This is our life

I'm back

2010-03-14T18:51:00.002-06:00

I'm back...I haven't blogged in so long, but think it's time to start back up again.
Facebook has taken over my "thoughts", but I'm hoping to find time to blog again. I have a SBC Kids blog too that I might start updating again too. Not sure how much time I'll have, but we'll see.

It's Spring Break for us, but since I don't teach anymore I still work this week. I'm just so glad my office hours are flexible. I'm not setting an alarm all week! I'll do some more blogging this week for sure!

Just wanted to say I'm back!

Life is kind of blah!

2009-05-20T09:55:00.002-05:00

This week has been a bit different around the Smith house!
Olivia is SICK - she doesn't get sick very often at least not to the point where all she wants to do is lay around. Monday she started having a bit of a fever and her cough was pretty rough, so I took her to the dr. Tuesday. No infection, but on the verge of one, so antibiotics here we come. Today she's not any better, in fact she's now not keeping anything down. This is NOT the week I can afford for her to be sick, BUT it's too bad.
Kristin had dance Monday night, tonight and again on Friday. Saturday is the recital and then we are DONE!! I think we are both ready for this to be over. Monday at school Kristin had splash day - it was a lot of fun. Then Monday night she had an identity crisis - I didn't know 6 year olds could do that. I think it's really a girl thing!
I've missed work at church all week, but I'm glad my job is flex enough for me to work from home. I'm hoping Olivia will feel better this afternoon so maybe I can get out there for a few hours. I'm not at the preschool today like I'm supposed to be, but that's ok, that's what subs are for!
Randy got his TAKS scores back. Overall the HS did well, but he had a few more kids fail than he expected. Oh well, it's over and summer is almost here!!
Not a very up lifting report, but that's whats going on here!

A Mother's day laugh

2009-05-10T17:33:00.002-05:00

Happy Mother's day!

This morning I got Olivia's dress out for her as we got ready for church, she put it on and Randy buttoned the buttons and tied the bow. She goes on and gets ready for church. Little did I know she forgot to finish getting ready ;-)

As our church service is getting ready to start, we've changed things around and I'm kind of running around crazy. Olivia's SS teacher pulls me aside and says,"Anne, Olivia wispered to me this morning, Ms. Tina, I don't have on any panties!" Olivia then pulls up her dress to show Ms. Tina! OH MY GOSH...I was totally embarrased!!! That's my daughter - the pantieless wonder!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Olivia's birthday

2009-05-02T18:56:00.008-05:00

Olivia Anne turned 4 today!

Birthday flowers and balloons from Daddy

Family picture

Olivia with Chuck E

Enjoying some pizza

Time to play games

Dressing like her bitty baby!

Sick and more

2009-04-18T19:24:00.001-05:00

Just the other day I was bragging to Randy about how FEW times I've been to the Dr. in the almost 10 years I've lived here. Ok, so I had 2 kids, but other than my OB/GYN I've been to the dr. twice! That's pretty good right. The very next day I get sick. I was feeling SO bad Thursday night Randy went to the store at 1 am to get my some medicine! I went to work on Friday, but then spent the rest of the day in bed other than picking up kids. Friday Randy went back to the store for some more medicine with something stronger in it. I spent most of this morning in bed too, but finally the meds kicked in and I'm feeling better. At least I'm going to avoid the Dr., but that's what I get for bragging!

It's been a great day to stay inside since it's rained ALL DAY! We need the rain don't get me wrong, but still. It was darker at 3pm this afternoon than it usually is at 7:30! Tomorrow is supposed to get better though and then sun for most of the week!

Olivia took a 3 1/2 hour nap on my lap today. That was a special mommy moment since she doesn't nap very often anymore. I enjoyed just holding her and watching a Star Wars marathon!

Tomorrow is church, youth fundraiser, and lots of stuff in the evening. What a weekend!

Easter

2009-04-11T20:37:00.000-05:00

He Has Risen!

Enough said

What a day!

2009-04-04T18:43:00.003-06:00

What a day!
It started early for a Saturday (6:30am). I guess my body is just used to getting up early, so instead of being lazy like I usually do I actually got up and had a WONDERFUL quiet time! Our church was having a work day this morning to get things looking pretty, so I decided I was going with or without my family. It just so happened they all got up and got ready quickly and we headed to the church. It's amazing how quickly things get done when a good group of people show up. The church looks so good and it will only get better as more flowers grow!
I then headed home for a quick shower and then back to church for the Ladies Spring Luncheon. Jennifer did a GREAT job putting it together and there was a good turn out. The food was yummy and the speaker was really good. It was on perspective. It really hit home with me, so it was a good time.
Then Jennifer and I headed to Kohl's! I'm SO proud of Jennifer as she's lost over 30 pounds and needed some new clothes. It really was a lot of fun. I think it's the first time in 10 years I've shopped for myself with a friend. It's usually shopping for the kids, but this time we each bought ourselves outfits! What fun.
When I got home I then got the girls and we headed to WalMart - what fun - not really. It was good to spend time with the girls since I really hadn't seen them much today and they were really good, so that made it easy.
Now I'm home, writing this. The girls are heading to bed and I'm SURE I will follow soon. What a day!

Baby Fever

2009-03-28T16:02:00.002-06:00

You read it right...I have baby fever. I don't want another child really, BUT there are so many people out there having babies right now. Now I know people have babies everyday, but not people I know. Seriously in the last 2 months I know at least 4 ladies who have babies and I know 6 more that are expecting in the next few months. All 4 that have had babies...all are boys! At least one that is expecting is a boy, but I'm not sure about the others! I guess it's just all the "babieness" (made up word) in the air that gives me baby fever. Randy thinks I'm crazy, but then again I've never denied being crazy!
I'm just so excited for the many of you with new little ones. Children truly are a blessing. I love my girls, I love their age, their smiles, their laughter and even their noise they make! I'm truly blessed to be a mom!

Weekend update

2009-03-21T17:45:00.002-06:00

We have had such a WONDERFUL weekend. Aunt Sarah and Uncle Jack are here. Uncle Terry and Aunt Sandra along with Rachel were here last night and will be back tomorrow for the day. We've had such amazing weather, so we've been able to just have such a great time.
Friday we started the day at the park. The girls enjoyed a lot of play time while Randy jogged and Terry got a good walk in. I just enjoyed watching the girls play. We had snowcones for lunch - have to live here to understand the significance of this. We played softball at the church for a little bit - Kristin doesn't play this year, but does enjoy batting and learning to catch. Maybe next year she'll be ready to play, but if not that's ok too. We ended the day with a fabulous meal at River Point - great sea food, or at least that's what they tell me. (I don't eat it).
Today, I started with a jog - it was just so nice to be outside. Then the girls went to a birthday party at the Tae Kwon Do school. It was a LOT of fun. We headed to the mall after that and now supper is on the stove. It's been another beautiful day.
Tomorrow Randy will be ordained as a deacon at our church. That's why the family is in town. I'm SUPER proud of my husband and how God is using him. It's quite an honor for him since there is only one other man being ordained.
Once I have a chance to upload pictures I'll add some from the weekend.

I'm back

2009-03-18T06:38:00.002-06:00

I guess I'm back. I don't really have must to write and don't really have much time to write, but I'm bored with Facebook, now that there is a new format - I don't like it at all. When there are important things or good pictures to post I'll be back in the blog world!

