A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

For the Jordan prediction of tomorrow's TTU vs. UT game, see the photo at http://www.hcbcredraiders.blogspot.com

Good Friends, Good Food, Great Memories

Jeff and Jenny (aka Uncle Jeff and Aunt Jenny) came to visit us from Indiana last week! We had such a great time with them- talking until late in the night, eating all the best things TX has to offer, and introducing them to our life here. Really, the whole story of the weekend can best be told in pictures (except for Jeff playing the Wii. I didn't get any pictures of that, so you will just have to take my word for it. He was good. And what he wasn't good at, he practiced until he got good.)

After a late flight in Wednesday night and and even later bedtime because none of us could resist staying up to talk despite the exhaustion, we all got up early Thursday morning. Jenny and I went to my women's Bible study and to have lunch at school with Elias, and the boys went downtown. You can see them exploring Whole Foods here, which Jeff referred to as "Georgetown Market on steroids. All natural ones at that."


This is an actual product that our husbands found in Whole Foods. Naturally, being the boys they are, this deserved a picture of its own and a spotlight on the blog.

Then they went to tour the statehouse. Now Jeff wants to visit the Indiana state house when he gets home. As a Texan I am obligated to say that it won't be as cool as ours.

After Texas burgers for lunch, the boys headed over to the University of Texas campus. Not to be confused with Texas Tech. They are the longhorns. We are the red raiders.

Jeff decided to try on some UT paraphernalia at the campus store.

Adaryll almost left him to ride the bus home for the previous picture.

Friday, Jenny and I got to have lunch at La Madeline. I got to have lunch there with Lori when she was here. Now we just need to all have lunch there together! :) Think you can swing that, girls? Friday night we had Elias' birthday party, which will soon get a post all of its own.

Saturday morning we went to Ikea. J&J had never been in an Ikea and enjoyed being able to try out the furniture.

Elias enjoyed it too. :)

A totally impromptu dancefest broke out right in the middle of Ikea!

Of course, you can't come see the Jordans and not have Rudy's BBQ!

If you stand in front of this Texas flag long enough, you will want to move here and become a Texan yourself...

Saturday afternoon, everyone except me and Elena (we chose sleep) went to a TX band competition. Again, something about bands in Indiana but on steroids was mentioned. I guess it is true that everything is bigger in TX. But, c'mon, we don't use steroids for all of it!

After a nice dinner out with just the grown ups Saturday night, we all got to go to church together Sunday morning. This is our standard "church fountain" picture we take with all our visiting friends.

Doesn't that make all you Indiana folks want to come to Texas?

Seriously, it is 81 degrees here today. Tomorrow's forecast is 84. Think about it.

Wordless Wednesday

A whole week and no blogging?! I know- I can't believe it either! But when I find time to upload pictures and post what we were up to, you will understand why there was no time to blog! Fo now, here is Wordless Wednesday. What's this little girl thinking? Leave captions in the comments section...

Wordless Wednesday

Two pictures this week, but they are going in a frame together, so I couldn't post one without the other. I had these taken today. Leave a caption in the comments!

Boyfriend

Elena's "boyfriend" visited from Indiana over the weekend.

Let me explain.

Brion and Beth had baby Isaac exactly 2 weeks before we had Elena. They were fond of each other from the very beginning. When Beth and I would both happen to be standing in the back of church swaying our fussy babies, they would reach out and hold each other's hands. When they got a little older and we had playdates, they would just look at each other and giggle. They were friends. So we started to call him "boyfriend" and they started to call her "girlfriend". Not that we are in any way encouraging any sort of dating relationship at age 2, but we are hoping that one day they will get married and we can be in-laws with people we already know and love! (not really, Elena is never going to get married. or date.) :) Here are some sweet pics from their trip.

The Most Awesome Day Ever!

