Just a Spoon Full of Sugar. . .

. . . helps the medicine go down,

in the most delightful way!

Mary Poppins was as *delightful* as ever and I would highly recommend getting out to see this production at the Music Hall at the Dallas Fair Park. We were incredibly lucky to score tickets at a great price with some of Lizzys friends. I took Lizzy and her friend Audrey and we met up with some of her other friends and their moms last night. I got stuck bringing Anna with me at the last minute as Dave (working late as usual- lately) took Josh to his office to get some work done.

The show was amazing and I'm certain I couldn't give it justice with a blog post- but I will say that it may be the best Broadway production I've seen yet. It was very well done. The lighting, music, performers, and special effects were almost magical- as I'm sure they were meant to be since it's Mary Poppins :). Our favorite was the ending when she floats away in perfect form- over almost the entire audience. I would love to see it again with Dave since the first half of the production I was a little distracted trying to get Anna to sleep. She did really well overall, considering it was almost 3 hours in one spot without crying.

The music brought back memories of childhood

and the songs were lovely to hear again.

Love that Girl- Yes I Do!

First Day of School

First day of school went MUCH better than I thought! My little Joshy started kinder- and is growing up so fast. I thought he would cry- after all he cried half of the days his first year of pre-school. I thought *I* would cry seeing my little boy so grown up. But to my surprise neither one of us shed a tear!

Here are a few pics to prove it!

Anna is a very well know and well like baby at Lakewood. She's there with me everyday in the bjourn. I like to think that people are looking because she is so cute- but it might be that they are wondering how I stuff that 21 lb baby into the infant carrier:)!

Not sure why its so blurry- but it hides wrinkles so I won't complain. Joshy got Ms. Hamilton- and we are really excited about her. She is a new teacher this year and has a lot of enthusiasm!


My two little Lakewood Stallions. They are growing up so fast!

Lizzy started 4th grade and is in a class with 2 of her best friends. She got a teacher she really likes also. I think its going to be a great year.

Family of Five

One plus one is two.

Two plus one is sooooooooo much more than three!!!

We've been warned about the third child being the big adjustment, and I have always held my ground that child # one was much more of an adjustment. However, after several weeks like last week, I have considered that it may be true- adding child #3 may be the whopper!

Although I did not have an extensive "to do" list last week, there were just too many times where I found myself asking "since when did I become my mom?" I grew up in a family of 7 kids and always wondered why the house was such a mess and my mom dressed so sloppy and she never got her glasses fixed (she had to balance them on her nose when she drove us to school, because she never found time to go in and get a new pair). Now I get it. The poor woman had 7 kids to care for and her husband worked 2 jobs- which meant she was basically on her own from sun up to sun down.

Last week I got very little sleep. Most of the days I just threw on sweats and pulled my hair back in an elastic. One day that stands out is when I decided to be a good mommy and get my boy all the T ball supplies he needs to be a successful T ball champ. It all started when he was yanked out of practice early by this same good mommy (who was very frustrated at the time). After chilling out about his less than enthusiastic performance at practice, I decided we were going to put in the time and help this boy feel like a champ at T Ball. So to Academy we go.

I got the kids out of the car, strapped baby Anna into her baby bjourn, and in we went. Then we were greeted by Stu, the realtor who sold us our home. Only he was now working as a greeter at Academy, and I greeted him without thinking- actually I guess I was thinking- only I was thinking out loud. I'm too embarrassed to write what I said, and when I told Dave about it, he was embarrassed just hearing about it. Stu is a great guy and I hope he didn't take offense to a tired mom who lost a few brain cells during pregnancy and is still hoping to get them back.

Anyway, we found the isle we needed and started to look T ball stuff. One of the workers approached us just as Josh grabbed the back of his shorts and said, "ughhh mommy, I think I have a problem!" Oh no- I knew this wasnt good, so we rushed to the bathroom and fixed "the problem". This was a first and as I was cleaning things up- I kept thinking that this is something that happens to one of "those" families. We usually have things under control- at least in public- unlike "those" families. Anyway, we managed and went back out to shop. Yep, we should have gone home and called it a day, but who knows when I would get time to go back up there, so we continued our shopping. By the end of our Academy trip, the kids were acting crazy, I had a headache, Anna was crying, we probably stunk, but we got our T ball stuff and made it home! Ahhhh home. Perfectly clean and dinner was in the oven- oops, I mean it was a mess and I hadn't even thought about dinner. Again, I ask myself: "Since when did I become my mom?"

How long will this last? I only have 3 kids- I should be able to manage them and not become my mom, right? I'm sure Dave is hoping it is just a phase, but for now I am just agreeing that three is sooooooo much more than two!

Baby Bananna!

My little baby bananna!

Day 2

With Lizzy

Great to be Eight!!!

Lizzy is 8 years old.

Its hard to believe that Dave and I have been married for 10 years,

we have an 8 year old,

and we are in our mid-thirties (ughhhh).

Although I don't really like the fact that we are old enough to have an 8 year old-

I am so glad the 8 year old we have is such a sweetheart.

Lizzy has been so excited to turn 8 so that she could be baptized. We had a really great turn out for her baptism, including my parents from Utah, Dave's parents and some of his siblings from San Antonio. She sang "When I am Baptized" with many of her friends, and got to wear a vintage looking white dress that she picked out herself from Stausberg Children's. I think the pics say it all, but I wanted to add 8 things I love about Lizzy:

She is kind to others.

She has great faith.

She's a great big sister.

She wants to be just like her mom.

She absolutely loves her dad!!!

She is obedient (mostly).

She is ambitious and always wants to be involved.

She's not afraid to do what is right.

A New Post

I havent posted much in the past few months. During the summer it was mostly due to being busy and out of the house more, but these past couple months have been extremely difficult. I have a hard time letting time pass as each day I wake up and the loss of Melindas husband becomes more real. I know he is my brother-in-law, and that doesnt seem like such a close relationship, but my little sister is the sweet one in our family and has been my best friend many times in my life. I loved her husband as much as I would my own brother - and my parents loved him like a son. While the loss for us is not near as painful as it is for Meilnda, I have had a lot of heartache and a hard time letting time march on. I explain this in order to explain the inability to make a new post. I dont want time to move on. I dont want him to become a memory, and I want what happened to stay recent- so that he isnt part of some past that we remember.

I dont know a lot about grieving and death, but I do know that the saying, "Time heals all wounds" is simply not true. Im not saying that wounds cant be healed- because I am certain that through faith in the Lord we are healed- but time in this case has seemed to make it harder.

This post may sound a bit desperate, but I do want to note that I have had many precious moments of sweetness through this experience. The tender mercies of the Lord have been many, and have had a lasting impression on me and have strengthened my faith. I am grateful for these things.

There, Ive done it. A new post is written.