Isabelle's Surgery

For those of you that don't know...Isabelle had her tonsils and adenoids removed last Thursday. She is doing well. We have hit a little slow down in the recovery. She has had a bad 24 hours. She has had to start taking the pain meds again. We are trying Tylenol today. I think she is a little dehydrated. She is still complaining about swallowing. So please continue to pray for her and us. It is no fun when you have sick kids.

Anna's Determination to Swing

Anna was determined to swing in Luke's swing. Getting into it was a challenge, but getting out of it proved to be an even bigger challenge.

Luke Loves to Swing!

Luke enjoyed being outside and swinging yesterday. Unfortunately, we live in Jay and Will, Anna and Luke are all coughing today after being outside over the last few days.

Why????

Why do we punish ourselves by encouraging our kids to grow up? From eating nasty cookie messes, to saying, "Mama," we are only shooting ourselves in the foot. This was Luke's first cookie. He had a blast.

Boys...

Three Little Monkeys...

Nana took this picture some time last week. I just found it when I emptied the card this morning.

Farm Day Field Trip

Today we went to Northview High School for their Farm Day. The kids had a nice time. They were able to see, pet and even hold a few farm animals; look at farm equipment; make butter; learn about earthworms, electricity, and soil; grind corn for corn meal; and learn about and eat popcorn. There were other booths also that we didn't make it to. Here are a few pictures from the day.

The Long Jouney to Baylor!

I am spending the next 8 days at Baylor University in order to get some work done on my Doctor of Ministry degree. I had planned on leaving Jay whenever Luke woke up for his late night feeding. He has typically been waking up around 2am. For the first time in a long time, all three kids slept through the entire night. When Kate's alarm woke us up at 6am I realized that I had slept past my intended departure time. I quickly showered and got on the road.

Since I was already behind schedule, I figured why not stop in Mobile to meet Kate's dad for breakfast. We meet at the Waffle House and enjoyed a filling breakfast. After breakfast with Mr. Frank, I got back into the car for what I thought would be 10 more hours of driving.

While driving through Louisiana I encountered a couple accidents in the east bound lane, one of which shut down that lane of traffic and caused traffic to be backed up for miles. While passing all the cars stuck in traffic I was appreciative that it was not me. Throughout the entire state of Louisiana my journey was uneventful. As soon as I crossed the Texas border, things turned for the worse. In Orange, Texas traffic suddenly came to a top. I sat in my car hoping that it would only take a few minutes until we started moving again. I eventually realized that this situation may take longer than I thought and turned off the car in order to keep from running out of gas. I had not filled up since I left Florida. One hour turned to two, then three and finally after a total of three and a half hours traffic began to move.

After getting gas and a Mcdonald's hamburger, I fought my way through the Houston rush hour and made it to Waco by 10pm. It was a longer trip than I anticipated, but I am here safe! I am praying the the trip home is less exciting!!!!

Castle Cake

 
Here is my latest masterpiece! Happy Birthday Josie!

Isabelle Rides Without Training Wheels

Isabelle has finally learned to ride her bike without training wheels. Anna has been trying to teach her all week and today I had the chance to work with her some more. She is still a little unsure of herself, but the hard part seems to be over. As difficult as it was to get her to learn to ride a bike, it makes me dread the day I have to teach her to drive a vehicle. That sounds like a job for her mom!

Luke does the Swisskapolka

Luke has become more confident in his jumping abilities and enjoys jumping to the music. So I decided to put on one of the girls favorite tunes to see how he would react. The song is the music you hear from the organ on top of the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House at Disney's Magic Kingdom.

Encouragement

For those of you that are not familiar with Isabelle... she is very hesitant to try new things or things that she thinks could get her hurt. Thus, Isabelle is almost seven and still cannot ride a bike, while her little sister who is four has been riding a bike for several months now. Yesterday, we heard Anna "teaching" Isabelle how to ride her bike.
Anna: Just put your foot there and push down and go.
A little later...
Anna: A real princess never gives up so just keep trying Isabelle.
A little while later...
Isabelle: Mommy I can make it go! Come watch me!
Isabelle is building up confidence and can go a few feet but she is still not sure about just going full out. Hopefully she will become more and more comfortable with it and be riding by Summer time.

Splish Splash Luke was Playing in the Bath

Luke has learned to splash in the bath tub. It looks like we will have to move bath time out of the kitchen and into the bathroom.

Luke Learns to Chew

Luke is learning how to chew his food. For some reason he thinks that he needs to eat any time he is sitting in his high chair...