Mommy-Kristin Day

2009-03-16T16:43:00.002-06:00

Finally something to blog about! SPING BREAK!!! I know for those of you in the real work world there is no such thing, but for those of us with teaching jobs it's a great week to look forward to!
We aren't going anywhere this year, so today I told Kristin it would be a Mommy-Kristin day. Now that she's in kindergarden I don't get to spend much one on one time with her. Today made up for some of that.
We started with lunch at Taco Bell. Then we went to get our hair cut, we actually got it cut almost the same. Mine is a bit shorter, but her's sure is cute! We then headed to the nail salon. I'd been promising her for awhile that I'd let her get her toes and nails done. She got a full pedicure and just her nails painted. I of course got a pedicure too. The cutiest thing was she kept laughing when they were scrubbing her feet - she's really ticklish. She loved it and wondered when she could go again. We then headed to the mall. She got her ears pierced back in February for her birthday and at the end of this week she can change her earrings, so we went to buy her some new ones. We also got a cookie and pretzel while we were there. Then our last stop was Target. She got a couple presents that we already had so we returned then and she wanted to buy something new. She found a hula-hoop and she's REALLY good, so we got that. It overall was a VERY good day.
I often wonder how my little girl has gotten to be 6 already, but today was a day I'll remember and hopefully we'll get to spend many more like that. She's a wonderful little girl, but she's getting very big very fast!!

Taking time off

2009-01-23T07:06:00.002-06:00

I will be taking a break from blogging for awhile. I will continue to read other's blogs, so be looking for my comments. I just don't have time to sit and write anything meaningful. Once in a while I'm sure I'll post pictures, but even that takes time that I just don't seem to have right now!
Maybe again in the future I'll have the time...just not sure when!

Randy's Results

2009-01-19T15:41:00.003-06:00

Randy finished the half marathon in 2 hours 30 minutes! I was so proud of him. His back held up just fine. He's pretty sore today, his legs more than his back actually. He decided, much like I did last year, that it was a one time event in his life. I'm so proud to be able to say I did a half marathon, but can honestly say I have no desire to do another one! 5K and 10K races are more our style!!

Half Marathon time

2009-01-17T15:47:00.002-06:00

Half marathon time has come around again. This year it's Randy who's put in the many many miles and lots of time on the road. He's been doing so well, but last Saturday he threw out his back. He took this entire week off, so he's feeling better, but not 100%. He's going to go for it anyway. His race starts at 7:10 am (Houston time), so if you are up, say a prayer for him. I'll let you know how he does!

2009-01-12T21:40:00.001-06:00

The newest member of the Smith family...Murphy!

Why? That's why!

2009-01-07T22:31:00.001-06:00

There are some nights I leave Awana and wonder...WHY? Why do I do this, why do I spend time planning things, why do I work so hard at making this program work, WHY?
TONIGHT!! That's why...5 young kids accepted God's WONDERFUL gift of salvation!!! It was a beautiful thing. That's WHY I do what I do because GOD is still at work saving lives!!
Praise the LORD!!!

Weird feelings

2009-01-06T16:37:00.003-06:00

I'm feeling kind of weird today. My ex-brother in law, Steve, passed away this morning. Almost a month ago he was sent to the hospital. My mom called me and was pretty sure he would pass away that day. He recovered a little bit, but was under Hospice care since then. Well this morning he passed on.
My sister and Steve were divorced awhile back. I haven't seen him in at least 5 years. He wasn't a good husband or dad to my niece Sarah. You see, 18 years ago today he chose to drink and drive and wrecked his van so badly that he was brained dead and in acoma for 6 weeks. He survived that, but was never OK after that. He tried to get better for awhile, but was never able to hold down a job. In fact he got to the point where he wouldn't even get out of bed. My sister was pregnant when the wreck happened, so Sarah never knew her dad as a "whole" man.
The reason I'm feeling so weird today is that I'm really sad for my niece. She's so precious to me and she's hurting today. Steve was never a "good" dad, but he was still her dad. Sarah is VERY close to her dad's mom (grandma), and Grandma is really struggling. On the other hand of being sad, I'm not sad at all the Steve has passed. He just wasn't a very nice guy at the end of his marriage to my sister.
There are a few things that happened that did show me that God is totally in control. First, Sarah is not in school right now. She'll start college classes next week. Also, her half brother Jason has come back into the picture so to speak. When Steve went into the hospital Jason came to visit. I think it was good for him and for Sarah to be able to reconnect. Another amazing thing was the Grandma woke up about 1 am this morning and realized she wasn't going to be able to fall back to sleep. She started to pray. At 2am she got the phone call that her son had passed. She said that God was preparing her for this. I know God was in all the details today, but it just still seems weird.

Packed and unpacked

2009-01-03T21:42:00.002-06:00

Today was unpacking day and clean up Christmas day. I got all of my stuff and the girls stuff unpacked from our trip, but Randy's stuff...well he's on his own for that. I started the laundry and hope to finish it tomorrow. I also decided to take down all the Christmas stuff including all of my snowmen. I usually keep them up until February, but decided to get it all done at once this year. Now given today was 80 degrees and the girls were playing outside in their bathingsuits...just because they could. It was crazy warm here! I'll post pictures of our trip and today when I get a chance...over 100 to load and edit...maybe next week!

Goals for the new year

2009-01-01T20:27:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year - 2009!
I've decided not to make new year's resolutions this year, but to set some reasonable goals! Here are a few:
1. Get back in shape...this time last year I could run over 10 miles easily...not I can't hardly run a mile without passing out. That's what happens when I let Randy train for the half marathon this year. I don't want to run 10 miles again, but at least 2 or 3 without feeling like I might die would be nice.
2. Try to send birthday wishes to all of my nieces and nephews on or at least NEAR their special days! I used to be really good about sending cards, but now TEXT messages or emails will have to suffice!
3. Be better at STUDYING the bible. I mean I read my bible on a regular basis, but how much time do I spend actually STUDYING it? Not nearly enough. Randy got me a Chronological bible for Christmas, so now I have a new tool to use. I'm very excited.
4. Read more Nonfiction books. Actually this last year I didn't read as much as I used to, but this year I want to read to learn and not just for fun. I mean fiction every once in awhile are good too, but for every fiction book, I need to read a nonfiction one too.
5. Spend more time playing with my children. Don't get me wrong, I play with my kids, but as time goes by I realize they are getting bigger more quickly... or at least it feels that way. I want to spend time playing, reading, and just enjoying this time in my kids lives!
I've also set some goals for the children's ministry at work, so I have a lot of work to do this year. Just goals...no resolutions!

SURPRISE

2008-12-29T20:21:00.002-06:00

Have you ever tried to surprise someone and it actually work!? I'm not a very good secret keeper from my mom. I mean I can keep a secret, but I pretty much tell my mom everything. Well, this time I kept the secret as did my brothers and sisters, sister in law, and my nieces and nephews! I started looking into flights for my family to go to Indiana for Christmas. It was crazy expensive, so I just decided it wasn't going to happen. Then I found out my brother Brad and his family were coming, so it made me want to be there even more. Then I decided to go through cheaptickets.com and realized if we fly the day after Christmas the tickets would be $700 cheaper. TOTALLY worth it. So I decided not to tell my parents, but I did tell my brother and his family. Then it became even more exciting because 2 of my nieces from Florida were coming too! So...low and behold the day after Christmas, with MUCH flight hassle - won't even get into all that - we surprised my parents at 11:30 at night. I SO wish I would have had a camera on my mom's face when we walked up to the front door! We are having a wonderful time, it's super cold, but no snow. We've enjoyed a couple trip to Ivanhoe's already (you have to know Upland, so there is no reason to explain), TOPPIT tonight for supper, and I've even seen a couple high school friends! What a treat to spend so much time with my family and my girls are just having a blast getting to know their cousins a little bit more. I do wish all of my family would be able to be together, but maybe next year!
I do love a good SURPRISE!

