Karissa

Today was a big day for Karissa. She got her expander removed and her top braces on. She did really great. I am so proud of her and the maturity she showed from the last time she had appliances put in her mouth. She was scared and hesitant today, but relatively easy to prod along. She has had mainly ice cream and milk shakes to eat this afternoon. She has had quite a bit of soreness. Hopefully, she will adjust quickly. She got black and hot pink bands on her braces.

Tonight, was her Star Scholar award ceremony and reception. All the students who have an A average in citizenship and academics for the year, get a medal. This is her second year to recieve a medal. She was so proud of her braces and even dressed in pink and black to match.

Graduation

Last night was the Awana Award ceremony. Karissa finshed two books and finished the second most sections in all the Sparks. She is really amazing. She didn't just memorize her verses for credit. She can still recall and recite a lot of what she learned. Kylie and Cara finished their first Cubbie books. It was alot of fun and they were all very proud.

Tonight, was Cara's preschool graduation. It was so cute. She got to lead the processional. Then they led the pledges and sang three songs. She got a certificate and a new Bible. The preschool also made memory books for all the kids. Memaw took a dozen yellow roses to Cara at school for her last day. She was about to burst with pride and excitment over getting flowers for the first time.

Caleb got a tricycle, yesterday. He didn't want to get off it at Walmart. He thinks he is big like the girls. Debbie and I went garage saling with the kids today and saw a very similar trike for $10. We could have saved $27.

My Grill

Yesterday, I got the surprise of my life. No, I'm not pregnant. I won a huge grill. When we picked up Kirk's jeep Saturday they were having a drawing for two grills. Kirk had already put his name in earlier in the week. Jamie, our saleswoman, said I could enter, too. We didn't hear anything Saturday or Sunday so we just forgot about it. Then yesterday I got a call from James Wood (the car dealership). I just figured they were calling to check on How Kirk was liking the car. Instead this guy says"Are you feeling lucky?" I couldn't\can't believe I won something. So cool to get a jeep and a brand new, mega, we could never afford and would never spend that much on, grill. Now we just have to learn how to use it and all the gizmo's on it.

Some summer do's

I felt wonderful Sunday so I mowed the lawn. I think that probably wasn't the best thing for my knee. I feel almost as if I am back to the origional injury pain. So much for my two weeks of rest. I really thought I would just slowly get back to normally but for me there is no slowly. I have too much to do. This week alone I have Awana's store night, PTA teacher appreciation week, orthodontist appointment plus Kirk is car shopping. Cara took the above picture of Kylie and I . I think you can tell enough to see our hair cuts!! I have bangs but they drive me nuts so I push them to the side most of the time. I wanted to stop having such a big forehead but I think I will have to follow Kelly's lead and cut shorter bangs. It is really funny...Karissa cut her hair very similar to mine but I talked her out of the shorter bangs because they would always be in her eyes. She opted for bangs she can tuck behind her ear and then I go and cut mine in the middle of my face!! Go figure. When my mom was here last week she helped me redo my front flower bed. I am so proud of how it turned out. I love to go outside and look at it, now. Before there were short green shrubs and no flowers. We pulled out 10 bushes and then planted lots of different flowers.

Swingset Bliss

Great motion shot. Can you guess how many tries it took to time it right?
He looks so proud!!!

Two years ago, when we moved to Saginaw we promised the kids a swing set. Last Saturday, we finally bought one. Today, it is finally finished being put together (except the stakes). The kids love it. They wake up and ask to go outside. So far, Lambeau hasn't chewed on it but you never know. Caleb thinks he has gone to heaven. He loves to swing. Who knew such a simple (but expensive) thing could make my life so much easier. My knee\leg is finally better. I mowed today without any pain. Thanks to my mom, in laws and my friend for coming over to help me be able to rest. I am going to start walking this week. Kirk is getting noticeably thin, I think he has lost about 24 lbs. WOW! The only time I have ever lost that much is after having a baby. I started a chore\allowance chart for the kids. Today was the first day. Karissa was a little resistant but the little girls love it. Karissa has been a great big sister to Cara the last few days. Usually, they can't get along for 5 seconds. Karissa has been helping Cara and wanting to sit next to her and choosing to play with her. So strange but delightful while it lasts. Caleb has discovered markers. No matter how many times I put them up and think I have them all, he finds more. I guess that is all for now. Karissa will be getting braces at the end of this month. Cara has graduation from preschool on the 17th. They do caps and gowns and everything. Kirk has a half marathon on the 20th. I guess May will turn out to be pretty busy. I hope this cool rainy weather hangs around for awhile. I am lovin' it.

