blesedbythree

March

2009-05-15T16:21:00.005-05:00

In March I obviously thought enough to change my background, but not so much on the blogging..... AND, I am feeling a little stupid, because I can't seem to delete the correct html to change to a new one....oh well....one day soon, besides who doesn't want to remember St. Patty's day in May??

Well, March started off with my baby turning THREE!! A very bittersweet day. We did our tri-annual trip to Build A Bear, which is always a treat (insert gagging sound, no wait, press tummy for gagging sound!) We added a new, smaller version of last years, bunny to the BAB collection and Mollie's choice for birthday dinner was Chick-Fil-A, lucky us. Roy and I both tried to persuade her to go somewhere else, but to no avail. Because I was a failure in the "talk your three year old into another party theme" discussion, we enjoyed another year of Dora the Explorer.

As you can see Dora had an unexpected fall into the wonderful purple icing. I can't say that I was much for the look, or taste, of the cake, but WalMart saved me this year by providing a cake within two hours of my request. I can't remember why I procrastinated for so long.......perhaps I was hoping for a change of theme.

Exactly a week after Mollie turned 3 we had her sedated so her teeth could be cleaned and fixed. No need to go into great detail but here are a few pics of her playing around in her gown while we waited (an hour and a half) for her to go back for the procedure. Thank goodness for the 1000 stickers, coloring book, and quality cartoons that entertained us while we waited.

February.....a little late!

2009-05-06T16:49:00.004-05:00

Okay, so the only thing note worthy in February was a trip to the Omniplex... enjoy!

"MR" Mom Rules!! I love my kids!!

Whirlwind update

2009-01-12T15:16:00.008-06:00

Perhaps this is the year that blogging will take off for me (insert eye roll)....who am I kidding.....facebook has taken over my life. I love it.

Anyway--

I will try to do a whirlwind update for those of you who have been pestering me to do so.

Thanksgiving was a quiet time since the kids were celebrating with the Greenway side of the family. It was nice and lonely all at the same time. I did get to enjoy the day with my brother, his girlfriend, my half brother, and my parents. Gotta love the table pics.

Christmas was with my family in Kansas City. We were aiming for skiing in Colorado, but when you wait to book for 15 people until October.....you end up going to Kansas City instead!

However, we did enjoy snow tubing at Snow Creek, which is a man made snow hill in the Kansas city area. The kids were a little skeptical at first, but as you can see by the pictures Jonathan and Abbey were thoroughly enjoying themselves and actually decided they needed two days to tube instead of just one. I enjoyed it, but day one was gorgeous and day two was absolutely freezing. The bitter cold made it a little less enjoyable.

Yeah- I got skills, this is an action shot of Jonathan (and I) going down the hill.

Christmas was fun because we were all there. It is a rare occasion that one of isn't missing, but this year we were all able to attend, My parents, brother and Michelle, My sister and her family, an aunt, uncle and cousin, as well as a short visit with another cousin I hardly ever see. Good times. I am so thankful for my family and the love and support that they provide....among other things!

On to New Years--- an exciting night, and morning, with friends and a little trivial pursuit. FUN. Probably don't need to go into more detail than that! No pics of that one, sorry.

I am SO glad school has started again and the kids can expand their minds with information given to them by someone other than myself. :)

Well, that about sums it up.

Until next time......

Thirsty anyone???

2008-09-28T21:38:00.003-05:00

I know that there are MANY posts that I need to place on here to catch up, but I have to share a story about Abbey and Starbucks. Lately, when we pass by a Starbucks Abbey asks if we can get a "crapp-a-chino." For those of you uneducated Starbucks people that would be what I like to call a caramel frappucino. Kids do say the darndest things.

I promise for those of you who are just dying to know what is going on in our world that I will update soon.......I promise (insert fingers behind back and crossed :) ).

OKAY! OKAY! I'm updating!

2008-07-11T22:54:00.004-05:00

Martin Nature Center- a wonderful find!

I had always wanted to take the kids to Martin Nature Center, because my mom took us to Oxley Nature Center in Tulsa when we were growing up and I thought it would be something different and neat for the kiddos.
Well, it was better. We ended up finding a little stream set back and we were all able to play in it and just hang out for a little bit. The kids loved it so much we went back the next day to show Roy.
Jonathan was “swimming” in the stream and Abbey enjoyed digging in the water for shells. On the first day Mollie wasn’t as excited as everyone else, so she just sat in the stroller and watched. (Just in case you couldn't visualize that in your head)
I definitely recommend Martin Nature Center to anyone who hasn’t been. Even if you are not an outdoorsy person you can just leave whenever you want.
There is a pretty high bridge and under it there was this huge turtle. This picture doesn’t do it justice!

Kindergarten graduation

I cannot believe that my baby boy has graduated from Kindergarten. All three of my children are such blessings and they have taught me so much. I should have taken an entire box of Kleenex. I don’t even want to think about how I will handle high school graduation……..

Here are just a few pictures of my grad!

Jon and Chan..

Afterwards at McAlisters...

Mommy's birthday and Edmond Arts Festival

2008-06-04T16:02:00.004-05:00

I have to brag on my little man. May 2nd was my birthday and when I pick J up from school occasionally we indulge in a little happy hour sonic and a cookie from Eileen's. Well, that day I had a car full of sleeping children, so I asked Jonathan and Chandler to go in and get the cookies. I gave him some money and this is what he came back out with:

He is such an awesome kid!

I don't remember when the Edmond Arts Festival was, but here are a few pics of the kids getting their faces painted and riding the very expensive ponies!

Sonshine School program 2008

2008-06-04T15:57:00.002-05:00

Abbey and Mollie had their Sonshine School program, oh, about a month ago and I am just now posting. I really wanted to post the videos from the program, but I am not that computer savvy.....yet!
Abbey did GREAT and Mollie only got a little emotional when they were escorting her out of the auditorium and she noticed that I wasn't coming to get her. Very sad.
Sonshine school has been such a great learning place for all three children. Ms. Laura and Ms. Aubrey taught Abbey SO much this past year. I can not even begin to tell you the long list of accomplishments.
Well, I was going to post pictures, but after taking a closer look they are ALL blurry, so I will try to edit the video another day and see if I can get it on here.

My sweet Mollie....

2008-05-19T22:21:00.002-05:00

I just have to share a very sweet moment tonight. (I will share about Jonathan's Kindergarten graduation when I have more time)
I am sitting in bed doing homework and Mollie was singing very softly "pound, pound, pound, saw, saw, saw, build your house for Jesus and spread joy all around." She was even doing very gentle hand movements. When I looked at her to say "good job" her eyes were closed and she was totally asleep in about ten seconds. I love being a mommy!!! Moments like these are so precious and I do not want them to end.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!....well, almost

2008-05-10T20:36:00.003-05:00

This is for all of the mom's out there. I received this devo around New Year's, have kept it on my fridge and thought now was the perfect time to share it. Enjoy! and Happy Mother's Day.

Real Resolutions for Moms
By Karen Ehman

“… But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:13b-14 (ESV)

Devotion:
It’s that time when many of us are making New Year’s resolutions, so how about some resolutions for mothers? Here are mine:

I will put my Bible before the television, the radio, the telephone, and even before good Christian books, for my children will know my priorities by the way they see me spend my free time.

I will make my prayer requests known before God and my children, enlisting their help in the process and informing them of the outcome, for by letting them help when I petition our Lord will they learn of a living God who still answers prayer.

When times of crisis, conflict or confusion arise, I will hit my knees before I hit the phone knowing that by my example my children will discover that although friends are important, God alone is the one who holds the solution to life’s every problem.

I will erase the words “luck” and “lucky” from my vocabulary and will instead by my speech point my children toward the One who orchestrates every detail of our lives and brings all good things to pass, for by this my children will learn of an omniscient God.

When bad things happen, I’ll neither grumble nor complain, but will instead help my children see that in the scope of our lives even the bad times are allowed for a reason, for by this my children will learn quiet trust in their Maker.

