Cup Runneth Over

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T14:45:00.001-06:00

From our family to yours,

Merry Christmas!

By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. I John 4:9-10

Catch up

2011-12-07T11:17:00.001-06:00

I have a confession to make. It's been so long since I've blogged that I actually forgot my blog address!

Seriously, I sat down to post and couldn't find my own blog on the worldwide web. I typed in what I thought was my address, but I found someone else's blog. But I truly thought it was my blog being hijacked!

I'll blame that brain fart on the Nyquil I took 14 hours ago. I think it's safe to say I'm a little sensitive to that drug, and I should not operate machinery or make any major life decisions for at least 24 hours after popping those meds.

Now that I know my blog is safe and sound, let me catch you up on our world.

The biggest news is that this brace face...

is now metal FREE!

Liam's braces were removed about 6 weeks ago. We're very happy with the results, and I swear if that kid doesn't stop growing up.... I just need to squish him down to his old peanut size.

That sweet boy has had some tough life lessons to learn this Fall. Not a lot of it I can share with the world, but suffice it to say, his heart and mind are being forced to mature as fast as his physical stature.

One such life-changing event I can share is that Liam had to give up his dog, Marshall.

As much as Liam and I loved Marshall, the chaos that he brought to our home was tremendous. The straw that broke the camel's back was when he scratched Winston's cornea while playing. He just didn't understand how rough and wild he was.After a great deal of prayer, Rick and I agreed to find Marshall a new family. Thankfully, the Lord led me to a family that's crazy about the pup. I grieved for Liam a great deal over this, but he has handled his loss like a champ.

We still have this ugly character anyway.

But the past few months have not been full of only heartache. When the Texas Rangers went to the World Series again, Lil Ron Washington was called up for more interviews.

Liam was interviewed by 3 or 4 different local news crews. He was also given two tickets to game 4, where he was featured on the MLB network's "Intentional Talk". You can view a clip here.

He enjoyed being Lil Ron again, but we were all ready to go back to our normal life once the Series ended. It took us a couple weeks to grieve our Rangers' horrific loss, but we have since recovered.

People often ask me how the little boys handled Liam's fame. Jackson and Garrett were occasionally jealous, but no more jealous than I was of the fact that he and Rick were able to go to the game without us.

J&G were busy enough with their own baseball season anyway.

They played for the 7U Dirtbags, and Daddy was their head coach. They ended the season with a 9-3 record.

Garrett still loves the game and will be trying out for an elite team this Spring. Jackson wants to exchange his baseball cleats for soccer cleats.

And the thought of having all 3 boys on 3 different teams almost makes me hyperventilate. I have to remind myself to breathe, or else I might give myself a stroke before the spring season even arrives.

Something else that makes me hyperventilate is the Aggies' loss to tu on Thanksgiving day. Neither team played well enough to win, but thanks to poor officials, we lost our final game against our arch rivals.

Good bye to the orange and the white! Good luck to the dear old Aggies! We're gonna need it as we move to the SEC.

In a nutshell, that's the past 3 months of our life. We're gearing up for Christmas, our favorite time of year, and trying to remember the real reason for the season.

Now what kind of trouble can I get myself into while I wait for the Nyquil haze to lift?

Pine Cove

2011-09-20T17:00:00.009-06:00

As a mom of all boys, I often feel left out of their world. Their baseball skills have surpassed my ability to play catch in the backyard. Their imaginary play doesn't often welcome a girl. And I don't really see the point in laughing at bodily functions. When I found out about mother/son conference at Pine Cove, I jumped on the idea. Nowhere else have I seen the opportunity to spend meaningful one-on-one time with one of my boys.

Liam and I thoroughly enjoyed our time at Pine Cove a couple of weeks ago. He's my easy-going, life-is-fun, let's-try-everything-at-least-once boy. So he was the perfect child to take for our first attempt at mother/son camp.

Pine Cove keeps you busy from the moment you arrive. If we weren't eating a yummy meal, we were in a Bible lesson or playing some crazy game. And if we weren't involved in any of those activities, we were trying to catch a few hours of sleep.

We were so busy that I didn't remember to carry my camera half the time, but I did remember it for some of Saturday afternoon's free time. For about 5 hours, we could choose from archery,
BB guns,
swimming, horseback riding, wall climbing, go go ball, basketball, zip line, etc.

We went with our good friends, the Martins. Liam and Cab have been friends since they were three.When I asked Liam what his favorite activity was, he named Pitch Black Attack, which was a scavenger hunt at dark thirty. It was crazy but fun.

But what I really enjoyed was time focusing on one boy. There were many hours spent with the whole group of campers, but the schedule also gave us meaningful one-on-one time to chat and sit face to face.

I love that kid!
At the end of the weekend, Liam and Cab gave Pine Cove two thumbs up.
And neither one of them want to stay home when the moms take younger brothers in March. But every boy needs to get away with his mom for some individual attention.

Why Can't We Live There???

2011-09-13T16:54:00.027-06:00

Buckle your seat belts and get ready for a photo dump! We've been home from our Colorado vacation for some six weeks, and I haven't done one single thing with our hundreds of photos. Consider yourself warned....

Yes, we went to Colorado for two weeks in early August. We began our trip at our family cabin near Pagosa Springs, where we stretch our legs on some acreage nearly every year.

The boys are always happy to hit the ground running, whether it be hiking, fishing, digging in the dirt, or whatever mood may strike them. Occasionally, we'll catch them in a loving mood.

Liam (8), Jackson and Garrett (6)

A new activity for us this year was shooting the boys' new BB gun. Everyone tried it out. Even moi.

Let's just say that it's a good thing we don't have to survive on what we shoot.

And let's also say that some of us look better in the safety glasses than others.
Although our "lake" was low enough to be called a pond, we did try to fish.
But this dead minnow that Garrett caught is the only fish we have to brag about.
He was so darn proud of that minnow! He carried it around until we told him we couldn't keep it. "But WHY?," he asked. "Because it's DEAD," we explained.

Marshall might have killed something for dinner.
Isn't that a great photo?! The hunting magazines will be calling me to post it in their latest and greatest; I know they will. I'm trying to decide if I should ask for big bucks or for a new home for the dog.

To clear things up: 1. No, that furry thing in Marshall's mouth was never living. It's his play raccoon. 2. The dog is not for sale at the moment. I do change my mind frequently, however. 3. He was an absolute angel on our trip, because he could run and romp all day long in the mountains. Now that we're back home where it's hotter than hades, he's anything but an angel. 4. Do you want him?

Another new activity for the boys this year was building this tepee.
They wanted a tree house or a fort of some kind, but Daddy nixed the idea and convinced them that a tepee was even better. It did turn out to be quite cool, and the boys spent hours out there.

One evening, we took a drive to look at other properties in our community. We ran across this mama deer and her THREE babies. I have never seen a deer with so many young! My heart went out to her as she frantically tried to keep them at her side while we snapped pictures from our car. It's tough work wrangling three little ones, and I speak from experience.
Of course, we hiked on a few different days. I can't remember the name of the hike that took us to the beautiful lake, but it was picturesque, to say the least.
The Archuletta County Fair took place while we were in town, so we took Jack to meet Jack.
For the record, it was Rick's idea to take a picture of his son next to a donkey. Son, I would never do such a thing.

Each of the boys took a try at the fake bull thing. (What's it called?) They all enjoyed it, but Garrett had the best belly laugh. When he lets loose and has a good laugh, it's the best medicine for me.
Liam played and won the hula hoop contest.
Yes, he did have competition, but I didn't take their pictures.

Mid-way through our vaca, we took a few days to stay in Ouray. Let me tell you something. I COULD LIVE THERE! It is so amazingly beautiful with mountains all around and every activity within walking distance.

On our way to Ouray, we stopped to get some pics. I believe this is near Georgetown, but Rick will correct me if I'm wrong. (I'm terrible with geography, people. And my memory failed me about the first day of motherhood, so trying to remember a specific geographical location 6 weeks after the fact...forget it!)

Anyway, we took various photos near Georgetown, and but this one cracks me up.
We wanted Marshall to sit nicely next to Liam, but as with all Labs, he thinks he's a lap dog and tried to climb into every one's lap.

But here's proof that he really was an angel.
He's so cuuute when he's being cute.

(No, that's not a muzzle around his snout. It's a gentle leader and works like a horse's halter. In other words, it's a life saver when I'm trying to walk him and don't want him to pull off my arms.)

Probably our favorite activity of the entire trip took place in Ouray. We paid for a driver to take us up to Imogene Pass in a four wheel drive truck.
Along the way, we were able to enjoy amazing scenery. This dilapidated mining home made us grateful for our own home.
The pictures don't do the flowers any justice at all. When Rick took this picture, we could literally see nothing but flowers all around us. I'm pretty sure this was a little slice of heaven.
A hairy and bumpy ride took us to the top, where winter greeted us. We were warm in our shorts at the beginning of the tour but teeth-chattering cold at the top with sleet falling on us.
This is where my mom will ask why we didn't wear pants and heavy coats. Ask your son-in-law.

BRRR!
We made it!!!
On the way down, our driver stopped and pulled the kids out. We had no idea what he was doing, but we trusted him well enough to know he wouldn't push them off the mountain. Instead, they all broke out singing "The Hills are Alive!" It was hilarious!
If you're interested in a scenic 4WD tour in Ouray, look up Keith. He was a fantastic tour guide with a lot of historical information, spot-on sense of humor, and amazing patience with kids.
No, we did not adopt a little girl. I can't remember her name (the whole memoryfailingmeproblem again), but she and her little brother became fast friends with my boys.

I gotta wrap this up and make dinner. As the song goes, back to life, back to reality. Why can't we just go back to Colorado???

By the way, aren't you glad I didn't dump hundreds of pics here?

Peace out!

School Days

2011-08-25T13:02:00.005-06:00

Well, hello there! Yes, it's been nearly two months since my last post. I wouldn't want to be accused of being an overzealous blogger.

Would I be considered overzealous if I blog once a week? No? Good, 'cuz that's what I'm hoping to do now that my boys are IN SCHOOL.

Can I get an 'amen' for school?

Let's begin with the obligatory first day of school photos.

Garrett and Jackson are now first graders, and Liam is a third grader.
(Please excuse the ugly flowerbed behind them. The relentless heat has gone and done something ugly to our plants and our moods.)

I asked them, "Hey, boys, show me what you think about my making you wear collared shirts today." This is what I got:
Actually, two of the boys chose collared shirts on their own. The third boy had to be talked out of a faded, shrunken Mario t-shirt and black basketball shorts. "Sorry, son, but I think a good first impression is important."

Garrett hit the jackpot this year with receiving the most smiley teacher on campus. PLUS, his BFF, Will, is in his class. It can't get much better than that!
Jackson just might have a crush on his teacher. He typically likes the tall gals.
Liam has a teacher who fills her room with TONS o' books, so the two of them should get along just fine.
He was completely embarrassed that I walked him to his class, but a mom has to have a picture of her kid and his teacher! He's lucky I didn't give him a big smooch right there in front of God and everyone.

Later that evening, he informed us he would no longer be holding our hands in public. "Cuz it's not cool, man," he said.

But it was cool two days prior to third grade. I really didn't expect this year to be such a pivotal moment of moving from little boy to grown man. Should I expect facial hair and voice crackling tomorrow?

Things That Make Me Go "Hmm"

2011-06-28T12:52:00.003-06:00

If you've ever had young kids, you know how often they open the door to tell you all kinds of nonsense while they play in the backyard.

The door opens and I hear, "So and so hit me with the ball." The door closes, only to be reopened every 2.9 seconds for comments and questions such as these: "So and so threw the ball at the dog." "Are we allowed to dig in the garden?" "I hit a home run and the ball went over the fence! Can I go get it?" "Mom, do you like grub worms?" "Marshall's eating from the garden." "What are we doing today?" "What are we eating for lunch?" And two seconds later, "What are we eating for dinner tonight?"

Admittedly, I'll sometimes lock the door to stop the nonsense. Or I'll throw out the threat, "If you open that door again, you're coming in for a nap!" That one works like a charm.

Anyway, as I was cleaning my bedroom this morning, the boys and dogs were playing in the backyard. I believe they opened the door 52 times before I heard a new statement. Jackson yelled, "MARSHALL LOST A TOOTH AND I FOUND IT!"

"Okay, great. Yep, he's teething. SHUT THE DOOR," I yelled back. (I should always say 'Slam that door', since that's what they do.)

Jackson went back to play, and I didn't give Marshall's tooth another thought, until I walked through the kitchen 30 minutes later to find the lost-and-found tooth in a baggie on the kitchen counter.

I carried the tooth to Jackson and asked if he thought the tooth fairy should visit the pup. He laughed and said "No! I thought we could make a collection of his teeth."

Oh. Hmm.

Raising boys often leaves me scratching my head.

Decluttering

2011-06-22T10:08:00.019-06:00

The blogging portion of my brain feels cluttered. So many pictures to post. So many events have come and gone without even a sentence granted on the blog. When I get this far behind in my writing, I feel overwhelmed and simply want to give up. But then I remember that I don't scrapbook for my family, nor do I simply print our photos, so if I don't blog, what do we have to show for our lives?

In an effort to declutter my foggy blog brain, here's a post of random photos.

Garrett finished out his t-ball career by being chosen as one of four from his team to advance to the All Star tournament.
His kindergarten teacher came to his final All Star game.
Mrs. Whitsell is one of a kind, and Garrett was sure to show off some of his best baseball skills in front of her. This is where I should rattle off all of his amazing defensive stats, but I simply can't remember one. Suffice it to say, he played well, very well. And he's more than ready to move on to coach pitch in the fall.

Meanwhile, Liam's Dirtbags were winning a semi-finals game the same night, and they advanced to the Championship. Garrett and I were able to make it to the final game, where the Dirtbags defeated the Giants. This win was a huge victory, because the Giants had only lost something like 3 games in two years!
Trophies all around for the Dirtbags!
On a non-baseball note, (Imagine that...something in our lives that doesn't relate to baseball!) Jackson and Garrett graduated from Kindergarten. I would love to show you some fantastic photos of my babies' graduation, but a certain someone, who will remain nameless, deleted many, and I mean MANY, pictures from my camera. So we're left with mediocrity, such as a blurred picture of Jackson receiving his congratulatory hug from his teacher, Mrs. Woods.
He blew her off like he'd blow a spider off his arm.

But Garrett paused for a sweet moment with his girlfriend, I mean teacher.
Yes, I must admit I teared up when I saw my babies walk across the stage. Not because they're graduating from kindergarten, but because I couldn't help but flash forward to twelfth grade in my mind. Be still my heart, what will I do when my kids all finish high school?!

After the 50,000,000 kindergarteners walked across the stage, they sang songs such as "New York, New York". How does Frank Sinatra's famous song qualify as a graduation song, you ask? The words were changed to something like this:

Start spreading the news
I'm leaving today
I'm gonna be apart of it
first grade, first grade
It was cute, and, of course, hand signals had to be incorporated.

I'm not sure who was most excited about the last day of school, the boys or me. But let me tell you, when the dismissal bell rang, we hightailed it outta there without a glance back. Woohoo, summer!

One of our first summer days was spent riding horses. I have wanted to introduce my boys to horseback riding for quite some time, and a perfect situation came up. A good friend of ours recently inherited two horses from his dad, and he invited us to meet him at the corral.