Running Blues

I have not posted lately because I have been bummed. I ran my fifth run and came home feeling great. I took my shoes off and had a shooting pain in my knee. I haven't been able to run in two weeks or even walk much, for that matter. I have some kind of tendonitis. What really sucks is the run felt great and I ran further than I ever have. Hopefully, I can run again soon. I am getting around better each day. Kirk ran his second race Saturday. We didn't get to go because my knee and Kylie was sick. This was a 10k. In three weeks, he is going to run a half marathon (13 mi.) My gooal is a 5K and then just loose weight. Karissa has her school program tonight. It should be cute. She has a speaking part this year. The girls got summer haircuts Sunday. They look really cute!! LAst weekend, we went to the Water Gardens. The kids had a blast and it was free. I mostly just sat and watched. There is a huge stone mountain the kids loved to climb on and it is refreshing to be around all the fountains.

Running

Today is my fourth day to run. I am only run\walking a mile with a bit aof warm up at the beginning and end. I have to admit that I don't hurt as much today as I did. I still don't love it but I do want to run. I have not had a Dr. Pepper since Monday and I am trying to drink water. It is so funny that all our blogs are about diet and weight and exercise. It must be something to do with being in our 30's. I think when you are younger it is easier to stay thin. I have always heard when you get in your 30's the weight is much harder to get off. Anyway, I have not lost a single pound!!!! No DP, running and drinking water and no weight loss. Kirk was at 4 or 5 pounds by now and only walking. I knew it would be this way but I was hoping I would be proven wrong.

Easter in WF

We had a good Easter. The kids hunted eggs with 10 of their cousins. Caleb knew there was candy in the eggs so we had no problem getting him to hunt eggs. It was really fun to have a big Easter egg hunt. We went to Grace Sunday. It is amazing how things grow and change while we are gone. We didn't know very many people anymore. The good thing is I finally feel like Saginaw is home. I really can't imagine moving back to Wichita Falls, anymore. Karissa and Kylie didn't cooperate with the picture taking thing. Karissa hates to dress up and wasn't afraid to let us know it. The great thing about having four kids is they cover you up in the picture.

Kirk has finally convinced me to start running. I just started Sunday and all I can say is .....IT HURTS! Kirk says give it two weeks and I will love it. I really doubt I will love it but if I can shed the fat that hangs OVER my jeans, I will be happy. Alyssa, I am not one of those who is happy and skinny (but maybe I will be soon). I am prepared to be disappointed beacause I know that men generally loose weight faster than women. Oh well, maybe we can run a race together.

Alone

Karissa and he Upwards trophy and bag

Kylie after Princesses on Ice

I am sitting in my house completely alone! For some of you this is no big deal but I can't tell you when the last time I was completely alone. My Mom came down Wednesday to visit and take me and the kids back to WF for Easter. Kirk was coming too but not until Saturday after his 5k run. Yesterday, Mom said "I could take all four of the kids with me and you caould come down with Kirk on Satuurday." Holy Cow!!! I packed the kids up and loaded carseats and only felt a little bad that Caleb was really cranky. I called Kirk and said we have no kids for two days!!! It was really strange and quiet and kind've lonly in our big house last night. We ate take out and watched t.v (with no interruptions). Today, I think we are going to paint our living room. Kirk is out running. I slept really late and couldn't feel better. It is so nice to be at home and kidless. Usually we have to go out to be alone.

We had a run of sickness last week but everyone is well now. Karissa is really struggling with lying, again. She is spending a lot of time grounded. She got a speaking part in her school play. Should be interesting as it gets closer. Cara is teaching herself to read. She is very social and wants to have a playdate everyday. Kylie is so resilant. She plays with whoever is home or alone if she's it. She is Caleb's protector and buddy which is really cute since she's so small. She went to Disney Princess on Ice and had a great time. She was so animated when she told us about it. Caleb is active. He isn't talking much but he is verywhere into everything. Kirk is at 19 lbs lost and about 5 mile runs. He looks great and feels even better. He just wishes it would rub off on me. I am too dependent on my Dr. Pepper ans not at all interested in running. I do feel bad that soon he will be this hot guy married to frumpy me. His office workers paid him $1 a piece to watch him shred his tie while wearing it. He made a big production out of it with ketchup for blood. He was never in any danger but his emplyees didn't know that. I forgot to say McKenzie (our neighbors daughter thet I watched)moved away. They left last week. We miss her but it is kind've nice to have our house all to ourselves everyday. My new neighbor has asked if I will watch her new baby in the fall. Definately something to think and pray about!!

