Monthly Mission

At the beginning of each year Brock and I try to take some time to talk about what we did well the previous year and things we would like to do better in the new year. One thing I suggested that we do this year is to emphasize the importance of 'missions' more with the boys. He quickly agreed and we decided that it would be great for us to do something each month. Now, we are not up and moving to a third world country or selling all of our belongings and giving the money to charity, but we are going to designate an activity each month in which we help others and give of our time and talents...as a family.

After the devastating earth-quake in Haiti, we chose to have the boys gather up some food, as well as some of their toys and clothes that they had outgrown and take them to a collection site where they would be sent to the residence of Haiti (our church was a designated collection site for the area so we were able to take all of the items there). We took this opportunity to talk about earthquakes and other natural disasters, but most importantly about God's love for all people. Tytus of course had many questions about why bad things happen and why some boys and girls don't have mommys and daddys. He is beginning to ask a lot of questions about Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection, and this tragedy seemed to having him inquiring in ways he had not before. Beau is always quick to choose to pray for others and this instance was no exception. After we talked about all the people who lost their homes and families, he was the first to start giving prayer requests. He also was very helpful in filling bags of food from the pantry (that could be because all he eats is PB&J, so anything other than PB, he was willing to sacrifice!). And Cash didn't seem to mind that I gave away two trash bags full of 0-12 month clothes that he has already outgrown!!

Next month, we have planned to make Valentines and take them to a local assisted living center. Can't wait!!

To all of you reading this...what kinds of service activities do you do with your children? I always love to borrow ideas from my most creative Mommy friends!

Flashback Friday

I thought I'd start sharing some pictures from the past...at least the fairly recent past! One of Brock's new projects is to scan and digitally save many of our old photos, but until then, the farthest back that I can 'flash' is 2003. That's the summer we got married and received a digital camera as a wedding gift. So, here's one from the beginning...before the Sundance kids...just me and my Cowboy!!

From the Mouths of Babes...(Spelling Bee)

Today as I was taking the boys to 'school', I over heard Tytus and Beau talking:

Tytus: "Hey, Beau, do you know how to spell 'stop'"?
Beau: "No"
TYtus: "You spell 'stop' P-O-T-S, that's how you spell 'stop'!"

Monday Moments, Tuesday Triumphs

We've all heard people say that they have "a case of the Mondays." Well, I've been feeling like I've had a case of the Mondays a little more than usual lately and sometimes not even on a Monday! Maybe it's because this new year is sweeping by and I feel like I am stuck in last December. It could be because we have been on the road a lot over the past several weeks and everyone is out of their routines or that for the past week our home was visited/overtaken by a nasty stomach bug! Whatever it is I am sure that most everyone can relate. No matter what day of the week it is we all have those MOMENTS...right? Tell me I am not alone here. You know, those moments like when you are actually going to make it somewhere on time (for once) and you walk out the door to find that your neighbor's dog has gotten into your trash and strung dirty diapers all over your driveway! Or like when you are actually getting a decent night's sleep and your husband's alarm goes off two hours earlier than it needs to! I'm talking about those moments that are not the end of the world and really mean nothing in comparison to some of the pretty terrible things that people have to go through on this earth, but that are just a part of LIFE...everyday life that has is hills and valleys. Anyway whatever it is that has gotten me in a bit of a 'slump', I know that I still have so much in my life to put a smile on my face...you know, to turn my little frown upside down! So I am designating another section of the blog for me to briefly state a little moment that has gotten me down or rubbed me the wrong way (because, sometimes we all just need a little chance to vent now and then) and then quickly move on to the more important triumphs that fill my days...and I know that there are so many of these to be thankful for!

One of my most recent "Monday Moments" happened when Cash sip up green beans in the middle of the living room just hours after the man from the carpet cleaning company finished shampooing the carpet. Might I add that the carpet looked great (and still does except for a couple of small blobs) and that Cash almost NEVER spits up! Oh well, I accomplished the near impossible last night...I was able to leave my house all by myself (thank you, Brock)! All the boys stayed at home while I took dinner to our sweet friend Holly who just had a beautiful baby girl. Welcome to the world Lyla Pearl, and thanks for the wonderful chat Holly...it was a triumphant blessing!!

Pictures from Tytus' BirthDAY!

When I was growing up my mom always let my sister and I choose what we wanted for dinner/supper on our birthday. Now, since we have the same birthday, we often times compromised and chose the meal together; however, other times we did not, and we would have spaghetti and ribs (or something like that!) I have continued this tradition with my own children and they think it is pretty fun! Here are a few pictures from Tytus' special day:
This year Tytus chose Green Chocolate Chip Pancakes for his birthday breakfast!! Thank you Tytus...they were delicious!

Beau was very pleased with T-Man's creation!