When I picked Elias up from school on Friday, he informed me that is was "The Most Awesome Day Ever!!!!" It was his 6th birthday and he had taken multi-colored cupcakes to school to share with that class. That alone probably would have been fine, but we proceeded to drive home and open presents with Daddy.
Unbeknownst to Elias, I had combined ALL his and my birthday money and purchased a Wii. He has been asking for a Wii for months and I had told him it would probably be Christmas before we could get one. So, thanks Honey & Raun, GrandDad & Oma, and Grandma-Great for contributing to this great gift! Thanks Brent & Jenna for the LeapFrog book and to GrandDad & Oma for the flight suit! He loves all of it and concluded the night telling us that it was the best birthday he had ever had. And we haven't even had his party yet!

Change of Plans

This morning when I got up I had great plans for the day. I was going to clean the house a little and then go to my mentoring meeting with our senior pastor's wife. She meets with me and 3 other young pastor's wives every other week, and I always look forward to that time! Then I planned to wrap Elias' birthday gifts and make beef stroganoff for dinner. Funny how we tend to make lots of plans and sort of live in the future by thinking we have it all figured out.

Then I got Elena up. She has had a cold for about a week now, which was preceeded by a high fever and the throwing-up-in-the-car incident last week. But it seemed like just a cold. Runny nose, cough, fever, etc. This morning her breathing sounded really crackly. I called the pediatrician to see if I could bring her in tomorrow morning if she wasn't any better. Because I already had plans today. The nurse heard her breathing over the phone and said I needed to come on in. So I packed Elena in the car and we headed to the doctor. All the while I'm thinking of how it is going to end up just a cold and I will have wasted a copay. Turns out Elena has pneumonia!! I know- crazy huh? Some great mother I am! She had a breathing treatment there and we were sent home with antibiotics and more breathing treatments and instructions on when to go to the ER if she gets worse this weekend.

She is in bed napping now and I am off to wrap presents and hopefully get a nap in myself!!

Happy Birthday Elias!

Elias is 6 years old today! That's right- SIX! I can't believe it! It seems like yesterday I Adaryll and I were staring into the beautiful eyes of our new 6 pound, 5 ounce scrawny little wrinkled boy. And to think that those are the same eyes that I look into each day now just amazes me.

Elias is such a blessing to our family. He is extremely caring and sensitive and loving. He has a great sense of humor and loves to make people laugh. He makes friends easily. He is just such a cool little boy!

There is just something special about a monther-son relationship. I am learning more about it each day. So, Happy Birthday to my favorite little boy in the whole wide world!

(This pic is actually a couple of years old, but I love it!)

T-Shirts

My mom is selling Mccain and Palin t-shirts. There are about 11 different designs on the website below. I really like the "Weepublican" one for babies. :)
Let me know if you want one. They're $14 each with shipping. Also, feel free to forward the site to anyone you know who would be interested.

www.mccainpalinshirts.blogspot.com

Feelin' the Love

WOW! Ya'll sure did make yesterday feel special with all the birthday comments!!! Between the blog and facebook and phone calls and text messages, this was definitely the well-est wished birthday I have ever had!
Which brought me to thinking about something. In this age of technology, with blogging and all, it is kind of funny how lots of comments = feelin' the love. There are sometimes days when I post and nobody comments at all! Not that there is anything wrong with that really because my main purpose of this blog is just having a record of these days as our kids are growing. A big perk is that it allows me to stay in touch with all of you! But other days, like yesterday, everyone seemed compelled to leave a comment. It's like getting a big hug everytime my email box says "New comment on Texans and Hoosiers"! So thanks for all the warm hugs and encouraging words!!!
Now, about the new haircut- because SO many of you have mentioned it now!!! I will post a pic when I can, but please know that it is not that spectacular!! I feel like I need to go get another haircut to somehow live up to the expectations that are out there now!
I has posted something in my "Texan and Legal" post about needing to look a little older, since my current driver's license picture is not that different from my 16 year old one. I suggested that maybe I needed a "mommy haircut". When I went to women's retreat there was a lady in our house who cuts hair, so I got a haircut a like midnight that Saturday. It is super-cute and I felt like it made me a little more 30-ish. So I went into Elias' Kindergarten room the next day to drop him off and said to Lissie (his teacher), "I did it!" (because she had commented "resist the haircut!" on Texan and Legal). Then the assistant teacher, Jana, walked over and said how cute it was and how it just took 10 years off of me, just like that! I explained that I was actually trying to add a few years and not lose them. We all had a good laugh when I asked if I now looked 5 since I started out looking 15.
So it really doesn't look all that different from other "short" haircuts I have had before- it is about chin length. But it had gotten pretty long, so it was a change for people who had seen me recently. Sorry for all the hype!

