Presley's 8 yr

Girl Scouts....Daisies

Volleyball

She is six

K
Kennedy is six.  Cannot believe my baby is six.
I made her outfit.  I am impressed with my circle skirt.
She is friends with everyone.  She knows most of the kindergarten class.
She is my talker.  I know who got their color changed.  I know what specials she attended that day.  She loves to buy her lunch.  She likes to pick her own clothing.  She would wear a dress every day.  Not just any dress, but church dresses.  She likes bling.  She is my music lover.  She often confiscates my phone and is the family DJ.  Her current fav's would be anything on Kidz Bop 24.  I like how makes up words when she does not know the real ones.  My fav is "Soup and Tie" for JT's "Suit and Tie."  I also like how she sticks to her version, even when you correct her!  Dr Seuss is her favorite author.  That is the only author she has brought home from the library.  I think it is the rhyming that she likes.  She is still besties with Annie Head.  Every night she tells me she loves me and to "go to bed quickly."  She still needs alot of sleep.  She loves American Girl dolls. (What she got from her Mimi). She likes tea carts, silver services and tea parties.  (What she got from her parents and Grammie) But she is not a toy snob, any toy is great!  She is a toy lover.  She is talks with a slight impediment.  Not sure I can truly pinpoint the issue, but my several speech therapist friends assure me there is nothing to worry about.  Her handwriting is atrocious.  Do not look forward to working on that with her.  She desperately wants to learn how to read.  Her prayers are awesome.  Sometimes she continues to pray just so she can stay up longer, but I love listening to them.  After she runs out of things to thank God for, or things to ask, she will just start to state things she knows is true about God.  I love listening to them.  She likes to make people laugh.  She likes to show off.  She is sweet.  She is kind.  She is awesome.  Loved the "five" year old Kennedy, looking forward to getting to know the six year old Kennedy!

First Day of School

Meet the Teacher

Presley has Mrs Findley and Kennedy has Mrs Osowsky

Day 3

Day 2

Only confirms why we won't have a cat

She went to the pet shop with her Grammie. She has been before. She held a cat. She has held one before. But this time, within minutes, this was the result!

Journaling

I visited a old friend of mine yesterday.  By old I mean I have known her literally ALL my life.  She was born one day before me.  She has not lived close to me in  a very long time and has recently moved back.  I don't think I realized how much I have missed my friend until I spent time with her again.  I am very glad to have reconnected! I am looking forward to a new chapter with her in it.

When I was visiting her I noticed her nice Vera Bradley bible cover, as I commented on how I like it, I noticed a cute journal sitting on top of it and asked her about it.  (Love me some fun writing tablets, must buy them almost everytime I see them.  It is a sickness.)  She said she had read an article about the benefit of writing the scriptures.  She had just recently started, so showed me what she had writing and what she had learned.  So the very next day I took myself to BN and found me a cute journal to start my quest to writing scripture.

So I have been reading Matthew because that will be our study in BSF in a few weeks.
The text I found myself on was:

Matthew 8:23-27  

Jesus Calms the Storm

²³ Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. ^{24 Without warning} a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵ The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” ²⁶ He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. ²⁷ The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

My journaling:
I find myself stopped at the phrase "without warning."
Without warning, what comes up in our life without warning?
fear, anger, bitterness, resentment, old wounds and hurts, insecurity, loneliness
It appears suddenly, without warning and sweeps over us like a giant wave, knocking us off balance.  We find ourselves completely unprepared, without the tools necessary to cope with these unwelcome feelings. We find ourselves blindsided by the master of blindsiders.  We were sitting ducks, completely unaware.  So many times I allow myself to be overtaken.  I try to find a way to navigate on my own.  Looking desperately for a way out of the storm.  Gasping for breath, trying to gain footing inbetween the crashing waves.  Unsuccessfully!
What should I do when I find myself without warning in the midst of a furious storm of unwelcome emotions?.....
Go to the next verse... But Jesus was sleeping.  Jesus is always at peace.  Never affected by Satan's attacks.  Always there to calm my storm.
But the disciples had to go to Jesus.  They had to wake him up.  He didn't just appear and say I'll take care of everything.  They had to go to him, just as we must go to Jesus.  When we find ourselves in the midst of a storm, we must go to him.  We must go to him.  We must go to him.  He will be there.  He will help us.  He will always be there to help us, but we must go to him.  He cannot help us if we do not go to him.  So often it takes me awhile to go to him.  Why?  I have no good answer.
My response is much like the disciples?  How could you be sleeping through THIS?  Seriously?  My life is in peril and you are asleep!  Help me!!!
Jesus' response:  "You of little faith.   Why are you so afraid?"  Jesus is not fazed.  Jesus is not frantic.  Jesus is not worried.  Jesus is not unable to deal with ANY wave we throw at him.
He gets up, rebukes the winds and the waves and it was COMPLETELY calm.
That is what Jesus can do to my waves, COMPLETELY calm them with a WORD!
So when I find myself in the midst of a furious storm without warning, what should I do, how should I respond....Go to the one who can calm my storm completely with a word.

