The Williams Crew

Making Ornaments

2009-01-02T22:18:00.008-06:00

The other day, my mom came over and we made ornaments of my kids hands with the kids (well, duh...can't make ornaments of their hands without them, huh?) And then we made a gingerbread house.

The kids had a blast with Gran mixing and kneading the dough for the ornaments. We had flour EVERYWHERE! It was so fun. Course I had to be there with the camera...so I'm trying to not get flour on the camera.

Here they are mixing and kneading the dough....you can see that they are intent on what they are doing, but they can always flash mommy a big smile!!

Had to get one with Gran in there! They love their Gran!

Now, they each got a turn at rolling the dough out flat. Above is Reidster and below is Cole-dog!!

Ella is very intent as well. We were laughing so hard at her because every single time I called her name...no matter what for...she assumed I was going to take her picture and this is the smile that she flashed at me. I mean that's total "Say Cheese on demand!" Mom and I couldn't stop laughing at her. She is for sure the biggest ham in our house!

Now, we move to cutting out their handprint...no worries, she didn't cut any of them!! We had to do them each I think at least 2x to get it right! But the kids were excited to get their turn.

And of course, sweet Ella....she flashed me her smile. Honestly because she kept doing it, I just kept saying her name.

Below you will see the finished product. I have to get a spray to put on them that will give them a glossy finish and help preserve them. They will go on the tree next year. I still have the one that my mom made of my hand when I was 5...it's really cool to look back over the years and watch how fast they grow. And I love that ornament even to this day of my handprint. Brings back some good memories.

Once this project was complete, we went on to make a gingerbread house. It took about 20 minutes to put together and about 5 for them to tear it apart and eat it! GROSS, I know.

Christmas Day

2009-01-02T22:06:00.007-06:00

Ok...so I'm a little late on this post...but I completely went on strike this week and refused to do anything, but sit on my tush and play Wii with my kids and just chill and relax!! Afterall, Monday, it all starts again...school, rushing here and there, karate, working out, dance, etc....

But I have to share these pictures. My sister in law bought Ella this sweet purple princess dress and the crown for Christmas and I know she and my niece are waiting to see this picture! Ella opened the present and immediately wanted to put it on. She said: "Look Mommy, I'm a princess!" And she is for sure. She is a princess on the outside as well as the inside.

This next picture is of the outfit my Aunt Wanda bought her for Christmas. I mean seriously...this could be the best outfit ever. And Ella of course wears it well.

Next we have Reid so excited to get his Tony Romo! I know, I have him totally trained...isn't it awesome?!! He was really excited when he opened this. He loves Romo and the Cowboys! I couldn't be prouder.

Next we have sweet Cole excited over his new horse set. Now, I'm not sure what happened to this picture as it's horrible quality...but it's all I got for now folks. You can still see his sweet face.

Next we have Ella in her other princess dress that she got. Now, who said a Princess can't be beautiful and hip all at the same time? Well, this little miss thing says you can! Check her out! Priceless.

We had an awesome Christmas this year. We spent time with family and just sat still and enjoyed it! We celebrated Jesus' birthday with a cake and with the story of His birth. We pray that our children will always know the true meaning of Christmas being in Christ and not in presents.

Reid's 6yr photoshoot

2008-12-23T14:15:00.002-06:00

I did my annual pictures of Reid last week. To view them, please visit Photography by April Williams.

He's a cutie for sure!!! Love you all...

Happy 6th Bday Reid!!!

2008-12-17T21:59:00.007-06:00

Today my "little" Reid turned 6! I gotta tell you, I'm not sure how this happened. I kept telling him all day today that he was staying 5 and he was not allowed to turn 6. And he kept telling me that he couldn't help it. He couldn't stop growing...but he assured me that he would always be my boy and he would always give me hugs (well, that is, if no one is around to see it!).

Reid's day started off with Daddy taking him to breakfast, then off to school. Then Mommy, Cole, and Ella took him lunch and ate with him at school. We took his classmates jolly rancher candy canes. Reid opted for this over cupcakes (which he doesn't really like) or cookies (which he loves). It's funny. You may think that's weird, but I can't say anything. Ask my mom how many years I would ask for Pumpkin pie as my bday cake! I know it's crazy. I also asked for fruit pizza a couple of times myself. I'm not a big cake person. So, Reid gets 98% of everything from Bry, but I suppose that one quirky thing from me!

After school, Reid's best buddy Justin came home with us. They played for awhile before hitting the fav pizza joint! They had a blast eating and eating and eating and then playing games. And let me just say that those boys are LOUD! While we were still at home, I had to call my girl, Allie, to let her see what she was missing. Reid was BEATING/BANGING on the drums (yes, I know...who in their right mind buys their own kids a real drum set?) and J was on the PIANO. They were the Reid and Justin Rock Band they told me. Holy Cow is all I can say. Allie was sooooo sad that she was missing that fun! ;-) NOT!

Here are a few pics of Reid's day.

So...do you think they were having fun or what? Above is their silly face. Below is their "I'm so cool" face.

Now we have their sweet face.

The match off. Man...2 boys that are really competitive.

I have to add that Reid has been a complete joy in our lives. When Reid first turned 5, we had quite a few challenges with him. We had a huge learning process with him as well. He honestly taught us patience in his own way and he taught me to lean soley on Christ to be a parent. I can't do this thing called motherhood on my own strength or wisdom...because on my own I don't have enough of either. I had to learn to move past myself and my desires and stop all in life to focus on him and his needs.

By mid year, I have to say we hit a turning point with him. He has truly become such a tender hearted, sweet spirited child. I can't even put the words down that would do it justice. He has become Mommy's Boy through and through. He has a little servant's heart just like his Daddy. He has a tender heart that is becoming more evident each and every day. He loves his family more than anything. I have longed and prayed for a closeness in our family, and I am seeing that answered in Reid. He is so genuine and deeply cares about all of us.

One of the things that Reid's teacher said about Reid this year (and his teacher from last year) was that she could tell that he really loved his family and she also said that it was clear that he felt loved by his family. This is a huge compliment to a mother! I know that God has a great plan for this sweet little man. Before I know it, he will be graduating from HS and then from college. I can't wait to see what God has in store for him. I pray that Reid is always tender to God's calling...but even if and when he has to learn a few lessons the hard way, I know that He will prevail in his life in the end and that is the greatest comfort for me as his mother. Reid and I definitely share a special bond these days...one that I pray I will have the wisdom to nurture and turn into something unbreakable.

On this day, I can't be any more thankful for my first born child. He is very special and very well loved. He is a diamond in the rough. He is God's unfinished handiwork. He is fearfully and wonderfully made. He is God's first and foremost and I (along with Bry) are honored and blessed to have the privilege of the responsibility of rearing him in Christ!

Reid, we love you love you love! Happy Birthday! And for goodness sake....quit growing up!

Baby Shower

2008-12-16T21:50:00.006-06:00

On Saturday morning, I woke up and got dressed for my very busy day. I started off with a photoshoot, which you can check out on my Photog Blog. Then I headed North for a Baby Shower that I helped host. My only job though was to take pictures! No pressure here, since there were a couple of photographers in the room. Anyway, it was for my sweet friend, Andrea and her precious new arrival Hannah Hope. You can view the details and all of the pics on Andrea's blog.

But I had to post these 3 pics as they are so special to me. I took the first two and then Andrea took the one of me and her together. This pic of me holding her just makes my heart melt. She is absolutely beautiful and I know that God is going to work through this precious girl tremendously. I'm so thankful that I will get to be apart of her life to watch it all unfold.

And of course....the hostesses with the mostess!!!!

After the shower....I headed home to change and then to Reid's Bday party...his pics coming soon!!!

Friday night Holiday Lights

2008-12-16T21:28:00.006-06:00

Friday night we took our kiddos with some friends to the local firestation for their holiday lighting fun. They got to climb in a big firetruck...which as you can imagine the boys thought was way cool. They also went to Walmart and had Rudolph noses painted on them. They went into another little store and got balloons...all of which were blown away! The twin girls let their go to fly up to Jesus. Ella followed suite....however, the boys weren't quite as excited that Jesus got their balloons later in the night.

Please note that I took these with my point and shoot camera...I know...I'm the "photographer" and yet I used a consumer camera! Oh well....all that matters is that I caught some special moments!

Here are Syndi and "her girls" Seriously...she makes your heart melt!

Oh me...what handsome boys....the girls are going to come flocking them one day...oh wait, they already do that! Man...am I arrogant tonight or what about my kids? I love them!

I know....you want to eat her in this picture, huh? I'm pretty sure that little girls just don't get cuter than this! I love her sooooo much!

Santa Came for a visit

2008-12-09T23:03:00.004-06:00

We were invited to some friends' house to have cookies, milk, story time, and pictures with Santa! Yep...you read that right. Santa actually showed up at their house. No lie...the real Santa too. Not the elf Santa at Stonebriar or the goofy looking one at the other mall...this was the real Santa. He even brought Mrs. Claus with him. I know...if you are reading this right now, you are super jealous that you didn't get to come, but he just couldn't see everyone last night.

Heehee....Seriously...my kiddos got to enjoy seeing Santa up close and personal. The boys were really excited to thank him for his early Christmas present, Jingle! Remember, the puppy? And you won't believe it...but even ELLA couldn't wait to get on his lap. Now, let me just say that she screamed her head off at the very site of the elf Santa at Stonebriar! She cried and clung to me with her little death grip. But that's because she knew he wasn't the real Santa....I mean Duh! Though I'm not sure why she was afraid of him...she was just as big as him...really? Ok...enough...I'm being mean now!

She sat in the group of kiddos and patiently waited her turn and when he called her name, she jumped right up and sat in his lap. Now, she didn't tell him what she wanted for Christmas...but something tells me he knew.

The boys, at their turn, both thanked him for Jingle. And then Santa asked them if they wanted anything else for Christmas. Reid simply named a movie that he wants and Cole wanted a Batman guy. And the proudest, humbling moment came for mom with what Santa said next: "Is that all?" He was totally perplexed by it. Their request seemed so simple. My heart leaped. See...they got what they really wanted which was Jingle....they don't really have a long list...just a couple of small things. Keeping it simple!

The best part was that Mrs. Claus read a book about how Santa was here to deliver presents to represent the 3 Wisemen and that he was given the gift of giving by our Lord and Savior. He told them that though it's fun to get presents for Christmas...that was indeed NOT what Christmas was all about. It was about our baby Jesus being born into this world to save us. Seriously....I really love Santa now!

It was a fun evening for our kids...and then they couldn't wait to get back home to Jingle and play with her before bed. We have been blessed beyond measure.

A BIG Thank you to my girlfriend.....

2008-12-08T22:52:00.003-06:00

I just have to give a BIG THANK YOU to my sweet girlfriend April. I threw my back out last week of all times. Now I really know how Bry feels when he throws his back out. I have NEVER had back problems...oh man...am I really getting old??

I had several photoshoots that I needed to get edited and posted as well as a couple of photoshoots to do over the weekend...and did I mention that we did our Christmas party this past weekend? Yeah...so anyway....My gal pal Ape came over on Friday and totally helped clean my house. She and my hubby cleaned. I couldn't do a darn thing. But I just wanted to say thank you thank you thank you. She helped my stress level with getting everything done that needed to be done for the party.

By Saturday, my back was feeling so much better...till I was an idiot and played Wii that night. I'm too dang competitive so I had to give it my all. And now, my back is hurting again. Luckily this time not to a point that I can't move! Oh me...

But back to her....I really appreciate her help. She has proven to be a true friend beyond words. Love you girl...Peace out! ;-)

Christmas party and good times with good friends

2008-12-08T22:33:00.005-06:00

Bry and I didn't have a Christmas party last year, but we were back in action this year! We decided to have a small dinner with our dearest friends. We had a GREAT time! The food was AMAZING!!! And I can say that because I didn't cook it. I had a friend of a friend do it...and she does it for fun. She was worth far more than she asked for.

We love doing this as it gets so many that we love all in the same room. Thank you for coming!

And for those that left early....you totally missed the Wii party! This was my first time to ever play. I seriously need one of these now. Maybe after Christmas....

Anyway, I'm embarrassed to admit that I totally pulled the commercial Wii throwing the remote across the room. It might have hit the tv had my dear friend Allie not been in the way...instead, the remote totally hit her arm and flew over and hit the wall. Oh me....I have always said that I was clumpsy. Hope her arm healed!!! ;-)

Here are some fun pics from the evening. I didn't post the ones from the end of the night....but I do have black mail pics on some of my friends...you totally know who you are!

Merry Christmas.

An early Christmas Surprise

2008-12-07T22:03:00.004-06:00

Hello everyone! I know that I have been MIA on the whole blogging thing. I have been crazy busy with photography and Reid's school, etc....I have several things that I wanted to blog, but just didn't have the time. I may try to catch up on some of them later.

BUT....the Williams' Day today is worth stopping all and blogging. For those of you that know me well...you will be SHOCKED!

Santa visited our house a bit early this year and brought quite a bit of Christmas cheer for my sweet boys. It did take some convincing for the boys to really believe that Santa came early for them...but I think they bought it! ;-)

Anyway, as you can see below, they got their long awaited new best friend.
Yes, you are seeing this right....they have a new puppy! They have a little Boston Terrier. She is 9 weeks old. The boys were a little unsure what to think when they first opened their early gift. Cole kept asking me if we were going to have to give her back. Reid just kept saying thank you thank you thank you. They were overwhelmed, but so excited. I still am not sure if it has totally sunk in or not....but they have had a blast so far nonetheless.

I have to admit...she is pretty cute. I mean, how can you not love that little face?

Now, Ella on the other hand wasn't as excited about Santa's gift. For the first couple of hours, she had to be held by either me or Daddy. Can you tell that she looks a little bit worried. Course, I'm thinking this is a cruel joke for her.

They really couldn't be any happier, could they??

But don't worry guys....

Ella started warming up to the idea of a dog. As a matter of fact, we went to show Reid's best friend his sweet puppy and Ella storms in the house and proclaims: "Look! That's MY dog!"

She even gives her hugs now. So....I think she will be ok. My guess is that she and the pup will bond the most!

So....now we go for the house breaking thing. I have no idea what I just got myself into. I'm not a big fan of dogs in the house at ALL....BUT the joy that it brought to my kids today will be worth it all. The boys thanked God tonight in their prayers that Santa brought them such a beautiful dog for them to have and keep! Reid has already started taking care of her...hopefully this will last. All in all....this is the best gift for the boys...I just know it.

As far as her name??? Reid wants to name her Jingle. Mom and Dad want to name her Piper...but I think we may be stuck with Jingle!

The Treatment of Bush Has Been a Disgrace

2008-11-05T23:06:00.003-06:00

I thought I would share this article as everyone needs to see what is going on in our world. We need to be aware that the "change" we are about to see is going to force those that are truly committed to Christ to take a stand and persevere like no other time.

This article was in The Wall Street Journal.

What must our enemies be thinking?

By JEFFREY SCOTT SHAPIRO

Earlier this year, 12,000 people in San Francisco signed a petition in support of a proposition on a local ballot to rename an Oceanside sewage plant after George W. Bush. The proposition is only one example of the classless disrespect many Americans have shown the president.

