What a crew!!

These are some awesome pics Memaw took at Kylie's graduation. We are all well and counting down until we leave for the beach. I am finished watching Peyton next Wednesday and we leave for the beach next Friday. I can't wait to be a four kid family again. We enjoyed seeing everyone in Wichita Falls last weekend and are looking forward to visiting again in June!!

Kylie's Graduation

Caleb at Kylie's graduation
Caleb's new bed and dresser (his name was alresdy on it)

Kylie after graduation & with her flowers from Memaw.

I have strep, again!!!! Just pics for now. Kylie's graduation was awesome. She did exaactly as she was supposed to and never once was scared or embarrassed. She had a speaking part and said the pledges and sang. I was very amazed and proud of her. Caleb ran around in the foyer the whole time. I found the bed and dresser at the same garage sale and paid $33 for both. All the kids love it. Caleb says he is sleeping in the sky. Kylie's pre school gave her all her school supplies for kindegarten. Wahoo!!

Kylie's Western Day

Caleb with Kylie
It was hard to get two kids with hats and a horse in the pic. Where's Kelly when I need her.
Our littl cowgirl

Kylie asked why they were having Western Day when the letter this week is Y. The horse couldn't make it on W week but the kids are used to the activities matching the letter for the week. I told her cowboys say "yeehaw." She thought I was really silly.

I took Caleb up to see the horse but he didn't want to sit on it. Then Kylie asked if he wanted to get on with her and he said yes. He will do anything for his "friend Tylie" as he calls her. Caleb loves Kylie's class. Her teacher lets him sit and color like a big kid. He isn't going to know what to do when Kylie is gone all day, everyday and I won't even have Peyton anymore. What ever will I do with only one kid!!!

Craziness

Kylie and Caleb ride a Rhino while at Putt Putt with Daddy.

Karissa and Katerina after her presentation.

Memaw...I think Caleb likes his Diego!!!
Karissa and Amanda after the talent show.
Caleb conquered his red truck
Cara with a monkey on her shoulder.

Life at the Wimberley household has been crazy. Last week, I had a vacation from watching Peyton. It was absolutely wonderful and just reinforced me wanting to stop watching her. It was wonderful to just focus on my kids. Karissa had an oral presentation on The Czech Republic to give on Wenesday. Kirk's parents and Aunt Katerina (who's from the Czech Republic) were able to come up for the day and hear her presentation and help her answer questions. Thank-you guys so much for coming. It meant a lot to Karissa for you to be here. Wednesday was also dress rehearsal for the talent show. So everyone got to see Karissa sing with her friend. I am going to try and put the video of Friday nights performance on here later but I have to get Kirk's help. Karissa did awesome. She didn't even seem nervous and they sounded great. The talent show was terrible long. Grandma Dee and Uncle Ralph and Aunt Linda came. Thanks for sitting through the whole thing for Karissa. She loved it that you were all there.

Caleb takes a bow

Today, Caleb was playing"fight" with his hammers. He uses them like num chucks(sp). Peyton and I were sitting on the floor watching and I clapped when he was finished. He walked over to his bed laid down his hammers and proceeded to do a formal bow and say thank-you. I have no idea where he gets these things. Then tonight at bed time Kylie was laying out her clothes for tomorrow so Caleb decided he needed to lay out his clothes, too. He picked out his truck t-shirt that"Memaw bought me" and some denim shorts and sandels. He is such a ham. Recently, while playing with Kirk he wiped his forhead adn said"whew"like he was all tuckered out. Anyway, I just wanted to jot these down before they get lost in the busyness of tomorrow.

Spring Break (for who?)

Caleb with his basket
Cara with her basket

When I asked Caleb to show me his eggs he tried to hide them behind his back and stomped off

Kylie and cousin Kaylee(sorry Sharon if I spelled this wrong) the girls are only 3 monthes apart

Karissa on easter morning
Kylie wouldn't even wake up to see what the Easter bunny brought her.