Rock stars in the making

2008-12-25T15:43:00.002-06:00

CHRISTMAS

2008-12-25T07:46:00.002-06:00

FOR UNTO US A CHILD IS BORN, UNTO US A SON IS GIVEN AND HIS NAME WILL BE
WONDERFUL COUNSELOR,
MIGHTY GOD,
EVERLASTING FATHER,
PRINCE OF PEACE!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

December in Review

2008-12-23T15:47:00.001-06:00

Christmas County Spelling Bee

2008-12-14T22:46:00.002-06:00

Tonight was the Christmas County Spelling Bee muscial at church. They kids have been working since September and tonight it showed! They did such a great job. It's so great to work with children!! I'd love to say I have lots of video or pictures even, but when you are one of the directors....not possible!
Kristin had a couple speaking parts and even a solo. She did such a good job. She said she got a little nervous, but she still did great! Olivia wanted to be on stage too, but still has a couple years before she gets to participate.
Tonight just confirms again how much I LOVE working with the children of our church. I had WONDERFUL help and just overall had a great experience putting the musical together.

I have a super crazy week coming up, so this will be my only post this week!!!

"Snow" much fun

2008-12-10T22:41:00.004-06:00

It SNOWed here! Yes, you read that right....we have SNOW!!!

Tonigh at Awana the kids didn't even do regular game time, we all headed out side for a snowball fight. YES...we had enough snow to have a snow ball fight. It was SO much fun. Here are a few pictures...my camera was acting crazy, so they are the best I could do.

The girls making snow balls

It was like a blizzard...at least for South Texas!

Our mini snowman

Smith update

2008-12-01T22:23:00.002-06:00

Do you ever get so overwhelmed you aren't even sure where to start? That's me!
I'll say we have a very nice Thanksgiving with Randy's family. We were in Floresville from Wednesday to Saturday. We enjoyed a wonderful meal, family and lots of football. When I get time I'll post some pictures. The guys in the family always have an annual game...it's pretty funny to see the "old" guys gimp around when it's all over!
School is going fine, but I'm really looking forward to being done. I won't be teaching preschool next year. I decided even though Olivia has one more year at the preschool, I'm going to focus my work time to the children's ministry at church. I have some great ideas of things to do, but really don't have the time to accomplish them all when I'm working 2 jobs. Just a few more months and then it will be all church.
My brother Doug started radiation today. Just praying for a good results and that he gets through it without too many side effects.
Christmas shopping for the girls is done! I'm grateful for that, but still some to do for Randy and a few other people. I have something almost every weekend this month, so I'm a little overwhelmed. Not sure what I'm going to do for Christmas cards and don't even have the girls Christmas dresses yet. I'm really trying to commit to not letting the "stuff" of Christmas overwhelm me. I do have the house decorated, now I just need to get the boxes put away.
Randy is still training very hard for the half marathon in January. I miss working out everyday, but am so proud of him. Maybe I'll take on the challenge again next year.
The girls are doing well! They are excited about Christmas. It really was a lot of fun decorating with them, they loved it. Kristin loves everything about the lights, the music and just Christmas in general. She's so aware of the true meaning of Christmas too!
That's about it for the Smith Update....pictures soon!

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-26T13:24:00.001-06:00

We are heading out of town in just a little while, but I wanted to say

HAPPY THANKGIVING

to anyone who reads!!

Cardboard Testimonies

2008-11-21T06:24:00.001-06:00

This isn't the original video I saw, but this is so powerful and worth watching!

Not much to say...well maybe a little

2008-11-20T16:42:00.002-06:00

I haven't really blogged in awhile. I mean I posted pictures, but that's not really blogging...is it? I've started 3 or 4 notes in the past few weeks, but just haven't come up with anything that's worth posting. So today I sit down to write again and really have nothing new to say. The one new thing is that soccer season is over. I have pictures on my camera to publish, but just haven't taken the time to load into the computer yet. Kristin LOVED this season. She's ready to start again!
It was great having my parents here for the weekend. We didn't do too much out of the ordinary, but it was still nice having them here.
Church continues to consume a lot of my time, but that's good. I'm really enjoying being the children's director and am looking forward to the day that we have a full staff again. Our sr. pastor search team is working hard, so hopefully within the next few months we'll have a new pastor! That will make things so different, but so much better I'm sure.
Last nigh at Awana the children's stuffed 35 shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. That is always a WONDERFUL time for the kids! It's a bit stressful for me, but in the end it's just a lot of fun.
We are all looking forward to Thanksgiving break next week. We'll head to Floresville for a few days to see the Smith family. We always have a good time.

Ok...so I guess I had a little more to say than I thought. :-)

Family pictures

2008-11-17T10:44:00.006-06:00

A week or so ago a friend of ours - a high school student - took our family pictures. Here are a few of them...let me know what you think!

Thank a Vet!

2008-11-08T19:03:00.006-06:00

Tonight I helped Kristin do her first "project" for school. She was given a blue star and the instructions, "If there is a veteran in your family put a picture on the star and then write where they served." I decided we should ask her grandpa (my dad) for a picture and then I was also able to get a picture of Randy's dad (deceased). Here are these two amazing men who served our country with honor!

Colonel James H. Oliver Jr.

USAF Retired

Edwin C. Smith

US Navy

There are other veteran's in our family too, but I thought this would be really cool for Kristin to be able to have pictures of both her grandpas! I know it's a few days early, but on Tuesday November 11, be sure to thank a vet! They helped us to have and keep our freedom.

Update on Doug

2008-11-04T15:40:00.004-06:00

I talked to my brother Doug yesterday. He was still feeling pretty sore, but doing ok. He was to go back today to get his staples out of his neck. He'll start radiation after Thanksgiving. Not totally sure about chemo yet, but the dr's will decide soon. Thanks for all the prayers!

Halloween pics

2008-11-04T14:59:00.005-06:00

Halloween 2008

Olivia as Queen Esther - for preschool

Minnie Mouse times 2

I was extremely busy last week finishing up plans for our annual fall festival at church. Friday I worked 10 hours and Saturday I crashed! We had a good turn out, not as good as years past, but it was still a lot of fun. The girls got WAY more candy than necessary - actually none is necessary! It was a lot of fun for them though!

Tagged

2008-10-28T19:48:00.003-06:00

This is the first time I've been tagged in the blog world. Think this one is kind of fun! My friend, Deanna, tagged me.... The rules are to take the fourth picture from your fourth picture folder on your computer and write about it. Then you are to tag four people to do the same. Here ya go:

This is a picture taken at our Sunday School class about a year ago. It was before I got my hair all cut off! Not much else to say about it, except it wasn't a very good picture!
I tag Melodie, Staci, Jeni, and Lindsey

Update

2008-10-25T21:28:00.002-05:00

What a weekend we've had. First the weather has been marvelous. Very cool mornings, but low 80's by the afternoon! We've been able to keep the windows open in the house for awhile, so that's great!
Friday night the girls went to a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese...yes we were there last Friday too! I left the girls with Randy and went shopping....Christmas shopping mostly! It was a blast. I never shop for Christmas before December, but this year I started early!!! I'm probably half done with the girls at least. I even got something for Randy already! (It's ok...he never reads this blog)
Saturday we started the day with soccer - Kristin made another goal. She usually gets about 1 a game. Then we had another birthday party to go to and then we went to the HUGE HEB in Pearland. Those of you that don't live around here it's a VERY LARGE grocery store about 30 minutes away. We have WalMart, Kroger, and a small HEB in our town, but this one is well worth the drive!
The girls are in bed and I'm just surfing the web. It's been a really great weekend!

