Our first born turned 8 today. Jase Aubrey French. So big! We are so thankful to the Lord for 8 years with him. During his prayer tonight he even thanked the Lord for allowing him to turn 8. So sweet.
Jase, you bring so much joy to our lives. We love to hear you laugh, it is contagious. You love history, animals, Legos, Star Wars and sports. You have become quite the reader these days and it makes Mommy and Daddy happy to see you enjoy books so much. Please remember that we will always love you, no matter what. No matter if you never hit a homerun, if you don't know all of your multiplication facts, and even if you mess up. We love you and pray that you always feel love when around us.
We had the table set-up and ready to go this morning for when he woke up. I love to make it special and exciting for the kiddos. There are always things {thank you Pinterest} I want to do, but never get around to doing. Oh well, there is always next year or the next kid! haha! So we found this 31-inch tall Inquisitor at Walmart on clearance for $7. I've never really bought the kids a ton of action figures; and honestly Jase has never really shown interest in playing with them. But I could not pass up this guy. He is a villain on a show that Jase likes Disney XD: Star Wars Rebels.
Maebry and I were up before everyone else this morning. I expected Jase to be the first one downstairs, but it was Finn! When he saw the table the first thing he said was "are we having a party?"
With some protest, we did have school today. The show must go on as I told them. I did motivate them to finish strong with some lunch plans. Finn put on his own shoes and even brought me mine! We have not had fast food in about two weeks, so this was a treat. The plan was to go through the drive-thru and eat on the way home, but as I pulled in a front row parking space was open and it was a sign to go in and enjoy. Chick-Fil-A was first class today, I must say. Right when I walked in they approached me and asked if I wanted to have a seat and they would take my order at the table. Yes please. I never got up once. They took our order, brought our food, drinks, napkins and sauces to us. What a blessing. Jase said he had to be in every picture since it was his birthday! The kids were great at lunch. And I must add that they all wore Star Wars shirts today, super cute!
When Daddy got home it was present time. Jase did a great job of being patient all day long; I know it was killing him at times to see the presents on the table! Here is a long, 5-6 minute video of him opening his presents from us, if you're interested. The kids crack us up!
We had some homemade cupcakes tonight to celebrate after dinner!
If you know Finn, then you know he is not too fond of the Happy Birthday song. Like he will start crying when he hears it. Every time. At home or in a restaurant...it makes for a fun outing! {insert the emoji gritting teeth face} Well tonight, he did awesome! This is a huge deal. So huge he asked to sing it again, and we did!! I was able to get video the first time and pictures the second go round!
Shawn came across this picture of Finn below (left) and so we put Mae in the same chair for a side by side comparison. Very similar for sure!! Her eyes are blue, but not quite as bright as Finn's. It was funny, when Shawn pulled up the picture of Finn below his mom thought it was Maebry. When we told her it was Finn, she could not believe it; it was pretty funny!
Grandma and Grandpa came into town this past weekend. It was a good visit. We were rained out again on Saturday, but we were able to slow down and enjoy some time together.
Saturday afternoon we headed into Frisco for a little baseball action. The Frisco RoughRiders are the Texas Rangers' AA farm team and they happened to be playing the Corpus Christi Hooks, who are the Astros' AA farm team. Ally asked us a couple of times who we were going for and I told her either one! We thought this would be a nice treat for Jase with his upcoming birthday. We even surprised him and invited a friend to join us and stay the night.
Last week I was at Carter's and found both girls the same shirt on clearance, so I had to jump on it. They looked so cute in their matching shirts on Saturday.
Last summer we went to game before moving up and Ally was given a foul ball at that game. Well on Saturday she was given another one. What is the luck?! Poor Jase brought his glove, hoping to get a ball and here Ally is the one that gets it. She was super nice and gave Jase the ball. Sweet of her.
This was Maebry's first major league baseball game and she did great! She did not fuss one time in the stands.
You would think with all the rain we have been getting lately that I would have more time to be snuggled up on the couch, busy writing blog posts. Ha! It has been the exact opposite. I guess only football and baseball practices and games get postponed due to the weather, but life does not!
A couple of weekends ago we had a semi-date at church! Our pastor presented the history and theology of music on a Friday night and childcare was provided! Can I get an amen? It was very interesting to see the history of music and how it went hand-in-hand with the happenings of society. We thoroughly enjoyed it.
Saturday morning we woke up and met our best friends for breakfast. They were in town visiting some family and were able to squeeze some time in with us. We all loved it. An hour and a half was just too short.
Even though our games were canceled due to the weather, the sun came out and it was beautiful all weekend long. Finn is our up and coming baseball star! I expect great things from this little guy on the baseball field in the years to come. He absolutely loves it!
