First Day

Today was the first day of preschool for Zach and Calyn. They will go on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9-12. I was surprised to find Tim still home when I woke up this morning. Usually he goes to work early. Today he decided to be apart of the first trip to school. He also took pictures before we left.

He snapped a few more pictures at school.

Pictures from last year for comparison.

I had trouble finding out if they had a good day or not. Their teacher informed me that Calyn was the line leader and that Zach was the caboose. No surprise there. Zach also apparently prefers to be called Zachary. Who knew? When I picked them up they were both ticked that they did not get to stay for lunch like some of the kids. Their preschool is also a parent's day out and some kids stay for the rest of the afternoon. At least they enjoyed themselves enough to want to stay longer.

It's funny how...

The one person I thought would enjoy reading this blog doesn't even read it.

I can fall asleep next to one member of my family and wake up next to another without even knowing the switch occurred.

Calyn and Zach can make up random songs that still speak truths about God (for example: I don't care what God does because he takes care of me).

Abby can sing along to the song "Here I am to worship."

Every time that I gain weight with pregnancy, my husband looses weight so that our weights are almost equal (he finds this funnier than I).

Someone (and I am not really sure who) taught Abby to say "Gosh." This word is forbidden in our house but I can't get her to understand that she is not supposed to say it and she is saying it a lot.

My easiest child has become my most difficult.

A baby that is not even here has more shoes than his other five family members combined.

It seems that God has created Calyn to excel in sports but has provided her with just enough of my clumsiness to keep her humble.

One of my new step-sisters (who I grew up with) remembers spending the night at my house as kids a lot. And I don't remember her ever spending the night at my house. Likewise, I remember spending the night at her house a lot and she doesn't remember it.

Calyn wanted to know if God was in TV shows. How would you answer that one?

Labor of Love

Just before Calyn's third birthday we (mainly Tim) built this for her.

Since it took many, many hours and consisted of over 10,000 pieces, we put the project on hold before finishing the inside. While waiting for our new family member to arrive, we (mainly me) are trying to get unfinished projects finished. So with Calyn as our interior designer, we have finally finished her dollhouse. Here it is:

The top floor with bathroom, kids room, and nursery

The middle floor with master and spare bedrooms

The bottom floor with living room, kitchen, and dining room

View of all three floors

Side view with grill set and lawn chairs.

I think Tim did a wonderful job on the house and hope that our girls have a lot of fun playing with it. Also, the inside is completely wired for electricity but we decided to wait until Abby is a little older before putting up the fixtures.

It's all good in here

We had another ultrasound recently to check on this growing boy. He gave us a thumbs up as if to say he was enjoying his environment. He must be enjoying himself as he is already 7 and one half pounds. Yes, you read that right! He is huge. He may be big, but everything looked great. He is scheduled to arrive at 7:30 am on September 17.

Big sisters need big girl beds

Leah's latest blog entry and the fact that the company I work for keeps taking their site down for maintenance has urged me (and given me the time) to update you on what is going on around here.

Last weekend Abby's room was changed from pink to blue. I told Tim I had chosen a paint color on Saturday morning and by Sunday night the nursery was transformed (pictures will come later). So after a few days of Abby sleeping in our closet, she moved into Calyn's room. Since Calyn refuses to sleep on her top bunk, they are sharing the bottom queen size bed. The first night Zach woke me up at 4 am by handing me Abby's blanket and telling me she was on the stairs. The next night (we put up the gate) and both girls slept through til morning. The third night, Abby slept fine but Calyn somehow traded places with Tim during the night. Tonight is the fourth night. I really thought getting the girls to fall asleep together was going to be the problem. So far this has not been an issue and the transition is going much better than anticipated. The only sad thing is that when Abby is playing upstairs she will run into the nursery and just stop and stare. I think she is still surprised by the the blue color and that all of her stuff is gone. However, I think in the future she will enjoy having a baby brother more than her own room. I'll keep you posted on that one.

P.S. We are super excited about Baby Dooley #2 and maybe Abby can give Annerson some advice about being a big sister in the near future.

Big Decisions

Zach and Calyn invited Jesus into their hearts on Saturday night. We (especially Tim) had been having an on-going conversation leading up to their decision. They both decided that they were ready and Tim and I felt confident that they understood the decision they were making. Thank you to all of you that have prayed for them over the course of their lives and please join Tim and I in praying that they will follow Christ all of the days of their lives.

Two months from today...

we will welcome this little guy.

Did I say little guy?

I meant big guy. The doctor is estimating that he weighs 4 pounds now and told us to expect a 9-10 pound baby at birth.

So mark your calendars for September 17, 2009.

And maybe he will have a name by then.

My Girls

Here are my favorite recent quotes from Calyn and Abby.

From Calyn:

"Mom I got marker on the back of my book but I put some lick on it and it came right off!"

"We locked our bathroom door so daddy can't go in there and make it stink."

From Abby:

"Excuse me."

"Here you go."

