tidbits of our lives

The girls had fun with Halloween this year. Ellie had a Fall Festival at Friendship School and we enjoyed putting together treat bags in Malachi's memory & honor for Kerri to deliver to the patients at Texas Children's Hospital. She was able to deliver over 1000 bags!!!!! Malachi is her & Ben's precious son who passed away around 19 months of age from Leukemia. They are such examples to the rest of us as they do so many things in his memory to bring glory to God. They asked their friends to help make treat bags for the patients at TCH and got a great response! We were supposed to go to the hospital and throw a carnival, but with all the flu mess, the hospital nixed that idea this year, so Kerri and a few others delivered them.

Saturday, we had the Hosch family over for chili & trick or treating. Jason & Chris were roommates for awhile at ACU, and they currently live in Houston and go to church with us. Jason & Deana have 3 sweet girls. Jenna & Gracie are both in 4th grade and have become fast friends, and the older girls are sweet as they can be to Katie & Ellie, so that was a fun night. Unfortunately, with Jason's job, I don't think we'll get to keep them in Houston too much longer, but we are enjoying them while they're here.

For Halloween this year, Ellie was a ladybug that Gracie was a long time ago. She was so cute and didn't mind the costume at all! Katie chose to be a cowgirl even though she was that last year for part of the holiday (she was a princess for actual trick or treating last year, but a cowgirl for a festival and trunk or treat.) Gracie chose to be a basket of laundry! It was really very cute. She & her daddy put it all together. She also went to a sleepover the night before Halloween, so she got to wear her costume twice.

We took the girls to the drive in Friday night, and that was a lot of fun! Ellie enjoyed walking around & playing with the rocks before the movie started, and she really did well during the movies too. She fell asleep pretty early on during the 2nd movie, as did Katie.

Family tidbits:

*Katie enjoyed disguising Tom Turkey so that the farmer couldn't find him and eat him. She chose to disguise him as "a Police." She delivered him to school where he will hide out in the classroom with the other disguised turkeys.

*I had a parent/teacher conference with Mrs. B, Katie's Kinder teacher. She told me wonderful things about how Katie is doing, etc., etc. We are so proud of her school behavior & her academic progress. She is doing great and loving school!

*Gracie had her 2nd student council meeting. She worked on some posters to advertise an upcoming project where they are asking students to bring in books & school supplies that they will send to Nigeria. 4th grade is proving to be the most challenging school year for her, but so far, she is hanging in there and has kept straight A's on her report cards. She is a hard worker, and we are proud of her for that!

*Gracie has a violin recital coming up this Saturday. She has only taken lessons a couple of months since her looooong break from when we moved to Houston after only having taken a few months in SC, so she is still a beginner, but she is praciticing her recital piece, and it sounds good. We need to work on getting her to practice more in general, but she enjoys playing, and is doing a good job.

*Gracie will be in the 4th grade Spelling Bee in a couple of weeks! We are all really excited about this. If she qualifies, she will move onto the school wide spelling bee, then district, etc....

*Ellie is walking all over the place these days and has discovered the playset in the back yard. I found her well on her way to climbing the ladder the other day and had to quickly rush out there to get her down. Gracie was out there with her and was in the process of reprimanding her as well. At the playground by school, she has earnestly tried to climb UP the slide, not realizing the force of gravity! So much for quietly sitting and watching her watch the other ones play. She wants to be in the middle of it!

*Ellie has also demonstrated a love for DOGS! She loves "Stoops," a Shihtzu who belongs to some friends and "Willow," a schnauzer we have met while picking up G & K from school. We talk with the lady who owns him while waiting for our children after school, and Ellie loves petting Willow! It's really sweet the relationship she & the little dogs have. They are both really patient with her as she learns how to be gentle with them. She is really into giving big kisses to us, too.

*She is in the habit of imitating what other people say. She has a frown that should possibly be trademarked as "Ellie's frowny face." But when she smiles.......it's wonderful! She just has a stubborn streak and is a bit 'cautious' of others sometimes! She has also learned the word, "No!" and "Mine!" Terrible Two's at 16 months old. :) She is precious though and tends to do well for others in Bible Class and at Friendship School. She's a JOY, despite the struggles!

Homecoming/Wedding

Recapping the last few weeks:

*Katie was very excited about her field trip to the Pumpkin Farm. Too bad it got rained out...AFTER we got there. It was a wet, muddy, soggy mess, and she was upset when it got cancelled, BUT all in all she was happy.

*We attended Open House at Friendship School for Ellie. She's so cute in her little class, and her teachers had helped her make the cutest little craft!

*We went to Homecoming at ACU where Chris had his 15 year reunion. Crazy to think that we're that old!

*We went to Arkansas for my cousin, Alex's, wedding. It was so good to see so much family!

*Ellie had her Fall Festival at Friendship School today. She was such a cute little ladybug!

Pictures are below, in not much of an order, but somewhat grouped by event, although backwards. I'm simply too tired to do much else with them. :)

October is here

I'm home from church this morning with a sick Katie. She is running around here dancing, laughing, & making inventions, so she doesn't feel bad (she felt really bad yesterday morning) but she ran fever yesterday and registered a slight one this morning too, so home we stay. Not only are we missing church & Bible Class, but she will also miss the birthday party of her favorite Houston friend.....at the pottery place even! She loves that place! So sad for her. She has been so excited about the field trip her Kindergarten class is planning to attend on Tuesday. I will be praying that she is ALL WELL for that! She's already mentioned that she doesn't want to miss it. There is no school tomorrow, so that works out well that she has an extra day to rest.