We are making an effort to get back on track to eat cleaner. Since wrapping up our last Whole30 a couple of months ago, I have completely fallen off the wagon. Whataburger had become our "go to meal" and it was time for a change. So, I sat down and wrote down healthy foods for breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner. Then I put these stickies onto my calendar and planned meals out. It been a huge help to getting focused again.
Maebry hasn't quite mastered it, but she is sitting up pretty well on her own these days.
Nanny, PawPaw and Aunt Alisha joined us last weekend. Our schedule was full, but we enjoyed spending time together.
A serious game of Princess Go Fish at Costco!
We got our fill at Babe's Chicken House Friday evening.
Saturday evening {after 2 football games and a baseball game} we went to a fajita dinner to support the cattle ministry at our church. And proof that I do occasionally wear my hair down!!
The kids made some birthday cards for Nanny and she loved them!
Things have been beyond busy lately. I'm not sure if it's because we are in the middle of baseball/football season or that Shawn has been super busy with work or we have an infant or maybe the combination of all of the above. Some days are hard, there's just no way around it. But after looking through my pictures, we do have fun days and I'm thankful for that. They are a good reminder to keep fighting the good fight.
As I've mentioned before, the kids love puzzles. Finn usually completes at least a puzzle a day. I love to see his little mind at work and problem solve.
One afternoon I took the kids to the park. It is right around the corner from the house and it is beautiful with all of the trees. We had a great time enjoying the outdoors together.
A few months ago the kids found one of our old George Strait CDs and we occasionally put it in the CD player while in the school room. They call his music "Country Western". Haha! The other day I had stepped out of the room to tend to Maebry and apparently the kiddos put in the George CD and had their own music time. Jase didn't tell me he had updated our lesson plan, but I found it the next day! It made me smile!
And here is our little sister doing her workout on the floor! So big!!
Last Saturday our sweet Maebry hit 5 months old! She is now moving all around on the floor. She isn't crawling yet, but she is starting to scoot and manages to get where she wants to go. Mae has been such a happy baby, when she is NOT in the car seat that is! She has started holding her bottle on her own. She is also playing with toys like crazy. I think my favorite is when she puts her pacifier in and out of her mouth, it is the cutest! We are working on sitting up and she has been successful a few time on her own...it won't be long.
This past week was a busy one, but we captured some fun moments to share with you. Enjoy our week in review.
When I took her to the doctor last month I asked about eating. With my other three I was told I could start giving them cereal at 4 months, but our new doctor told me that it is now suggested to wait and feed them real food starting at 6 months. She said with all of the gluten allergies these days she said you should not start your kids off on cereal. She told me if I wanted I could smash up some real food and give her a taste every so often, and we have done just that. So far I have given her avocado and sweet potatoes and she likes both.
Maebry has found her voice. We love hearing her giggle!
This past fall I found a recipe online and it has been hit with our family. It is probably close to monkey bread if you've ever had that before. If you get a chance to make these, do it!!
Cinnamon Roll Bites
Biscuits: 1 roll refrigerator biscuits (Grands) 3T butter, melted 1t cinnamon 1/4C brown sugar
Mix brown sugar and cinnamon in bowl. Cut each biscuit into 4 pieces, drop into bowl, toss to coat well. Spread evenly into greased 8×8 baking dish. Pour melted butter evenly over biscuits. Bake @350 20-25 minutes or until baked through.
Saturday evening the kids stripped down and we dyed some Easter eggs! The kit I bought this year was below average (Ha) and only contained colored tablets! I gave the kids free reign and let them have at it.
I am not trying to take away from Jesus' resurrection whatsoever, but I do buy little goodies for the kids to celebrate this special time of our faith. They know it is from us and not the "Easter Bunny".
Someone posted this idea on social media last week and I thought it was great. Loved hearing my two big kids read these bible verses and seeing the stone rolled away and the empty tomb.
The kids loved seeing all of their little treasures on the table. And they enjoyed the do-nuts too!
It is so hard to get a good picture of all 6 of us these days! Finn was obviously preoccupied with a plastic egg he stole from Ally! Ha! So, instead of getting a picture of him, he gets his own video! Below is a clip of him while we were waiting on Daddy and the big kids to come out of class this morning.
Sweet Maebry. We were able to get a few cute pics of her on her first Easter Sunday. She is sporting the same dress Allyson wore on her first Easter...5 years ago! Finn is also wearing the same shirt that Jase wore that same year. I love reliving these memories.
My two big kids 5 years ago!!
We woke up to rain this morning and it came down pretty good, so hunting eggs outside this afternoon was out of the question. We set-up an egg hunt in the playroom upstairs, and the kids enjoyed the friendly competition.
And a little video action of the egg hunt. It was a great day!
"He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying."
Matthew 28:6
Shawn and I are high school sweethearts. Married for 12 years with 4 beautiful children and reside in the great state of Texas. We are sinners who have been saved by grace, through faith in Christ Jesus. In our home we enjoy: laughing, praising and learning about God, watching sports, and homeschooling.
