The Trailblazer Express

I have no idea where this past week has gone.  I mean, is Christmas already over?!?  I was going through pictures that we downloaded from our camera and came across these and I wanted to capture this memory on the blog.  So, while this happened nearly 3 weeks ago, I hope you enjoy anyhow.

We finished our Advent Christmas Banner and we all loved it!!  Jase just loved turning over a new triangle on the banner everyday to see what activity we would be doing that day.  And with the exception of a few busy days, we performed every activity I had planned.  One of them was the Trailblazer Express.  On December 10th we watched The Polar Express together and the very next day, our activity was to ride The Trailblazer Express.  Let me explain.

After dinner, the kiddos got dressed for bed and I made popcorn and hot chocolate. Then I gave them a golden ticket to board The Trailblazer Express.  Can I tell you how giddy the kids were?!? I loved it!!  I even punched holes in the ticket before we boarded.  We rode around in my . . . you guess it . . . Trailblazer and looked at Christmas lights, all the while eating popcorn and drinking hot chocolate.  We really had a great time doing this.  It was very relaxed, no rush, no where to be, just driving around enjoying our time together.

Once we arrived back at the house, I finished punching holes in their ticket to spell a word (like in the movie).  Allyson's said BRAVE.  If you know her, this should be no shocker . . . Miss Allyson needs to work on being brave.  She gets scared of new situations, places, dogs, movies she has not seen, etc.  We have really been trying to help her on this.  As for Jase, his ticket said HUMBLE.  Not that he goes around bragging all the time, but we are trying to teach him to be humble.  We usually come across plenty of teaching moments thoughout the day.

The kids really enjoyed and I hope to do The Trailblazer Express with them again next year.

Happy Birthday PawPaw

Today is PawPaw's birthday! With the holiday season upon us, we ended up celebrating it Wednesday after church at our house. It was a nice evening with family, dinner and dessert!

During the day on Wednesday I told Jase that we would be having a birthday party at our house for PawPaw and immediately his mind went to work. He told me that he was going to make him a present and I said that was great. Jase then disappeared upstairs, in the craft room! He made a drum out of the bottom of a Christmas card box he had found. He came downstairs and asked me to poke 2 holes in the lid, big enough for ribbon to fit in them. He took it back upstairs and ran ribbon through the holes and taped it underneath. Later he came back downstairs with the drum {in a gift bag he found} along with a card he had made. So thoughtful!

Jase was beyond giddy when PawPaw was opening his present. Daddy pointed out the excitement he was feeling and that you feel so much better giving than receiving. It was a neat moment.

Happy birthday PawPaw! We love you!

 

Tiny Dancer

This morning Allyson had a mini Christmas dance recital for her tap and ballet classes. While she is not the most advanced one in her class, she says she enjoys it and thats all that matters. She said that the shuffle step was her favorite part about her performance. I'm proud of my little tiny dancer!

 

Jase Decorates

Earlier today Jase came downstairs and got a couple of old pictures of him with Santa and headed back upstairs. A little while later I called upstairs to see if he was ok and he said he was working on a top secret project. Ha!

I could hear him running back and forth from his room to the homeschool/craft room, there was no telling what all he was doing. A few minutes later he calls me upstairs and tells me that he decorated his room for Christmas! He took chenille sticks (pipe cleaners) and scotch tape and went to town! I told him that it looked great and he was sooo proud! Love my little boy!

Adult Christmas Program

Yesterday morning our adult choir performed their Christmas Program. This year the children's choir joined them, which is different than years past. Jase and Shawn enjoyed going to choir practice every week together and learning the same songs. Jase was also a sheep in his program, so I got off a little easy and he wore Ally's sheepskin (along with his black long-sleeved shirt, baseball pants and dad's long black socks)!

It was a very simple, but powerful message of Christmas: Jesus coming into this world in a lowly manager, to seek and save those that are lost. (Luke 19:10)

A Family Tradition

For as long as I can remember my mom's side of the family has made candy during the Christmas season.  And for most of the years it is a joint venture between sisters and mothers and daughters.  This year me, my sister and mom got together with my Aunt Susan and her daughter (my cousin), Amy at my house to make candy.  We got started early, around 8:30 am, and began making divinity.  We knocked out 3 batches before you knew it.