This is where I'd love to post pictures of my boys riding their first horse, but that nameless person deleted about 100 pictures of our horseback riding experience. About all I have to show you is Liam brushing Alley.
Alley happens to be the horse that also bucked Liam off. The horse decided he didn't want to be ridden and threw my boy off within two minutes. Thankfully, Liam didn't have any serious injuries, but he was sore for a few days. But he was brave and got onto another horse with me within a few minutes of his fall.

Liam tried out and made it onto the summer All Star team again. They've gone to championship level all but one tournament thus far, placing second twice and even first place recently. Summer baseball is hotter than hades, but when the boys win, it's worth the sweat.
Another big event of our summer has been Garrett pulling his own tooth.
He was so proud of himself for pulling it on his own. And I cried, because I'm simply not ready for my baby to grow up.

In other news, Marshall had his manhood and dewclaws removed a few days ago. He came home looking pretty pitiful.
Yes, we've had a grand ol' time trying to keep him from chewing his bandages. A neighbor asked why Marshall has casts on his paws. Garrett said, "We had his claws removed so he won't run away and make babies." He kind of got my explanation confused.

Now that summer is in full swing, we're enjoying a relaxed schedule. Staying up late, sleeping in until 7, no homework, play dates, swimming, etc.

We're also hitting the batting cages frequently.
Just call them the Bad Bat Boys.
And on that note, these bad boys are ready to go burn off some energy, so I better run before something gets broken.

I can't promise when I'll be back, but I hope it's before summer's end.

Life is Good

2011-05-20T10:30:00.003-06:00

"Life is good when you have another baseball game," is what I read in Liam's journal the other day.

He'll be disappointed to know tonight's game is canceled due to rain. But he'll be happy when he realizes he has a tournament of 3-4 games next week.

Yes, I read his journal. I'm nosey that way.

And I just love that my boy's journal is full of nothing but baseball talk. Pure, innocent fun.

He's Growing on Us

2011-05-12T11:25:00.003-06:00

Marshall, the pup, has been home for about 6 weeks now, and he only has one post on the blog? That's just not right. A good mommy brags about ALL of her children equally.

Here he is today at 3 1/2 months:
He's almost tripled in weight since we got him, and he's taller than Winston now.

How does Winston feel about it all? This look tells all:
Poor Winston! I keep telling him that he's still my #1 dog, but he remains very bitter about sharing his mommy. I can't blame him with all the nasty stunts that Marshall pulls. He won't let Winston get any of my love without jumping right in the middle of us. The brown boy likes to sneak up behind W and bite his legs at any given moment. Marshall also likes to nip at his jowls and steal his favorite toy. They go round and ROUND, even if I'm sure to give them both the exact same chew toy.

If you look a little closer at Marshall's nose, you'll see that he hasn't learned to back off.
We should have named him Scarface.

Although the two dogs still haven't figured out how to live peacefully under one roof, Marshall has otherwise settled into our family quite well. The boys love playing with him, and I enjoy training him. I'm taking him to a manners class once a week, and his trainer is very impressed with how calm he is for his age and breed.

I don't tell her that I drug him every day. I wouldn't want to give her any reason to call PETA on me.

Truthfully, the only time I drug him is when he's about to get more shots, in which case, I must give him Benadryl so that his lips and eyes don't triple in size due to another reaction. I'm not sure why, but I always end up with the high-maintenance animals.

But we love our new addition, and he is here to stay, right Daddy?

Mother's Day Recap

2011-05-11T10:38:00.004-06:00

My boys had been talking about their Mother's Day gifts for weeks. I love how their teachers took a great deal of time (2-3 weeks) to build up the day as very special. Liam and Jackson came home with gift bags similar to Garrett's, so I had three hand-made gifts to open on Sunday.
Liam made me a fan, complete with his cute mug shot, as well as a new plant. When I asked him what kind of plant it is, he said, "I dunno. It's pink or purple." I plan to replant it to see for myself.

Jackson and Garrett each made a recipe holder.
I'm not sure how well you can tell from the photos, but each little boy made a flower out of a styrofoam cup. After painting the flower, they added their photo and a clothes pin. What a cute idea! Since I use a recipe binder instead of index cards, I plan to use mine for Bible verses.

Jman and GB also made cards with questionnaires about me, which were a hoot. Jackson doesn't call me "Moma", but I think it's funny that he added it to his card.
His questionnaire reads as follows:
My mommy's name is Ami. (Check.)

She is 51 years old. (When I asked him if he really thinks I'm that old, he said, "I can't reMEMBER how old you are, so Mrs. Woods said that I should say 50-something." Thank you, Mrs. Woods.)

Her favorite thing to do is watch tv all by herself. (It's not exactly my favorite pastime, but I do enjoy it.)

She does not like to clean. (Amen!)

My mommy's favorite food is cabbage. (It is?!)

My mommy's favorite color is rainbows. (He's pretty close, because I always say that I like a lot of colors.)

My mommy is really good at cleaning. (Somebody has to be.)

My mommy loves to watch news on tv. (I do?)

I love my mommy because she is special. (Thank you!)

My middle man taught me some things about myself.

Garrett's questionnaire was in the form of a book. The first page asked how he makes me happy and he said, "When I do the dishes." (Can I get another 'amen'?)

The second page asked him what he likes me to wear, and he said "red" and then drew a picture of me wearing a red Lil Ron t-shirt that we had made with Liam's photo on it. He's also got my hair in pigtails, which I have done once for the fun of it, and all 3 of my boys think it's my best hair style.

His favorite way to spend time with me is when "gowig to the ragrs gam." (going to the Rangers game)

Finally, the last page has a list of my favorite things according to GB:
Food: ckigi pot pi (chicken pot pie)

Color: bran (brown, which I do love, especially on skin)

Movie: segutreyen (Secretariat)

Place to eat: Mexucun (Yet another 'amen' needed!)

Flower: rozess (What girl doesn't love them?)

Place to shop: wolmrt (WalMart...I think I have done an EXCELLENT job of shopping there without complaining in front of him!)

Hobby: wrc (Any guesses?)

Sport: volebol (What about baseball?)

Rick rounded out the day with some kitchen gadgets, an iTunes gift card, and dinner OUT!

I sure do love my men, and I'm grateful for the special day.

Mother's Day

2011-05-06T11:01:00.003-06:00

I have been instructed to not touch until Sunday.
I will obey.

Garrett (6) came home from school with that beautiful gift yesterday. I can't wait to see what is inside!

His teacher also assigned this journal entry earlier this week: Write a sentence about why your mother is so special.

Garrett's response: My mom is speshel because my mom tegis (teaches) me the wrd (word) uv God.

At least I am trying to do so. But when he tackles me and brings me to my knees in a fit of giggles, I believe I might be failing in the "Honor your Mother" department.

Happy Mother's Day!

Singing in the Home Depot Shower Aisle

2011-05-02T12:00:00.003-06:00

While he and Garrett were at the Home Depot on Saturday, Rick sent me this text message and picture: "I thought it was something for singing in the shower."
When they came home, I met Garrett at the door and asked, "Did you find a microphone for the shower?"

My little guy said, "Yes!"

I asked if he sang a song right there in the Home Depot, and he giggled.

Kids are so funny.

Lil Ron Washington and Southwest Airlines

2011-04-27T13:03:00.001-06:00

About three weeks ago, a producer called and asked if Lil Wash could help make a commercial for Southwest Airlines with the Rangers.
We agreed to pull him out of school for the afternoon in exchange for some tickets.

Only one parent was allowed to follow Liam around for the commercial, and I think Rick realized that I would never, ever forgive him if he took our son out onto the field again, so he gave me the honors. It was another moment where I needed to pinch myself, as I watched my little boy walk around the field and perform for strangers with cameras.

One of the producers walked him around to show him what he wanted Liam to do. Basically, they wanted him to be Ron Washington in his pregame mentality. So Liam put his finger over his mouth and looked deep in thought.
He's very good at looking pensive.

The producer said, "He's a natural, and he takes direction so well. I think you should put him in acting classes soon!"

I think we'll stick to baseball and Halloween costumes.
Part of Liam's role was to "interview" Nolan Ryan, but we had some time before he came down. While we waited, we sat on Wash's bench and enjoyed the view.
Liam also found the stash of sunflower seeds, so he picked a packet for himself. One of the security men noticed that Liam chose Ranch flavor and said, "That's Ron Washington's favorite flavor." Who knew?!
It was about this time that we noticed where Rick and Garrett were sitting. (Jackson chose to go home with his grandmother instead.) We waved at Daddy and G.
If you close one eye and maybe stick out your tongue and then look to the left of the ESPN sign, you might see two blue spots. Those would be our people.
Our waiting continued, but I got this fun pic. He's sitting in Ron Washington's spot, chewing Ranch sunflower seeds, watching the players warm up. Classic.
We were also able to get some fun autographs. Jackie Moore here:
Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler, David Murphy to name a few others.

Mr. Ryan came down, and Liam talked to him quite a while. I have no idea what they said to each other, since I couldn't hear them. And when we ask Liam what he and Mr. Ryan talked about, he shrugs his shoulders.
It's all in a day's work, and he just can't seem to remember all of the details.

Meanwhile, I was busy taking pictures of Michael Young, who stood 5 feet away from me and practiced his swing.
He pretended to not notice me.

But Captain did notice us.
And so did THE Wash.
Once again, he was most gracious to us. He signed the boys' balls and took time to really talk to us. He seems genuinely interested in Liam.

As we were leaving the dugout, I told Wash, "We're so pleased with the Rangers' start to the season." He said, "Oh, thank you. I hope we can keep it up." Me too, me too.

(By the way, Liam's mustache is horribly off. Do you know how hard it is to find a variety of mustaches around Easter?)

If you fly Southwest Airlines, look for Liam's commercial. He's helping them to promote their new in-flight WiFi program.

Turning Eight

2011-04-25T12:15:00.007-06:00

8 years ago today, we received the phone call announcing that a peanut had been born for us. Even though we couldn't see him for five days, we were in love and beyond excited.

Now, I can hardly remember what life was like without my Liam.
We began celebrating yesterday, and it was his turn to be beyond excited. He could hardly hold himself together in church. All he could think about was the cake, the CAKE.
And the CAKE did not disappoint.

This little character...
where did we get him?

And this one...
don't let either one of them fool you into believing they're all that. Cuz they'll tell you they're all that and MORE.

As part of his birthday/Easter celebration, Liam asked for an Easter egg hunt. I was surprised he didn't think he was too old for that.
More sugar. Oh yea.

This morning, he asked for his usual breakfast of warm granola and chocolate milk. He's so easy to please.
Chocolate cupcakes for his classmates...
and playing his own baseball game tonight will top off the day.

Liam, I am so proud to be called your mom. You are kind and compassionate and growing up to be such a fun young man. I love you, Peanut.

Making a Case for the Abandoned Blog

2011-04-19T11:46:00.008-06:00

I've had a few friends ask if I'm okay, since the blog has been abandoned. I'm fine, thanks for asking. I'm just a baseball mom, and that's the way baseball go.

Garrett is playing for the Angels this year.
He is an angel in real life most of the time. Ahem.

He's loving the sport even more this year, and I think he has big aspirations for MLB someday. The MLB may want to remember him. My only request, MLB, is that you allow him to live with his mommy forever, because I'm not sure he and I will be able to part EVER. Furthermore, MLB, he's quite the leftie and making many plays this year. His favorite positions are pitcher, catcher, and 1st base. I may be biased as his mommy, but he's the best little Angel out there.

Liam is a Dirtbag again this year. Of course, he's still loving the sport. He's enjoying 1st, 2nd, and left field this year. His hitting is improving by the day, and we're anxiously awaiting his first official homerun.
It might appear that he is crying in the above photo, but rest assured that we have taught him there are no tears in baseball. Instead, he decided to use eye black to paint his number (14) on his cheeks for the first game.

Jackson, if you'll remember, chose Jiu Jitsu over baseball this year.
However, two weeks into baseball season, he was regretting his decision. Raise your hand if you could see that coming.

Yea, I know. I saw it, too, but we needed to let him try something new. But just last week, he told me that he didn't really think he would miss Jiu Jitsu, so I pulled him out immediately. Why waste the time and money? Guess who will be playing fall baseball?

Baseball is not the only culprit for the chaos in our home. About 3 weeks ago, this photo jumped onto my cell phone, and I have no idea how this happened, but we have a new puppy.
If I blink away the fog in my mind, I seem to remember a conversation between Rick, Liam and myself. It went something like this:
Liam: Mommy, I love dogs. Can I have a chocolate lab?
Me: WHAT?!?! NO!
Rick: Mommy, hear him out.
Liam: Mommy, Winston loves you and follows you around. I want a dog that loves me and follows me and sleeps with me.
Me: Liam, we have a dog. Yes, Winston prefers me, but we don't need another dog. We are too busy with baseball and school, and two dogs are hard to travel with. Winston is the perfect dog...small, playful, loving.
Rick: Mommy, he's an animal lover just like you. How can you deny him? This would be a great way for him to learn some new responsibilities.

Yadda, yadda, yadda.

I kept saying no, but we somehow wound up with a chocolate lab that Jackson named "Marshall".

Yes, he's cute and all that. And the boys, especially Liam and Garrett, love him.
No, he doesn't sleep with Liam, because he's still waking SOMEONE up at 2am for a potty break. That someone would not be the two males that begged for him. (Now, Rick will pipe in here to say that he helps sometimes, but you and I know that I'm the one getting up MOST nights with the little darling.)

Cute?
Yes, cute.

Is he loved? Yes. Is he a lot of work? YES. Is anyone regretting this decision? Yes, but they will remain nameless and work with him to make him a well-behaved member of the family.

So now, this busy family takes a puppy and his bag of chew toys to every game.

I must run and take my new sidekick on a potty run. I'll be back with a Lil Ron update.

Jackson's Math

2011-03-08T08:32:00.004-06:00

As we drove home from an eye appointment yesterday, the boys were talking about how many kids are in different families around us. "So and so have 3, so and so have 2, so and so have 5,...."

I simply listened and didn't add anything to the conversation.

Suddenly Jackson became very animated. "Mommy, we only have boys in our family! That's not fair to you," he exclaimed.

I laughed and asked, "What do you mean?"

"You're the only girl in our family. That's not fair. We need four girls to make it even."

"Four," I asked for clarification.

"Yes, four. Because Daddy has 4 boys and you need 4 girls."

I guess he's counting Winston as one of Daddy's boys. It's either that or we need to work on JMan's counting skills.

He Doesn't Listen

2011-03-01T18:48:00.000-06:00

Liam has not been listening to me.

I keep telling him to stop growing up.

He laughs and does it anyway.

For instance, just last week, he moved from glasses to contacts.
And he immediately looked two years older.

At 7 1/2, he's quite young to be in contacts, but his vision has come a loooong way in 3 1/2 years. At the age of 4, we discovered that he was legally blind in his left eye due to amblyopia. Since then, we have worked tirelessly to get his eyes to work as a team. He's now seeing 20/25 with correction, which is almost unheard of for the severity of his condition. As a result of such a huge success, our doctor believes that a contact on his left eye is the best way to hold his vision at such a healthy stage.

The downside...he looks almost ten. The upside...I get to see his good-lookin' eyes.

Liam, are you listening to me? Stop that growing up, young man! Just stop it now!

He's All That

2011-02-28T14:23:00.007-06:00

Our middle man, Jackson, is all boy. Actually, ALL of my boys are all boy. But Jackson is ALL BOY.

He's rough. He's wild. He's impulsive. He's a mess. He's funny. He's cute. He knows it.

We've wondered for some time if martial arts might be a good sport for him, since the field touts the teaching of focus, respect, and self-control. In January, we asked JMan if he would like to skip baseball this Spring and try Jiu Jitsu instead.

