Gettin some Crissy time...

Stopped in San Antonio on the way home from Austin last night to have dinner with Crissy and her family. Had awesome food ( stuffed mushrooms being my favorite) and lots of laughs. The pics of us in b-day hats are specifically for Mariah. Mariah we were celebrating your birthday next week and my birthday next month. Sorry you couldn't enjoy the cake, but it was really good.

The kids played great together. Claire was contect to watch Lion King while Keegan continually looked for something else to eat. Rylin and Gwen ate lots of cake and played with all Rylin's new b-day toys.

Enjoying the Comfy life

well, since we're here.. we'll enjoy it! I haven't done laundry or dishes in 2 days. But we have done this. Kirby hung up our Hammock, which he had bought years ago in Honduras. The hammocks in Cancun were awesome, so now we are enjoying our own. This particular evening , the kids seemed so happy to each being doing their own thing in the yard, I had to document it. We spend ALOT of time in this yard and even though it is small we love it. Kirby has made it soo pretty with all the flowers . Our favorite tree has just begun to bloom, and it smells sooo good. It's called a Plumeria. I always say if a sunset had a smell, it would smell like this flower. Sometimes when it's not too windy you can hear the ocean back here too. Even though we live a mile or so away.
If you look closely at the bigger pic of Gwen swinging you can get a glimpse of Skip, our tortouise, making his way across the yard.

Roller Coaster Ride

is what it seems our family has been on for about 6 weeks. Emotionally, at least. To make a 6 week story in a few sentences will be hard, but here goes. We were asked to move to Cancun, Mexico and plant a church similar to ours. We were psyched, to say the least. We spent last week there in fact, in Cancun scouting it out for a church plant and enjoying the gorgeous beaches with our family. (we took my parents along so they could watch kids while we did church work). After returning with both excited and overwhelming feelings of the task at hand we were told the church isn't in a good place to send us right now. No hard feelings of course, we are all new to this. Just ready to get off the roller coaster of different emotions I have felt regarding leaving my house, my friends, beginning a new and exciting chapter, coming to grips with the opportunity to really do our dream much earlier than we had ever imagined, elated feelings of being in another country and seeing my children interact with another culture so well, coming home and being sad to leave Corpus, getting my myself psyched up again by thinking of doing ministry with Kirby, and then coming to grips with the fact that this won't really happen right now. Not in the way we were planning for anyway. I think we all feel like " Now what........................?"

I know God is in control and still very much wants us to do His work. I am so grateful for Him in confusing times. Our family has grown much stronger through all this. Kirby and I have become a much stronger cord and we feel as though we passed a test of " Would you be willing to leave your comfy life for other things" with flying colors. Our " Yes" is still on the table God. What can we do for you?

I really am gonna catch up...........but not tonight. Here is our Good Bye Mariah Party pics.
We hung out at On the Border, laughed loud and alot, said nice stuff to M and made friends with our waitress names Reallie, really or name was Reallie!

Back up blogging here. This is from my trip to Houston a couple of weeks ago.

Mariah and I braved a trip together with all the kids in the van. It was.........loud, to say the least. Good memories though. Before we parted ways to spend time with our families my Mom had a photo shoot with us and and all the kids in her photography studio. It was great fun , more of thos pics to come.
These are a few of my fam as we were leaving. Claire is with Meg's cutie boyfriend , Jake, who she completely adores and wants to marry if Meg doesn't. I"m pretty sure Gwen wants to marry him to , but only if doesn't work out with Jack, her daddy or her brother. What sweet innocence!

Blue............cuz that's what I am today.

I have tried very hard to not think about it, to do other things, to be extra happy but I'm done and now I'm just gonna have to feel it. Feel the ache of a friend getting further and further away from Texas as I write.
Knowing that it's for real that I cannot call Mariah and ask her to meet me at the park is really setting in. She won't remind me of stuff I forgot to write on the calendar that we're doing together because we won't be doing stuff together anymore! I can't decide spur of th moment that I want to have a sleep over , or that we should switch kids for a day or that I don't want to cook and we need to meet somewhere cuz I'm really hungry. Nope, none of that will be happening because she doesn't live here anymore! I'm pretty sure I won't have another friend that is always on time for everything, even though she knows I'll be late. That is always up for anything I think up at whatever time of day and lets me ruin her plans just so we can hang out. She is the only friend I have that is even more relaxed than me about cleaniness and sick prevention techniques.
Plus, who will tell me like it is, when no one else around does? Who will love me soo much, yet be able to completely put me in my place at any given second?
How mad are my kids gonna be now that using the bathroom outside is so over for them, because Mariah's kids aren't around to be doing it anymore. Who will get completely excited about just coming to my house and eating a snack? Who will understand why I have to change plans when it rains cuz I don't like to drive in it? Who will make me do stupid girl stuff I used to make fun of, like sleep overs and taking pictures together? Not Mariah.................cuz she won't be here!
Okay well it's true no one else is going to be Mariah and I know I have lots of really good friends , God has blessed me with. Actually I'm truly glad that He gave me a friend that is so irreplaceable. That's is the best kind right?
I think I'm done with my pity party and now I feel better. However, watching Beaches and eating ice cream is probablly still in my near future.

