Open House

Tonight was open house at Brody's school. He was excited to show us not only the work they've been doing, but all around his classroom and all around the school!

Mrs. Giese displayed Brody's book report project in the hall in front of their classroom. Since he used Barrett's camo puppy for his project that went along with his "Why I Want a Dog" paper, Barrett and Brody wanted their picture taken in front of the project.  We had fun seeing what Brody's been doing at school and I think Brody loved being our tour guide! 

 

Just another day at work...

Today I arrived at work to find two precious nephews waiting for me!  Namaw had to leave to go check on Sissie, so I was assigned the task of watching the boys.  Let's just say it was a fun day at work!  Archer was all grins for me again today.  I caught the end of one (a little more in focus than the other day) with my phone.  I love his chubby cheeks!!

When Namaw got back, Axton wanted to help her work.  He sat there in her lap "talking" (ie babbling) non stop!  I don't think Caleb and Audria have to worry about it being too quiet at their house!!

Just in case you're worried...I did also get a lot of work done.  It's been a busy few weeks at work with quarterly payroll, year end payroll, and people beginning to drop of tax returns!  It's beginning to look a lot like Tax Season!

What did you read in Kindergarten?

Brody brought home a reading challenge (read 6 hours for fun and get a free Six Flags ticket).  He asked if he could read a chapter book for his fun reading time.  I told him to pick out one of the ones from the bin in his room and he said, "No...I want to read The Chronicles of Narnia!"  What?!?  I told him that was probably too difficult of a book for him to read...that it was written in old English and he might not understand a lot of the words.  He said, "But I liked listening to it when you were reading it to me last year." (I started reading the 1st book in the series "The Magician's Nephew" sometime last year...but there were a lot of times where I would change a big word into something that he'd understand.)  He was so insistent that I finally said, "Ok!  If you end up not liking it then we can pick something else to read."  We headed back to his room and for the next hour he read The Magician's Nephew out loud to me.  I was shocked!  I only had to help him with a few words!  The time went by so fast as we were both engrossed in the story he was reading to me.  Barrett came in to listen and actually fell asleep listening to his brother read.  When we got to the end of the chapter, I told Brody we'd have to quit for the night and we were both shocked to see he'd been reading for an hour! 

When I went back to the living room Mike asked if I'd been reading to Brody.  When I told him that Brody was reading to me he looked at me with a shocked look on his face and said, "Our KINDERGARTNER is reading The Chronicles of Narnia?!?!?  What?!?"  Seriously!  I was thinking the same thing.  Wow!

Smiles and Groceries

Today Audria dropped her boys off at Daddy Steve and Namaw's while she went to the grocery store.  She had a major (meaning couponing involved) trip to the store planned...and it would've taken 10x's as long with her boys in tow.  Namaw was excited for the chance to play with the little ones.  Something really exciting happened while they were there...Archer smiled!  I don't mean a gassy smile or a smile in his sleep...he smiled when she talked to him!  Then he did it again and again when we talked to him!  I tried to get a picture...but my phone isn't as fast as my real camera.  Just trust me that it was super cute!!

Axton must have heard that his momma was going grocery shopping because he went and got the toy shopping cart, put a baby in it, and went "grocery shopping"!  (No...he's not wearing pants.  It was hot upstairs so Namaw decided he'd cool off quickest by taking off his shoes and pants! lol)

Family Birthday Lunch

Today we had a lunch celebrating my birthday at Daddy Steve and Namaw's house.  It was so fun to get together with my family and spend time together.  I didn't take very many pictures (I was too busy visiting with everyone)...but I did snap a few.  This was too hard to resist.  I didn't know where Brody and Barrett had disappeared to.  I found them under the table where we were all sitting and talking.  They were just sitting under there talking to each other.  So cute!!

 

One of the other cute pictures I got was of Luke.  He had on a cute blue polo that made his eyes pop!  He's in love with trucks and cars of all kinds and just giving him a police car put a huge smile on his face!  I also love when he says "Staci" because it makes him smile :)  I get to hear his sweet voice on the phone a lot...but it's a special treat to get to love on him in person! 

 

"I wanna wear a tie!"

Our church is pretty casual as far as dress (as in jeans and shirts).  I was surprised today when Barrett woke up and insisted on wearing a tie to church.  He looked sooooo cute!  I tried to get a full length picture so you could see his awesome dress shoes...but they couldn't agree on whether or not to put their arms around each other for a picture! lol.  I think Brody was actually in the process of sneaking his arm around Barrett in this picture!! 

Goose Hunt

Just got this picture text from Mike. Wow!!! I bet Brody was excited!!!

Cousin Time!

 

 

 

We had fun babysitting Axton and Archer tonight! 

Can you see me?