Cheer Camp

Kennedy wants to cheer. I'm afraid it will be the one thing she decides to stick with. She is interested in lots of things. She is good at lots of things. But she often doesn't want to stick with things because she only really likes the "fun" aspects of them. But I have a feeling cheer may be the exception! She went to a 3 day cheer camp at FWC. It was only from 9-11. But she has come away with proper cheer terminology and did not complain once about getting up early to go. She was eager beaver! She talked about "the cradle" and "the extension", she had a sweet little cheerleader who loved Annie and Kennedy and took pictures with them every day! I have to say this girl does not left fear stand in her way of doing something she really wants to do. She wanted to show me her "cradle." So she did it, she told them she didn't want to do the extension (go higher).she did great. But then she saw Annie do thee tension, so she wanted to try it. She was in the lower position and I could see on her face she was scared, about to cry. They said you don't have to do the e tension if you don't want to. Kennedy's response through tears was, "but I want to!" So she did it, even though she was scared, even though she cried the entire time, (and about10 minutes after the fact), she wanted to do it and she did. Very proud she didn't let fear keep her from trying something she really wanted to do! If this is the activity that sticks I suppose I should be praying now that I'll be one of the few "goof" cheer moms!

2nd Grade

Last of second grade....finally!!

Presley is eight

You want to be a vet when you grow up. You LOVE animals. So sorry your mom
doesn't share your love. You wanted to have your party at the zoo. I knew that you wanted to be able handle the animals and the zoo would not allow you to do that. So being the awesome mom that I am, I asked your Mimi to talk to the animal science teacher at her school to see if she would do a party! And we were in luck, she said yes!! So we had a vet party at Carroll Middle School. Your Mimi and I made scrubs for everyone. I wanted to have them monogrammed. But I chose a terrible, hard to underarm pattern that took us forever to figure out. So the making of the scrubs did not go smoothly or quickly. (only one didn't fit over their head. Luckily one person wasn't able to come so we had an extra!) Miss Debbie contributed animal sooks, super cute! And I ordered stethoscopes that arrived about an hour after the party was over. The girl I use for cookies, texted me a few days before your party to let me know she wouldn't be able to do her cookies. So I made cookies with the animal cookie cutters I bought a few years ago in Las Vegas ( finally got around to using them and very impressed with myself that i was able to locate them!). Bought squirt bottles, filled them up with frosting and let y'all decorate your own. I worked hard on baking those cookies and thought I had packaged them carefully, but many were broken upon arrival :(. The party was a BLAST! You got to handle so many animals!!!! I loved watching you in your element! I hope it was a birthday party you will always remember!

Newsletter Response

Love, Love, Love reading the newsletter.  And Loved the favorite things section.  I think it is a keeper. Great idea Amy!

1.  Do any of you remember the newsletter weekend in Abilene and our trip to Sonic.  Carin was driving, Amy was ordering a Route 44 and Carin kept asking her what size?  At that moment we all realized Carin was not only NOT addicted to Sonic (like the rest of us) but NEVER went to Sonic!!!  Totally unfathomable!! Yet here she is years later bragging about her in home Sonic ice maker!  What is wrong with the rest of us!  If we would have saved all our Sonic money over the years I am sure each one of us could have bought one several times over! So jealous.  I really want one BAD!

2.  You know it is time to move when your 7 year old complains about the shower.  In this 889 sq ft house the girls have only taken baths.  The other night we got home late, the girls were stinky, so I threw them in the shower one at a time (because the water flow barely accommodates one).  When Presley got in she kept yelling for me to come in there.  When I our conversation when something like this:

P:  Mom you have got to fix this shower, do you see the water? (It is somewhere between a trickle and a spray, but really much closer to a trickle! I embellish NONE!)
Me:  Nope, that is as good as it gets
P: Seriously?
Me:  Seriously!

She is ready to move!

3.  I love 5 year old vocabulary.  I'm am fairly confident she will be going to speech when she is in school.  But I will miss her mistakes!  New words that I will miss....Lemolaide (aka Lemonaide), Medicure (a manicure and pedicure), Fictionary (Fiction- When I correct her she says she likes the word fictionary better!)