According to recent Gallup polls, the president's average approval rating is below 30% -- down from his 90% approval in the wake of 9/11. Mr. Bush has endured relentless attacks from the left while facing abandonment from the right.

This is the price Mr. Bush is paying for trying to work with both Democrats and Republicans. During his 2004 victory speech, the president reached out to voters who supported his opponent, John Kerry, and said, "Today, I want to speak to every person who voted for my opponent. To make this nation stronger and better, I will need your support, and I will work to earn it. I will do all I can do to deserve your trust."

Those bipartisan efforts have been met with crushing resistance from both political parties.

The president's original Supreme Court choice of Harriet Miers alarmed Republicans, while his final nomination of Samuel Alito angered Democrats. His solutions to reform the immigration system alienated traditional conservatives, while his refusal to retreat in Iraq has enraged liberals who have unrealistic expectations about the challenges we face there.

It seems that no matter what Mr. Bush does, he is blamed for everything. He remains despised by the left while continuously disappointing the right.

Yet it should seem obvious that many of our country's current problems either existed long before Mr. Bush ever came to office, or are beyond his control. Perhaps if Americans stopped being so divisive, and congressional leaders came together to work with the president on some of these problems, he would actually have had a fighting chance of solving them.

Like the president said in his 2004 victory speech, "We have one country, one Constitution and one future that binds us. And when we come together and work together, there is no limit to the greatness of America."

To be sure, Mr. Bush is not completely alone. His low approval ratings put him in the good company of former Democratic President Harry S. Truman, whose own approval rating sank to 22% shortly before he left office. Despite Mr. Truman's low numbers, a 2005 Wall Street Journal poll found that he was ranked the seventh most popular president in history.

Just as Americans have gained perspective on how challenging Truman's presidency was in the wake of World War II, our country will recognize the hardship President Bush faced these past eight years -- and how extraordinary it was that he accomplished what he did in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

The treatment President Bush has received from this country is nothing less than a disgrace. The attacks launched against him have been cruel and slanderous, proving to the world what little character and resolve we have. The president is not to blame for all these problems. He never lost faith in America or her people, and has tried his hardest to continue leading our nation during a very difficult time.

Our failure to stand by the one person who continued to stand by us has not gone unnoticed by our enemies. It has shown to the world how disloyal we can be when our president needed loyalty -- a shameful display of arrogance and weakness that will haunt this nation long after Mr. Bush has left the White House.

Mr. Shapiro is an investigative reporter and lawyer who previously interned with John F. Kerry's legal team during the presidential election in 2004.

Election Day!!!

2008-11-03T23:47:00.002-06:00

If you are like my sweet hubby and have a lot of frustration or passion to vent or express about politics, here's a great blog that a girlfriend of mine started for you to go and express all of your opinions!

Check it out....there will be people posting all day tomorrow during the voting/election day.

Let's be on our hands and knees tomorrow praying.

52Percent

This sure puts life in perspective

2008-11-03T16:15:00.002-06:00

You have to take the 5 minutes to watch this video! This really puts life in perspective. We have a lot to be thankful for. I have always believed that life can always be worse....it's all in how you view life and whether or not you choose to learn to live with your life and learn the lessons that God has for you or if you choose to drown in your life. The choice is up to you. This guy Nick is amazing and someone that we can all look to for encouragement.

Halloween

2008-11-02T20:56:00.006-06:00

Thought I would post a pic of our kiddos from Halloween. I am not personally a big fan of Halloween, but the kids love dressing up! We went to Reid's BFF friends house for a party and then went trick or treating! The kids had a great time! Now, we have enough candy to last us for about another year. YIPPEE!

I wish you could see in these pics that Ella's wings sparkled. Literally, they lit up and lights flashed on and off all night. It was a great way to keep up with her at Trick or Treat time! This was her first experience with trick or treating. She was determined to walk the whole time by herself even though she was in a complete daze about half way through. She ran her little legs off to keep up with her brothers and her friends.

My Little Soccer Stud!

2008-11-02T20:50:00.003-06:00

Reid had his last soccer game for the Fall Season this past Saturday. He has really turned into the soccer stud this season! He has scored just about every game and most games he scores 2x! It's been so fun to watch as his confidence has really been boosted. Most importantly, he's been having fun while learning the game and learning to play on a team! He's already excited to play in the Spring!

Here are some pics of him at his last game.

Such great form as he turns the ball around!

He's going down for the score!

And he SCORES! For the record, he scored the only 2 points for our team this game. Yes, sadly, we lost our very last game!

Not all of Hollywood is for Obama

2008-11-01T15:15:00.002-06:00

This is a pretty long video (about 20 min), but is worth the listen. If you don't know how to vote on Tuesday...this should help you. We as Christians (or so called Christians) have let politics be one of those things that we just gripe about, but not get involved in. We MUST get involved. We MUST vote on morals if for nothing else. I am just unsure how we can call ourselves a Child of God's and vote for every moral thing that goes AGAINST God's Word. At this point in the game, we are only arguing with God's Word and not each other.

If you haven't voted...GET OUT AND VOTE!!!!

Click HERE!

Seriously.....

2008-10-27T13:06:00.001-06:00

You have to check out this link to Howard Stern's radio show. I'm NOT a Stern supporter...but LOVE this! He is proving that our country doesn't have a CLUE who they are voting for next week. We need to do some serious prayer!!!

Howard Stern on Politics

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-21T21:39:00.002-06:00

I have spent the past 2 days at the Pumpkin Patch with my kiddos! Yesterday after we dropped Reid off at school, I took Cole and Ella to meet some of Cole's school friends at the pumpkin patch. I loved doing this since Cole's friends are usually Reid's age. Cole was excited to meet up with his 2 buddies from school. The fun thing is that both of these little boys have big brothers that are in Kindergarten as well. Anyway, I wanted to post some pictures of Ella and Cole. I have only posted one here. You can go to my Photography blog to view the rest.

I went back to the patch today with Reid's class for his field trip! I will have more pics later of his trip. The bad thing about being a photographer is that you can't just take a point and shoot camera to these events and just post the pics...nope....since everyone knows you are a photographer, they expect the big ole camera! Seriously, my fav pics are the pumpkin patch pics...so I can't help myself!

More to come....I hope!

Trip to the Zoo

2008-10-20T13:02:00.006-06:00

Last week, Reid had a day off from school, so Daddy took off and we went to the zoo! Reid's most favorite field trip of the year is the zoo!!! He LOVES the animals. All 3 of the kids really had a great time. This was the first year that Ella enjoyed the zoo as well. They would run from animal to animal with such great excitement. It was really cute to see. And they were thrilled that Daddy was there with us (and so was I). It's much more fun for mom too with some help!

They were all exhausted by the time we left. They all fell asleep by the time we got to the freeway and slept the whole way home. It was a wonderful family day!

Reid may follow in his mom's footsteps in that he wanted to take pictures of the animals! He loves to take pictures...but then again, he may have just wanted to take pictures of them so that he can look at them any time he wants!

Never mind the girl in the background picking her nose!! LOL!!

Ella's modeling debut!!!

2008-10-14T14:25:00.004-06:00

Hey, I wanted to share with you that Ella has been featured on Little Heiress Blog Website. If you aren't familiar with Little Heiress...it is a children's boutique in Frisco! I had to share...isn't she just precious? Course I know that most of you have seen this picture, but it must have grabbed the attention of the owners in order for it to be featured. They are going to start featuring a child I think each week and Ella started it off! I'm so excited!!!!

Click on Little Heiress....

Enjoy.

Looking for Christmas Cards???

2008-10-11T15:13:00.002-06:00

It’s that time of year…The holiday season! There is so much hustle and bustle already going on…whether you are finding the perfect Halloween costume or making Thanksgiving plans, in the back of your mind, you might be thinking: “What am I going to do for Christmas cards this year?”

Glad you asked! First, you need to set up your family portrait session (if you haven’t done this, know that availability is limited). Then choose your favorite picture from your gallery. Next, you will visit the website Cherry Hill Designs to choose your card. And the best part….

Right now through November 30th, you can purchase your Christmas cards at a 20% discount through Cherry Hill Designs. Just enter the code photobyaw at the checkout. This discount is only good for clients who have had a portrait session with Photography by April Williams.

How does this work? You let me know what image from your gallery you want to use for your Christmas cards and I will submit that image directly to Cherry Hill Designs and they will make and print your cards.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. Otherwise, hit the malls for those perfect outfits for your family, set up your photoshoot, pick your card and take one thing off of your to do list!

To set up your photoshoot, go to Photography by April Williams and click on the Contact Me section!! Looking forward to hearing from you.

Our door

2008-10-11T15:03:00.002-06:00

Here is the door that me and the other room mom helped the kiddos decorate! The kids feathered the Eagle and they made the stars and of course smiled for the pictures! How cute is this door?

Also, here is a picture of Reid and Emma. Emma is in his class. Her mommy is a room mom with me. They seem to really enjoy playing with each other. Course it could be that they have been stuck up at school together a few times after school while we were decorating or planning things for the class. Isn't she cute though?

Bet Ya didn't hear about this on NBC

2008-10-10T12:50:00.001-06:00

Family with Down Syndrome Child Meets John McCain and Sarah Palin

September 9, 2008

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Kurt in Pittsburgh , hello, sir. Nice to have you on the EIB Network, and how about the Steelers defense?

CALLER: How about those Steelers, huh?

RUSH: How about that?

CALLER: Hey, listen, Rush, longtime listener, first-time caller, one of those Bible, family, gun clingers from western
Pennsylvania .

RUSH: Thank you.

CALLER: And I wanted to share a story with you. A week ago last Saturday we went to the Palin-McCain rally in
Washington , Pennsylvania , was the day after he announced her, and we have a five-year-old daughter with
Down syndrome, and we made a sign that said: "We Love Kids with Down Syndrome." So when they pulled in
their bus the sign did catch their, McCain and Palin and the rest of their family, it caught their eye, we could tell,
they gave us a thumbs-up from the bus, so we were all excited just by that --

RUSH: Wait, wait, wait. Who gave you the thumbs up, McCain and Palin?

CALLER: McCain, Palin, Cindy McCain, we could see them from the bus. We were in a position where we had eye
contact with them --

RUSH: Oh, cool!

CALLER: My wife was holding our daughter.

RUSH: Very, very, very cool.

CALLER: It was really cool, Rush. I was like, "Wow, that's awesome," because I love Governor Palin and so I thought
that's really neat. So then we moved around as the bus was getting ready to pull out, we kind of positioned ourselves
so we could just wave them on and a Secret Service agent came up to us and said, "Hey, can you come with us?"
I was like, "Do we have a choice?"

RUSH: (laughing) You shouldn't have worried. It's not the Clinton administration.

CALLER: Right. So we accompanied them up the hill, we went right to the bus, where it was, and Governor Palin, Senator
McCain, Cindy, Todd Palin, they're all standing there. We're in this inner circle with just us and them, and the Secret
Service agent, and they came right up to us and thanked us for coming out, said they loved our sign, and Governor Palin
immediately said, "May I hold your daughter?" and our daughter Chloe, who's five, went right to her, and I have some
pictures I'd love to send you maybe when I'm done here, but Governor Palin was hugging Chloe, and then her little
daughter brought their baby Trig who has Down syndrome from the bus, he was napping, and Chloe went right over
and kissed him on the cheek, and my son Nolan who's nine, he thanked her.

RUSH: This is amazing.

CALLER: I will send you all the stuff, Senator McCain was talking to my son, and we thanked him for his service, and
he asked my son if he wanted to see the bus, and we were hanging out and it was very surreal. I felt like we could have
had a pizza and a beer with them, they were so warm.

RUSH: You know what? I want to put you on hold. I want Snerdley to give you our super-secret, known-only-to-three-people
here, e-mail address.

CALLER: I will send you everything, Rush.

RUSH: And then could you send us these pictures? Would you mind if we put them on the website?

CALLER: I would be honored, and my main thing is they are warm, kind, genuine people, and they represent the best of this country.

RUSH: That's right. And when you send these pictures, make sure you identify them. I mean, we'll know Palin and McCain,
of course. Identify yourselves.

CALLER: I will, I will identify everybody in the picture, Rush, and God bless you for being a beacon of hope and truth in
this country.

RUSH: Oh, no, no. It's nothing, it's nothing. You're doing the Lord's work.

CALLER: Well, we're very blessed and I want people to know what a blessing it is to have a child with Down syndrome.
These kids, they're angels.

RUSH: That's the thing. There's always good to be found in everything that happens. It may be a while before it reveals itself.

CALLER: Absolutely and when she hugged my daughter I said, here's the difference, this candidate embraces life and
all its limitless possibilities.

RUSH: All right.

CALLER: That's what she is.

RUSH: Terrific, okay, I gotta run here, but I'm going to put you on hold.

CALLER: Thank you, Rush.

RUSH: Thank you, Kurt. I really appreciate it.

END TRANSCRIPT

More Dance pictures

2008-10-10T11:22:00.004-06:00

I can't help but keep sharing these cute pics of Ella in her dance gear! It's by far my most favorite thing to do with her. She actually really loves dance as well. Plus, she gets to do it with one of her bestest little friends, Haley aka Kaley. Ella calls her Kaley instead of Haley. Anyway, don't you just want to eat her up in this??? I can't wait for the first dance recital!!!!

In the last picture above, she is showing me her dance moves! Too cute.

Homecoming Week

2008-10-10T11:11:00.005-06:00

I wanted to post a few pictures of Reid's homecoming week at school. Each day the lower school students were able to participate in some of the fun. They had a different theme for dress each day. As you will see below, you know that I was proud of my son for the shirt he picked on Tuesday!!! Can't help myself.

Mommy's Favorite!!! Go Cowboys! More pics of the boys to come soon with both of them in jerseys.

Ella and Cole wanted in on the action as well. Poor Cole's class only got to wear green this day! Bummer because he has a Barber jersey! I know...I'm out of control!

Thursday was Cowboy day! They were very excited to wear their boots to school!

And of course, Ella wanted a picture with her boys. I'm laughing because all 3 of them needed their hair at least brushed for the day! ;-)

We will be hitting the homecoming game tonight! So fun.

I Do Again by Jeff and Cheryl Scruggs

2008-10-02T15:03:00.003-06:00

"Jeff and Cheryl are living proof that God can bring even dead marriages back to life" -Gary Thomas, best-selling author of Sacred Marriage
Ten disappointing years of marriage. Seven painful years of divorce. One remarkable, true-life story of a love rescued by God."

I had to share this video of a dear couple I know. I have heard their testimony and I still cried. God is truly the Healer of all things and of all people, IF we allow Him to come in and work in our hearts! I can't wait for their book to come out. What a beautiful testimony of what it means to persevere and walk with Christ even when it's truly painful.

Mommy Daughter Day

2008-09-25T20:11:00.007-06:00

Today, I decided to take the day and really spend it with my daughter. I have been going and blowing so fast and furious, that I have neglected the important things in life and that is slowing down to smell the roses! I read a book over the weekend called The Lies Women Believe and The Truth That Sets Them Free. It was recommended to me by my girlfriend, Jeffie. If you haven't read the book...it's a MUST read!