Birthday Sky

Today I turned 33 years old. I went to the gym at 5 am (my normal routine), however, as a departure from my normal routine...I stopped by the donut store to get breakfast for us!  The boys reminded me last night that we're supposed to have donuts on special occasions...and they said my birthday counted as a special occasion.  After we ate, we went outside to wave bye to Mike as he left for work.  Suddenly Brody said, "WOW!!!!!"  I followed his gaze and looked up to see very bright white contrails all over the still dark sky.  It was breathtaking!  He insisted that I try to capture it with my camera.  I didn't have time to mess with my settings for as long as I would've liked, but I think you can see what we were looking it.  He was right...it was beautiful!

 

This was the perfect start to a wonderful day!  I got to have a special lunch with Daddy Steve and Namaw, Barrett spent all of his free time at school coloring a birthday cake for me and then asked Ms. Pam to give me an "It's My Birthday!" sticker that he insisted I wear the rest of the day, I had lots of calls/texts/Facebook messages wishing me happy birthday, I got to go to dinner at Rio Mamba with Mike and the boys (delicious!!!), and then I had a few presents to open.  I was surprised that the boys were able to keep a secret from me that they had gotten me an iPad!  So excited about that!  Not only is it a fun "toy"...I can also use it for work and school.  I've already installed an app that allows me to use it as a dual monitor while I work.  Pretty cool! 

Today was a wonderful birthday.  My favorite part was spending time with my loved ones.  I'm so blessed!

Someone's Tired!

I think it's hereditary

So maybe I'm to blame for the boys' bathroom habits! This is me when I was 2 years old.

It starts young...

Ginger, McKenna, & Jayma

 

 

Heidi vs TCU

 

 

 

Temple Visit

 

 

 

I think you'll be proud...

Brody and I were talking about his day at school the other day and he said, "I did something at school today that I think will make you proud."  When I asked him what he did he said, "I told someone about Jesus!"  Is there a moment that makes a parent any more proud than that?!?  Of course I was proud!!  I asked him to tell me what happened and he said that two of the boys in his class were fighting.  He walked over and told them that God didn't like it when they fought like that.  He said he told them about Noah and how people in the day of Noah were being mean and weren't loving God.  He explained that because people were acting like that God sent a flood to destroy the earth.  He told them that God only saved Noah and his family because they loved God.  He told them that God loved them and wanted them to show love to each other too.

Wow.  Nothing like gently telling someone about God! lol!!  I asked him what they said after he told them that and he said, "Well.  They didn't really say anything....but they stopped fighting!"

Is this why people don't like dentists?

I have always loved going to the dentist.  It's almost like a place of encouragement for me.  I have never had a cavity in my life, therefore, I have no reason to dislike the dentist.  When I go, they tell me that my teeth look great and to keep doing whatever it is that I'm doing (I brush twice a day.  Sometimes I'll floss the week before going to the dentist so that my gums don't bleed when they floss and they can't tell that I haven't been flossing! lol)  I took the boys for the first time about 18 months ago.  We didn't have them on our dental insurance at the time, so it was a $250 office visit to hear "their teeth look great!"  I keep meaning to take them back, but I put it off because I didn't want to spend that much money just to hear everything looked good!

In October, Mike added the boys to our dental insurance, so I decided I better get them in every 6 months now that we're paying the insurance premium on them!  Caleb had some issues with the work our prior dentist did on his teeth, so I decided to try out a new dentist.  Barrett and I went last Thursday and we both got the "everything looks good" speech.  I made Brody an appointment for today at 11:00.  I told him we'd go to the dentist and then go to lunch (kind of a special treat in the middle of a school day).  Well...it turned out that it wasn't the fun treat I had in mind!

They did all the normal x-rays and then the dentist came in the room and said, "Was your former dentist wanting to just keep an eye on his cavities?"  I kinda laughed....then I realized that the dr wasn't joking!  "What?  He has cavities?!"  The dentist went on to tell me that Brody had 5...FIVE! cavities.  Three of them were getting really close to a nerve and one of them was questionable as to whether he could fill it or have to do a root canal with a cap.  I was in shock!  What in the world?!?  He showed me the pictures of the cavities on his computer screen....but I felt like someone looking at a sonogram of a baby for the first time.  I couldn't decipher what he was talking about.  It wasn't until he had Brody open his mouth and showed me that I understood.  He said his teeth look great from the outside, but it was in between his teeth that the cavities had formed.  I asked why we needed to fill the teeth since they're his baby teeth and he'll end up losing them and he said that these are ones he won't lose until he's 9-11 years old and that they're severe enough that they'll really be hurting him soon. 

Thankfully the dentist had time in his schedule to go ahead and do the work today.  Poor Brody was stuck in the chair for an hour with his mouth propped open while the dentist drilled and filled.  I was so proud of him.  He didn't cry or complain once.  The dentist was also very good (Brody didn't even realize the dentist gave him a shot!)  Even with insurance, this was an expensive dental visit....but boy am I glad Mike added them to our plan!  This couldn't been waaaaaay worse on the pocket book!