Happy Birthday Mommy!

Today is Mommy's birthday!!! She is 32 years old today, but not a day over 9 in her heart. :) (and she still looks 15, even with the new "mommy haircut")

Wordless Wednesday

The Birdies

Everyone out there in blog land knows how much Elena likes birds, right? Remember the prayer from a few weeks ago when she thanked God for each individual bird in her room? She really has a great appreciation for these wonderful creatures!
Last night, as the Cowboys were about to lose to the Arizona Cardinals, Elena crawled up in Adaryll's lap. After she got a good look at the helmets of the two teams, Elena exclaimed, "I like the birdies, Daddy! I like the birdies!"

Reading

I have been on a reading kick the last week or so. I got the latest Karen Kingsbury book last week, Sunset. It is #14 in a series of books I started about year ago. I read the first 10 in about a month and then had to wait in between the releases of the last few. Such a bummer to have to wait for a book to come out!!! Her books are such easy-reads that it only takes a couple days to get through them.
Then I decided I would finally read The Shack. Having read what it was about (a little girl being abducted from a campground and her father's struggle with God about that), I had decided I would not read it. I have too many fears as a parent already. Why expose myself to such a story? But as weeks went by, more and more people told me that I need to read it. I finally borrowed a copy Saturday, started it yesterday afternoon and am finishing it today. WOW! Seriously, everyone needs to read this book. It has way more to do with who God is, what our presuppositions about Him are, how we put Him in a box, etc. than it does the actual little girl's abduction. My mind has been expanded on so many levels. I now need my own copy to go back and write in (when is the last time you wrote in a fiction book???! I don't think I EVER have!).
Anyone else out there read it yet? What are your thoughts? What were your favorite lines (or paragraphs!)?

Friends

I was thinking tonight about one of my friends who has a birthday coming up. I want to do something really special for her, and I was trying to nail it all down in my mind. As my thoughts wandered, I began to think back on our friendship and how it has grown over the last 10 years. I started thinking about all the amazing things this friend has done for me and how nothing I could possibly buy her for her birthday could measure up to the friendship and love she has shown me. I actually began making a mental list of all the things she has done, and many of them go WAY beyond the typical role of friend. As I did this, I realized that I have had LOTS of women like this in my life since college. It was really kind of cool to think back through memories of how God has encouraged me and provided for me through my friends. I thought I would make a list. If you are reading and recognize something, know that I am truly grateful for you and am thinking about what a great friend you are!

- Cleaned a crock pot that had been sitting on my counter (full of food) for over 10 days when I was in the hospital pregnant with Elias. This was in New Orleans. Think HOT. Think GROSS!!! If I were ever asked to do this for anyone, I would throw it in the trash and go buy her a new one. It was THAT BAD!!!!
- Washed my hair when I was pregnant with Elias and couldn't even lift my head without puking.
- Drove with me, my dog, and her baby boy from New Orleans to Indianapolis when we moved. (our husbands drove the moving truck). Then helped us unpack and get settled. We were both pregnant.
- Gave me one of the best laughs I can ever remember by doing the Yahtzee Dance in our living room in Indiana. This was really funny because we had only known this couple for a month or so, but they are some of our very best friends now!
- Asked me to go walking on one of the first "warm" (meaning 50's!) days in the spring after Elias was born. Her son was 3 months younger than Elias. Our boys are now lifelong friends.
- Helped me clean my house more times than I can count. Seriously, she may have cleaned my bathrooms in Avon, IN more times than I did! And she can fold laundry like nobody's business!
- Loves Elias more than anyone else unrelated that I can think of. Would call and ask "Can I come over and put Elias to bed tonight?" when she had a free evening. She would spend extra time reading and praying with him, and I would get the night off!
- Taught me how to read a sewing pattern and how to smock. Elena has many an outfit because of this "mom" I had in Indiana!
- Came to visit us from TN twice while we lived in IN. Left us incredibly encouraged and enriched by their friendship and conversations.
- Took care of Elias when I was pregnant and in bedrest with Elena. Some of these ladies even brought fun recipes and cooked with him while I laid semi-conscious on the couch being fed through I.V.
- Took me to get my PICC line put in when I was pregnant with Elena. I can't imagine being with anyone else that day!
- Flew in from out of town to spend a week with me before Elena was born.
- Rocked Elena and rubbed her tummy on McC's front porch for her "7pm nap". (This applies to 3 of you!)
- Came running from her house when I called and said Elena had puked all over me and I couldn't move without getting it everywhere.
- Drove me, Elias, and Elena to library time every week at a time when Elena HATED riding in the car!!!! Discovered that Elena liked country music.
- Drove me, Elias, and Elena to church every Sunday morning for months when we only had one car.
- Went with me to have the kids' first allergy testing.
- Spent a week taking care of me and both kids after my foot surgery last December while Adaryll came here to look for a house.
- Packed up my ENTIRE house in boxes to move to TX after my surgery. Most days they even brought lunch and started dinner cooking!
- Flew down to TX to help me get settled once we got moved in.
- Drove down from IN for Spring Break and let our kids have another week together!
- Coming next week from IN and is going to get to come to Elias' birthday party!

