It's been a looooong time....

I guess 9 months between blogging is long enough... can I even consider myself as "having a blog" if I never update it? Well, consider me back in the game! Maybe... we'll see...

This summer was so crazy, that's probably why I never got around to writing anything. Being a part-time single mommy takes a lot of time, I don't know how military wives do it while they're hubbies are on TDY or how actual single moms can put up with the stress of having kids all by yourself, all day, every day! It is definitely a welcome sound to hear Mike come through the door on Friday evenings!! Of course, there are the positive parts: I get to watch whatever I want when the kids go to bed and I get to make what I want to eat for supper! *lol* However, the cons outweigh the pros, so we just won't go there.

The girls will be starting Kindergarten in one week, and I CAN'T WAIT!!! It's hard to believe they will no longer be considered Pre-K, especially since they've been in a full-time pre-k for the last 2 years. Kindergarten will not be a big adjustment for the girls time-wise, but I think the added responsibilities of everything one learns in Kindergarten will be an adjustment. Thankfully they will have AMAZING teachers to help them through it all!!

Sean Michael will be at a little 2-yr-old prechool program at a local church, and I think he's going to love it! He's such a little "learner", he's constantly singing me something new or identifying new pictures in books, so I can't wait to see him soak up all the new info in his class! It will be MWF in the mornings, so that means that I will have 3 mornings a week to myself! Woo hoo!! Maybe somewhere in there I will get to work out AND have a little time to rest. Is that possible??

Hopefully I can keep up this blog better this time around... I really enjoy it, I just have to take the time to do it!! Here are a few recent pictures to officially kick-off this blog season!


Mommy and Sean on his 2nd birthday at Jump for Joy



Sarah, my rockstar on top of Mt. Scott


The family at Corpus Christi this summer


Sean Michael, on the beach for the first time


Aubrey Linda, showing off some seashells

The girls were part of the annual Christ Academy Christmas Pageant this year, and I couldn't have been more proud! Last year, in 3k, they sang 3 songs and then we left. This year, they had a bigger role. The 4k had on little sheep costumes (vests and headbands) the Kindergartners were the angel choir, and the 1st graders comprised the nativity. They all sang 6 songs, with sign language, and told the Christmas story verses from the Bible between songs. It was very impressive, and it was the best program I have seen the girls do in the last 2 years. They sang every word, and did the sign language, all while smiling beautiful at their teacher on the front row! *lol* I sat on the front row to take pictures, and they kept sneaking smiles at me. I even had tears at one point because the song was so beautiful. God was truly glorified by those small children that night!




The girls waiting patiently for the music to begin...
Sarah is in the blue, and Aubrey is to the right in red (there is another girl between them)


Sean Michael before we left for the pageant... what a handsome boy!!

Sarah Grace in her Christmas dress, ready to go to the pageant.


Aubrey Linda, posing in her beautiful Christmas dress!

My pretty, pretty girls...


Ding Dong Merry, Merry Bells
With all the angels singing
Gloria, Hosannah in the Highest!



One small child in a land of a thousand.
One small dream of a savior tonight.
One small hand reaching out to the starlight.
One small savior of life. Ooh.


Joy to the world, the Lord is come...



All of the earth, all of Heaven rejoice!
Sing and rejoice!
All of the earth, all of Heaven rejoice!
Sing and rejoice!
Shout for joy, Heaven and earth!
Celebrate the Savior's birth!
All of the earth, all of Heaven rejoice!
Sing and rejoice!

Making his own fun...

While I was cleaning house on Saturday, I heard a ruckus in the kitchen... when I went in there to inspect, I found Mr. Monkey-Boy investigating my pots-n-pans cabinet. It's right next to my wrap-around bar, so it goes really deep. He was determined to check out every part of it! Also, he got his first haircut on Saturday... notice how he looks like a big boy now!!


Wow, look at this place!


Hey, these make cool sounds, and I'll bet mommy will love it when I bang them together for a while!!


Hmmm... what's up here...


Ok, now how do I get back down...


Mom, put down the camera a help me out of here!!

Costumes, Unsafe Childrens' Games, and Other Stuff...

Well, evil Halloween is almost upon us. I can't help myself!! I'm sorry, mom, but I just can't resist dressing up my adorable children and parading them around town for Snickers bars!!

Anyway, a friend gave us the cutest little ducky costume for Sean, but Mike thought it was too "girly"... I thought it was precious, but apparently because it doesn't have any weapons or fangs it doesn't work for our son! *lol* So, I mentioned to my friend, Hollie, about the ducky costume, and she offered to let us use her son's costume from last year: a lion! Yay!! Lions are tough and strong and stuff, so Mike was cool with that. The only problem will be that he looks ADORABLE in it and not tough at all! Too bad, I like adorable. Anyway, here are some pics of the kids playing around in the costumes last night... the girls like them more than Sean does!!


Maybe not King of the Jungle, but Cutie of the House!!


NOT an Ugly Duckling... isn's she beautiful!!


Pretty little Lion grrrllll!!


Aubrey looks JUST like many of my childhood pics w/ that smile... aren't they precious??


My girls LOVE their baby brother...

While they had on the costumes, we decided to do the webcam w/ daddy, who was out-of-town. They really enjoy it, since they get to see him and he can see them. He got a kick out of their costumes, and baby Sean LOVES getting to see daddy on the computer screen.


