Fun at the Mall

The kids love to go play at the play space in the mall! Dylan can do as much as any kid there- sometimes to my worry! He is taller than many 2 year olds- but he is still not quite 2 himself! Gone are the days of sweet baby smells! It is fun to watch them play with each other as well as other kids. Unfortunately, these trips will soon become hard- Kadyn is now technically too tall to play in the areas! Kadyn is almost 44 inches- Dylan is a bit over 34---my kids are going to be taller than me in a year!

Visit With Cynthia

The last part of our trip was to Conroe. It had been at least 5 years since I had seen Cynthia! Kadyn was only a few months old the last time we were able to get together. We had a great time! Kadyn loved reading to Cynthia. We spent time at a park before leaving and Kadyn and Lilli got to run around. These are great action shots of the girls. I am so excited that they live only 3 1/2 hours away now!

Spring Break 2007

Kadyn and I went on a girls trip to San Antonio for part of our spring break. We went to Six Flags, the Riverwalk, the Alamo, and Sea World. Kadyn's favorite part of the trip was Sea World. For now, she is telling everyone she wants to be Shamu's trainer- this is her dream. Here are a few pictures and I do mean a few since about 400 were taken. The last one is one of my favorites! We were headed to feed the sea lion's. Kadyn was all excited until she realized that she would have to touch the fish! I cannot believe I caught the expression on her face! We had a great time! I can't wait to go back again- I am not sure who had the best time at Sea World to be honest! The kid in me did not want to leave!

I love Pop

Dylan wanted to make sure Pop looked his best. So he used his own comb to "brush" Pop's hair! Priceless!

Siblings

There is nothing these days that Dylan will not do if Kadyn is doing it. I know that these days are numbered-the complete devotion that they will not be embarrassed by. I treasure these days-

Easter 2007

What a day it was. Taking pictures was an interesting experience this year. Dylan does not stand still quite well! It was quite cold outside- but not snowing today! Kadyn was up earlier than usual- ready to see her easter basket and Dylan was not far behind. The day was filled with church, naps and an easter egg hunt in the house with everyone involved!

The kids had a great time making a bunny cake with GrannyLou.

Easter Weather?

Ok-- tomorrow is Easter and we had SNOW today????? I just heard on the news that tomorrow morning- Easter morning will be colder than Christmas morning was! Only in TEXAS! Easter pictures to come this week! I promise!

Where we are now......

It has been awhile since I have blogged. It is a bit difficult for me to scan pictures right now. I will get to it sooner than later I hope. For now, life continues to move forward-as it always does. Kadyn is still reading up a storm. She is reading "Charlotte's Web" to me- with only little assistance needed. She seems to be doing great and soaking everything in. All girl is what I what say to describe her-- anything and everything girly!! Dylan is ALL BOY!!! He is literally into everything and not in a bad way--just wanting to discover and learn it all. He talks up a storm -alot of it is understandable- and some is still not. He loves his bath time and loves to read. Our past time in the car is looking for other cars and trucks. He gets so excited to see another one.
I am hanging in there--I have been doing our website at school. So much has been learned since I have never done this before. I am taking time to reflect right now-to pray and figure out what the next stage of life is for me and the kids. What I do know is that God is in control and already has the path prepared! How reassuring that is. So... I will keep the updates coming! Until next time....

Big Boy!

Tonight- Dylan is not sleeping in a baby bed! He is on his mattress on the floor! He went down with ease and has not made an attempt to come out of the room! He was so precious when I went to check on him a minute ago! He was half off of the bed and snoring! Another milestone-- my baby is growing up!!

Just Enough Light

Life can bring changes when you least expect it. There are times when you wonder what the next moment is- where you will go, what you will do,will you be happy, will you be hurt, what do you need for this brief time? I am in one of these moments in life-- I have no idea what the next step is or even an idea of what it should be. I feel like I am watching time fly by---and yet I am not involved. This can be such a scary feeling and there are moments that I have been scared. Amazingly- for the most part- even in the uncertainty of things- I am ok-- I am calm--which surprises even me! That is very unlike me! This is not to say I have not had moments of tears- or of strong questions or worry! What I have learned and noticed is how much I have grown lately-- I know whose I am--and that I am always protected! God provides me with just a little at a time. While I would love to know the entire picture- I am learning to lean on Him completely. This is where my peace comes from--and I am so glad I am finally learning to rely on Him. It is a day to day choice-- but so far I am doing good with just enough light for now...