When normal childhood mishaps occur, I will remember that although difficult, it is still easier to remove grape juice from off-white carpet than to erase harsh and unloving words hurled at a child whose chubby little fingers have failed her, for by this my children will see a God who understands when our best efforts fall short.

When my children have witnessed something ugly in me - unkind words, an angry temper, “harmless” gossip, biting sarcasm or even my infamous “mommy pout” when things don’t go my way - I will confess it as sin before them seeking their forgiveness, for by this my children will develop the much needed habit of wiping their spiritual slate clean before God and man.

I will teach my children the importance of cleanliness and order while at the same time remain sensitive to the fact that a skinned knee or hurt feeling is more crucial than a spotless floor or uncluttered counter, for by this my children will learn to value people above things.

I will make time for the lonely, the sick, the elderly, the difficult to love, and will bring my children along, for with each afternoon visit, each ride to the doctor, each raked lawn or washed window they will have opportunity to serve Jesus by serving the “least of these.”

I will make our home a haven of rest and retreat from the outside world and a welcomed place for my children’s friends, for with each impromptu backyard soccer game, each video viewed on a rainy day, each cup of hot cocoa or chocolate chip cookie, my children will have opportunity to practice the art of Christian hospitality thereby learning to share all God has given them.

I will by my actions and my speech let my children see a mom love their dad, for by this will my children sense family stability at a time when marriages all around them are crumbling.

I will not require of my children obedience, honesty, patience or kindness without first being willing to submit to the same rules whether in speed limit, in miscounted change from the grocery store or when answering a toddler for the fourteenth time, for by this my children will see a mother who is also learning and not a perfect parent to whom they’ll never measure up.

In all things will I remember that more is caught than is taught.

There are little eyes upon you, mom. You are the first Bible your children will ever read.

Dear Lord, may my goals this year spring from a right relationship with You and may carrying them out point others heavenward. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Sutton Courtney Williams

2008-05-02T09:29:00.004-05:00

I just want to throw a "shout out" to new baby Sutton Courtney. Proud mama and daddy are Sydney and Heather (Hammonds) Williams and big brother Baylor.

Good luck....you will need it!! :)

Garden of Awesome

2008-04-30T14:09:00.002-05:00

Check out my new template. You can go to www.pyzam.com and go to layout and select from the hundreds of FREE blogger templates. I like the colors, but I really liked the name of this one: Garden of Awesome......'nuf said!

Random, shocking, fact

2008-04-28T16:28:00.002-05:00

Do you know what you are eating?

Calories in 1 medium sized Avocado:276
Fat: 27.6g

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 Medium

I could post the other stuff, but really those two numbers are what blew me away!

2008-04-28T16:01:00.003-05:00

Yey, Arts Festival, where Oklahomans get to gather round the ol' sculpture park, eat yummy food and see some very interesting outfits.........

Saturday the children and I ventured out to the Arts Festival and enjoyed FOUR hours of exciting entertainment. Since the Myriad gardens was running a special for the festival we took advantage of it (and the clean, air conditioned rest rooms) and saw some pretty and exotic flowers. Mom, I even took a picture of one.....

After the gardens we walked around the pond only to see an enormous alligator snapping turtle for two seconds before he disappeared back into the green abyss. I'm sure he enjoys time swimming with his gigantic gold fish friends. Please keep small pets and children away from the edge of the pond.

The kids were able to pick a dessert for a late afternoon snack. As you can see Jonathan picked the homemade, chocolate dipped ice cream cube. Quite good. I ate my 100 calorie bite and left it alone. Mollie liked the ice cream and it was much less messy than the chocolate covering so we all came out in the positive.

Abbey wanted "the thing that daddy got with sugar on top." After several attempts to nail this one down we saw someone with a funnel cake (which had already been suggested, but apparently she just knows it by the sugar on top, not it's actual name) and that was exactly what she was trying to tell me. We shared a funnel cake and all was good. I can still remember getting a funnel cake at the May fair in Tulsa growing up and getting a sticker that said "I got a funnel cake and I ate the whole thing!" Still one of my fair faves!

We were able to enjoy a few moments with Uncle Brant and Michelle before heading home to some peace and quiet. Sorry no pics.

Yikes! Bikes

2008-04-28T15:40:00.003-05:00

So a week, or so ago we took the kids out to look for bikes. Jonathan and I had spoken of it, once or twice, and Roy and Jonathan had found the most amazing "dirt bike" at Walmart and it was love at first sight for Jonathan. Seriously, he wouldn't stop talking about it....bikes in the morning, bikes at bedtime.........However, Jonathan was a little big for that one and after much looking he got an even cooler one that is red and has trick bars (?) on it. Oh, did I mention it also has training wheels. For now........I don't have any -on bike- pictures, but I will get some posted soon.

Abbey got a lovely Disney princess bike complete with front bag and water bottle, oh, and I can't forget the totally awesome shimmery ribbons coming out the handle bars. WAY COOL!

Here are a few pics of the soon to be Amazing Greenway riders---

Come one, come all, or something like that!!!!

2008-04-28T15:38:00.002-05:00

So, welcome to all who have yet to read my most amazing blog!!!!
I wasn't trying to keep people out, just not wanting everyone in. OH WELL, too many requests for access so here you go America! Enjoy!

A few songs to brighten your day

2008-04-10T12:44:00.002-05:00

The first is just too cute. I got it off of a friends blog. crank it up...
Go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFOpO0IpcHw and it should just start on its own.

The next song is a song that I LOVE and has been a huge blessing to hear at least once a day for a while now. I am sure several of you have heard it, but I just wanted to share a song that has touched my life in a great way:
(I did not make the slide show to go with it and don't particularly like it, but I am not blog savvy enough to just attach a music file....sorry): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHdcyue0bSw

Enjoy

O Happy Day....

2008-04-03T19:59:00.004-05:00

Yeah, yeah, I know it has been FOREVER since I last posted and sooooo much has happened.

Well,

Jonathan lost his fifth tooth a few weeks ago at school and his teacher was gracious enough to tape it to a sheet of paper for him to bring home. I do not have a picture, but if you can't remember what Jonathan looks like without a few teeth I guess you can look at the previous post, or maybe the one before that :).

We had Spring Break the middle of March and the kids and I enjoyed a very close family trip (with Grandma, Grandpa and Ty) to visit aunt's and uncles and cousins and Sam Moon, and the awesome Great Wolf Lodge. If you have children ages 4-6 this is a great place for you. I will get to that after I post a few pics and details from our Houston/Dallas trip.

We left "early" Saturday morning and headed down to Houston to visit my aunt Terry and Uncle Lynn. I was feeling like a not so great niece when I realized that I haven't been to their hometown since my thirteen year old cousin was born. Bad, bad niece!!!

Sunday we went to late service and then to the Avens for a delicious lunch. That afternoon we got to experience a Texas tradition: The Houston Rodeo. My aunt tells me that this is a great part of the culture and that I should have been very thankful that the weather was on the cool side......I'm not sure I know what she means, can someone please explain it to me???? :) We did get to see a few wild outfits, pig races, milking cows, chicks and, .

Whew-- it was a great experience.

Sunday evening we were able to enjoy another wonderful dinner with the Aven's and my mom's cousin Lori (sorry if I spelled that wrong) and her husband Mike and my kid cousins (?) Sylvia and Cami. Wow, times flies when you live hundreds of miles away. I think the last time I saw those girls they were on the verge of potty training. They have turned into gracious, beautiful young women and I wish we would have been able to spend more time with them. Sylvia is attending Abilene Christian and is leaning toward a business major (Go Sylvia!!!) Cami is currently in high school and I am not sure where she will be heading soon.

Oh and I must brag on my dear cousin Emily, who also has turned into quite the beautiful young woman herself. Emily is really involved in Highland Fling, something we Oklahomans don't know much about. She is awesome and I would love to be able to watch her compete. She has won numerous awards, on state, national and international levels. I don't think she got the Grim/Guyer jeans there. Avens that is all you........ I am really hoping that if she chooses to attend college in Georgia that she will "come through" Oklahoma on her way home sometime. Abbey and Jonathan loved Emily (and Matthew).