On October 2, the girls' school had an '80's Dinner, Silent Auction, & Dance,' and it was a lot of fun for the girls. We bid on a couple of things but didn't win any of the auctions. We did sign up for a couple of things that were just "first 15 to sign up" or some number like that. Gracie will get to attend another "lock in" with her teacher from last year and a couple of other "cool" teachers and Katie will get to have lunch with the Kindergarten teachers. $50 for the lock in and $25 for the lunch! All for the school, right?! Plus, the girls will really enjoy it.



We got to experience the flu in our house (hoping that's NOT what Katie has!) Gracie had it and was out of school for 3 days. Ellie ended up with bronchitis at the same time then started running some fever so we ended up starting her on the Tamiflu also....just in case! Katie had escaped all sickness til yesterday when she felt horrible and had fever. Now, we wait to see what happens, but like I said, she FEELS fine. It's just the fever that's a problem. Ugh.

We are planning to go to Abilene this next weekend for Chris's 15 YEAR ACU REUNION. WE. ARE. OLD. Wow. The weekend after that, we are planning to go to Arkansas for my cousin's wedding. I am very excited about that because we will get to see lots of family! We have finally made our holiday plans, too.

For Thanksgiving, Chris's parents will come here. His brother & wife are having their 2nd child (a boy!!!!!!!!) on the 21st of this month or sooner. IF they feel up to it, we may go to Burleson (Ft. Worth) and all be together. If Erin isn't feeling up to it, then Mary & Howard will come here. For Christmas, we will stay here leading up to Christmas. Mary & Howard may come. Christmas afternoon or the day after, we will leave for Atlanta!!!!!! I am very excited because we haven't been back to Atl. since we moved in April 2008. Well, Ellie & I spent a short time in the airport last January, but that's it. We actually haven't been to my parent's house since Nov. 2007!!!!!!! We will arrive in Atlanta on Sat., the 26th and spend the night with my parents and go to church with them Sunday. It will be so nice to visit Campus where I went from age 4 'til college! Sunday afternoon, we will leave and drive to Aiken where we will stay with Melissa's family and hopefully see other friends too. I've already given Mary Beth a heads up that we're coming, so she can clear her calendar! ha! We'll stay with Melissa Sunday night, all day Monday, and Monday night. We'll then leave Tuesday sometime to get back to Atlanta in time for dinner. (Yum, Mom's cooking!) Then, we'll be in Atlanta all day Wed., Thurs., & Fri., and leave sometime Sat. to come back to Houston! Whew! It will be a long drive and we will be tired, but it will be worth it! The girls don't go back to school 'til Wed., so they'll have a few days to rest.

Katie got to have her first school Field Day. It was "NFL Field Day," so she wore her pink, sparkly Dallas Cowboys shirt. Gracie's Field Day was the next day, but it got rained out, so it has been rescheduled.

Gracie had her first Student Council meeting last week which she reported was good. She ran for Vice President but didn't get it. She's fine just being a 4th grade representative though, so all's good! Katie is still liking school alot and is really learning alot. Wherever we go, she is pointing out things that are cylinders or cubes, etc. She is very good with numbers. No mental block for her when it comes to math. She is also pointing out words she knows when she sees them. She looked over my shoulder a few minutes ago and pointed out the word, "Monday." Ellie is walking all over the place and getting into everything but is so cute! :) She is talking more & more, too.



We have all been very happy with having some cooler temperatures the last few days. Earlier last week, the heat index was over 100, so having it in the 60's is heavenly!

first month of school

We've had a good start to our school year in our house. Gracie is doing well in 4th grade and was elected as a 4th grade representative for her class! She has now decided to run for Vice President of Student Council. That election will take place in a week or so. She is surprising us, in a good way, with this desire to publicly lead. We are very proud of her!

Katie loves Kindergarten! She is doing great and having fun. She has good discipline and is making friends. She doesn't like it when I get on to her about her homework. She wants to do it and get it over with and doesn't like me telling her she needs to do something over.
Ellie has started her little "preschool." She goes on Mondays in a carpool with a couple of teachers who live near us. I use this time to volunteer at Gracie & Katie's school and then enjoy some 'quiet' time. :) I take her on Thursdays which is when I work in the church office. It's nice to know that she's right there in the next building, and she loves "Mrs. Maria" and "Mrs. BJ." She is walking now! It's all up to her as to whether or not she does it...stubborn! :)

Labor Day, we went to Galveston to enjoy a day at the beach. We had a really good time; the girls loved playing there, and we got there early enough to enjoy some nice weather and light crowds. When we left, it was getting hot and there were lots more people. We're enjoying cooler temps this week! Love it being a bit "chilly!"

I enjoyed having another Mom's breakfast this morning here at the house. For the one on the first day of school, we had 13 of us. Today was a bit smaller, but we still had 9, so that was good. We ate, laughed, and prayed, so all was good!

Chris is looking forward to a football weekend! He will be watching Texas Tech play Houston tomorrow here in Houston. Monday, he is meeting his parents & brother to watch the Cowboys in Dallas. He can't wait!

Here are some more pictures of my beautiful girls. I was telling them this morning how they are going to be each other's best friends. I will pray for this!
Ellie is precious, BUT she can really throw a fit for sometimes. She also has a horribly grumpy face she uses from time to time!

1st day of school!

Today is the first day of school for Gracie (4th grade) & Katie (Kindergarten). Katie was literally bouncing as she woke up this morning, she was so excited! Gracie wasn't quite as excited, and actually seemed a tad nervous, but I know she'll get back into the groove and do great!

Katie walked in with no hesitation as I struggled to hold back tears, but I reined it in pretty well.

After the kids were off to school, we had a 'Back to School Mom's Breakfast" which I really enjoyed! It was fun and helped take my mind off the fact that the house was a bit emptier.
Gracie with Mrs. F at 'Meet the Teacher.'
Katie with Mrs. B.