8 Years Old

My precious Lily Claire-
    I can't tell you how many times daddy and I have looked at each other and said "We can't imagine our life without Lily!"  God sure knew what he was doing when he blessed our family with you 8 years ago!  You came into this world in a flash and you haven't slowed down since!  You keep me on my toes and fill my days with laughter! I can't believe you are turning 8 today!  Here are some of the things I want to remember about you as you start another year:

- You continue to grow taller and taller!  You are the tallest in your class and tower over some of your friends.  You wear size 10/12 clothes and size 6 shoe.  We are going to be sharing shoes before too long!

- You are a good friend and make new friends easily.  You were sad when Jery wasn't in your class this year but have quickly become close friends with Addi and Ellie.

- You are so smart and continue to do well in school.  You are a good reader but it's a battle to get you to read at home.  You have the ability to read chapter books but don't always have the confidence to try them.

- You have developed a love of writing in Mrs. Humphreys' class.  You have great ideas and share stories you've written with me all of the time.

- You are not a picky eater and are always willing to try at least one bite of something new.  Your new favorite thing is sushi.  You love hamburgers, fruit, and the brisket quesadillas at Barerra's.

- You still love to snuggle every morning and every night (and sometimes during the day too!).  You still fit perfectly in my lap and I dread the day you get too big for me to rock.

- You make me laugh every day with the things you say.  Sometimes at night while we are rocking before bed, we both get to giggling so hard we can't stop!  I hope you'll always love to laugh with me!

- You have a sassy side to you that comes out sometimes, but I admire how quick you are able to apologize and move on.

- You and Eden are so close but can fight like cats and dogs!  I pray you will always share a close bond with each other and be each other's best friends for many years to come.

Lily, you make the world a happy place and I'm so proud to be your mom!  I can't wait to watch you blossom over the next year!  Your passion and love for life is going to help you achieve great things! I hope today was everything you hoped it would be and more!

I love you to the moon and back. Mommy

Lily's Birthday Sleepover

The only thing Lily wanted for her birthday was a sleepover with her two best friends, Jery and Addi.  I wanted to do something fun and memorable with them so Lily and I decided it would be fun to take them to The Melting Pot for dessert fondue.  We picked the girls up and went to Chick Fil A for lunch.  We had some time to kill before our reservation so we went to Five Below and I let each girl pick out one thing. 

The girls weren't sure what to think about having fondue! We chose two different chocolates to try- plain milk chocolate and caramel turtle chocolate.

When they brought them to the table, they set them on fire!

The girls loved dipping their food in the chocolate!

Jery loved dipping her food in the chocolate but wasn't sure about eating it!!

It was such a fun, unique experience and I think all the girls really enjoyed it!

After we got home, they played and watched movies until bedtime.  We brought all the mattresses into the living room so they could all sleep together.  It was exactly what Lily wanted and I'm glad we could make this birthday wish come true!

Career Day

Our Kindergarten classes were having Career Week this week and learning about different people who work around the community.  One of our teachers (who is actually one of Cory's patients) was having a hard time getting parents to come in and share, so she asked me if Cory would come in and tell her students about being an optometrist.  After a little (or a lot!) of begging from me, Cory finally agreed to come.  

When I stopped by the classroom this morning, I laughed when I saw their morning message on the board!

Cory did a great job and the kids loved him!  They all wanted to tell him about what they wanted to be when they grew up!!

I know it wasn't his favorite thing but I'm thankful that he stepped out of his comfort zone and helped some kindergartners out!

September Little Things

September is over and we are gearing up for a very busy holiday season.  Here are a few of this month's little things:

Hawaiian Falls opened their water park to the City of Mansfield employees and their families one Friday night.  For the second year in a row, Emily asked us to join them.  Heavy storms were moving into the area that night, so we weren't sure we were going to get to ride any of the rides.  After a short lightning delay, they reopened the slides and the kids had a blast.  The storms kept most people away, so the kids rode all the rides without having to wait in any lines.  We let them ride until it was too dark to see.  It was a fun evening with the cousins and I hope we will be able to do it again next year!

Parker enjoyed celebrating his friend, Zachary's, 12th birthday with him at Ellen's Amusement Park in Cedar Hill.  The rain almost cancelled the fun but they were able to get most of the activities in before the rain hit.

We had dinner at Emily and Jon's house one night and enjoyed getting to play with the cousins.  The girl genes are strong in our family but we sure are glad that God blessed us with these three boys!

Our school celebrated Homecoming Week by wearing black and gold to support the Yellow Jackets.  Mrs. Humphreys sent me this picture of Lily and several of her friends showing their school spirit.

Cory and I decided to surprise the kids with a spontaneous trip to the Rangers game one Sunday afternoon.  Since it was the end of the season, we got really good seats for a very cheap price.  The weather was cool and we had a great time spending the day together.

Eden's class wrote a poem about themselves.  I thought Eden did a very good job on both her poem and her self portrait.

Lily is always creating things in class.  Mrs. Humphreys sent me these pictures of some of her creations.

It was a fun month and we are looking forward to celebrating Lily's birthday and Halloween in a few weeks.  I have a feeling it's going to be very busy between now and Christmas break!

13 Years

13 years ago, I lived through one of the hardest seasons of my life.  Today, I look at Parker, Eden, and Lily and thank God for what a blessing they are in my life.  I'm so very grateful for His faithfulness even through the storms of life.  Every time I think of the months and years after losing Katelyn, the one verse that always comes to mind is Psalm 30:5- "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." Katelyn will always hold a very special place in my heart and I long for the day when I will finally hold her in my arms in heaven.  Until then, I will hold tight to the three blessings God has given me here on earth and do my best to always appreciate the joy they bring to my life.

1st Six Weeks Awards

Today was the awards program for the 1st six weeks.  Both girls received awards for A Honor Roll, Perfect Attendance, and Perfect Conduct.

Lily also received the Grizzly Greatness Award for her class.  Mrs. Humphreys told me that Lily is helpful and shows kindness to the other students in her class every day.  We are proud of her for being such a sweet student at school.

Lily was excited that her best friend, Jery, also received the Grizzly Greatness Award today.

We are always proud of our kids when they make good grades but knowing that they are being good citizens at school makes us even more proud!  Way to go, Lily!  Keep up the good work!

Eden's Carnival Game Presentation

One of Eden's projects this semester was to create a carnival game to share with the school.  She wanted to create a skee-ball game and this is what we finally came up with:

The entire school was invited to come to the cafeteria and play the games that the 4th graders had created.  Eden had to explain to the other students how to play her game and then they got to play.

Lily's class got to come down and play all the different games.  Here is Lily playing a game with fidget spinners.  She had a blast getting to walk around and play.

We are proud of Eden for the hard work she put into her project and for doing such a great job on her presentation.