The Philippines

I'm not sure how you say "hello" in the Philippine language, but I guess I better learn soon. Our family will be moving there this summer! As in the first week of July!! Of course, I believe that English is also widely spoken there, which will make our transition much easier.

Sammy accepted a 2-year assignment there & will start in late June. He'll then come back to move us all over with him in early July.

We are excited! This will be such a wonderful opportunity for the kids. They'll get to experience an international school, most likely the International School of Manila. And, I'm sure we'll all have a much greater appreciation for the blessed life we live in Texas. It's a great career move for Sammy & a fun adventure for our entire family!

We would appreciate your prayers on our behalf, since we have so much to do before moving. SO MUCH!! I've never experience anxiety before yesterday. But, now I know exactly what it feels like. And, my stomach has been upset for about a week now. I know that things will get done on time (they have to!), but my nature is to worry & I do it well. So, I am grateful for any prayers, good thoughts or vibes sent our way!

We'll keep you posted...

My Weather Man

Samuel seems to be following in his cousin's footsteps (and, I guess any man, for that matter!) with his addiction to the weather channel! When the latest big storm came our way this morning, he immediately turned on the TV to watch the weather. I was sitting at the computer & he was running back & forth between me & the TV to give me the report:

"They said it's in Dallas. Mom, where's Dallas?"
"They said 'roof damage'. Mom, what does 'roof damage' mean?"
"They said roads are flooding. Mom, God promised He wouldn't flood the world."
"They said its 'dusty wind'. Mom, does that mean we're going to get dirty?"

I was laughing so hard every time he left, because he was SO serious about his job! I had to write some of these down, because when he leaves home for college, I want something to remind me how his innocent little 5-year-old mind worked!! He is precious!

My day so far...

This is how my day so far has been:

Nick has come up to me twice today & said, "I'm sorry, Mommy. I didn't mean to spill it."

My Swiffer is getting quite a workout!!

Calgon...

10 Things

I'm taking Becky up on her request to post about 10 things you may not know about me. So, here goes:

1. I have a fear of reading in front of people. If I'm asked to read a long scripture in Bible class, I will usually try to pass it on to Sammy. My throat literally closes up & there is nothing I can do about it. I HATE this about me!

2. I also have a fear of cats. I try to stay away from them if at all possible.

3. I don't like donuts. They're too sweet for my taste.

4. I decided on my daughter's name when I was in junior high. It was either 6th or 7th grade, because I remember where I was sitting in the school, but I just can't remember which of those grades I was in.

5. I lied to Sammy the first time I met him to get him to talk to me. (He was so shy & I had to think of something to engage him in a conversation.)

6. I would love to participate on The Amazing Race! I love all the fun, adventurous challenges they get to participate in all around the world!

7. I don't particularly like the beach. Tracking sand in my car & in all my clothes drives me crazy. Plus, I don't like the feeling of not knowing what my feet & legs are touching under the water. And, seaweed... ewwww!!!

8. I work better under pressure. I almost never start a project early. I always wait until the very last minute, then push myself hard to finish on time.

9. I like mowing my lawn. It's my "escape" from the real world. I can put on my headphones, turn the music up as loud as I want & the kids are not allowed to get near the mower, which means I can finally be ALL ALONE!!! :)

10. I would love to be a surrogate mother. I enjoy being pregnant & love the anticipation of giving birth. But, after 2 high risk pregnancies & after 2 c-sections, I don't think I'll ever be able to do it again.

Okay, just two more that I thought of:

11. I used to sing alto in a ladies' group at our church in Kingsville. We were called The Sweet Harmonies. We sang at weddings, funerals, holiday celebrations for our town & other special events in the area. I even sang solo parts!! (I swear... it's true!)

12. I don't enjoy scrapbooking. I would love to have a scrapbook of my kiddos, but I don't want to do it myself. It requires too much creativity!

Nick's First Dentist Visit

Nick went to his very first dentist appointment on Monday. And, he did great!! He loves to do whatever his older brother & sister do, so he was excited to get to walk back with them.

As you can see in the picture above, he was very happy, but wouldn't tear his eyes away from Curious George long enough to look at the camera! Thank goodness for TV screens at the dentist!!