It was a great day and we shared many laughs together.  We reminisced on memories with my Nana and how she would always sit back and watch and tell you what you were doing wrong! My mom seemed to fill those shoes just fine!  ;-)

 

Here are are a couple of video clips of us making candy.  And the first video is of us spooning out divinity with Jase trying to make it into a race and Shawn giving Alisha and I a hard time . . . go figure!

 

 

 

 

Thankful for my family and the new memories that were made this year and the tradition that we are keeping alive.

O Christmas Tree

On Friday we made edible Christmas trees out of sugar cones, icing, M&M's and sprinkles.  The kids had a great time decorating the trees, but I think their favorite part was eating the icing!!  Don't worry, we did not give away any of the trees that they made as gifts.  ;-)

They turned out cute and it was an activity that we could all do together.

This happened yesterday!

Well, I did it!! I've never used one of these monster carts at Walmart, but I finally did it yesterday! It wasn't too bad and it was actually easier to steer than the ones at HEB. The ones at HEB look "cooler", but turning a corner in that thing makes you feel like you have never pushed a cart in your life.

The trip wasn't that bad and it helped that Finn slept most of the time, which made me a little more at ease. And I actually let the kids "help" by getting out of the basket and getting items for me. The only wrong item I ended up with were some pretzels Jase put in the basket for me. I asked for some regular pretzels and he picked up Rold Gold cheddar flavor. They are pretty tasty, but probably wouldn't taste that great dipped in almond bark! ;-)

Sheep and Dedication of Finn

Allyson performed in her first program at church yesterday! She was a cute little sheep! Nearly 400 cotton balls glued on that shirt (100th day of school shirts have nothing on me!).  Saturday evening we went up to the church for her dress rehearsal and I'm pretty sure I left there with a little bit of anxiety!!

Her performance was Sunday morning and it was really cute.  Major kudos to the kids and all those who helped organize it.  Below are some pictures from the performance, but they are not that great. We got a new camera and we are still trying to figure out the ins and outs of it.  :(

Sunday morning we also dedicated Finn to the Lord at church.  The Lord has blessed our family beyond measure, and we want to live for Him.  So by publicly dedicating Finn to the Lord we acknowledge and agree that Finn (and other children) are on loan from God and we are doing our best to raise them in the ways of the Lord.

 

And what morning wouldn't be complete without showing up at church wearing the same dress as your Mom?!?!?  Geesh!  What are the odds? And I even changed into this dress at the last minute.  It was funny and I couldn't believe this happened!

Christmas Crafts

This afternoon our Advent Banner had us work on Christmas crafts. I decided we would make an old school Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer candy cane. {I remember my mom making those and the ones made out of clothes pins all the time for my brother and sister's classes.}

Next, we moved onto the big project: painting! About 2 minutes into I thought "why did I do this?" We used so many different colors, I was cleaning their brushes left and right, while trying to keep Ally from opening the paint bottles while I was at the sink! She can be a sneaky little girl!!

We finished painting all of our craft sticks and took a break and let them dry for the evening. We read our Truth in the Tinsel and it was in regards to Mary singing a song when she found out that Elisabeth was pregnant; she was amazed by God's miracle. I read the scripture portion twice and asked Jase to pick out reasons in her song why Mary would worship God. It was a good conversation starter for us. The last two days we have had great biblical conversations; I couldn't have planned it better.

We finished putting the manger scene together with our craft sticks and I think they turned out great. We found homes for them in our Christmas tree. :-)

Coke Floats All Around

Last night we enjoyed coke floats, an activity planned on our Advent banner. Good old fashioned Homemade Vanilla Blue Bell ice cream and Classic Coke! So good! And I am not a big Classic Coke fan, but there is something about it with the ice cream. {I do not like root beer at all.} Plus it brought back memories of when I was a kid; we would have these often when I was younger. The kids liked them too, but I don't think as much as Shawn or I did!!

Art Day

Today we had a full blown art day. Our Advent calendar had us make snowflakes and decorate them. After the kids colored them, I got out the glue and glitter and gave them a little shimmer. I think I will be wearing glitter for a week!

