AWANA Awards Night

Jase and Allyson have been attending AWANA every Sunday evening since we moved up north. They absolutely love it. It is a youth ministry that stands for Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed. And that means that they are not ashamed to stand for truth and the gospel. This ministry really focuses on children learning the bible and trusting in God's word.

The kids went to the AWANA Store last Sunday night and spent the points they earned throughout the year. Ally had 60 and Jase had 126. He told me that he didn't even get to spend all of his because he ran out of things to buy! Ha!!

I am super proud of the kids this year. They were both in the "Sparks Club" within the AWANA program and this club is for grades K-2. Throughout the year the kids worked through books to learn scripture. Each Sunday evening they have worship, game time, and class time. During class time the kids would get tested on scriptures in their books that they practiced memorizing during the week at home. I'm not sure how many scriptures are in each book, maybe 20-30 verses. Once you complete a book you have to back through the book and review the verses to ensure you have memorized them.

Allyson was a couple of verses away from finishing her first book in the fall and something happened and she lost her book. To this day we have no idea where that book went. We let her group leaders know about her book, but instead of getting another book she borrowed a loaner and then Jase's. Once she finished that there were several weeks, maybe close to 2 months where she was at a stand still. We would pick her up and she would tell us she didn't say any verses. Something got lost in the communication because she was supposed to get an extra review book, but we didn't know that we should have picked it up. Anyhow, she still did a great job and we know what to do next time. I think because she finished her book so early, they wanted to slow her down a bit, otherwise she would be too far ahead. I think it is designed to finish 1 book a year.

Jase finished his first book pretty quick and right away went to his second book. He finished his second book and started his third. He is about half way finished with his third book. I think Jase wants to work on it over the summer and get in contact with a leader and finish it up. Since he will move up to a new club {Truth in Training} next school year with new books, he was able to go as fast as he could to try and finish it.

A couple of weeks ago we were outside talking to a neighbor and Ally was telling her about the AWANA program and she told her Romans 10:9 "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." What a verse to share with someone. I was proud of her. Our neighbor was impressed and gave her an "Amen" and was very excited that a 5 year old was that excited about church and learning scripture. While we study scripture at home, I am super thankful for the AWANA program and challenging the kids to memorize scripture.

Tonight we went to church for their awards program.

Ally got an award for finishing her first book. Jase got an award for completing his second book {and should have gotten one for his first book as well}. They were excited!

On our way out, we ran into their group leaders: Mrs. Beth and Mr. Michael. They were so great and very kind and loving towards our kids, and the kids absolutely loved them.

Allergy Testing Results for Jase

In late March I took Jase into the doctor because his poor allergies were acting up super bad. He was constantly scratching his eyes, sneezing, runny nose...something was not right. Our doctor wanted to have blood drawn for allergy testing. This would test for food and outdoor element allergies. Well yesterday we had his results appointment.

When did this kid get so big?!? 8 years old!

Here are his results: He is allergic to dairy, wheat {gluten}, a few grasses {including Bermuda, which is everywhere up here} and is deficient in Vitamin D. Did you get all of that? So, the game plan is to keep him completely off of dairy and gluten {to get it out of his system} for 2 months and see how does with that. We also got some liquid Vitamin D from our doctor's office and he is on a pretty high dosage to increase his level. Our doctor said by doing that it should dramatically clear up his allergies.

Right when we moved up here last fall his allergies started flaring up, sneezing a ton and rubbing his eyes. I initially thought it was having Hank inside, so we put him outside for a while, but his allergies continued. It seems like over the holidays they subsided some, but starting around February they were in full swing again. Some days are fine and some are unbearable for him. He is currently snotty; it just will not go away.

As I understand it, when he is eating dairy and gluten, his body is working hard to get rid of those items and thus lowering his immune system and he is unable to handle/fight the outdoor allergies {grasses}. We sat down with him last night and explained it all. He seemed to understand and wasn't all too bummed with the news. We are very thankful to have had these tests ran and not have the doctor put him on some allergy medicine and mask the root issues.

Let's be real, while cutting out dairy and gluten will be difficult at times, it will be well worth it to have him at 100% again. And if I'm being honest with you, I truly feel like the Lord has been preparing me for this. We have completed 3 rounds of Whole30, which includes removing dairy and gluten, so we've done it before and know how to survive without them. And there are substitutes we will look into like coconut milk yogurt and gluten free bread.

After the 2 months is up, the doctor said we can add in raw cheeses and milk {not pasteurized; bought from certain health food stores or farms} and see how he does. Wait at least a week and then introduce ancient grains if we want to. She said he may be fine with having dairy and gluten once a week. We shall just see. We are not going to look at this as a bad thing or something that he is missing out on, but rather be thankful that we know and do the best we can to accommodate.

After his appointment, we picked up the three kids from a friends' house, so thankful they watched them for me. Then we rushed to baseball practice and me and the 3 littles entertained ourselves in the car while Jase practiced.

Finn's 1st Dental Visit

This afternoon the two middle kids had dental check-ups. Ally was first up and she did great. Finn sat with me and watched her be a big girl!

 When it was Finn's turn, he jumped up in the chair; I was surprised!

I honestly had no idea how he was going to do. It is a fight to brush his teeth at home, so this could have went south real quick. I will say all day at home we were practicing opening our mouth for the Dentist, and it may have helped. Finn ended up doing a fantastic job!! He did not fuss any and sat still for the exam and cleaning.

And here's Maebry at the appointment, just because she is cute! ;)

It was great to walk away with no follow-up visits. We need to keep on flossing!

8 is Great!

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!

Happy birthday sweet Jase. 8 looks great on you!!

Family Time

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.

 

Rain or shine, life goes on

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.

Busy weekend

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!