What a smile!

And, I can't leave out pictures of my other two great kiddos:

Clean mouths!!!

My kids are growing up!

Tomorrow is the twins' last day of preschool. EVER! They will never go to preschool again. How did they get so big already?

Here are a couple of good pictures my friend, Dana, took of them at the Pirate Park on Saturday:

I've always said that Nicholas is going to be bigger than his older brother... he's almost there!

Sydney brought home a new pet the other day... a pill bug or roly poly. This is about the only bug she's not scared to death of! She kept it in her little cup, she let it walk all over Nick's train table, she even named it... Hoppy. Hoppy was her new best friend! Hoppy was carried around in her princess purse & was treated like royalty. Then, he escaped! Sydney walked in the backyard & was showing me how happy Hoppy was climbing all over her shirt. So, she decided to take him for a skip around our patio table. And, yes, as you can imagine, Hoppy fell off her shirt & into the cracks in between our pavestones on our patio. She was devastated!! We couldn't find Hoppy anywhere. But, I am glad to say that yesterday, Sydney found a new Hoppy. This one is Hoppy, Jr. We'll see how long he/she lasts...

Face Painting Fun

I bought some face painting markers a while back for Samuel's birthday party, so the boys could paint their faces camoflauge style. Those markers have continued to be a big hit at our house. Almost every day, the kids want to paint something different on their faces.

Here is the latest face creation, painted by Daddy:

This is who Samuel wanted to look like:

Birthday Party Photos

Here are a couple of pictures of Samuel's & Sydney's birthday parties we had at the end of March. (We just got our camera back from the repair shop... unrepaired! That's a whole other post. Ugh!)

Samuel's Army Party

Jackson, Bryce, Uncle Jake (a.k.a. The Sarge), Samuel & Braeden

Sydney's Unicorn Party

My friend, Kelli, made Sydney's beautiful unicorn cake! She teaches at the same preschool Sydney attends & was talking to her one day during their play time about making her cake. Kelli said she was describing to Sydney what her cake was going to look like... a pretty white unicorn with a pink mane & tail. Sydney interrupted her & said, "No, I don't want a white unicorn. I want a pink unicorn with purple hair." So, that's what she got! That's Sydney for you... she definitely has a mind of her own!

Speaking of shoes...

have you seen this new shoe? My sister, Jonetta, told me about these & I think they are just about the strangest things I've seen. I don't even like having a toe separator in-between my toes after a pedicure. I can't imagine what these would feel like.

Jonetta, I totally dare you to wear a pair when you move back to Bastrop & see what kind of reaction you'll get from those East Texas folk!

My New Favorite Drink...

I seem to go through these phases where I find a drink I love, then devour it for days, weeks, months until I can't take anymore. It used to be a Cherry-Lime Slush from Sonic. YUMMMM!!! Since high school, that was what I would order in place of a soda with my meal deals. Then, I tried a Cherry-Limeade one day & fell in love with it. I would call Sammy & have him stop at Sonic to bring me home a Cherry-Limeade every day from work. They are so good!! Then, while we were in-between homes this past summer & living with Carolyn, she made this great mixed drink... half Cran-Grape juice, half Citrus Fresca. (It's funny to see people's reactions when I tell them our elder's wife introduced me to a great mixed drink she makes at home!! LOVE IT!) It's delicious!! And, much cheaper than buying a large size drink at Sonic every day! Seriously... you need to try this concoction!

However, I am now hooked again on a new Sonic drink... the Tropical Mango Tea. It totally hits the spot! I've tried their Peach Tea & their Raspberry Tea, but they just don't compare to this delicious Tropical Mango Tea! It is truly so good! You gotta try it!!

Stupid Shoe

While I was having a breakdown in my closet yesterday (a whole other story...), Nicholas was lying in there with me playing with my shoes. He was pretending they were talking to each other. I was turned away from him, but was listening closely to him whisper this shoe conversation:

Shoe #1: "Stupid shoe."
Shoe #2: "Don't say that."
Shoe #1: "But it's a stupd shoe."
Shoe #2: "But we don't say that."

He just might make it to Broadway some day...