He was on board as soon as he realized he would have a "costume like karate people".

That would be a uniform, and it's called a Gi (gee).
Rick told Jackson to "show the camera a move", and this is what we got:
That's not exactly a Jiu Jitsu skill. And neither is this:
But we are pleased with what he's learning. After only two months, he's gained three stripes on his belt for the skills he's gained. Take down is his favorite move so far. He's also getting stronger. He can give us 10 properly formed push ups now, which is a big improvement over the zero he could do before.

We would love to see him really succeed in this sport. Who knows? Maybe he'll even compete at some point. If nothing else, he'll be able to defend himself if/when the need arises.

In other news, he recently lost his fifth tooth and his two front teeth are finally peeking through the gums.
Cute little toothless stinker, he is.

I better be careful what I call him. He might be able to take me down soon.

Lil Ron Washington Takes on the Oscars

2011-02-27T20:04:00.010-06:00

While many Americans are watching actors and actresses receive their Oscars, I'd rather talk about my actor, Lil Ron Wash ington.

A local station (KTXA Channel 21) called a couple of weeks ago and asked if Liam would be available to make a promo commercial for their Friday night Rangers' show.

After I said he could participate, the producer's next question was, "More importantly, what does his hair look like right now?" Liam's hair was needing a shave at the time, so we were in business.

Shaved head + glasses + Rangers' shirt + mustache = Lil Ron Washington
The taping took place at Studios 121, which is a very nice studio. I'm not exactly experienced in studios, but it was a pleasant experience, nonetheless.

The producer had our specific studio painted in red/white/blue stripes.
Before beginning the official taping, Liam ran around and made himself quite at home. It might have been the stripes that made him delusional. But if you'll spend two minutes staring at those stripes, you, too, might feel the need to run around like a wild animal.

Originally, Liam wasn't expected to have any lines, but once he made it clear that shyness wasn't going to be an issue, the producer gave him some lines to try.
His lines were: I believe in Ron Washington. I believe in the Texas Rangers. I believe in spring training. I believe in KTXA 21.

Sometimes he sat.

Sometimes he stood with his hands on his hips.
But no matter what he was told to do, he looked the part. And, yes, my boy deserves an Oscar.
Once the producer called it a wrap, Liam began doing cart wheels for fun. Around and around and around he went.
So the camera was turned on to catch my child's antics. And I followed his flips with my camera until I became dizzy.

See...
Whoa! I feel a bit of vertigo just remembering it.

Of course, I asked for our picture to be taken before we left.
(I wish I had stood up straight. I don't know why I sometimes feel the need to bend over in photos with my kids. One of these days, my boys will tower over me, so I need to learn to stand tall and proud while I can.)

Anyway, Jackson was with us, since he had been sick the day before. He was perfectly fine within a few hours, but I follow the 24-hour school rule to the T (or is it tee?).

Liam's commercial should begin airing locally next week. The producer spent last week in Arizona with the Rangers, and he'll be splicing the tape to put the two Rons together. Channel 21 may use different clips throughout the baseball season as well.

Baseball season is upon us, and we're excited!

Dragging Out the 6 Year Old's Birthday

2011-02-22T13:24:00.012-06:00

Well, hello. I'm the slacker blogger that belongs here. Life has just been getting in the way of blogging lately, and I'm actually surprised to see myself writing right now. I think I'm only here because my legs are SCREAMING at me to sit down.

I thought I was all hot stuff on the treadmill this morning: "Oh, yea, I can push myself just another notch faster today. I'm feelin' great. I'm gettin' back in my workout groove. In fact, I'll just run an extra mile today. No problemo."

Two hours later, my legs are kill.ing me!

A nice, relaxing, sitting down activity must be in order.

So, my little G turned six earlier this month during the ice storm that crippled our neighborhood for several days. Once the ice melted, we had the grandparents over for a family dinner.

Garrett asked for an Aggie helmet cake, and who am I to disappoint our biggest fan?
Why, yes, I made it myself!
And if you believe that I could create something so incredibly cute and realistic, I have beach-front property to sell you.
No, if that job were left to me, I would have made a sheet cake and plopped Garrett's real Aggie helmet on top of it and called it a day.

Instead, we called on our favorite babysitter, Jayden, to do the honors. And she did a fantabulous job!

The little Aggie got his first nice bat from Daddy.
No cheap bat will do for this 6 year old who practices with his big brother's 8 year old team.

After opening gifts, the boys asked to play Markio Kart on the Wii, and Rick thought it would be fun to see his dad play with them.
Look out! The surgeon is at the wheel!
And then, he handed it over to my mom.
Mom, Rick had the camera. Shoot all arrows and complaints at him.

Before I knew it, all 4 grandparents had taken over the Wii.
The boys thought it was hilarious to see them play, but they were quick to get those wheels back as soon as the elderly decided they better get on home and to bed.

Garrett was able to drag his birthday out an extra day with school treats once classes resumed. I stopped by with brownies and found him at the front of his class like this:
Yes, he's wearing a birthday crown upside down over his eyes while his classmates sing to him. Unlike his wild brother, he doesn't know quite what to do with all of the attention on him, so he just didn't look until he could sit down with his brownie.
I'm still trying to get used to this idea of having two six year olds in the house. My babies are no longer babies or even little boys, for that matter. But at least G still has all Chiclet teeth in tact. He keeps asking me when he'll lose his first tooth.

Between you and me, I hope NEVER!

Funnies

2011-02-16T16:11:00.003-06:00

When Rick brought home pizza for dinner last night, Garrett ran through the house yelling, "MOMMY! YOU DON'T HAVE TO COOK TONIGHT! YEA!"

(For the record, he was NOT celebrating because he didn't have to EAT my cooking. Garrett likes MOST of my cooking. He was merely excited for me, knowing that I thoroughly enjoy a break from cooking. He's a boy after my own heart.)

While running errands today, Jackson spotted numerous birds around a pond. He asked, "Mommy, is that an army of birds?"

(No, that would be a flock, but you can call it an army. It makes me laugh.)

After shaving Liam's head to look like Lil Ron Washington this morning, I asked him why he liked being Lil Ron. He said, "Because I like being on tv."

(Well, okay then.)

(Liam was invited to be in a commercial as Lil Ron Washington. I'll be back to share photos.)

More Snow!

2011-02-05T10:04:00.007-06:00

The weather forecasters predicted another inch of snow by Friday morning. But when I couldn't sleep at 3am because of the light, THE LIGHT, entering our bedroom windows, I knew they were only partially right. We actually received more like 5 inches on top of the ice from earlier in the week.
Five inches aren't impressive to my Colorado friends, but our state shuts down for a mere inch. Since Texas drivers don't know how to handle the white stuff, Rick stayed home with us.

After breakfast, we layered up and went out to play. Even Winston.
Our Boston Terrier definitely isn't from Boston. After a few minutes of romping in the snow, he ran for the house.

But not Liam. He LOVES the snow. That's my boy!
Garrett likes it for about ten minutes.
The Toothless Wonder was happy, too, at first.

After a walk around the block, Garrett and Jackson were both in tears. "I'm coooold!"

Yes, snow is cold, boys. Liam, Daddy and I will go skiing in Colorado without you next year.

Yeteryear: Garrett's First Days

2011-02-04T11:42:00.000-06:00

In honor of my baby's birf-day , I took a stroll through my February 2005 folder.

Within twenty minutes of Garrett's birth, I was allowed to take him to the nursery and stay with him through all of the poking and prodding that is supposedly necessary right after birth.

I never took my hands off of him, and I cried happy tears over him. The nurses probably thought I was crazy.
You can see his eldest birth brother's face in the forefront of that picture. To this day, he loves Garrett.

After the mean nurses were satisfied with the amount of tears they caused, they left me alone to bathe and feed my baby.
Those were very special moments for G and me. I'll treasure those memories forever.

Once the hospital found an empty room for us, Daddy could admire his Groundhog.
We were in OKC for about a week while our paperwork was completed. We got our little Aggie out of Sooner country asap.

Once we got home to CO, if G wasn't in our arms, he was napping on the couch like so:
Actually, it wasn't often that he slept. Ahem. This child has never required much sleep.

And anyway, he wasn't safe on the couch unless his 22 month old brother was occupied.
My sweet Liam wasn't too excited about sharing his mommy in the early days of brotherhood, but he loved to watch tv in Garrett's car seat.

Six years later, what would I tell myself? "Oh, honey, the Lord is about to rock your world with a move to TX and a third boy, but hang in there. You will survive."

My Baby is Six

2011-02-03T14:35:00.009-06:00

Yesterday was a very important day. My baby turned 6.

Excuse me while I grab a tissue.
We began the day with cinnamon rolls from a can on paper plates in our pj's and with bedheads. Only the best for Garrett.

Later in the day, he helped me slave away in the kitchen over cupcakes.
It's a tradition for my boys to help bake their own birthday cakes. They love to help and don't yet know about child labor laws.
He asked for chocolate cupcakes with chocolate icing and sprinkles. Daddy criticized with his mouth full of cupcake, "This would taste better if it were vanilla cake with chocolate icing." To which Garrett replied, "Well, it's not your birf-day."

I can't think of a smooth transition here, so I'll just jump right in and say that the boys haven't been to school since Monday because of icy roads. It seems like half the country is frozen, and we are certainly no exception this time. We only have about two inches of snow, but it rained just before the snowfall, which left our roads ready for ice skates. School has already been canceled for tomorrow, and more snow is expected in the morning. I'm so glad the Farmer's Almanac was correct in the prediction of a dry, warm winter in north Texas.

So what on earth does a mother do with wild boys stuck indoors for days on end?

We get ready for the 100th day of school, although it may not occur until June at this rate.
Each of my boys' teachers wanted the boys to wear 100 something-or-other for the big day, which was supposed to be tomorrow.
We decided to stamp a hat and t-shirts.
We've also drowned ourselves in hot chocolate.
Of course, we've also played games, watched movies, built forts, read books, wrestled, and so forth and so on.

Naturally, we've done all of this in our pj's. In fact, I probably need to do some laundry to ensure that we have enough pajamas to get us through the next snow storm.

But first, someone is begging to play.
If you're stuck indoors and need some reading material, feel free to read Garrett's adoption story on my right sidebar.

Yesteryear: 4 years ago

2011-01-27T11:12:00.011-06:00

It's time for yet another edition of Yesteryear, where I open my thumb drive and post random photos from the past. This means 1 of 2 things: A) I have nothing exciting to report from the present day. B) I'd rather blog than clean my house.

If you chose A) or B), pat yourself on the back for making the right choice.

These photos were pulled from the January/February 2007 file. Liam was 3 1/2, and Jackson and Garrett were turning the ripe old age of 2.

If we were in the car for more than 15 minutes, Jackson would fall asleep.
Not much has changed on this topic, except that he can now make it 30 minutes on a good day.

Garrett was never a good napper as a little guy. Well, not much has changed there either. But my mother-in-law sent me this picture of him on February 1, 2007.
He was spending the day with her, and I remember she asked him if he needed a nap. Naturally, he said NO. So she told him to just lie down and watch a movie with his blanket. A few minutes later, he was asleep.

Why in the world do I remember that was February 1, 2007, yet I can't remember that we need olive oil when I'm at the grocery store???

Back to yesteryear.... I know that was February 1, 2007, because Garrett spent the night with Ni to celebrate his birthday, which is February 2nd. And it snowed that Groundhog Day. Random facts that help absolutely no one.

You're welcome.

Moving right along.

Back in those days, whenever we were expecting Didi (my mom) or Ni (Rick's mom), my kids liked for me to open the blinds in the dining room so they could watch for their cars.
All 4 of my boys would wait with great anticipation. Sweet, huh?

We often get warm days in the middle of winter here, and whenever we do, we head outside. This is one of my favorite photos of all 3 boys:
Reasons I love it: 1. Liam's cheesy grin. 2. Garrett's watching his big brother with great admiration, as he's always loved his big bro. 3. Jackson's scrunched up forehead that he thought was a smile. 4. J&G were lefties even then. 5. The ever-so-cute Beatles t-shirts.

Jackson has always sat in this position to watch tv.
To this day, he believes that is his spot, and he races to make sure he gets there before his brothers.

If we weren't outside or watching tv, I came up with all kinds of goofy games to keep these busy boys moving. One of their faves was to make a train and "choo choo" throughout the house.
Liam was always the engine, Garrett in the middle with his eyes on Liam, and Jackson the caboose and in a hat. They were creatures of habit even back then.

Another game was Red Light, Green Light that began at the front door.
I'll let you figure out who won every time.

As soon as we could get back outside, we loved to go on long bike rides. Liam rode his own bike, and every ride had to include chewing gum.
He has holes in the left knee of his jeans even today.

And the littles rode in the trailer behind me.
As long as they had their gum, they didn't care about being crowded.

Yes, my kids began chewing gum at an early age, each right around their second birthday. It was one way of getting some peace and quiet on the road, so they could have it in the car and on bike rides. Never once did they swallow or play with it.

We usually rode to the neighborhood park. A bike ride + playtime at the park = nice, LONG afternoon naps.
Jackson got his first pair of glasses in January 2007, just as he turned 2. His little round frames were a hit everywhere we went.

But I prefer his luscious eyelashes.
Be still, my aching heart! Where on earth does the time go?

Garrett's Journal

2011-01-20T14:11:00.003-06:00

Garrett's teacher sent some of his make-up work home the other day. As he worked on a math assignment this morning, I thumbed through his journal and found this:

"My family is speshl."

I think so, too.

The Hunter

2011-01-19T09:29:00.006-06:00

Good morning. It's day twelve here of the 2011 Virus, the bug that keeps on kickin'. Liam and Jackson are well and back at school this week. Garrett came down with it last, and he can't manage to kick the fever. It hovers in the 99-range until around 1:00 in the afternoon, and it shoots up to 101-102.

While his temp is around 99, he feels fine, as witnessed by his typical ornery behavior. "Hey, Mom, do you want me to hit your booty with this arrow?"
After a quick trip to the grocery store this morning, he pulled out two dozen straws and planned a bow hunting trip.

I love the creativity of this boy! He used a pencil to puncture a hole in each end of one straw. Then, he asked me to help him find and tie string through the straw's holes. The other 23 straws are in his Aggie backpack and pulled at a moment's notice when he needs to defend himself.
I remember reading in Dr. James Dobson's Bringing Up Boys how boys will turn the simplest things into weapons. He wasn't kidding!

My bow hunter is now asking for food and water. I think he's planning a major excursion, so I better go oversee his packing.

But first, did you notice he's not wearing pj's? Every hunter must get dressed into their favorite collegiate apparel. It's the proper attire, ya' know. And he told me that hunters don't need to fix their hair.

Okay, then.

The View from Here

2011-01-12T12:57:00.006-06:00

I just turned on Photo Booth to take a picture of myself for your viewing pleasure. Are you ready for this?

Unfortunately, you won't be viewing that photo, because...yikes...the view scared even ME. Instead, I thought you might like to see Winston. Quite frankly, he looks better than I do at the moment.

It's 1:00 in the afternoon, and Winston and I are in my bed. There's a sick boy sleeping on our favorite couch, so we've been booted to my bed.

And it's wonderful!

Liam came down with a high fever on Saturday evening, and I've been home playing nurse ever since. He went back to school today, but Jack came down with the same virus yesterday. And the pessimist in me expects Garrett to be sick by tonight.

Thankfully, this virus does not include vomit, because puke freaks me out. I'm talkin' I have a genuine phobia of vomit. Maybe I should consider counseling.

