Proud mama

B and E just took another TKD belt test. I am so proud of them! I was very nervous but they did great. Now B will be a purple 2nd belt and E a green belt! I was texting Daddy updates all during the test because he was nervous too. We are both very proud! :)

Will have pictures after the ceremony.

Until then... my babies...

Because we all need reminding...

Love is patient, love is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast,

it is not proud.

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking,

it is not easily angered,

it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Sparring

Finally, someplace where it is okay for them to beat each other up. Up til now they were just learning the moves, now they get to use them!

Museum visit

Here are some mostly blurry pictures of our trip last weekend to the museum in Waco. The kids loved it. They ran from one thing to the next.

There was a lego exhibit.

The girls loved this pioneer room. E just built with Lincoln logs while they dressed up and posed.

The bubble room was a favorite.

I only got a few pictures. And now the internet is driving me crazy. Something has to be wrong with my wireless card. Now I have to hurry before the internet goes down again!

Sunday

train the younger women to love their husbands and children,

to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind,

and to be subject to their husbands,

so that no one will malign the word of God.

Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled.

In everything set them an example by doing what is good.

In your teaching show integrity, seriousness

and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned,

so that those who oppose you may be ashamed

because they have nothing bad to say about us.

Titus 2:4-8

Last week's Belt Ceremony

The internet on my laptop has been slow this week so I had not tried to put last week's pictures on here. Right now it is working great. If I had known, I might have spent some time online today instead of cleaning windows and washing curtains! Now I am in a rush before the kids get home :)

Here are B and E with Master Jimmy after they got their new belts. B is a purple belt now and E is a purple 2nd.




Daddy took some close ups...

B getting her belt

He looks bored or mad in this one...
This was before she got the belt

They are happy to be moving up. B was considering quitting a few weeks ago but she has changed her mind. She gets so nervous before the test that she says it isn't fun. After the test she loves it again. Maybe she just doesn't want E to be able to beat her up! :)

Late first day of school post!

I can't tell you how nice it has been to have Luke home. I am sure that seems obvious since he is my husband and the father of my children and I love him. But there is also the fact that if I were not married to him I would have to live in some apartment somewhere where there is no yard so I would not have to do any yard work and I would also not have any internet and probably not even own a computer. Luke says I like to be helpless when I can get by with it and he is right. But I would never do yard work on purpose and I hate dealing with computer issues so I would probably just do without if it were not for him.

He has been dealing with these issues and many more for me this week. Our yard looks fantastic, including the field. He found a "professional" guy to do it all and at a great price, even cheaper that the teenager next door. And he has fixed up all of our computer issues, although I was without internet for a couple of days while he was getting it all straightened out. I can totally deal with the loss since I am so thankful to have him here to deal with it (okay it does help that I have had the iphone so I have had internet through that).

Since I wasn't able to get my laptop online, I was not able to show the first day of school pictures before. The first day went fine for everyone. Now that the first week is almost over, I would say everyone has had a good week and is doing well with all the new teachers and changes. B feels very grown up being in 7th grade. She is in athletics class and has to change into gym clothes and is staying after school all week trying out for volleyball. E was not thrilled about going to school but still seems to like it okay. He may have just been wanting to stay home with daddy. K is doing great and likes her new teacher. She has been involved in some DRAMA on the playground though--three girls have been fighting over who gets to play with her!

It has been a very busy week with me having to go pick up B right after E an K get off the bus. There was TKD on Monday and the belt ceremony last night. They skipped Wednesday because it was my birthday. B is almost hoping not to make the volleyball team so she won't have to be doing so much after school everyday. If she keeps having athletics class every day, volleyball practice for 1 1/2 hours and then TKD twice a week, I am afraid she will blow away in a good wind! We need to find a way to fatten her up! See look how skinny...

I took several pictures of E and this is the one he looks LEAST like he hates going out that door to school...

K was very excited. She even woke up 15 minutes before her alarm.


At the bus stop he perked up a little...


She was almost hyper...



They started having fun waiting. I love it when they get along so well...

I am so glad they have had such a good week. Yesterday E learned a poem he had to recite by only looking at it a few times. He got 105 on it because he did it early. And K had a comment from her teacher that she is "such a sweet child". And B even likes her MATH teacher!

It is going well so far. We will probably have to move soon! haha!!!

My baby

K was baptized on Sunday. Our church has not had a baptism since we have started going there. When we found out that it was going to be the day after Luke got home we were thrilled. K wanted her daddy to baptize her. We thought she would have to wait until we were able to go back home for that to happen.

I am so proud of K. She is afraid of water. I still have to chase her around the shower when I wash her hair because she hates water in her face. She did so great. She never acted nervous or afraid and she seemed so grown up about it! It was awesome!

The pool is spring fed--sulfur springs. Very cold. Very smelly. But it is cool that it is all natural water that flows constantly through the pool with no chemicals.

I am so proud of K. She has really amazed me through all of this. I can't believe how ready she was for it and how much she understands. My baby is growing up. This is my favorite way she could show how grown up she is getting!

Summer is almost over....

Just a few things...

-Luke will be home tomorrow and I am so glad!!! Too bad it will only be for a couple of weeks. :( We have not seen him since the end of April.

-The kids have been driving me CRAZY the last couple of days! I am so ready for Daddy to be here to help with things. Maybe a bit glad school starts Monday too...

-B's skin graft is healing. We have to go back in about six weeks for another check and to have a hearing test.

-B and E had another TKD belt test this week. Now E is a purple 2nd and B is a purple belt. The ceremony is next week and I will get pictures.

-B is trying out for volleyball next week.

-And the best thing is Sunday K is getting baptized! So happy and proud! Hope I will get some pictures of that too.