Next, we needed a Christmas tree to put our daily ornaments on from our Truth in the Tinsel lessons. I drew a Christmas tree on some white paper and gave the kids free reign to paint it. Can you tell who painted which side? Lol!

After we finished our tree they enjoyed free paint time. Jase did a great job painting a Lego man and Allyson tested just about every color. ;) All in all the mess was kept to a minimum. Both of the kids really do not like their hands to be dirty, and especially Jase. I was in the bathroom rinsing out a brush and the kids were in the next room beginning to paint and here comes Jase, wanting to wash his hands already! I ended up bringing two wash cloths in the room, which were covered with paint by the time we finished.

It was a great day!

Advent Activities

Last year we celebrated the anticipation of Jesus' birth by unwrapping a Christmas-themed book or movie everyday for December 1st-24th.  Along with each book, I included a bible verse we would read everyday.  It was really a great activity.  This year I decided to do something a little bit different.  I found a super cute Advent ornament banner HERE at Confessions of a Homeschooler.  Whether you homeschool or not, she really has great ideas and I enjoy reading her blog when I have a chance.  It is pretty straight forward and I really like how family-centered the activities are.  I used a lot of her ideas {I don't have time to reinvent the wheel over here!} and added some of our own to make it personable for our family.

First, I got out my handy dandy spiral . . . I use it for EVERYTHING, although this is a new one, I used up the last one.  I looked at our schedule, then Shawn and I went through the activities and decided what all we were going to do.

Then, I printed out the Advent banner pieces and cut them out.  Then, I wrote all of my activities for each day on the back.  Next, I punched a small hole in each triangle and threaded them through on some twine. {Ah hem . . . this is the same twine I untangled the day before yesterday, I knew I would need it! ;-)} I wasn't going to use the clothes pins, but after putting all of them on the twine, it needed something else to help keep them in place.  In the tutorial she used mini clothes pins, but I opted for normal sized ones since that was all I had and I actually had to had to borrow those from my sister! The mini ones probably work a little better since they are light weight, but these worked out just fine.  I hung them up below the mantle and voila!

Here are the activities we are doing:

1. Candle lit bubble bath {I think Allyson will love this}
2. Read 3 Christmas books
3. Make paper snowflakes
4. Make glass ornaments with glitter
5. Pray for Star of Hope donations and have kids pick out some of their toys to donate
6. Coke floats tonight!
7. Make a Christmas craft
8. Deliver Star of Hope donations
9. Explain The Giving Tree we signed up for and pray for the family
10. Have a Polar Express night! {PJs, popcorn and movie}
11. "The Trailblazer Express" click HERE for details
12. Pipe Cleaner Christmas crafts
13. Dress up for dinner
14. Make edible Christmas trees
15. Family game night & deliver Giving Tree family gifts
16. Make Nativity Scene out of shapes
17. Dance and Sing to Christmas music
18. Watch "Veggie Tales Little Drummer Boy" with popcorn, of course!
19. Pray for Giving Tree Family
20. Read How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
21. Make Christmas Cookies
22. Have hot chocolate and marshmallows
23. Watch a Christmas movie with popcorn
24. Make Jesus a birthday cake and read Luke chapters 1-2
25. Merry Christmas!

I am really excited about this!! I think we will all enjoy it.

And while all the above is super fun and exciting things to do together as a family, I did not want to lose sight of the truth meaning of Christmas: Jesus' birth.  I found Truth in the Tinsel on Confessions of a Homeschooler's blog and became intrigued.  I went to the Truth in the Tinsel website and began reading and really liked the daily bible reading and the ornament craft each day to back up the bible passage.  Long story short, I ended up purchasing the eBook and a supplemental ornament document (in lieu of making the ornaments in the book since it might be too much for me to take on with everything else going on, i.e. homeschool, moving to Africa, you know the normal things!).  I used a 20% off discount code from Confessions of a Homeschooler and got both items for less than $10 total.