One of the chapters was centered around life, priorities...moving too fast. And Nancy Leigh DeMoss made an observation. If you were to ask a mom how they were doing, most of them (us) would say that we are exhausted. We are tired. There aren't enough hours in our day to get what we need to get done. Does this sound like you? Well, I know it's me. I feel this way all the time that I never have the time to get done what I need to get done.

BUT...she made a very good, valid point. We actually do have enough hours in our day to get done what we need to get done. How is that possible?? Well, my guess is if you are like me, you are trying to do too much. Her point was that we have enough time in our day to get done what we are CALLED to do...what we are supposed to do...not necessarily what we want to do or what we cram into our day to get done.

Wow...that was very convicting. So, this week, I am working on organizing my life and getting back to the basics. Reid and Cole's school theme this year is Simply and Glorify. That is to simply your life in order to glorify God. Do you think that God is trying to tell me something being as I am seeing this from every angle of my life right now?

So...back to today. I had a ton to do for my photog business and a ton to do around the house and I even was going to call a couple of girlfriends to go to lunch as I hadn't seen them in awhile and I was going to go workout. Really? Weren't you just tired from reading that sentence?

After I dropped the boys off at school, I was driving home and I looked in the rear view mirror at my sweet daughter and thought...that's it. She is all I'm going to do today!

We went home and I got ready for the day and we headed out. We started off by getting a pedicure...ok...so that was for me. BUT she was in hog heaven being with me and sitting in my lap and enjoying the chair massage. We laughed together and seriously had some girl time. Then we headed to lunch together where we shared fruit, sandwiches and part of a cookie! She was telling me stories in her own little way and her eyes were full of excitement the whole time.

Then we came home for her to take a nap before we got the boys from school. During her nap time, I was able to work on some things that I needed to get done...but this time, in peace and without guilt and with a special joy in my heart that I had done the most important thing that day and that was have real one on one time with Ella. No regrets...only special memories to have forever!

Here we are at the nail salon. Can you tell she was having a great time with Mommy??
Below...She is sitting in her own big chair!!

Below...She is enjoying the massage. She loved pushing the buttons and kept saying: "See Mommy, I did it! Here is comes Mommy!!"

Here we are at Celebrity Bakery for lunch. I thought a girly place was in order for our girly day!

Ella's First Dance class

2008-09-25T13:14:00.002-06:00

I signed Ella up for dance class with her girlfriend Haley. I think that Mommy was just as excited if not more excited than Ella. Seriously, don't you just want to eat her up in this outfit?

She went into class like such a big girl. She just followed Haley. I watched a little bit from the window and of course Ella is the smallest on in there (she's only the 18% for height for her age)...but she was doing a great job keeping up with the girls and was following the instructions of the teacher. It's so exciting! I so can't wait for her first dance recital! Can you tell that I'm giddy???

Oops....I messed up....

2008-09-25T13:11:00.003-06:00

I thought that yesterday was picture day for Reid at school...not sure where I got my dates off, but I did. So, I made him let me fix his hair and then of course, I had to take my own picture of him. Isn't he just precious???

Well, apparently it wasn't picture day! Reid got in the car after school and was quite upset with Mommy that I would fix his hair and he didn't even have pictures! Nobody else had their hair fixed Mommy! Oh me. I told him that he looked so handsome though...he doesn't want to look handsome. He just wants to be a boy...not a lady killer!

But hey, at least I got this really cute picture of him!

Audrey Woolard Workshop

2008-09-22T22:22:00.003-06:00

Ok...I just wanted to post a couple of pics that I took at the workshop this weekend. Isn't this little girl just beautiful? She is a child model and apparently wanted by many and we had the privilege of photographing her. It was hard to get a bad picture of her. I hope to post more on my photog blog later this week.

Lots to share

2008-09-22T12:42:00.002-06:00

Ok bloggers...I have lots to share, but little time. BUT I wanted you all to know that I have joined the Facebook world! Yes, I know...it took several of my friends to "continue to encourage me" (ie...bug me) to do it...so I'm there!! Look me up if you are on as well.

I have to blog about taking Cole and Ella to the Dallas World Aquarium last week. Will get to that tonight.

AND...I had an AWESOME workshop this weekend with Audrey Woolard and my friend Kim. We learned soooo much. I can't wait for my next photoshoot! I'll be posting pictures soon of images I captured of this beautiful little girl!! BTW...Audrey Woolard does about 90% or so of the pictures of the Pottery Barn Kids catalog just to give you an idea of how much she ROCKS!

Be back soon....

La Hacienda Ranch

2008-09-18T15:39:00.004-06:00

Just wanted to share some pics of our kiddos outside of La Hacienda Ranch riding the horsies as they say! Just too cute to not share!

This cute face???

2008-09-17T20:27:00.005-06:00

I have to share a story about my sweet Ella from yesterday. We were at the mall while the boys were in school.

I am pushing her in her stroller just minding my own business, in a hurry to get my errands ran before having to go get her big brothers from school. I walk past this man who is tattooed all over...you know, one of those men that look a little rough and you sure wouldn't want to really talk to him? I know...so incredibly judgmental based on his looks alone. HOWEVER, Ella thought she would make an impression on this man. Mind you, she hasn't talked to anyone on our little stroll in the mall, so why this man, I'm not sure. BUT, she looked up at him and flashed him her little flirty smile with her head tilted on her shoulder and she started growling at him! Yep...you read that right...she was growling at him.

He stopped and looked down at her; I stopped and looked down at her. And she growled at him again. I replied in a bit of shock: "I think my daughter just growled at you?!"

He couldn't help but start laughing and he said to me: "Momma, you are going to have your hands full in a few year." I just kinda of laughed and kept walking and immediately started praying....PLEASE don't let her date this in the future!

Oh me...my sweet, sweet daughter has one of the most fun personalities I have ever seen in a child. Honestly, she has been such a joy. I don't know of a 2 yr old that has more personality than her! She's way too much fun!!

I know you are looking at this face thinking surely not! But yes....it's a true story!

Cole's 4 yr pictures

2008-09-11T20:38:00.002-06:00

I now have some pictures of my sweet Cole posted on my Photog Blog. Take a moment to check out his sweet face!

Sweet story about Cole

2008-09-09T15:25:00.006-06:00

This morning on the way to school, Cole said to me:
Mommy?
Yes sweetheart?
I want to forgive Jesus.
You do?
Yes.
Honey, why do you want to forgive Jesus? He's perfect and doesn't ever do anything wrong?
No Mommy, I want to forgive Jesus because I have done so many things wrong!
Oh...you mean you want to ask Jesus to forgive you?!
That's what I said Mommy, I want to forgive Jesus!

It doesn't get much sweeter than this. Out of the mouths of babes.....

Ella gets a BIG girl bed....

2008-09-08T20:59:00.005-06:00

I had to blog that our sweet Ella got her very own big girl bed. She was very excited to get to sleep in this bed for the first time during her nap. It's funny because she looks sooooo tiny in this big ole bed. But here are a couple of sweet pictures of her in her bed.

Yes, I have the boys' pillows by her right now until I get her SnugTuck pillow in.

Wow....we are completely done with baby beds in our house! How in the world did that happen? Time is moving fast my friends...way too fast! I am doing my best to cherish every single moment with my children. I wish that I could just freeze time for just a moment! My goal in life right now is to SIMPLIFY my life in order to better GLORIFY Christ. And in this, it means...more time with my children and just soaking in their changes, them growing, and them changing! The best way that I can glorify Christ right now in my life is by being the wife and mother that I am called to be. I think I'm just reflective right now as we have just moved into a whole new phase of parenthood with a child in Kindergarten and now no more baby beds!

Simplify and Glorify!

Happy Birthday to Cole

2008-09-08T12:42:00.008-06:00

Today my little man turns 4! Can you believe it? I know that I can't.

We started Cole's birthday off this morning with Daddy making his famous pancakes before we took Reid to school. Then Daddy took us to lunch at the boys favorite restaurant, California Pizza followed by a cookie for dessert.

Before we headed to school for Reid, we gave Cole his present from Mommy/Daddy and Ella. Reid gave him his present on Saturday before the party because Reid couldn't wait any longer! But, we got Cole his long awaited Tarzan toys! BTW...do you know they don't sell these things anymore...thank goodness for eBay! ;-) He was so excited to get his little Tarzan toys. He took Tarzan with him everywhere he went today!

Once we got Reid from school, I took them to the park before Cole had his long awaited ice skating lesson. He had decided that he wanted to play ice hockey, so I told him when he turned 4, he could "try out" the skating thing to see if he would like it. When he first put the skates on, he just grinned ear to ear. I was kicking myself because I forgot my camera...really? BUT, my wonderful husband came and saved the day. He wanted to come see Cole's lesson and grabbed by camera on his way.

Cole started off liking skating until he fell and noone picked him up and he of course couldn't get up by himself! Poor little guy. He looked back at me as if to say with those sweet, brown eyes of his, "Mommy, please come get me." Course, I can't do a thing. Anyway, he got passed that and was fine the rest of the lesson. I'm not sure he thinks he's ready to go back right away, so we'll see. I'm thinking he was just secretly upset with Mommy for dressing him in shorts and a T-shirt. Do you notice that the other kids all have on pants and gloves? What was I thinking? Apparantely, I forgot that he was going to be on ICE!

Here is Ella at Cole's skating lesson! Isn't she just having the time of her life and making life so grand for her mommy! I couldn't resist taking this picture, she just cracks me up when she gives this look on her sweet little face!

Here, you will notice that all these other kids have really good mommys that dressed them in warm clothes! Oh me....he didn't complain one time about being cold, so that's good.

They start them off on the ice pushing buckets for balance. So, here you will see Cole pushing his way from one side of the rink to the other side. He looks like he's having fun, doesn't he??

After dinner, Cole got to have another cookie and ice cream. What can I say? It was his birthday! As you can see, he truly enjoyed his ice cream! I mean who wouldn't?

What can I say about this little guy? He has such a sweet, sweet heart. Cole has for sure taught us many things as parents. Don't all of our children just teach us sweet lessons about Christ? The other day in the car, he said: "Mommy? I want to be pleasing to Jesus!" Bry and I both teared up. Tonight, he told me the same thing, but then he said: "But Mommy, sometimes it's really hard to be pleasing to Jesus!" Wow!!! He is already learning at an early age that it's hard to do the right thing because our flesh/human nature wants to step in and take over. He can't put it in those words, but we all know that he is starting to get it! Cole does seem to have a tender heart for Jesus and that is something that we pray daily he will continue to develop. Everytime we go to the park and we swing, he wants me to push him really high so that he can say hi to Jesus!

Cole is beautiful both inside and out. We don't know what life would be without him. He is a precious gift and blessing for which we are truly thankful each and every day.

So, my sweet Cole...Happy 4th Birthday! All I am asking from you this year is TO QUIT GROWING UP! ;-) We love you more than you will ever know.

BTW....stay tuned for Cole's 4 yr pictures coming up! I should have them up this week. They are super duper cute!

Cole trying out his presents

2008-09-06T20:54:00.003-06:00

I wanted to post a couple of pictures of Cole with his new gigs! He received a lot of great presents from his friends and was pretty excited about each and every one of them. He is a simple kid who only asked for candy, a party favor, and a Tarzan for his birthday. So, he was thrilled at all the fun things he got.

For one, he got this GREAT fireman costume. He put it on right away. I mean, how cute is this? We all feel safe with this little fireman in the house.

Then he posed for me with his new helmet on and on his skooter! Don't you just want to eat this little man up????

We will still have a little family celebration with Cole on his actual birthday and he will get his present from Mommy and Daddy! He doesn't know this. He's our sweet boy and we are so proud to have the honor to celebrate his 4 little yrs of life this weekend.

A busy day....

2008-09-06T20:14:00.004-06:00

We had a very busy day today!! We started off with going to Reid's soccer game at 9am. He's on a new team this season as his old team moved to the 1st grade level (and mom missed sign ups). Anyway, I really wanted him to play in the Kindergarten league as we thought that would better serve him. He has really loved soccer.

Well, today toward the end of the game, I had to leave to head to a shower I was helping to throw for my dear friend Leah. I didn't get 2 minutes down the road that Bry texts me to say that "Reid SCORED!!!" Are you kidding me? I missed his first score!????? I was crushed. Reid was super excited. I am so proud of him.

At 10:30, I was at a baby shower for my sweet, sweet friend Leah. She's having a sweet baby boy on Oct 9th, named Deacon Ross. The shower was such a blast! Lots of chatting and laughter.

Jenn, Ape, Leah, me

My next venture for the day was getting Cole balloons for his birthday party! Yes, his birthday is coming up. He turns 4 on Monday! There will be a special post about him on Monday.

We had his party at Peter Piper Pizza (now that's a mouth full). Lots of games and pizza and cake and ice cream...and did I mention gifts from our sweet friends? Cole has been talking about his birthday party for weeks. He has been soooooo excited!

We were serving all the kiddos their pizza and I thought we had them all served, till I turned around to find Cole still standing by me.
I said: "Cole, aren't you hungry?"
"Yes mom, but there isn't anywhere for me to sit down."

Sure enough, I looked at the table to find that all the seats were taken! Poor birthday kid. He said, that's ok mom, I can just sit over here and eat (with the adults). Oh me.
Cole wanted a Tarzan party. Apparently, they don't sell anything Tarzan anymore, so the cake and his invites were the only real Tarzan we had...but he was thrilled with that!

Ella thought that Cole would need her help in blowing out the candles! He didn't mind. He's really good at letting his brother and sister helping him with things like this. He even let Reid help him open his presents.

Yummy Yummy cake and ice cream! I would say that he had a great, sugar filled birthday party. I can't believe that he will be 4 on Monday. More to come on Cole this weekend.

Pen with the short sound of "e"

2008-09-04T13:03:00.003-06:00

Strange title I know, but you'll understand why after reading this post.

My sweet son, Reid, had a "homework" assignment. He had to find something in the house that had either the short sound of the letter "a" or the short sound of the letter "e" in it to take to school today for show and tell! Each Thursday, so far, they have been asked to bring something for show and tell. Do you remember those days? I almost forgot that we did show and tell at school! Anyway, they have to take one item in and tell what it is, which letter it has in it and a little bit about why they chose that item to bring to school.

Reid and I went through all the things that we (I) could think of that he had with those letters in them and then he got to choose what he would take. Well, my little man, chose this pen to take today. A pen? That sounds a bit weird. But this is not just any pen, this is a special pen for Reid. See, when I took him on his date, I bought him this pen. He calls this his special pen. He keeps it at my desk so that his little bro and sis can't reach it and tear it up! He's a bit protective over it.

He wanted to take this pen and tell his class about his special date with mommy! What a way to grab mommy's heart this morning.

We made it...

2008-08-30T21:39:00.003-06:00

Well, we made it through our very first week of Kindergarten. I have to say that Reid LOVED school and came home happy every single day! What a blessing. Cole LOVED school the 2 days he went as well. His teacher said that he didn't cry one bit and that he participated in everything. That's a huge step for my sweet Cole.

