Girls Only

John has been gone since Tuesday morning, so it has been just girls around here all week. We have had a pretty good week and have tried to stay busy especially in the evenings when I am used to John being here. The one thing that has helped me get through the week is looking forward to my weekend with my Mom and sister in Branson. John is going to keep the girls by himself all weekend. Don't be surprised if he calls one of you for moral support!
Here are some pictures of our week. In case you are wondering about the crazy face "B" is making behind the cart of blocks, it is her excited face! The ice cream cone on her face is her new trick. Emma and I were laughing so hard at her that she continued to do it over and over until we stopped laughing.

The First Soccer Game

Emma is playing First Touch Soccer this Fall. And I'm one of the coaches (we have 3, plus lots of parental help!) Imagine 9 almost-4 year olds trying to play organized sports. The terms "4-year-olds" and "organized" don't jive well. We had 2 practices before our first game, and we (the coaches) weren't expecting much. After years of training kids to share their toys, we all of a sudden tell them not to share with the other team. In fact, we yell at them from the sidelines to get the ball!

However, after the first game today, everyone was pleasantly surprised by the cut-throatness these kids really have. Lots of falling down. It was awesome! Here are some pics from the game.

Rescuing the Princess

The life of a father of girls.




And yeah, I'm fat. Shut it.

Count down to Disney World

20 days to go until we leave!!

Happy 6th Birthday Belle!

Ms John

Our big dogs are in town for a business meeting this week. The CEO all the way down.

They called before coming into the office to take our Starbucks order. I ordered a Mocha Frappuccino.

They all laughed.

Hard.

Then wrote "Ms John" on my cup.

Gotta love executives.

Seriously

Okay, Moms out there. Do you feel like you nag your kids all day long because you are constantly telling them not to do something? Shouldn't I be over this hump with my 3 1/2 year old? Does it get better when they turn 4? Please tell me I am not alone or tell me the magic trick to make her obey consistently.
Written by a frustrated and tired Mom.

My Little Helper

Despite how I am feeling about Emma at the present moment, she was very helpful this morning. She cleaned all the door knobs and the two windows that Belle seems to slobber all over. I was cleaning the mirror in the bathroom and she asked to help. I helped her up and she wiped away. Before we could begin cleaning, she had to put on the proper cleaning attire. She had to clean like Cinderella would clean is what she told me!
I am choosing to think of the good things about our morning instead of the other 100 things that she got in trouble for. Is anyone else's 3 year old acting crazy right now? I am ready for the 4's. Or am I?

Reading with Daddy

White Water

I am not sure about other married couples out there with children, but we get so bogged down with being parents that we often forget to have fun for ourselves. It caught up with us this past week, so John and I planned a spontaneous day away together. I have a secret love for water slides, so my getaway choice was White Water in Branson. We have season passes to all the parks there (generous Christmas gift from John's parents each year!) and we had not been there this year. Allyn and I share a sitter for 4 hours on THursdays, so we just asked the sitter if she could stay an extra couple of hours. It worked out great! We had a great time riding all the slides. We spent a lot of time on the tubes in the wave pool and the lazy river. It was a treat to be able to be lazy and take our time without the girls in tow. We meant to take a picture, but we never did. Here is a picture of 2 of the new slides there this year. I did not go on the big one, but John did twice. We raced down the other one. It was really fun!
Our lesson in going was that we need to set aside a full day together at least once every 2 months to just have fun. It doesn't mean we have to leave town to do it, but just go do something for more than just a date night. This small thing has changed my attitude around the house. I need quality time!

2007 PGA Championship

I love golf. I grew up playing golf with my entire family. And until this week, I have never attended a PGA Tour event. This past Christmas, a few friends and I were standing around talking golf. They mentioned that the PGA Championship was coming back to Southern Hills CC in Tulsa this year. I got excited about the idea of going. So much, in fact, that I got home and asked Dad if he wanted to go. We bought our tickets that night.

The time is upon us. The tournament starts tomorrow (Thursday). Dad and I have tickets to the Saturday and Sunday rounds. Hopefully, it will be an exciting event. My friend Todd called me the other day and said that he and I were going to the practice round on Wednesday (today). Sure...twist my arm. We left the house at 5:00 AM and got there to watch a ton of players practice on the course. Tiger flew under the radar, so we didn't see him while we were there. But we got to see some great players and followed Vijay around for quite a while. He has a remarkable golf swing! And he's huge. And Fijian, so he's got a rockin' accent. I watched him hit a 220 yard shot to about 2 feet. Impressive!

