Out of the mouths of babes...

I am constantly hearing things from my children that I do not want to forget. I have tried to keep a journal. (tried being the main word there :) So I am going to start trying to blog some of them. I realize this may not be for anyone's benefit other than my own, so that is why I am warning you... Here are a few things from the mouths of my babes...

Yesterday while my kids were with the sitter:
Riley "I have to go poo-poo"
Sitter "well ok, lets go!"
Riley "Do you have any candy?"
Sitter "Yes"
Riley: "Let me see it!"
Sitter "well, ok..... "
Riley after seeing the candy goes, "oh, ok" and proceeds to take care of business. After that she looks at the sitter:
"You not dance for me! My momma dances!" (sigh) "thats ok, because I know you are excited...So now, where is my candy?"

-My sitter said that the last time she went to the bathroom at her house Riley asked for the candy when she was done. She said that she didn't have any and she got upset. That is what I think brought up the candy conversation. It made me laugh and made me a little proud that she would remember the conversation from the time before.
Later at dinner that night Riley informed daddy that when he was older like her, she would give him candy when he goes to the bathroom on the potty :)
They both make me laugh...

The Train says "Choo-Choo"

We were very excited because we had a special visitor coming to see us on Tuesday night. We talked about going to the train station all day and the kids couldn't wait until it was finally time.

Here we are eating dinner and waiting on the train.

"Look Mom, I see it!"

They were amazed!

This picture didn't really turn out but I loved it because of how excited Sam was when he saw our guest get off of the train!


So... These next few are our "OH" pictures. The kids were cracking me up. Every time they heard the train in the distance they would make this face. Needless to say, it was adorable!

YEAH! Honey was our special guest!!

We were actually only a pit stop on the train. Honey is going to be with GiGi and GGP for the next few days. We were glad to take her there though so we could spend some time with her. However, Riley cried the first few minutes after we left. I got yelled at because I left Honey and we needed to go back and get her :) It was sweet. Hopefully sometime soon we can ride the train again. (for Sam it would be the first time)

Friends and Jello

There are so many things that I love about living on campus. All the friends that our kids have is up at the top of the list! It is not uncommon for us to have little friends over to play. There were a couple more that weren't even in the picture. Riley and Sam get so excited when they hear the kids outside or if I tell them we are asking whoever over to play. Riley and Sam are going to be very sad when Corban and Vincent move next year :( They have become the best of friends. Yesterday Riley and Vincent Ran to each other arms open wide and hugged. Vincent came over, looked at me and said "I love Riley". It was so sweet! I am thankful that they have so many kids their age to play with. (oh and the sweet little boy on the front right... He is becoming a big brother today!)

Date Night

This past weekend was WONDERFUL! My sister Hannah asked if Riley could come and stay the weekend with her, so Honey and Preacher asked if they could have Sam. I was glad to let them have some one-on-one time with my family and for Ryne and I to get some much needed one-on-one time. Ryne has worked on the weekends almost the entire time that we have been at LeTourneau; however, this Saturday he was off Saturday night! We desperately needed to get away so we decided to head to Shreveport. We hadn't ever been to the board walk together so we thought it would be fun. We ate at Saltgrass Steak House. Our food was good but I really loved the complimentary bread! Yum! Then we got to do some shopping up and down the board walk. After we tried to walk off some dinner :) we stepped into this cute bakery. Their cupcakes looked amazing! I couldn't wait to try one. After much debate between red velvet and strawberry, the lady behind the counter said she thought I was more of a strawberry girl. Ha, funny thing is, she is probably right! Then we got to watch a movie together and finished off the night with some great conversation and overall just a great time together.

I am so in love with Ryne and things have just been going great for us. It is funny because this is most certainly one of our most challenging semesters on many levels; however, this has been one of the best yet. Now that we have gotten into the groove of things, we are enjoying our little routine. We love getting to see Ryne a little more during the week, even if it is just when we bring him dinner. The kids are loving their new friend and Ryne and I are loving a little time during the week to devote to our "to do list" without the kids. After dinner tonight we all had "family dance time". It is one of our favorite things to do together. Like I said, it has just been an amazing past couple of days all around. It is so nice to have days like that...

I love you Ryne! Thanks for such a wonderful night! I sure love being your lady...

He's all Boy!