Spring Break (for who?)

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Saturday, was Karissa's last basketball game. They had a good game even though they were a few players short, due to spring break. Monday night was her awards ceremony. It was really bad. The kids got to run in one at a time and then there was a old time evangelist speaker who talked about hell and death and was just bad. I had a headache by the time we left from his yelling. He was preaching to a room full of K-3 grade kids. Kirk and I were not happy. We have purposefully not exposed our kids to that type of preaching. Besides, the preacher they didn't hand out awards at all. The coaches were instructed to give them their trophies after the final prayer.

So, our Spring Break has been pretty lazy. We have no plans to go anywhere or do anything. Kirk's parents came down last weekend. Our nephew is coming tomorrow, for the day. That's about it. Karissa woke up this morning wanting to have a picnic, so we packed lunches and walked\rode to the park. It was a lot of fun. Then we came home and crashed. Kylie rode her tricycle the whole way there and half way back. I think it is a little over a mile one way. She is going to have great leg muscles.

Hot or Not

She presented her project to the second graders during school today and then they were displayed tonight for all the parents to see.

This is Karissa with her science expo project. It was a voluntary family project. Next year it will be required. She also got her report card and made straight A's. I don't know how many of you are familiar with the AR reading program but that is what Karissa's school uses. Each grade level is assigned a color and the books in the library are marked with that color. The kids read their level of book and then take a comprehension test on the computer. After they make five 100's on a certain color they move up to the next. Karissa has read passed all the levels and is now at the 6th -12th grade color. Give her a goal and she achieves it. Granted this was supposed to be a goal for K-5th grade. Anyway, the content is not really appropriate in the older books so we are going to revisit some of the other lower colors for the rest of the year. Sorry I just had to brag a bit about what a reader she is!!!!

Dress up

Caleb's new do (actually, he just got a lot of apple sauce in his hair and this is what it looked like after I wiped his head with a rag)
McKenzie showing off her bling
Cara showing off her bubble ring
Caleb connecting with his girly side

Yesterday, we were all bored. I remembered that McKenzie's parents said she loves to dress up so I pulled out our stuff. She didn't want to wear the dresses and wasn't big on hats. She absolutely loved the necklaces, bracelets and shoes. She had all we had on and was saying "mo mo (more)." Kylie is sick so she didn't really feel like dressing up. Cara had fun and Caleb even got into it (don't tell Kirk). Tonight we have Karissa's open house and science expo. We had fun working on her science fair as a family. I'll post pics tonight or tomorrow.

Today is one of those days I truly miss being in Wichita Falls. I really think Kylie might have strep but I can't imagine taking all four kids to the doctor. I was awake from 2:30 to 4:30 trying to figure out who could watch them. Although I have made friends, not many of them are stay at home moms. Hopefully, she will feel better today. Last night, her fever was scary high...like 104.5. Yikes!! This morning she has none so far. Pray for us.

Woven

This weekend I bravely went where I haven't gone before. I signed up and attended a women's retreat at our new church. When we pulled up in the parking lot of the church I recognized no one. I said "Kirk, are you really going to leave me here?" For those of you who have known me a long time, this is a giant step for me. Being the nice husband he is, he helped me unload and carry my stuff to the woman with the clip board. I signed in and then tried to decide how to find someone to hitch a ride with. Finally, I recognized the children's minister. I scooted up to her group and said, with a smile "you're the only one here I know." She is a outgoing lady and she said "well then you'll have to ride with me and Alex." By the time we arrived at Riverbend Retreat Center, I was very car sick having ridden in the backseat of the car of a somewhat nervous highway driver. I also had spoken about three times and laughed a few more than that. I did know Dawn, Alex and Mendy, though. We unloaded and put our stuff in the least full side of the bunk house. Why was it the least full...it was the SNORING side, of course. Anyway, about 9pm we started our first session.

The whole point of this retreat was for the women of our church to get together and learn about how to better our women's ministry. We had about 40 women there. A retreat team named Woven (www.Woven310.org) did everything for us. They were great and most of them are local women. Friday night, we had a guest speaker (not of Woven) who taught about personality types and we all took a test and then were split up with our same types. The speaker was very good and spoke tongue in cheek about the different personalities. We did learn about each other and information that will help us put together a great womens ministry. Then we ate chili and lots of junk. There was a campfire and s'mores, too but it was freezing outside. I went to bed about 1pm. I went to sleep around 3-4. I never knew someone could snore that loud. I take that back..I never knew a woman could snore that loud.

