Caleb’s first day of preschool

Today I started my new job at the Ballard School, so it was also Caleb’s first day of preschool.  At A Child’s Village, they take kids starting at two years old, so the timing worked out perfectly, since Caleb just had his second birthday.

I was a little worried how he would react to being left at school, since he is a little attached to me, but I really shouldn’t have worried.  Usually when I drop Micah off, he doesn’t want to leave, so I should have taken that as a clue. 

John and I both told Micah that since he was the big brother, it was his job to take care of Caleb while we were gone and to show him the ropes. 

We got Caleb a new Cars lunchbox that he was super excited about.  I took the boys to school, and when I left, he was following Micah and the other kids around playing.  Not a tear was shed because of my departure.  That’s a good thing, or I probably would have worried all day.

 

                     

When I got back into town after work, I called the school and they said both boys were asleep.  It was nice to have a little alone time, and I went grocery shopping.  John finished his day out in Lompoc, so he ended up picking up the boys.  He got rave reviews from the staff about how well Caleb did.  I’m really proud of Caleb, and I’m proud that Micah helped to make sure that Caleb would have a good first day of school.

And the winner is…

AUBREY!!!  Well, actually, I changed my mind at the last minute and decided to draw two names.  So the next winner is TAMI! 

To make it nice and fair, I let Micah draw the names out of the hat since he can’t read.  He drew Aubrey’s name first, and then he drew Tami’s name.  So you girls just have to let me know which necklace you want, and I can get it to you.  Tami, since you’re out of town, give me your mailing address as well so I can mail it out.

Wow!  It’s fun giving stuff away!

Mr. & Mrs. Brad Moring

So my sister is now officially a married woman.  John, the boys, and I travelled back to Texas last weekend to be there for the main event.  We really enjoyed getting to spend time with all of our extended family who came from near and far to celebrate with Brad and Christina.

If you want to see the professional photos, you can go to the photographer’s website and check them out.  He took over 1,100 pictures!  There are two folders.  “Brad & Christina” is where you can see all the photos, and “Brad & Christina album” is a small album of some of the photos.

Here are some pics we took while there. 

The boys have discovered the fun of making silly faces.

Pool time with the cousins.  Micah, Seth, Madison, and Caleb.

                 

The day of the wedding, Brad took John to see Kyle Field, home of the Aggies.  They weren’t able to get on the field, so these are the only pictures John took.

                         

Here are just a couple pictures of the wedding party and my family.

And Micah made some friends at the reception.  Here they are shooting someone.

                         

                         

Yep, that’s a pig cake.  Red velvet pig cake.  There’s a pig story.  You’ll have to ask Brad about it sometime.  And Christina loves chocolate cake, so she wanted her wedding cake to have chocolate frosting.  I did an unofficial taste test of both cakes, and I think the wedding cake tasted better than the groom’s cake.

                         

 

Here’s my friend Kathy and me.

                     

And here’s my boy making another silly face.

                      

The first dance.  Her bustle came undone, so Brad ended up just hiking up her dress.  He had it so far pulled up that you could see her petticoat, but it made for easier dancing.

                               

As the night wore on, I noticed that every time I looked, the boys had less and less clothing on.  They started out the day in vests and ties and dress shirts.  But they just kept stripping.  And they are both dancing machines.  They really enjoyed dancing with Mama and Daddy and each other.

 

                                      

We had a good time.  We headed back to my parent’s house on Sunday, with a stop at the Austin airport just to see if we could make an earlier flight.  We weren’t able to get on, so we headed home to try again on Monday.

We made our flights on Monday, but by the time we drove home, it was almost 10:00 pm, which was midnight in our minds since we had adjusted to Texas time.  It was SOOOOO good to get into bed and go to sleep. 

So, long story short, congratulations go out to the newlyweds.  They are in Ireland right now enjoying their honeymoon.  I can’t wait to see them again!