These pictures say it all! My little Sam is all boy! Sam has taught me so much in such a short amount of time. I had no idea what I was in for when he came into our lives. He loves to get dirty, he loves bugs, he loves to wrestle, and we still call him our caveman because he loves to communicate by grunting. I am a big believer in letting my kids just be kids. I love to let them get dirty, bang on pots and pans, and explore with all their senses. A few days ago we were sitting outside enjoying jello with our neighbors kids. Riley and the older boys ran off before finishing their snack. Sam, who is always concerned about not being wasteful, went around finishing up all the jello cups that the kids had left. It was so funny! He makes me laugh constantly. (He gets that from his daddy) He loves to test the limits and does so often. I love his sweet cheeks and that big grin. He does everything all out. He plays hard, loves hard, even sweats hard! haha. My little man, well he is all boy!

Miss Riley

The past few days we have had some muggy, humid, nasty weather. However, we have not gotten pounded with rain like some places have. Nevertheless, we have been inside for the past couple of days. I was excited when my neighbor gave me the idea to put up lots of paper and just let the kids finger paint. Well, I didn't have the paint (or the time to monitor finger painting) so we settled for some crayons. I was hoping this activity would entertain my kids while I finished washing the dishes, but it only got the attention of my sweet, miss Riley.

The Blank Slate

Sam colored for a little bit...

But Sam couldn't concentrate at all while Riley was very focused. (Sam got on her nerves pretty quick :)

Look at that left hand

And finally the finished product! (with a little help from me and Sam)

I have left it up because periodically she will walk by and pick up a crayon to add a little something extra and because I love to look at it. I love to watch her focus and get excited. She enjoys doing almost anything but she especially loves to color, cut, glue, etc. She went to class with me last week and has talked about it ever since. We even had to get her a little backpack because she kept taking all of my things out of mine so she could "go to school". Anyways, while she was in class she would scribble down "notes" every time the class would and at the end of class she took her pile of papers to the teacher. She said she needed to turn in her homework :) She continually amazes me by how aware, loving, and intentional she is about everything that she does. It is hard to believe how much she has grown and is still growing. I love my miss Riley and I love watching her learn and grow.

Tent Time

This past weekend we made our very first tent! I have such fond memories of spending (what seemed like) hours creating our "homes" together in the kitchen, living room, or bedrooms. Ryne and I had been very busy this weekend and the kids were getting restless. Sam had been crawling around my feet at the computer desk while I was working on a paper. All of a sudden my screen dimmed very quickly and in an instant I knew what happened. I quickly bent over and got Sam because he was messing with the red switch on our power strip. The computer didn't quite go off but it almost did. I had not saved my paper and I immediately became very frustrated. As I snatched him up, about to scold him, I calmed down and said, fine. You just want to play. Lets find something that you can crawl in. Hence, the tent making started. It was so funny because Riley and Sam spent almost an hour under our table with no complaints! (oh, except when they ran out of a snack :) Looking back, I was glad that I stopped what I was in the middle of to play a little with my kids. I don't know if it is as much of a struggle to do that when you are not finishing up a degree, but I imagine so. I have really been trying to work on stopping what I am doing, and just playing with my kids. I am so glad that I did because I want them to have great "tent making" memories, just like I did. I look forward to many more tent days to come...

Back to School

Ok, so as hard as I tried, all of these pictures are in reverse order of how they happened during the week so as you read, just imagine them happening the other way around!

On Thursday evening (I think) after I got done for the day, the kids and I headed to Tyler to see GG and GGP. (sorry I didn't get any photos) This was the only picture that I got. We were trying very hard to get them to smile with their balloons that they got from the restaurant, but oh well.

These next few photos are from the kids first day at their new sitters. We are so excited because for the first time since Riley was born the kids are staying with someone all day two days a week. I love some of the personalities that I see in these few photos.

In this picture Sam is doing his "cheeeese" face and Riley is giving her "I am just trying to do enough to get by"

I love this picture. This is a classic. Riley and Sam are the best of friends. I am pretty sure that Riley is probably telling Sam what to do :) Sometimes he is a good listener ha

I think this is the best I am going to get. I love that little pot belly on Sam :) Oh and notice that Riley's panties match her dress. She is a little OCD Haha

Now a group shot! The kids LOVE playing all day with a new friend. I have to drag Riley out most days.