We are praising the Lord that all went well. Reid was glad that today was Saturday though and he was so excited to get to play all day with his brother and sister. He has missed that for sure. So, we decided to take the kids to the park today and play. Then we made cookies and had ice cream after dinner. All in all, I survived the first week of Kindergarten! Now, I only have 13 more years to go with Reid and add another 4 years to that by the time Ella gets through. Whew...I sure hope I can handle it all! ;-) Naw...I did fine. I pray over my kiddos every day and then have to trust God with the rest. I even started praying with Reid every day before school. The first day I asked him if we could pray for his day that day, his little eyes lit up and he said yes as he jumped into my arms. It was so sweet.

My prayer for my kids goes beyond getting a good education and making new friends, withstanding peer pressure, etc. My prayer is that they "Love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength..." Deut 6:5

This is a lesson that I'm still learning. I want this so much in my own life, but the reality is that I love other things more. I have been studying this week and I read something in a book by John Piper that has stuck with me:
"This is what sin is--dishonoring God by preferring other things over Him, and acting on those preferences. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God...We glorify what we enjoy the most. And it isn't God!" OUCH...that hurts, huh?

He goes on to say:
"We will never stand in awe of being loved by God until we reckon with the seriousness of our sin and the justice of His wrath against us. But when, by grace, we waken to our unworthiness, then we may look at the suffering and death of Christ and say, 'In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.'" (I John 4:10).

I have learned this week that I have to trust Christ at a whole new level. And I have learned that it is even more important that I teach my children to LOVE the Lord their God. And that will start with them watching their Mommy LOVE the Lord her God with ALL her heart, mind, soul, and strength. I don't know what this totally looks like as I am a flawed person on every level...but I am praying that each and every day, He will show me the big picture.

My debt is so great that He had to pay my price and I will be forever grateful! Thank you Lord for your love, your mercy, and your grace for without it, I would not be who I am today nor would I survive until tomorrow.

Slow Fade

2008-08-28T22:02:00.004-06:00

I know that I have been putting a lot of videos up lately...maybe I'll get one up of the kiddos sometime soon!!

Anyway, my girl Allie sent this to me. It's Casting Crowns Lead singer (I think) talking about why he wrote the song Slow Fade (you know the video I have below). If you have the 4 minutes, it's well worth the watch. I can't tell you how much I love this message and just how very true it is. The elders at our church constantly "preach" that the worst "ism" is gradualism. And that's what this Scripture and this song talk about. It makes you ponder what in your own life are you gradually moving away from or toward?

I love what my mom said in her comment on Reid's first day of Kindergarten:
"...to be only a breath away from God."

This rings so true for us as adults. Are we in a "Slow Fade" or are we a breath away from God?

2008-08-28T16:45:00.003-06:00

Ok...so I can't help but get on the political game right now. Here is yet another video about our Dem candidate. This is REALLY disturbing! I know that this is a touchy subject for so many...but it's one that I'm passionate about!

Also check out the website that my girlfriend has put together that follows the tax issues between our 2 candidates.

52 Percent

The BIG Day....

2008-08-27T10:26:00.003-06:00

Well, yesterday was Reid's BIG first day in Kindergarten! Many of you know that I have somewhat dreaded this day and have been terribly emotional about the whole thing. I would tear up at the very thought of him entering Kindergarten.

It's not that I'm sad that he's going. I'm actually very excited about this phase in his life. I just sit back and look at him and try to figure out how in the world he got old enough to even be in school! Where did the time go? If you have little ones at home, please cherish every moment with them...even the hard ones...they too quickly pass and are forever gone.

We have now entered this whole new phase in life for Reid. We have entered the phase where I wonder have I done enough in teaching him right from wrong, instilling Christ deep in his heart, preparing him for what lies ahead? I know that I will still be doing this over the next 13 years of school, but from here on out, his school, his friends may very well have a greater influence over him than us....considering he will spend more time at school than home.

I am very excited to see how God is going to mold Reid this year at school and in the years to come. My biggest prayer is that Reid will develop a heart that deeply loves the Lord in all he says and does. And what accountability this is for me since I know that his first view of what this looks like will come from me and Bry. No pressure, right?

Anyway...the boys were super excited the night before school. We talked about school, choices, etc and what to expect. We prayed and sprinkled glitter on their heads before bed (a treat that Cole's teacher gave me at Meet the Teacher). They couldn't wait. Side note...Cole is going to school this year 2 days a week. He feels all grown up now!

Here was Reid's prayer on Monday night:
Dear God,
Thank you for Mommy, Daddy, Reid, Cole-Cole, and Ella.
Please help me to have good dreams and not bad dreams.
Thank you for school tomorrow and help me to have fun.
Help Cole not to cry when we take him.
Please help me to be sweeter to Mommy and not hurt her heart.
Please help me to get along with Cole-Cole.
In Jesus Name...Amen!

How do you not love a prayer like that? Seriously, the tears are forming in my eyes as I type this. He has really been working on his little heart!

Back to the subject at hand...Tues, we woke up and there was definite excitement in the air! We made a special breakfast, got dressed in our new school clothes and shoes and of course took some pictures (after all, their mommy is a photographer!), and headed out the door (but not before Mom found a few minutes to pray over her children).

When we arrived at school, the boys jumped out, grabbed their backpacks and put them on. When we arrived to Reid's room, I didn't even get the chance to hug him, when he ran straight to class. My heart tugged a little as I now know how my mom felt that first day she dropped me off. I ran off and didn't look back. My poor mom...so sorry about that!

Then we took Cole to his class. A little nervous, I admit...he tends to cry pretty much every time we leave him. HOWEVER, he had a BIG grin on his face, gave us big hugs and sugars and marched right on in the room! Oh thank you LORD!

And what about mom? Well, I survived! I got a little teary eyed, but no flood of tears. I think I got it all out over the summer!

So, here we are, in a brand new chapter in life. It will be exciting! I love you Reid and Cole!

Be careful little eyes...

2008-08-25T19:47:00.002-06:00

So, I totally stole this from another person's blog that my girlfriend Jeffie sent to me today. But I had to share this with my Blog family. This song is so powerful!

Please take the time to view this if you haven't already seen it.

This hits so close to home to me as it's imperative that we teach our children to guard their minds, their eyes, their feet, and their hands. We can't wait till they are teenagers or adults to teach them this lesson, we MUST teach them now!

Teaching them to guard themselves now, can really help them withstand the worldly temptations in the future. How do we teach our children that ONE, SINGLE decision that they make can affect their entire life? It can affect everyone around them...those they care the most about. I'm sure that it's mainly by example...and how I have failed my sweet little ones in this. Thank goodness for GRACE that gives me the strength to not continue to make the same mistake over and over.

Oh be careful little eyes what you see...for the Father up above is looking down in LOVE...oh be careful little eyes what you see!

Funny how a "childrens' song" can grab our adults hearts, huh?

Obama mocks the Bible

2008-08-25T07:39:00.002-06:00

Here is a quick Utube of Obama in 2006 mocking the Bible. We really need to ban together and pray that he doesn't get elected. This is quite scary.

Don't let her petiteness fool you...

2008-08-23T21:10:00.002-06:00

My sweet Ella may be little..as a matter of fact, she is the smallest of all her friends...but that doesn't mean that she isn't tough. I mean, after all, she does have 2 big brothers!

Poor Reid was trying to walk in our front door the other day and Ella literally slammed the door in his face. And the handle on our front door nailed Reid right in the eye. It definitely hurt him. Poor little Ella kept saying: "Sorry Reid!" She really didn't mean too. She thought that he was going to play chase with her and since she is smaller than them, her defense mechanism is to slam the door behind her to get away from them.

Reid just wanted to know if his eye would look better before he started Kindergarten! I'm glad to report that I think he will be in the clear. It did get a little worse over the next couple of days, but it's about gone now! But no worries....he wasn't mad at Ella. He can't be mad at her. He simply adores her and in his eyes, she can do no wrong! Seriously...you think she's spoiled because of me...NOPE, it's all Reid.

Speaking of Kindergarten, we had Meet the Teacher today at his school. We got to meet both his teacher and Cole's teacher! Reid's teacher's husband is a Vet. For those of you that know my son well, his fav thing is ANIMALS! I thought that was very cool. I have prayed that Reid will be blessed with the best teacher for him. I think this was God's way of saying: "I've got him covered!"

Date with Reid

2008-08-21T13:38:00.008-06:00

Well...as most of you know my little Reid will start Kindergarten next week. It will begin a whole new chapter in his little life. It's very exciting. He loves school even though he's not sure he wants to go to school every day. He's afraid that Cole and Ella will have fun with Mommy that he will miss out on. And I try to tell him that he will have fun that they won't get to have. It's what makes the world go round!

Anyway, my precious friend Holly volunteered to keep Cole and Ella for me to take Reid on a special Mommy/me time/date! When I told Reid about it, he was THRILLED! He would just grin from ear to ear every time I talked about it. I told him that we would go do whatever he wanted to do. He spent a whole day thinking about it.

We dropped the little ones off with Holly and I put them down for a nap. Reid and I were free. We got in the car and he decided that he wanted to go to Gatti Town to play games.

He wanted to start off on the boat ride. I'm a bit surprised that he wanted to ride it by himself, but he jumped up there like a champ!

Then, we played his favorite game. It's the game where there has to be at least 4 people playing and you roll a ball up the ledge and it either falls into the slow, fast or faster hole and your little horse races across the top. Let me tell you that this boy won the first time we played and then Mommy won the 2nd time (though he totally thinks he won both times).

Here are the 2 toys that he won from the horse race game. He was thrilled. He couldn't wait to show Cole and Ella his winnings!

We also had some fun in the photobooth! How cute are these?

After several other games and loads of fun, we sat down to have their dessert cinnamon stick things. Those are so stinkin' good! We had a long talk about school and making new friends and choices, etc. It was a good time with us. Then, I gave him a little treat.

After the fun at Gatti Town, we went to get his hair cut for school, so he could look fresh! Here he is right after. I mean, come on ladies...isn't he handsome?

Taking time like this with Reid is very important for him. I don't do this enough and he really needs the time with me without his siblings. I truly love this little man and know that God has great plans for him. Stay tuned for next week as his big day is approaching!

And ladies, if you have little ones at home that aren't in school yet....hang on tight, because they will be before you know it. I'm still trying to figure out where the time went.

Happy Birthday Hubby

2008-08-19T22:35:00.006-06:00

Today is my husband's actual birthday!!! So, Happy Birthday sweet husband.

I want to take a moment to share with you how much I love this man. I always tell people that he is perfect from afar, but far from perfect! But in my eyes, he's as perfect as they come. That's not to say that we don't have our issues...all married couples do. I get frustrated with him as he does with me. However, at the end of the day, he is the one that I want to grow old with. He is the one that still grabs my heart and fills my life with passion. He challenges me and encourages me. He is a GREAT father and I wouldn't want anyone else to play that role in my precious children's lives. He is truly an amazing man. I am thankful that God has blessed me with him and that we had the opportunity to celebrate his birthday today. I love you honey!

I do want to share a quick story about the boys today. They were very excited that it was Daddy's birthday. They wanted to buy him an ice cream cake (that's our tradition for Bry's birthday). So, this morning after we left the gym, we went to pick out his cake. Then, we headed to the mall for lunch and playtime. After that, we went shopping for Daddy's birthday. I knew what I was going to get him, but the boys had a plan.

Reid wanted to buy Daddy a shirt. Not sure why, but that's what he wanted, so I told him he could. We went to Macy's and I let Reid do the picking. I gotta say...my little boy has some serious taste! He picked out a really cool shirt. Then it was Cole's turn.

"Cole, what do you want to buy Daddy for his birthday?"
"A Tarzan toy!"
"Now, would that Tarzan toy be for you or for Daddy."
He laughs, "Daddy would let me play with it!"
"I know sweetheart, but what do you think Daddy would like to have?"
"Hmmmm....I know! Some BOXERS!"
"You want to get Daddy boxers for his birthday?"
"YES!"

So, we headed to the boxer department where he picked out a pair of boxers that had birds on it! Yes, you read that correctly! I had to laugh, but he was so excited. As I was paying for them, he turned to me and said: "You know what Mommy?" "What my dear?" "Daddy, will open these and say WOW!" He was grinning from ear to ear.

The boys wrapped their presents for Daddy and drew on their cards for him. After dinner and cake, they presented him with the presents. And you know what? Daddy totally said "WOW!" when he opened the gifts. See, Cole knows his Daddy! Gotta love that sweet spirit they have. Bry did love what they got and it meant the world that they really thought about what they wanted to get him.

Oh, and Ella? She kept saying: "Happy Burday Daddy!" Too stinkin' sweet!

We love you Daddy.

Friday night fun....

2008-08-18T15:59:00.005-06:00

From right to left: Kelly, Me, Ericka, Andrea, Lisa, Brandi

I had a fun-filled weekend! Very rare in the life of a mom of 3 kiddos. I blogged about Saturday night below...well, here's one pic from Friday night.

Andrea and I went to dinner with Lisa (the crazy one), Ericka (the sweet one), Brandi (aka...B-Ho, the fun one) and Kelly Moore (the photographer that Andrea and I aspire to be like!). We had a BLAST! We were having so much fun that the table behind us decided to be moved to another location in the restaurant. Awww...where's your sense of adventure folks?

So I think in the picture above, we were supposed to be giving that sexy look. As you can see 1/2 of us were smiling and 1/2 of us were trying to give that "look." I think I was giving a mixture of the 2. That or I just looked ticked off...not sure.

To view some of the other pics, you can go to Lisa's Blog and view them there.

We even ventured out and went country dancing for a little while. It was so fun. I told Bry that our next date night would totally have to be dancing. Lisa and I danced and she flipped me, spinned me (is that a word?), and dipped me...oh me. I'm a horrible dancer. I was laughing so hard that my stomach hurt!

Oh yeah....Lisa...where's the pictures of you with the wine dude??? I wanna see those.

Bryan's Birthday Dinner

2008-08-17T20:53:00.012-06:00

My sweet husband's birthday isn't until Tuesday, but we got together with some friends for dinner last night and used his birthday as an excuse! ;-) No really, we were there to celebrate him.

I am going be be blogging out of order. I'm waiting on pics from my gal pal Lisa from our Girlz night out on Friday! Coming later.

Anyway...
A group of 12 of us went to dinner and had a blast. Now, mind you, I didn't take my good camera and just took my point and shoot. Gotta tell you, I really hate the quality when I'm used to my pro camera...oh well.

Let's start with a pic of the guys...since this was supposed to be about my husband. Here are the 6 dudes that we were with.

Ok...this is just wrong on EVERY level!!!

And this is still just wrong! Where did we get these dudes anyway? ;-)

But the real fun of the evening came on the girl's side of the table! I bet you can't imagine that, huh? I think that these are the ONLY pics we got of the guys and then we have about 25 of the girls. I'm sure we were annoying the folks around us, but we didn't care. We were in our own world, having tons of fun.

We started off by learning how to smile like the celebrities. You see, my girl "Ape" has a theory that celebrities smile with their tongue pushed to the top of their mouth and up against their teeth. This is to make the neck look longer and hopefully do away with the double chin! Let's take a look at the before and after...what do you think?

Above is before...just smiling like normal.....

Now...the tongue trick...can you see a difference? I know, they are all so stinkin' beautiful, they look great in both pictures!

The ultimate celebrity pose...though I'm not sure what she's doing with her eyes! Was that part of the deal too? He he....have to give her a hard time.