I was telling Shawn all about it this afternoon and I think what I like about this and the Advent banner is that it gives me a plan, it is already laid out for me.  I am more apt to follow through with something if I have a schedule, otherwise it will end up being one of those "I should do that" or "man I wish I would have done that."

Here are the two little ones during their candle lit bath tonight.  When I first included this in the list I didn't think it would be have been a hit, but I have to admit it was pretty cool.  It made bath time so calming and it was something new for our bath time routine.  We will be doing this one again!

Allyson's Night Out

Big brother Jase got a treat tonight: he went down to Angleton with Shawn's parents to stay the night at his cousin's house.  He was beyond excited and every time the door opened today, he thought it was Grandma coming to pick him up.  It was cute!

Since Jase is usually the one that gets to do things, mainly because he is the oldest, we decided we would focus our attention on Allyson tonight.  First we took her to dinner at Chick-Fil-A . . . a favorite of ours hers!  Nanny, Paw-Paw, Uncle Shannon, Aunt Alisha and Uncle JoJo were up there too, so we got to see them and she loved that!  After dinner we headed over to the main attraction for the night: Chuck E. Cheese!!  We used to take Jase all the time when he was 1-3 years old and I think she's only been a couple of times.  Believe me she is not deprived by any means, but it was a lot easier to get out with just one kid, and now we have 3! {By the way, when did that happen, when did we have 3 kids??  That is still hard for me to fathom.}

She had a great time there and loved feeding the tokens in the machines!!  See the machine below that my mom is at? I was on the one right in front of her: Plinko from The Price is Right!  I don't know what it is about these two games, but you can't walk away! You put a token in and watch to see if your token knocks off any of the other tokens, resulting in tickets for you! Talk about addicting!!

Allyson ended up with a Disney Faires bag {we love bags}, cotton candy, and a few other things.  She had a great night and I'm glad we were able to focus on her this evening!

This Is Happening

Today (11/29) we had a guy from a moving company come to our home and walk through our entire house, room by room.  He took note of what was going in storage and what we would be taking with us to Africa.  That way when the professional movers come to pack our house, they will have a list of all of our items and where they need to go.

I handled that just fine, but it was later when we were sitting upstairs in the homeschool room where I got completely overwhelmed just looking at all the stuff in that room. {And there are 8 other rooms in my house!} I will admit, I have an attachment to stuff, I know I do. I sat on the floor and untangled some twine string that the kids got out of mine for like 20 minutes instead of throwing it away.  Yikes . . . attachment to some twine I've probably only used once, BUT if I ever need some I'll have it. And I think that is how I rationalize keeping everything "oh I might need that one day." And some of it has sat in a box since we moved into this house 5 years ago.  I told Shawn that maybe this was one of the reasons we are moving, so I have to let go of some of this stuff.  He agreed!  Ha!  I wouldn't say I'm a hoarder, but definitely a pack rat and always have been.  No shame!

Shawn suggested having a garage sale next weekend, like in 7 days!! I told him there was no way I could thoroughly go through every room in 1 week without help. And even with help it would be a challenge. So, let the fun begin, right? Hey, but admitting you have a problem is the first step! ;-)

Finn is 4 Months

I could not believe that it was already time to break out the 4 month tie! Sniff, sniff! He was in such a good mood for his "photo shoot" this month, which made it really easy to get some good pics!


Dearest Finn,

You are growing so fast these days. You are cooing up a storm and your little smile just melts my heart. You are such a happy baby! You have really been taking note of food lately and realize that people around you are eating, so we have decided to start you on rice cereal. I know, I know it is not a flavor explosion, but give it time and I'll be able to add in some fresh, puréed fruits and veggies soon! Baby steps!

You are rolling over now and enjoy your tummy time and playing in your jumper. You currently have your first cold: runny nose and a cough. You probably got it from your sister and I, who have been a little sick lately. Hopefully it does not last for you; Mommy does not like seeing any of her babies sick. Your big brother and sister love you to pieces and always want to play with you! As for sleep, try and get some more of it, it is your friend! We love you to the moon and back booger bear!

Huge and Kisses,
Mommy

O Christmas Tree

I had to get some pictures of Finn in his Little Moose outfit yesterday. Shawn's boss from Norway bought it for him and I have to say that it is too cute!! And anytime the camera is out, the older two ham it up!

