Wordless Wednesday

July '08

August '08

We made it!

Well, we made it... through a 2 day shopping spree to prepare for school to start in one week. I have done absolutely no shopping or preparation for school so we took full advantage of the tax free weekend and back to school sales. In two days we... well, mostly me but I did have two little companions with me on Friday, (notice I said companions and NOT helpers), and on Saturday Chris, who actually was a big help, as we elbowed our way through the shoe stores at the ridiculously over-crowded outlet mall. So in two days 'we' managed to buy the girls some new clothes (since they are growing like weeds), school shoes, socks, panties, and a school bag for Avery. Now they are all set, at least until the cold weather comes. At what age do they stop growing?!!


I want to jot down a few other happenings that I'd like to capture and remember...

Avery is really talking a lot now, adding new words to her vocabulary every day and talking in full sentences. Now, her speech isn't exactly clear and you really have to be around her frequently or have some context clues to follow what she is saying. But, she really makes us smile and sometimes laugh at what she says and how she pronounces it. Some of my favorite words or phrases to hear her say lately:
*Okay -pronounced OH-Tay or sometimes Oh-Tie
*Mommy- pronounced Mahmeeee with excitement
*No!- said quickly with a hint of a giggle
*Na, Nanny, Na- taught to her by her big sister and will usually be said as she is running away when she has something of Ashlyn's or as she is running from me. I discreetly have to turn my head and laugh making sure she doesn't see me smiling at her remarks
*Whoo-Hoo- also taught to her by Ashlyn and used when they are excited about something
* I don't know- pronounced 'I uh know' after I ask her a question like, "Where are your shoes?"
* And today she pronounced her name somewhat intelligibly for the first time


Said by Ashlyn when she looked at herself in the mirror while wearing her new 'High School Musical' sunglasses... "Wow, I didn't know I look so good in these!"
I love that she shows such self confidence and self esteem all the while being so sweet, kind, and aware of others. I pray she continues to feel this way as she matures.
(I don't have a picture of her wearing these glasses but will take one and include it here when I get a chance)


Chris calls us by our first and middle names at times when he is serious or really wanting to get our attention; Ashlyn Faith or Avery Hope or Stephanie Diane! So when Ashlyn really started to understand about first and middle names and after learning my middle name sometime last year, she began to call me, not Stephanie Diane, but Mommy Diane. She still calls me that on occasion when she is trying to be very serious or make a strong point to me. I am still so amused when she calls me by that name.

Wordless Wednesday

March 2008

April 2008 (no comments needed; the picture says it all!)



April 2008


My Mother's Day gift from Ashlyn made at school-2008

Helping mom make dinner August 2008

On a scavenger hunt looking for buried treasure. "X" marks the spot on Ashlyn's map

August 2008

Dallas World Aquarium

On Saturday we had a family day at the Dallas World Aquarium. We took the opportunity to spend our last free weekend together having fun before school and the busy schedules start. We have never been to this aquarium and I really didn't know what to expect. The first clue that it was going to be an exciting place was the line wrapped around the building as we drove up. I would say that the 45 minute wait in line was well worth it (we could have done without the crowd though). The name is a bit deceiving because there was much more than aquatic life. What made this aquarium stand out above other places we've visited with animals is how close up and open the animals and their habitats were. It seemed like the animals were just beyond our reach and actually many could have been touched if a person chose to have total disregard for his safety or the animal's.

As soon as we entered through the doors we felt as if we were in a rainforest with the overwhelming humidity and lush landscape. We saw so many amazing animals including a variety of monkeys, toucans and other exotic birds, penguins, humongous snakes and spiders, giant river otters, amazingly beautiful fish (and some ugly ones too!) in floor to ceiling tanks, frogs and turtles. Most amazing to me were the massive 9 or 10 foot long crocodiles that looked like they could swallow me down in one big gulp and they had the facial expression to match. The picture here does not illustrate well what I am describing because it was take from the second floor looking down to the crocodile on the first floor. I really enjoyed watching the blubbery manatees also. Their cute, scrunchy faces and fat, rolly-polly bodies were so amusing as they lazily float in the water. Ashlyn had a face to face experience with a jaguar; there was a glass wall between them, of course, but it seemed like they even locked eyes for a moment. Chris and Ashlyn's favorite part was the shark tunnel. We walked through a long glass tunnel where we were surrounded on both sides and over head by many types of sharks. It was quite a strange feeling to be standing amidst so many sharks and to feel like they were swimming right toward you at times. I think Avery had mixed emotions about the whole experience. She clung to either Chris or me for a majority of the time. I'm not sure if it was the crowd, the humidity or the impressive animals that made her seem a bit timid.