All in all, we think we look better doing that...it doesn't feel natural at all, but sure does force that neck to be elongated and not stuffed up leaving that whole double chin thing. You should try it sometime!!!

Here are just a couple more pictures from last night. I have to say that we have been blessed with amazing friends. We love you guys more than you know and have been so blessed by you.

All the lovely ladies! Aren't those dudes above so lucky?! I just love these girls!
They are all so awesome.

Here's Leah, Rach (Rachel) and then me...notice the tongue thing again! ;-) Ok, we were a little uncomfortable here as we were just learning the procedure and the form. We got better though.

Here I am with Jeff (Jeffie). Don't worry about her death grip on my arm...it didn't hurt all that bad! Just kiddin' Jeff. When I first saw the picture, I laughed as it truly looked like you were holding onto me for dear life. I totally cropped off the part where the grip made my arm look like it had about 3 rolls of fat! ;-)

Here are the "Apes"...This is the first girl with my name that I've known since elementary school. I know you all wanted to know that! Anyway, the above picture is my fav of us and the one below is her fav of us. I'm sure that you can guess why we have a different fav? That's because we don't really care what the other chick looked like in the pic, we picked the one that we thought we looked the best in. I thought I looked better in the one above and she thought she looked better in the one below. I promise we aren't vain...ok...maybe a little.

Seriously though, I think she looks great in both the pictures. I don't know that I favor one over the other of her.

Photog Training....

2008-08-17T15:35:00.006-06:00

I'm a little behind on my blogging. I know, such a shocker for you all.

Monday night after my sweet son shoved the marble up his nose and we got to have the fun event of going to the hospital, I got home, and got back in the car to travel about 4 hours to go see Kelly Moore. Who is Kelly Moore? She is an amazing photographer who I truly admire.

I was privileged enough to get to spend the whole day with her and learn as much as I could possibly fit into my brain from her. She was awesome! Not only is she completely down to earth and fun and an amazing photographer, she is sold out for Jesus as well! I love that.

Anyway, here are a couple of pics that I took of our model, Brandi (aka....B-Ho). Check out those beautiful eyes she has.

So, Kelly is still better than I am...but she was super encouraging and I'm well on my way!

Don't I look like I'm having fun and learning so much? She of course took these pics! I only wish I would have gotten a picture with her...but never fear...she came to town and I went to dinner with her and some other chicks and we have several pics to share. Those coming later.

For real????

2008-08-11T22:41:00.003-06:00

Well, I'm thinking that Cole was feeling a little left out on my blog lately...being as I have posted 2 things about Ella since his haircut. Poor Reid isn't getting any attention (don't worry folks, he has a BIG day coming up that will be blogged for sure). But Reid seems to be staying out of the lime light for now.

Why is Cole feeling left out? Well...I'm not totally sure, but he is getting attention tonight!

Earlier I was in the office getting some things done as I was getting ready to head out of town to go to my photog training that I have tomorrow. With that, Cole was left unattended for like 5 minutes...way too long for a little guy like him. I went back to my bedroom to pack and get ready only to find him leaving my room with that look on his face that told me he was up to something.

"Cole, what were you doing?"

Sweet, big, brown eyes look up at me as if to say: "What Mommy?"

"Cole, what were you doing?" A little more firm this time.

"But Mommy...I have to tell you something." This is always his line before the trouble begins.

"What Cole?"

"I have something in my nose!"

"Ok Cole, but what were you doing in Mommy's room?"

"I have something in my nose!"

"Let me see...I'll get it." Thinking of course it was a big boogie or something....

Well...I got the for something right. My sweet, sweet Cole had stuffed a MARBLE up his nose! Really? What in the world was he thinking? That it would be fun to see if it fit? Oh me oh my!

"Cole, I'm going to have to take you to the hospital to get this out!"

Screaming and crying now...."No, Mommy, I don't want to go to the hospital!"

All the while, Reid got wind of this and freaked out. He too started crying at the thought of his brother needing to go to the hospital!

About that time, Daddy hears the commotion from his office and comes out: "What's going on?"

"Cole has a marble in his nose, we need to take him to the hospital!"

I can't help but laugh at this point. Reid's freaking out; Cole's crying; and Bry's upset with me for laughing as it could be serious! But hey, what do you do? You have to laugh.

So, to the hospital we go...me and Cole. It was a quick trip. We were there and back in an hour! The doc was great and made Cole feel very comfortable. When he went in for the marble, he wrapped Cole up in a sheet really tight (you know, the kid version of a straight jacket?!). Cole was a little nervous about that at first, but he never made a peep. Then, in went the instrument...a little tug and a little pull and out came the marble! My Cole was a champ!

I was hoping this experience would scare him, but I'm thinking by the end, he thought it was cool. What will he put up there next?

The doc did say that they see this about once a week! Then he proceeded to tell me that he was 9 for 10 on getting them out. I'm like, "Ummm, doc....what about the 1 in 10 you don't get out?" "Oh, we just call the ENT and he takes them to the OR and gets them out that way!"

Thank goodness he hadn't got the marble that far up his nose.

So, that my friends....was my fun event for the evening!

If you look really close at his right nostril...you'll see something that looks like a booger, but it's the center of a CLEAR, glass marble! Don't worry folks, I have the marble for a keepsake!

After the marble was gone!

Please note that these pics were taken with my cell phone...not the best, but it was all I had.

Another reason I love photography.....

2008-08-11T15:25:00.004-06:00

A few month ago, I was asked to take pictures of this precious family. They were giving their testimony at our church and needed some updated family portraits. I had seen the journey in their marriage from afar and really admired how far they have come. They were literally on the brink of divorce until God ordained for a HUGE restoration in not only their marriage, but in both of their lives individually. I wish I had the video that they put together for our church to see as they talked about their struggles and their deepest, darkest hour. They had thought all hope was lost....and now here they are! A new family unit restored in and to Christ, stronger than before and a new love found and not lost.

When you meet your darkest hour in your marriage, know that there is ALWAYS hope if you both put your hope in Christ. They are living proof of this. I pray that you take the time to check out their blog sometime as she shares her heart. I know that her words will be a true encouragement to you.

The Hartz Family

Keeping it real.....

2008-08-10T20:35:00.002-06:00

It's been a long time since I've really shared my heart on the blog. I usually only post fun things about my kiddos with cute pictures! I can't help taking the opportunity to show off my little ones. They are such a blessing in my life that I want to share with all.

I finally put music on my blog and as I was listening to the song Indescribable by Chris Tomlin, I couldn't help but feel my heart being moved. This song has vast importance to me and will most likely always be my favorite worship song ever. For those of you that know me and know me well, know why this song grabs my heart. For those of you that don't....

About 10 years ago, I faced what would be every woman's nightmare in being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong man who decides that he has the right to take advantage of you and force himself upon you and violate you in a way that no other ever had. It was a haunting night for sure. It forced me into lots of counseling and led me to lead a life that I wasn't proud of with drinking, etc. Months later after I had picked the man out of a 6 man line up at the Addison police station, I came to a cross road in having to make a decision to pursue him legally for his violation of me or to let it drop. I will tell you why only 1 out of every 4 rape victum comes forward...because the courts put you through hell and back.

At any rate....to speed up a really long story, on the day that I was to make a decision, I was on my face before God in desperation. I have to admit this was the first time that I had clung to Him as I was too ashamed to turn to Him. I was tired, scared, and so alone feeling...I had nowhere else to go. I made it to work with tears streaming my face, even went on a client call, only to get back to my office with a message from my roommate. When I called her back, she had told me that this man had been struck by lightning that morning on a golf course in Florida and was dead! That's right, he was struck by lightning.

How does this relate to the song? In the song, there is a line that says: "Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go..."

The first time I heard this song, my heart about stopped beating. It literally took my breath away as the tears immediately filled my eyes. I use this song as a reminder to me that He is looking out for me, that He does love me, and that He will never leave me nor forsake me.

So why, the post on an event that happened so many years ago? Not sure, except that my fingers started typing and my heart pounding as if I was supposed to write this right here, right now.

My heart has been scarred by a couple of events over this past year of my life and I have allowed them to consume me in so many ways. I allowed these scars to make me numb and shut me down spiritually. As you can imagine, this has not served me well in being a Godly wife, mom, or friend. I think as I was listening to the song tonight, it stung my heart just a little bit as I was reminded that God wants me, all of me. He wants my heart and He has my best interest at heart. With Him, I'm not alone. With Him, I become holy and find my happiness in Him and in His arms. I was reminded that He has a plan for me and I can't fulfill that plan feeling numb and being shut down! So now, I will be playing this song every single day as I pray for God to heal my scars and fill me with His love. I pray that He will draw me closer to Him and fill me with His love. He is completely indescribable!!! I have become a Martha instead of being a Mary and just sitting at the feet of Jesus. I am so busy with life and doing "good" things that I have not just sat down, simplified life and just rested in Him. I pray that you rest in Him....I long to just rest in Him.

Putting on Makeup

2008-08-06T14:16:00.005-06:00

Ok....I go from not posting anything at all to posting 2x in one day. Be sure to read them both!

Ella had a girlfriend over the other day...her friend Haley. Haley bought play makeup and brought it with her for her and Ella to have little make overs! This was Ella's first experience with getting to put on makeup. She wasn't sure what to do with it at first!

I sat down with the girls at the kitchen table and we applied eyeshadow, blush and their favorite...lipstick. I think that was their fav because they could do it themselves. You know how independent they are at that age of 2! They also had rings to put on their little fingers and cute little heart clips to put in their hair!

Then when they were all prettied up, the went upstairs to Ella's room, shut the gate and played for 2 hours together. I'm being serious! They laughed and played. They pulled out every single toys in her room (luckily she doesn't have that many), put most of them in the crib, crawled in and played for about 45 minutes in there! Hey, I knew they were safe, they couldn't get into anything....why wouldn't I let them play in the crib???

Then we pulled out Ella's little sofa in her room and they laid down together and put a blanket over them. I'm thinking they would have stayed longer had I not had the camera in their face! But it was a moment that I couldn't resist. I have been so bad at taking just random fun pics of my kids later, that I had to take the opportunity at hand.

Pretending to take a nap!

Having girl talk already! I wonder if they were talking about boys?

Ok....what is Ella doing? See...she does have a little of her Daddy in her! ;-)

Having their afternoon tea!

And just plain cute!

The wink

2008-08-06T14:07:00.003-06:00

I wanted to share with you all my daughter's latest talent! We were at dinner the other night and I winked at her as I have done many times at all of my children...only to find that she winked right back! I have never seen a 2 yr old that could wink. I know she's not the only 2yr old in the world that can do this, but Bry and I just thought it was the cutest thing in the whole world! Of course we did, she's our daughter.

She was definitely entertaining us at dinner that night. She went from winking, to pretending she was asleep and then having a surprised look on her face pretending that someone startled her in her sleep. One day I'll get a video of this and get it on the web! But for now, you have the wink!

Oh...and don't you think her outfit is just adorable?? I wish I had that in my size!

Really....how gross

2008-07-25T15:34:00.002-06:00

I apparently have issues with my toenails this year! Check this out! How gross is this? Not to mention that the big toe on my other foot is craked half way down! YUCK!!!!!!

Sorry, just had to share....

Seriously....AGAIN!!

2008-07-25T15:17:00.003-06:00

Well, it's happened AGAIN! And I can't even blame Bryan this time...for which he is THRILLED! He has been out of town. He comes home today from being gone all week long, I'm at that kitchen table with 2 girlfriends enjoying adult conversation and Bry comes in and says: "When did Cole cut his hair?"
"WHAT????!!!!" "Are you KIDDING me?" As I go running off to find Cole.
"Nope....can I blog this one!"
HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

I find Cole and he's hiding from me as he didn't want Daddy to tell Mommy...not that he could have hid it. BUT, he went into the office got the scissors and went to our bathroom and went to my sink and decided to give his hair a few more whacks! Do you know that I have been trying to grow his hair out since the LAST time he did this??????

For those of you that missed it, click here. This is not Cole's first stab at cutting his own hair. What will I do with this boy? You can't help but laugh because he just looks at you with those big ole brown eyes and flashes that ever so sweet smile. So, you just laugh, beg him to never do it again, and squeeze him silly!

Thought you would enjoy round 2 of pictures! At least it wasn't quite as bad as last time.

Can you see the uneven-ness on the side? It was hard to picture, but there are clearly some baldy looking spots!!

There's no V this time, but we still have a little lop-sided action going on on the right. So much for growing it out.

The evidence on the sink. He had put the scissors away, but he didn't clean up the hair.

But how do you resist that smile and those eyes???

Why I am passionate about photography....

2008-07-16T22:10:00.001-06:00

I wanted to take a minute to just share why I love photography so much. It's often hard to explain to friends and family why I love taking pictures and why I love to capture that one special moment for my clients. But I believe this will help you understand.

I photographed sweet little Annabelle in May. She was 6 months old at the time. This little girl's daddy passed away when she was 3 months old and he was only 28. My heart was so honored that I was asked to take pictures of this beautiful baby as it was. Every time I look at her gallery, my heart breaks for her and I say a prayer for her.

Last week, I received a payment for an order I did for Annabelle's Grandmother (her Daddy's mom). With the payment, I received the following letter:

Dear April,

Please find the enclosed check for the photography work you created of our granddaughter Annabelle. You captured not only her sweet baby innocence, but gave us fleeting glimpses of here daddy. He lives now for us in memory and in her. We will treasure your creations always.

Sincerely....

I believe that says it all. When one of my photographs touch someone's heart in this way, I know that I am fulfilling my passion with a greater purpose.

To see more pictures of sweet Annabelle, go to Photography by April Williams and click on Clients and then click on her gallery. She will steal your heart!

Ella's Kitchen

2008-07-08T21:59:00.002-06:00

Ella finally got her kitchen that was supposed to be her birthday present (you know, her birthday was last month!). Anyway, we got this great kitchen set through points that Bry earned from work and we got this for FREE!! Ok...it took some hard work on Daddy's part, but to me, it seems free since it doesn't hit my budget! ;-)

Bry and I put this together while she was napping the other day. When she got up and saw it, she got soooo excited. I should have videoed her reaction! She kept saying: "Ewwa's kitchen!" And then she would say: "I cookin' Mommy! I cookin' aroni" That would be macaroni for those of you that don't know Ella language! ;-)

Check out her cute apron that my dear friend Mands (Mandy) made for her for her birthday! Just too cute for words.

I must admit that my boys love to play with the kitchen just as much as she does! I can't wait to start doing tea parties with her.

Mother and Daughter

2008-07-02T21:20:00.005-06:00

I had to share this picture of me and my sweet Ella from the beach. I couldn't get the boys to take a picture with me. Total bummer, but that's ok...maybe next time.

Ella loves her mommy so much. She is always glad to sit with me and cuddle and just be with me no matter what I am doing. I honestly love that with all my heart! I try to enjoy every moment of it as I know one day she may not want to be next to me!

I also had to share a sweet moment of Ella with her Daddy! He just adores her and she is the apple of his eye. She loves her Daddy too. She is always excited to see him. I pray they have this sweet look for each other for the rest of their lives.

