun thing!! I'm one of the coaches for her softball team and by the end of the game even I'm grumpy and ready to get anywhere that there is air conditioning :)
Here's Grace hanging out on the exercise ball after her soccer camp today in her Mathews United jersey.

Another Day in Paradise . . .

Caden has the stomach flu. The good thing is that he knows when it is going to happen and he runs to the toilet. Another milestone in my book. The bad thing is that we were supposed to have The Stittmatters over for dinner tonight. I literally walked in the door from getting all of the food at the grocery store and he told me that his stomach hurt and ran to the bathroom.

Please pray that the rest of us don't get it!! I have lysoled (word?!?) the whole house and I'm about to get out the bleach. I'm such a germaphobe when it comes to someone getting the stomach virus in our house!!

Grace's Song . .

Grace got a video from one of the dad's of the last campout that they had. It is an amazing video and the last song is called "Gracie" by Ben Folds. It's one of those songs that puts things in perspective. Yes, she drives me nuts most of the time, but she has so many gifts and talents. She is intelligent, caring, thoughtful, athletic, and so many more adjectives that I could go on and on. She and Caden are my world. The last 8 years has just flown by and I know before I know it they are going to be all grown up :(

Now . . . to find a Caden song - definitely something to do with frogs :)

Last Day of 1st Grade . . .

Grace went with a group of her friends to Libby Lu for a last day of school celebration. She went last year also - here is the link. It was mostly the same group of girls, and they had a blast. I didn't have my camera, but will post a pic of her all glammed up when I get one. Here was a picture of her princess hair once we took it down the next day. Cutie pie!

New Picture Frame. . .

I found this frame and just loved what it said :)"Then we sat on the edge of the earth, with our feet dangling over the side and marveled that we had found each other."

I love the frames with the words on them. I had not ever seen this saying and it tugged on my heart. My parents celebrated their 48th wedding anniversary on Wednesday, June 4th. That's a long time to be together!! What a great example they have set for us and I hope that Chris and I are fortunate enough to have that many years together also!

My Two Sweet Children . . .

This is the chalkboard that sits in Grace's room. Caden wrote the first part and a couple of days later I noticed that Grace had written back to him the 2nd part. They are brother and sister and we all know that means that most of the time they are not getting along, but then they surprise me by doing something like this that shows me that deep down they really do love each other :)

Caden Singing in the Program . . .

Caden's End of the Year Program . . .

Caden's last day of preschool at Seton's Ark was on Monday, May 19th. We've been going there several times a year for the last 4 years so it's really weird to think that we are "done" with preschool. Every year they do a program for the parents in the evening. They sang several different songs and we presented Miss Desiree and Miss Colleen with their gift from the class.
This is Caden and his best friend Abbi. They are so cute together and it has been fun watching their friendship grow the last 3 years. They have been in the same class since they were 2!

Singing his little heart out :) He looks like such a little man!!