There are so many more times like those that I could go on and on forever! I am glad I have this written record of these now, so I can look back in years to come and remember these sweet times. Thanks, friends, for all you do! And thanks even more for who you are!

Mystery Solved

The 2-day fever mystery has been solved. Elena puked all over her carseat, the floor, herself, etc. on the way home from a t-ball game tonight. I am pretty sure this is our first exposure to car puking. Or I have blocked a previous experience out of my mind completely because of the trauma! Have I mentioned how bad her puke stinks?? And to be stuck in a minivan with it??? Ugh! Poor baby. After it was all over, she said in a pitiful, puny, sweet voice from the backseat, "I need a towel. I need a towel."
The carseat pad, belts, etc have already been through the washer and dryer and is put back together. I am hoping there is no round 2 because I just put clean sheets on her bed yesterday! I mean, really, if you are gonna have to change pukie sheets, it would be nice if they were due to be changed anyway, right?!

So Pretty!

Elena woke up with a fever yesterday, and has obviously not felt like herself for a couple of days. This morning her temp was still 102, so I stayed home from Bible Study. Since Adaryll was able to take Elias to school, Elena and I don't have to leave the house until we pick him up this afternoon! Ahhhh, the bliss!

We laid in bed and watched Barney until about 9:30. Then we decided we would have a real "girls' day". So, we took a bubble bath and painted her toenails pink. Then (while watching more Barney!) I braided her whole head in diagonal cornrows. After seeing herself in the mirror, she exclaimed, "So Pretty!" At least if she feels crappy she still knows that she looks good! And I have reached my Barney quota for the whole rest of 2008.

Tooth For Sale

Elias lost his first tooth tonight!!! Actually, I pulled it. And I can't even begin to tell you how proud I am of myself, because I said before I ever had kids that wiggly teeth would be my nemesis as a parent. It really was worse watching him wiggle it the past week than it was to pull it out!

He was in the bath and I told him to wiggle it 20 times. Then I wiggled it 20 times. Then I had him try to pull it. It was too slippery so I got him a baby wipe to grab it with. I kept having him push it back because it would go all the way forward but still wouldn't come out. Finally, I asked him if he wanted me to try. He said yes, so I got the baby wipe and- bingo!- it pretty much came right out!

We called Adaryll into the bathroom and showed it to him, which is where the real fun begins. We had told Elias when his tooth became loose that there was something special about losing a tooth. Once it comes out, you get to sell it to your mom and dad! We had decided a long time ago not to do the tooth-fairy, but we didn't want him to miss out on getting money for teeth like his friends. So, tonight, Adaryll took the tooth in his hand and asked Elias, "Will you sell this tooth to me?" Elias got really excited and said yes. I asked him how much the tooth would cost, and he said 5 dollars. A bit steep, but it is the first one and all. Next time, we may have to negotiate a better price!