But this virus hasn't sent my blood pressure to 200 over 80, so it's all good. I don't like seeing my boys lethargic from fever, but I've been getting plenty of extra snuggles in the meantime.

And I love, love, love wearing my pj's every day. Like I could totally become a home body if it means my wardrobe consists of soft and cozy pajamas and snuggly little boys.

What's the point of my rambling? No point. Just needed a reason to share Winston's picture and the fact that I'm enjoying life at home, since I'm a housewife.

Cotton Bowl

2011-01-11T11:21:00.002-06:00

Our beloved Aggies played LSU in the Cotton Bowl this past Friday night, and guess who got to go? Yours truly!

Rick's good buddy scored us three tickets, so Garrett and I were able to tag along to the Dallas Cowboys stadium, which I call the Mother Ship.
Before the game, we were able to meet Revellie, the Aggie mascot.
Some of the cadets posed with my maroon-bleeding baby.
The first quarter of the game was Aggie football at its finest with plenty of reason to WHOOP! We led the quarter by 3 points.

Sadly that was the only lead we had for the rest of the game. We lost 41-24, and I fear we'll never be invited back to the Cotton Bowl.

At least I can say that I'm proud of the Aggie players, coaches, and fans. They all behaved with class. Sadly, I can't say that about the LSU fans around our seats. Since this is a family-friendly blog, I'll leave it at that.

My Little Cowboy

2011-01-10T10:45:00.000-06:00

For a long time, Jackson has asked for cowboy boots. It was around Halloween that Rick told him he could get his first pair for his 6th birthday. I patted my husband on the back for such a wonderful idea, because Jack's birthday falls only twelve days after Christmas, and I'm typically OUT of gift ideas by then.

True to Daddy's word, we took J-man to Cavendar's the night before his birthday to pick out his boots and hat. Rick's parents met us there to buy the cowboy a shirt and belt.
He chose black ropers, a black felt hat, a two-tone Longhorn belt, and a shirt that he calls the "Stampede shirt".
He dressed up for school on his birthday the next day and looked cuter than any cowboy I've ever seen.
And he hammed it up BIG TIME.
I wouldn't let him take his cowboy hat to school, but his teacher gave him a party hat for the day.
My mom took him Subway for lunch, and Garrett couldn't be left out of a good meal.

After lunch, I brought cupcakes to his class.
He stood on a chair while his classmates sang "Happy Birthday" to him.

He loved every ounce of the special attention.
When I went to bed that night, I was reminded that a cowboy lives in my house now.
On his birthday, the Lord kept reminding me of how far we've come with this little man. This time six years ago, I was still grieving the loss of Jack's failed adoption. I wondered where in the world he was and what would come of his life. Just a few months later, we were elated to finally be able to adopt him and bring him home. But the emotions were bitter sweet, as he came home with many needs. The Lord's grace carried us through some really tough times during Jackson's first year of life. Now that he's six, he's a silly little man with great potential.

Jackson, I love you, cowboy!

Putting Some Things to Rest

2011-01-09T13:45:00.007-06:00

I like to call myself a "housewife", but I should really be home home more often for that to be true. I guess I should just call myself "busy". The past week was a super busy one, and my house and blog suffered as a result.

As I set out to clean house yesterday afternoon, I realized the dust bunnies had entirely too much time on their own this week. As I would round a corner with my broom, they would run away from me with an evil laugh echoing behind them. After some serious talkin'-to, the bunnies did surrender.

And my blog seems to be mocking me with the sounds of crickets chirping when I open it. I haven't even finished blogging about Christmas, for crying out loud! I guess I better remedy that now.

But since Christmas is old news, I'll just share a few of my favorite photos that I haven't had time to share and then I can put 2010 to rest.

As I mentioned here, my brother, sister-in-law, and Edie came to visit for the holidays. It was a lot of fun to watch the 4 kids play together. Edie is not a dainty thing, and she even learned to wrestle my boys to the ground. (Mom, I still need pictures of her taking the boys down!)

One afternoon, we all met at my boys' school to shoot off rockets. Ben and Edie joined us.

I love that picture of her and her daddy. For whatever reason, she has her finger in his ear. I guess it just felt right.

We also took Edie to walk around the Gaylord, which is decorated beautifully with gingerbread creations.
My boys began climbing the rock landscaping on our way back to our car. (Please tell me you let your boys climb the rocks, too!) Naturally, Edie wanted to follow, so I helped her climb a little, and we stopped for a photo opp.
Oh, how I love that girl!

On their last evening, they came to visit us at our house for a little bit. My parents wanted a family picture, so we set out to get that done. It took a lot of silly antics from Uncle Rick to get Edie to cooperate past her bedtime, but she loves Rick and he was able to get her to smile on cue.

(Yes, my boys are wearing pj's again. No, they don't wear them 24/7, although I know it appears that way on the blog. But we are ALL in our pj's as I type, because it's a snowy, sick day over here.)

Now that I've put the dust bunnies and the crickets to rest, it's time for my own nap. I'll be back in a day or two; I promise.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-31T16:01:00.017-06:00

Suddenly, it's the last day of 2010. How did THAT happen?!?! I have no idea, but I better blog about Christmas before the new year rolls in.

On Christmas morning, I stumbled out of my bedroom to face this:
My furry boy wants to play 24/7, and 7a.m. on December 25 is no exception. And he only wants to play with me.

Meanwhile, my two-legged boys were running around with great anticipation of the unwrapping.
Do you see me in the background? I'm staring bleary-eyed at my dog, whose dropped his toy at my feet for the tenth time at 7:02, and my hand is on my Diet Coke. Because I knew I couldn't face the day without a healthy dose of caffeine.

My little men couldn't wait for me to feel the caffeine.
Rick was on his second cup of coffee, so he was the official photographer for the early morning. We unwrapped our own gifts at home before going to my parents' house for THE MEAL.

While at my parents', Rick and I shared the camera, as a happily, married couple should.
I love that guy for many reasons, but one of them is because he's been home since the 23rd and isn't going back to work until the 4th. AND he's cooking nearly every night while he's off. GLORY BE! If that ain't a Christmas present, then I don't know what is.

He loves me.
Anyway, enough of that mushy stuff. I'd like to wrap up this post with mug shots.

My eldest, Liam. He's the easiest person to photograph. Hands down.
For some reason, most of Jackson's pictures from Christmas day turned out too dark, so here's a shot of the Toothless Wonder eating Jesus' birthday cake. Santa did not bring him his two front teeth, but Cupid might.
Our baby Garrett and his 'fro. He asked me the other day when his curls are going to turn straight. That would be never, so let's be thankful for beautiful hair. (For the record, it's his idea to grow his hair out.)
My dad, Big Daddy. He decided to gift himself with a violin and lessons this Christmas. Perhaps one can teach an old dog new tricks after all.
My mom, Didi. Something strange overcame her, and she decided to pick up the violin, too. I'm waiting for a recital.
My brother, Ben, came to visit from Colorado. I can't tell you how many photos I've seen of him over the years with that same smirk. But I love him anyway.
His wife, Jessica. She brings a lot of energy to the party. And she cooks a mean dish of green bean casserole.
The most important person of the day:
EDIE...with a cake face. She's coming up on her second birthday, and we can't get enough of her. She's just so full of fun.

And speaking of Edie, I have to go. We're ringing in the new year with her. Well, we'll ring in the new year a few hours early, since she needs her beauty rest.

Happy new year!

Merry Christmas

2010-12-24T09:14:00.000-06:00

From our family...

to yours, Merry Christmas!

Yesteryear: Christmas Card 2005

2010-12-22T08:10:00.015-06:00

Sometime in December 2005, we set out to capture a stellar photo for our Christmas card. I remember the boys weren't wearing anything cute at the time, so we stripped them down to diapers/underwear and plopped Santa hats on them. Liam was 2 1/2, Jack was 11 mos., and Garrett was 10 mos. And they were small enough to fit into the same chair.

Rick had the camera, and I ran crowd control.
Immediately, I had to take Jack's hand off of Garrett. Jack was cute as a button but always had his hands into something. And Garrett had little patience for being picked on. Funny how those two "traits" haven't changed.

Liam was "Joe Cool" in the background.
And his legs were forever ashy because of the time he spent crawling around with trains on the floor. It was such hard work to be 2.

Then, Winston came in and distracted Liam and Garrett.
Garrett began to fuss. Honestly, he fussed a lot as a baby, unless he was in my arms.

With this next shot, I started to think we might have to settle with a mediocre photo.
And then Liam found something funny and flashed his million-dollar grin.
And then Jack began to plan his escape.
"Jack, be still," I probably said. And he gave me the look that says, "What did I do?"
Then, he flashed his million-dollar grin and jumped up.
And it was unsettling to Garrett.

"Jack, sit BACK!"
Liam has always relished in his brothers getting into trouble.

In the meantime, Jack planned another escape with his Richard Pryor eyes, and roly-poly Garrett fell backwards causing Liam's hat to fall. They were like a stack of dominoes.
Garrett was terribly upset by the whole ordeal, and the photo session came to a halt for a little mommy love.
Liam stayed cool the whole time, and I guess Jack was on the loose for the time being.
Daddy pulled out some fruit snacks as bribery, and everyone began to cooperate again.
And then we caught this one:
And that was a wrap.

Yes, we sent a picture to all of our friends and family with Liam in his underwear.

Although I was terribly busy chasing three boys under the age of three, I cherish the memories of those days.

Yesteryear: December 2005

2010-12-16T12:56:00.000-06:00

I opened my December 2005 file to this picture:
Holy cow, where did my baby go?! Garrett was 10 mos. old and full of delicious squishyness.

And Jack was 11 mos. and had a fetish for shoes.
If ever I couldn't find him, I could go to the mudroom and find him in a sea of shoes with a big smile on his face.

My Liam at 2 1/2:
Seriously, I have tears in my eyes right now! WHY do the have to grow up?!

He was (and is) so darn cute!
Back in those days, every time I pulled out the camera, the two little boys would get right in my face for a picture.
And Daddy was able to hold everyone in his lap.
Unless Jack was busy climbing something.
He's the one that I found in the middle of the dining room table a month prior to this photo at 9 mos.

Garrett was definitely too cautious to climb a table or a ladder, but he applauded Jackson's efforts.
And Liam adored trains.
My sweet baby Santas....
Oh, how I miss those days!

Mug Shots

2010-12-15T16:18:00.006-06:00

Back in December 2008, we created face ornaments. I had hoped to repeat this activity every year, but we never got around to it last year. I have no idea why, because we enjoy this art project immensely.

Here is the The Toothless Wonder (a.k.a. Jackson) with his two ornaments.
His 2008 creation (on the left) was pretty much a blob, but this year's face actually looks like a face.
He added a mohawk, as he begs for a real one with every haircut. We let him have one for about 5 minutes at the beginning of every shave.

Garrett's old version had all of the appropriate facial features, but they weren't necessarily placed where they belonged. But this year's face really looks like him.
Curls and all.
Liam would probably create a new face every day. He loves being creative.
This year's face includes the addition of glasses and a baseball cap, of course.
And really BIG lips.

I dare you to try it with your kids and send me pictures! It's really fun and easy. (Click here for directions.)

A Christmas Tradition

2010-12-09T11:09:00.000-06:00

The boys and I continued our yearly tradition this past weekend.
We're not smiling, because it takes great concentration to create a gingerbread masterpiece.

When I study the above photo, I see each one of my boys' personalities shining through. Jack (far left) is popping bubble wrap and paying little attention to the main task at hand. Liam (middle) is taking charge of the front door. And Garrett (right) is carefully organizing the candies.

In the end, we have a cute gingerbread house, but the boys were not in the mood to pose for the camera.
Yes, they're in their pj's again. I love this time of year, because the early nightfall is an excellent excuse for early showers. I love the smell of freshly showered boys.

In other news, I have a new tree topper.
It's cute in the daylight, but it gets lost when the sun goes down. But it'll do for now.

The Bowhead

2010-12-08T14:02:00.002-06:00

Our sweet Clara Joy and her bow came to see us recently.
While she was here, Liam asked to take our picture. He did a pretty good job!

Clara did smile and have a good time at our house. Just not for the photographer.

Garrett's 15 Minutes of Fame

2010-12-02T05:08:00.000-06:00

A few months ago, Garrett drew a picture of the the Aggies playing Arkansas. Rick submitted the drawing to Aggieland Illustrated, and they asked permission to print Garrett's art in an upcoming issue. Of course, Rick agreed, but we decided to not tell G about it. Rick and I have anxiously awaited the magazine's arrival in the mail, and it finally came this week.
I hid the magazine until Rick got home, and he took the boys to the couch to browse through it. He flipped through each page, making comments along the way, until he got to Garrett's page. He paused and let it sink in.

The boys looked at the page, and suddenly Garrett recognized his drawing. He was shocked and literally speechless at first. He fell back, and I caught it here:
Then, he sat up and said, "That's my picture!"
It sure is, sweet boy.

I'm so glad I had the camera ready for his facial expressions.

The caption included with the drawing reads: The EZ Hail Mary snapshot in the October issue inspired AI subscriber Garrett (age 5) to draw a picture of his favorite players, Jerrod Johnson and Jeff Fuller, following the Arkansas game. His father, Rick '93, assumed the creature on the field was Reveille, but Garrett corrected him. "No dad. That's a dinosaur."

At the time, the Aggies needed dinosaurs to help with the season, but they pulled out BIG wins in November, and now they're bound for the Cotton bowl. Whoop!

Decking My Halls

2010-11-30T20:24:00.004-06:00

Today was a glorious day in which I got to stay home all day to decorate my house for Christmas. It was a cold and windy day, so I thought it a perfect day to deck my halls. I played Christmas music throughout the house, too.
I still have a few areas to tweak in decor, such as that pitiful bow on top of the tree. I have wanted a new topper for years, and this will be the year. Oh, yes, it will.

No, there aren't any gifts under the tree. I'm definitely not finished with shopping, and I'm learning to not stress over it. I'm typically finished by December 1st, but I will not hyperventilate if it takes me an extra two weeks.

I will not hyperventilate. I will not hyperventilate. I will not hyperventilate.

One of my favorite Christmas traditions with our little family is to sing Christmas carols in our living room while Rick plays the guitar. Because our wonderful friends loaned us their piano last spring and it has become Rick's favorite pastime, it is only fitting for us to move our Christmas carols to the piano. I snapped this picture of my men tonight.
The boys were already dressed for bed. Garrett enjoys the caroling the most, as he is our most musically-inclined child. Liam will sing the first couple of lines, and then he squirrels around. Jack usually moves around, but he was mesmerized by a picture frame I put out today.

My mother-in-law gave us this photo of my father-in-law last year, and I put it on top of the piano today for this holiday season.
I've forgotten how old my father-in-law was, but he's not so sure about Santa handing him a peppermint stick.

Since I just put the picture out today, the boys noticed it as we were singing tonight. Jack was completely distracted by it and could hardly take his eyes off of this picture of his Pop.

After several minutes of studying the photo, Jack asked, "Why is Pop Santa?"

"Pop is the boy, not Santa," Rick explained.

"Oh," Jack said, but I could tell he was still confused.

"Pop was a boy before he was a man," I said.

"Oh," and I could tell by his tone that he didn't realize that fact. Isn't it funny that we assume kids know certain things, such as grandparents once being children? It's never even occurred to me to explain that to them. Well, now he knows.

Clearly we need to show the boys more photos of their grandparents' childhood. Maybe that will become a new Christmas tradition.

Signing off to gaze at my Christmas tree. I want to enjoy this season.

Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-28T18:48:00.029-06:00

It's been nearly three weeks since I've written, and I can blame the time lapse on the fact that I've suffered from writer's block. Crickets were chirping in my brain.

At any rate, The High-Maintenance Campers pulled out of town over the Thanksgiving holiday, which typically means I have writing material upon our return home.

My parents invited us to join them in Marble Falls, TX for four nights, and it was great to get away. I spent much of my childhood swimming and boating on the lakes in this area, so it felt like going home.

Shortly before our trip, Jack lost his second tooth up top. Just call him "the Toothless Wonder".
Winston, the dog, enjoyed someone else receiving all the snaggle teeth jokes.

The Toothless Wonder didn't let it slow him down. Not much does on any given day. He is our wild man after all.
And boy does he love sticks! Give him a twig of any size, and he can enter his imaginary world of gun fighting, bow hunting, kung fu, or fishing.

Meanwhile, give his brothers a baseball, a glove, and their Daddy.

Liam, the All Star

Rick, their hero

Garrett, the South Paw

The boys' other favorite pastime this trip was their Razors. On a whim, we decided to pack their scooters, and what a great idea.

They spent hours riding, racing, jumping.
The Toothless Wonder is quite the hot dog.
Garrett was rather perturbed with my need to get a close-up.

While the boys play happily, the adults typically shoot the breeze, but it's not long before someone needs us. Case in point: look at G's hands.
But before more baseball, we posed for a family photo.
Yes, we're all in Aggie shirts, except for my dad. He loves to give my boys a hard time about everything Aggie related.

And please pardon my hair. It just has a mind of its own some days.

The weather was very mild this Thanksgiving morning, so we pulled out the canoe.
Rick took each boy on a ride.
I have no idea why Jack looks unhappy, unless it's because it was time to share.
Garrett was the last to ride. Within minutes of that photo, the wind picked up and a cold front blew in within seconds. It was the strangest sensation to be standing in 70 degrees, and suddenly the wind shift caused the temp to drop 20 degrees immediately. Needless to say, we had to head for the comfort of the camper for our Mexican Thanksgiving meal and football.

As is Texas tradition for turkey day, we had to watch the Dallas Cowboys' game. We knew they would lose to the New Orleans Saints, but traditions prevail.

That night, THE football game entertained us on tv. The Aggies beat the Longhorns. Nothing says "Happy Thanksgiving" quite like an Aggie win over their arch rivals. WHOOP!

The boys were anxious to play outside the next morning, and they were excited to need their winter gear.

Liam, the Nut

Jack, the glove lover

Garrett, whom always looks great in green

We drove to Austin later in the day. Let me just tell you that Hopdoddy's on South Congress has the most delicious burgers. I will most definitely get my buns back their in the future.

Rick took control of the camera while we waited for our lunch. There's proof behind the pickles.
And a picture of me while having a better hair day.
We also took the boys to see the Capitol.

Liam counted the steps inside and can't wait to report to his teacher next week.

After our tour, we stepped outside to a beautiful afternoon. It was warm enough to strip our jackets and take some pictures.

And the boys played with a new friend on the Capitol grounds.
We were able to spend the rest of our trip outside with light jackets. I think the boys got plenty of outdoor play, and I know I had plenty to eat.

We didn't have any major mishaps on this trip, which needs to go down in the record books. Maybe we're not the High-Maintenance Campers any long, as much as we're the Classy Travelers.

Lil Ron Rallies

2010-11-06T17:30:00.020-06:00

As I was sitting in the school carpool line Tuesday afternoon, my cell phone rang. It was the Rangers again.

Yep, the Rangers have my number. Let's just pause and let that soak in....

"Hi, Ami. Have you all had a chance to settle down," Cherie (with Promotions) asked.

"Today has felt somewhat normal," I said.

"Well, that may change again," she continued. "Because the Rangers' coaches and players felt that Lil Ron was such an integral part of the World Series, they would like to feature him at our rally tomorrow night. The whole family can come this time. Would you all be available?"

"Wow, we had no idea this would continue! Yes, I'm sure we can come," I responded.

As soon as we got to the Ballpark, we tried for another Christmas card picture. It's not quite what I'm wanting though.
I won't quit until I'm satisfied.

Anyway....

Liam was recognized immediately, even though we arrived two hours before the rally began and the crowds were small. Immediately, his picture was taken by more people than I could count.

We'll pretend that this next picture was not taken inside a beer truck. It was a cute truck, okay!
Liam and I were quickly weary of all the picture taking. Thankfully, a Rangers' rep approached me and asked if we needed to be rescued. I responded with a quick "YES!", and he took us behind the fences. Fans could still take Lil Ron's picture, but at least there was space between us.

There was plenty of waiting, but the boys brought baseballs and were pretty content.
Remember when I said that deciding to take Garrett to the World Series game was an easy decision because he can sit through a game without falling out of his chair? Shortly after this picture was taken:
Jackson fell out of his chair in front of thousands of fans. Yep, he did.

We were interviewed by KRLD, Fox 4, Fox Sports Southwest, NBC 5, and probably someone else that I've since forgotten about. Radio and television interviews all run together after a while.

Now, there's a statement I thought I'd never make.

CBS 11 wanted to interview Rick this time. It's funny that he gets more nervous in front of the camera than I do. He's the extrovert in this relationship, yet he stumbles over his first few words when a reporter is asking the questions.
That sweet lady in the background with the red jacket is Cherie, the Rangers' rep that took such great care of us at the World Series. She feels like family now. Mom, I think we should set an extra place for her at our Thanksgiving table.

The rally began at 6pm. The coaches and many of the players were introduced and seated on the stage, while we stayed in the "family" seating.

All owners and coaches were present. A lot of the players have already gone home, but all of the big names were there. Kinsler, Hamilton, Murphy, Feliz, Andrus, Young, Oliver to name a few.

When Ian Kinsler was interviewed, he said, "I don't see that stadium over there, 'cuz this is where all the action is!"

He was referring to the Cowboys' stadium across the street, which is gigantic. But considering how horrible the Cowgirls are this year, his statement was hilarious! Kinsler got laughter from 10,000 fans and a high five from Emily Jones.
I won't bore you with picture after picture of the players on stage, but I will post another picture of my fave, David Murphy. Every time this guy sees my boy, he stops to acknowledge him. There's something very genuine about him.
When it was time for Chuck Morgan to introduce Ron Washington, Lil Ron was brought forward instead of Wash. The crowd cheered and laughed.
Wash found it hysterical, too.

Chuck asked Liam, "Wash, what do you have to say tonight?" Liam said, "That's the way baseball go!" And the fans cheered.

Coaches and players continually thanked the fans for their support throughout the season. And they all promised a winning World Series next year. I can't wait!

The players and coaches split pretty quickly at the end of the rally. I can't blame them. Their off season is very short.

But Captain stayed long enough to play with my boys and to bite my head.
I'm sorry; there's not a photo of him biting my head. I was a bit taken aback and didn't think quickly enough to take a picture.

How do you like those World Series jackets? Cherie gave one to each boy. But because they're too big on the boys, guess who scored herself a World Series jacket?!

The family with the antlers:
My mom was able to go with us, and we got a cute picture of her and the boys.
I owe her BIG time after this whole ordeal. She was a huge help to me during the many interviews! She watched the little boys so that I could focus on reporters, and she took behind-the-scenes photos. She even brought us a lasagna for dinner the night after the big game. She knew I was worn out. Thank you, Mom!

Once the crowds thinned out, we made our way to the car. Liam's picture was taken a few more times, until he finally said, "No more pictures. I've taken like a billion tonight!"

With that being said, we've made sure there are no more photos, and we've turned down interviews. We told him all along that we would make it all stop as soon as he got tired of it.

Lil Ron woke up early the next morning, so we pulled out the clippers. He was ready to be Liam again.
I missed that cute head.
All good things must come to an end.
But what a wonderful time it was!

Lil Ron & the World Series

2010-11-04T12:13:00.000-06:00

So, if you haven't opened your web browser or turned on your tv in the last week, then you might not know that my eldest son, Liam, dressed as Lil Ron Washington, the Texas Rangers' manager, for Halloween. His photo spread like wildfire on Facebook and Twitter, and before we knew it, we needed our own assistant to help us field calls for interview requests.

No, I do not have an assistant, but it sure is a nice thought.

Lo and behold, the Rangers called last Friday and invited him to the 4th game of the World Series and to say "Play ball!" in costume.

For those of you that have missed my previous posts on this whole outer body experience, they are here, here and here. (Is the phrase "outer body" or "out of body"? Words...sometimes they fail me.)

The Rangers gave us two tickets. Rick was able to buy two more, so that he and I wouldn't have to have a knock-down-drag-out over the whole issue. People often ask how we decided which little brother to take with us. One of our little boys can sit through an entire game without falling out of his chair, and the other can't. It was an easy decision.

But if Jackson had been with us, we would have the perfect Christmas card.
The Rangers requested that Liam not arrive in costume as a safety precaution.

Let me tell you that walking from our car towards the Ballpark was a surreal experience for me. I have been a Rangers fan since I was a little girl, and I can't tell you how many games I attended in my high school and college years. I have loved this team since before they were anything big, and here I was walking up to the beautiful Ballpark with a World Series ticket in my hand! And my son was getting to say "Play ball!" Yes, I had to breathe deeply to keep myself from passing out.

Liam's disguise didn't do much good. We were spotted a few times, especially after Fox 4 found us and put a camera on our tails. Actually, we were happy to give them and The Dallas Morning News each an interview while we waited.
At 4:30, we were swept away by our very own Rangers promotions rep, Cherie. She was an amazing asset to us for the next 3 hours! She put bracelets on the four of us, which told all Security personnel to let us be. And with that, we were whisked into the bowels of the Ballpark. She continually asked me if I was okay with how my son was being treated. She said, "Our number goal is to make sure you all have a safe and fun time."

First on the agenda: change Liam into Lil Wash clothing. Because the two former President Bushes were there, bathrooms and dressing rooms were at a premium, so we took Liam into the Groundskeepers' bathroom. Those guys acted as if we handed them the best Christmas gift ever when we asked to use their restroom as Lil Wash's dressing room.
They waited with their cameras and iPhones ready for Lil Wash's first appearance.
Yes, the Rangers made a #38 jersey just for him! He ended up not wearing it for the game because of the size, but I can assure you that he wore it to school the next day.

As a side note, Jack and Garrett were also given some fun gifts. Those Rangers know how to make some boys happy.

Cherie took us to the players' equipment room next. Liam enjoyed touching the bats and counting the helmets.
While we were waiting around, the players began to walk through the hall next to us. The first player we saw was David Murphy. He is very personable and now my favorite player.

The rest of the players filed by, and each one of them took one look at Liam and smiled. Some laughed. Some gave him a high five or knuckles. But each one of them welcomed my boy, and they all couldn't wait for their coach to see him.

Then, the moment we had all been waiting for! THE Ron Washington came to talk to Liam.

I'm kicking myself for not having my good camera out for this moment. My cell phone was the quickest thing I could get to. Wash was very gracious to us. He shook all of our hands, asked us our names, and then talked directly to Liam. He wanted to talk about baseball, of course.

After a few minutes, it was time for a press conference in the dugout.
Wash took Lil Ron to the bench. We were told there were 100 media present for this press conference, and Liam felt the heat. He clammed up in a big way, so Wash handled the questions for him. Liam did, however, give them the antlers and the claw.

Meanwhile, I was standing in the background trying to hold myself together. I was overcome with emotion. I couldn't believe that the Lord loves us so much that He chose us to live this big adventure! He loves us so much that He chose something so big to us, yet so trivial in the grand scheme of things, to bless our socks off with. Yes, tears flowed.

Once we saw how nervous Liam became during the press conference, we scratched the idea of him announcing the starting lineup. It would have been really cool to hear, but we needed to make sure that Liam would remain excited about his main job of saying "Play ball!" instead of becoming overwhelmed.

We were then taken back into the tunnel to wait. Everywhere we waited, Rangers' employees took pictures with Liam. Eventually, Mrs. Washington wandered over and said, "Are you my husband?" Liam gave her the deer caught in the headlights look.
Liam, Rick and Garrett were then taken into the clubhouse, where they were able to meet every single player, except for CJ Wilson. Rick said it was amazing to see these star athletes taking pictures of his son.

The players needed to get their mental game on, so we left them and went into further hiding. We were able to spend most of the time watching the Giants warm up.
When it comes to baseball, we don't get bored.
When it came time for Liam to be prepped for his announcing job, Garrett and I had to leave. Only one parent was allowed with him from that point. Liam originally said he wanted me with him, but Daddy gave me the boot, as if it wasn't a girl's job. I may never forgive my husband.

Garrett and I had a long walk to our nosebleed seats, so I had to suck it up and get movin'. The crowds in the breezeway were so tightly packed that I was afraid we wouldn't make it to our seats in time to see Liam's part. I was even more afraid I would lose Garrett in the crowd. He clung to my hand for dear life, and I prayed like crazy until a man finally reached out and parted the crowd for me to get through. I didn't even tell that man I was desperate to move, but he saw the emotion on my face. Thank you, dear man.

We made it to our seats with time to spare. Our seats were true nosebleeders, and I had to use binoculars to find my men. But I did find them in time to see Liam playing with Captain, the mascot. Once I saw him having fun, I knew he would be okay. Rick said it was awesome to see Nolan Ryan, the two former Presidents and their wives, and a big whig with MLB all waving at his son. Joey Votto, recipient of the 2010 NL Hank Aaron award, even stopped to have his picture taken with Lil Ron.

At one point, Liam seemed to be taking it all in. He asked Rick, "Daddy, can I just down reach down and touch the dirt?" He just needed to feel it to make it real.

Finally, his big moment came! I held my breath from my seat, as I watched him through the binoculars and waited to hear his voice in the Ballpark. "PLAY BALL!" He came through loud and clear to 52,000 fans, and I cheered with tears pouring down my face. It was a proud mama moment.

After Lil Wash's big job, he and Daddy were taken to meet Chuck Morgan, the big voice behind all Rangers' games. He specifically requested that Liam be brought to see him.

Once Rick and Liam were ready to find their seats, they plopped a hat on Liam's head, removed the mustache and his glasses, and put a new jersey on top of his t-shirt, all in hopes to disguise him. It didn't work. A white dad with a black boy is an automatic giveaway, especially when that particular child has been all over the internet and television for the past four days.

Finally, MLB found out where they were seated and asked if they would like to be moved to their suite. YES! He was able to call me, and all four of us were escorted to a much more comfortable seating arrangement. We had plenty of elbow room, and they fed us well. Most importantly, we were left alone to watch the game. Thank you, MLB!!

And we were ten feet away from Lyle Lovett!

Liam said, "Lyle who?" We said, "Just smile, son."

After the game, we were interviewed with Fox's post game show. Liam was asked what his favorite part of the day was. He thought about it for a few seconds and replied, "Church." The news caster giggled and repeated, "Church was your favorite part of the day?" Liam nodded.

Everyone asks me if that made me proud. Yes, it made me proud but not the way you might think. I'm proud because only God could do that kind of work in his heart. Only He could keep a 7 year-old boy grounded through several days' worth of television, newspaper, and radio interviews. Only our Father could form Liam's heart to keep Him first in spite of the biggest day of his life. But for the grace of God....

At 11:30pm, we called it a night. Lil Ron and his baby brother fell asleep within minutes of buckling up. Rick and I talked all the way home about how amazed we were at our experience. "We just went to the World Series! And met the coach! And the players!..."

No, our Rangers didn't win. And they lost the next game to end the Series with a Giants' win. But they made some amazing memories for us. And we are forever grateful.