Ear Piercing

Time has flown by lately! Be sure to look at the follwoing posts- I have added Halloween and our Christmas Tree!

This post is to celebrate a milestone of Kadyn's. She has been asking for several weeks to get her ears pierced. I was very honest and told her it did hurt- but she still wanted to!
The following pictures share the story of her adventure-

Here she is before anything has begun. She finished picking out her earrings- flowers that have diamonds as she calls them with a ruby in the center, which is her birthstone.







The circles have been drawn and this is the action shot. She has counted to three and the piercing is happening at this very moment.














One ear is done and she can't decide whether she wants to cry- but she didn't! She sat very still and then grabbed my neck when it was over. She never cried- just got teary eyed. I however cried-- not hard- but a little!











This is Kai- she was the one who pierced Kadyn's ears. Fifi- the purple dog is also in the picture. Fifi has her ears pierced and is there for the girl's to hold.
Kadyn is being so responsible with her earrings. She wakes up every morning telling me we have to clean them and turn them! She is very proud!
My little girl is growing up so fast!!

2006 Christmas Tree

This year, Kadyn wanted to decorate the tree all by herself. She was so proud! This is Dylan's first year to be aware that there is a tree. So far, so good! He loves the "ball" as you see him touching here and also a nutcracker. He points and says cracker over and over! He is doing great at looking and not touching! I am hopeful the tree will reamin upright!

Halloween 2006

Halloween 2006

Kadyn went as a 50's girl. Dylan was a bear. They had a great time. We went to a friends house with MANY other kids. We all had pizza, made a halloween craft and then set out on the trick or treating adventure. Dylan LOVED going up to the door- however he quickly learned that all you had to do was stick out your bucket to get more. He did say trick or treat a time or two- but quickly left that at just "more!" He started out in a wagon- but wanted to walk like all the other big kids! kadyn had a great time with lots of her friends!

Sleeping Angels

Before having children, I would hear parents talk about how they could sit and watch their children sleep. Oh how true this is. They are so peaceful. The only trouble I have is that I want to gently touch their sweet faces, to talk to them

as they sleep-share s0 much with them. This tends to disturb them. However this night I could not resist capturing their peace. Angels-- this is what they are- such a blessing and a gift from above!

Quite a Little Lady

Kadyn went to a birthday party on Saturday. The place they went did their hair and a slight touch of makeup and nails. The girls had a blast! I am not sure I am ready for all of this! I must say- she is gorgeous!

A close up of her hair! She sat quite still and left her hair up all weekend!

Pumpkin Patch 2006

Last Saturday we headed out to the pumpkin patch. We had a great time! The kids loved running around throuhgout the pumpkins. Dylan had to try and pick each one up! Kadyn had a great time doing many of the activities. I managed to get Dylan to sit still for this one picture!














Here he is! I caught the determination! He really believes he can pick this pumpkin up!















Kadyn loved all the pumpkins and wanted her picture taken with all of them! Don't you love her hair! She had been to a birthday party right before this!











I believe this will become a family tradition!

Ballet Performance October 2006

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Kadyn had her second true perfomance for ballet. It was to have been an outdoor performace at at festival in a neighboring town. However, the rain put that to a halt. The studio did not want to time the students had put in to preparing to go to waste- so they had the performance in the studio. It was bit crowded- but entertaining! I will let the pictures speak for themselves!

I love this pictures-- it is the young girls watching older ones perform! She dreams of being a true "ballerina" one day!

State Fair of Texas 2006

What a fun day we had at the fair! After almost a two hour drive to get there ( it should have been 45 minutes), we had a blast! The kids loved the animals the most. Dylan wanted to crawl in the cage with them, Kadyn wanted to feed everyone of them and Jonathan wanted to investigate the shovel that fed the animals!