Just an update on my brother Doug. His surgery was changed and it will be this Tuesday (28th). His kids are there and my parents are there to be with him! He's feeling kind of "yuck", so please continue to pray for him and his family! I'll update again after the surgery!

Dancing with the "Stars"

2008-10-24T14:11:00.003-05:00

I "stole" this picture from my friend Deanna's blog....I love Dancing with the Stars....This is pretty funny! Maybe next year's winners?

Pumpkins

2008-10-18T19:20:00.008-05:00

We have had a wonderful weekend! Friday the girls and I had a day off, but Randy had inservice. My sister and brother in law - Sarah and Jack - came for the weekend. When Randy got home we headed to the pumpkin patchin Lake Jackson. We had gone last weekend, but the pumpkins were not there yet due to a hurricane. I love this pumpkin patch! The girls have so much fun just running around and I took all kinds of pictures. Here are just a few:

Olivia liked the mini pumpkins

A little too heavy for Kristin

This hay is really scratchy mom...hurry up.

These pumpkins sure are comfortable!

The perfect pumpkins!

After the pumpkin patch we headed to Chuck E Cheese. We decided to go there instead of the County Fair. It was too muddy, and just too expensive.

Today Kristin played another soccer game. She had the first goal of the game! It was a beautiful morning for soccer. Randy and I tore down our fence that "IKE" started for us. Then the girls and I carved their pumpkins they got at the Pumpkin Patch. We even roasted the seeds this year! Here are their pumpkins now:

What a fun weekend!

My brother

2008-10-09T12:25:00.003-05:00

Cancer....the word itself took on a new meaning for me this week. You hear about people with cancer all the time. I've prayed for many people with cancer before. You hear about people who have died of cancer. You hear about foods that cause cancer and to always wear sunscreen so as not to get skin cancer. I hear it all the time, but yesterday when I found out my brother has cancer in his throat it took on a completely new meaning! Two weeks from today my brother, Doug, will go in for surgery to remove the cancer and then have 7 weeks of radiation.
Those that know me know about my brother and his family, but for those that read this blog, but don't know my family let me give you a brief summary of my brother's life.

His first son died of a heart defect, his second son was born with a completely different heart defect, he's a preacher and has been in some good churches and some not so good ones, he moved his family to Florida a few years ago, he got out of the ministry for awhile, his wife left him and then divorced him, his youngest daughter and son have diabetes, he's had credit issues, he's back in the ministry, and now he has cancer.

My sister compared him to JOB of the Bible, my mom called him," a man after God's own heart", I think he's one of the most amazing teaching pastors I've ever heard. Can I say enough good about him....no. I mean he's not perfect, I've seen his anger, his frustration, his sin, BUT we've all done that. How many of use through EVERY trial that God throws at us quote scripture, and just continue to give God the praise for EVERYTHING - good and bad? I know I don't, but I look at my brother and say WOW.

Please pray for Doug Oliver and his 4 kids - Caleb, Rachel, Rebekah, and Josiah.

More soccer

2008-10-07T12:47:00.004-05:00

Kristin played a make up soccer game Monday night. This was by far the most layed back game we've played. Most of these kids went to preschool together, so they are all buddies. It's hard for 5 and 6 year old to play hard against their friends.

Here are a few shots!

Getting ready for the ball...or just talking with her friend

Everyone loves oranges!

All the MDS kids!

Saturday in review

2008-10-05T15:52:00.010-05:00

Saturday was a busy day for the Smith family! We started the day with two soccer games. It is always fun to watch the kids work so hard and just have fun!

Action shot

Get it Kristin

From the soccer games we headed to a Bazaar at the Methodist church were I work. The girls love this festival each year.

Kristin in the train!

This is always Olivia's favorite thing

Lastly we headed to a football game where the girls got to do the first cheer of the game! Theywere in a cheer camp this summer and had a wonderful time.

Olivia making room between each girl

Kristin with two of her buddies from school

The girls with Willie our mascot

The Invisible Woman

2008-10-01T13:35:00.001-05:00

I needed this today....you might too!

A new post

2008-09-29T15:59:00.002-05:00

It's been a few days since the last post, but not a lot to post about.
Friday Olivia fell at WalMart and smacked the front of her head pretty hard. It turned out to be better than we first thought, but she does have a good bruise!
Saturday Kristin had another soccer game and scored another goal. It was a lot of fun. Then the girls and I went shopping which is always an adventure!
Sunday we went to church and then Kristin had a birthday party to go to. I had a meeting at church and then children's choir after that.
It was not a relaxing weekend, but it was good.

There are a couple things I am asking prayer for:
My sister Susan has epilepsy and will be in the hospital for the next 96 hours (about). She's having all kinds of tests run and they are changing her medicine. It can be a really hard process when they change her meds, so having her in the hospital is the best way to do it. It's just really boring for her, so hopefully it will go well and she'll be out with new meds soon!

My brother Doug will be having a catscan and biopsy on Thursday on his throat. There was some bleeding and a trip to the hospital last week. We are praying for good results and complete healing.

Randy's super stressed at work. The new principal at the high school is kind of lame. She's a terrible communicator and keeps changing things. He continues to get new students 5 weeks into the school year. He's working 2 nights a week until 8, helping with Awana on Wednesday, and trying to train for the half marathon. He needs prayer!

The girls and I are good. I'm busy with planning our fall festival at church, teaching, and other church stuff too. Hopefully we'll have a full time secretary in the next couple of weeks and maybe a new pastor by the end of the year! That would be great. It's been a long time with our interim, he's great, but we are all ready for a full time pastor soon.

That's pretty much it for the Smith Family!

It's just stuff

2008-09-23T08:23:00.002-05:00

As I sit at work today thinking of the many things I need to accomplish, I decided to write on my blog instead! Now how's that for procrastination.
There really isn't much to report now that our life is pretty much back to normal. I think that's what's getting to me. We have power, we are back to work, the girls are back to school, we have dance class tonight as usual, BUT there are so many people that their lives will never be back to normal. We drove around a little bit on Friday night in a town near by (Lake Jackson). There were many more trees down there, the mall is not open, and many places of business still had their boards up. Most of the town is still without power, but at least their kids get to go back to school today. I saw on the news that the schools in Houston are trying to start back today too, but half the schools still don't have power. The parents were at laundry mats doing the wash, so the kids could have their school uniforms because they still didn't have power at their home. It's just so crazy to me how my life goes on, but the people in a town less than 60 miles away won't have a normal life for a long time. They have lost EVERYTHING. I heard of a family that has 6 changes of clothes and their car. That's it! I can't imagaine not having my pictures, my clothes, my home, my things. Then it hits me...it's all just "stuff". We get so wrapped up in our things that sometimes we forget what is important.
We have group at our church from Kentucky here that is putting together meals for the Red Cross. It's quite the operation. They can make 30,000 meals a day if needed. Every time I come to church it reminds me that there are MANY people still in need. It makes me wonder about their spritual need. We just need to keep praying for them and when we have the chance to visit with them, encourage them and just let them know that Jesus loves them.
Those are just my thoughts for today.

Ike pictures

2008-09-19T13:52:00.006-05:00

Our front yard...you might not be able to see the downed limbs. We are just so blessed that the tree didn't split and fall into our home.

The fence in our back yard

The limbs in our backyard...some on the deck...in the background our fence down.

Once we got home we had no way to open the garage door, but we knew that. So Randy goes to open the door with his "house key". Little did we know that it wasn't the house key! SO, we started looking for the unlocked window and we were lucky enough to find one in the kitchen, so Kristin got put in the window to go open the other door!

This is our church....there is supposed to be an awning all the way round the front. That's what's on the ground.

This is a tree across the street from our church.

