father/son campout 2014

Chris and Todd went on Mayfair's Father/Son Campout last weekend. This year it was at Arcadia Lake. They began the evening at a pavilion we rented. Since Arcadia is not a state park you have to buy parking passes, so we ended up getting a party package to get some passes and save some money. The dads and sons were meeting at the pavilion to eat, play, and do some activities. Then those that wanted to could reserve a campsite and spend the night. Chris and Todd were the only ones that braved spending the night. Unfortunately, Todd hadn't had a nap that day, and the kids played so hard that he fell asleep before Chris got the tent up. Todd woke up during the night and was a little freaked out so Chris got him up, walked him around a little outside to show him the tent, and then he went back to bed. Apparently, when he woke up in the morning he thought it was pretty cool to be in the tent. Think they will definitely be doing more camping in the future!

abilene 2014

We went to Abilene for the last few days to attend the ACU lectures. There were a few people Chris wanted to hear and meet up with, and I wanted to attend the children's ministry sessions. The kids got to meet TJ McCloud, to whom they love listening. Chris showed us his house that he lived in when he was a kid, and several other places he had memories of.

We wanted to check out some fun places with the kids between sessions. We went to the Abilene zoo, and Elle fed the giraffes some bread. I was surprised she got so close. Todd was terrified, and of the peacock too. He kept yelling at it saying, "go away mr. -ea-ock!" It's a little zoo, but it was really fun!

The next day we grabbed lunch and took it to the Children's Storybook Garden that had these neat statues of Dr. Suess characters. The kids loved it!

Even though it ended up being rough with Reese on the way home, the trip was successful. I loved the sessions I attended.  I met several other children's ministers, learned a couple new songs, and got lots of ideas and resources to bring back. Several sessions focused on the same topic of intergenerational church. Some questions that we discussed were: Are we connecting children to God? Are we ministering to, for, or with children? Are we listening to what children are saying to us at church?

And a picture of Reese at the hotel to prove she was there!

elle and todd september 2014

Elle:
Elle has now been in Kindergarten for 4 weeks. It's been an adjustment for all of us, but she has quickly become a pro. She has already learned so much and we are not surprised. She talks A LOT when she gets home, and seems to enjoy herself. She's reading sight words, and loves having a job each week. Getting enough sleep is probably the hardest thing for all of us to accomplish. She has quickly become friends with several kids in her class, which makes this introvert momma very happy. She has become so grown up all of a sudden! Reese's face lights up when we pick Elle up. Elle is very smitten with Reese, talking to her, loving on her and making sure she's happy. They have become good roommates. Elle has taken to writing all the time! Any scrap of paper laying around becomes hers to write words, names, letters, and draw pictures on. Maybe she'll have her own blog soon!

Todd:
This boy! Recently I walked in to find him with both palms in a stamp pad and he held them up and grinned so proud! Not a single piece of paper was in sight so I don't know what he was planning on doing with them. He was having some trouble with getting his diaper changed so we just jumped into potty training. He's done great so far when we're at home. The only trouble is, he is so used to summer that he thinks that you should always be able to go outside to potty. Todd's vocabulary is getting so much better, and he amazes me how much he's absorbed so quickly. He's still got the Donald Duck effect going on if he speaks to fast. He's into trucks, tools, and trains for the most part. His favorite part of living in the house is seeing the garbage and recycling trucks come. He's having a slow adjustment to going to Sonshine School by himself, although once we get there he walks right in and doesn't even say bye! He has taken on the role of holding Elle's sign up when we go pick her up. He looks like a limo driver, and holds it up proudly everyday. He is very observant of what Reese is doing and will tell us to be quiet if she's sleeping. He's become quite the "reader" and I will find him reading to himself a lot.

They are both so sweet to each other most of the time. If we're somewhere with one, such as the library or store, they will want to get something for the other one. The other day we were waiting on Elle after school and Todd was looking at his book orders. He showed me all the books he wanted to get Elle. If one gets a snack they usually get one for the other person. I pray this thoughtfulness sticks with them and that when Reese is bigger she sees the great examples they've become to each other.