4.  Since Downton Abby is in hiatus, one of the girls at church suggested The Tutor Series by Philipa Gregory.  I now know the meaning behind many of the titles I hear on the show.

Newsletter April 2013

Howdy from the land of many unpacked boxes.... 1. We re in, finally! However LIFE has gone on...we have been out of town for a church retreat, Easter, soccer games, Presley's birthday, Father in Law's birthday, make up soccer games, Well you get the idea. Hence the reason for many unpacked boxes. In my quest to become Carin, I only moved in the boxes necessary for living and left the rest in the garage (and the 10X10 storage unit we got to declutter when we put the house on the market). Would love to get that stuff out too, but you have to be home to do that. Soon! I'm almost finished organizing the stuff in the house. One day. I have been blest with so many family members coming over to help. They have been very helpful and would be willing to help even more, but there are somethings I have to go through myself. Ughhh! 2. Being going through a slight period of fatigue. It has happened before and will happen again. I am getting better at recognizing it quicker, I think. Have not quite figured out how to notice before it hits. It has hindered my ability to complete #1 in a timely manner. But Brad is always so good. He usually recognizes it before me and is good to make sure that I rest. Very blessed to have a understanding husband. It has been three weeks, I think I am on the downhill side. 3. Because of #2, I have been resting a bit more and reading. So my question is this...who recommended the Clifton Chronicles??? I wrote it down in my books to read list but not who recommended it. I have really enjoyed the first two books and went to download the 3rd and final book in the series only to see that it will not be available until the end of the month! REALLY? A disclaimer in the future please! Now I must wait... This is the second time in a month this has happened. A girl at church recommended "The Selection," its a a Young Adult novel that is a cross between the bachelor and survivor. I needed some easy reading, so I read that book, then the sequel and went to download the third and final book, and it is not coming out until the end of April. Other reads while I have had forced time to read...Roses and Tumbleweed by Leila Meacham. Set in Texas, easy reads. A few books by Philippa Gregory about Henry the VIII and his six wives (the helped with my Downton Abby withdrawal) and The Glass Castle and Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls (both non fiction). I'm sure I should be reading something uplifting and spiritual (besides my Bible). Perhaps when I am not fatigued and can focus! 4. Presley turned EIGHT! She wants to be a vet. She loves animals. She wanted to have her party at the zoo. I would have been happy to do that, but I know she wanted to be able to handle the animals (and that was not going to happen at a behind the scene party at the zoo.) So I talked to my mother in law, they have an animal science program at the middle school she works at, and the teacher agreed to host a birthday party! I am now officially nominated for mom of the year. They got to hold a ferret, comb a rabbit, handle snakes, birds and hamsters. and I cannot remember what else. They all had a blast. It was the best birthday ever! 5. I am still on my sabbatical. Like Jenn Lewis, I have only planned on a year off. I must say I have enjoyed the schedule being open and not filled. I know it must come to an end at some point. Not sure when, but I am enjoying it while it lasts! 6. I am going to enroll my baby for Kindergarten in a few weeks. She is ready. I am too, but I will miss her. She is good company. 7. Looking forward to seeing those of you who can make it San Marcos. We need to pick a date for the fall to get together at someone's house. If you are interested in hosting, shoot me an email! 8. Aside from some jealousy, LOVE that Carin got a sonic ice maker installed in her house. Leave it to the girl who had no clue what a route 44 was to be the one to rave about the ice! Another reason I want to be her. Looking forward to hearing from the rest of you!!! DeAnne

Cotton Bowl

Cotton Bowl.  Tickets a gift from the kind father in law.  They were great seats.   I knew one of us would go home happy, happy, happy and one of us would not.  I have to say my past experience of 3 cotton bowls and only witnessing 2 points combined did not give me much to hope for.  But I have become a Johnny Football believer!  It was one great night for Aggies all over the world!  I had a blast.  Brad was a great sport!
My roommate from college texted me back and forth.  I texted her this picture of Brad.

This was her response:  "Thinking about his order at Applebee's.  Very impressed he is still at the game at all.  You can't see it but Stoops is making the same face!"

Then I get a text from Blake asking for Brad's cell number and I get this picture from Rhonda.  Brad's phone started blowing up!

We stayed for the confetti, trophy presentation, speeches, all!  It was one happy, happy, happy night for me and one miserable time for my sweet husband.  Who knows when that will ever happen again!

A Note to Remember

I found this sweet note by my bed the other night. It melted my heart. I told her the next day that I LOVED it! I asked her if she wrote it before or after she got mad at me. Her response, "after." Sweet, precious girl. Then she added, "I really DON'T know what I would do without you!" Oh how I love her!!! Definitely a keeper... The girl and the note.