There are many more pictures I could post, but this might give you a small idea of what we came home to. It's nothing like what the people of Galveston have to deal with, but it sure shows the power of wind!

We got it!

2008-09-18T13:08:00.002-05:00

WE HAVE POWER!
Enough said! :-)

We are blessed!

2008-09-17T15:06:00.002-05:00

Just another update. We are still without power, BUT we will be borrowing a generator starting tonight! After coming home and seeing the damage done to our town and to the trees in our back yard we are even more blessed than we thought. I took pictures and once I have power again I will post them. Right now I'm at Randy's classroom working on his computer. We had two VERY LARGE limbs on our back deck that could have easily come through a window or our roof. We've cleaned up a lot, but still have more to do. We will start school tomorrow just to get things "back to normal" if that's possible. It will take awhile to get all of our students back, but it will be good for those of us who are here! Thanks again for the prayers!

Going Home

2008-09-16T09:36:00.001-05:00

Today is the day we will finally go home! We still don't have power yet, but we do have water, so we are ready to get home! Not sure if we will have school tomorrow or not, but either way we need to get home to start cleaning up. We've heard there is a large tree limb on a power line in our back yard, so that's part of the reason we haven't gotten power back. Also, down the street a few houses there is a tree on a power line. Hopefully those can get cleaned up soon and we can get our power back. A cool front came through, so hopefully it won't be too hot and we can open our windows. I know our house will need to air out anyway! If there is still any destruction when we get home I'll take pictures.
Thanks to everyone who was praying for us and for checking up with us!

Update

2008-09-14T11:06:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to give everyone an update....we are safe and praise the Lord so is our home! We are still with family in the San Antonio area and will go back to Angleton on Monday. We've heard from a friend that our house was spared any damage, but our fence did fall down. That's actually not too bad since we needed a new one anyone! We do not have any power yet, but hoepfully will by tomorrow. There is no school on Monday, but we will most likely start back Tuesday. Our town did suffer some damage, but nothing like many of you are probably seeing on the news.
It's turned out to be a good mini vacation. The girls LOVE their cousins and aunts and uncles, and we don't see them often enough, so this was a special treat. Last night we celebrated my birthday together at the Alamo Cafe in San Antonio and had cake afterwards. It's been much better than I expected and once again God has shown himself faithful!

Ike update

2008-09-11T10:39:00.003-05:00

After a last minute decision last night we packed up pictures, important papers, and a few clothes and headed to George West, TX. Randy's sister and brother in law live here. We are pretty sure there is a manditory evacuation in our county now, so we are glad we left early. There was no traffic to deal with, but I did struggle to stay awake. It was great to get here and have a good night rest. We are watching the weather often and hoping for an even more northerly turn of IKE. Right now the center of the storm is heading almost directly at Angleton. That would be bad to say the least! God's in control and we are trusting His mercies. We'll keep you upated!

To Evacuate or Not?

2008-09-10T06:25:00.003-05:00

Today is going to be a crazy day! We have a hurricane heading toward us and really have NO IDEA what's going to happen. Part of our county has had manditory evacuations, but not us, YET. We are under a voluntary evacuation. So for right now we are heading to work and will just have to play the wait and see game! It doesn't make it any easier when the other projected paths are heading to the area we were planning on going to. It's crazy! Pray for us if you read this!

Go Hotshots!

2008-09-06T19:36:00.008-05:00

Today was Kristin's first soccer game. It was SO much fun. She loved it! She made her first goal and really hustled the entire time she was out there! Here are a few pictures.

Warming Up

Getting ready to start

Guess who?

Team huddle

Good Game Everyone!

A week of Firsts

2008-09-02T19:50:00.007-05:00

This week has and is going to be a week of firsts for our family. Let me explain:

1. Yesterday was the first school holiday of the year

2. Today was Olivia's first day back to preschool and my first day of teaching this year.

3. Today was Kristin's first dance class!

4. Today was Randy's first day of working AU (Angleton University). This just means he stays at work until 8!

5. Tomorrow will be the first Awana.

6. Thursday will be the first day I go to work at the church without my kids.

7. Saturday will be Kristin's first soccer game!

Here are a few pictures of Today's first... there will be more to come

Olivia with her backpack.

Outside of the school

Getting ready for dance class

What Kristin learned her first day

Tea anyone?

2008-08-30T21:48:00.006-05:00

This morning we enjoyed a day of sleeping in and just hanging around the house most of the day! I had the enjoyment of having a breakfast tea party with the girls! Here are a few pictures.

The table cloth is actually a Taylor Blanket! Thanks Aunt Diana for the tea set.

Kristin enjoying her "tea"

Kristin serving her sister

Olivia enjoying a drink

meet the teacher again

2008-08-28T21:07:00.003-05:00

Tonight was meet the teacher at my preschool. Kristin had soccer and Randy had to take Olivia with him, so she didn't get to come, but she already knows her teachers. I had some of the cutiest kids this year. A few were in my class last year, but will come on different days of the week this year and I won't be there teacher. There is one little boy that will be 2 in January and he's going to be a hand full - let's just say he's ALL BOY! His mom even told us that maybe we can calm him down. I also have a little girl who's WAY behind. She'll be 2 next month and doesn't walk. We are really going to be working with her though. I'm sure next week we'll have plenty of kids crying, but that's part of the job. I did get a $1/hr raise this year, so that makes it much better, plus I'm only paying tuition for one kid and it's actually 50% off. I'm looking forward to getting back in the classroom next week, BUT until then I'm going to enjoy the 3 day weekend for sure!

Day 3 and sadness

2008-08-27T16:42:00.002-05:00

Three days into kindergarten and Kristin still LOVES it. Today she told me she wanted to go everyday because it was important to be there, but also because if you go everyday you get your name put into a drawing for a bicycle. I thought that was pretty good motivation.
Of course she's super tired, but we've had a pretty easy week with no activities in the evening. That will change next week with dance, soccer, and Awana. We'll see how things go then!

One sad thing has already happened this school year. Monday night a high school student committed suicide. He hung himself in his garage and his mother found him. He was a junior and in Randy's 7th period class. Randy didn't know him except that he was there the first day of school. His younger brother came to our church for awhile. It's a horrible way to start the year. Please be in prayer for the Casey family.

First day of School

2008-08-25T22:00:00.006-05:00

Kristin had a WONDERFUL first day of school! She loved it and asked if she could go back everyday. Here are a few pictures of the day!

Breakfast

First day sign (Thanks Melodie for this great idea)

Kristin in front of her school

All the kids lined up in the gym - over 450 kindergarteners!

Meet the teacher

2008-08-21T18:59:00.002-05:00

Tonight we went to meet the teacher. Kristin has Mrs. Thomas who seems super nice. I think it will be a great year for Kristin. She knows 3 kids in her class already and the room next door has her best friend! I'm so excited for her. I meant to take pictures, but Olivia was so needy I didn't get a chance. I will on Monday for sure!
I have such mixed feelings about this coming Monday it's hard to express. For those of you who have already put your first child through kindergarten, how did you feel? I'm excited, nervous and a little sad all at the same time!

Baking Cookies

2008-08-20T16:19:00.008-05:00

Each day for the past few weeks I've been really working with Kristin on reading and math. We did it off and on all summer, but with school just around the corner I decided to get going full force again. The past two days the school work has been helping me make brownies and cookies. She loves to help anyway, but by making her do some reading and looking at the numbers has made it even more fun! She's realizing the reading is important for more than just reading books. Today Olivia wanted to help make cookies too. Here are a few pictures of the process.

Kristin measuring flour

Olivia's turn

Olivia packing down the brown sugar

Kristin breaking the eggs

Enjoying some chocolate chips

Enjoying the final product!