After our very short stay in Houston we traversed up to Arlington and then to Allen to see the grandparents and Aunt Gwen and Jan. The kids were able to enjoy an Easter Egg hunt with Jan and they LOVED it!!!! Tuesday we had quite the downpour and, of course, mom and I had to make a short trip to Sam Moon. Not very smart when the water running down the street is ankle deep. Did getting drenched stop us? No, onward to Sam Moon. Looking is fun.

That evening we headed to the new Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, Texas. Very neat. for those of you who are not familiar with the GWL it has an indoor water park and lots of other really neat stuff. They even have a Starbucks!!!!! It's a one stop shop, there are several restaurants, a pizza hut, and arcade, a fun magiquest game that lets you go upstairs, and down stairs, and upstairs, and down stairs, and upstairs....well, you get my drift. slightly sore quads the following morning, but very fun. I strongly recommend the GWL for anyone with preschool age children.

I hope everyone enjoyed the time travel. I really am trying to post more often. Not doing so well, am I?

Alright, now time to upload some pictures.

Gimme some Jet Dry?

2008-02-11T22:49:00.001-06:00

Jonathan: " Mommy, do you think the dishes are wet when the dish-washer is done?"
Me: " Well, um, sometimes. Why do you ask?"
Jonathan: "Maybe you should get some Jet Dry. It makes your dishes dryer."

Very observant six year old. Doesn't miss a thing! :-)

Sometime soon I'll be posting the more important stuff. Like: Jonathan lost his THIRD tooth last week, (or maybe it was two weeks ago). Also, we have had some pretty gorgeous days and lucky for me I had my camera ready.

Here's another funny from Mollie, *who will be two next month :-( :

Me: "Mollie do you want water, or milk to drink?"
Mollie: "Jooce!"
Me: "Well, juice wasn't a choice, do you want water, or milk?"
Mollie "Wa-doughmilk"

She is so cute.......

This one's for you....MANDY

2008-02-11T22:47:00.000-06:00

Sorry to everyone else, only Mandy will get this.
Picture me with my fingers in my ears, my eyes shut, and singing "LA, LA, LA, I CAN'T HEAR/SEE YOU!!!"

Deceptively Delicious

2008-01-20T22:09:00.000-06:00

Well, for those of you who don't know....thanks to my dear friend Mandy and her making me aware of Jessica Seinfeld's new book Deceptively Delicious we have started eating a little "healthier." I think that every meal we have had for the past twenty four hours has had extra veggies and the kids didn't even know it. Can't say that the kids enjoyed ANY of it, but perhaps repetition will be the key to success. I guess I will try to start taking pictures of these delicious dishes. For those of you who are familiar, here are the recipes we have tried:
-Chicken Quesadillas were not a hit with the NINE children that were tested last Wednesday. I guess Abbey liked them the first time, but didn't really like the leftovers. I preferred those that were made on wheat tortillas, topped with a little salsa and sour cream (low fat, of course!!)
-Eggs with cauliflower. Jonathan helped me make these yesterday morning and actually saw the picture and said "Ewwww, yuck, broccoli in eggs." I said "Nope, that's cauliflower" Didn't feel the need to tell him that is what he was eating. He actually loved them and ate half of the 6 eggs!!! Mollie and Abbey weren't so hot on them.
-Macaroni and Cheese with butternut squash. Jonathan loves mac and cheese and thought this was "gross." I thought it was fine. I may try to alter the recipe, because it also has cream cheese in it. I think if you leave out the cream cheese it might taste more like normal mac and cheese. Worth a shot.
-Devil's food cake with pumpkin. It's a hit with everyone!!! Definitely will make this one again.
-Lasagna with: spinach, yellow squash, red peppers and carrots. Not my favorite, but not too bad. I don't guess I'm a fan of lasagna on a normal day, so that is my excuse.
Tomorrow we will be trying the french toast with pumpkin. Sounds yummy.
Aside from the new recipes not a whole lot of new things are going on around here. Tomorrow Jonathan is not in school so we will be travelling to the grand Omniplex. Hopefully half of OKC won't have the same idea we do and the Omniplex will not be crowded (Um..yeah right!!).
Until next time.....

WOW

2008-01-07T16:18:00.001-06:00

Really, I am thankful for the new year and a new start to this blog...SO, I am going to not put any pictures with this one and start afresh.....possibly sometime later in the week. :)
Sorry to disappoint, but I didn't actually take any pictures on Christmas, or any other time around the holidays. (SORRY family members)
I am, however, trying really hard to want to take pictures for my incredibly late Christmas card that will arrive sometime in 2008.....(for those of you who were wondering why you didn't receive one this year). That is something exciting to look forward to TEHE:).

Well, I guess that's it for this one.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday and that you have a very blessed 2008.
I hope you are all as excited as I am to see what amazing things God has planned for my life this year! (well, me for my life, you for your lives :) )

more November

2007-12-10T12:50:00.000-06:00

The week before Thanksgiving my sister, Eryn, and my niece, Allyah, were able to come for a visit. Allyah felt right at home on the front bench with Mollie.
Allyah being pushed in the swing by Abbey.

Mollie reading to the baby doll.

Random thoughts

2007-12-10T12:36:00.000-06:00

--One day one of Jonathan's good friends, Chandler, came over for a little playtime and Jonathan wanted to show her how to play his gameboy. I thought it was cute:

--Mollie has been big into "baby"'s lately. She like to carry them around, read to them, and attempt changing their diapers. It is really sweet. She was giving a little love to this one and I was able to capture it.

--Jonathan and Chandler being the great sidewalk chalk artists that they are. I think they were drawing a tall building that went from the top of the driveway to the very bottom. It was a joint effort.

--Another unseasonably warm day in November. Roy put up the Christmas lights and the kids watched.........outside.....the entire time. the lights look great though. Maybe I can get a picture of them up in a later blog. Perhaps after the new year :).

Zoo!!!

2007-12-10T12:30:00.000-06:00

On the 3rd of November we went to the Zoo. I am sure the weather was unseasonably warm and we just couldn't help ourselves.

Jonathan loves noticing the leaves changing so when we see different colors we take pictures.

Here is the incredibly large and scary Anaconda at our Zoo. I tried putting my hand close to it to show its amazing size, but I don't think the picture does it justice. Really, a very large snake. Gives me the creeps just thinking about it.

This picture is of Jonathan and Abbey showing me how dogs/cats scratch themselves. I thought it was noteworthy. :)

That about sums up our trip to the Zoo.

Omniplex....yey!!

2007-12-10T12:15:00.000-06:00

Yes, I know it has been a very long time since I have updated my blog.

Apparently on the 2nd of November we decided to go to the Omniplex with some friends. I believe we went because Jonathan had a day off of school. Don't really remember the trip, but took pictures, so I thought I would share.

The little monkeys always love the gymnastics area and also playing on the tree house.

The line up:

Abby Jo (in stroller), Mollie, Jonathan, Anna Kate, Abbey and Nadia.

2007-10-29T22:24:00.000-05:00

So, last night we did Haunt the Zoo and tonight we did OC Trick or Treating.

First, let me share a cute story. For those of you who do not know Oklahoma Christian is located right across the street from Memorial Road. Tonight when we were done and walking out to the car Mollie started yelling "bye-buh, bye-buh," (which means "bible") and pointing to the church building. I said "bible class" and she just shook her head "yes." It was too cute. I was surprised that she recognized the church building, because we don't normally see the church from that angle. She is a smart kid!

OK, so now to the Trick or Treating. The kids got way too much candy, but they saw a lot of their friends and had a good time. Mollie was Cinderella, Abbey was Sleeping Beauty, and Jonathan was the black Spider man (but his costume is reversible to the red Spider man, which he showed EVERYONE we came into contact with). The girls were very cute and Jonathan looked like a kid in black Spandex! A lot of people commented that he looked much older in his skinny costume.