Once the Texas Rangers' promotion office has time to sort through their photos, I will have some good ones to share. I can't wait to see what they captured on camera!

Lil Ron Plays Ball

2010-11-02T11:36:00.010-06:00

It is two days after our personal adventure in the World Series, and I am home catching up on life. This introverted mom is more than happy to be home in her yoga pants, washing laundry, thawing chicken, and blogging.

(Speaking of laundry, I just opened the washer to move the wet clothes to the dryer. Guess what I found? Not one, not two, but THREE Lil Ron mustaches. I guess Rick kept the discarded facial hair in his jeans pocket on Sunday. And no, I don't check pockets before washing pants, although I know I should.)

My husband is at work, my boys are at school, and I'm on the couch. It's where we all belong at this time.

Well, I probably belong in the gym, given what I have been eating during this media frenzy, but you would have to hold a gun to my head to get me to leave this house for any reason other than to pick up my boys at 3:00 this afternoon.

I will most definitely blog about our wonderful day at the World Series, but I need to get one more photo before I can post about our once-in-a-lifetime experience. Instead, let me back up to Saturday.

We decided to keep this past Saturday as normal as possible, in spite of the interview requests. Well, that's not completely true. We did allow The Dallas Morning News to send out a photographer to follow Liam at his own baseball game.

But since our main goal was to let Liam play with the Dirtbags, we managed to stick with our Saturday convictions. The Dirtbags won, and Liam hit a homerun.

Richard Pruitt was our photographer/videographer, and he was great at capturing Liam's personality on the field and at home.
After the game, he followed us home to tape a "press conference".
Richard took the best picture of my boy, but I don't think I can put it here without his permission. So here's one that I took with my camera.
Here is the video The Dallas Morning News posted on their website over the weekend. Thank you, TDMN and Richard Pruitt!

Lil Ron

2010-10-30T06:39:00.004-06:00

I'm awake early for a Saturday morning. My mind is spinning with the reality of what has surrounded my family's little world the past few days.

On Thursday, I woke up as the mom of Liam, Jack and Garrett. But 48 hours later, I am the mom of Lil Ron, Jack and Garrett.

Lil Ron's photos and interviews have gone "viral", and suddenly, nearly everyone in the U.S., perhaps around the world, knows the face of my eldest son with a mustache and a balding head.

I shake my head in amazement.

Truly, we did not set out to dress Liam like Ron Washington to gain any notoriety. Liam wanted to be an "old man" for Halloween, and that included shaving his head, wearing a bow tie, and carrying a cane. But when his school announced they wanted kids to dress for career day instead of Halloween, we knew we needed to tweak Liam's costume.

Rick suggested Ron Washington, and we laughed at how much Liam might actually look like our Texas Rangers' manager. Liam loved the idea, so the deal was set. It was a simple costume that made us laugh and has apparently made a few other Americans chuckle.

I cannot tell you how many times my cell phone has rung. I have no idea how some reporters even find my number; I guess I'm sheltered/innocent in that way. We can't leave our house without being spotted by someone who recognizes Lil Ron. I now understand why celebrities try to disguise themselves when going out for coffee.

The 5 of us, plus my mom, went to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant last night. People all over the restaurant pointed and whispered to one another, "Is that him?" As we sat at our table, Liam noticed people smiling and pointing, and he loved it. As long as he enjoys it, we'll roll with it.

The interview requests continue to pour in. Even as I got up this morning, there was a voice mail with another invitation to a live show this afternoon. I'm not sure if we'll make that one, as Liam has a game this afternoon. He might just want to be a Dirtbag today. We'll let him decide.

The biggest news of all is this: we're going to game 4 of the World Series on Halloween night!!! The Rangers promotion office called me yesterday and asked if I could please sit down. "Lil Ron's picture has reached the top executive level here. We all love him. If you're available, we would like for Lil Ron to have two tickets to Halloween night's game!"

'If we're available...'

"YES! Yes, we're available! Oh my goodness, I can't believe this," I shouted.

"And," she continued. "We'd like him to say 'Play ball!' at the beginning of the game. Do you think he could do that?"

Oh my word! Yes, I'm sure he can say that. We'll practice it with enthusiasm all weekend!

So...y'all be sure to watch Sunday night's game. I'm not sure if that portion of the pregame will be live, but if it's not, maybe they'll replay it.

As a sidenote, Rick and I were going to have to duke it out to figure out which one of us "deserve" to take Lil Ron to the World Series. But my man was able to buy two more nose-bleed tickets, so Lil Ron will take his parents and lil bro, Garrett. (Jack won't last that long at a game, so he will stay with my parents.)

Can I just tell you HOW EXCITED WE ARE?! I'M SO EXCITED I COULDN'T EVEN SLEEP LAST NIGHT! AND NOW I'M SHOUTING AT YOU!

Sorry.

Yes, we're enjoying Liam's "fifteen minutes of fame". It is extremely unexpected, but we are grateful for the outpouring of positive support we are receiving from so, so many people.

When all of this dies down and life goes back to normal, Liam will still be Liam. And I'll still be proud to be his Mommy. I've had the privilege to kiss him good night for 7 1/2 years, and that will continue for as long as he will allow.

If you're interested, I'll post some links to some of the interviews and online articles where Lil Ron has appeared thus far:
Channel 11 news (CBS) This was Liam's best interview so far! He was his typically nutty self.
NY Times
Dallas Morning News He is the Fan of the Day.
Sports Illustrated Scroll down to the section titled "WASHINGTON'S LITTLE LOOKALIKE".

Thank you to the many, many friends and family and even strangers who have passed Liam's picture along!

Lil Ron Washington UPDATED

2010-10-28T19:17:00.013-06:00

When I stepped out of the gym at 10:30 this morning, my son was famous. It was all because of this photo:
Liam wanted to be Ron Washington for Halloween. It was a super easy costume. He already had the brown skin and glasses. He wore his baseball uniform with a Rangers tee. I only had to find him a mustache, since he can't grow his own quite yet. And his hair...yes, that is his hair shaved with a bald spot.

Lil Washington made his debut at our church's fall festival last night, and Liam was followed around like the paparazzi. Everyone wanted to take his picture and give him a high five.

Rick and I both posted the above photo on our Facebook pages last night. When we woke up this morning, we had no idea what was about to take place as a result of that simple pic. Rick went to work. I took the boys to school and went to the gym; it was a normal Thursday.

But by the time I finished my workout, Rick was frantically trying to call me. Fox 4 News wanted to interview Liam!!!

And interview him, they did.
He was nervous and quiet at first. Of all times to be shy! There's not a shy bone in his body, but the camera made him nearly mute.

Until we pulled out the sunflower seeds.
Then, he was his goofy self while I was interviewed. Who me? Nervous? Umm, yes!
Liam really enjoyed showing off his do.
And the claw.
You can see our interview here.

We're also appearing live on Good Day at 8:20 in the morning. Fox Sports Southwest wants to see us on Monday. As if three interviews isn't mind-blowing enough, Liam's picture has been plastered all over blogs and websites all day long. Seriously...Yahoo sports, Fox Sports, ESPN, DMagazine, Texas A&M, and the list goes on.... This is amazing!

Never in a million years would I have guessed that a Halloween costume would go "viral" online, but we are all enjoying Liam's fifteen minutes of fame.

Now, if our Rangers could only pull a win in this World Series.

*UPDATED*
Today's live interview at Good Day can be seen here.

Hat Day

2010-10-28T06:01:00.000-06:00

The Carrots Make Him Do It

2010-10-27T08:17:00.000-06:00

"Finish your carrots. They're very good for your eyes," Rick told the boys the other day.

"Carrots help my eyes to stare," Jack added.

Maybe we should cut back on his carrots.

Big Church

2010-10-26T07:26:00.000-06:00

In July, our pastor encouraged parents to begin bringing their children into the worship service around the age of 5. Since our boys are 5 and 7, we heeded his advice. If we're going to teach our boys to obey, then we must also obey our elders.

We began teaching the boys note-taking skills from the get-go. In the beginning, they made tally marks next to words that we had them listen for. Then, we encouraged them to write down any words that they recognized. They have really come a long way in just a few months.

Liam's notes from last week:
He used the front and back of his paper. That's about 175 words, and he's only 7. Yes, I'm bragging.

What did Liam find important? Here are some highlights:
1. Jesus died for the good of those who believe Him.
2. It's the death of Jesus that satisfied the wrath ("raft") of Him.
3. God saves people.
4. Believers go to heaven. "Not believers" go to "hail".

Garrett's notes:
Garrett is still in the early stages of reading and writing, so I can't decipher a lot of his notes. But he listens very intently, and he wants to know more about the Word. He spells cross as "kros" and wrath as "raf".

Jack's notes:
According to Jack, cross is "cros", wrath is "rath", and death is "deth". Why are his notes so short? Well, I had to take away his pencil, after he tried to make his pencil and paper a helicopter. Why is the paper folded? That is because I had to take his gum away, after he blew a bubble during the sermon. Ahem.

I am so grateful to attend a God-fearing church, and I pray that my boys gain Biblical wisdom as they learn to sit in "big church".

Brotherly Advice

2010-10-25T07:25:00.000-06:00

Rick leaves the boys notes at the breakfast table from time to time. It's usually fatherly advice such as, "Obey your Mommy." Or, "Don't pick your nose."

Liam wrote notes for his little brothers this weekend.
"Good morning Garrett. Have a good time on Monday. I love you very much. Be good and do not do bad things. Love, Liam" (Capitalization and punctuation added by me. Liam doesn't have time for such details.)
"Good morning Jackson. Be good on Monday. Be nice and do not get your folder sinde. Love from Liam"

Sage advice from a (mostly) sweet older brother.

Let's Go, Rangers!

2010-10-23T18:19:00.003-06:00

When we went to bed Friday night, the Texas Rangers had made this baseball-loving family very happy by becoming the American League champions. When I woke up Saturday morning, I had to check their official website to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

No, I wasn't dreaming. The Texas Rangers are going to the World Series for the first time ever, and Texans are stoked!
Let's go Rangers! IT'S TIME!

Sizing Up

2010-10-21T16:55:00.002-06:00

Garrett is 21 months younger than Liam, but his hands are just as big! How BIG will my youngest be, I wonder?

Growing Up

2010-10-20T07:24:00.005-06:00

I recently pulled out some of Liam's old clothes to pass down to his brothers. Hand-me downs are a bittersweet reminder of how quickly they grow up.

Garrett today:

May 2008:
Why do they have to grow up?

Conviction on Perfection

2010-10-19T07:19:00.002-06:00

I am very much convicted this morning by one of my favorite bloggers, JMom, who is raising triplets just a little bit older than my "twins". Please take a couple minutes to read this post.

A Sister

2010-10-18T10:04:00.001-06:00

Garrett has been requesting a baby sister for some time.

I promise I do not put him up to it.

At the dinner table the other night, he said, "I want a baby sister. [pause for response] I want a white baby sister."

Rick and I both looked at him as if he had antlers growing out of his head, because we would never even dream of requesting a white baby. If we adopt again, we'll keep the brown thing going.

"A white baby? Why?," I asked.

"Because brown girls only speak Chinese or Spanish," he explained.

I've laughed about his thought process for days now. I guess I should explain to him that brown girls can speak English, especially if they grow up in an English-speaking family.

2x4

2010-10-11T12:44:00.002-06:00

I was hit by the proverbial two by four the other day, when my boys brought home their professional school photos.

My boyS brought home school pictures. All three of my little men are in school now. No more babies. They're all grown up.

It's taken me seven weeks, but...

SMACK!

Right in the forehead.

And the heart.

The Three Musketeers

2010-10-08T13:48:00.000-06:00

Occasionally, the boys will dress alike by their own choosing, and it makes me smile.
Goodness, I love those three musketeers!

With the cooler weather, we tried riding our bikes to school earlier this week. The boys were thrilled.
I'll let you in on a little secret. Those smiles didn't last the entire ride. There was some complaining on the way, but after a come to Jesus meeting, we persevered and made it to school on time. And their smiles were restored.

My Girl

2010-10-07T13:33:00.000-06:00

My girl, Edie, came to Texas for 6 days. Her parents were at an out-of-town wedding and asked my mom if she would keep the girl. I'm sure they had to twist my mom's arm. Mom certainly had to twist mine when she asked if I could keep her during the weekdays so that she could work.

"You want me to keep her all by myself? While my boys are at school? You mean I get her ALL to myself? Heck yea! Sign me up!"

My girl and I had a good time.

This girl is full of personality and oh so much fun! She's also very squeezable.
She loved my stairs.
She loved my grocery basket.
She loved Uncle Rick's piano.
She loved my dog. And I loved her pigtails.
She loved her aunt "Maymee", but this is as close as she would get to her namesake, my Memaw.
She loved Uncle Rick.
She loved the boys' bike helmet.
Her dada came to get her, and I didn't let her go without a fight.
Edie, let's do it again, girl!

On Raising Boys

2010-10-06T13:12:00.003-06:00

With a house full of little men, I never know what I'm going to find in different nooks and crannies around the house. I've found acorns in the dryer, used kleenex in clean linens, and bouncy balls in my underwear drawer. I should not have been surprised yesterday when I opened my oven to find a marble.Not only do I wonder how it got there, but how long has it been there? And who is responsible? The things boys do....

Guess What?

2010-10-05T07:49:00.000-06:00

Guess what I just found inside my oven while prepping it for the self-clean mode???

High Five

2010-09-30T17:52:00.003-06:00

Once we feel like we've made it through another Texas summer, Rick and I congratulate each other. It's been in the 80s all week, and we're headed for the 70s next week.

Hey, Rick. We made it! Woohoo!

High five.

(I'll be back soon with pics of Edie's visit. We had a fabulous time with her!)

My Girl is Here!

2010-09-26T12:04:00.000-06:00

Edie is in town for the next several days!
Pardon me while I have some cheeks to squeeze and kiss.

Garrett's Mini Me

2010-09-25T13:51:00.004-06:00

I am not a creative mom; therefore, I have feared the artsy-fartsy projects my boys will bring home from school. Such a project came home last week for Garrett.

Mrs. Whitsell sent home a "mini me" on cardstock. The assignment was for parent and child to decorate it to look like the child. Instead of breaking out in hives or hyperventilating, I rung my hands for 24 hours. Then, I set out for Hobby Lobby to gather supplies. I'm so proud of my coping skills.

Garrett was so pleased with the supplies I found, and we sat down to complete the assignment together. Much to my surprise, it was a fun time.
From head to toe, the mini Garrett has yarn for curls, googly eyes for (duh!) eyes, bead wiring for glasses, markers for nose and mouth, felt for his favorite outfit (Aggie shirt and camo shorts), black marker for socks and shoes completed with yarn for shoelaces.
Hopefully, this project has eased my fears of creative homework. We'll see....

Jack's Friend

2010-09-23T20:38:00.003-06:00

Rick wanted me to update everyone on Jack's hand-holding friend. We met her at lunch the other day, and we can see why he's drawn to her. She's as crazy and WILD as he is. After sitting with the two of them for 25 minutes at the lunch table, I was sufficiently worn OUT. And if he were to marry someone as hyper as this little girl, Lordy, I don't know that I could recover between family gatherings.

So when I pray about Jack's future spouse, not only do I ask the Lord to give him a God-fearing wife, but I need to be certain I ask for a girl that can calm herself.

Amen.

We Heart Our Teachers

2010-09-22T09:35:00.000-06:00

During the summer, I prayed for the boys' teachers. I prayed the Lord would place each boy where they needed to be. I trusted Him with the right fit.

