So proud of himself! :)
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Batter Up!
Here's Ben in a cute little baseball sleeper - with a baseball cap. Adorable! Except somebody refused to keep the cap on.
So proud of himself! :)
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So proud of himself! :)
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Happy Father's Day!
I miss my father today. I need to scan some of our old photos so that I have digital pictures of my father. He passed away in January of 1998 and we didn't get our digital camera until Evan was born in 2005. Did digital cameras exist in 1998?
My dad was gentle, loving, encouraging and compassionate. He faithfully cheered for me, Derek and Mark in all of our events - soccer, basketball, theater, Odyssey of the Mind, whatever. My dad had a great grin and a bunch of stock sayings. Two of his favorites were "what a team!" and "piece of cake." I often tell the kids that their Grandpa Frank would have loved watching them play soccer or going to museums with us. He was smart - a good teacher - and would have gotten a kick out of all of Evan's questions. I never doubted his great love for my mom or for any of us kids.
After church, everybody was in much better spirits. We had leftovers (and ramen) for lunch, then gave Emmett the gift of time. He got an hour or so to play around on his computer before he and Evan took off for Barnes and Noble. They browsed around, read some Avengers books and picked out a new Pokemon book for Evan. Meanwhile, Corrie, Ben and I made some Father's Day cookies - chocolate chip and M&M. Here she is, ready to start mixing:
While the cookies baked, Ben and Corrie enjoyed some Baby Signing Time. Ben loved it!
Finally, we met up with the guys at Taco Palenque. This may be a new Father's Day tradition. Check out Emmett's assortment of sauces and toppings:
I think he tried everything on the salsa bar.
Emmett, I'm thankful for you every day. You love our kids (and me!) extraordinarily well.
My dad was gentle, loving, encouraging and compassionate. He faithfully cheered for me, Derek and Mark in all of our events - soccer, basketball, theater, Odyssey of the Mind, whatever. My dad had a great grin and a bunch of stock sayings. Two of his favorites were "what a team!" and "piece of cake." I often tell the kids that their Grandpa Frank would have loved watching them play soccer or going to museums with us. He was smart - a good teacher - and would have gotten a kick out of all of Evan's questions. I never doubted his great love for my mom or for any of us kids.
~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~
~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~
I'm incredibly fortunate to have my father-in-law. He has a servant's heart and generous spirit. He's welcomed me into his family with open arms and heart. And he is an AMAZING grandpa. My kids plan to grow up, move out of our house and move in with their grandparents. (I'm sure that has nothing at all to do with the fact that the grandparents live in Hawaii. Ha!) He enjoys the kids so much, and has taught them many things - how to swim, climb stairs, play golf, etc. We love Papa. :)
Today, the kids and I celebrated Emmett and what a great father he is. We made some Father's Day banners for the living room and gave him a card with their picture on it. Then we spent the morning at church. Evan and Corrie picked on each other and whined all the way to church. It's good to have the authentic fathering experience on Father's Day. :)
After church, everybody was in much better spirits. We had leftovers (and ramen) for lunch, then gave Emmett the gift of time. He got an hour or so to play around on his computer before he and Evan took off for Barnes and Noble. They browsed around, read some Avengers books and picked out a new Pokemon book for Evan. Meanwhile, Corrie, Ben and I made some Father's Day cookies - chocolate chip and M&M. Here she is, ready to start mixing:
While the cookies baked, Ben and Corrie enjoyed some Baby Signing Time. Ben loved it!
Finally, we met up with the guys at Taco Palenque. This may be a new Father's Day tradition. Check out Emmett's assortment of sauces and toppings:
I think he tried everything on the salsa bar.
And here he is with the kids at dinner.
Happy Father's Day!
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
What a Week!
This week has been CRAZY. Actually the last month has been pretty busy. We've had lots of visitors, and Emmett was gone for a week at a conference.
