Saturday, May 26, 2012

Lola's first verse

If you have read my blog for a while, you know that my children have been learning Bible verses for a very long time now (one of my favorite ever videos on here is the one when Cameron recited the entire 23rd Psalm when he was just three years old.)

Lola has finally memorized her very first verse--and here it is!

Ephesians 6:1: "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right."



(Or, RIGHT!!!!)

She gets a little excited in front of the camera. *grin*

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Planted!

 Last week.....

This week!!

Boy, do I feel better....and I am so thankful for my husband and the HARD, HARD work he put in the past several days, helping me get all of this done! I love you babe!!

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Kindergarten Orientation

A few weeks ago, we took yet another child to his Kindergarten orientation.


It feels like we just did that! Oh....wait. :)

Ethan before getting in the car to head over. He was so very excited!

When we got there, our principal called all the new K5'ers up to a rug....

....and read them a story!

It was a cute one and they laughed all the way through it.
Little children have the best laughter.

After several housekeeping items and announcements, they did a drawing 
for book bags that were filled with school supplies.

And little Ethan won!
He walked up and back so quickly that I couldn't even snap a picture fast enough!

He was very, very excited!

(showing off the back--it lit up, and so did his face when he figured that out)

After the meeting, it was off to see his classroom. Big brothers guided the way.

(Ethan stopped to tell Mr. Fretueg thank you for the backpack. Love that kid.)

Headed down the hallway. Even Lola knows the way now.

Excited to check things out. I'm sure it looks very different when you know it's going to be your room next year, and not just your brothers'!

Talking with Mrs. Winkler

Ethan did great--and I know he is going to love Kindergarten, just like Colin and Cameron have!

Now, off to enjoy our Summer before having to say goodbye to yet another one of my children....

Friday, May 18, 2012

Calling his bluff

This morning at breakfast, I was emptying my water jug from yesterday. It had slices of lemon and orange in it, and I decided to eat the oranges. Cameron immediately began oogling over the lemons.

"Oh I love those. Those are so good Mommy. Those are sooooooo good."

I knew--just knew--he wouldn't eat them if I gave them to him. I gave him the quizzical eye.

"You love these, huh Cam? You love them?"

"Yep. I love them Mommy. I would eat them all."

So, without hesitation, I handed one over to him.

He looked at me, wide-eyed. I think he must have thought I was going to tell him that he couldn't have one....he just stared at the lemon, then back at me, then back at the lemon.

"Go ahead, Cameron. You love them, right?"

"Well," he said, scoffing and rolling his eyes, "not in the morning."

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Morning at the park

My children, like most, absolutely adore the park.

About every 30 minutes or so, a train comes through town--they holler and shriek 
and run to the sidewalk to watch it go by. It is one of the highlights of their day, I'm certain!

{Lola's hysterical shrieking-super-happy-face; 
yes I know it looks like she is half-crying. I promise she is excited!}

But secretly, 

I think their favorite part is getting absolutely down right filthy.


I mean, what fun is a park without taking home massive amounts of some dirt?

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Mother's Day

This year was a very special Mother's Day for me.


I woke up to Colin's "card"--letters that he individually drew 
and cut out himself, then displayed on our dining room table *grin*

And Cameron's card that he made me in school. He also gave me a flower that they planted in class!
(Have I said how much I love his teacher?)

It read, "I love you because you love me." I'll take it. :)

After a wonderful morning spent with my church friends and family, Shane took our family and my mom out to eat at my favorite Mexican restaurant.  It was truly lovely not having to cook or clean up.  I love love love going out to eat.

Reasons #1-5 why I am the most blessed mother alive:
#1

Numbers 2, 3, and 4

And at the left end, number 5!

God has blessed me with a wonderful mother and the opportunity to be a mother to four amazing little people. All else aside--what could make Mother's Day any better than that?