We have been blessed with great teachers this year. All three boys have competent, professional, caring ladies to take care of them. I know this is not always the norm, so I am very thankful.

I am especially grateful for Garrett's teacher. Mrs. Whitsell was made to be a kindergarten teacher. She is bubbly, sweet, fun-loving, and 100% dedicated to her students.

She only has one downfall. She is a Red Raider. My G knows that his Daddy doesn't like Texas Tech, so he came home on the first day of school upset about her college of choice. I had to talk him through forgiveness and acceptance.

I am not kidding.

I'm pleased to say that Garrett has definitely forgiven her, but he doesn't let a day go by without reminding her of his love for Texas A&M. He carries an A&M backpack. He writes with an Aggie pencil. He wears his Aggie shirts as fast as I can wash them. And he reminds Mrs. Whitsell of the team the Ags face on the football field the following Saturday.

This past weekend, Tech played Texas Longhorns. Garrett cannot stand the Longhorns. (Note to self: Talk to G about forgiveness and acceptance again.)

On the Monday before the Raider/Longhorn game, G told Mrs. Whitsell, "I hope Tech wins this week. I don't like the Longhorns." When my boy told me about this after school that day, I laughed out loud.

I had a conference with his teacher later in the week, and she and I giggled about the common ground that she and G had found. I'm glad she's a good sport.

Unfortunately, Tech lost to the Longhorns. My ornery husband encouraged Garrett to take her some tissue on Monday.

When Monday morning came around, I found my baby stuffing kleenex in his camo shorts. "What are you doing, G?"

"I'm taking kleenex to Mrs. Whitsell because the Raiders lost," he said.

Duh, Mom!

When I picked him up that afternoon, he was proud to report that he had followed through. I asked for a play by play.

"I walked right up to her and handed her a kleenex. She asked me what it was for, and I told her, 'Boohoo, Texas Tech lost.' She wiped her eyes and pretended to cry. And she carried it all day and would pretend to cry. When I was leaving to come home, she said, 'Thank you for my kleenex.' I told her, 'My dad told me to do it.' She said, 'Your dad must be funny.'"

Yes, his dad is funny, and so is my G. I'm glad Mrs. Whitsell thinks so. And I'm thankful for her, even though she's a Raider.

Answers

2010-09-21T18:54:00.002-06:00

The answers to "Guess Who?":

1. Garrett was limping because of a fall on the playground. He told me he couldn't walk correctly because he "fell and twisted it". He proceeded to model the twisting action in the afflicted ankle. I knew it wasn't serious, and that was confirmed when he was running after Liam two minutes later.

2. Liam was running late. In fact, he was probably the last student to exit the building that afternoon. To his credit, his classroom is located in the busiest hall of the school. If his teacher doesn't dismiss them a minute early, then they get stuck behind a million kids.

3. Liam and Jack's shoes were untied. Of course. They can tie their own shoes, but who has time for such a daunting task? If I didn't make them tie their shoes first thing in the morning, they probably wouldn't bother even then.

4. Who was holding hands with a girl? Jackson, Jackson, Jackson. When I asked him why he was holding hands with a girl, he said, "I don't know. She told me to." Aye aye aye! I didn't make a big deal out of it, but I know that Jack will struggle in the area of peer pressure, so I gave him a little chat. He's his father's child. What else can I say?

Guess Who?

2010-09-20T19:24:00.004-06:00

This is how I found my boys after school this afternoon:

One child was limping.
One child was running late.
Two children were walking around with untied shoes.
One child was holding a girl's hands.

I'll fill you in on the details later. In the meantime, guess who? Go ahead! Guess!

Personalities in a Box

2010-09-16T09:00:00.009-06:00

As I was changing the boys' sheets, I stubbed my toes on various forgotten objects that have taken up residence under their beds.

Note to self: Remind the boys that cleaning up does not mean stuffing items under beds.

The one item that does belong under each of their beds is their special box. Each boy has a plastic shoe box with their name. They are able to put "special items" inside their box, and they do not have to share any of these important objects with anyone.

My only rules for these boxes are:
1. The boxes need to be under their beds, unless the boys are playing with them.
2. The boxes cannot overflow.
3. The boys may not raid their brothers' boxes.

As I stubbed my toes, I took a peek under each bed and giggled. I didn't find humor in the extra toys under their beds, but I did have a good chuckle at the sight of the special boxes. Each box gave a good picture of my boys' personalities.

Jack's box:
His bos is not at all full, because he probably forgot about that box two minutes after I gave it to him a year ago.

The contents:
Daddy's driver's license from 1987 and old photos from Daddy's life as a college boy, because Jack loves his Daddy to the core of his being. A broken Star Wars toy, because he loves Star Wars almost as much as he loves his father, but he's a bit rough on toys.

Garrett's box:
It's not full, because my Mini Me and I, we don't like to keep much of anything. If we don't truly need it, we throw it away.

The contents:
A Cars diary with some scribblings inside, because Type A persons typically journal, even before we can read and write. Aggie football trading cards and magazine clippings, because hello!, anything Aggie-related is worth keeping. A bag of small shells that his biggest brother gave him. Don't forget the maroon rock next to the Aggie cards, because hello!, G bleeds maroon.

Liam's box:
It's overflowing, because this child collects everything, and he's not the least bit concerned about cleanliness, bless his heart.

When I ask him where the box's lid is, he'll say, "What lid?" Mark my words!

The contents:
There's too much junk to list each item individually, but I do see his watch on top. He loves that watch, but he probably has no idea where it is, because hello!, it's a pig sty in there. He loves Garfield, and it's quite natural to see one of his books in this stash. There might be 200 baseball cards thrown in here for good measure.

Oh, my boys...I love them so. They are each so different, and it's funny how these plastic boxes mirror their little personalities.

9/11

2010-09-11T10:14:00.004-06:00

In some ways, it seems only a year ago that our country faced such death, destruction and disbelief. Yet it was nine years ago that I was loading 100 fifth graders on school buses for a field trip, when one of my colleagues whispered in my ear.

"Ami, our country is under attack," she tearfully whispered. "Two planes just flew into the World Trade Center. My husband is watching the news at home and calling me with updates. I think our school will be under lock down any minute. Take your students back to class."

100 pairs of young eyes could see the fear on my face. "I'll explain later," I quietly told my students. "Just turn and follow me."

And then I was faced with what to tell my students. They needed to know why we weren't going on our well-planned field trip, but I could hardly form the right words. How do I tell them our world has changed forever? How do I tell them that we're safe, when I don't know that for certain?

Within a few minutes, I had voicemail from Rick and my mom with further details of the horror unfolding. At that time, I decided I could only tell my students that our country was facing a very tough day and their families would need to decide what to tell them that evening.

Nine years later, I want my own children to know what happened on this day. Or do I really want them to know?

Each year, I try to explain 9/11 to my young kids, and each time I cry through my explanation. I keep it as simple as I can, but it's not simple. Our country was attacked, and many people died. Many families were directly affected.

As I was contemplating over 9/11 this morning, I felt compelled to pray for those lost souls who rejoiced over such pain. The Lord tells us this in Luke 6:

27 “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.

As I continue to remember, I must also pray for my enemies.

I also felt the Lord prompting me to move on. Yes, I will remember that fateful day for the rest of my life. And I will whisper prayers as I remember. But I must also move on.

So we will play baseball today. That's moving on for us.

(And I'll forgive Blogger for not allowing me to change the font back to its original state.)

Curbs = Contemplation

2010-09-09T19:11:00.002-06:00

Garrett and I were out perfecting his bike riding tonight. He's doing every bit of it on his own now, so I guess I should say, 'Garrett was perfecting his bike riding tonight, while I cheered him on.'

As with all boys, he wanted to make skid marks in the street, so he was slamming on his brakes, when he almost hit a curb head on. I said, "You don't want to hit that curb. You'll crash and hurt all kinds of body parts."

To which he replied, "I don't want to do that, because I don't want to die tonight. [pause for contemplation] Yea, Daddy would be sad."

Yes, Daddy would be sad, but I couldn't keep a straight face in response. I laughed and said, "Get back on that bike and go get 'em."

A Big Day for G

2010-09-06T16:12:00.008-06:00

I was made for three-day weekends. We need more of them, yes?

Our long weekend began with an Aggie win on Saturday. WHOOP! Our Ags looked pretty good, and we're hopeful for the rest of the season.

It was an evening game, and we didn't make it home until 2am. I'm pretty sure the Lord intended for me to be in bed by 10pm every night, so I'm not sure how I made it through that long drive home without turning into a pumpkin.

But our precious children allowed us to sleep in until 9am Sunday. Aren't they just so sweet?

I can't say that I felt rested, but we lounged around all day to make up for it.

Yes, we skipped church because of an Aggie game. The Lord understands. I hope. But I did watch our service online, so I do feel better about that.

And we did go to the evening service. I don't need to justify myself with you, but I'm not sure why the past 5 sentences make me feel better.

Anyway....

Rick and I declared today, Labor Day, the BIG day for Garrett. It was the day to learn to ride his bike without training wheels. Enough of this standstill already.

He started with Daddy's help, and he was off and rolling within ten minutes.
A little race with Liam encouraged him to pedal faster.
He did have one bad spill that included tears, but we encouraged him to get back on and try again. We're so proud to say that he was starting, stopping, and braking by himself by lunch!

Notice I didn't add 'turning' to his abilities. He needs to build his confidence in that way, but he'll get there.

He spent the afternoon at the piano. He is our most musically-gifted child. He has taught himself to play "Silent Night" and "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" by ear without any of our help.

He took interest in learning to play the Beatles' "Obladi Oblada" this afternoon. He asked Daddy to help him, so the two of them worked on it until G could play it.
It took quite a bit of concentration of the mind and contortion of the lips.
But he did it!
And we're so proud of our baby.

Let the Season Begin

2010-09-04T10:59:00.001-06:00

We're heading to Aggieland to see the season opener. Gig 'em, Aggies!

Whoop!

Yesteryear: Where Did My Babies Go?

2010-09-02T18:19:00.004-06:00

For this installment of Yesteryear, I decided to pull random photos from August 2005.

Five years ago, Liam was 2 and getting ready to go to preschool. I had just taken him to pick out new tennis shoes, and he was extremely proud of his choice of all white leather. When we got home with his new shoes, he posed in the chair and asked me to take his picture. He was so stinkin' cute!
And so tiny!

Speaking of tiny, Jack and Garrett were 7 and 6 months respectively. Jack had a love for hats at an early age. No one could walk into our house with a hat on their head without J claiming it for himself.
How do you like those wide eyes?

As for Garrett, this is the only picture I found in the August folder in which he wasn't fussing.
That lazy G was proud to be sitting up by himself, and Jack was already crawling. If I remember correctly, Jack loved to crawl right into G and topple his roly poly brother.

A lot happens in five years!

Hey, Mom, This Post Is For You

2010-08-31T20:03:00.005-06:00

My parents have been out of town for over two weeks, and mom recently nagged me on Facebook to update my blog "or else!" Clearly, she doesn't understand how busy I've been over the past 8 days. She thinks that I have all of this spare time with my children in school, but she isn't taking into account how I need time for important things such as floating in the pool, picking my toe nails, and plucking gray hairs out of my head.

Two of those three activities have truly taken place in the past week, but I'll let you decide which ones. Although all three deeds would be time well spent.

In all honesty, I am surprised at how quickly the school days go by. As a homeschooling mom, I used to roll my eyes every time I heard a non-homeschooling mom talk about how her days run at the speed of light. To all of my homeschooling friends, please don't hate me, but the days do go by at lightning speed.

But back to fulfilling my mom's request. Not only did she ask me to blog, but my post must include pictures. Sheesh, the nerve of this lady!

Mom, I haven't taken many pictures lately, so this first one won't be new to you. But to the other two readers, it's background information.

On Saturday, the boys were playing upstairs. It was yet another hotter-than-hades day, so we were forced to play indoors, which naturally meant the boys were rough-housing. I was laboring over a good book and Rick was pounding on the piano, when we heard a thud and then a blood-curdling scream coming from our baby.

I've heard that horrible cry come from Garrett one other time, and it meant a trip to the ER when he was 15 months old for a broken arm. Hearing that cry again this weekend caused me to jump up and head for the ruckus.

When I met him on the stairs, he was holding his head and wailing. I had to rely on his brothers to give me the skinny on what happened. Apparently, G was playing on the floor and turned around to find the corner of his bed frame in the center of his forehead.

Is that a sad face or what? Poor baby.

Thankfully, there was no need to rush to the ER. I sent that picture to our parents within a few minutes of it happening, and my father-in-law (the doctor) immediately called to ask the pertinent medical questions. No nausea, vomiting, dizziness, or headache, so we were in the clear. Ice, ibuprofen, and TLC were enough. (Yes, it's really nice to have a doctor in the family!)

By Sunday morning, Garrett felt 100%, even though he had a nice bruised knot across his forehead.

On Monday afternoon, he pulled out paper and markers to satisfy his creative side. He draws regularly and is always quick to bring his latest creation to me. This particular drawing had me laughing out loud.
A self portrait. And a mighty good one, I might add. Glasses, curly hair, A&M shirt, and a bruised forehead...that's my G!

The First Day

2010-08-23T12:29:00.009-06:00

I'm sitting in a quiet house. So quiet, in fact, that I need to turn on some music. Excuse me for a minute....

That's better.

I thought I would love a quiet house, but it doesn't seem quite right today.

So, yes, today is the first day of school. The boys were all very excited when Daddy and I got them up this morning. See....
Don't click to enlarge on the above photo. You might see food chunks in Liam's braces. He asked for his all-time favorite breakfast of warm granola.

And Jack followed in his footsteps.
Garrett asked for his fave...waffles. I slaved over the toaster for him. Thankfully, he doesn't care if I actually make them from scratch or pull them out of the freezer.
After breakfast, they got dressed and took care of their morning chores. Everyone was dressed and ready to go thirty minutes early. Never fear; it'll never happen again. By Friday, we'll be running around like chickens with our heads cut off.

The obligatory "first day of school" picture:

Garrett (kindergarten), Liam (2nd), Jack (kinder)

And their backpacks:

I had to take a quick pic of the boys walking to school.
I thought it was funny that Jack was leading the pack. He's the only one that had to run back to me for an extra hug and kiss once I got him to his class. He needed a little reassurance, but he never stopped smiling.

And Liam was sticking close to me on our walk, but once we got to the campus, he was leading the way as a good big brother should.
I didn't take any pictures once we were inside. (I already have pics of their teachers, but I'm not sure I should share without asking them.) Anyway, it was mass chaos inside. Bewildered moms with screaming toddlers in tow. I saw a few moms with tears, too. Poor things.

As for me, I did NOT cry. In fact, I had to contain my excitement, because I felt like doing cartwheels all the way to my car. Not that I can do a single cartwheel, but ya know....

I went straight to the gym and ran a few errands before coming home to this quiet house. A quiet, clean house is nice, but I will be happy to pick up my loud and messy boys in an hour. I can't wait to hear all about their first day!

Life Changes

2010-08-23T05:13:00.000-06:00

At 8:00 a.m. Monday, we will be entering a whole new phase in our family. All three boys will be going to school!!!

Can I get an 'amen'?

Liam will be a second grader, and Jack and Garrett will be in kindergarten.
The boys met their teachers this past week, and I believe we are in store for an excellent year. We are all excited about this new adventure.

I remember thinking four and five years ago that we might never get out of diapers, but I assure you all three boys will go to school in underwear.