Here are the close ups:

That should do it for Halloween, other than Wednesday night. Jonathan really wants to "give candy away to people just walking around." We may go to a few houses in our neighborhood, after bible class, of course!!!

Sunday's belated blog

2007-10-29T21:54:00.000-05:00

Last night we did Haunt the Zoo, here are the pictures that I took.

The kids had some great "hat hair," so we took more pictures. :)

Saturday

2007-10-27T22:11:00.000-05:00

We had a fun day today: sleeping in, some light cleaning, and then we went to Brick town for lunch and to go to Bass Pro to see the fish (I have been trying to do that for weeks, but things keep coming up). It was a beautiful day to walk around the canal and the traffic was very light.

At Bass Pro: Mollie loved all of the animals (the dead, stuffed ones). Really, she could barely walk a straight line, because she was too busy looking up.
Abbey loved the "cars." She loves to pretend driving and 4 x 4's are just the thing for a four year old. Jonathan liked the guns, typical boy.

After our outing in Brick town we were off to Jonathan's schools Fall Festival. This year I was nominated Homeroom volunteer and that puts me in charge of all the fun parties, festivals, auctions, etc. That will teach me to write my name on ANY paper at Open House!!
Anyway-- we got to the gym at 3 and left about two hours ago (8:15pm). The kids had a lot of fun and I guess that is really what it is all about, so the fact that I am tired and really wanting a quiet place right now doesn't really matter. Abbey crashed on the way home and Mollie went down pretty quickly. Jonathan is still going strong. Hopefully after prayers he will be a little more relaxed and ready for sleep.
The pictures are of Jonathan helping with our fishing booth and Mollie fishing. All three kids did very well considering we were there for over 5 hours. Jonathan and Abbey helped out with the booths and got to have some fun of their own. Roy has had a long week but was able to come and help with both the booths and the kids. I was thankful for the extra hands.

Oh, I must not forget my funny story for the day. Tonight Jonathan was looking in our church phone book and pointed to a picture of a very elderly(-looking) lady and said "Mom, do you think she is dead already? Just cuz......well, she looks old!" While this comment was possibly a little rude it did give me a chuckle to see his mind wheels turning. And sadly enough, I do not know if that woman is dead or not. I guess I need to get a little more involved with our elderly members.

Yay! for S'mores

2007-10-25T22:19:00.000-05:00

Jonathan really does amaze me with his creativity. Most everyday he designs something new. Either through drawing, or building with his Lego's, or just his thoughts. Well, the other night he was building something for his show and tell and named it the "wiener ship." For those of you who do not think like a 6 year old, the ship has an elongated middle, very similar to that of a "wiener dog" (dachshund).

Tonight we were going to go to Haunt the Zoo, but apparently I was mistaken and it doesn't actually start until tomorrow night. Lucky for me we have Storybook Forest and they were gracious enough to start tonight so I wouldn't look completely horrible to my children who were so looking forward to Haunt the Zoo.

Let me back up, Jonathan was sick yesterday, so we were unable to eat our traditional Wednesday night meal of Cici's pizza. Both Jonathan and Abbey requested that we do that tonight and I somehow decided that Cici's was better than doing dishes. While waiting in line to get pizza Abbey tells me that she has to go to the bathroom. OK, no problem, she can go by herself, she does it all the time. About two minutes later (seriously, I was only at the bread sticks) I turn around to watch for Abbey to come out of the bathroom only to see that she is walking over to me. crying very loudly, with her pants (thankfully, just her pants) at her knees. Poor child. her pants were too tight and she had had an accident and was coming out for assistance. Embarrassing (for me) and sad (for her) at the same time. After we ate a lady asked if she was okay and when I told her what had happened she said, "Well, of all the places for it to happen at least you were at Cici's!" Unfortunately, I do agree.

So, after that wonderful meal and a new pair of underpants Abbey perked up and we went out to Storybook Forest.

FYI: They close at 8:30 and if you arrive at 7:45 they will not make you aware of the time and tell you that you'd better hurry so that you can do everything.

We enjoyed a leisurely stroll around the trail and got to see Curious George. All three were a little unsure of the masked creature, but after I gave him a hug and showed them that it was okay Jonathan got a little closer, Mollie just stood about five feet away and waved bye-bye and Abbey still didn't want anything to do with him.

Then we decided to do the games before riding the hayride, actually, it was more like we got to play the games INSTEAD of going on the hayride. Jonathan was a little upset, but it was probably okay, because it was really quite cold out there. Instead we did the games and went back for S'mores over the campfire.

It's a BLOB!!!

2007-10-23T20:53:00.000-05:00

This week is going smoothly....so far.

Tonight I took a picture and began to download it on the computer and Jonathan said "Are you going to put that on your blob?"

HA!

Saturday :)

2007-10-20T19:09:00.000-05:00

First let me explain that I do have two pictures, but blogger is having some difficulties and I can not upload them at this time, so I will have to try later.....
Second, GO SOONERS!!!!
I wasn't able to watch the game, but Bob Barry always keeps me informed. I left the game at half time and was very glad to rejoin at the tail end to hear that the Sooners were going to win.
This morning the kids went fishing with daddy (I have no pictures, sorry) and had a good time while I went to Oklahoma City's Race For The Cure. It was neat to see all the people who came together for such a worthy cause. Last year I did the race to support Melinda Evans in her fight against breast cancer, but this year I did it in memory of her. Although Melinda and I were not close friends, not a day goes by that I don't think about her and how she has touched my life and the precious children that she has left behind. She was an amazing person and I am a better person for having known her. I really liked the poem on the back of this years race shirt, so I thought I would put it in here with her picture:
" A butterfly lights upon a window sill. For a moment, we are captivated by her glory and grace. Then, as delicately as she flew into our lives, she is gone forever.
We will always remember. Melinda Marie Evans 11/23/75-8/17/07; daughter, wife, mother of 3, twin sister and friend; we miss you, Melinda."

This afternoon, while the girls were napping, Jonathan and I enjoyed carving a pumpkin. We had stencils, Jonathan picked out a very difficult looking vampire, so we settled with the not so difficult ghost. BOO!
Jonathan would really like to do his own, but I am not sure that I am ready for another trip to the ER. Once every other year is more than often enough for me.

LOTS of pictures

2007-10-14T22:49:00.000-05:00

I haven't done a good job of keeping you posted this past week so,

Lets, see....In the past week we have played princess , jumped around in puddles in chilly weather, cheered for OU , played with friends, ate yummy coleslaw at chic-fil-a (mmmmm), enjoyed hearing daily fire safety tips from Jonathan, read books to more friends, enjoyed gorgeous weather at the park , painted pumpkins with washable paint (OOPS), made mummy hot dogs, went to the Centennial parade , and made crystals with a kit from Target.
There, all week in one blog. Amazing.

I will do a parade blog later in the week, but I thought the dressed up Llamas were noteworthy. One is dressed as a Husky (dog) and obviously one is dressed as a tiger. I guess you will only find that in an Oklahoma parade....along with the John Deere tractors. (Sorry, I didn't get pictures of those).

I am sure there are many funny stories from the week, but they seem to have slipped my mind at this late hour. Perhaps I will remember them after some sleep and can add them tomorrow.

WELL, I do remember one:(I think it was Wednesday), Jonathan and I were playing Lego's in his room and he was trying to build a roof over his Zoo animals. When I reached over to add a Lego to the stack he said "wait a minute mom, I want to test my hypothesis!"

I knew Grandma would be proud.

Halloween decorations

2007-09-30T22:43:00.000-05:00

"Spider Pig" (Off of the Simpson's movie commercial)

Today Jonathan really wanted to make some Halloween decorations, so I pulled out the construction paper and we went to work. I was very impressed at what he came up with. At one point he said "Mom, this is my dream come true" I just laughed and asked him to elaborate a little. He said "I have always wanted to do this." Kids are so funny sometimes. I don't guess I had ever dreamed of making Halloween decorations.

So, without further ado:

Day in the City........and the Zoo (Saturday)

2007-09-30T22:18:00.000-05:00

Well, yesterday was our churches annual Day in The City. Non-OKC people may know this better as Community Care, or something along those lines. It is a day when we get out and help anyone who needs help.