Reese @ 3 months

Reese is still surprising us by being a happy a baby most of time. This month Reese started squealing! Loudly! I mean this baby is pure joy, especially in the mornings. My heart is so full when she smiles and makes happy noises as soon as she wakes up. She loves to be talked to! She's gotten so much bigger, and is quickly growing out of her clothes and diapers. She has gotten stronger at holding herself up on her tummy. She hasn't mastered rolling over, but can go to her side and grunts because she's working so hard to get all the way over sometime soon. We have started putting her in the bumbo for a few minutes, but she's still working on holding herself up for longer. She does like to sit up and does these little baby crunches now to try and sit up. She still doesn't like the car seat, but is tolerating it a little better now that she is gaining more control over her hands and is trying to reach for toys. Big events for her this month were moving in with Elle, making her first long car trip, going to work with Momma, and starting to attend Bible class. She did really well on the way down to Waco, was excellent while on the trip, but it was rough on the way back. This gives us some hope for making more trips. Love how much her personality is coming out!

baylor graduation 2014

Saturday I was blessed to be able to walk across the stage and be hooded for my doctorate. Although I'd officially graduated in May I really wanted this experience for myself, the kids, Chris, my Mom, and the rest of my family and friends. It was so special to participate in the graduation ceremony at Baylor, especially after witnessing Chris' big day last year. Baylor is such a wonderful university! I felt emotional several times, but not more than when I walked back around to my seat and looked up to see my babies smiling!

We left Thursday morning in order to give ourselves plenty of time to get there and I needed to pick up my regalia Friday morning so we needed the extra time. We had a smooth trip down and got there early enough to enjoy some playtime at the Mayborn and then eating some yummy gut packs from Vitek's. Friday we had lunch at our wonderful friends' house Josh and Carly. This was a special time since we don't get to see them very often and they had their second son Jake the day before Reese was born so we were able to meet babies! It was cuteness overload! Friday night was the doctoral dinner that the Graduate School gives for the doctoral graduates and their families and advisors. Unfortunately, Dr. Conaway, my advisor, was ill and I didn't get to see her this trip. During the dinner graduates get 2 minutes to say thank yous. Here's basically what I said just a little more eloquently because you can't hear my voice shaking from nervousness or being emotional, and some other things I wish I would have said:

I've recently been thinking how much writing a dissertation is like having a baby. And I should know because I've had 3 throughout this process. It takes a long time to develop, there's some pain and struggles, but in the end you get this wonderful blessing that, hopefully, goes out into the world and makes it a better place.

I'm so thankful to Baylor for giving a Kindergarten teacher the opportunity to learn how to help other teachers become better teachers. I want to thank the entire Curriculum and Instruction department, and my committee for their support throughout this process. I especially want to thank Dr. Conaway for helping me complete this journey. She never gave up on me even after 3 kids, a move, a husband in a Ph. D. program, and a job. I am forever grateful to her. She helped me every step of the way, and has been a wonderful advisor. 

I want to thank my family and friends for the love, support, prayers, words of encouragement, childcare, etc. that they gave me from beginning to end. I wish there were hoods for each one of them on the stage tomorrow because it really was a team effort. I especially want to thank my mom for instilling in me the importance of education. She sacrificed so much for me, and she really should take credit for all of my degrees. My dad never got to see me start or finish this journey. He used to send us postcards when he was driving a truck across the country, and he would tell us about all the beautiful places he would see. I've kept one on display that says "If you study hard you can go anywhere you want." That has been a inspiration to me throughout this process.

My mvp and biggest cheerleader has been my husband, Chris. I could not have finished without his words of encouragement and willingness to sacrifice his time to help me however he could. He let me have babies and a career, and has done nothing but work so hard to make me and our bear cubs happy. He's the best Christian, person, friend, husband, daddy, and Baylor bear I know! I love him more than I could ever express with words! I'm so grateful for all he does for me and our family.

This man's voice is incredible! I want him to say my name every time from now on!

Shaking Judge Starr's hand!

Being hooded by Dr. Wilkerson and Dr. Cooper!

My Elle! I got so emotional looking up at her in the audience.

My mom who is so good to me! Loved that she got to be a part of this day!

My favorites!

reese @ 2 months

This month Reese hit one of her big milestones and started smiling! It's one of those things that makes all the tiredness worth it. She sleeps pretty well at night so she's pretty active a lot during the day. She enjoys hearing and watching Elle and Todd, but hates riding in the car. She celebrated hr first big holiday, the 4th of July! She holds her head up pretty well, and loves to be moving! She had her first real bath. She started plumping up, and was 10 lbs and 1/2 an oz at her 2 month check up. She's cooing more, and working so hard to get her fists in her mouth. And she met lots of her family this month!