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!!

Finishing up Soccer

Finn before the soccer game

Saturday morning we finished up Jase's soccer season.  He really played a great game to close it out; it must have been the pep talk from Mom! ;-)  I was able to record some of the game from the about the 2nd quarter on.  Jase probably scored 3 goals or so in the 1st quarter, but I didn't get them on video.  Proud of him for hustling at the game. {It was pretty windy out there, so you can hear it on the video.}

Aunt Susan came out to watch the game and brought her grandkids, Dylan and Avery with her.  Ally loved playing with Dylan!!

After his game we rode out to Texas City to check out the new outlet mall.  It is not San Marcos by any means, but it still had a decent selection of stores.  During one of our breaks, we put Finn and cousin Avery face to face for some interaction.  Avery (6 months) was all smiles and Finn (3 months) didn't know what to think!

 

 

After running around at the soccer game and the outlet mall, they kids were wore out by the time we got home!!

 

 

Garden Update

Me and the kiddos were out back today, so I decided to check on the garden and see if we had anything new growing. Lo and behold we had 3 eggplants growing, one of which was ready to harvest.

Our orange tree has completely taken off as well. We've had several from it and they are pretty good. They are super easy to peel, like Cuties, but the only thing is that each slice may have a seed or two in it. They are super juicy though and taste sweet!

The picture in the top left hand corner is a plant that just grew up from the ground, we did not plant it at all and now it is like 7 feet tall! Only bummer is that it is growing right where Shawn planted a peach tree, so they are growing on top of each other.

Picture Overload

So I have came to the conclusion that I take a few pictures!!  You only see a sliver of what I actually take.  The kids are growing up so fast, I just want to document every little thing to keep the memories alive. Here are some pictures from this past weekend to present.

At Jase's soccer game this past Saturday! Do you see Jase?

I bought Ally some new boots and she liked them! They looked too cute on her, if I do say so myself!This was after church on Sunday.

Monday afternoon Jase came down stairs with fabric tied all around him and even broke out his baseball pants!! It's hard to see in this picture, but he has tan strips of fabric in between the red ones.  He told me he was creating a pattern like his Lego man. Also, the Lego man has one brown hand, so Jase tied fabric around one of his hands to resemble that. The Lego man is carrying a sling and Jase has on a belt of glow in the dark necklaces and bracelets for his sling!  I love his imagination!



 

The International Children's Choir performed a mini concert at our church last tonight and it was great!! This organization came last year with a different set of kids, so it was really neat to have them back again.  Allyson and Jase enjoyed watching them sing and dance.

 

 

The week before last Shawn pulled the Baby Einstein jumper out of the attic and I finally finished washing the seat cover and cleaning it up.  I brought it inside tonight and Finn absolutely LOVED it!!!  He loved to hear the piano and see the lights on the keyboard light up.  I know he will enjoy playing in this!!

 

Allyson wore her owl PJ's to bed for the first tonight!! She got them last year, either for Christmas or her birthday, but they were a little big so we have been waiting to wear them.  She loved them and of course she thought of Aunt Alisha, since she loves owls!

 



 

Family Night

On Monday evening me and the kids went over to my mom's house to visit for a bit.  My MawMaw, Pappy and Aunt Carole Ann were in town from Louisiana and were leaving the next morning.  The kids love to play at Nanny and PawPaw's house and enjoy being the center of attention . . . imagine that!!

My Pappy just loves the little ones.  You should see his face light up when he sees them, there is not much like it.  He has Alzheimer's and is at a stage where he doesn't really know who you are and most of the time he doesn't know where he is at, but when he sees Finn he just smiles ear to ear and begins to talk to him . . . melts your heart to watch.  Very thankful that my children can brighten his day from time to time.  Cherish every moment.

Sleepy babies

We were not super active today, but both of the kids were wore out after their baths tonight. Jase runs ninety to nothing (literally) all day long, so seeing him crawl up on the couch and fall asleep is not the norm. He is getting so big; he has thickened up over the past month. One morning he was getting dressed and his pants would not button at all!! The previous time he wore them they were taken in at the waist and then the next time they would not even button!!

It has been a while since I have carried them upstairs to bed; we most always put them to bed while they are still awake, but tonight I let them stay up a bit longer. And oh my . . . I could not lose momentum while carrying Jase upstairs, he is heavy!!

Love my babies!