100th Post and a Giveaway

I just happened to be looking at the list of the archives on the side of this blog the other day. I noticed that it adds up how many posts have been published each month and year. I added them up and noticed I was pretty close to 100 posts.

I posted my first post on May 28, 2007. One entire sentence. Big stuff. It took me a while, but I started to get the hang of posting the everyday happenings of our family. So, it’s only taken me over 2 years, but I’ve finally gotten to post #100.

In honor of getting to this milestone, I have decided to have a giveaway. As you know, I have started making necklaces. So I decided that the winner of this giveaway will win their choice of necklace handmade by yours truly. The winner will get to pick one of the following 6 pendants.

The winner will also get to pick either an adjustable black hemp cord, or a 24 inch ball chain to go along with the pendant. If you’re not in town, never fear. I will send it to you. Hopefully the winner doesn’t live in Siberia, because postage would probably be pretty expensive. Now that I think about it, it would be best if the winner lives in the USA or has an APO address (I’m thinking of you, Anitra and Julia, just in case one of you wins).

Make sure I have your email address, so I can notify you if you win. The giveaway will end on Wednesday, August 19th. I will then randomly pick a winner.

So how can you enter this giveaway, you ask. Simply leave me a comment. If you want to tell me a joke, tell me a joke. Or not. Be creative. I like reading my comments. Only one entry, please. And you don't have to have a blog to leave a comment. Simply click on the button for Anonymous, but make sure to leave your name and/or email in the comment so I know who you are.

So, good luck!!!

Happy 2nd birthday, Caleb!

It’s hard to believe that my little boy is turning 2 today! It seems like just yesterday John and I were checking in to the hospital for my c-section and to meet the little baby that had been kicking me for so long.

I am so very thankful to God for giving us this wonderful little boy. He is changing every day, and I’m glad that I have this blog where I can document the funny things he and his brother do (see the baby powder incident of 2009) and all the milestones he’s achieving.

He’s changed so much over the past couple of years. From this:

To this:

Thank you, God, for giving Caleb to us. John and I promise to do our best to raise him up in a loving Christian family, and to teach him about his Heavenly Father who loves him even more than John and I ever could.

Happy birthday, Caleb! Mama and Daddy love you!

The Baby Powder Incident of 2009

I don't know where they found it, but they did. I guess in the chaos of unpacking from our trip to Texas, the baby powder got left within the reach of little hands. I was in the bedroom unpacking when I smelled the very familiar scent of baby powder. That didn't bode well, so I went to check on my mischievous sons, and this is what I found.

I came into the living room and the boys were just laughing and giggling.  They kept saying, “Mommy, we’re ghosts!”  I really couldn’t be mad at them because I must have left the baby powder in their reach.  Plus they just looked so darn cute!

So if you come to visit, at least our house will smell baby fresh!  Maybe that nice smell will last until this Saturday, when we have Caleb’s 2nd birthday party.

Romans 3:23

He did it again!  Micah learned another memory verse in church!  He didn’t tell us about it at first, though.  He came home from church tonight and said he had won some prizes in an auction.  But when we asked him about it, he couldn’t really explain.  So I called Mrs. Angie to ask her about it.

Angie told me that they earn tokens for attendance and for memorizing Scripture.  And tonight was the night that they got to use their tokens for the auction. 

While I was talking to her, she mentioned that they have been working on Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  She said he almost had it. 

Once I got off the phone, I told John that Micah was now working on Romans 3:23.  We started him off, and Micah finished the verse!  Of course, you know we have a camera permanently attached to us, so we had to get it on video.  So here goes:

We both got so excited, and it’s rubbing off on Micah because he was talking really fast in this video.  But we are just so happy and both John and I were both saying how it just made our hearts happy to see our son reciting Scripture.  So far he’s learned the golden rule, the fruits of the Spirit, and now Romans 3:23.  I’m having trouble wiping the silly grin off of my face!