Last Sunday, Ben threw up (at my friend Candice's house) in the afternoon. His eye had been kind of goopy, but I hadn't worried about it too much. I wasn't sure if the vomiting was just related to the heat - or maybe reflux? - but I thought we would wait and see. Monday was Evan's last day of school. We had big plans to pick up Evan at school, pack a picnic lunch and spend the afternoon at the church pool. Unfortunately, Ben threw up again on Monday morning, so I made an appointment to see the pediatrician on Tuesday afternoon. Emmett did all the celebrating with Evan and Corrie while Ben and I stayed home.
Tuesday morning, Corrie went to her first day of Polliwogs camp at the World Birding Center. She loved it! We knew a few families and recruited some others to join the camp, too, so Corrie knew 6 of the 13 kids. Evan got to go swimming with his friend Lucas. Ben napped and I tried to get some cleaning done.
Tuesday afternoon, I took all three of the kids to the doctor's office. She checked Ben out thoroughly and gave us some antibiotics for his eyes and his tummy. We had a quick break at home before I took everybody to the grocery store. We made it through unscathed - which is saying something. It's not always smooth-sailing with three kids at the grocery store. Ha! Although I will confess that I was ruled by my stomach (and coerced by my children) into bringing home Toaster Strudel, Nutella and a couple of frozen pizzas.
Wednesday started out GREAT. Our friend Melissa (from Chicago, now in South Carolina) was coming to town for a visit. She flew into San Antonio and I drove the 4 hours to pick her up. Emmett (bless his heart!) took a day off of work to stay home with the kids. I drove by myself - listened to music and a couple of sermons, called a good friend and my mom, and just enjoyed the time alone. Finally made it to the airport, picked up Melissa and swung by Chipotle (woot!) to grab a burrito and some chips and guacamole. I was feelin' good!
Then ... a couple of hours into the drive, just south of a small town called George West, the van started bumping and shaking. I slowed down and pulled over at a slightly sketchy "Country Store/Game Room" with boarded up windows and big signs saying "No Public Restrooms" and "Ring bell to enter." Uh oh. It turned out that the front right tire had a huge lump on it, and after we were parked for a few minutes, the lump popped. No problem. We could change a tire. Except ... no spare. We called Geico and AAA. There were many phone calls made to find a new tire, and finally one was located in Alice, TX. By the time the tow truck arrived, the Walmart Tire Center was closed. So ... the tow truck driver took us to a nearby hotel. Unfortunately, that hotel (and the other three next to the WalMart) were all booked with oil field workers.
The truck driver kindly drove us across town to another hotel. This was not a fancy hotel at all, but it worked for us. (Did I mention yet that I forgot to bring my breast pump with me on this drive? I bought a manual one at Walmart, plus a Tshirt, underwear and a toothbrush). Fortunately, Melissa had all her luggage, so I could use her toothpaste, shampoo, etc.
In the morning, we had to figure out how to get back to Walmart. At breakfast, a local trucker overheard me asking for help at the front desk and offered to give me a ride. Then he realized that the cab of his truck was full, so he asked another trucker to drop me off. God kept me safe and provided all the rides I needed.
When I got to Walmart, they couldn't find the tire. Sigh. However, they called around and found a tire at another tire store in town. The guy from Walmart gave me a ride to that tire store so I could buy the tire, then he drove me (and the tire) back to Walmart to put the tire on. I thanked him profusely, drove back to the hotel to pick up Melissa, and we finally made our way home ... arriving on Thursday afternoon.
Whew.
The rest of the week was less eventful. An afternoon at the splash park, a couple of hours at the pool, a yogurt outing, and lots of time with Melissa and the kids.