So, everyday I get on the computer and eagerly check out everyone's blogs and I am always disappointed when there is nothing new. Today, I realized there might be people out there checking mine and feeling the same way. Anyway, I just haven't felt like there has been much to blog about or there is so much going on I don't have time to blog. I guess I am more of a taker than a giver.

Here's a quick run down of our spring break, followed by pictures from spring break and Easter. Monday night Kirk's dad treated us to Horton Hears a Who!. I don't know which I enjoyed more watching Caleb watch the movie or watching the movie myself. This was Caleb's first time to go to a movie. Caleb sat on the edge of his seat through most of the movie and thought it was great to have his own drink and a twizzler in each hand. The girls enjoyed the movie and snacks, too. I loved the movie and was very impressed by how clen it was. Thanks Mike for giving us such a great family night.

Wednesday my mom called to say she was bringing my sister to a hospital in Dallas and could she stay the night with us. We took the kids to Chuck E Cheese and headed home to wait for my mom to arrive.

Thursday, I had a facial and massage (a Christmas gift from Peyton). The facial was heaven and the massage was the other place. I felt like someone beat me up for thirty minutes. Then I raced home, only to realize I had forgotten to let Linda's dogs out that morning. I forgot to mention we were dog sitting for a few days while they were in NY. Anyway, the dogs were really glad to see me and they left a few surprises for me to clean up. Then I raced home to be there when my friend dropped her kids off to play while she went to the doctor. Usually, it is a great arrangement and the kids play great together. Not this time, Kylie had a major meltdown and had to take a nap while her friend was here. Caleb was awakened from his nap after only 45 minutes. So, my friend came back and took my kids home with her so mom and I could drive to Dallas to visit my sister. Mom and I got back to Saginaw about 9:30 and headed to Walmart for breakfast food. Kirk's cousin Sharon and her family were staying the night with us because their son was at Cooks and they were tired of the motel. We ended up staying up until 12:00, talking.

Friday, Kirk was off for Good Friday so we hung out with his cousin for awhile. My mom left and headed for my brothers. Kirk and Karissa went to Six Flags and a Jeremy Camp concert. It was very crowded and Karissa didn't like any of the rides. She had fun just hanging out with Dad, thoughh. Friday night, our church had a Good Friday service. I worked in the nursery but Cara and Memaw got to attend a cool Last Supper. I forgot to mention Memaw arrived Friday afternoon. I am exhausted just writing all this down, how about you?After church we came home and learned that Sharon and her family were headed home. Their son had been released from Cooks and they were ready to sleep in their own beds.

Saturday, we took the kids to the Trinity river and on a mini train ride. Saturday night, Kirk had to practice and we had to do Easter things. We also had to play catch up because Cara lost a toothe Friday night and the tooth fairy didn't make it.

Sunday, it was COLD. All our spring deresses and sandels were pretty but not practical. I worked first service in the 2-5 yr old class and went to second service. After church, all Kirk's family came over for lunch and an egg hunt. We had left overs for dinner and I couldn't wait to get in bed. I can't belive I spent most of spring break waiting for school to start so we would have a routine. This summer I am going to have to create a routine or I think we might go crazy!!! So, if anyone is still reading this is what has been going on in the Wimberley household.

Today, Kylie and Cara had their teeth cleaned. Caleb was worried he was going to have to do it. He kept saying "mommy...not me." So the hygenist said "Caleb we are just going to look at your beautiful blue eyes today, not your teeth." So what does Caleb do..he squints his eyes shut and tries to keep them closed so she can't see them. I am not looking forward to his first check-up, although I think the new toorh brush will help!!

Snow

Well our one Big snow of the year finally arrived. (sorry Kelly) It has rained, sleeted and snowed today. I think we probably got between 3-4 inches. Some other areas around us got up to 9 inches of snow. For those of you not from Texas, Texas shuts down with just ice or an inch of snow, so you can only imagine how everyone is freaking out.