(Brody before we found out about his cavities.)

 

I didn't make Brody go back to school after we left the dentist.  His mouth and jaw were so sore!  We stopped by the school and got his bag, went to Sonic for lunch, and then went back to Daddy Steve and Namaw's for me to finish working for a little bit.  He was excited to go with me to pick up Barrett from school.  I think his old teachers were just as happy to see him as he was to see them!  He was especially excited to see Mrs. Danielle, Mrs. Allison, and Ms. Pam.  Once Barrett found out why Brody was with me, he wanted to make sure I told everyone I saw about Brody's teeth! 

I told Brody that Mike and I are taking back over brushing his teeth.  I think I may go get an electric toothbrush to see if that'll help.  The dentist seemed to think that we'd fixed the problems and that next time he'll be good for just a cleaning.  I pray he's right!

Lunchtime Jam

 

All Daddy Steve has to do is play one chord and the kids come running!  Barrett and Axton were busy playing in my office...but they dropped their toys and ran to Daddy Steve's office when he started playing his guitar.  They were excited to join in and they sang a few songs before heading downstairs for lunch.  (Yes...Barrett still has his jammies on.  It's cold outside and they're playing inside...so I told him he could wear them as long as he wanted today.)

Sebastian's Birthday

 

Talk about a fun pajama party!  The boys had so much fun this morning at Pump-It-Up for Sebastian's birthday.  Sebastian (in the batman jammies 2nd from the left) is one of the kids in our life group at church.  We have been blessed to be a part of such an amazing group of people at Rush Creek and we love getting to watch our kids become good friends too! 

While I watched the boys at the party, Mike was at home taking down the Christmas lights :(  It's always so sad when it's time to take down the Christmas stuff.  It's kind of like we're having a funeral for Christmas spirit!  The boys tried to convince us to leave the tree up all year....but we told them it wouldn't be as special if we did...and we took it down.  It may be sad to pack away all the Christmas decor....but it makes our house feel so much bigger and so clean!

LEGOLAND!!

 

 

 

Like their Daddy

I'm blessed to be married to a man who is always thinking of others. When he sees that someone has a need, he sacrifices his own desires in order to meet that need. It's a joy to see our boys following in his steps.

I haven't been feeling well the past few days. This afternoon Mike took the boys to the grocery store with him to get stuff to make chili for dinner. When they got home the boys came in side by side with their hands behind their backs. When they got to me they revealed a beautiful bouquet of flowers! Brody said, "I thought you would like some flowers. We also prayed for you while we were driving."

Family Day at the Gun Range

 

 

Happy New Year!

 

A tradition in our family is having dinner with the Rhodes on New Year's Day.  When I was growing up this was a 9 person dinner (4 adults, 5 kids).  This year there were 22 people there (4 grand parents, 10 "grown kids", and 8 kids)!!  We always have so much fun catching up.  The only problem about having so many people there.....I have no clue who go the dime from the black eyed peas! 

Dear Future Great-Grandchildren,

Maybe I'm still going to aerobics class every day and am in amazing shape.  But I'm guessing that by the age of 90 I will have slowed down a little (just a little).  I'm sure Daddy Mike and I will tell you lots of stories of the mountains we climbed and the trips we took that required us to be in top physical condition.  I'll probably tell you about running a marathon at 18 with your Great-Great Daddy Steve.  I know I'll tell you that I taught aerobics classes until the day before I gave birth to your grandpa Brody (that's kinda like walking to school uphill both ways in the snow...right?!).  I'll probably tell you about riding bikes to and from school every day with my boys.  Hopefully I'll also tell you about many other adventures that I have yet to experience! 

At some point I may tell you a story about the time that your Great-Great Uncle Tyler told me about a guy at his gym who did push ups where he'd throw his body up in the air and clap his hands and feet before coming back down into a push up....and how Tyler and I had to prove to each other that we could do that kind of push up too!  Since you probably won't believe that I actually used to be able to do a push up like that....here's proof.

 

Daddy Steve took this picture (it's just before my hands land back on the ground after I clapped...notice feet are still in the air!).  I wonder if I'll be able to back down from a physical challenge by the time you read this?  If not (and you know it'll hurt me), please don't ask me to do it again....but you can show me that you can do a full body hop-off-the-ground-clap push up (don't know what else to call it).  If Great-Great Uncle Tyler is around...I'm sure he'll try it with you.

I hope that when you read this I'm still enjoying an active lifestyle....but if I'm not, know that I used the body God gave me to the fullest.  Being physically active sure makes living life enjoyable!

I love you!

Momma (well...that's what the boys call me now...I have no clue what you'll call me!)