Beary

In Kindergarten the kids get to take home this lovely germ filled stuffed animal for the weekend! They take turns and then the parents are supposed to take a bunch of pictures and tell all about their child. I think it is a cute idea but the bear kind of grossed me out and I got really tired of carrying him around all weekend and trying to remember to take pictures. I spent an hour last night scrapbooking about 8 pages (required) for the teacher. Anyway, I thought these pictures of Audrey were cute. She is growing up fast.

We went to the athletic club on Saturday and Audrey was loving playing sports. She is so athletic and competitive.

This is Rachel looking at me and saying come on mom! I'm ready to go home! She is not quite into sports. She put on the helmet and grabbed a bat but then as soon as the balls started flying she was outa there! Adam and Rachel have a really cute relationship now that Audrey is in school. Rachel will tell me that she can't wait for Adam to wake up in the morning. She also told me the other say that she was so glad that we were going to be able to keep Adam forever! He absolutely adores her and now says her name.

This is Adam smiling at Audrey as she is taking the picture. Can he smile any bigger??

This is Adam looking out the back window in our old house watching the girls play outside. One of my favorite pictures of him.

Read the shirt! It says, "I'm not trying to be difficult it just comes naturally." That is our little Bee!

A Happy Moment

Tonight we had dinner with the missionaries . . . all four of them! I decided not to cook a huge meal since I spent all day yesterday cooking dinner and baking homemade cinnamon rolls for choir practice. Anyway, we took the missionaries to Double Daves Pizza (Audrey's favorite). We had a nice time at dinner and I was happy that I didn't have to do the dishes and that everyone was able to eat as much as they wanted. On the way home James had the windows rolled down so we had a cool breeze in the car. James and the girls were all trying to see who had the scariest witch cackle. We were all laughing and I just had to pause and think, "what a happy moment." We got out of the car and the sky was so beautiful with a full moon to top it off! I am feeling so grateful for the simple things in life at the moment. There have been a lot of things changing around me lately and it has really made me appreciate the one thing that will never change and that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We had some terrible news this last weekend. At about 3:00 a.m. on Thursday night I heard James' cell phone ringing - never a good sign. I rushed to answer and was greeted by the Sheriff of Beeville Texas where my Mother-in-law lives. He asked me if I owned a home on Wafford Lane and I told him that it was my Mother-in-Law's house and than asked if there was a problem. He then told me that the house was on fire. Adrian, my Mother-in-Law, has been doing major additions and renovations to a home in Beeville. It was absolutely beautiful and they were almost finished. It took me a moment to remember that she had been sleeping there. I panicked but was quickly assured that there were no cars at the house. I then assumed that she was down the street at her sisters house. We had to call her and break the news to her that her beautiful home was burning to the ground. There was no stopping the fire and it was a total loss. We think that it was an electrical malfunction due to some work that had been done earlier that day. Ever since this has happened it has made me think about how little all of the "things" in life matter. We work so hard to acquire things but in the end they can all be gone in a matter of a minute. So it is a happy moment that really matters most. That is what we will take with us. That and the memories we make with the people we love. I love you all! Niki

Being a Mother

I stole this from Sarah Cardon - Thanks Sarah! I loved it so much I had to share it!

Some homes try to hide the fact
That children shelter there.
Ours boasts of it quite openly,
The signs are everywhere.
For smears are on the windows,
Little smudges on the door;
I should apologize I guess,
For the toys strewn on the floor.
But I sat down with the children:
We played and laughed and read.
And if the doorbell doesn’t shine,
their eyes will shine instead.
For when at times I’m forced to choose
The one job or the other,
I want to be a homemaker
But first I’ll be a mother.
--author unknown

Momma's Boy

I love my Baby Boy!

Baby Bach

We have a formal living room in our new house and I am LOVING it!! We have a piano in there and some *new furniture* and the kids love to go in there and play the piano. I have been practicing the piano every day now that we have a seperate room for it and due to my new calling. I am the ward choir and music director!! I can't believe it! What's even more is that I am actaully excited about it! Growing up I was always participating in music during sacrament meeting and since being married I haven't done a thing. I look forward to hopefully putting together some neat musical numbers. James is the Young Men's President and is enjoying his calling. It is an interesting challenge for him because he was never in the Young Men's program being a convert and all. I was teasing him tonight for being a dork because he was dressing up in a shirt and tie for activity night. I told him to just wear some jeans and he didn't believe me and had to call and ask if it was appropriate. So much for listening to your wife! He came home and told me that he doesn't have a clue what to do and I said that most of activity night is just"hanging out" with the youth. It is a learning experience for him. We are quickly becoming busy with our new life. It is amazing how much life can change just by moving down the road a few miles. The kids are doing great. Rachel is a little unsure about school. I'm going to see if she snaps out of it, if not, I may take her out of school and wait another year.