This year the kids and I went to the Feed The Children warehouse and helped put together Family food boxes. It was a little scary considering there were three forklifts driving around, but before the morning got started the drivers were made aware of the children and we made a little area so that if they got bored helping they could play around a bit and not wander. Oh what you can do with large pieces of cardboard and boxes. The coordinator for FTC gave the kids a package of crayons and they had fun. They each did their share of helping out. I tried to get a few pictures, but since we were there to be productive I didn't take too many.

Here is how it went: There were two college girls taping boxes that we (the four of us) were to put on a rolling belt where others would place needed items in the boxes. SO, after the girls taped the boxes we put them on the belt. Our job was to make sure that the belt was full at all times. Every child took turns, at one point Jonathan said "Mom, you said this was going to be fun, this is not very fun" so we had the "we are helping others talk" and he seemed to do a little better after that. He and Abbey enjoyed putting the cereal boxes in each box, but the placement of the cereal box in the box seemed to be a little bit of a challenge since neither of them could actually see into the box. Fortunately the others helping were very patient and friendly and enjoyed letting the children help out.

We lasted for about four hours and then left. All three kids were covered in black, Mollie was exhausted from a lack of a morning nap and all three were hungry. So, we ate and then went to the Zoo.
What else do you do after a long morning????

The Zoo was actually a request from Jonathan. Since he is in school he doesn't get to go with us during the day, so it had been a while for him. Little did I know that it would be PACKED. It was the Garden Gala and also Zoo Character Day. We did manage to walk around for a couple hours. When we got home all three kids fell asleep and I was wishing that I could too.

2007-09-30T21:28:00.000-05:00

I am a little behind, so I am going to play a little weekend catch up.

Friday is our Zoo day, so we went and enjoyed a cool morning. Several of the animals were enjoying their morning routine, so we got several pictures. The first picture is of the turkeys........I just have to wonder who ever thought "yum, that looks good enough to eat!!"

The deer was feeling friendly and walked up to the glass while Abbey was standing there.

The Mexican wolves looked like they were on long treadmill. You can see a little path in the picture and all three were non stop going round and round on that path. It was kind of amusing to watch, due to the speed at which they were going.

This next picture may have you asking "when did the Zoo get a roller coaster," but no it is really just Abbey and Mollie saying "roar" and doing the motions.

Pretty girls on a lioness:

The Infamous Bamboo. Two weeks ago........

If I remember correctly that tiny twig dangling on the left is the one that actually gave her the cut (seriously). It looks like it hasn't fared so well these past two weeks. Serves it right for cutting my baby!!! To update on the finger: the stitches did come out Friday evening. The much anticipated event required a few tears, but all in all she did great. Roy gave her a cup to keep her stitches in and she is very proud of them. They almost made it to church with us this morning.

Late night...

2007-09-27T22:59:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I am staying up WAY too late, but I saw this on Sarah's blog and was curious....

I am wondering why the 4-5%, why not just say 0%. I guess it was fun. I want to try the morph thing another time.

Mostly Abbey's prayers

2007-09-27T22:07:00.000-05:00

Okay I have to share that when Abbey doesn't want to go to bed she pulls out all the stops. She has already gotten out of bed twice and this time (the third) she had a question and since I am trying to blog I told her I would hear it. She told me "there is a boy at my school and his name is Cole and he likes banana yogurt." Well, okay, perhaps when we have to bring snack, we will bring banana yogurt. Goodnight Abbey!

Alright, to the pictures. On Monday I was made aware of a huge spider web right outside my front door. Actually, it was so huge that I am not sure how we did not run into it Sunday the several times that we went in and out that door. Maybe he/she was just a quick web making spider. Anyway- I have a decent picture of the web, but I am even more impressed with the picture of Mr. Spider. He is a large fellow. I really did take this picture. I just cropped the roof out, but this is probably close to actual size FYI.

Since I booted him from the front door he has started a new web in the front of the house above the bushes. As long as he stays outside we will get along just fine!
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Oh yeah, and don't leave Queso on the counter even if you think your youngest can not reach it, because : SHE CAN!!!!(note the globs of cheese in her hair) Yummy cheese......

Sorry, I have many very unrelated stories today, but I just have to share them.

Tonight at the dinner table Abbey led the prayer and she said "Thank you for the wonderful dinner," and after the prayer she said "this looks delicious," and then proceeded to say "that's just yummy yummy!" She wasn't quite so enthusiastic after a minute or so of actually eating the food.

Well, tomorrow is day 14 of stitches for Abbey and I guess we talked about getting them out at some point today, because in her bedtime prayer she was going through her thank yous and said "and thank you that I get to get my black things out tomorrow." I made sure to email Roy and give him a heads up so that hopefully her prayer of thanks will be fulfilled.

Bagger Vance?..... no wait that's Jonathan :)

2007-09-23T22:26:00.000-05:00

This first picture is from Mollie's first day of Sonshine School a few weeks ago. Apparently we need to work on Eye placement. Bartimaeus can now see.....well, sort of. :)

Last night we went to eat at a place that Roy really likes and then to Putt-a-round. It was the kids first time to play there and they all really enjoyed it.

Jonathan has been talking about it all day and Abbey, of course, wanted to go back today. Mollie enjoyed throwing the rocks.
There were several ponds at this course and only once did Roy and I both run to grab her for fear that she would fall in and turn blue from the dye in the water. (Our choices were blue, or green. I guess since "green is the new black" we would have preferred that over blue).

After putt-a-round we went to Freddy's for some yummy concretes and enjoyed a few fireworks on the side. Lucky for us UCO's homecoming was last night and after the game they shot a few fireworks off just a mile from where we were. A good end to the evening.

Bye Bye Balloon

2007-09-20T17:57:00.000-05:00

It's not every day that we draw a huge hot air balloon on our driveway, so I thought looking at our great driveway art would be neat yesterday morning. Here is how it looked:Just thought I would share. I'm glad that I took the pictures that night.

Last night on the way to church (I guess Abbey was admiring the band aid on her finger) she said "Mom, how does God make Care bear band aids?" She is so cute.
For those of you who are wondering I told her that God gives us all of the things to make the band aids, but that he doesn't actually put them together for us.

2007-09-18T22:39:00.000-05:00

Today was a pretty long day, for all of us. So, of course I thought, kids in bed by 8:30, me by 9 all is good. That is until we go outside and the weather is so amazing and we start doing sidewalk chalk. Somewhere we got an idea to draw a hot air balloon and it turned out pretty well, so I have to share it. The pictures do make it look a little gargantuan, and while it is large I think :objects in picture appear larger than in reality.

The kids had a lot of fun, Jonathan drew a rocket and a balloon underneath it and Abbey drew a balloon also. They both helped color in the big balloon. I am curious to see what it looks like in daylight. We think the colors are white, blue and pink...we shall see tomorrow. Some of the white looks a little yellow.

After the art session we did a little wading around in whatever liquid was causing a stream at the end of the driveway. Mollie was having fun until she fell into the stream, then she was ready to go inside, so we did. Seriously, I can not get her to do this for anyone else.

State Fair, part II

2007-09-18T22:20:00.000-05:00

Last night we went to the fair again and we were able to do a few more things. We saw a "wiener pig" and a "cow rabbit." I did not take pictures, because really it was just a pig laying out Superman style and Jonathan thought said "Hey look how long that pig is.....I guess it is a wiener pig!" and Abbey saw a black and white spotted bunny rabbit and said "Look mom, a cow rabbit!" I thought they were both pretty cute.

Jonathan liked "Bull man" in the kids' Agtropolis area- and thus the pictures:

We mostly just walked around, listened to a little music, played a few games and the highlight for most of us was riding in the wind tower. For those of you non-OKC-ites our local electric company has an educational tower that is as tall as a wind tower and you can ride up it and spin around (slowly) for a few minutes while they inform you about the process, or something like that, I wouldn't know because Jonathan was about to rip my arm off. He wasn't as excited as the rest of us about going up in the elevator. When we came down he said "I liked it more than I didn't like it" and by the time we got out to the car he had really enjoyed the ride and getting to see daddy's work buildings (or somewhere in the vicinity) and all of the city lights. Abbey made sure that I knew she was having fun and that she wasn't crying. After that it was home and to bed. We had a fun night.