Recap of Spring Break:

Monday: Played at Terri's house with like 6 other moms and tons and tons of kids. Way good food and way good godly women to be around. Ended it with prayers for our husbands.
Tuesday: Played at Mariah's , ate Sonic for lunch, had dinner at our new church building. ( Our new facility opens on Easter!)
Wednesday: Had a hot date with my hot husband to Laguna Reef where I had yummy coconut shrimp and lots of laughs.
Thursday: a visit with Mariah and her sister. Her sis, is hilarious! I wanted to steal her for the week so I could just laugh and laugh. Aren't we glad God made people with this gift! Oh and Sonic again minus the ice-cream and then a trip to La Paletera so the girls could get ice pops and I could get a fruit cup covered in sweet cream. Yummy! Gwen and I decided since everyone around us on the Island was on vacation we should be too. Just because we live here doesn't mean that we should be deprived of that vacationy feeling of cruising around with your windows down without a care in the world.
Friday- Gwen had shots which was not vacationy at all, but a must have to get her into the Seashore Learning Center Lottery. We ended the misery with a nice trip to "My Favorite Muffin Cafe" (yes, this is a real name) where I had a delicious Vegge Bagel with Hummus and Gwen had a double Chocolate muffin. Race was content to look around and laugh. He is SO easy! Also Race began to sit on his own this night.
Saturday: Our good friends Dennis and Yvette Pagel and their two girls came for a visit. We drank ALOT of coffee, ate out , laughed a bunch, played on the sand dunes, Kirb grilled his awesome portk chops, and then drank more coffee!
Ended the day with a great church service. God spoke to Kirby and I in a cool way. More on that in another entry.
Sunday: Played pretend Airport with the girls. At first only the play room was the plane but as the day progressed the entire house became the plane and all of sudden every normal task became much more interesting. I served chocolate and read stories and then payed my sweet passengers to do chores around the "plane" , but instead of money they received gummy colas ( gummies are a staple in our house for Kirby and the girls).
This game was so fun I completely wore Claire out and she passed out during the entertainment part ( the girls favorite Lion documentary..............I'm telling you these girls are unique!) We ended the day with bicycle riding on the plane's wing ( AKA the drive way) and had to come in when the turbulence got too rough and it wasn't safe to have babies out in all that.

Because this week was so fun and chill and I really feel like God is helping me embrace my "mother role", I am not scared of the summer with endless days of trying to dream up something fun to do. I have confidence that me and my 3 will have a blast and make a ton of memories.

We really enjoyed the Childrens' musuem in Houston. My Mom and Meg went with us. Little Mexico was our favorite exhibit. Gwen and my Mom worked on building a bridge which required a lot of brains. Gwen of course embraced it with all she had.
I really enjoyed playing in the exhibits that had props for role playing. Claire's favorite was the red mustang that she could get into. Ever since then she keeps telling me, " Mom I really need to get a car!"

While in Houston, Claire met a kitty named Claire She absolutely loved this kitty. She followed the kitty around for at least half and hour and when the kitty had had enough, Claire didn't get the hint. Therefore, we have the pic of Claire holding a very scratched up arm!
The pic of Race is thanks to Gwen and her latest "fashion idea."

Why Blog Breakfast? Because my Dad was totally sweet every morning by setting out cereal and pretty bowls all ready for us each mornin. The best part was those small bowls of fruit and nut mixes because I could snack on them while I got the girls situated and poured my coffee.........which he already prepared all I had to do was push a button and fresh brew was on the way!
The pic of my Mom is of her and Gwen playing and conversing about something extravagant I'm sure. Gwen could hang out with her MiMi forever and be in complete heaven. My Mom has the gift of playing pretend like no one else and the gift of staying with it for as long as Gwen can!
Thanks Mom and Dad for making our stay so comfortable and being sure we all felt loved!

My mom kidnapped us last week and took me and kiddos back to Houston with her for a week.
She thought I needed a bit of a break and some family near by. She was right..........of course she's my Mom! This is my youngest sis, Meg, and here are the girls getting in her Jewlery. It was great just being there when Meg got home from school or hanging out with her and her adorable boyfriend in the evening. Meg is in cosmotology school and is passionately pursuing a singing career. She sings all over Houston at different style venues and even has a spot at South by Southwest this week in Austin. Very HUGE deal if you know anything about music. Her and her partner Danny will have a concert at the University of Houston on May 19 that will raise money for a Mental Health Organization. To check out her music go to www.lost2gether.com. Meg writes all her own stuff and even plays the guitar. Yeah, not your typical pop star. She is real and has a very pure heart. God gave this girl a gift and she is giving it her all!