Afterwards we went to Braum's for ice cream. I'm not sure which Ashlyn was more excited about... the ice cream or the aquarium. It's hard to top ice cream in Ashlyn's opinion. Avery was definitely all smiles when she got her ice cream!

This is my third attempt at finishing this post. I have been glued to my T.V. each evening since the Olympics started on Friday in Beijing, China. I am in awe at the level of talent, ambition and dedication each of these athletes have. I can feel a tiny bit of the nervousness and anxiety they must be feeling just before they compete and the excitement and pride they experience as they realize they have won the gold, silver or bronze medal. What an accomplishment! I love seeing our athletes draped in red, white and blue and I love seeing our beautiful flag being raised at the medal ceremonies. I've tried to explain the significance and excitement of the Olympics to Ashlyn but I think she is still a bit too young to really grasp it. She was excited to watch the gymnastics initially but that faded rather quickly and she was soon asking when she could watching something she wanted to watch. Even when I told her she would be 8 years old when the summer Olympics will happen again she still didn't seem phased. If she continues to enjoy participating in gymnastics as much as she does now, I bet she will have a different opinion and level of interest in the 2012 Olympics.

1 Corinthians 13 for Moms

1 Corinthians 13 for Moms

If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in its place, but have not love,
I am a housekeeper, not a homemaker.

If I have time for waxing, polishing, and decorative achievements, but have not love,
my children learn cleanliness, ­not godliness.

If I scream at my children for every infraction, and fault them for every mess they make, but have not love,
my children become people-pleasers, not obedient children.

Love leaves the dust in search of a child's laugh.
Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window.
Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk.
Love picks up the child before it picks up the toys.

Love accepts the fact that I am the ever-present "mommy,"
the taxi-driver to every childhood event,
the counselor when my children fail or are hurt.

Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler, and runs with the child,
then stands aside to let the youth walk into adulthood.

Before I became a mother I took glory in my house of perfection.
Now I glory in God's perfection of my child.

All the projections I had for my house and my children have faded away into insignificance,
And what remain are the memories of my kids.

Now there abides in my home scratches on most of the furniture,
dishes with missing place settings,and bedroom walls full of stickers, posters and markings,
But the greatest of all is the Love that permeates my relationships with my children.

-Adapted by Jim Fowler


I lifted this from another person's blog who lifted it from another blog. So I don't know where exactly it originated, but it really spoke to me. Too often I find myself with my priorities out of order on my daily "To Do" list. For example, I love when our house is clean and everything is in it's place; I strive for this on a daily basis (although I strongly dislike folding and hanging clothes, cleaning bathrooms and mopping floors... well, just cleaning in general!). However, I feel like I'm always spinning my wheels and feeling frustrated when the girls are often "messing up" the room I just finished straightening. These words above really are a reminder to me to reexamine my priorities. What's more important?... the toys being neat and orderly or the fact that the girls are having a fun time together growing in their bond, growing in creativity and just being kids? Who really cares if the house looks perfect anyway? It really doesn't bother Chris and it certainly doesn't bother the girls and no one other than us really sees it anyway. So as the summer is drawing to an end and school soon beginning, I appreciate this reminder to rewrite the "To Do" list with: 1) spend time with, 2) laugh with, and 3) enjoy the girls- being at the top and the less meaningful stuff like "cleaning the house" being way at the bottom of the list.

Wordless Wednesday

The girls with Mimi (April 08) during our weekly visit. We love having lunch and spending every Thursday afternoon with Mimi! She has been cooking us lunch once every week for the past 3 1/2 years!

Ashlyn and Abbie at church camp in June

Avery hanging out with Mommy


Chris took Ashlyn fishing a couple of weekends ago. The fish weren't biting
but they had a fun time together anyway!