Fall Festival 2012

We have really enjoyed dressing up these past few weeks for parties, and Jase and Allyson were excited about getting in their costumes one more time for the Halloween season. Jase was Jedi Luke Skywalker (with Yoda on his back) and Allyson was Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty.  Oh and I can't forget about Finn . . . he was a Turtle!!  Jase wore this same costume for his first Halloween as well (see below).

We went to church for our Annual Fall Festival.  They had several vehicles participate in the "Trunk or Treat".  They also had face painting, balloons, moonwalks, dunking booth, putt-putt golf, and other activities for the kids.  Each year our little ones enjoy it and we feel very safe up there.

Jase and Allyson loved seeing all their friends from church in their costumes.  After talking about Sam ALL day long and asking what he was going to be and telling me that he was going to look cute in his costume, Allyson finally got to see him.  He is Spiderman below.  She mentions his name quite often and I think she has a bit of a crush on him.  It is sweet.

 

With all the rage lately over Duck Dynasty and the Robertsons, we had two families decorate their trunks like the show!  The picture on the left below is Willie and Korie Robertson and the quote "Jesus will make you Happy Happy Happy" is from the dad, Phil, that always says "happy happy happy!" Hilarious!

 

Finn had taken a poop, so I went to change his diaper around 8:00, about 30 minutes before it was over.  No problem, just lay him down in his stroller and change that bad boy.  Lo and behold, this became a 2-person job real quick!!

The same exact thing happened last Friday at the zoo!!  What is with my son and his explosive poop diapers in public!?!?  About 40 wipes later and a change of clothes and we were good to go!!

The kids had a great evening playing and eating candy.  I am trying my best to stay away from it, because I know once I start, I will not stop!

November Already!

Time is just a flying by! Hard to believe that 5/6 of the year is over. And I have a 5 1/2 year old, a 3 year old and a 3 month old!! I still have a hard time believing that I have 3 kids; just seems surreal some days.

Here's what the kids are up to these days.

Jase. He is doing great (in my opinion) with reading.  He is learning new consonant blends (i.e. sw, st, fl) weekly and new words everyday.  He is also working on adding/subtracting and doing a great job.  Naturally addition is coming a little easier, but he is seems to like both.  Jase is still a legomaniac!! He will watch or read about a Star Wars scene or we will read a story out of the bible and then he will disappear.  About an hour later he will come downstairs with the complete scene made out of Legos. And all the detail he puts into it is amazing. His soccer season is coming to a close and tonight they had their team party.  The kids ate pizza and cupcakes and we played a Parents vs. Kids game.  The kids had fun running around with us on the field.

Allyson.  We are potty training this week.  Everyday seems to be a little better.  Monday she had about 5 successes and 4 accidents. Then Tuesday we got out in the morning so she wore a pull-up then, but put big girl panties on while we were home and did great.  Yesterday was good except when she pooped in her panties. Not. Fun. To. Clean. Up. And today was the best so far.  She ended up pottying 10 times in the potty and had 1 accident early this morning and then 2 accidents while at Jase's soccer practice.  :-(  I was bummed because she has been doing so well.  Tomorrow is a new day and I am proud of her and the success she has had thus far.  Only thing is that she is not really telling me she needs to go; I am just putting her on the potty every 40-60 minutes and she will usually go.  I think it is starting to sink in.  I'm not sure if it is more work on her or me!! ;-)  She loves every show on Disney Junior, but one of her favorites right now is Doc McStuffins where a little girl makes stuffed animals come to life and in the course of a show will have to give an animal a check-up, make a diagnosis and fix what is wrong.  The theme song to the show is pretty catchy and by now we all know it!  Allyson loves to give people check-ups and diagnose them.  One of my favorites is "You have earstuffinosis". 


Today in the playroom


Finn.  He is getting way too big too fast.  He smiles when you talk to him and cooing quite a bit.  He has recently starting taking his pacifier, which I'm glad because he will jam his whole fist down his throat to chew on something!!  When you put him on his back, he can almost roll over; I don't think it will be much longer.  We are still nursing about half of the time and the other time he gets formula (4 oz).  Finn enjoys his swing and will usually fall asleep in it.

So blessed by each of my three children that the Lord has allowed me to love and raise.  I have to remind myself to slow down and take in these moments because life just happens too fast around here!

Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.  Psalm 127:3