He got to open one present in the morning...a Dallas Cowboys football from Texas Stadium!

The next Tony Romo??? Let's go with...the next Troy Aikman!?!?

The big boys showing Dadddy how to read the new Leapfrog TAG books.

Where's Beau????

The other morning Cash was taking a nap, Beau was playing in his room, and Tytus and I were having some 'computer time' (most likely pbskids.org or starfish.com or one of the other many amazing educational websites we have been frequenting). When all of the sudden I heard... NOTHING! That's right, COMPLETE SILENCE, which as you can imagine is quite uncommon in a house with three small boys. Any good mother knows that when your children are playing and you can't hear them there is reason to be alarmed. This is especially true when it comes to Beau, as he could easily be described as a noisy, talkative player and one of his favorite things to do is hide (and he is very good at it!) So Tytus and I went looking for him. We searched in all of his usual hiding places...behind Daddy's big chair, in the pantry, under the ottoman...nope, no BoBo Show. Then after a more detailed search in the house, but just before taking our investigation outside, Tytus suggested we look in Cash's room...and this is what we found...

He had climbed up in bed with Cash and fallen asleep. Oh, how precious is that?!?! My goodness, it is moments like this one that make my heart so full!! Such a blessing in the middle of an otherwise difficult and exhausting week.

Cash at Five Months

Cash turned five months old earlier this month. Yes, I am just now getting around to posting pictures, but I have been very busy planning birthday parties, and taking care of kiddos with stomach bugs, and New Year's cleaning and organizing. I'll say it again...Cash, you are such a good baby, and you are starting to be so much fun as your adorable personality develops. I can't believe you are already five months old. Your dad, brothers and I love watching you do and 'say' new things everyday.
This month you competely mastered rolling over, and over, and over. You can reach for an object with both hands, stand up with assistance, pull yourself up when someone holds your hands. You can almost sit up by yourself and you would love to start crawling, but you can't seem to get your belly off the floor!
What a "Chunky-Monkey" you are...look at all those rolls! You are a great eater and a really good sleeper.
Daddy got the Exersaucer out of the attic and you are having lots of fun playing in it.
You like being on the floor, but you really wish you could go somewhere. You especially love being wherever your brothers are. They love to make you laugh and you are so happy watching them play.
Last week you got your first taste of rice cereal and it was no surprise that you loved it. You did such a good job eating that Tytus got to feed you!

We love you so much Cash Allen!!

The Weekend in Pictures

Here are a few pictures from Mom's and Grandmother's parties. NOTE: the flash on my camera stopped working so I am waiting for Mom's friend's to email me some good photos from her party.
The most delicious red velvet cake EVER!!!
SURPRISE!!!!
Even the kids wore BLACK!
Little Cilla Grace
Grandmother and "the ugliest cake I've ever seen" (said Aunt Sue Ellen), oh well, it was very yummy!
Kandy and Destiny...I promised I would post this one since it is such a great picture of both of them!
Grandmother and her sister, Aunt Sheilah
All the granddaughters (minus Marissa and Makenzi)
Cash and his Great Grandmother

Roadtrip with the Gang: The Element of Surprise

As often as we jump in the car for a little getaway, I have decided to designate an entire section of the blog to document the "adventures" we encounter on our roadtrips!
This past Friday we (me and the Sundance Kids) loaded up and headed to Edmond for a weekend packed full of activities and SURPRISES!! I LOVE surprises! Brock was already in OKC on business so it worked out nicely for us to meet him there before all the playtime began. Our two main purposes for going were to celebrate Mom's 50th birthday and to attend the wedding of our sweet family friend, Jordy Mercer. The weekend plans were altered a bit when our Uncle Russ who was in the hospital after taking a terrible fall became critically ill. Our family was gathered around him with love and prayers. Thankfully he is doing better, but his road to recovery will be a long one.
The first surprise of the weekend was a party for Mom (look for pictures in a following post). We secretly gathered family and friends together at Ted's and pulled off a great surprise party! She was SHOCKED to find us all waiting for her, complete with cake and gifts and every person in the room wearing BLACK!! On Saturday, Kandy and I (and Cash), along with several cousins and aunts gathered to SURPRISE Grandmother for her 80th birthday. We had such a nice time and Grandmother was overwhelmed when she saw us. She is a wonderful lady and deserves to celebrated! Needless to say we thought there were no more surprises in store for us, until...our trip to Wal-Mart!
Early Sunday morning Kandy called to inform (and warn) us that Mark and Paxton were both sick with a stomach virus. Everyone seemed healthy in my family so we went to church, had a nice lunch, and went to get some groceries. All was well, until I hear Mom yelling for assistance a few aisle away. I turn the corner and am SURPRISED to see that Tytus has thrown-up EVERYWHERE in the middle of Wal-Mart...all over the floor, all over the cart, all over the food in the cart, all over himself! And that was the beginning of him being a very sick little boy for the rest of the day. So, Monday morning I decided it was time for the boys and I to head back home, as we had successfully spread our germs and Mom was now not feeling well at all. Unfortunately Brock had to stay for meetings in OKC all week. We arrived safely home only be SURPRISED yet again as soon as I opened the door to the house. It seems I had forgotten to take the trash bag of dirty diapers out to the dumpster before we left four days before. You can only imagine the smell I was greeted by! Despite how the trip ended we had a great time seeing lots of family and friends. It was definitely a roadtrip for the books and I should clarify my previous statement...I LOVE A GOOD SURPRISE!!