Well, I'm gonna start blogging again. This pic is from Valentines Day. I love the girls in these matching pink sweaters. That was a great day. The girls was so psyched to give their hand-made valentines to their friends. Kirby got us all prizes and he hid Dove chocolate in my coffee mug cabnit. So my day began well.
Since then, Race has gotten even more handsome.........I know pretty unconceivable huh! Claire seems to be getting taller by the day and becoming such her own person. Funny Funny Funny.
Gwen is just "happy as a lark" as I heard her tell her Mimi on the phone. She really is happy lately, which makes me at ease. The girl still has her moods, don't get me wrong they are just dissolved much easier lately. Thank you Jesus! He is the only one that could give me wisdom in that area. One day I felt like he just told me " Sunny appeal to her loving side, not her controlling moody side." WOW. It has worked wonders, when I remember to do it.
Today, I was gone most of the day to a Beth Moore Simulcast. It was really good. I highly recommend the book she recently wrote, "Get out of that Pit." Anyway, Kirby had the girls and Race and spent the day playing with them outside and playing with his new toy a Solar Oven. Which is much more than just a toy because it really works and he gets such a kick out of cooking with it. I love to watch him do stuff that he enjoys, and if you know Kirby it 's not your everyday watch sports and sit on the couch stuff. When I returned home he had successfully cooked, sausage, carrots and some muffins!
Tomorrow is Sunday. I have GOT to exercise a little and so some laundry. The girls keep having to make trips to the laundry room to find clean underwear! We also have church tomorrow and then some furniture shopping. I'm not sure which I'm more excited about. That sounds bad huh, but Jesus knows how bad I've been wanting new couches!
gonna go read. I've just started "Into Thin Air" about a MT. Everest climb that turned into disaster. Kirby read it in a matter of days, so I'm gonna get in on the action.
well, no pic on this post, blogger is being testy.

I am totally stealing Kirby's pics that he just put on our family blog, but I just don't have any of my own right now and wanted to do a short post.
Finally there was sun this morning and Kirby took the kids to the beach. After ALOT of days of being a single mommy (kirby has been illin) I relished a morning alone in my bed, drinking coffee and reading. So Nice! I finally began a book I have been wanting to read for a long time. "Breaking Free" by Beth Moore. It is seems like it is going to be very powerful. One thing I read today that stuck out was, " A Christian is held captive by anything that hinders the abundant and effective Spirit-filled life God planned for him or her."
Good Stuff. Well, I have a baby crying and lunches to be made. Exactly the reason there hasn't been much blogging going on!

I am NOT Reserved..

when I work out on my Eliptical machine. I sing loud and off key. I raise my hands when singing "Devotion" by the Newsboyz, dance like I'm back in highschool during No Doubt and seriously get my grove on to Michael Jackson. Yes, all this on a exercise machine. There are many times I get completely off beat and nearly fall off. I figure this allows my body to work different muscles and that can't be a bad thing. Since Kirby set an IPod up for me my workouts have been way more fun. Something about tuning everything out while I'm excersing is very freeing. I'm sure Claire will break something pretty soon, while I can't hear her, but for now the girls just keep peeking in the room watching mommy act crazy. It's very exhilarating to worship God, get my groove on , and just have fun not worrying what others will think.
Somehow once we become real "grown ups" there are certain things we don't do, and I'm just not buying that anymore. So here's my challenge to everyone. Bust out and be free and let your kids watch you. It's going to make your day go so much better.
My girls never knew a White Mama like theirs could do the moonwalk until this morning..............they were in awe! ( I wasn't on the machine for that )

Girls Night In

Gwen said this was the funnest night of her whole world. Claire could not believe she was allowed to put on as much lipstick as her little heart desired. We did each others makeup and hair. The living room smelled like girl heaven with so many scents of lotion and lip gloss. Gwen kept looking in the mirror and tossing her head around............so hilarious.
Race was very amused watching us.

This is my friend Jen.
This is her nursing. I think this is so hilarious every time she does it that I had to blog it.
I love Jen.

It's All Good.......

When Mom leaves the house.

Kirby had the kids for an extended amount of time for 2 days in a row. The first day I came home to a "pillow pit" in my living room and something that looked like a cupcake bomb in the playroom.
The second day was much different. He had vaccumed the rug, done laundry, swept the entire house, washed dishes and had fresh coffee waiting for my return. So, I'll end with the same saying
"It's all Good."

My Mom brought back some treasures of mine when she visited last. Stuffed in bags for over 20 years were my favorite doll, and my favorite dress. I almost teared up when Gwen came out of her room in this dress. I hung it up in her closet hoping she would find it quickly. It took about half a day and there she was prancing out of her room asking me to button it. The Doll............yes I know she is a little on the scary side..........was my friend for many years. I was kid who could play alone for hours because I had many other "make believe" friends there too. Happy, the doll, was always there and she didn't used to look so scary.

The Many Faces of Claire.

The cutest boy in the WORLD!!!
Race gets dressed up real cute at least once a day. I realize I'm changing his clothes, more than I did the girls!
Here he is in his Christmas outfit and in a pink head band Gwen decided would be cute. It's just the beginning, I know. I'm certain Claire will attack with makeup very soon.