Super-Sized Sunday; Our Whirl-Wind Weekend

Where do I start... we had a fun-filled, packed weekend! There girls and I spent a portion of Friday preparing for Ashlyn's Halloween party. Yes, I know it is August, but who says you can't have a Halloween party in the middle of the summer? This of course was Ashlyn's idea; you probably could have guessed given her vivid imagination and love of parties. We made spiders and pumpkins out of egg cartons. The girls had a fun time painting the egg cartons (and a few body parts) while I anxiously followed their every move with paper towels and a watchful eye to try to avoid any major messes. Luckily the paint is washable so I was able to get it off the table, the girls' skin and clothes, and even the few little splatters Avery managed to get on the wall wiped off! Whew!




While Avery napped, Ashlyn and I snuck off to the Friends of the Library book sale where we bought a paper sack full of used books. We both enjoyed rummaging through boxes and boxes of old or worn books and I even found some of my old favorites from when I was young. After dinner Ashlyn hosted the Halloween party where we dressed Chris up as a mummy, wrapping him in layers of toilet paper and then read a couple of Halloween books we found at the book sale that day. Who knew you can throw a Halloween party for less than $5 bucks.




On Saturday I spent a couple hours at church volunteering with the Special Angels. This is an organization that works with special needs children on Sunday mornings in their Sunday school classes as well as on occasional Saturday afternoons giving their parents a time of respite and the kids fun experiences with friends. I've been involved with this group for a year and I truely enjoy being a part of it.



Afterwards, the whole family went to Ryann's 4th birthday party. She is the daughter of my close friend, Katie, from Baylor. The princess party was at the studio where Ryann takes dance and each guest was to dress up. Ashlyn chose to wear her lilac leotard and ballet skirt and a pair of butterfly wings. She said she was the tooth fairy. Avery wore Ashlyn's old pink ballet leotard and a pink tutu from the dress-up trunk. When I put this tiny pink leotard on Avery, I could hardly remember Ashlyn being so small. How much she has grown up in just over a year's time when she was wearing that very same leotard Avery is now wearing. As soon as we arrived at the party, Ashlyn barely took the time to take her shoes off before she ran straight into the dance studio with the other girls. Avery hung out at the door to the studio by my feet for a short time while she examined the scene and then jumped right in with the big girls and became quite the little entertainer for the parents. The girls were very excited to learn a princess dance, play a princess dress-up relay race, do the hokey pokey and chicken dance and, the best part, cake and ice cream.



Our day did not end there! We then headed to our Sunday school class pool party at our teacher, Mike's, house. Ashlyn wore out the diving board... jumping off forwards, backwards, cannon balls and an occasional belly flop. Even Avery jumped off a few times! After she saw her big sister do it, of course, she had to do it. Our Sunday school teacher and his wife are probably in their mid to late 50's. After we left the party Ashlyn said to me (having never met them before the party), "I didn't know those people that own that house were so old. They both had white hair; REALLY white hair!" I was just glad that she waited until after we left the party to express her observations.




Today after church, while we were on our way home Ashlyn decided she wanted to build a lemonade stand and sell lemonade. She persisted for some time after we got home until Chris and I knew she wasn't going to give up on the idea. Fortunately for us, we didn't have to build one since I had bought a cardboard lemonade stand several months ago and had not given it to the girls yet. When I asked Ashlyn how much she was going to charge for a glass of lemonade she said, "Oh, maybe a nickel." I told her I bet she could probably charge a quarter, and she said, "OK, but if they don't have a quarter they can just give whatever they have." I thought her comment showed how kind-hearted and sweet she so often is. After decorating and assembling the stand, we made some pink lemonade, gathered our supplies and headed out to the front yard. It must have been the girls' lucky day because just as we were heading outside the power to the entire neighborhood went out. Several neighbors wandered outside to see what the cause of the power outage might be and spotted the girls eagerly awaiting a thirsty customer. each time Ashlyn saw someone she would become so excited for another potential customer. We had several great neighbor come support their lemonade "business" offering to pay up to $1 per glass. The girls made $5 in about an hour (that's as long as Chris and I could bear the 106 degree weather). Ashlyn and Avery were very cute greeting and serving their customers. I think we may have some budding entrepreneurs! I guess they take after their daddy in that regard!




While we were making the lemonade I was reminded of our visit to Alabama last December. Ashlyn picked lemons with her great grandparents from their lemon tree, squeezed the juice from the lemons, mixed in a little water and sugar and we all enjoyed fresh squeezed lemonade. (more to come soon about that trip in another post)