Coming to an end

2008-08-18T15:11:00.002-05:00

It's hard to write, but summer has come to an offical end at the Smith home. Tomorrow Randy goes back to work for real. He's been going to the school a little bit at a time, but tomorrow starts inservices and then students start on Monday. That means Kristin only has one more week of sleeping in. I guess that means I only have one more week too! Oh well, all good things must come to an end eventually!

Wide Awake

2008-08-16T04:18:00.002-05:00

It's 4 am and I'm wide awake! This is not a good thing because today is a FULL day for me. Our church is hosting an Awana training event, which basically means I'll be at church from 7 am until after 3. If it were a day that I could sleep in and then take a nap too I would be worried, but it's not! Randy was at a lock-in and I thought he would be home around 1, but at 3 when I woke up and he still wasn't home I guess I started to get worried. He did come home about 3:45, but now I'm wide awake! I'd turn my tv, but I think that would wake up my girls - that would be horrible! I'd read, but then I'd fall asleep with my light on and I hate that. I'd toss and turn in bed, oh wait, I already did that for an hour. So my last resort was to check email, look at facebook, and update the blog. Now that I've done all that I guess it's back to tossing and turning. Anyone have a good way of going back to sleep? Please fill me in.

Recent pictures

2008-08-11T15:03:00.007-05:00

Here are a few recent pictures

Sarah and I

My girls LOVE their cousin Sarah

The girls playing Wii baseball

Olivia throwing a pitch

Kristin taking a swing

Learning a lot

2008-08-08T16:08:00.002-05:00

This week the children at church have been learning a musical called "Rock Solid". My friend Justin has been in charge and there are others helping out. I've done some of the small things, but for the most part have just enjoyed watching others serve the Lord. I've really learned a lot this summer about delegating things. I'm usually such a control freak, but God is helping me through this and giving up some of the "power" to others. I still have my hand it things, but have trusted others to do their thing.
Sunday night the kids will perform the musical and I'm really excited about it.
This will bring the children's ministry summer activites to an end. I've only been the children's director for a few months again, but I feel like things are going well. I'm now changing my focus to things like Awana, Children's choir, and fall festival. That's just a few things coming up.
Pray for me that I continue to delegate so I don't get overwhelmed!

Beach Report

2008-08-05T08:41:00.005-05:00

Yesterday we headed to the beach. The first one we went to was terrible. There were mosquitoes (Texas size for sure), and the sand was covered in yuck! So we headed to another beach (one advantage of living near the coast) and it was great. The sand was clean, there were only a few mosquitoes and the water was clear. We had beautiful blue skies and you would never have guessed there was a tropical storm off the coast. We enjoyed a few hours of sun, sand, and surf. We actually enjoyed a little too much sun, but hopefully it will be tan soon! Here are a few pictures from the day.

Kristin's favorite part of the beach is making sand castles

Olivia on her new raft

Sarah, Olivia, and Kristin

Week in Review

2008-08-02T08:13:00.002-05:00

This week has gone by SO fast, so here is a quick review:
Monday - Picked up my niece Sarah at airport, stopped at Academy to get soccer stuff, Kristin's first soccer practice (See previous post)
Tuesday - Took almost 30 kids ice skating, Sarah stayed with the girls, Randy came home from San Antonio
Wednesday - Took 8 5th and 6th grade girls on an overnight retreat, Signed Kristin up for dance, Randy and girls went swimming and to McDonald's, Kristin was sick in the night
Thursday - Came home from retreat, Kristin's soccer practice, La Casona for dinner
Friday - Schlitterbahn (water park) all day!!!!!!

That's it...but boy am I tired!

Soccer

2008-07-28T19:07:00.005-05:00

Yesterday was Kristin's first soccer practice. She was a bit scared because she's never played, but when she was done she said it was so much fun! It's great that's she's on a team with kids she already knows. It's also pretty funny that she's the only girl on the team of 6 also! Here are a few pictures from the practice.

Look at that form!

Passing with her best buddy Zach

Kick it hard!

Water break...it was about 95 degrees during practice!

VENTING

2008-07-27T19:17:00.002-05:00

I need to vent! Randy is gone for a couple of days, so I need to vent to my blog readers instead. Today was the second try-out for music camp at our church. We had 12 people try out for 8 parts, so of course a few people aren't going to get the parts they wanted. I HATE making this kind of decision and even more hate calling the parents to let them know. Well already I made one parent really upset. Now, understand this family is totally into sports and they push their children who are 6 and 8 to play softball, soccer and basketball like crazy. In fact they were late for the try-outs because their hitting lesson got changed! They have not been in church all summer in fact I'm not sure the last time they were there before this morning. Now that their child didn't get the part she wanted, she did get a part and a solo, she's just upset so she starts making phone calls! This just makes me SO mad! This is honestly the one part of my job that I really don't like, BUT I'm going to be fine with it and if this parent is mad enough to take their child out of music camp because of this then it's their loss right?! Ok...I've vented and now I feel better. Randy will be glad I got it out here and won't have to hear it all when he calls later tonight!
Have a GREAT day!

Garage sale success

2008-07-26T12:55:00.002-05:00

Today I took on the task of a garage sale! This is the first time I've done one at my house with no other friends. I didn't think I would have very much stuff, but as I started to look around I had a lot. We had some clothes, mostly little girl of course and just some other small stuff. I did have a few large things, including a double stroller that didn't sell. The lady across the street did a sale today too, so we went in together for an ad. The ad today was in the WRONG section of the paper. We decided to go to the other sales in town and see if they would let us put a sign up to let people know about our sale. That was a HUGE success, if we hadn't done that then we probably won't of had many customers. We ended up doing really well. We do have a few things that will have to go in the trash and some clothes to take to a drop off box, but I made more than I expected, so it's kind of nice to have some extra spending money at the end of the summer!
On Monday my niece Sarah is coming to stay for a week, so we'll get to do some fun stuff!
I'll post pictures from next week for sure!

A different kind of week

2008-07-21T23:13:00.002-05:00

This week will be a little different for me. I sent off 41 campers and leaders to camp this morning, but I stayed home. I wanted to go, but it just didn't work out. So instead I'm watching one of the leaders girls, off and on this week. Her dad might have to work and might not, so she's with us tonight. I don't have any children's activities this week at church, but will still be very busy doing follow up from VBS, and planning the rest of the summer and even starting to look to the fall. Randy's doing stuff for school already and getting ready to leave for a few days next week on a school related trip. It just goes to show that summer is almost over!

VBS is over

2008-07-18T09:10:00.004-05:00

We had a fantastic week at Vacation Bible School. Last night we wrapped up with parent's night. It was a big success. Each group of kids got to perform 2 songs on stage and then we enjoyed food, fun and a waterslide together! Kristin and Olivia had a great time.

The week's highlight

2008-07-17T09:15:00.002-05:00

We have one more night of VBS, but last night will be the highlight for me I'm sure! I had the opportunity to pray with a young girl and she accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior. After VBS was over I was able to talk to her mom. Her mom was so excited, we hugged and cried together. They go to another church, so I told her to be sure to follow up with their pastor, but this young girl just got it. She knew it was her time to be saved! What a privilege it is to work with children!

Mid-week update

2008-07-16T07:50:00.002-05:00

A midweek update
*VBS is going great - average 70 kids and over 40 workers!
*Kristin lost tooth number 2 yesterday.
*Randy is going to be doing some work for the school this summer, more time away, but extra money.
*Friday I will NOT be going to work and we will have a family day!
*Life is overall very good!