Ryne also started another job this semester. He is a dispatcher out at the Airport. The kids and I love it because we can bring daddy dinner two nights a week and get to see him for a little bit. (notice the dress. Riley insisted on wearing that dress for her daddy. Oh, I love it!)

Daddy gave Sam some much needed wrestle time. As it turns out, Riley and I don't enjoy that as much as Sam and Daddy!

Daddy took the kids around to show them where he works and goes to school.

On Friday our school always has an event called STOMP. All of the clubs and organizations are around. You can play on inflatables as well as get lots of goodies and have a good time. I decided to take the kids this year to get out of the house and try something a little different. They LOVED the bounce thing. (It was actually a boxing ring)

This picture just melts my heart. I love them just sitting together.

For those of you who are around Sam, you know that his favorite, and most commonly used word, is dogga (doggie) He could not stop staring at this big dog. I am not sure if he knew what to think!

It is hard to believe that Ryne and I are starting our 4th year at LeTourneau. We are cracking down and will both be graduating soon. We are officially on the down hill slide! With each new semester we are faced with new challenges. We knew this was going to be a full semester for both of us. Ryne is working two jobs and going to school and I am taking more hours than I have before as well as taking care of the kids, home, etc. It is so nice though to have a little breathe room the two days that the kids are playing. As a matter of fact, this semester is not going to be quite as hectic as I had thought it would be. I am really looking forward to it. As you can see we got it off to a great start!

WOF

Wow. Women of Faith was such a great weekend for me. This is the second year that I have had the opportunity to go to WOF and each year has been great! I remember my mom going as I was growing up and I couldn't wait until it would be my turn to go too. Now I can't wait until Riley and I can attend events and conferences together. It has worked out great the past couple of years because my Aunt and I have car pooled. I love getting to spend time visiting with her to and from the conference. I always enjoy seeing all of the ladies from back home too. This year we had a great big sweet with lots of ladies in it. I was so glad to get to spend some time with Dara while she was down for a few weeks. Anyways, everything was just what I needed. I heard some amazing speakers that have really changes some major things for me. I love hearing new perspectives on old concepts. I actually had an opportunity to share a devotion about some of the things that I learned while at WOF today at school. It was great because I had 3 classmates come and tell me how much they enjoyed what I had to say. Shelia Walsh was amazing as well as the handsome Marcus. (I don't remember his last name) All the speakers were great but theirs really spoke to my heart. I especially enjoyed the time that I got to spend with my mom too! I can't wait until next year!
To make things even better, when I headed home my in-laws were waiting with Ryne and the kids for us to all celebrate Ryne's birthday! I can't believe that I didn't get any pictures of him or of his family. So... Happy Belated Birthday Ryne. I love you!

In no particular order...

This is me and my boyfriend Tom. I had not gotten to see Tom for quite some time since we had both moved away from our home church. I was super excited when, at the beginning of the summer, my dad mentioned going to give him a visit. I love Mr. Tom.

Earlier this summer our good friend cut Riley's hair. (This was the first summer cut, not the really short one that we have currently)

Riley giving Lucas some lovin. That little girl LOVES to be momma! (I don't know where she gets it)

Before Alivia left, we had a double birthday dinner for Alivia and Christie. I don't think we have all gotten together since the beginning of summer! Geesh.

We tried out a local splash pad for the first time. We really enjoyed it (except for all the un-disciplined children that greatly out numbered my children) However, the kids seemed to enjoy a new and different activity. Especially since daddy bought us all ice cream afterwords :)

For some reason, they always prefer our bed over their own.
We had many Saturday mornings just like this :)

And another shot of my baby in his big boy bed! It just melts my heart!

There were so many things that happened this Summer that I didn't even have the chance to take pictures of. This summer the kids grew... A LOT! Sam has really done some growing up and with the exception of a few words and grunts, he is perfectly content to not do a lot of talking. That is of course unless he is singing! I am pretty sure his big sister helps out with all the talking. Riley did a lot of growing up too. Really. All of her dresses are much shorter now than at the beginning of the Summer. She also got a haircut that I think makes her look older as well as she started using the "big girl" potty. It is hard to believe that I almost have a 2 and a 3 year old but it is right around the corner. I am looking forward to next summer already. It will be our last one here at LeTourneau.