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

smile

We have been sick FOREVER!!!! I think truly since Kirk's marathon in Thanksgiving, someone has been sick. Cara is the latest with an ear infection in both ears. Kylie and Karissa had short illnesses and Caleb hasn't gotten sick at all. Karissa got her braces off yesterday. She officially finished Phase 1 of her orthodontic work. It's like building a housing development. They define each part of braces as a phase and you pay per phase. She has a permanent retainer until all her baby teeth fall out. Then they reevaluate and decide what Phase 2 needs to be. Her teeth look great and although she was nervous about getting them off, she did great. The second photo is what Kylie does when I tell her to go layout her clothes for the next day. Always a dress and usually a comple ensemble.

Meet Mary

This is Cara's new friend. She loves her a lot. (maybe a little too much at times) Hopefully, she will have a long and happy life!!

Karissa

Top Five 3rd Grade Spellers

Karissa is an awesome speller!!! She has never even had to study. So, I am not sure why I was surprised when she wanted to be in the spelling bee this year. I guess it would never have been something I WANTED to do. I don't get up in front of people by choice. Anyway, today was the 3rd grade spelling bee and she made it in the top 5. Now she will spell against the top five 3rd, 4th and 5th graders on Friday at 2pm. Wish he luck and pray for her. Oh yeah, she certainly didn't get the spelling genes from me because I can't spell. Kirk is always checking my spelling for me:)

The Game

This weekend, I was sick with strep throat, for the second time in a month. Luckily, there was great football on to watch and I have a great husband who sent me to my room for the weekend. Granted, bt the time the Cowboys game came on Kirk said "you have to help with kids." Unfortunately, I was then and am now still SICK. I have never had strep not get better by the 2nd day of antibiotics. Fortunately, no one else has gotten it. I seem to be very prone to it in my adult years.

We were so excited to see the Packers win and looking forward to a Cowboys/Packer game this weekend. We were a little anxious about Brett Favre having to come to Dallas and play (he is 0-9 here). I guess we won't have to worry about any of that now. I feel so bad for Tony Romo. I wish the game hadn't come down to him making the last play. I was very hopeful at the begining of the game that thay were going to do well. Then they just seemed to defeat themselves. I was especially sad to see Romo look pouty. I really like Favre and Romo because you can see their love of the game when they play. They are always laughing and smiling even when they mess up. Yesterday, not so much. Anyway, not that anyone cares about my opinion on football. I am glad the Packers made it! I hope it snows again this week at the game in GreenBay like it did last week. Kirk is very hopefull that Favre will return again and even wants to plan a family trip to Lambeau Field.

I convinced him the kids love Favre because he does not because they would care anything about visiting a football stadium and a town called Green Bay. From there we thought of visiting Washington DC but again, are our kids old enough to appreciate that, yet? (We do have a couple of friends in the DC, Pennsylvannia area) Karissa is old enough but the others not so much. Then we thought Disney World BUT ,oh my,that is quite the undertaking.

I guess that is all the news I have for now. Cara got a new teddy bear hamster named, Mary. She looks like Ashley but isn't quite as friendly. I think she is just still really young. She isn't as mean as Karissa's dwarf hamster. Karissa will be in her first spelling be wednesday afternoon. Wednesday is the 3rd grade spelling bee and the Friday is the finals. Hopefully, I can make it up to watch her. Kylie and Caleb are good. The play so well together when it is just the two of them. Poor Caleb will miss Kylie when she goes to school full time next year!

I really wanted to put a picture of the Packers playing in all that snow but as Kirk mentioned we got a new computer and he hasn't put all our pics on it yet. I love the new computer...we had a dinosaur. This one is so QUIET, not to mention it looks nice and has the case all in one piece and is much smaller except for the screen of the monitor.