T-Man Turns FOUR Years Old Today!!!

Wow, I can't belive my little boy is FOUR years old today!! It seems like just yesterday we were rushing to the hospital and it has been an excited adventure from the very beginning!! At four years old, you are really into music, you love playing the guitar and singing songs...songs like, 'Ring of Fire', 'Big Green Tractor', 'Country Fried', and lots of praise and worship songs. You love sports, especially playing football and golf with daddy. Your favorite food is pizza, your favorite color is green, and your favorite superhero is Batman. You love learing new things and are already beginning to read and spell simple words. You weigh 34 lbs and are 42 in. tall!

T-Man you are the most amazing little boy I know. I can't imagine our family with out you. I thank God everyday for you. You are kind, generous, thoughtful, helpful, smart, funny, talented and just a total joy to be around. Thanks for being such a great brother, son, and friend.

The first picture taken of you...4lbs, 6oz., 16 in. long.

On your first birthday we really celebrated your good health with lots of friends and family that helped us get through a tough first year.

On your second birthday we had the "Second Annual Birthday Bowl"...you sure changed a lot that year!

On your third birthday you were really into firemen and fire trucks, so we went to the fire station for your party. You and your friends even got to ride on the fire truck!

From the Mouths of Babes...(Seeking Independence)

Today as the boys were getting dressed to go to school, Tytus and I had this little conversation...
Tytus: "How about you just drop me off at school and then leave?"
Me: "Well, I kind of need to go inside so I can help your brother get to his classroom."
Tytus: "Well, then I'll just go upstairs by myself and you can stay downstairs."
Me: "Well, I really should go upstairs too, so that I can sign my name where all the mommys and daddys sign in."
Tytus: "How 'bout I just sign your name for you, M-O-M."

Although I was a tiny bit crushed that he is becoming such a big boy that he no longer wants me to take him into school, I was quite impressed that he can spell my 'name'! We agreed that I would go upstairs with him to sign in, but I would stay in the hall and not go into his classroom. Here we go...taking steps on his jouney toward independence...I can do this, right?

The Christmas That Kept On Giving!

So I am finally getting around to posting some pictures from our Christmases. They totalled five, yes five Christmases, all complete with a tons of family, food, and presents. I failed to get pictures from each one, but let's face it, it's a lot for a girl to handle, and I was trying to help the boys and video at the same time! We had a great time this year...the boys had tons of fun and despite our plans being changed due "The Blizzard", everyone remained in good spirits (for the most part). This was our first year to be at our own home on Christmas morning and it was really nice. Then thanks to the snow and ice we were able to spend the entire day at home without the stress of rushing around to travel to the next family member's home. (I was a little sad at first, but it was really a blessing getting to spend all day with Brock and the boys and they had tons of fun playing with their new toys!) We did get up the following morning and brave the treacherous road conditions, only to arrive saftely eight and a half hours later at Grandmother's house in NWO.

It was Cash's first Christmas and although he slept throught the majority of the festivities, he was the first to awake on Christmas morning and didn't seem to mind watching his big brothers open his gifts for him.

Santa brought Beau a "piano-thingy" and Tytus is taking his turn with younger Brother's new toy.
Beau obviously didn't mind, as he was filled with joy (and sugar) when Santa was faithful to bring him the only thing he asked for, "a treat".

Tytus was also very pleased when Santa brought him a green guitar just like he asked for. (To avoid confusion and embarassment, Tytus was trying on his new Buzz Lightyear undies, when he decided to sarinade us with a little "Big Green Tractor", besides that his snowman pajamas were making him a bit too toasty!!)

Future O-State quarterback and wide receiver???

We were literally snowed in!!!



The boys begged to go outside and play in the snow and I'm pretty sure it took longer to get all of their winter gear on them then the amount of time they wanted to 'play' in the freezing cold, windy weather.

Grandma reading the Christmas story and sharing the good news of salvation with the grandkids, minus Cash (who was sleeping) and Priscilla (who was determined to get a gift open while no one was watching!)

Beau LOVED his new bike helmet and boxing gloves. Tough Guy!