Elias then went and got an envelope and wrote "Tooth for sale. 5 dollars" and placed it under his pillow. Sometime during the night, it will be bought and he will find money instead of the tooth in the envelope.

Wordless Wednesday

It's that time of the week again! I post the photo, you leave the caption in the comments. Note: you do not have to have a blogger account to leave a comment, so go ahead and click "comments" and share your thoughts...

Ther-monitor

Tonight after reading time, Elias got up in bed and told me he needed a thermometer. I asked him why, thinking that maybe he wasn't feeling well. This would make sense because his good friend Christina (who he was with yesterday at church and at AWANA) stayed home today and her doctor thinks she has strep. So, as the feelings of "what is this night going to bring" started to come, I asked Elias why he needed a thermometer. I was surprised by his answer.
"So that you can hear me if I make noise", he said.
Hmmm, I thought, what IS he talking about??
He started pointing to the camera monitor and explained again that he wanted me to hear him if he made noise.
Then I realized he meant monitor. As in baby monitor. Which is no longer in his room. (but we do still have the camera one set up, even though the receiving end is almost always on Elena's channel) So I said to him, "OH! A monitor. Mon-It-Or."
"Yes," he said, "a thermometer".
I then explained that a thermometer is what you put in your mouth when you are sick and it checks your temperature. A mon-it-tor is what he is talking about.
"Right, a therm-monitor" he said.
"No, no. Mon-It-Tor"
"Therm-mon-it-tor"
"No, listen. Mon-it-tor"
"Therm-mon-it-tor"
"No! There is no Therm! It is just mon-it-tor!"
"Mon-It-Tor?"
"Yes!"
"Monitor!" (laughs hysterically at his mistake)

Creation Play

A couple of weeks ago, Elias came home with a sheet in his folder explaining that the Kindergarten classes would be putting on a play. It would be about creation and Elias was supposed to dress up as the Stars. I was a little bit at a loss for how we would make him "the Stars", but he was all fired-up about it! I asked him how the teachers decided who would dress up as what (I was selfishly wishing he had been assigned to be a fish or a tree!), and he told me that they each got to choose. He told me he wanted to be the stars because it would be the most fun to be the stars! (funny side note: my sister suggested that I dress him up in Hollywood garb and fancy shades and have him walk all swanky on the stage like a movie star. That would have been hilarious, but none of the 5 year olds would have gotten the joke!)

As you can see from the pictures, we went with simple for his costume. He loved making it and wearing it. All the kids did a great job "being" God's creation and acting out earth's first 7 days. Once again, I was just overwhelmed with gratefulness and joy about where he is in school and what he is learning there.

God created "The Stars"

This is Elias' class dressed as God's creation. You can see the darkness, light, sun, moon, stars, water, trees, birds, fish, and animals. Adam and Eve were in another class.

"He's got the whole world in His hands"

"My God is so great, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God can not do!"

(another side note: This is the song I blogged about last Spring that Elias was singing "The mountains are His, the rivers are His, the stars are in San Diego too" instead of "the stars are His handiwork too". I guess his music teacher corrected him...)

Wordless Wednesday Winner

Pic #1: Adaryll- "Aflac"

Pic #2: Brent- ""Really? You think you have problems ... you ought to check out what is brewing in my diapers - then come talk to me."

Slide

Sometime during the Spring season of t-ball, I asked a parent what age they teach the boys to slide. This particular dad really knew his stuff. He had played baseball all the way through college and into the minor leagues. To answer my question, he looked me square in the eye and laughed. "Boys don't have to be taught to slide", he said. "They just figure it out on their own."

Elias figured it out tonight. Both of his at-bats ended with sliding into first base. It was careful, tentative, I-don't-want-to-hurt-myself sliding. But sliding it was, nonetheless! Watch these 2 videos to see for yourself.

First At-Bat

Second At-Bat

Tonight we played at 6:00, which is the first gametime of the night. It's always neat to play the first game of the night because they play the national anthem over the loudspeaker. For Elias, this part is as good as the actual game.

5000?

I think my blog counter will hit 5000 today or tomorrow. You people are amazing!