I love the fair.....

2007-09-16T20:43:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we went to the State Fair. We walked around a little bit, Roy won an animal for Jonathan, Jonathan and Abbey both got to play a game, we pet/fed some animals in the petting zoo and then the boys went and played while the girls went to Disney Princesses on Ice.

Abbey LOVED the princesses, but Mollie lost interest until the bubbles. (The song "Under the Sea") Mollie clapped on demand, kind of like golf clapping, and pretty much ignored the rest. I guess I shouldn't say that Abbey "loved" it, because when the fire breathing dragon, from Mulan, came out she was hysterical crying and wanted to go home. But other than that she did really love it. She wanted to go back twice today. I would call that a success!

***Just a "short" update on Abbey's finger situation. This morning we took the plastic splint off, which required much drama. But, of course, after it came off she didn't remember she'd ever even had it on. She was pushing on her thumb and using it as she normally would, when she wouldn't think about it. Thank goodness for Dora band aids. When she is conscious of her thumb I am very impressed at the things she can do with out using her thumb. She has started coloring with her left hand and she proudly announced to me today that she could unbuckle her seat belt without using her thumb. She hasn't been much into showing it off, or even telling people about it. Jonathan, on the other hand, tells everyone that we see about his sister getting her finger cut, at the Zoo, by bamboo. We wouldn't want to leave out any details. SO, to sum it all up: the finger is good.

Beware of Bamboo Shoots...and graphic pictures!!!!!

2007-09-14T21:42:00.000-05:00

GRAPHIC PICTURES!!!!!! Just thought I would let those with weak stomachs get prepared.......

There is something about turning four in the Greenway family. The day after Jonathan turned four this happened and now, about a week and a half after Abbey turned four this: happened. While Abbey's looks a bit less urgent it is really quite deep. The nurse was even shocked upon closer evaluation, however my camera would not get that detailed that close. I guess we will need to lock Mollie in her room for a week, or two after her fourth birthday. :)

Here is the story behind the three stitches that Abbey got in her thumb today......we were at the local Zoo , we got to see the Elephants up close, feed some crackers to the ducks, sit on a few statues, eat lunch, but then.....while in the children's' area Abbey was fascinated with pulling the leaves off of the bamboo shoots. Well after asking her to stop she started sliding her hand down the shoots. Apparently they can be pretty sharp, because one of them gave her a pretty deep cut in her right thumb. I guess they don't feel compelled to put up a sign saying BEWARE OF SHARP BAMBOO SHOOTS!!!! (Perhaps we parents should pay more attention to our children messing with nature :) ) After deciding not to spend three hours in the ER we went to our Pediatricians office where Abbey was a very brave girl and did amazingly well. (She actually handled today a little better than the four shots that she received on Monday). The doctor told her that it was a good thing that she had had all of those shots on Monday, otherwise they would have had to have given her another one today (she got two in her thumb to numb it--very painful and REALLY not fun for mom).

Anyway- we have pictures of her in her car seat while leaving the Zoo, her cut before the stitches(This picture is up at the top with those of Jonathan. I will attach after pictures later as it currently has a little splint on it and a band aid), and some after we got home. Note the smile on her face at home. Somewhere in there mom took her to Build a Bear to make it all better.

She now has a new pink poodle named "Bambi." (Get it? Bamboo----Bambi??? clever huh?) Bambi came in very handy while at the doctors office.

Now to the Mollie pictures. I just had to include them, because she has started this little toothy smile when I have the camera out. I can not get her to do it for anyone else, but the other day and this afternoon she wouldn't stop. When I would ask Abbey, or Jonathan, to look at me Mollie would stop what she is doing and run in front of the camera and smile a huge, toothy smile. It just makes me laugh.

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Funny!-- this one is a few days late, but it's been a little busy around here.

On Wednesday I had asked Abbey to go clean up her room and the hall right outside her door where she and a friend had stacked all of her toys. She kept telling me "it's too hard" and to that I would say "do it anyway." So, after a few moments of silence I went to check on what she was doing and this is what I found. Apparently it was "too hard" to move her pillow from the hallway to her bed to start her nap. I left her there and she didn't get up for a good hour and half. Whatever works for her......and yes, she did have to clean it up later.

Well Child Check ups for J and A

2007-09-10T20:17:00.000-05:00

For those of you who have three year olds, be informed, your little one will have to get FOUR shots at their four year well child check up.
Jonathan(6) and Abbey(4) had their well child exams today -hilarious- while Dr. C was asking me developmental questions Jonathan was hopping around the room in circles, wearing nothing but his Optimus Prime, Transformer underwear. I could barely control my laughter. Dr. C kept telling Jonathan that he needed to cheer up. HA!

Abbey on the other hand as the doctor was walking in she was walking out because she "needed to go potty." Fortunately it was just across the hall from our appointed room. After several minutes and Dr. C asking if everything was coming out alright I went to check on her (for the third time) as she comes waltzing out the door in her princess underwear. She did go in with just Jonathan's shirt on (well child's involve a thorough exam), but I wasn't expecting her to come out as she did. It was an interesting appointment, to say the least. They both checked out fine. For those of you who are up to date on the percentiles for children's growth: Abbey is 10th for height and weight and Jonathan is 90th for height and 97th for weight. (Abbey is taller than 10% of four year old girls and weighs more than 10% of four year old girls, Jonathan is...........) Surely you can figure that one out.

Jonathan was giggling excitedly when he learned the lingo that the nurse and I were using to determine the number of shots each child would have to have: Abbey- 4, Jonathan- 0. Fortunately, Abbey didn't catch on until the nurse came in with her little basket full of syringes, poor Abbey. Needless to say Abbey did not enjoy her shots, but all was well when she realized "Hey mom look, I have Tweety band aid." So, we took pictures,of course.

Tonight we went to get Jonathan's hair cut and afterwards stopped in the Starbucks next door for a little mommy pick me up. I had to take pictures of Mollie with a "don't touch me or you'll get it" hold on her Starbucks cup (NO, I did not get her coffee, she shared a yummy Strawberries n' cream frappucino with Jonathan).

She has become quite the little poser today. When I say "Mollie, look here" she turns to me with a very big grin on her face. Very cute.

I threw in a few more pictures that I thought were cute. J, A, and I had a little fun with the camera after dinner.

J took this one. Mom took this one.

Incredible Pizza

2007-09-08T22:10:00.000-05:00

Picture, if you will, a long line of people waiting to redeem their tickets in the little ticket counter machine. This line is long because there are five people trying to unload a target bag half full of tickets into the machine. Yes, you guessed it those five people were Roy, Jonathan, Abbey, Mollie and me (sorry if that wasn't proper English listing). I guess Abbey really just stood there sucking her thumb, but Mollie and Jonathan both helped. You ask yourselves, "Why a Target bag half full of tickets?" Well, because we have stock piled Incredible Pizza tickets so that the kids could get "good" prizes and tonight was the chosen night that the kids wanted to cash their tickets in. Great idea guys. Saturday night, at the hottest kids spot in OKC-won't be doin' that again!

I have failed to take pictures of the "amazing" prizes that were awarded, but I will attach them later, if that is possible. (For those of you who are wondering:) Jonathan chose a large overstuffed Black Spider man hand. Sort of like the Mickey Mouse hands, only for Spider man. Abbey chose a sweet little Strawberry Shortcake Princess doll and a purple plastic ring. Mollie got nothing. Maybe when she actually cares about the cheap ticket toys we will make sure and include her, but that hasn't started yet, thank goodness.

This trip to Incredible Pizza was because the child with the birthday gets to choose where to have dinner, but since Abbey's was on Wednesday and school has started and work schedules are even crazier than usual, Wednesday just didn't work out for us, so we did it today.