"Stop." (complete with holding up her hand)

Blessed

Tim has been out of town for a few days and I have been so blessed by my friends.
Husband and wife, L and L, along with baby A came over yesterday and took the kids all swimming so that I could rest. Last night we had to vacate the house so that our weekly Bible study could meet. Our adopted grandma, J, and her daughter J met us at the mall. We walked and then had a small candy treat. Both Js also sent a sweet treat over for Bible study.
Today, I had an unexpected doctor's appointment and some testing. Adopted grandma J came over early and took the kids to PDO. She even canceled her own plans so that she could help. Tonight the W family came over and we ordered pizza. I took all the kids swimming, but it was nice just to have company.
Mrs. R has also called several times to check on us. And Amarillo B offered to let the kids come visit in Amarillo.
I have an awesome group of friends that have blessed me. I usually don't mind Tim being out of town, but somehow this trip was different. I think already felt frazzled before he left. Thankfully my friends stepped in to help and the kids have really been a joy.
Thank you so much to everyone for helping me. What amazing brothers and sister I have in Christ.
The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' Matthew 25:40

Running on fumes

This describes my life in so many ways right now.
Literally.
I ran out of gas today with all three kids in the car at 3:oopm. It might have been funny except that I did the same thing about three weeks ago. That now makes twice in my life that I have completely ran my car out of gas.
Figuratively.
I am tired. Emotionally. Physically. I like to appear and pretend that I have it all together, but I do not. I like to keep our normal, busy schedule even when I know I need to slow down. Some days I count the minutes until nap time. I think God is trying to teach me something, but I need to take the time to listen and learn.

My brother's words

I stole, I mean borrowed this post from my brother, Charles. It is his take on the wedding and I agree with his summary:
This past weekend, I officiated the wedding of my father to his new bride, Lou Smith. The comment I get the most is, “Wow, that was quick!” And its true… It hasn’t been quite a year since we buried mom. In truth though, my mother’s illness removed her from our lives years ago. Quite literally, I said “goodbye” to my mom over three years ago. Dad’s grieving had been a long process that did not begin at her funeral, but like mine had also started years earlier.
Dad and Lou started hanging out together with some friends for breakfast, then they started hanging out for game nights, then they became joined at the hip! I have known Lou’s family all my life. We all went to church (West Side) together. Jennifer and Brandi were friends of mine and Beth. My mom and Lou were friends – good friends in fact.
Lou lost her husband about 4 years ago. So while it was a bit of a surprise, their relationship and happiness all just seems to fit. …and I think everyone, including Beth and I, are very happy for Dad and Lou.
Besides that kiss… The wildest thing for me to come to grips with is that my tribe has increased. I now have a whole new “step” family with sisters and brothers-in-laws, and nephews, and everyone else!.

Before:

After:

And here’s that kiss… I was waaay too close for my own comfort!

And then Zach puked

What? You say. I'll tell you the story.

We cruised through the wedding ceremony. Nine grandchildren, four children, two parents, one nephew, and one great neice all performed flawlessly. A traditional Baptist reception (you know cake and punch) was well underway when...you guessed it. Zach puked. Abby received a direct hit while Cayln and I received significant bounce off the floor hits. The room cleared rather quickly clearing the way for the newly wedded couple to leave for their honeymoon. Here is a picture taken just before they left.

They look happy. Don't they?

Change and the Big Day

Saturday is my dad's wedding. Wow! A year ago, I never would have believed I would have just typed those words.
But Saturday brings change, even more change. I firmly believe that this is what is best for my dad. He deserves to be happy and have a life partner. He now has a reason to get up each morning. He was always loving and dedicated to my mom and he deserves to be loved again. Lou is a fantastic woman and brings out good things in my dad.
But change is change and is usually hard.
Will you please pray for me on Saturday? And for my brother as he performs the ceremony? Will you also pray for joy for all those that attend the wedding? I know I am not the only person who misses my mom and it is hard for people to separate my dad from my mom. It is also hard for people to not tell me how great my mom was when they see me, which at your dad's wedding can be a little awkward.
Thanks!

The Week in Review

I am borrowing this idea from one of my favorite blogs. We have been so busy since I last posted that maybe a review is in order.

Calyn and I went to Wichita Falls to attend the wedding shower of my dad's fiance. Cal threw-up the whole way there but was fine once we arrived. Car sickness maybe? The shower went well and we made it home with less drama.

Tim, Zach, and Abby attended a birthday party and picked Grandma up from the airport.

We survived the first week of swimming lessons at Tech. The new leisure pool is amazing. We got rained out one day but were fortunate to have on our suits because it poured on us.

We had a nice picnic at Legacy Play Village and a fun time at gymnastics.

Papou arrived mid-week and joined the festivities.














We hosted our weekly summer Bible Study and again had only guys show up.

I got to spend precious time with Leah, Annerson, and Janis.

We finally slayed the green monster living in our backyard.











We had lots of sweet treats: cookies from Mrs. Camp's and custard from Sheridan's.














We are thankful and blessed to have Grandma and Papou visit each summer. Papou treats us to many meals out and Grandma does a lot with and for the kids.

Next week, we have another week of swimming lessons and then we head back to Wichita Falls for my dad's wedding.

A Special Day

Today is/was my mom's birthday. I am still not sure the proper way to say things like that. Instead of getting all sentimental on you (lest my friends think I am going crazy-yes you Stephanie), I wanted to share a neat story.
A couple of weeks ago I was at Taco Bell with all three kids. In the middle of lunch without any prior discussion of death Zach says, "I think Jesus just reached his arms out of the sky and took meme to live with him." I told him that was exactly what happened. Calyn promptly replied, "Yeah but we didn't get to see it because we were still in Lubbock." I wanted to tell her that even though I was there that I didn't get to see it either but that I knew that it happened because of the peace on meme's face. I figured I would save that info for a time in the future when they have a better grasp of death and heaven.
I am so thankful that my mom got to spend her special day with Jesus.