Happy New Year

Cara and Ashley

We had a great evening with friends. Then Cara brought us her hamster who looked dead. She wasn't but she is now. So sad. She was a great hamster. Very friendly. So it is with sad hearts we start the new year. Karissa was at her grandma's. I think this might be the first year we weren't all together for new years.

New Me

So, I am usually not one to post personal stuff. For me it is all about my kids because they are my life right now. In this instance, I am going to cross my line. I am so happy. Actually, happy isn't the word for it is is pure unadulterated JOY!!! I can honestly say that I have never felt this way before in my life. I am not sure how many of you know this but about four years ago I started taking an anti depressant. I have been ashamed of the fact that I needed it and haven't really shared a lot about it with anyone. Last week we went to Wichita Falls for Christmas. We left Friday after Kirk came home from work. I was so excited we got to stay all the way through Christmas. Kirk was supposed to work Christmas Eve but for once his boss was generous and said don't bother driving back from WF to work on Monday. About the time we drove through Decatur, I realized I had forgotten the medicine bag I had so carefully packed with my prescription and all the "just in case" meds for our kids. Kirk said "we better go back and get it" I said "are you crazy...we have four kids in the car?" So we didn't go back. I don't know how much you know about anti-depressants but you have to take them everyday and you aren't supposed to just stop taking them cold turkey. So, I am not great about remembering everyday but I am pretty regular with it. Anyway, so this doesn't turn into an epic blog I will cut to the chase. I have tried several times to wean myself from this drug and it never works. I even tried running so I could maybe quit taking it. Today makes 8 days for me without it and I feel like could burst with JOY. I don't know if anti-depressants suppress other things in your life but I feel like I am alive for the first time in a long time. Recently, I was talking with a friend about the side effects of this drug and we both wondered how it could be helpful when it makes it hard to sleep, you lack a sex drive, you gain weight and basically live in a haze of muted feelings. Let's just say none of those have been a problem this week. Kirk is usually the first to notice if i haven't been taking my medicine and this week he is like" don't ever take it again."

For the first time, in a really long time the music and sermon in church touched me. The sermon was on the prodigal son but he talked a lot about the elder son who didn't run away. He said we need to stay in touch with God on a daily basis so we don't feel disconnected. He also said many Christians he meets say they love God and are happy in life and he wants to say"could you tell that to your face" because they look so sad and downtrodden. Anyway, I am not sure where all this will take me but I wanted to share it with my family and friends. Pray for me please to keep this JOY and to use it for God.

Trains, Family and A Race

Kylie and Katerna on the way home on the train

Longhorn downtown, Cara loves them
Uncle Kevin & Caleb on his first train ride

57 foot tree downtown
Karissa at the NASA booth

Mom and Caleb behind the big tree

Cara and Karissa love ther Aunt Katerina

Christmas is only 14 days away and I have only shopped for one kid. we have been sick one after the other. First, the kids; then Kirk, only days before his fiirst marathon and now me. Kirk ran his marathon Sunday in the freezing cold. He and Wendell were able to run the whole thing together. Kirk was very exhausted at the end. Kevin, Katerina and I stood by the finish line to cheer him. We froze. Thus, I come home with chills and fever which turns into strep or maybe a virus that is hghly contagious. Kirk hasn't had tme to recover, yet. He has been taking care of kids and me. I feel a little better, today.

We had a great time ths weekend with Kevin and Katerina. Saturday we took the train (first time for the kids) to Dallas. We picked up Kirk's race packet, toured where JFK was shot, had some lunch and came home. The packet pick up was at the conventon center. They had a lot of vendors and free stuff. They also had face panting,finger casts, a bounce obstacle course. Saturday night, we went downtown to see all the light and Santa. Santa wasn't there!!! The whole way there all Caleb could talk about was HoHo and then we get there and he only works days on the weekends. We did get to walk around and see the 57 foot real Christmas tree. There was a ballet going on telling the story of a Christmas Carol but it was hard to follow and we got cold standing still. We found a Starbucks and Kylie had a ball playing in all the leaves on the sidewalk.