Many friends keep asking me if I'm sad about my babies going to school. I'm really not. They are ready to spread their baby wings a bit, and I'm ready to watch them fly. I'll cover them in prayer, and I know they'll be fine.

My friends' next question is usually, "What will you do with all that free time?" I am keeping my first week free of any obligations. I just want to relax and bask in the freedom. After that, I will be volunteering at the school and at the Union Gospel Mission.

Rick thinks I will be bored within two weeks, but we'll see. If I admit I'm bored, he might send me to work, so I think I'll find things to do.

In fact, I think there's a messy closet calling my name....

Yesteryear: They're Just So Darn Cute

2010-08-21T19:35:00.002-06:00

The photo quality isn't great, but my boys are irresistible.

August 2007
Liam (4), Garrett and Jack (2 1/2)

Yesteryear: Cheeeeese

2010-08-12T05:46:00.000-06:00

I had one project in mind for this summer. For all that "down time" I was supposed to have. Yea right! What was I thinking?

Said project was to put all of our old photos on a flash drive. Family photos from 2003-2007 are all saved on CDs. It was a "system" created by my wonderful husband back when Liam was a baby, but Rick's not Type A like me. So this "system" of 30 CDs sitting in a shoe box is not an ideal solution in my world. I think a flash drive will be a better solution for looking up old photos, in which case I can be sentimental over old pics instead of throwing 30 CDs across the living room out of frustration.

Anyway, since summer is almost over, I'm in a crunch to finish this project. As I rush through the last 10 CDs, I want to begin a series I will call "Yesteryear", in which I will post some of my favorite photos of my boys' earlier days.

To begin, this is probably one of my all-time favorites of all three boys. I'll title it "Cheeeeese".

Left to right: Jack, Garrett, Liam

I can't remember when exactly this was taken, but it was probably early Fall 2006. Jack and Garrett would have been around 21 mos. and Liam was 3 1/2. I miss those crazy days!

Liam's Teen Years

2010-08-10T12:54:00.004-06:00

My boys are pretty fascinated with teenagers. I supposed most young children feel the same way. In their eyes, those teens must have it all.

I, on the other hand, am very, very afraid of my boys becoming teenagers. Do they really need to grow up? Do they have to become hormonal and independent?

Liam asked me a funny question the other day regarding his teenage years. "Mommy, when I'm a teenager, will I be able to chew gum anytime I want without asking you first?"

I responded with, "Probably."

He pumped his fist and squealed, "Yes!"

If that's the only independence he needs at the age of 13, we'll be alright.

On Raising Boys

2010-08-06T12:58:00.000-06:00

There's something about boys I'll never understand.

The need to wrestle, burp, and fart.

And sometimes simultaneously.

CO Day 16: Peaceful Valley

2010-08-05T13:35:00.002-06:00

I promise this will be the last installment of our vacation. Pinkie swear. Or whatever.

While Edie napped, the CupRunnethOver family took one last chance to hit the mountains. Peaceful Valley was a good twenty degrees cooler, and it was a hoppin' place. Every campsite was filled, mostly with Texans seeking a break from our summer heat.
Every time we see a body of mountain water, we have to put our toes in.
It was breathtakingly cold.

But Winston found it refreshing.
My big boy and me:
My middle man:
My main squeeze and our youngest:
All of my men:
After a little rock-throwing and toe-dipping, it was time to head back. And after a few hours of playing with Edie, it was time to call it a night and pack up for the road home the next day. It was time to head back to reality.

CO Day 16: Yet Another Reason Half My Heart Resides in CO

2010-08-04T12:54:00.002-06:00

When we were in Denver, we were about an hour away from my brother's house, which means we were only an hour away from our Edie fix! (Edie is now 17 mos.) Unfortunately, she was sick most of that week, so we couldn't see her until our last day.

When we got to her house, she was napping. But after a while, her daddy said she could get up. Our first look at her included a bed head. :)
It took her a few minutes before she warmed up to us. But nothing a couple of bites of sandwich and a few goofy cousins couldn't cure.
It was a hot day, so we all went to a water park. The boys loved it. Edie...not so much.

I don't have any photos of the water park, but you can envision the boys running us ragged in every which direction and Edie thinking it just wasn't her cup o' tea.

Once it was Edie's nap time, the 5 of us took a drive to the mountains, while Edie girl went home for her beauty rest.

But we returned to play with our well-rested girl for the evening. We love her so much!
She's quite serious about the chip bowl.
But she's also a ham similar to Liam. It's a shame she didn't get any personality.
Look at those jowls!
And those serious eyes and luscious lips....
After dinner, I carried her to bed. We laid face to face on her bed and read a book together. Twice. She pointed and babbled. I pointed and read. We looked each other eye to eye and sang a song. I asked if she was ready to go night night, and she put her thumb in her mouth. With that cue, I said, "I love you, Edie. I'll see you soon." She pulled her thumb out long enough to smile and melt my heart.

And that's another reason at least half my heart stayed in Colorado.

CO Days 12-17: Denver

2010-08-03T19:38:00.001-06:00

Are you just tired of hearing about my trip? Do you wish I would just shut up already? Since this is my only scrapbook, I have really stretched out the memories here, but even I am growing weary. Never fear, the end is near.

After Pagosa Springs, we headed to Denver. Rick had some business to attend to, so we rented a house and made the trip work for all of us.
No, he didn't work from that chair for a week. I drove him to/from the office, and this is where he waited for the boys and me every morning.

While Daddy worked, we played at parks,
toured the Butterfly Pavilion,
and visited old friends.
Ethan and Ashley's parents were our first friends and neighbors when we moved to CO way back B.C. (before children).

And we met the Jensens B.C., as well. Actually, they had already adopted their eldest when we met, but we were childless and restless.

Seven years later, we have seven kids between our two families. God is good!

CO Days 5-11: Pagosa Springs

2010-08-02T19:12:00.020-06:00

On the road again.... Jack just can't wait to get on the road again for another nap.
This child can SLEEP. The car is his best sleeping aide. He usually winds up with his head falling over. Look towards the background of this photo:
That's Jack's head allowing gravity to take over. And the forefront of that pic shows my fourth child, Winston, who is the best traveler...hands down. He rides with zero complaints. He just wants an occasional peek from your lap.
This particular ride took us to Rick's dad's cabin near Pagosa Springs, where we stayed the next several days.
It's a log cabin situated on 37 acres that back up to National Forest. There's plenty of room to roam.

V Rock is one of the mountains we see from our property.
Did you notice how quickly I went from "Rick's dad's cabin" to "our property"? We like it just a little bit there.

Out there, we walk and look for animals. We saw hundreds of chipmunks this year, as well as a few deer. We also found evidence of bear, and the neighbors reported seeing a mama bear with her cubs walking across our yard earlier in the summer.

When we're not hiking, the boys can be found playing baseball.
We took them to fish at the reservoir, but they caught nada. Instead, we surfed the net.
Rick and I joke about our phones out there. Cell coverage is very spotty in and around the cabin. As soon as we found a spot to give us 3G, we'd freeze and yell, "Don't move! I've got 3G!"

But he didn't want me to take his picture while playing with his phone, so he posed in hopes that I would only post this:
He also talked us into another "hike". This one took us to Buckles Lake, and it was easy and pretty.
Buckles Lake was very still and peaceful.
When I look at that picture, I feel my pulse slowing. The glass-like water just tells me to slow down. What beauty the Lord created for us to enjoy, if we'll just take the time to look.

Columbines were plentiful this year.
On our way back down, the boys climbed onto this rock. It turned out to be one of my favorite pictures with them from the entire vacation.
Rick's parents joined us for the last 24 hours. These boys love their Ni and Pop.
Their Pop loves to see them enjoying his cabin.
Or is it that we love to share our cabin with Pop?

CO Day 5: Sand Dunes

2010-08-01T19:55:00.006-06:00

On our way from Salida to Pagosa Springs, we stopped at the Sand Dunes for a bit. My parents took me there as a child, and I have memories of running up the dunes and rolling down head first with not a care in the world. Rick had never been, and we knew the boys would love it.

My photography skills don't do them any justice, but the Sand Dunes are magnificent.
They're basically mountains of sand. Nothing but sand. God is so creative!
We hiked for 30 minutes and realized that hiking to the very top wasn't going to happen for us. Instead, we stopped, dropped and rolled. Garrett loved this method.
Liam liked to run to the top of a mound and do cartwheels going down.
He realized that cartwheels on sand are a lot more difficult than those on solid ground.
Jack found a piece of plastic and used it for skiing.
We had a long drive ahead of us, so we had to call it quits after an hour or so. We would all like to go back someday.

CO Day 4: July 4 Is Best Spent Under a Blanket

2010-07-28T06:25:00.003-06:00

For two years in a row, we have managed to schedule our vacations around July 4th. Because it's hotter than hades here, we enjoy cooler air during that holiday. I would much rather bundle up than strip down. The latter might scare everyone.

We were in Salida this fourth. We heard of a good fireworks show at "S" mountain.
We went early enough to grab a good spot on the San Juan River. Actually, we had the best seat in the city.

Rick grabbed pizzas and drinks for us to enjoy while we waited four hours for the show. FOUR HOURS! I have never been that early to a fireworks show. Actually, I've never been that early to anything in all my life.

But the boys were entertained with "cheers"...
and daredevils such as this:
Apparently, kayakers from all over the world come here to throw themselves into a forward flip. That just sounds plain crazy to me, but it was good entertainment nonetheless.

And by dark, we needed our jackets and blankets. Yippee!!!
Even Winston was cold.
But he was a good sport and didn't run away during the scary fireworks. He's such a mommy's boy that he never left my feet.

I think even Winston would agree that July 4th is better under a blanket.

An Interruption

2010-07-27T11:28:00.005-06:00

I must interrupt this play-by-play of our family vacation to show photos of what a monumental day yesterday was.

My big baby, Liam, age 7, got braces.

Before:
During:
(The photo is blurry, because my cell phone camera is rather unpredictable. Yes, Jennifer, I forgot my real camera. Gasp!)

Let me just say that the white contraption pictured above was used to keep his lips away from his teeth. Whatever it's called, I would pay gold to bring it home with us. Because he was in that thing for at least 30 minutes and couldn't speak, he fell asleep! I love that child dearly, but the silence was golden.

After:
The newness hasn't worn off, so he's still excited about them. Thankfully, he's not too sore, but that will be remedied next week, when he goes back for more torture in the form of having an expander put in. Ouch!

I can't believe he's growing up so quickly! Where did my little peanut go? Before I know it, he'll be a teenager!

Day3: He Promised Not to Kill Us

2010-07-26T06:22:00.002-06:00

Rick has busyness in his blood. (Some might call it hyperactivity.) One of the best ways to wear that man out is to allow him a hike. He woke up restless on day three, and I knew what was coming. He needed to hike, and a leisurely stroll wasn't going to cut it.

Only his family rebelled. My leg was achy, and all the boys could envision was another death trap similar to day one.

I offered to let him hike by himself, the kind selfless woman that I am. Perhaps he noticed my fingers were crossed when I offered or that the children were already running circles around me at 7am, but he had mercy on my soul and cut a deal with me.

We compromised with an "easy" hike for everyone. ("Easy" will no longer be a word that I take lightly when describing hikes. A hike will no longer be categorized as "easy" without apostrophes until I've hiked it myself.)

(And let me further clarify that I am not a hiking wimp! I'm certainly not a burly mountain woman either. I fall somewhere between. There is a happy medium there.)

Rick chose the Continental Divide Trail for us.

It was downright cold up there, and Liam had forgotten his jacket at the cabin. He had a great economics lesson with buying his own sweatshirt in the gift shop.

"Mommy, this hoodie cost $30! Now, I only have $20 left!" Welcome to reality, son.

The hike was pretty, and we stayed on an "easy" trail. (It was truly easy.)
These two characters still grumbled, but at least we never had to carry them.
Photo opp in front of Rick's favorite mountain, Mt. Shavano:
Even Winston hiked with us. He's a burly mountain dog for sure.

And we found a patch of dirty snow.
Texans just can't help themselves when they see snow in July. After a snowball fight, we all made it down the mountain without any death or injury.

Later in the day, Rick asked Jack to clean up our shoes at the cabin, and this is what we found.
Thank you, little man.

CO Day 2: No Need to Send Me Home

2010-07-25T05:27:00.001-06:00

After our near-death experience, Rick knew better than to ask us to hike on day two. Instead, we drove to Crested Butte. As soon as I got out of the car, I knew it would be a good day and there was no need to ever go home.
If you've never spent a summer day at a ski resort, you are missing out. Most ski resorts are open for hiking, biking, eating, and hosting kids' activities.

My leg was actually hurting quite a bit from falling the day before, so Rick assured me this was a day to relax in the mountains. I wore flip flops to hold him to it.

I do love my mountain man. (As a side note, today is our eleventh anniversary. Happy anniversary, Rick!)

And we love our little mountain men.
We rode the chair lift and enjoyed the views from the top.
Then, we rode back down so that the boys could try the different activities.

There was bungee jumping. Liam perfected the back flip.
Jack really, really tried.
Garrett didn't try, but he was content to simply jump.
They also tried the climbing wall. Little man made it about halfway up before he slipped and came flying back down. He might have been a little exasperated.
Liam was just inches away from the top, when he looked down and said, "I can't do it!" I tried to get him to give it one more reach, but he was sure he couldn't make it.
Garrett was certain he could make it, but he only made it a couple steps.
Maybe next year.

After lunch, the boys played mini golf, which was the best activity of the day. Rick and I sat in adirondack chairs and watched them play from a distance. They were happy with their game. We were happy with our rest in the sun.
Home? Who needs it?

Cup Runneth Over

Merry Christmas!

Catch up

Pine Cove

Why Can't We Live There???

School Days

Things That Make Me Go "Hmm"

Decluttering

Life is Good

He's Growing on Us

Mother's Day Recap

Mother's Day

Singing in the Home Depot Shower Aisle

Lil Ron Washington and Southwest Airlines

Turning Eight

Making a Case for the Abandoned Blog

Jackson's Math

He Doesn't Listen

He's All That

Lil Ron Washington Takes on the Oscars

Dragging Out the 6 Year Old's Birthday

Funnies

More Snow!

Yeteryear: Garrett's First Days

My Baby is Six

Yesteryear: 4 years ago

Garrett's Journal

The Hunter

The View from Here

Cotton Bowl

My Little Cowboy

Putting Some Things to Rest

Christmas 2010

Merry Christmas

Yesteryear: Christmas Card 2005

Yesteryear: December 2005

Mug Shots

A Christmas Tradition

The Bowhead

Garrett's 15 Minutes of Fame

Decking My Halls

Thanksgiving 2010

Lil Ron Rallies

Lil Ron & the World Series

Lil Ron Plays Ball

Lil Ron

Lil Ron Washington *UPDATED*

Hat Day

The Carrots Make Him Do It

Big Church

Brotherly Advice

Let's Go, Rangers!

Sizing Up

Growing Up

Conviction on Perfection

A Sister

2x4

The Three Musketeers

My Girl

On Raising Boys

Guess What?

High Five

My Girl is Here!

Garrett's Mini Me

Jack's Friend

We Heart Our Teachers

Answers

Guess Who?

Personalities in a Box

9/11

Curbs = Contemplation

A Big Day for G

Let the Season Begin

Yesteryear: Where Did My Babies Go?

Hey, Mom, This Post Is For You

The First Day

Life Changes

Yesteryear: They're Just So Darn Cute

Yesteryear: Cheeeeese

Liam's Teen Years

Lil Ron Washington UPDATED