Outrigger Island

2008-07-13T15:01:00.002-05:00

Tonight we start Vacation Bible School, once again this year I am the director. I'm SO excited for this week to start. I've spent many hours praying, planning, copying papers, decorating, and just everything else that goes into VBS. I am proud to say I have every teacher and helper position filled! I am also excited that we have amazing decorations and we didn't have to make anything. I love churches that share their materials when they are done.
We are doing our VBS differen this year. We start tonight (Sunday) and run through Thursday evening. We have not done a VBS at night for awhile, but I'm excited about the change. I hope we have a bunch of kids! Thursday night is parent night and we'll have a large water slide for the kids to play on that night also! I'll post pictures this week or next.
Pray for us if you think about it!

Quick Update

2008-07-09T08:18:00.008-05:00

We've been back from our Concan trip for a few days now and here is a quick update of our lives:

*Concan was super nice. River was low, so no floating, but we layed in the water and sun most of the time. I actually have a nice tan!

*Randy's niece got engaged July 4.

*We found a Wii - it's so much fun

*VBS is next week, I'm a bit stressed. It's acutally not VBS that stresses me out it's all the other stuff that I have to do between now and then.

*The girls are good.

*Randy's fine, going to the dentist today. I sure hope he doesn't have any cavities.

*Our long travels are over for the summer. Maybe just a couple of day trips before school starts.

That's about it. Here are a few pictures from Concan.

Kristin's favorite thing to do is paint rocks.

Because the river was so low Sarah bought a little pool for the girls to play in near the house.

Annual game of spoons

Kristin trying to catch a fish.

Olivia liked the water this year too.

Happy 4th of July

New colors

2008-06-27T07:46:00.002-05:00

Thought I'd get into the 4th of July spirit. Any comments on the new colors? Not sure I like it, but we'll see. Today will be filled with clothes washing, cleaning and packing. Tomorrow we are off to a Smith family reunion and then a week of vacation with Randy's family. After that week we'll be home for the summer except for a few day trips.
Happy 4th to everyone!

slide.com

2008-06-26T22:03:00.002-05:00

Now that I know how to make slide shows instead of just downloading photos to blogger it's so much fun! These are just random shots of 2008...just for fun!

38!

2008-06-26T21:41:00.004-05:00

Today we celebrated Randy's 38th birthday. The girls and I had a great time making brownies, and decorating. We all love birthday parties, so we had to make it as big as possible. We celebrated at lunch time and then had dinner out. It's also our 9th anniversary, but today it was all about the birthday!

Cheerleading camp

2008-06-25T12:27:00.004-05:00

Today the girls finished up a mini-cheerleading camp. I couldn't believe they were actually taking 3 year olds, but they did. Olivia and Kristin had a good time, but I don't know that cheerleading is in their future. That's really ok with me. I loved it when I cheered, but it wasn't quite as expensive and honestly the time it takes... not sure that's what I want my girls to spend their time doing. Nothing against the cheerleaders out there, but I'm kind of hoping this was as far as it goes with my girls!
They did a cute little performance today and got t-shirts. Olivia came up to me and said, "Mom, can I wear this shirt at my house too?" Guess she didn't get it that the shirt was hers to keep! We also asked her where the got the shirt and she said, "From the table."

Pictures from our trip

2008-06-23T17:14:00.002-05:00

Enjoy the pictures from our trip to GA and IN. We had a great time!

She lost it!

2008-06-18T21:04:00.001-05:00

Kristin lost her first tooth tonight! We went to the county fair and she was trying to eat corn on the cob, but her first bite was pretty painful and made her tooth really loose. Then tonight as she was eating cotton candy of all things, her tooth just fell out into her mouth. Thank goodness she felt it and just handed it to me! She's really excited and wants to tell everyone. I will post pictures of her cute little smile when we get home!

in IN

2008-06-16T18:57:00.001-05:00

I'm sitting here at my dad's computer checking up on all my friends online, so I thought I'd post just a quick update. We enjoyed our time in Georgia and had a lot of fun with the family. I'll post plenty of pictures when I get back to TX. Today we enjoyed the children's museum in Indianapolis. It's a GREAT museum, there is stuff for kids of all ages. My girls had a great time. Thanks Grandma for the treat. Tonight was Ivanhoe's for anyone that has ever been to Upland you know what I mean. I had the BEST strawberry shortcake ever! One day this week we'll head to the county fair and other than that just hang out with my parents. The girls are having a great time and we are enjoying some beatiful weather. It's only 66 right now, almost cold for this southern girl!
I'll have tons of pictures when we get back!

All good things must come to an end

2008-06-05T18:56:00.003-05:00

The week without our kids is coming to an end! Our girls will be home in just a couple hours. I can honestly say I miss them! I don't miss the fussing or the fighting, but I miss my girls. Randy and I have had a very relaxing week. We did get a few things done from my earlier post, but not everything. We worked out daily, cleaning the back yard, shopped, went to the movies and enjoyed eating out a couple times. There's more to do, but that will just have to wait!
One thing we were able to do was visit our Edward Jones rep. We have some future planning to work on. It's nice to have someone give advice, but then it's not so nice to make some of the decisions.
I was also able to reapply for SS cards for myself and the girls since I have some how lost ours.
I also got lots of pictures printed finally! I've posted most of them on here already or at least some of them. It was nice to mark that off of my to-do list.
Since I only have a little while to enjoy the quiet, I'm going to go read!
Next week we head to GA and then to IN, so I'll be away from the blogging world for awhile!

Mr. Stahlecker and Pancho the Puppet

2008-06-02T22:09:00.001-05:00

This is my friend Kevin. He's pretty darn funny!

No kids this week!

2008-06-01T14:51:00.003-05:00

Randy and I are without our children for the week! Last Wednesday I head to my sister and brother in law's house for a few days. We went to my niece's high school graduation on Friday night and then yesterday I headed home without my girls! I got home just fine, enjoyed a book on tape the entire way home. It was strange to have such a quite trip by myself!
This morning we got a call that Olivia wasn't feeling well and I thought my week without kids was going to end way too soon. But so far she's doing ok and we are just going to let her get over it with my in laws!
So, what are we to do this week? Here is a list of the things we are hoping to accomplish while the kids are away. Cleaning up the back yard/deck - mostly just pulling weeds and making the flower beds better, cleaning out the toy room, cleaning out the garage, cleaning out our bedroom so it can get painted while we are on vacation, enjoying time together, eating out, shopping, and LOTS of rest! Now, we'll just have to wait and see how much of that actually happens!
I love my girls more than anything, but I am honestly looking forward to some time with just my wonderful husband!

Sprinkler Fun

2008-05-25T17:38:00.007-05:00

When it's 90 degrees what else is there to do except play in the sprinkler??? We are still working on Olivia, she doesn't like being sprayed in the face to much.

Kristin jumping the Dora sprinkler.

Olivia just isn't so sure.

Do I have to do this again?

Sprinkler Ball...so fun!

The end of preschool!

2008-05-24T20:00:00.007-05:00

Friday was the last day of preschool! For Kristin it was that last day forever. In August she'll start what I refer to as "real" school. Right now she's not at all excited, but it's just because she doesn't want to have to wake up earlier than she did this year. I already told her she had to be on time to school next year or I would get in trouble. She's just ready for summer and being able to sleep in for awhile.

My blogger friend Krista showed pictures of her son's first day and last day of preschool this year. I never would have thought about taking a last day picture, but because I read her blog before Friday I did! Here are the girls at the beginning of the year and then the end.

Kristin - September 2007

Kristin - May 2008 (Luau day)

Olivia - September 2007

Olivia - May 2008

What's going on?