Have you ever seen a kangaroo with her baby in the pouch? I never had except in pictures! I can now say I have seen one in person! I am so glad I do not have to carry my children around this way after they are born!

Kadyn loved the rides. She rode as many as she could and would have ridden till the cows come home had the tickets grown on trees!

This was one of the best moments for me. On most rides, I watched Kadyn because an adult had to pay tickets to ride with their child. However, Kadyn wanted to ride this roller coaster and it was one she missed the height requirement to ride by herslef by about 1/4 of an inch. So off I go with her! As you can see by our expressins as we came down the hill we had a blast! I am glad I caught the pure joy as we are barreling down the hill!

Ok so this is not the best photo of any of us- but yet it is so us! Here is my mom and all her chickens! My sister and I with our kids- and even her one on the way! What irony- she is wearing a bundle of boy shirt in this picture---she found out 2 days later that they are having a girl! YEAH!!!

Here is Kadyn on the ride home- wiped out! She had a blast! Then there is Dylan who has been going strong the entire day..... and is still ready for more!

I am so thankful for my family who likes to go and do things! To be able to experience life and make such special memories with my kids -what a treasure!

Not going to be beaten down

So-- time has gone by so quickly lately! The daily routine in our house is different now that Kadyn is in school. Sure we always had to get the kids down at a reasonable hour since they were in day care, but they had good naps during the day. Kadyn does not get this anymore! So, the pressure is on to make sure she is in bed by 8:00 each night. She is still loving kindergarten. She shows such pride in the work she brings home and must show us each and every paper in the most intricate of detail.
Dylan is doing great at his day care. He is so happy and still has not yet cried when I leave him. He did not even cry this past week when I had to pick him up because he was running a high fever! They said he was happy the entire time!
I am so happy and blessed that my kids are so happy in there current situations.

So how am I? Well, I am determined not to be beaten down. It seems that the rain started coming down on me about 3 weeks ago and well now the flood gates are open! Nothing major has happened, but all of the events combined have come close to pushing me over the edge-car window not working, brakes going out overnight (literally), finding out I was sold a car that put me and the kids in extreme danger, confronting the car company that sold me the car, confronting the company about being reimbursed for the cost of fixing the car, having a car company back me into a corner where I am at their mercy and not knowing if I will get my hundreds of dollars that are owed--the car window going out again a week after it was fixed the first time--Dylan getting a high fever that is still going on-day 3 now, hitting a pole in the drive through line because a guy behind me would not back up to let me make the sharp turn which yes it is my fault, but ticked me off because I now have a HUGE dent in the door of the van--that I have had for 3 months--Kadyn throwing up in the hallway at church tonight while a friend was watching her until choir so I could go get Dylan who is sick and was with my mother--of course none of this takes into consideration anything from school--so where am I? Well, I could let this get me down and I was doing a great job of that for about a week or two. However, I have realized that my attitude is getting me nowhere! I should be praising God throughout everything--I have so much to be thankful for. But most of all- I know whose I am--nothing or no one can change that-- so I praise God that I am His child. I praise God for the gift of being a mom- for having the blessing of taking care of my kids even when they are sick-- I praise God for my van- even though it has been such a headache lately- but I have 4 wheels that get me around and meet the needs we have. Things could be so much worse--and all in all I really do not have it that bad- frustrating at times- but not bad at all! So thank you God for the dent in the door of the van--it is my reminder-- I may be dented by the in and outs of daily life- but my frame--my support is steady and strong--for you are framework of my innermost being!

1st day of Kindergarten

Kadyn started Kindergarten on August, 14, 2006. She has loved every minute of her first two weeks. She has made several new friends and has already been "Queen of the Day." This was neat. She brought home her own book of the pictures her classmates drew of her. They all practiced writing her name as well as their own. It was quite interesting! It has been a change for me having her at the school with me each day. We do not see each other much other than a chance encouter of our two classes at the bathroom. Her teacher is a blessing! It is still hard for me to believe that she is old enough to be in school!