It has been a stressful summer. I am glad it is over. I am anxious to get back to a routine. I will be glad to be able to keep the house show clean during the day and stop being the Wicked Witch to the kids about it. Hopefully the house will sell in the next couple of months and we can get to KY with Luke soon. My goal is before Thanksgiving. Now to see how I handle that if God's plan doesn't agree with mine this time!

Puppies

Because I haven't posted since July...

The lazy fill in the blank list...


The weather in my neck of the woods: Hot. Texas in August. It's hot. It is cloudy though and was sprinkling a few minutes ago. Now I hear thunder!!!

I am thinking: that I am glad it is almost time for school to start!

I am thankful: that my kids are having fun even though I am about to explode the next time they run in or out and slam the door.

From the kitchen: Pepperoni bread cooling for dinner in a few minutes, along with pasta salad chilling in the fridge.

I am wearing: black t-shirt, gray shorts and my running shoes (not because I am doing any running though).

I am reading: Today I started Learning to Fly by Roxanne Henke. I just finished her Coming Home to Brewster Series and I loved it. I had never heard of her, I was just scanning the fiction with Christian Fiction symbols at the library and she jumped out at me.

I am hearing: B complaining that E won't leave her and her friend alone and K complaining that E won't let her play the PS3. It has been about 2 minutes since I heard any doors slamming--thank you Lord.

One of my favorite things: today? Talking to my sister on the phone.

A few plans for the rest of the week: going to church tonight, need to grocery shop soon, nothing else...

On my To Do List for today: it's already after 5 so the only thing left to do is eat dinner and go to church. But I haven't done much today. Except listen to kids argue and run through the house slamming doors!

On my Prayer List: my family. Kids starting back to school. And that our house sells before Thanksgiving!

Riding

K finally got to go horseback riding yesterday. Her teacher invited her a few weeks ago but she has been on vacation and then the weather has not been cooperating. Yesterday it was storming all around us but we went anyway and it did not rain on us until we drove away! K was thrilled.

She did let her brother and sister take a turn too. But she snuck in two more turns!

B had ridden before as she took lessons but E had not ridden. He liked it too.

But K is the one who was thrilled. She even helped Rachel (the teacher's daughter who the horse belongs to and generously allowed them all to ride) wash the horse and brush him and put him away. The horse was very lazy and did not want to go without being led, but K even wanted to ride by herself and managed to make it around with no one leading her. She did fantastic. I am so proud of her. She was not scared and she seemed so grown up!

Now she wants a horse more than ever!!!

Sunday update

I enjoyed church very much this morning. Worship was awesome. I have been feeling guilty lately about not liking that God is not going along with my plans for moving when I wanted to. Now that I am seeing he really may have a better idea than I do, I feel much better. I KNOW God always knows what is best and things will work out exactly as they are suppose to, but sometimes I fight it anyway. At times during this summer I have felt like a rebellious kid who KNOWS that their parents are probably right and only want what is best for them, but still see nothing wrong with their way and sulk because they aren’t getting it! I know that’s wrong, it’s just hard to help it sometimes.

Knowing that it is too late for the kids to start school in KY has taken off the pressure for me. I am not getting what I wanted and now that I am sure of that I am more at peace. I still hate the thought of the kids having to change schools during the year, but it will work out. Maybe now whenever we are able to move Luke will be able to come back and help! ;)

We were hoping to go horseback riding with some friends this evening but we are having a thunderstorm right now, so I guess that will be cancelled. I am anxious to see K on a horse as she has been wanting to go for a long time.

B has to have surgery on Wednesday to repair a hole in her eardrum. I will post an update after it is over. We would appreciate prayers. It is a minor outpatient procedure but it still makes you nervous anytime they are put to sleep. Unfortunately her swimming is over for the summer!

We have been having a very lazy, mostly peaceful summer. The kids are having fun playing with friends every day and we go to the library often. I say mostly peaceful because of days like yesterday—we had a house showing so we spent three hours cleaning and trying to get the yard in shape. I had been putting off having the neighbor mow the grass and I regretted it yesterday! E and B both tried to mow some but they did not get much done. I weedeated at noon—that is NOT fun in Texas in July!! I will have to go back to having the grass mowed every week! I HATE yardwork!! Have I even mentioned that before???

Summertime

B and her friend took these pictures with her mom's camera. I like them so I stole them.

They were swimming at the friend's house.




They were also just posing in front of the flowers.


I love this one. I turned a copy and it changed the quality so much I like it much better this way.



B wants to be a photographer. Or a videographer. Or a director. Or a newscaster if the videos they make with her cell phone are any indication. I wish I could share the funny "385 News" videos they make, they are hilarious. They even do commercials. Her camera does not have internet so I can't share them. They get crazier every time they make another one. I think making videos is the number one thing she does with her cell phone!

Summer is going by fast and nothing is happening with the house yet. Who knows how long we will be here. Trying to wait patiently but I am missing my husband! The kids are having a good time playing with the neighbors, swimming, doing taekwondo and going to the library. We have discovered Little House on the Prairie books on tape and listen to them constantly in the car. I can't believe we only have one month until school starts!

Sunday

I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.
I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation,

whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Philippians 4:11-13

Still being a bad blogger...

Okay I get silent when I am depressed. Nothing is happening with the house so I am depressed.

But we have been trying to have some fun this summer anyway.

The kids moved up another belt in TKD.

We have gone to the pool a couple of times. I really like going at 4:00.

K likes the pickles and the snowcones. She also LOVES that slide.

So I am still a bad blogger but now you see we are still alive and the mamaws can see the kids. Hopefully soon I will have good news and more to say!