Today we had the lovely Hello Kitty (by mom) cake that we should have had on her birthday. I was much more impressed with my Spider man skills than my Hello Kitty skills. Fortunately I just do these for fun. Abbey did tell me that it looked "Bee-you-ti-ful." She is so sweet.

Well, after (yes, sugar very late) Incredible Pizza we came home to do presents from Dad, Mom, Jonathan and Mollie..... and cake. So here are pictures.

Roy got Abbey a Barbie phone, so that she would actually talk to him on the phone. She is not a huge fan of talking to either of us on the phone and he thought this would help. Hopefully this won't be the start to a long and painful life of waiting for her to get off of the phone. :) Oh, and get this, a Barbie phone just wouldn't be complete with out a very ANNOYING ring. (If you have heard the jingle on the Barbie commercial you have heard the ring). Thankfully, Roy picked one that has two ring options and the other one is much more tolerable.

The kids and I got Abbey another phone type thing, but it is a tv game, not an actual phone. I don't have any pictures of that yet. I will have to get some when she plays it and attach those later, along with the glove and doll photos.

Wow!

2007-09-06T21:39:00.000-05:00

Okay, so today I was cleaning out the garage, which really was a great task. In the process of throwing out a large piece of trash I was startled by a large animal by the trash can. I looked down and saw this:

A huge turtle that is gearing up for a good run from the human. I am not kidding this creature could move. Of course, the older two were at school so I had to catch him for later viewings. After several attempts to cage him I finally did in our recycling box.

After a few "Can we keep hims" we took him to a nearby pond and set him free. He seemed much happier swimming than trying desperately to get out of a recycling box. Seriously though, this guy (?) was a good 8 inches in length.

Anyway, the pictures are of him and then of the kids saying bye. I don't think I got it in a still picture, but Mollie said "bye, bye" and waved as he climbed into the water. It was too cute.

The last picture is just one that was taken by my budding photographer, Abbey. Occasionally I let the kids take a few, and I liked this one, so I thought that I would share. Mollie and Mommy, aren't we cute???

ABBEY IS 4!!!!!

2007-09-05T21:55:00.000-05:00

(Abbey's 4 year old picture)

Okay, I don't usually get sentimental on birthdays, but for some reason tonight was rough. Usually our bedtime routine is prayers, song, kiss goodnight-see ya in the morning. Well, on days when Abbey doesn't get her nap in (like today) she is usually asleep before I get in there to give her a kiss goodnight. As I expected she was asleep tonight when I went in her room, so I thought "Oh good, I can just kiss her and go to bed a few minutes early." Well, after I kissed her she barely opened her eyes and said "I want you to sing me a song." Of course, she was out before I could get the first verse done, but for some reason looking at her sweet (and very asleep) face I just couldn't help but think of where I was four years ago. I know it is cheesy, and really I don't usually think things like that, but she is such a little princess. I remember the first time I saw her just thinking that she looked like a little doll, and she still does. (All of my children were dolls, but the other two were much bigger dolls :)).

Alright, enough of that.

We don't have much to share in the way of pictures.

I had big plans for her cake today, Hello Kitty face, just like the Spider man face.......but they flopped, so we had a store bought cake AND we were not going to do presents until the weekend.....key words being "were not." Funny/VERY sweet story: On the way home from church tonight Jonathan was telling me about his bible class and Abbey kept trying to interrupt- finally it was her turn. In her little voice she said "Mommy, if today is my birthday, then why don't I get to open any presents?" Now, who in their right mind is not going to wrap something and give it to her. Fortunately, Jonathan bought a Cinderella Princess doll months ago that he both remembered we had. I was trying to quickly come up with some grand present that she could unwrap on her birthday. I do not think that she was too excited about the gift, but at least she got to open something on her birthday.HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY ABBEY!

Sidewalk chalk, spiders, siblings......

2007-09-02T18:16:00.000-05:00

It is amazing how you can work up a sweat doing sidewalk chalk. Who woulda thunk it? Jonathan and I were enjoying some time while the girls were napping, so we decided to do a little side walk chalk. We had a lot of fun, as you can see. Jonathan wanted to draw a horse race track and then he wanted to race. Oh yeah, Mollie woke up and wanted to draw too. J and I raced and then daddy came into the picture (sorry, no pics) and raced as well. I think you can see the track in the picture. It stretches the width of the drive way. Bet you can't guess whose horse won BOTH times???? Such a fast horse, bet it doesn't have anything to do with the fact that he is only six and has knees that work.

The other day the kids and I were outside and when coming back in a saw what I thought was a cicada skin on the doorjamb, Oh no, this was a huge spider. Well, I guess the spider wasn't so huge as the size of its abdomen. Guess I can bet on having thousands of those wonderful babies crawling around soon. Oh, I am so proud. And if you were wondering, no, I did not kill it. I am not a huge fan of splattering sounds especially when it involves a shoe that I would like to wear again. Needless to say, we closed the door and didn't look back. This picture is sideways, but that circle just underneath the spider is a nail head. I was going to try and hold my finger up next to it, so you could compare size, but I was not about to get close to that thing. Sorry mom. Your enthusiasm for nature did not rub off on this girl.

These last pictures are of Abbey and her "hair like mommy." She looks about two years older when her hair is straight, so I am not sure why I do it. We decided to get the other two in the pictures as well. Can't you tell that they just love having their pictures taken. I can't help it, they're just so absolutely adorable.

2007-09-02T17:56:00.000-05:00

Boy, does time fly, so now I get to play catch up with the blog.

Let's see....Jonathan finally "lost" his second bottom tooth. It was sort of a forced loss. I asked Jonathan if I could feel it and he jerked and the thing came out. Took us a while to find it on the floor and we haven't seen it since. Does that make me a bad parent? Loosing your son's second lost tooth? I guess there will be many more to cherish......oh well.

We also had the kids (J and A) family birthday party. For those of you who are unaware the kids bdays are so close that we do one family party so that they only have to travel once. Seems like a good idea, right?

The kids always love getting new toys (what kid doesn't).

Here is a picture of the chaos of opening presents (in the background). Mollie is in the forefront, because I felt she should be the main thing in something. :)

Jonathan got a new scooter for his birthday and Abbey got the protective gear to wear with hers....that she has had since Christmas? Anyway, she has had it for a while. They both got all geared up to go for a roll and Abbey decided she wasn't much for rolling, so she walked. They do look pretty cute in their gear though.

And wouldn't you know it, after a hot ride on the scooter, an afternoon of cake and ice cream we heard that much anticipated song coming from none other than the ICE CREAM TRUCK. Thank you Grandpa for the Bratz and Tweety heads. They were delicious and ohh so sugary.

Jonathan needs to be a model or something. Doesn't he strike a nice pose with his ice cream. Such a funny kid.

First day of Kindergarten!!!!!!

2007-08-17T13:14:00.000-05:00

Wednesday was Jonathan's first day of Kindergarten. When I asked Jonathan on the way to school, "Jonathan what do you have to say on your way to Kindergarten?" He just held up six fingers. And, of course, we must eat a healthy breakfast on the first day of school to get the year started off right...... When we got there he just marched on in like he owned the place and gave his friends bear hugs (literally picking them up off of the ground) it was bittersweet for me, but I am so glad that he loves school and his friends.

Jonathan's class theme this year is DOG= Depend On God.

One more trip

2007-08-17T12:52:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday we decided to take one more trip to the Omniplex before Jonathan started school. I think the pictures are pretty self explanatory, but if not:

Jonathan painted his face to look like a tigers, green and purple make it a little hard to distinguish the features.......Mollie, as always, can't put the phones down......oh, and no, the water does not go over your head, it stays in the water table! Abbey looked like a real pro in the microscope, (thought Grandma would be proud). :)

After we got home (I had to document this) we had a little "girl drama." If you can't tell , in this picture, Abbey is sitting at the table with her legs crossed, with a very serious look on her face, listening to a friend trying to persuade Abbey into being her friend again. I overheard the conversation from the other room and had to see how it played out. In the end the friend gave Abbey a toy and all was forgotten. Wouldn't it be so nice to be 3/4 again?!?