Here's Sean trying to "hug" daddy (I had Mike smile for the pic, too!! *lol*)

Ok, so here are some random pics from tonight... the girls pushed some little shelves together like a little bridge, and they were running across them and jumping off the edge. Yes, I know, not very safe, but those of you who know me can attest that I pretty much let my children act like monkeys at my house! The only thing I can say about it is that they have developed good coordination from their many adventures in furniture-hopping! *lol* Anyway, we're too cheap for a trampoline or jungle gym, so we make do w/ this. Anyway, here are the girls "posing" in mid-air! I love these!!

My little praise girls...

I am doing some singing and piano playing at The Mission tomorrow night, so I've been running through my music all week to get ready... tonight I was singing and playing "Beauty for Ashes" by Crystal Lewis (one of my favorite songs!!) and Aubrey climbs up on the bench beside me and says, "Can I sing that song again?" I said, "Which song?" and she starts singing, "Beauty for ashes... strength for fear..." I was floored! I said, "Can you sing the whole song?" and I started playing. She immediately started singing all the words, which are,
"He gives beauty for ashes, strength for fear
Gladness for mourning, peace for despair
He gives beauty for ashes, strength for fear
Gladness for mourning, peace for despair"

Of course, her pronunciation is adorable (I think she's singing "Gladys" instead of "gladness") but who cares!! So, being the little stage mom that I think I am becoming, I had to set up my video camera and get her to perform! Then, Sarah Grace wanted to get in on the action, so she sang the chorus to "Every Move I Make". The video is dark, but you can still hear them singing... I'm not at all proud, can you tell???

Move Over Partridge Family!!!

Today was a really nice, relaxing Labor Day... it was our first time since the girls have been born to NOT go to Midland for the weekend and visit family. We did miss getting to chill out at Jillma and Uncle Lester's, and especially getting to spend time w/ Mike's grandmother Smith, but things just didn't work out to go this year. So, we opted to stay home and enjoy family time. While I was making supper (grilled chicken & veggie kebobs and mashed potatoes!!) Mike started playing around w/ his drum set in the guest room. The kids went in and started playing around on the mini-piano and microphone that we have, and BOOM! : We had a family band!! It was so cute, I couldn't resist videoing a little concert... I think we may be on to something here!!

Chasing Tennis Balls for Eternity...

"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog.
You are his life, his love, his leader.
He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart.
You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion."
- Unknown

Big Brother Samson

April 1996 - August 20, 2008

Yesterday, August 20, 2008, we lost a beloved family member: Big Brother Samson, our Golden Retriever. After an eight year battle with kidney failure, Mike and I had to make the gut-wrenching decision to have him put down. He had been getting slower and slower because of his advanced arthritis, and his BUN and creatinine were tripled since his visit in March. He had lost 20 lbs in the last year and was down to 54 lbs. When he was first diagnosed with kidney failure, they told us he would eventually "hit a wall" with his kidney levels and we wouldn't be able to flush out his system to lower them again. This was his wall, the day we had been dreading for years.

Mike got Samson from his friend, Steve Cloud, when he was just a puppy, because Steve wasn't able to have a large breed dog in his new rental home. I met him when he was about 6 months old, before Mike and I were even dating, and since I had grown up with chihuahuas I was not too fond of large dogs. However, like all Goldens, he really grew on me. Samson never met a stranger. There were many times we would take him to the vet or groomers, and they would rave about how sweet he was, or would say, "Oh, you have Samson? He's the sweetest dog!" He was our only child for the first five years of our marriage, and we have many fond memories of him jumping on the bed for a good wrestling match, or going to the park to throw a ball. He was an amazing friend and big brother to our children, and we do not say that lightly. It was not unusual for him to sleep outside the girls' bedroom when they were babies, or to find him curled up beside their cribs if we left the door open. I think it's safe to say he was Mike's best friend and most constant companion the last 12 years... I don't mind saying that, even as his wife, because the unconditional love and loyalty you receive from a canine companion is one not easily matched by the human variety. I'm proud to say Samson agreed to share Mike with me when he was barely a year old, and I loved him more than I can explain... with the birth of our children, he went from being our baby to officially being "Big Brother Samson", and he filled that role with all the adoration and protectiveness that you would expect from such an amazing dog. We hope our girls will always remember what a special part of our family he was.


Samson with the girls when they were only a few months old

"If there are no dogs in Heaven,
then when I die I want to go
where they went."
- Unknown

Samson was always ready and willing to let them climb all over him, even in the last painful months of his life when he wasn't feeling well.

"I think dogs are the most amazing creatures;
they give unconditional love.
For me they are the role model for being alive."
- Gilda Radner

When I called Mike yesterday morning to tell him that Samson wasn't walking, and that he hadn't eaten his food the night before (again) we knew it was inevitable. Mike drove 2 hours home from Sherman, TX, to take him to the vet's office. I called my best friend, Jessica, while I waited for Mike, and she came over to love on Samson also. We got some pics of him and the kids one last time...


Aubrey and Samson

Sarah and Samson


Samson and the Aiden, Jessica & Brenden... they knew him for 8 wonderful years of his life!

We are so grateful to Colonial Park Vet Hospital for their amazing care since his diagnosis at only 4 years old. At their behest, we fed him more expensive food than we eat, which was protein-free, and it prolonged his life for 8 more years... he had excellent quality of life despite his disease, he was our miracle! He is survived by his loving human family, and his kitty-sister Jonesy and little Golden Retriever brother, Hercules. We fully believe he is in heaven with his "little old lady mutt" sister, Reagan, chasing tennis balls for eternity.

"Heaven goes by favour.
If it went by merit, you would stay out
and your dog would go in."
- Mark Twain