2008-05-21T13:56:00.003-05:00

I've officially been the children's director at church for 3 days. It's been a crazy 3 days, trying to play catch up and get my feet wet again. I did work a few hours the last few weeks, but now I'm really into the grind. I am having a great time and will enjoy it even more next week when preschool is over! I'm looking forward to not setting an alarm for awhile. I've taken the girls with me to church the last 3 days and they have been great. It's totally different now that they are older and can play by themselves and don't always need mommy. I know this is totally God's doing and I'm super excited.
Today was the last day for my M/W kids at the preschool. I have another party tomorrow for the T/Th. kids and then again on Friday because I have a few kids that just come on Friday. It was fun, but kind of a long day. I didn't really have anything planned, so it made the day drag on. I do love the kids I've taught this year and will look forward to seeing them again in the future and just how grown up they will be!
Randy's school got their TAKS scores back and at first look things were good. Today Randy will get his individual student's scores, so hopefully they will still be good! I'm just glad that part of school is over. Just 6 more days for him!
That's what's going on here!

I have an only child

2008-05-16T20:07:00.002-05:00

Tonight is Kristin's first ever sleep over at a friend's house. We dropped her off a little while ago, so for tonight I only have 1 child again (well at least that I'm responsible for). Tomorrow is my niece Bethany's graduation from college, and Kristin was invited to a birthday party. She really wanted to go, so I let her spend the night with the birthday girl and then she can go to the party too. Olivia has to sit through graduation, but at least a couple of her aunts will be there, so that will help. So for awhile I'm going to feel like the parent of an only child!

I actually have 2 niece's graduating tomorrow. Emily will graduate from Taylor University - my former school! I'm SO proud of both of them. Emily will head to Chicago and Bethany will be teaching in the Houston area! I also have a niece and nephew graduating from high school. Ben in Missouri and Rachel in Texas. Both will start college in the fall! Congrats to them all!

Me and My girls!

2008-05-11T16:51:00.004-05:00

Happy Mother's Day!

Preschool graduation

2008-05-09T21:13:00.005-05:00

Here are a few pictures from Kristin's preschool graduation! Her teachers picked her for the Kit Kat award because she was a great teachers helper! Then her afternoon teachers picked her to be a future college professor. I thought that was cute!

Getting ready for the program

Hurring back to her seat after being told she would be a college professor!

Proud mom and dad!

Birthday Pictures

2008-05-08T15:30:00.007-05:00

Here are a few pictures from Olivia's birthday and her party. I also included a video!

She loves her new bike!

Getting ready for the pinata!

Opening a few gifts!

W. Oregon Sara Tucholsky first HR - ultimate sportsmanship

2008-05-08T15:28:00.001-05:00

This really is a great story of sportmanship.

Unofficially official

2008-05-05T12:27:00.003-05:00

Word is out at our church, so I guess I should post it here too....I'm going to be the children's director at my church again! In December of 2006 I resigned from the position with the intention of staying home. Well, that didn't last at all because right away I started working at the preschool where I am still. A few months ago our children's director resigned with her husband our youth pastor. When that happened God started working on my heart telling me it was time to go back, but in my head I just kept saying no way! Then the church hired another lady, but that lady resigned within a month. That was when God just wouldn't let up. I mean honestly I still thought in my head it wasn't for me, but I finally yielded to the Lord's calling and told our personel committee that I wanted to reapply. It was totaly confirmed when the committee agreed completely, my husband was totally on board and the preschool director agreed to let me work less there, so I could work at the church too. (She also goes there and is one of my best friends)
I can honestly say this is one of those times that God just kept working on me and it's SO great to feel the calling and to follow God's will. It's not official until the business meeting in a couple of weeks, but I'm already starting because summer is quickly approaching and things just have to get done! Please pray for me on this endever because I know that when I'm right where God wants me it's right where Satan doesn't, so I know that things will happen that will get me down, but I also know that when you are doing God's will things will always pick back up!

The world of extra curricular activities

2008-05-03T15:36:00.002-05:00

We have entered a whole new world of extra curricular activites, today we signed Kristin up for soccer! She won't start until the fall, but it's still a big move for our family. We've been involved with things at church since before we had kids, but we are going into a different world. I'm really exicted to get to know new people and see my child interact with new kids. It's a good possibility she'll be on one of her best friend's team, so that will make it even better for her. She's a bit hesitant about playing, but I think once she goes to a practice, gets a uniform, new soccer shoes and shin guards she'll think it's great. I told her that if she doesn't like it in the fall she won't have to play again. I hope she loves it!

3 years old

2008-05-01T14:33:00.014-05:00

This will be a post to Olivia's 3 years! Tomorrow is her 3rd birthday and I should wait until tomorrow to post, but I know I won't have time so here are some pictures! Oh how quickly they change!

Teacher Appreciation week

2008-04-25T20:37:00.003-05:00

Did you know that May 5 - 9 is teacher appreciation week? I didn't remember until I got an email today about it, but for those of you who have children in school thought you might want to know. I remember my last year in GA when I taught at North Cobb Christian School there was a week of celebration for the teachers. We had something special each day of the week. It was really great. It's just nice that near the end of the school year when everyone is ready for summer that the teachers really need to feel appreciated!

Also, for those of you who aren't teachers, but might want to find some extra things for your kids to work on this summer there are a few web sites that are honoring teachers during that week. Learning A-Z family websites will open one of its six password-protected websites each day of Teacher Appreciation week. So teacher (and others) can download and print differentiated teaching materials. Not sure if this is anything that can be used by my readers, but thought I'd pass it on anyway:
May 5: ReadingA-Z.com
May 6: Raz-Kids.com
May 7: WritingA-Z.com
May 8: VocabularyA-Z.com
May 9: Reading-Tutors.com
May 12: ScienceA-Z.com (this is a bonus day)

I looked at each of these sites and it looks like there are some good things to download. I know I'll be checking them out for sure! Feel free to pass this on to any friends or family that are teachers. This was from an email that was sent out by our district and it was encourage to forward to others!

We're in

2008-04-24T20:23:00.001-05:00

I registered Kristin today for Kindergarden. We were supposed to have her SS card, but for the life of me I can't find it. I've looked everywhere I know to look and just couldn't find it. I just took this years tax return and that was enough for now. By the fall we have to have a new card, but that gives me all summer to get it. Thank goodness I didn't have to wait! Kristin seems pretty excited. I can honestly say I was a bit nervous, but now am really excited. Now it's just time to get really serious about praying for her teacher!

A worthy cause

2008-04-24T20:20:00.001-05:00

Check out this site
http://www.kateskart.org

It's a great story and if you are looking for something to put a little bit of money into, this is somewhere to look for sure!

Kristin's milestone

2008-04-21T20:07:00.002-05:00

This evening we were having corn on the cob for supper and Kristin kept telling me her front tooth hurt. She said earlier today while eating a pear that her tooth hurt. I just figured it was from the other day when her teeth kind of hit together, but NO she has her first loose tooth! She's very excited and keeps messing with it. She's ready for the tooth fairy to visit. I asked her tonight how much the tooth fair leaves and she said a quarter! I'm glad her tooth fairy is cheep! I know friends who have left $5 for their children's teeth... not this tooth fairy!

I'll let you know when the tooth comes out!

Preschool pictures

2008-04-19T09:40:00.011-05:00

Each year the preschool does a fund raiser in the Spring. One of our teachers takes pictures of the kids and then the parents develop them. Well this year we went digital, the past few years it's been all black and white film, but this way you were able to get more pictures and then develop them however you wanted to. Here are a few:

Olivia didn't feel like smiling!

I love her blue eyes!

Kristin was so sweet a smiles so nice!

Kristin just hanging around!

Sweet sisters!

Playing in the sand!

Louie Giglio - Laminin

2008-04-18T15:45:00.001-05:00