"Friend Party"

2007-08-12T21:16:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we had Jonathan's "friend party." We had it at a park and it was decked out in Spiderman stuff. It was pretty hot outside, but we managed to have a good time. Six year old boys' (and two girls) just want to play. Jonathan wants me to tell you that he used "a big deep breath" to blow out his candle.

Also, I finally got to take a picture of "toothless Jonathan" and of the tooth. Hope that doesn't gross anyone out. We have yet to leave it for the tooth fairy.

When we got home Jonathan wanted to take pictures with his #6 and then he proceeded to attach all of his balloons to our dinner table chairs. We were decorating as if we were going to have a party. He even put a gallon of milk in the middle of the table, "because sometimes at parties there are drinks that people pour sitting in the middle of the table (Jonathan)." He is such an amazing kid, they all are, but he is the most verbal one........so far.

Tee Ball time

2007-08-09T22:26:00.000-05:00

Tonight we had Jonathan's tee ball pictures. I thought that I would share them with everyone.

Also, Jonathan called me tonight from dinner and said that his tooth finally fell out. I will hopefully be posting pictures of the toothless child and maybe the tooth as well. He said, "Now there is a boy who is six and lost a tooth."

Hope everyone has a good Friday.

JONATHAN IS 6!!!!!!!!!

2007-08-08T22:21:00.000-05:00

Well, today was a special day. Jonathan is six and to top that off two of his teeth are hanging on by threads (seriously....ick). Jonathan had his Superman 6 birthday picture taken and then it was off to The Incredible Pizza for his birthday lunch. (Fun- yes, but possibly twice in one week is more than enough). Jonathan got some fun Spiderman Legos from Roy and the girls got him a Spiderman costume for Jonathan's lion, Ror, to wear. We are going all out with the Spiderman theme this year. He has to wait until the family birthday to get his other family presents.

All in all a fun birthday for the birthday boy and I think everyone else enjoyed it as well.

Thank you for all of the birthday calls and cards.

Fun Day.....

2007-08-07T23:20:00.000-05:00

Ok, I have to apologize in advance for the lack of pictures. Jonathan has been gone since Saturday and now they are all three gone until the weekend. Jonathan had a great time in Dallas and I am looking forward to seeing the pictures. Perhaps when they arrive I will share a few with a little narrative from Jonathan.

As I am sure you are all aware, tomorrow is Jonathan's 6th birthday and we will be having a celebration. Of course, I wanted him to have a cake on his birthday, so I got this crazy notion to make a Spiderman face cake. I think it turned out pretty good, you can be the judge. Take that gourmet bakeries!!!!! The lines are little squiggly, but I guess that is what happens when you use icing in an aerosol can.

And, I must share that while I was baking and decorating I was cleaning out a room and in the process found an old dress (1994-5). I believe that I wore it for the Ms. Junior Miss competition my Junior year of high school. After I undid all of the taping (I did my own preserving for such a special dress...HA) I pulled out the dress, good as new and yes, I had to try it on. So, you are all getting a peek at the lovely blue dress. Isn't it sparkly? I am not sure if it is a good thing, or a bad thing that I can actually fit in it.

Oh, the strange things we do when we are by ourselves.

Girls! Girls! Girls!

2007-08-05T20:37:00.000-05:00

Today we had some girl fun at the Omniplex and then at the Zoo. They are right next to each other, so why not do both????
It was a little hot and eventually they both fell asleep, but it was nice to be able to spend time with just the girls.

Mollie just can't stay away from the phone. I really hope this is not a sign of things to come.

The girls both wanted hearts on their faces....... Well, Mollie might have been more into eating the paint sticks, but when I asked her if she wanted a heart on her cheek she did stick it out.

I had to document the teeter totter. Note that Abbey is the one in the air and no, this is not in motion. I had to stand on Mollie's end and push her up each time.

New Friends

2007-08-04T21:46:00.001-05:00

Last night was a fun night at The Incredible Pizza. Jonathan left for Dallas this morning with the Greenway males and won't be back until Tuesday and the kids will be spending a lot of next week with Roy, so I wanted to do something fun for Friday night. Jonathan go to choose the place and picked Incredible Pizza, Apparently he not only likes the games, but he has had his eye on a "build-a-bear" style lion, so being so close to his birthday we got it last night. His name is Ror (pronounced "Rar") and he is very soft.

Of course, Abbey wanted one as well, but they were out of her choice, so we went to the real thing after Jonathan left this morning. She chose a Hello Kitty and named her Danielle. Danielle has gone everywhere with us today and even had very her own car seat to sit in while riding around in the car. (I have an extra seat on days that I only have two small children) Abbey has big plans for Danielle, she has already picked out some pj's that she would like to get for her birthday. (Just in case anyone was wondering a Hello Kitty "build-a-bear" can fit into baby 18 month pajamas just fine). Danielle has had a bottle and is off to bed.

We have all missed Jonathan today. Abbey has asked several times when he will be home and Mollie at one point was walking around yelling "Da-Don." Very sad and sweet at the same time.

Isn't she a doll??? :)

2007-08-01T15:52:00.000-05:00

Well, today has been full of adventure. This afternoon Jonathan is feeling very creative and has made up three games to play. The first being "Pin the crown on Queen Esther. (Okay, I have to admit that two weeks ago he attended a VBS about Esther. I am good with devo time, but not that good) . His second game was "Guess what is in the bowl." There were several crayons and if you picked a crayon you were also required to guess the correct color. His third game was "Jonathan says" much like Simon says. During this game they were told to hop like frogs and pretend burp. Yes, I am a very proud mother, I can tell you that for the first time ever Mollie had "her very first own fake burp." Jonathan could barely hold in his excitement. He is such a wonderful, educational big brother.

The games are endless around here.

Meanwhile, while perfecting her fake burp Mollie picked out a wonderful pair of shoes. She doesn't like being barefoot sometimes and is so fashion concious. I am amazed at her fashion sense. :)

Tuesday

2007-07-31T21:24:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we went to the Omniplex. This trip had been requested for quite some time so you can imagine the excitement when we actually arrived. We have been taking advantage of the sunshine and playing outside. When we pulled up Jonathan asked me how I remembered how to get there...... I didn't think it had been that long.

Jonathan enjoyed sitting in a flight simulator and pretending to drive and as you can see Mollie has a phone fettish. Pure girl.

2007-07-30T20:24:00.000-05:00

Mollie (19 mos.) is growing like a weed, not saying many words you can under-stand, but she does know how to position the phone on her shoulder for efficiency so she can do other things while "talking" (wonder where she picked that up?). She loves being outside and following Jonathan and Abbey around.

2007-07-30T20:12:00.001-05:00

Abbey will be going to Sonshine school again on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I had thought about putting her in soccer but can't really picture her in a sport just yet. I realize at this age it is more of "clump running" (following the ball around in a big group), but I just don't know that she is ready. Right now she loves drawing pictures and playing dress up. She is very into princesses and dolls. I guess I knew this was coming and I do like pink, but there is a limit.

Tonight at dinner I made some unimpressive pancakes and eggs and Abbey kept telling me "Mom, this is da- liiii cious." It was pretty cute.

2007-07-30T16:57:00.000-05:00

Jonathan will be 6 years old on August 8th and will start school August 15th. This year he will be in Kindergarten and he is very ready for school. We went up to the school today to turn in some papers and he said "I am so happy to be at OCA."

If you were wondering what that lovely box with holes in it is, well, that is "a rocket with a point on it". The circle and square holes are the windows, and of course we must not forget the leg holes, since we are too big to fit inside the box. Jonathan has such a great imagination.

2007-07-30T16:24:00.000-05:00

Hello family!

I have finally started a blog so that you can check in each day and see what your wonderful Edmondites are up to.

Lately we have had a lot of fun in the sun and are inundated with birthdays (friends and family). You can see how much Mollie loves the water. Yes, she actually is asleep. :)