I've started a little tradition every year with the kids to kick off the Christmas season. I buy them each a Hallmark ornament that relates to what they currently like. In 2010 the kids got a couple of Mickey Mouse ornaments. Then last year Ally got Minnie Mouse and Jase got a Cars 2 ornament. This year Jase got Lego Star Wars (Stormtrooper), Allyson got Cinderella and Finn got an elephant that says My First Christmas. I enjoy picking them out and the kids get so excited when I give it to them, especially this year, the ornaments were so fitting!

Usually it is just me that decorates the tree, but this year I had help. I love pulling out all the ornaments and looking at them and reminiscing! Now for Shawn this was simply a job to get done, a task to mark off the list. And I realized I have an exact way I like to decorate the tree: light first, then glass balls, then other ornaments, then bows and lastly the bow on top and mesh ribbons. And you cannot have a cluster of the same ornaments right on top of one another. All that said, it was hard to let go and not rearrange every ornament that was put up!! The tree is like my little work of art. {I hope I am not alone on this!} But when all was said and done, I'm glad my family pitched in and helped!

I'm Thankful

For as long as I can remember we have been going to Livingston for family gatherings. My mom has 2 brothers and 2 sisters, so when our family gets together there is quite a crowd, especially since all the kids my age have kids! We were missing quite a few people this year, but it was still nice to get up there and see everyone else.

My Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Jim have a great piece of property with a pond on it. Shawn LOVES fishing up there every time we go and says it is the best! I think my younger cousin, Travis, caught 21 fish on Thanksgiving!

The food was delicious, as usual!! All 5 of the brothers and sisters can hold their own in the kitchen! You can always bet on the food and fellowship being first class whenever we get together!

While all of this was going on, I couldn't help but think of Nana. This was our 2nd thanksgiving without her. She loved to cook and gather together with family. Several reminded me of her: chocolate pie, watching football, sweet potato casserole, sitting outside, and day old bread. She was definitely the hub of the family and we all sure do miss her.

Another reason we decided to get together as a family this year is that my Uncle Billy (2nd oldest sibling) is not doing so well. He was diagnosed with a form of cancer in his face last year when my Nana was ill and he has lost a ton of weight, like probably over 100 lbs. It is hard for him to eat in his current condition and he has been drinking liquids/purees to make sure he keeps his nutrition up. Before I left I gave him a hug and told him that we have been praying for him. I'm not always sure what to say to someone in his condition, but I want him to know that we care about him and love him. He thanked me and told me that my mom told him that Jase has been praying for him, which he has been.

At the end of the day, all of the material items do not matter. It is our faith in Jesus that determines our destiny and until our destiny is fulfilled, our days are filled with memories. I am thankful to have wonderful family and friends in my life to help make sweet memories with.

Thanksgiving Eve Celebration

On Wednesday we went over to Shawn's parents' home to visit with his family for Thanksgiving. It was nice, there were 4 out of 5 of the siblings there, which doesn't happen often. Including Amanda with her new baby, Tessa, who was born on October 11th. Can I just say so tiny and cute?!? Even though Finn is only a little over 2 months older than Tessa, they are definitely at different stages. Finn has lost his newborn look and when I saw her, I was reminded again just how fast they grow up!

The weather was perfect on Wednesday so we spent most of the day outside with the kiddos. And we spend a lot of time indoors, so I wanted the kids to soak up the nice day and "unplug" from all the technology!

First Cereal!

In celebration of 4 months today, we fed Finn his first rice cereal this evening and he LOVED it! It was like he knew what to do with the spoon when I put it in his mouth! I remember the other two kids wondering what in the world I put in their mouths when I started feeding them with a spoon, but not Finn . . . he wanted me to keep it coming.

Now the plan was that he would get a full tummy and would be out for the night. Can I tell you that he is still up?!? Geez!! He has not been sleeping all that great this past week and it has made for some really long nights. {I feel another one of those coming on.}

Happy 4 months Finny!