I have to share a quick story about Ella. I went to visit a friend last week with Ella. On the trip, she was watching her Baby Faith movies. If you don't have these for your toddler, you must get them, they are awesome! Anyway, throughout the entire video, it says "God loves you!" She started repeating it every time they said it. The video would say: "God loves you." And Ella would say: "God wuves ewe!" It was priceless. I have to admit, it brought tears to my eyes!

Last night before she went to bed, she was saying good night to Cole and she told him that God loves him. He simply replied: "I know Ella!" It was too sweet. He just had that child like faith that he knew God loved him. Oh to keep that child like faith for the rest of his life.

Beach Pictures

2008-07-01T15:56:00.007-06:00

Here are a couple of pictures from the beach from last month. The kids had a blast and so did we. We went with 3 other families and we all stayed in the same house. We had a great time and would do it all over again!

This vacation was much needed for Bry and I. We hadn't had a vacation in 3 years. That's a long time. We are looking forward to many more vacations with our family in the years to come.

Cole loved being in the pool we had at the house. Reid loved going to the beach looking for seashells. He brought back quite the collection. Ella just loved being in water...she didn't care where!

Look how high Daddy was throwing the boys! They were having a blast with this and LOVED that mommy got a picture of it.

Oh my...who travels with this many kids? Oh yeah...that would be us! All the sweet kiddos that were with us. Is it scary that almost 1/2 them are mine?? We had a great time with them all and they loved having their friends there all day every day.

The lovely ladies of the trip! This was our girl's night out!

Just a sweet picture of Ella. I love this and had to share!

All of the Adults that were there. Course we were just as big of kids as the kiddos were!

This is about as good as it gets with taking a picture of 3 kids. Can't ever get my own kids to look at me and smile. Oh well...they are still cute little stinkers!
I set the camera settings up and turned it over to our friend Ross. He actually got a great shot of our family!!! What a blessed family!

Cole and his newest girlfriend!

2008-06-30T22:28:00.005-06:00

During our Destin trip with our friends, Cole found himself a new girlfriend. I just had to share this picture! Aren't they just adorable?

We met up with our Destin gang last night for some frozen custard. My girlfriend, April, had her camera and told Cole (aka...Coledog) and Luci to stand together and take a picture. Little did she know that Cole-dog would grab Luci's hand and pull her over to him and then put on his best flirty smile!! Too cute for words.

Yes, I promise sometime this week to get pics up of Destin. It was awesome!!!

Watch out girls...here comes my little Cole charmer, lady's man!

Baby Camo

2008-06-30T14:03:00.003-06:00

Here's a blog that was just started about the sweet little boy that I have been telling you about that is in the hospital. Please, please, please pray for him. His recovery at this point seems unknown and if you are a parent, you know that is the hardest thing ever!

Camdyn (ie...Camo) at Cooks Children's

He is only 4 and a half years old.

I just pray that God's healing hand is on him and that he is brought to full recovery. I pray more than anything that God's glory will be known ever so greatly to all around him.

A heavy month

2008-06-27T14:30:00.003-06:00

I know that you guys are waiting to see our pictures from Destin from last week. I promise to try to get those on here soon.

But in the meantime, I just had to share a few things that have been going on this month in my life and the lives of those around me. There are times in life that you get a good reality check and this is one of those times for me.

This month alone, an old client of mine lost her son. He was shot and killed in Garland. This sweet lady that was a client for years was left by her husband a few years ago and now her only son was at a familiar place at the wrong time. He left behind a wife and 2 small children. I can't imagine the heart break.

Then on vacation, I found out that a dear couple friend of our's has separated. As soon as we got home from vacation, I re-packed and headed to their house to spend time with the family. What an emotionally hard week this has been. I love this family so dearly, so the pain I feel is greater than I can convey. I am just praying for miracles here and praying that they are drawn so close to Christ in this process.

While at my friend's house, I received a phone call that another friend of mine's 4 yr old son obtained a string of e-Coli and it attacked his kidneys and they began to shut down. He had surgery yesterday and dialysis. They are in the hospital waiting to see if his kidneys will start working again. There is a possibility that he will have to undergo dialysis again.

Wow...not sure my heart can handle anymore for this month. Please pray for these dear people I have talked about above. They could use all the extra prayers they can get right now.

Life is short and you never know what tomorrow holds. I have been reminded to make the most of each day. Love on my family and get in the Word of God. I tend to let this slip in the chaos of life. But I can't live without Him in every part of my life and every day of my life.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not to your own understanding. In ALL your ways acknowledge him and He will direct your paths." Prov 3:5-6

Happy Birthday Ella, Saturday June 14th

2008-06-12T20:15:00.013-06:00

Though we have already had Ella's birthday party, her official birthday is today. My baby is now 2 years old.

I just wanted to blog about what a special little girl she is. As I have said 100x on my blog, being a mom is truly one of the greatest blessings. I feel honored each and every day that God has entrusted me with this task for my 3 precious children. There are just no words for how much I love them and how blessed I feel.

Having Ella has been no different. She is such a joy in our household. She is full of personality and is quite spunky. You can't help but love her. She seems to make an impression on pretty much everyone that she meets. She is just loveable and she knows it.

We have had such a special mother/daughter bond. She is possessive of her mommy. If one of her brothers tries to crawl in my lap to snuggle, she will drop everything she is doing and come and fight for her place. She will push them out of my lap and say: "My Mommy!" The boys of course get a kick out of pushing that button in her. She loves her brothers and her daddy...but she wants Mommy for everything. I suppose we Williams' women need to stick together since we are outnumbered!

Ella is quite expressive with her face. You can't help but crack up at her. And she is very intense on telling stories, even though at this point you have no idea what she is saying for the most part. The boys were not quite the talkers at this age. Difference between a girl and a boy for sure.

My favorite memories of her this past year would be when she started telling me that she loved me. Every night when I put her to bed, we say our prayers (and she is now praying every night with me) and then I put her to bed and tell her I love her as I'm walking out the door. When I shut the door, she will YELL: "WUV EWE!" Melts my heart every time.

I love that she truly prays with me at night. As I'm praying aloud over her and her life, I hear her say all the names of her friends that she knows and can think of. Of course, she always started with Reid and Cole-Cole. We hold hands and together we say "Amen!" Priceless.

I love to watch her dance. It's the best ever! She really gets into it and has quite the groove going.

She is 100% girl all the while being 100% tomboy! I wouldn't have her any other way. She can keep up with her brothers while wearing a skirt and high heel shoes! Too fun.

I could go on and on about her! She has captured my heart in every way. I am looking forward to our growing relationship over the years to come and I can't wait to watch her grow into the beautiful young woman that I know God wants her to be. She is just beautiful inside and out. I do pray that her inside beauty will prevail as beauty comes from within.

To know her is to love her. Her Gran once said that she just captures your heart...and she does.

SO....HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY LITTLE PRINCESS! Always know that you are a princess and you are worthy of being treated like one. You are not only our little princess, but God's little princess! We love you.

I also want to wish one of my BFFs, Jeffie, a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Jeffie, I hope you have a wonderful day. You are very special to me and I have loved our friendship over the past few years. It has truly been a blessing from God in so many ways. I love that my precious daughter shares a birthday with a friend that is so dear to my heart! I look forward to celebrating with you soon. I love you girlfriend!

BTW....the top picture of us is from her birthday LAST year!! And the other one is from last summer as well. I'm sad to say that I don't think we have had a picture together since then. Where did the time go?

Ella's Birthday Party

2008-06-11T14:15:00.008-06:00

I thought I should share some pictures from my sweet daughter's 2nd birthday!!! I can't believe that my baby is now turning 2! Where oh where does the time go?

As you can see, she is proudly sitting on her throne! She is truly a princess. Not only do we want her to know she is our little princess, but that she is God's princess! She is definitely special!

We had her birthday party at Pump It Up Jr...which I thought was just a few minutes away. HOWEVER, as we were driving to her party that day, it was about 25 minutes further than I had thought. Oh me. Apparently, I should have checked the location before booking the party since most all of her friends came from a million miles away. But in reality, we were just testing to see how much our friend really loved us. We wanted to see just how far they were willing to drive for us with the gas prices going through the roof...oh yeah, and most of them own SUVs so you know the gas wasn't cheap! So sorry guys. We owe all of you big time!

Anyway, the party was so much fun. Ella had a blast!!!! She loves to climb and slide, so this was right up her ally. And she loved wearing her tutu as well. What a combination, huh?

Here's the birthday girl getting a good read in before starting the party!

Here is her cake. We got this cake from Little Piggy Cakes.

Here she is entering her own little door. How cute is this door?

Here she is having a blast with 2 little girlfriends on the slide. Don't you just want to eat them all??

Had to put at least one picture of her with her mommy! We have such a special bond that I pray will last for years to come!! Ok...she wasn't really excited to have to stop playing to take a picture with me, but oh well.

Here is the group that showed up. I know...a lot of people really love us! Notice that there are about 13 little girls and one little boy!! Man oh man, he doesn't know just how good he's got it, huh???

Here we are blowing out her candles. She wasn't really sure what to think when everyone started singing to her and we were at the front of the room sitting on the throne. She wanted Mommy to come sit with her.

Once the singing was done, she was more than glad to eat the ice cream. She didn't eat the cake however. I'm thinking she was the only one in the room that didn't like the cake.

All in all, my little princess had a great party! We really appreciate all that came. Ella felt very loved.

Reality is beginning to set in....

2008-06-06T17:22:00.003-06:00

Last Friday, Reid had his last day of school for this year. I went with him to school to share in the last day school festivities that they had. The moms gave his teacher a gift to let her know just how much we love and appreciated her. She is by far the best teacher. Reid has grown just leaps and bounds with her this year. Luckily, she is going to be teaching music next year, so he will still get to see her 2x a week.

Then we had a little carnival at the school. Each child was given a certain amount of tickets to go and "spend" as they please! He LOVED that. I think he used 1/2 his tickets for cotton candy. Did I mention that they only had to give 1 ticket for each thing they wanted to do? Give you an idea of how much cotton candy he must have consumed that day???

Reality is setting in though that he will start Kindergarten at the end of the summer. I have been in denial I think as I can't believe it's that time. I can't believe that I have a child that will be going to school full time. My oh my how time flies. There are just no words to describe our Reid. We have thoroughly enjoyed him these past 5 years. He is a diamond in the rough. I can hardly wait to see what God has in store for him as he begins this next chapter in life. I tear up thinking about it. Yes, I will be that mom that cries the first day that I drop him off. I can't help it. I have already told Bry that he will have to go with me to drop him off that first day so that he can drive home! I'm a wimp, I know.

I just pray that we have been training him up in the Lord so that as he will be around other children that will start having a strong influence on him, he will not turn from what he has been taught. I feel that my knees are going to get pretty worn out over the next 18 years with all the praying I know I will be doing!

Here's a picture of Reid on the last day of school with his teacher. Trust me, when he starts Kindergarten, I'll have a pic of him with me and me crying! LOL!

Enough said....

2008-05-29T21:09:00.003-06:00

There are no words needed for this. It's true. It's not bragging...it's just fact! What can they say? They were gifted with looks and personality...the whole package ladies!

Little Princess

2008-05-27T15:58:00.002-06:00

To see the prettiest little princess in the whole world, click on my photography blog.

I must say that taking pictures of my own little girl is quite the task. When she sees the camera come out, she runs the other direction. She thinks that she is being cute! Or sassy!? Who knows.

Anyway, this was my first attempt at her 2 yr pictures. I can hardly believe that my baby is turning 2! She is growing up way to fast.

Graduation!

2008-05-19T11:58:00.006-06:00

We had an eventful weekend this past weekend as my "little" brother graduated from high school! I do still call him my little brother even though he is 6'4" tall!

I must say that it was fun going to his graduation and watching him walk across that stage! He will be off to Liberty next year to study aviation! Watch out friendly skies....here comes my brother!

Stephen graduated being honored with the Distinguished diploma, National Honor Society, and the Leadership award from his school! He has accomplished a lot during his high school years, leaving his family very proud!

Here are 2 of his best friends. Immanuel (on the left) will be a Senior next year. He plays football and won state a couple of years ago (you know he and I got along great! He is a Bears fan over the Cowboys, but hey, nobody's perfect!) and his friend Jay whom Stephen's known since forever!

They were trying to act cool in this picture!

We didn't take the kiddos to graduation, but they were at Uncle Stevo's church on Sunday for his Senior recognition there. They love him so much. I'm not sure what they will do without him next year.

Mother's Day

2008-05-11T13:06:00.008-06:00

I had to take a few moments to share my Mother's Day with you all. First of all, I have to say that being a mom...though the hardest job I have ever done, is by far the greatest blessing in the world. I feel both honored and blessed each and every day that God would entrust to me 3 beautiful and precious children. I just can't express in words how my heart gushes with love for these children daily.

I pray over these sweet children all the time. My biggest prayer is that their Mommy will be all that God would have her to be for them. The joy of motherhood in my heart goes far beyond what any words could ever express. I am truly thankful.

My past 2 Mother's Days haven't been the best (I'm sad to say). So, this year, Bry was sure to make up for it all.

My Mother's Day celebration actually began on Friday when I went to Reid's school for a Mother's Day tea! The moms met in the chapel where our precious children performed 3 songs and quoted 3 verses. The last song that they sang was:

We bow down,
We lay our crowns
At the feet of Jesus.

The greatness of His
Mercy and love
At the feet of Jesus.

And we cried holy, holy, holy
We cried holy, holy, holy
And we cried holy, holy, holy
Is the Lamb.

Tears filled my eyes. The children were doing signs with the song and it melted my heart. I love how my sweet Reid is learning praise songs. Every time we heard this song on the radio, he will say: "MOM! That's my song!"

From there, we went to his class room. Each child was to take their Mommy's hand and lead her to her special seat where they had made a special placemat shaped like a heart. He then served me a cookie and some tea! Oh my gosh...it stole my heart all over again!

Then, the teacher shared with us that they had made books for us and each child had drawn a picture of his/her mommy. The mommies were to guess which picture was their's! Luckily, I guessed right!

I have to share some of Reid's answers:
My mommy's fav food is PIZZA!
My mommy's fav sport is FOOTBALL!
My mommy is good at MAKING DINNER!
My mommy is 17!!!

Seriously love this child for thinking I'm 17. Most of the kids in the class apparently know the REAL age of their mommies...but we'll let Reid keep on thinking 17. Reid's BF at school said that his Mommy was 8!

Today (the REAL Mother's Day)....Bry got up early and got ready for church, so that I could sleep in and he took care of the kiddos when they got up! Oh...did I mention that he gave me a massage before I even got up?

Once I was showered and dressed, the boys gave me cards that Daddy had helped them make. They even wrote little poems to me.

Reid told me that I got to pick ALL day long where we went and what we did! It's Mommy's Day, he proclaimed. Did I mention that I love being a mom?

We still have dinner to go to tonight, but had a few minutes to share my wonderful day, so I took advantage and sat down to blog. I'm sure that dinner will be just as wonderful.

We even got a few snapshots of me and my cuties. (Notice the really cute outfit of Ella's by the way....) Bry did a great job with my pro camera. I dialed in the settings and then told him where to stand! LOL! But I got a great picture with my children and I LOVE IT!

Oh yeah....the dress that I'm wearing was my gift from my hubby and kiddos for Mother's day!

The fear of gum....