Pictures are on Flickr.

Also, I will be guest-blogging on All Sides of Life this week, so check it out!

Soccer Season is Here!

We had our first soccer practice tonight. I had no idea how cute a 3 year old could be in shin guards, soccer socks and cleats. Or how cute her coach would be. Wozers!

It's a Girl!

Thank goodness not for us, but my sister and brother in law are having a girl! She is due January 5th. As you all know, we LOVE little girls and are so excited to add another to the mix. Especially one that we can love on tons and tons and then give back. :) I am also so glad to be able to hand down all the girl clothes that we have accumulated over the past 3 1/2 years. My sister has contributed to that collection quite a bit, so I am glad she gets to use them.

Almost 10 months

Brooklyn will be 10 months old this weekend. I can't believe she is almost 1!

Yesterday, she woke up from her nap with a mohawk. Add the bruise on her cheek from the other day and it makes for a great picture.

Today, she pulled up on everything that she could. Her favorite spot is our dining room window where she can look outside. This is also Belle's favorite spot to lay and look out, so we have had an unhappy dog since this milestone started.

So proud....

Emma has been practicing writing her name for a while now, but this is the best one so far. She was so proud!

Lessons from Sunday school......

Emma learned about Shadrach, , Meshach, and Abednego at church today. She colored a picture of the three men in the "hot furnace". When we picked her up, she showed us her picture and told us they were in a fire, but did not get burned. We asked why they didn't get burned and she replied, "God saved them."
We got to the car and I looked at Emma's card from church which had her memory verse for the month. I told her that there was a new verse to learn and I read it to her, "Love God with your heart, your mind, your soul, and your strength."
She immediately said, "and don't get burned!"

I love the way their minds work! I am not sure she learned the intended lesson, but at least she is concerned about fire safety. For a Mom petrified of fire, this does my heart good.

Would Anyone like a Kitten?

This sweet little kitten has wandered into our lives this week. It is really cute and playful, but our family does NOT need a kitten. Is anyone out there looking for a new pet or know someone who might like one?

Sunset in Florida

I'm in South Florida all week for work. The meetings start today, so I had to fly in yesterday. After a good seafood dinner, I pretty much told my co-workers we were going to the beach to watch the sunset. They weren't opposed to the idea. It was beautiful. A few more pictures are on my Flickr site.
















On Wednesday, we drive to Miami for a "market visit" (read: go look at high Hispanic/Cuban Wal-Mart stores). We're staying in South Beach, so I plan on getting a nice sunrise picture. Hope you all have a great week. If you're bored, I'm sure Allison would let you watch Emma & Brooklyn for a few hours!

July 8, 2007

When I was younger, I always looked forward to the baby dedications at church. To me, it was a time to see all the new babies that were born in the past year. Not until I had children, did I truly realize the meaning behind them. Today, we dedicated Brooklyn to the Lord. We dedicated ourselves to praying for her, raising her to the best of our ability in the Lord, and then praying some more for her! It was also a great reminder of our dedication with Emma 3 years ago. All of our family came into town for it and most of our community group was at the service. Uncle Sam got to perform the dedication like he did when Emma was dedicated. It was a neat service. There were only 3 children dedicated which was a blessing because as soon as we walked off stage all of the electricity went out. Not just in our service, but campus wide. The Worship Center, children's area, high school, etc.....It could have been a disaster, but it was handled so well by the staff. Honestly, it made the service more intimate. I loved singing with just a guitar, no slides, and hearing a sermon by candlelight.

Our verse for Brooklyn and Emma's dedication were the same:
"The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be
gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace." Num. 6:24-26

Lord,
I pray that you bless Emma and Brooklyn. I pray that Your face shine upon them as You mold them into Your image. I pray for peace in each of their lives and I pray that they might know you an intimate way. I pray that you turn their hearts toward You at an early age. We love you, Emma and Brooklyn. As parents, we commit to giving you our all and doing the best we can to train each of you in Christ's image. Thank you Jesus, for Emma and Brooklyn. What a blessing they are to us. Amen

Sisters