It's Official

We're moving to Africa that is!! Shawn accepted a new position with his company in Luanda, Angola.  Crazy, I know!!  When this opportunity presented itself back in August it actually became a topic of conversation for us rather than me shutting it down. The Lord has allowed me to be open to this and given me a peace about it.  Now I'm not saying that I am not sad to leave family and friends and not overwhelmed at the things that have to be done, because I am, but if I am being honest I am excited about this adventure with my family.

I'm going to Q&A myself (yes, myself) on some of the details.

When will the big move take place?
Shawn will go back to Angola for a short visit in January and then the plan is the move the whole family in February.  No dates are set in stone, but we are thinking some time in February.

Why in the world would you want to do this?
We honestly feel this is right for our family at this point in our life.  This will be a great job opportunity for Shawn's career and a lifetime experience to live in a different culture and expose the kids to an alternative way of living.  Also, Living Water International is slated to be doing a lot of work in Africa and how awesome would it be to team up with them!! The need there is great, and we would love to be the hands and feet of Jesus, even if it is to just one person.

Where will you live in Angola and is it safe?
We will live in a gated compound with other families from Shawn's company.  While that doesn't sound safe, Shawn assures me that he never felt unsafe on his trip he just took.  And he tried to imagine Jase or Ally standing right next to him in certain situations.  The house is like a little townhouse or condo: 3 bedroom with a study and 2 1/2 bath.

What will you have to bring with you?
The house is furnished except the kitchen.  So, we will bring all of our kitchen items, clothes, bathroom toiletries, toys, and anything else we don't want in storage.

What will you do with your house here?
We are going to sell it.  We will put everything we are not taking with us in storage.  We will probably clear the house right before we make the big move and put it on the market when we are leaving.  We do not want to stress out and try to show the house while packing it up.

How long will y'all be gone?
Typical assignments last 2-4 years. While we did not sign to a certain length of time, ours will probably be around 24-36 months.

Will y'all be able to come back to the states and visit in the meantime?
YES!!  We already plan on coming back for a short stay in June 2013 and the Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays in 2013 as well.  So, we will still get to see family and friends!

And your 2 dogs?
We cannot take them with us. We've had both Hank (10 lb rat terrier) and Jet (80 lb black lab) since they were pups since October 2003 and March 2005, respectively.  We will miss them.  And especially Hankie . . . he was my first baby!  Shawn bought him for me just days after he proposed, so Hank has been with us from the start of our family.  And with a near death experience with Hankie when he was only 1 year old, I'm attached to him.  We do not have concrete plans for them yet, but need to get that worked out and soon.

Those are all the big questions I can think of.  I think the hardest part of all of this was telling the kids and our loved ones.  I was very emotional when telling them.  What parent, sister, best friend wants to hear that their loved one is moving half way across the world?!?  I'm so glad that I did not go with my original plan of telling all of our family at Ally's family birthday party.  My thinking was that everyone would be there and we would only have to go through this once.  Looking back that would have been an epic fail and a huge cry fest!  I probably would have locked myself in my room!!  Ha! While I know it will be hard not being able to drive to their house and see them anytime I want, I am thankful for technology.  There is a 6-7 hour time difference (depending upon the time change), but we will be able to FaceTime and message whenever we'd like.  And it will make the time we do spend together very valuable and priceless.

So, stay tuned in as we begin the next chapter in our lives!

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto understanding. 

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and He shall direct thy paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Rollie Pollie

Yesterday while we were up in the homeschool room, our little Finn decided to roll on over! He was having some tummy time and the next thing I know I see him roll over from the corner of my eye!! So big! Next week he'll be 4 months!

E-mail to Daddy

Shawn has been working out of town for nearly the past two weeks and we miss him so much.  While we all miss him dearly, I know it is hard on Jase . . . he needs his Daddy!  At some point in the day Jase will ask me "can we call Daddy, take a picture and send it to Daddy, write Daddy an e-mail."  It is really sweet.  And now that he is learning to spell/read he will sometimes send Daddy a text on my phone if he is working in Houston.  Shawn will always respond so enthusiastically, I just love it.  Shawn is definitely Jase's hero!

Tonight in the living room, Jase was reading some new (used) books he got about animals and the outdoors.  He brought in stuffed animals from the playroom to match up to what he was reading.