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Baseball equals BUSY

The middle of April welcomed baseball season around these parts, and with it came intense excitement on the part of the three little men that live in my house. Between three teams (and the practices/games each one brings to our schedule) and three boys going in different directions each day/night, busy barely even begins to touch how our lives have been the past few weeks!

This week, I am determined to catch up on a few posts that have gone unwritten due to time constraints as of late; but for now, I'll show you a little slice of our lives from the past month.

Colin is on not one but two teams this year. He plays regular baseball and is known as a Mudhen (our league decided on Minor League names this year!); he also plays for our travelling team, and is known as a Cobra. On both of our teams are two little boys with sisters about Lola's age, and the girls have a blast playing together.

First game; practice game against the Catlin Grasshoppers, May 1st

Daddy, of course, is a helper on all of the boys' teams.
High five before Colin's first at bat

First Cobra game: Sunday, May 6th. 
Colin played all over the field, trying out different positions.

Ethan, Cameron, and Lola do so well for as many hours as we are at the ball park! 
They usually help out in the dugout with bats/gear or play with the other kids. 
Sometimes, I am lucky enough that they actually sit with me for a few minutes!

Monday, May 7th began a week long pre-season tournament. Our boys did so well and won their first game against Bryant Industries. They were more than a little excited!

The very next night--Tuesday, May 9th--we played again. Colin is the pitcher's helper on our team and does very well. He is athletic and very quick. This time, he was facing someone we know very well....

....his cousin Mason's team!

It was fun to see Colin and Mason out on the field together! 
Mason plays shortstop and is a very good little player too!
Colin on second base, Mason fielding

Since Mason was there, I got to squeeze little Paislee for a bit. Yay :)

Quick Cuts did well, but our boys were able to pull off a very close win. Colin was super happy!

On to Thursday night in Georgetown--where I did not have my camera battery charged and didn't figure that out until I got there! Grrrrr! But our boys pulled out another win.

The next night (Friday, May 11th) was an extra special one. 
Tell me, is there anything on this planet cuter than a T-baller?

Cameron and Ethan's first game as a part of the Catlin Cardinals was a smashing success. 
Cameron played first base, and this is a position that gets a lot of action in T-ball, 
since all the children fielding on each play are instructed to throw it there. 

Ethan played shortstop. He took the position very seriously, as you can tell. :)

Though I am certainly biased--I do believe we had the cutest cheerleader of them all!

Cameron batted second in the lineup.

No tee needed--he hit one right off the bat from Coach Dave's pitch. It went all the way to the fence 
(though, to be fair--fielding is still quite the challenge at this level!)

Then, in the third spot in the lineup came Ethan.

He also hit one right away from Coach Dave.

Safely to first and conversing with Waylon, the other team's
first baseman and one of Cameron's K-5 buddies.

One his way from second to third!

And when it was his time to run from third to home....

....of course he would slide! So funny. Both boys slid across the plate both times they came around, even though there was absolutely no need to do so!

Cameron back out at first, catching a toss from his teammate to get the batter out

Batting again. This time, he needed the tee, but still got a hit.

Cameron and Waylon: still friends after the game! :)

Such a fun night as a family at the ball park.

The next morning (Saturday the 12th) we got up early to head back out and do it all again. We played at 9 a.m. for a spot in the championship game of the tournament.

The girls decided to play in the dirt for a while.

Colin led off, and the inning was off to a great start. 
We scored four runs right off the bat against a very good team.

Rounding third and on his way home--love the determination in this picture.

Lolee girl cheering Colin on!

Though we lost our first game that morning, we still had to be "doubly eliminated". So, we turned around and played again at 11:30--this time, squeezing out a win by one run!

We then had to turn around again and play at 2 p.m, since even though we lost that morning, we had fought our way back into the championship game. We played the same team we had played just hours earlier. The boys put up a much better fight, but we still lost 12-9. They were simply exhausted after a full day of play.

Congratulations were in order for the second place champs!

The kids with their coaches and medals

So, as hard as I will try, I may be more absent from this blog than normal.....

....we are out on the fields just having too much fun!