Now we're already halfway through the next week, and I still feel like my head is spinning. I have such high hopes for summer, but I have not accomplished much of anything yet. :)
Here's a pic of Corrie and a friend at the bounce house last week:
Here's Evan, collapsed on the couch after a busy day. How did he get so big? He's almost as long as the couch:
Last Sunday, Ben threw up (at my friend Candice's house) in the afternoon. His eye had been kind of goopy, but I hadn't worried about it too much. I wasn't sure if the vomiting was just related to the heat - or maybe reflux? - but I thought we would wait and see. Monday was Evan's last day of school. We had big plans to pick up Evan at school, pack a picnic lunch and spend the afternoon at the church pool. Unfortunately, Ben threw up again on Monday morning, so I made an appointment to see the pediatrician on Tuesday afternoon. Emmett did all the celebrating with Evan and Corrie while Ben and I stayed home.
Tuesday morning, Corrie went to her first day of Polliwogs camp at the World Birding Center. She loved it! We knew a few families and recruited some others to join the camp, too, so Corrie knew 6 of the 13 kids. Evan got to go swimming with his friend Lucas. Ben napped and I tried to get some cleaning done.
Tuesday afternoon, I took all three of the kids to the doctor's office. She checked Ben out thoroughly and gave us some antibiotics for his eyes and his tummy. We had a quick break at home before I took everybody to the grocery store. We made it through unscathed - which is saying something. It's not always smooth-sailing with three kids at the grocery store. Ha! Although I will confess that I was ruled by my stomach (and coerced by my children) into bringing home Toaster Strudel, Nutella and a couple of frozen pizzas.
Wednesday started out GREAT. Our friend Melissa (from Chicago, now in South Carolina) was coming to town for a visit. She flew into San Antonio and I drove the 4 hours to pick her up. Emmett (bless his heart!) took a day off of work to stay home with the kids. I drove by myself - listened to music and a couple of sermons, called a good friend and my mom, and just enjoyed the time alone. Finally made it to the airport, picked up Melissa and swung by Chipotle (woot!) to grab a burrito and some chips and guacamole. I was feelin' good!
Then ... a couple of hours into the drive, just south of a small town called George West, the van started bumping and shaking. I slowed down and pulled over at a slightly sketchy "Country Store/Game Room" with boarded up windows and big signs saying "No Public Restrooms" and "Ring bell to enter." Uh oh. It turned out that the front right tire had a huge lump on it, and after we were parked for a few minutes, the lump popped. No problem. We could change a tire. Except ... no spare. We called Geico and AAA. There were many phone calls made to find a new tire, and finally one was located in Alice, TX. By the time the tow truck arrived, the Walmart Tire Center was closed. So ... the tow truck driver took us to a nearby hotel. Unfortunately, that hotel (and the other three next to the WalMart) were all booked with oil field workers.
The truck driver kindly drove us across town to another hotel. This was not a fancy hotel at all, but it worked for us. (Did I mention yet that I forgot to bring my breast pump with me on this drive? I bought a manual one at Walmart, plus a Tshirt, underwear and a toothbrush). Fortunately, Melissa had all her luggage, so I could use her toothpaste, shampoo, etc.
In the morning, we had to figure out how to get back to Walmart. At breakfast, a local trucker overheard me asking for help at the front desk and offered to give me a ride. Then he realized that the cab of his truck was full, so he asked another trucker to drop me off. God kept me safe and provided all the rides I needed.
When I got to Walmart, they couldn't find the tire. Sigh. However, they called around and found a tire at another tire store in town. The guy from Walmart gave me a ride to that tire store so I could buy the tire, then he drove me (and the tire) back to Walmart to put the tire on. I thanked him profusely, drove back to the hotel to pick up Melissa, and we finally made our way home ... arriving on Thursday afternoon.
Whew.
The rest of the week was less eventful. An afternoon at the splash park, a couple of hours at the pool, a yogurt outing, and lots of time with Melissa and the kids.
Now we're already halfway through the next week, and I still feel like my head is spinning. I have such high hopes for summer, but I have not accomplished much of anything yet. :)
Here's a pic of Corrie and a friend at the bounce house last week:
And here are the kids welcoming summer vacation in front of the TV:
Welcome summer!
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