It wasn't long and he was upstairs building a Lego scene to match!  He even taped one of his Lego men to a scene in the book where it looked like the Lego man was on an adventure!  He ended up bringing down this scene and asked me to take a picture to send to Daddy. {The figurines that are bowing down are animals.}

It was late, so I was trying to hurry things along, but Jase had other plans; he wanted me to write an e-mail to Daddy explaining what was going on.  Jase told me word for word what to type to his Daddy.

Daddy,

This is my Lego thing and I thought you would love it. I want you to like it forever. The people in the scene are me, Coby and Seth in the forest and about to go on an adventure, going to capture some animals from around the world. I hope you love it Daddy.

Signed,
From Jase

I checked my e-mail not that long ago and Shawn had replied.

Jase-

I love your Lego thing that you have put together! I love it forever! I love you forever! I am so glad that you like to go on adventures with Coby and Seth. It looks like it was a lot of fun. I want to hear about your adventure when I get home. There are a lot of animals to capture here in Africa and all over the world. I would like to read a book with you and play lego's with you on Friday when I get home from Africa.

P.S. Can you send me one more picture this afternoon (Thursday)? Daddy can see it before he gets on the plane to come home.

Love,
Daddy

Can I just tell you that tears came to my eyes when I read his reply?!?  I can't wait for Jase to get up in the morning so I can share his Daddy's e-mail with him.  Jase will be so excited!!  Shawn has been super busy with work and for him to stop and take time to write his son an e-mail just melted my heart.

Allyson the Tapper

This morning Allyson had tap and ballet class.  They recently moved into a new studio, so the girls are getting adjusted to their new rooms, which are very nice.  Today her teacher called us in the room to watch the tappers perform their routine . . . this was a first!!  So glad I had my phone in my back pocket!  I think Allyson was in shock with us in there and could not focus, although I'm really not sure how much more she would have done with us out of the room either.  At least now I have it on video and we can practice at home!!

After ballet and tap we went to Bullritos to eat.  If you've never eaten there before, you get a bag and fill out your order.  Jase likes to write his name and fill in some of the items he wants: Chips and Queso, small drink, etc.  Well today after I paid I got my receipt and looked at it.  Notice anything that should not be there?

If you guessed COOKIE, then you're right!  I asked the lady "did we mark cookie on one of our bags?" She looked at the bags and sure enough on Jase's bag, Cookie was marked!! I later asked him if he marked Cookie and he said yes, that he wanted one!!  I just had to laugh.  I told him that he cannot just mark Cookie, we pay extra for that!!  I got a reader on my hands!!

The kids are growing like weeds, especially little Finn!  I weighed him tonight and he is 14.80 lbs!  Hard to believe it!!  I weighed Ally too and she was 29.2 lbs and Jase is right at 50 lbs!  I cannot believe Jase is 50 lbs!!  Crazy!  He was just shy of 40 lbs at 4 years old.

We are into week 3 of big girl panties.  All and all she is doing great.  Only 1 potty accident in the last week.  Poop now is a different story.  She finally pooped in the potty yesterday . . . let me tell you BIG DEAL!! We were doing a Potty Sticker Poster for every time she pottied or pooped, she got a sticker, and then every time she landed on a 5 or 10 she got a prize.  Well, she was going so much in the potty, most days she was eligible for 2 prizes.  And they are small prizes I had bought a while back: Princess stickers and pencils, etc.  We have now moved on to every time she poops in the potty she gets a prize.  I stocked up on some cute things at Dollar Tree last week.  She normally poops everyday, but since I have been on her about pooping in the potty, some days she will not go.  When she pooped in the potty yesterday I told her that I was so proud of her and she says "it's still gross!"  I told her that we all do it, but it is better if we go in the potty!  I sang the Potty Song from the Elmo Potty Time DVD we have; it talks about everybody using the potty. {My kids respond better to music!}  So glad we are making a turn in the right direction with this!

Here's a picture of my baby boy today.  We were sitting in the chair together and I had the back door open because it felt great outside.  The light was hitting his eyes just right and they looked so blue; I had to take a pic!!