A Massage from . . . China??

This one is a doosie! James got his hair cut the other day at this place called "Happy Hair and Nails." (There is the first problem) While he was there he decided to be really sweet and get me a manicure, pedicure, and massage. He scheduled it for Saturday and so Saturday morning I was off to Happy Hair and Nails for my relaxation package! When I got there they didn't quite seem ready for me. There was some confusion, spoken in Chinese, and then I was lead to a back room of the salon. I was lead into a very small dark room, The lady who was going to give my massage was in a mini skirt and stilettos. She spoke very little English but managed to communicate to me what I was to do. When she came back in the room she turned off the light and left the door cracked a little so that she was able to see. There was no lamp or small light in the room at all! I watched her pick up her oils and walk to the doorway to read the label on the bottle. I couldn't believe it! Was she going to walk back and forth the entire time?! The next thing I knew I was being hit across the face with her hand! It was so dark that she didn't even notice that my face was up and she whacked me right in the eye! There was no apology or acknowledgement of the assault! She then proceeded to give me the most ridiculous massage I have ever received, in silence! There was no music or background noise, just the sound of her breathing. Her technique was like she was spreading flour on the counter. She was flat handed, all over the place, in circular motions. Then she would dig in her fingertips and do short staccato movements here and there and then it was back to the spreading! The next thing I knew she mounted my back - mini skirt and all! There I was, half naked on a table with a Chinese woman on my back panting and sporadically rubbing me down! I'm not exaggerating about the panting, she was piratically out of breath she was working so hard. She dismounted from my bare back and moved on to my legs. She continued this bizarre technique on my legs until I finally got up enough courage to squeak out a few lines I had been practicing for the past eternal ten minutes! Faintly I said, "I think I need to reschedule, I'm not feeling well." With the language barrier between us it was difficult for her to understand that what I was really saying was, "stop!!! I've got to get out of here, and fast!" She responded, I give you thirty min massage, then you go home." I thought about it, how bad could 15 more minutes be? The answer is, BAD! She moved from my legs back to my back, and then to my legs again, all the while doing the flat handed, sporadic, circular motions. I turned on my back in fear! She then grabbed my ankle and began to push my knee toward me like a physical therapist might do for a patient with a pulled muscle. I couldn't believe that this woman with obviously no training was charging money for this torture! I finally said emphatically that I was really ill and must go home immediately. She let me out and then marked 30 min off of my gift certificate. I related my experience to James with laughter and tears (I felt so violated) as we discussed what we would do. He then called the credit card company to stop payment on the credit card. When asked the reason he replied, my wife was just accosted by a Chinese woman!"

Still Burried!!

I don't think I will ever get things put away! I forced myself to sit down tonight and do something besides organize and unpack. My neck and back are in knots! I need to go to the chiropractor and then get a massage. I'm not adjustiing to the move very well. I don't know how many of you struggle with anxiety but I have had anxiety attacks frequently! I don't know what to do about them but ignore that they are happening! Anyway, I drove down the street and turned the corner to my old house and started bawling today! I was picking up some mail. When I turned the corner I just wanted to go home so bad! I think it would have been better if I actually wanted to move or had even thought about it for more than two weeks. The whole thing happened so fast and BAM we are in a new house and new schools and a new ward and I don't even know how it happened! James has been so great to hang things up and put things together to help it feel like home but it isn't working! I am being such a baby about this whole thing. I didn't realize how attatched I was to our first home. We were there 4 1/2 years and I had two babies there etc. etc. Oh well, I'm sure I will get over it! Hope all is well with "all ya'all!" Texas is seeping in, what can I say??

NEVER. .. I repeat . . . NEVER Vacuum baking cocoa!!!

The other day while I was out running errands I got a call from home. Audrey told me that she had spilled a "whole bunch" of baking cocoa on the floor and that "right when I walked in and turned my head I would see it right there on the tile!" She said that Daddy had tried to clean up the mess but that he said, "Mommy will deal with it when she gets home." Deal with it I did!!!! Do not ever attempt to vacuum baking Cocoa off the floor! It is too heavy and will not get sucked up into the vacuum. What does manage to come off the floor will not make it into the vacuum bag and will come right back out onto the floor. If you use a hose it gets even worse. All of the chocolate will stay in the hose and you will have to take it off and rinse the whole darn thing out with water. So, how do you clean it up?? Sweep, mop, sweep, mop, sweep, and mop some more!! Who new it would be such a disaster!