2008-05-06T16:50:00.003-06:00

Yes, you read that correctly....the fear of GUM! And I do mean chewing gum. You know? The kind that you put in your mouth and simply enjoy the act of chewing it...whether to help with bad breath or to curb your appetite. That's the gum.

My sweet daughter is a total tom-boy with a Princess girly side to her. She will climb any slide and go down it. She will climb the bunk beds; she will roll in mud; she will play in water; she is not afraid of anything...well, until it comes to GUM! Yelp, that's right. She is mortified of it. If you are chewing gum in front of her she will close her eyes like in the picture below. If you go so far as to pop a bubble, she will cry as in the last picture below.

Ella and her brothers love to go to the gym with me. She NEVER cries there. And they LOVE her. One day, I went to pick her up and she was crying. I couldn't believe it. I asked what was wrong...assuming she fell. The ladies were laughing. They said: "I think she's afraid of gum?!" The guy across the room popped a bubble and she freaked out! I laughed and said: "Yes, that's my daughter." I know you've never heard of this? Crazy.

It's so bad that when I photographed the wedding the other week, I had a lady come up to me and ask me where my kids were in swim lessons. We go on the same day. She says to me: "I remember you because you are the one that has the daughter that is afraid of gum, right?" Yelp, that would be me! ;-) Oh me oh my.

So, if any of you know of a cure for this, please let me know.

Sweet prayers

2008-05-01T21:15:00.003-06:00

I have so much that I need to blog and just haven't seemed to find the time. As you all know, I have been very busy setting up my photography business that I have let my blogging go down the drain! But on a good note....I did a wedding over the weekend with 2 of my girlfriends! It was a BLAST! I LOVE weddings. It was so fun. Our sweet Bride sent us an email on Monday complimenting how much they loved us and how much fun we brought to her party. Such a huge compliment...esp since it was our very first wedding. It was a rush. I hope to do it again!

But that's not the purpose of this blog entry. I had to share a sweet moment with my sweet daughter.

Every night before I put her to bed, I pray with her. I hold her tight and we hold hands and I pray over her, her life, her salvation, and her little heart! Every night, she will gladly hold my hand and usually will bow her head and close her little eyes. Over the past month, she started saying Amen when I say Amen! I love it.

But nothing compares to what transpired Monday night. We did our usual routine...BUT this time as I said: "Thank you for Ella and...." and about that time, Ella goes: "and for Cole Cole, Reid, and Emmie. Amen!" Folks, she said her very first prayer! Of course, it brought tears to my eyes. I couldn't help it! My heart just melted.

BTW...Emmie is her little friend Emily. Her very first best friend!

And then she gave me her BIG oh routine hug and sugars! I say night night...she repeats. Then the other best part? I say: "love you!" And yes, she repeats. There is just nothing like it...nothing.

My three kiddos are truly God's greatest blessings!

Pigtails!!

2008-04-17T22:05:00.002-06:00

Well, I have been waiting a LONG time to FINALLY put my sweet Ella's hair in pigtails and my day finally came! Now, don't judge as they aren't all that straight...seriously, how do these moms get pigtails in a 22 month old's hair?

Needless to say, my joy was only but for a moment. I put them in, grabbed my camera, took a quick round of pics and she immediately pulled them out! But doesn't she look so stinkin' cute?? I can't wait till I can put them in and she actually leaves them!

Long overdue!

2008-04-08T09:20:00.002-06:00

Many of you have wondered what I have been doing for the past month or so!?? Well, the answer is finally here! I have been working on building my photography business. I have loved pictures every since I can remember. Those that know me well, know that I have more pictures of my children than anyone should ever have, but I just keep taking them. Over the past year, my passion for taking pictures has just grown so much. I have experienced a lot of change over this past year and seem to have ended up here and I am loving it.

Some of you may be thinking, "I thought you were going to be a writer?" Well, it's just not that easy on the writing front. I have submitted my Romans study (out of obedience) and my writer group has submitted our proposal for the project we worked on at the end of last year. At this point, it's just a waiting game...which could take up to 12 months to ever hear a response (if you even get one).

But honestly, I don't really like to write, though I do think it will be part of my future at some point. So, for now, I have started a photography business and LOVE it!

You can check out my new website at Photography by April Williams.

I would love to take your pictures and capture your special moment!

My ear....My ear!!!!

2008-03-29T21:47:00.004-06:00

So, I'm driving down the road with all 3 of my children the other day. I could hardly think as they were so very loudly playing together. Three children laughing and yelling all at the same time in the same little car is sometimes just a lot to handle! BUT, they were having so much fun, I didn't say anything. Well, a few minutes into the good times, Reid yells: "Mommy, look at us!" Course I'm driving and can't turn around. He was persistent that I look. When I was able to stop at a stop light, I turned to see my sweet Ella yanking the boys by the ears. Both of their ears were red, but they were still laughing and Ella was looking at me like "What Mom?!"

So, Reid says, Mommy take a picture. Reid honey, I can't, I'm driving. Pull over Mommy! So, indeed I did. What's a mom to do? She's gotta get this. I figure I should have this as a reminder to the boys that they love their sister to boss them around. And let me tell you, she does. She doesn't take anything from them. Course, they give into her ALL the time. Not good as she thinks that all other children should give into her as well! But you know, those brothers love her so much. They may give into her, but they are protective of her as well.

Pilates Works 4 Life

2008-03-26T17:21:00.002-06:00

Hello everyone! I wanted to share with you my mom's newest blog! She is a certified Pilates trainer and she's awesome at what she does. She has just completed her first series on the POOCH! If you do not have a pooch, then there will be NO need for you to read her blog...just bypass this post. But for the rest of us, we should really look at this series. We all want that flat tummy for summer...well, pilates is a GREAT way to go.

Simply visit Pilates Works 4 Life.

Mom's a very entertaining writer...but my fav part of this series are her pictures. If you do not have a POOCH, you should at least check out the fun pictures.

Seriously Daddy....

2008-03-21T16:17:00.005-06:00

Oh me if I don't have yet another story to tell on Bryan! He seems to just have so much faith in his sweet boys and I'm sure one day Ella. We have him leaving Reid in Ella's baby room (before she was born) with scissors that Reid kindly took to Ella's BRAND NEW CUSTOM BEDDING, we have the black permanent marker to our sofa, and the list goes on.

Well, I was having MAJOR computer issues yesterday and had to go to the Apple store. While I was gone, Bry thought that it would be ok to leave Cole in a room by himself while he went upstairs to get Ella and change her diaper with a pair of scissors. Yes, scissors! And this is what happened!!!

I was like "Ummm, honey?" Bry says: "Cole told me he would only cut the paper!" Seriously? He's 3! Oh me oh my. I told Bry he was lucky I had taken the kids Easter pictures that morning BEFORE the beautiful new hair do! What am I going to do with him?

Boys at play

2008-03-11T20:25:00.007-06:00

Reid had a friend over last night to spend the night and play today. Cade is in Kindergarten in Dallas and they are on Spring Break this week...so we were excited when his mommy called to see if he could spend a day here!

I am so thankful that the weather was nice today. The boys (all 3 of them) were literally in the back yard from 8:30 this morning until we left for soccer practice at 5:15. Cole came in for his nap and Cade and Reid did come in for about an hour to have "rest" time. Course, I'm sure you can imagine how rest time went with the 2 stinkers!!!

As you can see in the pictures below, they were covered in dirt/mud. They were collecting worms. They drowned a couple (totally by accident). They were so sad to know that they probably killed the worms. But they got over it fast and found more. They put them in a yellow bucket and put it on the stone ledge in our back yard. They then climbed up on top of Ella's playhouse. You might be wondering..."What are they doing?" Well, I'll tell you. They are calling out bird calls hoping that birds will come to eat the worms. Now, mind you, these are the same boys that were sad they had killed the other ones. Guess, they didn't want the guilty conscience...let someone else do the dirty work!

From playing football, in which Cade was Romo and Reid was Barber, to playing soccer and then fighting/wrestling over who Ella belonged too, they had a fun-filled day. No real fighting went on. Reid was sad to see Cade go. Hopefully we will all sleep well tonight.

Check out those muddy tooshies!!

Sshhhh....we're bird watching

Isn't Cade a doll? I get to do a photoshoot of him soon with his brother!! They will look great on my upcoming photography website!!!

One last story....Reid kept calling Cade...Kate! Cade would say: "My name is CADE with a D!!" Too funny.

Trip to Kansas

2008-03-09T21:17:00.003-06:00

I thought I would update everyone on our trip to Kansas. We went to Kansas to watch my niece and nephew play in their basketball tournaments. This will be the last year that we will be able to make the trip most likely as Reid will begin Kindergarten next year and will be in school 5 days a week.

It was a very quick trip which was a bit brutal to be honest. Traveling 6-7 hours in the car with 3 kids is trying and tiring. But we went.

On our way, we stopped off to see my girlfriend Robyn and her family. We had our traditional sushi dinner with them (don't tell my mother in law...she thinks we will all die eating sushi!). The next day, Bry took the boys to the first of the tournaments and Rob and I (along with Ella) carried out our tradition of SHOPPING! Rob spoiled me for my birthday. We tend to celebrate the entire month of March. We treated ourselves to a wonderful birthday lunch and had a great time.

Thursday night, while Rob got to go to the Carrie Underwood/Keith Urban concert, I was privileged to go to the basketball games with all 3 kiddos! Ok, so I was a bit jealous that she got to see Carrie. I love Carrie! Seriously, can you believe that her husband Mike didn't give me his ticket? Who cares how much they cost! Where's the man's priorities! ;-)

I want to share a story that happened on Friday at the tournaments. There is a couple that was there who adopt down syndrome children. I think that it is awesome that they have a heart for these sweet children. One of their little boys was not much older than Ella and let me tell you, they had a ball playing together. They chased each other and just giggled. It was precious.

After a little while, Reid came over to me with a bit of a confused look on his face. He said: "Mommy, that little boy keeps looking at me funny. Why is he doing that?" My sweet Reid. It was a great teaching opportunity for me to explain to him about the little boy having DS and that he wasn't looking at him funny. I tried to explain how God made him very special, he was just different. I told Reid that we are called to love everyone we encounter no matter the differences. I wasn't sure if I made any sense to my sweet Reid, but I will tell you after that, Reid ran over and began playing with him and became a bit protective of him as well. My heart melted at the sensitive heart of Reid. He truly has compassion that I know is a God-given gift. Another priceless moment as a mom!

It honestly wasn't that bad with the kids at the games. They played in the bleachers with some toys that my sister in law brought and for the most part was content. At the game on Friday night, Ella played with her new little friend. They were so sweet together.

I was also able to see my cousin Becki. She lives about 30-40 minutes from where we were, so she came up one night and we got to chat like old times! Not that we are getting old, mind you! ;-) I'll just keep telling myself that!!!

I know photography group...no picture! I didn't even take the camera. Who would have thought that I could have taken any pictures at a game while trying to contain 3 children? And truly, I wouldn't have been able to. Bad...Bad...Bad...I know!

One reason I love being a mom....

2008-03-08T22:05:00.003-06:00

There are many reasons that I really love being a mom and feel very blessed each and every day. Even on the hardest days or the worst days with my children, I still feel blessed to be called mom. This is just one of the greatest gifts God ever gave.

I was cleaning the upstairs the other day and the kids were in Ella's room playing. When I walked in, Ella was sitting in Reid's lap and he was reading her one of her books. When Reid finished the book, Ella got up and went over and sat in Cole's lap for him to read his book to her as well. She went back and forth several times. Seemed like the perfect picture moment to me.

Ella loves to be read too. I generally read to her every day, but to see her brothers reading to her was precious. She sat there contently while they read.

Moments like this are ones that I don't want to forget as they remind me why I love being a mom. I just wanted to squeeze them all.

Let it Snow....Let it Snow....Let it Snow....

2008-03-08T17:04:00.005-06:00

It's hard to believe that it has been snowing this week in Texas, while we were in Kansas. What's funny is that in Kansas, it was anywhere from 20 degrees to 35 degrees and here in Texas, when we arrived home, it was around 50 degrees! And there was no snow in Kansas. Such irony, isn't it?

Well, before we left for our quick trip, the kids and I did some playing in the snow and had a little snow ball fight! It was a blast feeling like a kid again myself. The boys couldn't stop laughing as they would team up against Mommy and throw as much snow as their little hands could possibly hold.

The boys wanted to know if this meant it was time to put up the Christmas tree again and if Santa was coming soon! No boys, it just snows in Texas in March!!! They loved it all the same.

Uncle Ray

2008-03-03T13:02:00.002-06:00

I wanted to share that my Grandma's brother passed away this morning. It's a very sobering moment as this will be my Grandma's last living relative for her immediate family. She has outlived them all. I would ask that you please pray for her today as mom tells her the news. She is going to be heartbroke and will want to attend the funeral. He lived in NC, so we are not sure if Mom will be able to make the trip with her. We'll see.

Grandparents Day

2008-03-01T14:15:00.003-06:00

Since Reid was having his picture taken with Gran, Cole and Ella wanted to do the same. How could Gran resist?

Reid had Grandparents day at school yesterday. This meant that his not so old Gran (Grandma) got to come to school with him. He was really excited to spend the day with just Gran. The morning started at school with him going to his class to prepare for the day, while Gran enjoyed coffee and breakfast down the hall. Then the Grandparents came in and the kids gave them sweet projects that they made for them. One was a laminated project with the child's picture on it with a poem about Grandchildren. Then Gran went to chapel with him and the kids performed several songs for the grandparents.

When the busy day was done, Gran took Reid to lunch to California Pizza (Reid's favorite place to eat). She spoiled him with his favorite dish as well as dessert. Then she took him to Barnes and Nobles and bought all 3 of the kids a book.

What a fun day for Reid. He really loved having Gran all to himself for the day. He was so happy when he got home and is still talking about all the fun he had.

I love this tradition at Reid's school. It definitely makes great memories for both the children as well as the Grandparents.

Big Girl Ella

2008-02-29T20:22:00.007-06:00

I have moved Ella from her high chair to a booster seat at the table. Man oh man does she think that she's big stuff. She loves to eat so much more now as she is at the table and she feeds herself. I must say that she is by far the messiest eater of the family. Even the boys were not this messy. She will have food all over her hands and then will run her hands through her hair, all down her clothes, and wherever she can for that matter. But she is sure cute in the process!

Check her out! Oh, and don't try to help her eat. She can do it herself! ;-) LOL! My baby is growing up way too fast.

My precious boys!!

2008-02-27T21:32:00.004-06:00

If there's one thing I can say about having boys. . . there is a lot of energy in the house ALL the time. Man, I wish I had a 10th of their energy! As I look at these sweet faces, I can't help but be thankful for the joy that they are. You can look into their eyes in these pictures and see that they are innocent, happy children! I hope to protect this innocence as long as I can.