By Saturday morning, I had hooked up with some friends. Jessica, Diana and I hiked to the dinning hall. It was a beautiful morning and we arrived early to a dinning hall full of kids. We hiked out behind the dinning hall and had a great view of the sun and a river. Breakfast was wonderful and then we hiked back to our morning session. Our retreat was tittled B4...before,belong,believe,become. The believe session hit me right between the eyes. It was about believing Him versus believing in Him. There is a great difference and the latter is much harder for me. Anyway, the really funny thing is they related B4 to our physical as well as our spiritual health. Since Kirk is on this get healthy kick I found it very humerous that the retreat had that as a theme also. (see Kirk's blog) As we were loadind up to go to the church, Kirk said "Do you know you probably drink 1000 calories a day in Dr. Pepper?" I , of course, said" you are the one who wants to get healthy not me." It's funny how God works.
So, we finished the day with an afternoon session and then headed home. The music, by the way was wonderful. Woven has two musicians (usually more I think) and then three of our ladies mixed in and made an awesome group. So, I rode home with my new friend Jessica, who is also a stay at home mom...Yeah!!! I also met Diana, who stays at home and wants to start a weekday womens Bible study. God is really growing our church and providing people who are willing to step up.

I want to throw a great big thank-you out to Kirk. He gladly took all the kids so I could attend the retreat. Karissa had a basketball game and a school carnival. The kids barely even missed me and the house was even pretty clean when I got home. Thanks also to Linda, Sharon and Ariel for helping Kirk with the logistics of four kids and one parent.

Karissa

Karissa made her first BASKET!!!! The game yesterday was great. The last couple of games have been very competitive and fast paced. They lost last week at the buzzer by two points. This week they won and everyone on the team scored and one of their best players wasn't there. Karissa was very happy. She wants Uncle Kevin to come and paint her room in a basketball theme. She wants a piture of herself shooting the ball. A few weeks ago she "let her team down by not playing (her words)." This week she fell in the middle of the game and hurt her knee but she got back up and finished the quarter. Later, I asked her if she got hurt and she said yeah, but "I will never let my team down again." She is so funny. Tonight, at small group one of the boys brought his set of speed stacking cups. Tomorrow, she will probably want to quit basketball to start speed stacking!!!!

For Grandpa

Dallas World Aquarium

The Flamingoes
Shark swimming over the tunnel (too cool)
my attempt at a cool picture

The Octopus
Giant turtle (love the reflection wish I had done it on purpose)
The panther

Never can get four good faces(Kylie must have been tired)
The Waterfall
Kylie next to the Aqarium wall (this was my favorite part)

Monday, Kirk was off so we HAD to do something fun. We decided to go to the Dallas Aqarium. We have wanted to go for awhile but it is pretty expensive so we haven't gone. It was really neat with different areas set up like different habitats. The most memorable one was the Rainforest Refuge. It was a three story habitat with a winding trail from top to bottom. There were monkeys, birds, fish, frogs, snakes,and lizards and even a panther. Outside, there was a penguin display and the fish displays were awesome. Karissa's favorite part was the flamingo display. Cara liked the crocodile (although she was afraid of it),the waterfall and the sharks. Kylie liked the monkeys best.We were very close to all the fish and animals...sometimes we could have reached right in and touched them.We really enjoyed ourselves but, in the end, felt it was a little pricey.

My herd

Raven 9, Karissa 8, Tyler 8, Cara 5, Kylie 3, Caleb 1, McKenzie 2

I just wanted to share my CRAZY Wednesday afternoons with you all. I am not going to write about it. This is one of those times a picture is worth a thousand words.

Awana Grand Prix

Yesterday, we had our Awana Grand Prix. It was so much fun. The girls each wanted to make a car so, Dad and Grandpa Frank helped them. Karissa made a skateboard car with flames painted on the bottom. Cara made a wedge sheped Backyardigans car and Kylie made a brown polka dotted 57 chevy. The girls really didn't know what to expect at the race but they had fun. Karissa and Cara's cars came in first and second a few times and Kylie's was fourth. Kylie quit after two tries so we will never know how hers would have placed. Karissa ended up earning second in the speed race and Cara was fourth. Karissa also would have won first for design but you can only receive one trophy. At the end, they took the top two finishers from each leveal and raced them and Karissa came in fourth. It was a great family adventure. We all worked on the cars together and cheered for each other at the races.

Cara's rice baby

Cara finally got to bring home her rice baby. It is so cute with a cap and a paci. She had so much fun making it.

To All of You