Joseph and The Big Group Hug

Ella and AJ are at Pine Cove Camp in the City this week at St. Vincent's School.  I was asking them about their day and Ella began to tell me about the bible story that they studied.  She began telling me about Joseph falling down a well when his brothers were all mad at him.  She talked about how later, Joseph's brothers came to him when they were hungry.  She ended the story with the brothers making up and "they all had a big group hug."  I asked, "did they really have a group hug?"  She replied emphatically, "Yes, my counselor said so!"  I love this version of the story.

Joni

Joni watched the kiddos while we went to dinner for my birthday.  To say my kids love her is putting it mildly.  They are pretty sure she hung the moon.

Serious Faces

Silly Faces

Happy 45th!

Tom surprised me with a babysitter and took me to dinner at Kirby's Steakhouse for my birthday.  Happy Birthday to me!

Battleship, Barbie Legos and Chess

Aleck and Tom were playing Battleship this week.  Ella was using Tom as a pillow as she browsed through her Barbie Lego catalog.  Trying to be relative in the conversation she said, “I want to play chess.”  That sweet little girl has no idea how to play chess.  Her big brother does though, and she was trying to impress him and contribute to the conversation.  I love that she wants to be like her big brother.  I’m thankful that my kiddos get along so well, and I’m thankful for a life full of these sweet little moments.

Ella starts kindergarten in the fall so we are making the most of Tuesdays and Thursdays when she is home with me.  Today we visited the Grapevine Botanical Gardens for a picnic.  I love that we get to explore the gardens.  Ella's favorite part is the adjacent park that has a swing and climbing web.  It's a sweet life that I live.  I am thankful for every single minute!

Ice Powers

As Aleck and Ella play with Legos, I can’t help but smile with a full heart when I hear conversations that go something like this.

Aleck:  What powers do you want?

Ella:  Oh, oh!  Can I have ice powers?

Aleck:  Oh, sure.

Ella:  Yay!

Aleck:  Do you want to fly or go on my ship?

Ella:  On your ship.

Aleck:  Well come on.  What are you waiting for?

10th Anniversary of our First Date

Today marks the 10th anniversary of our first date.  Our first date was at Workplay Theater in Birmingham, AL.  Tom had traveled from Texas to visit his family in Alabama.  We saw Will Hoge in Concert.  To this day, he is still one of our favorite bands.

We were engaged on May 21st, and married on August 21st, five months after our first date.  Some people thought we were crazy, but we knew that God's hand was in our relationship from the very beginning.  

I love you, honey, and am looking forward to what the next 10 years has in store for us!

The Tooth Fairy Visit

Aleck lost his 3rd tooth today, the bottom left central incisor.  He was such a tough guy.  Earlier in the day he told me his tooth was loose.  Later, he walked in and said, "Mommy, I pulled my tooth."  He was such a brave little guy.  He misplaced his tooth before bedtime and was pretty upset because he was worried he wouldn't get any money without a tooth.  I wrote the tooth fairy a letter confirming that he in fact lost a tooth and reassured AJ that the Tooth Fairy would likely accept my note in place of his tooth.  Here's hoping the tooth fairy remembers to stop by before she goes to bed herself!

Lego Time

Aleck loves his legos.  They are his favorite toy.  When I asked him if he wanted to travel for Spring Break he replied, "Well, my favorite toys are my legos and my legos are here."  I love my boy.

Ella has recently become quite fond of playing with her legos.  I think she wants to be like her big brother.

Here's what happens when they play legos together.

Fort Worth Science Museum Field Trip

We made a field trip to the Science Museum today.  We started the day with a visit to the Imax to see Forces of Nature, a movie about volcanoes, earthquakes and tornadoes.  Had I known the content of the movie, we would have opted out, but Aleck took it all in stride.

As the kids played in the grocery store section of the museum, I reminisced about our frequent trips when the kids were little.  It just seems like yesterday and yet Aleck is almost too old to enter that part of the museum.  I wish I could slow down time.

The dinosaur dig was a big hit with the kiddos.  I think they would have stayed out there all day.

The boys were so excited about their discovery!