A quick story about Reid. Our dear friends, Rachel and Trev are expecting their very first baby!!!! They just found out this week what they are having. What does Reid have to do with this? Well, my other dear friend Jeffie had just had her 2nd baby back at the end of September. One night in October, Reid was praying before bed, he prayed for baby Sam and then he prayed that God would protect the baby in Mrs. Rachel's belly. When he finished, I told him that Mrs. Rachel didn't have a baby in her belly. "Yes, she does Mommy!" Let's just say that even Rachel didn't know that she was pregnant. But apparantely, she was, but it would have been way too early to tell. When I asked Reid what she was having, he told me a girl! Well folks...guess what she found out this week? That she is having a girl! I might have a little prophet on my hands. This is the 2nd time that he has prayed for a baby in a belly and he seemed to know the sex of the baby! Crazy, huh?

And another story about Reid. If you don't know my mom...scroll down to see pictures of her. Friday at school, Reid has grandparents day. This is a special day that the children's grandparents come into their classes and spend 1/2 a day with them. They have worked hard to make special projects for them. I was telling Reid that Gran (my mom) was going to be there. He replied: "Well, mom that's fine, but it's going to be a bit tricky."
"Why's that?"
"Well, because my Grandma is supposed to come."
"Reid. . . Gran is your Grandma."
"Oh, ok...then that will be great that she's coming!"

The next day, he gets in the car and says: "Mom, if Gran is my Grandma . . . why isn't she old?"

I couldn't help but laugh. That was so cute. So, I had to explain to him that his Grandma might be younger than most, and that he was blessed to just have a beautiful Grandma! Too cute.

Malachi 3:3

2008-02-27T21:12:00.004-06:00

I emailed this out to some of you, but I just had to post it. I really love what this says! He knows when I am refined when He can see me. If I would just keep this in mind, my refining process would sometimes be a little quicker. I have been on a major refining process the past 6 months. It has been painful and hard at times, but God has taught me so much. I am loving where I am with Him right now. Grant it, I still have a TON to learn.

Hope this encourages your heart as it did mine.

WOW! This is powerful!

Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.

One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining Silver.

As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest so as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that He had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.

The man answered that He not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?"

He smiled at her and answered,

"Oh, that's easy," "When I see my image in it."

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

"Life is a coin. You can spend it any way you wish, but you can only spend it once."

D.L. Moody on Sovereign Grace

2008-02-25T22:16:00.001-06:00

"You remember the Israelites used to gather the manna fresh every day: they were not allowed to store it up. There is a lesson here for us Christians. If we would be strong and vigorous, we must go to God daily and get grace. A man can no more take in a supply of grace for the future than he can eat enough today to last him for the next six months; or take sufficient air into his lungs at once to sustain life for a week to come. We must draw upon God's boundless stores of grace from day to day, as we need it."

Sovereign Grace

My beautiful Mother....

2008-02-24T21:51:00.005-06:00

I don't care what they say....She is beautiful! Ok....like anyone has ever said anything different.

We went to my mom's house over the weekend and I did a photoshoot of her doing all those Pilates moves! I also took some of her up close for her mug shot. Well, ok, they are for her upcoming website.

Anyway, I just had to share a couple so that you could all enjoy the beauty of my Mom. I know, I know...we look like we could be sisters...we hear it all the time! Hopefully this means I have good genes and I'll look this good in a few years!

When her website is ready, I'll be sure to let you all know. She will have all sorts of great information on health, pilates, working out etc. She is an excellent writer and a GREAT Pilates instructor. Can you tell that I am proud of her? Love you Mom!

A short visit with dear friends....

2008-02-24T20:17:00.006-06:00

Over the weekend, we got to visit with some of our dear friends, Stephanie and her 2 darling children, Adeline and Adam. Last summer, God moved our sweet friends to San Marcus. It was really sad to see them go, but we all knew that God had a big plan for them. In just the short time that I had with Stephanie, it was evident that God has been using them in a BIG way down South. I must be honest though, I still secretly hope that they will get to move back here! My boys love their Adeline. They still pray for her every single night. We loved being able to spend a few hours with them on Friday. We hope to see them again soon.

I just wanted to share the pictures of the children from Friday.

Don't they just look so cute together?!!

I still can't get over how big Adam has gotten (he's the little guy by Cole)

I have to tell this story on Ella. I have been trying to take some pictures of her this week for her very late 18 months pictures and she won't have anything to do with it. She went from loving the camera to running from it. Well, as I was trying to take the pictures of these kiddos on Friday, she decided she was going to be front and center. The kids had lined up to get ready for the picture; however, Ella decided that she wanted to stand where Cole was standing...so she tugged on his shirt and yelled at him. He didn't move of course, so she went to plan B. She literally pushed him with all of her might. In the process, she actually pushed the whole line of kids down some which left enough room for her to slide in where she wanted to stand. At this point, she turned around, faced me and kept yelling "CHEESE" and giving the biggest smile she could. I must say that all the moms were laughing all the while telling me that I will have my hands full with her. She is truly a delight. My mom describes her as a child that grabs your heart! I love that little stinker!

Update on my writing

2008-02-21T21:30:00.003-06:00

I have had many of you email me to ask me what is the latest with my writing. I thought I would just put a brief update on my blog for all to read.

In the Christian publishing industry, nothing moves fast. It is a really long process as each publisher will read your manuscript to ensure that they are only publishing things that align with their theology and morals. It is actually neat to know that if you are published by certain Christian publishers, your work is already deemed reputable because of this.

With that said, I'm actually not quite to that stage just yet. I have been working with a writing coach and editor on my Romans manuscript. I received my first Unit back from her a few weeks ago to find that there were quite a few grammar and formatting things that I needed to correct. No surprise there. But, she did send me an email that really encouraged me. She expressed in her email that she did feel that there was a need on the market for my study. She loved the fact that the study forces the reader/student to dig a bit deeper into the Scripture and start thinking for themselves. She felt as though it wasn't a study that told the reader what to think.

I have been taking a theology class from Reclaiming the Mind and last week, we studied about the various forms of theology that have saturated our postmodern culture.

RC Sproul stated: "We live in what may be the most anti-intellectual period in the history of Western civilization...We must have passion--indeed hearts on fire for the things of God. But that passion must resist with intensity the anti-intellectual spirit of the world."

The more I learn, the more I know in my heart that we, as Christians, need to understand why we believe what we believe. We need to not just base our beliefs on what our pastor preaches, what our parents told us growing up, or what authors of books or Bible studies tell us. We need to understand why we believe what we believe. We need to wake up our brains and embrace the Word of God so that we can incorporate the Holy Spirit into every area of our lives.

I really say all this to say that her email to me was quite encouraging as I have this deep passion in me to move forward in reaching as many as I can on some level to challenge them to dig deeper into Scripture and not let others tell them what or how to think.

My next step will be to clean up my manuscript with the advice she has lent me and then work on submitting to the various Christian publishers. I don't know where this will go, but God does. At least now, I can say that I have done my part and I have learned a WHOLE lot in the process. God has been faithful. Thanks for all the prayers and support and the patience!

Valentine's pictures

2008-02-21T21:25:00.004-06:00

I know, I know...I haven't posted anything in forever. Once I got back from my Scrapbooking retreat, I was sick for almost 2 weeks. So, I am just now getting back into the swing of things. I thought that I would post a couple of pictures of the kiddos from Valentine's Day.

Ella is groovin'

2008-01-29T10:19:00.000-06:00

Couldn't resist sharing this clip of Ella dancing. Her big bro kept getting in the way, so you may have to watch this 2x to see her dip and groove. It was so stinkin' cute!

Enjoy.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Walking for the Kids....

2008-01-26T20:39:00.000-06:00

Yes, we look a bit tired. We only had about 3-4 hours of sleep last night!

I know, I know, I haven't blogged in forever. Seems hard to believe that we have started a new year and have zipped through the first month already without even slowing down for a breath. I really thought that it would be a bit slower....I know, I'm delusional. Anyway, I just had to share about our walk this morning for my dear friend Andrea and her son Luke.

As you remember from my past post, we walked to support the MDA (Jerry's Kids) foundation that raises money for research for medicine and cures for children with muscular disorders or challenges.

Bryan and I decided that instead of just me going, we would take our whole family. We thought it would be a great learning experience for our kids. They had never seen a child in a wheel chair until today. We wanted them to know that there are children out there that are different than them, but just as special. And we wanted them to know that the Lord has called us to help those around us.

So, all week long we have been talking with the boys about this event and letting them know what they would be seeing. At first the boys wanted to go through their toys to give them to the kids. Which by the way, was really sweet. They were even willing to give some of their Lightning McQueen cars away (and that my friends, is HUGE!). But we explained that this was not a toy drive, but a fundraiser of money to doctors to help the kids get better. This morning, we were all up bright and early and Reid was very excited to get going. He told us that we needed to be sure to take our silver car as that was the car where he was keeping his money (coins) that he has been collecting. When asked why, he said: "Cause I want to give it to the kids today at the walk Mommy to help them!" I couldn't help but form tears in my eyes as I thought we must have done something right along the way. We did not prompt him at all for this. He did this on his own.

When we arrived at Grapevine Mills Mall, we found our Team Luke table! The boys were greeted with M&Ms, a for sure favorite. You will see below a picture of them handing the money to Andrea, Luke's mom. Such a sweet moment for all of us there.

When the walk started, the boys were excited to walk with Daddy with the children. I just can't tell you how much I think this was an awesome thing for our boys to be a part of. I think it is so important that our children have these experiences in life. If you ever get the opportunity to involve your children in a mission like this, you should do it!

I believe that not only were Bry and I blessed this morning, but I do believe that my children were blessed as well. And the best part is they didn't give their money and then ask for more money for themselves...they just freely gave. I believe that God will bless that sweet giving in them.

This is TEAM LUKE! These are the folks that were able to come and show their support of Luke.

Me and Andrea....

Ella kissing Baby Luke on her button. She saw that we were wearing the buttons and she took my hand and led me to the table, pointed to the buttons and then pointed to her chest. She was telling me she wanted to wear one. When I put it on her, she just kept patting it and then would kiss it. So sweet!

Reid giving his money that he has been saving for Baby Luke's cause!

Cole giving his money for Baby Luke's cause!

These are 2 very precious boys with very big hearts. How can you not just love them to pieces??

We learn so much from our children and today was no different. The innocence of giving and loving someone that you don't know without any judgment unconditionally. It was so neat that I just don't have the words to really express my heart. I pray that my children will always have these sweet, tender hearts for others!

PS...Thanks for Ericka for taking all of the pictures above.

My Aunt's mom passed away

2008-01-11T08:28:00.001-06:00

Please see the email below from my Uncle Charles. My dear Aunt Charity's mom passed away on Wed. Though we knew it was coming, death is never easy. I would ask that you pray for my Aunt and her family during this time. My Aunt is so special to me and I love her so much. I hate to see her in pain. My mom has talked with them and they are doing as well as to be expected.

Walking for a Cause

2008-01-07T20:20:00.000-06:00

Hello friends and family. I wanted to let you all know that I am going to be walking with my friend Andrea on the 26th of this month for MDA organization aka Jerry's kids. This is an organization that benefits the muscular dystorphy association. Anyway, you can click on

Mission Possible

And you will be taken to my friend's blog where she has talked about what this will do. Any donations that you can give even as little as $5 helps go towards a cure for these sweet children would be so appreciated and truly benefit not only children with muscular challenges, but the parents as well. I'm excited to do this with her as a very small way to show support for her sweet Luke.

We plan to take our children as well as we think it will be a good opportunity to teach them about how other children may be different than them, but they are just as special. It will be a new experience for my children.

All in all, we do ask for your support in prayers. That is most important!! Thank you all!

I mean really....

2008-01-07T15:15:00.001-06:00

Ok...for those of you that don't know the story about Reid taking a magic marker, black in color, you know, the kind that is permanent???...and coloring our sofa, let me quickly tell it.

When Reid was about 3, Bry was on his way to help with Hurricane Katrina relief. We had tons of friends donate clothes for this event and we had clothes all throughout our downstairs. We were separating the clothes by size and gender. To do so, Bry had a black, magic, permanent marker sitting on the sofa to mark the boxes. Several times, I politely told him that we really shouldn't leave that marker there on the sofa because Reid may get it. Of course, he ignored my motherly wisdom! ;-) Anyway, we were taking boxes outside to load them on the trailer for them to leave. We were in and out. Well...on one trip back into my house, I screamed "NO!!!" Course, this made everyone run in to see what was wrong. Our sweet Reid who was dazed watching a tv show, had grabbed the marker and in the matter of minutes had literally colored all the way across the seat cushions on our light Khaki colored sofa. Not to mention, he literally took the marker and made at least one mark on all 7 of the pillows that serve as the back of the sofa. Oh and did I tell you that he colored his shirts???? I was horrified. I didn't know whether I should laugh or cry!

What? I'm too cute to do anything like this!!

This is what both of my seat cushions looked like! However, over the course of the past 2 years, it has faded!

So, I tell you all of this to share with you the next event...not with Reid, but with Ella!!!

I fed Cole and Ella lunch today and was in the kitchen cleaning up while Cole was watching tv and Ella was playing so contently in the corner with her new Little People house and baby bottles. Little did I know.....

I picked her up to take her upstairs to change her diaper and put her down for a nap. As I laid her on the changing table, my eyes are drawn to her legs. Are you kidding me? She had colored both of her legs. First of all...where in the world did she find the pen? Second....where is the pen that she was using. I didn't find that until after her nap, after we picked Reid up from school. Ok, let's be honest, Ella found the pen for me. I had to ask her and believe it or not, she walked up to me and handed it to me. Bright little 18 month old, huh?

Clearly she thought this was a piece of paper. A masterpiece!!

I didn't do it. See Mom, I am asleep. This is Ella's new thing, by the way, she pretends to be asleep! It's actually quite funny to watch her pretend to sleep.

Mom, he did it!!

I didn't do it Ella. I'm going to get you for that!

At least she only colored her skin...no clothes or furniture. But she is my child that was caught playing the toilet 3x last week alone. I would love to have a picture of this, but you know her germy OCD dad would freak if we let her play in the toilet while I went to grab the camera!!!

So, from climbing on top of the kitchen table to playing in the toilet, I believe she will be a tom boy like how her Momma was!

Happy New Year!!!

2008-01-01T14:22:00.001-06:00

I just wanted to wish you all a Happy New Year! I am sure that so many of you are busy today catching up on the lack of sleep from last night (I know that I am). We didn't get to bed until 3am. We had some friends over and we all stayed up talking. What were we thinking? We are all old and have kids that were up at the crack of dawn this morning. I am sure that we are all paying for it today.

I was going to share my New Year's resolutions!!

I vow to work out at the gym 3-4x a week--that is if it doesn't interfere with my social life or my sleep
I vow to eat healthier--that is if I'm not somewhere where they serve yummy food!! I mean healthy=no flavor!
I vow to take my vitamins everyday--that is if I remember!
I vow to keep my house clean all the time--when I have the energy to constantly clean, never resting because with 3 kids the more I clean, the more they mess things up.
I vow to lose weight--that is if I can keep the above resolutions!
I vow to spend more time with family--oh wait...I do that already
I vow to read more books and learn something new--that is, if I don't fall asleep while reading them before bed
I vow to get organized--that is if I can figure out where to start
I vow to quit smoking and drinking--just kidding yah...I don't do either! Just wanted to see if you were paying attention.

These have been listed as the top New Year's resolutions along with getting out of debt.

If you make resolutions and actually keep them, please let us all know how you do it! ;-)

I hope you have a wonderful new year!!!