7.26.11

Bad asthma attack =

Sleeping with mommy.

Tyler has been doing really good for the past year and we have managed to wean him off all of his steroids but this is the 3rd asthma attack in 5 days.  That isn't a good sign.

Not sure what is going on with him, but he has his 6 year well child check tomorrow and I guess we will discuss it then.

(Yes, he is sunburned as well.)

7.25.11

Every night in the peaceful quiet moments, after the kids have gone to bed, after everything is put up and cleaned up for the night and after everything is set out and ready to go for the next morning I sit down to this.

The soft glow of the lamp.  Everybody loves Raymond.  A glass of wine and blogger.

I am so glad I am back on track.

I have really missed this time that I take to reflect on our day.  When I didn't make myself do it I never felt like I truly unwound from the day.

Now I sit and look back on the day and prepare for the next day.

It is good for my soul.

Even if it means nothing.  Even if it is about nothing.  Even if nobody is out there reading it.

It is my time that I make myself take for me.

Today I bought Texas A&M football tickets for us.

Jackson has been begging to go to a game for a couple of years now.  We decided that we would go this year as an early birthday present.

He is so excited.

So are we!

7.24.11

When I grow up... 

I want to be... 

Just like my dad.

7.23.11

Jackson worked hard mowing the yard again this weekend.  He is really getting good at it.

(I'm still not completely comfortable with it.) 

Tyler and Jaci were also hard at work.  They were supposed to be hauling grass but when they weren't hauling grass they were hauling something else.

Do you spy what I do in this picture? 

They crack me up!

7.22.11

JUMPING! 

SWIMMING! 

JUMPING some more! 

This is what their summer has looked like!

7.21.11

Yesterday was Jaci's last day of Cheer camp. 

She started out being very reserved and not too into it.  In fact I wondered why we were even sending her there. 

Yesterday my little girl rocked it! 

I mean she seriously blew me away with how into it she was and how good she was doing.

It was totally unexpected! 

My baby girl is growing up WAY too fast!

7.20.11

He loves John Deere...

I love him.

I love all of the kids.

But tonight,  I was really loving bedtime.

It was just one of those days.

7.19.11

It is HOT...

Miserable HOT! 

That doesn't stop them from wanting to JUMP every night. 

Of course bare feet outside means a lot of thorns...I'm working on making them do better with their shoes. 

But then they get right back to Jumping...

And resting... 

And jumping some more.

By the way...It is NOT easy to take pictures of your kids bouncing around you on a trampoline.  I was enjoying some time on the trampoline with them while taking pictures so it was rather hard to get some good non-blurry ones.  It was fun though.

7.18.11

CHEER CAMP!

Today Jaci had her first day of mini cheer camp here in Albany.  She didn't say much about it but tonight I walked into her room while she was taking a bath and she was in the bathtub cheering and singing.  Clearly she liked it.  She can't wait until Thursday when they have a mini pep rally and she gets to wear her cheerleader uniform.

7.17.11

It was the kid's BIG Christmas present for the year.

I bought it on the day after Thanksgiving before we knew we were moving from Lockhart. 

When I bought it I never imagined that it would take 1.5 years for the kids to FINALLY get their present. 

Today we celebrated Christmas in July by putting up their trampoline.

(In 105 degree heat for 9 hours...ugh!) 

They were SO HAPPY!

Can't you feel the excitement?

7.16.11

This evening Jacob thought it would be a good idea to get a new yard boy.  He is kind of cute don't ya think? 

I am still not really comfortable with him doing this but Jacob insists that he is safe and was out with him the whole time. 

This is our other cute little yard boy.  No mowing for him yet, but he is ALWAYS more than eager to help out. 

And Miss Thing just stands out and supervises.  She is good at that.

7.15.11

Today we watched a fire burn close to Albany.  This is looking down the road from the entrance to our neighborhood. 

We watched the smoke form amazing clouds. 

 

We watched airplanes fight the fire. 

We watched helicopters fight the fire. 

 

We watched the land still smouldering and prayed that no houses were lost.

We watched the sun try to peek through the smoke. 

It was pretty amazing to watch...but very sad knowing what was actually going on. 

And after things calmed down with the fire a bit we came home and the kids got stealthy and we watched deer.

Every night we have 8-10 that come up to feed.  They really aren't even phased by us being out there.

It is pretty cool.

7.14.11

Poor Tyler...He got the worst haircut of his life yesterday.  Thank goodness it has some time to grow out before school starts.

Until then we are just calling him Sarge...

And little miss thing was just so tired and grumpy today when she came home from camp that I insisted she take a nap.  When I went in to wake her up around 5 she rolled over and did this...

I just had to take a picture.  I don't miss much about the little house but I do miss seeing the kids sleep.  They are just so precious when they are sleeping.

I had my first job interview in almost 10 years today.  It is for a teaching position at a local mother's day out program.  I am hopeful that it will work out because it is the perfect part time job that will still allow me to be with my kids once they are out of school.

7.13.11

Early bedtime:  FAIL 

Sunscreen:  FAIL

The receptionist at the pediatrician's office kind of blew me off a bit when I called and said Jackson needed an appointment.  She tried to refer me to a nurse line but I insisted we needed to be seen.  Jackson's shoulder has gone from bad to worse.  We are now putting a steroid cream on it twice a day to try to help it out.  He is still in a lot of pain and screams for a LONG time when you put anything on it.

It is not fun at all.

Of course it seems so minor when you consider that Jackson has a classmate who has been in the hospital for over 2 weeks and had major brain surgery yesterday.  It makes my heart ache to think about going through that with one of my kids.  Jackson has been so concerned and constantly wanting to check in on Hannah.  It makes me feel good knowing that Jackson has a tender heart and has wanted to Pray for Hannah often.  It makes me feel even better that those prayers seem to have been answered and that Hannah's surgery seems to have gone well.

7.12.11

Got scissors? 

How about deer? 

Have I mentioned how much I love it here?