audrey turns four!!

audrey got a barbie "laptop" for her birthday. brian was like, "what are we teaching her?" she loves it even though it is a little advanced. but there are a few games she can play, and she loves just clicking the mouse and controlling the screen! (we got it at costco for only 37$, for those of you in need of a good gift for a little girl, age 5 or above!)

we took audrey to the parks mall for a carousel party. it was perfect. i didn't have to clean the house before and after, and the kids loved the carousel! i think that everyone had a great time! a big thanks to my brother trey for taking a bunch of candids... i didn't have time to do it. (not all of the kids are pictured here...sorry!)

audrey caught in the moment with cousins promise and lauren! zach cried at first, but granny calmed him down by riding a non- up and down sleigh. kenzie took a quick ride, too.
zach loves to play with his cousin logan! they are getting ready for cookie cake.
cousins logan and aubren, with aunt stacy
molly, daniel, zach and audrey riding the sleigh.

aunt karis and granny saved me by holding the baby all night!
everyone is singing happy birthday!
cousins kayla and sarah, with promise in the background.

traditions

hey, guys. this will be a short post, but i'm hoping that you all will leave a comment. now that the kids are getting older, i am wanting to start establishing some traditions for the holidays. i want the kids to remember the fun things that we did every year, but i'm having trouble thinking of creative or fun things. would you mind telling me what some of your favorite traditions were as a kid, and why? you can include food, games, decorations, or just anything that you loved to do each year as a family. thank you so much! and i hope that all of you have a very merry christmas season!

the dallas stars

can i just say how much i love my husband? i am constantly amazed at how perfect we are for each other. he is such a great husband, and a wonderful daddy. i don't think that anyone else could put up with me and my quirks in the patient way that he does. don't get me wrong. we have our differences. big ones sometimes. but in the long run, he is perfect for me and i am perfect for him. that said, we had a really fun date on friday night. brian worked his uncanny ability to find someone that knows someone that can get tickets for a lot cheaper... we got to go see the dallas stars, and we sat on the 7th row up from the ice. even though they got pummelled by the arizona coyotes, 5-0, we had a lot of fun. brian's best friend, marc morrow, and his girlfriend daniella, went with us, and we had a blast. here they are coming through the star as they introduced them. me and brian.... i love you baby!
marc, daniella, brian, carleigh
mike modano was right in front of us several times. you could see the facial expressions of the players as they body checked each other on the wall. it was great sitting so close (we were right by the goal).
us..... again

fall festival and audrey's first piano recital

so we started the night off well. i had to force zach to eat ONE bite of his vegetables so he could have his piece of bread. that battle of wills lasted for about one hour. and i won. barely! then we all hopped into the car to go to the fall festival up the street. audrey was her usual princess self, and zach borrowed a woody costume from his cousin. poor kenzie didn't get to wear anything special. audrey enjoyed the pony rides.
zach got a little freaked out, and i had to go get him off of the horse.
eating his most beloved lollipops
then, audrey was standing in line for one of the games and a little boy about 10 years old comes running as fast as he could and ran smack dab into audrey. it was one of those "funniest home video" moments when you just wince at how hard she got hit (except it wasn't funny). wish i could have had it on camera. anyways. she face planted (thank the Lord her teeth were intact), and got some good bruises and scratches. you can see a little of her left eye, where it may be black tomorrow, but there are scratches above and below her lips, and her elbow and knee were pretty banged up too. so there ended our night out.
audrey had her first recital friday night! she did really well, and didn't seem nervous at all! a couple of other little ones played twinkle twinkle too, but i think audrey did the best at it!! considering she's only been playing for about 2 months! here she is awaiting her turn to play. that's molly murrah on her right. zach sat with me during the recital. he did sooooo well!! i couldn't believe how he sat still and was quiet throughout the performances. i think he really enjoyed it.
i tried to get the video on, but the file was too big i guess and it wouldn't go. i haven't figured it out yet, and my husband hasn't had time to look at it yet. but i'll post the recital as soon as i can.

vacation at home

brian doesn't have to preach this weekend, so he decided to take a few days off to relax, and try to reconnect with me and the kids. (there's not much reconnecting for us when they are around, though!) anyways, we thought about just going to a hotel here in dallas for a couple of days. then we thought, trying to get all 3 kids down at the same time in the same room might be a little more than we can handle right now, so we decided to stay home and go on a few field trips instead. here's what we did:
tuesday we went to the dallas world aquarium. it was a really neat place with a rainforest like atmosphere. the kids always love animals. below is zach looking at a huge manatee. they had a tunnel you walked through with sharks and other large fish swimming above you. it was really neat, although at any time you felt that the tunnel could come crashing down on you!
audrey liked those sharks!
this black jaguar was just pacing back and forth in his cage. everytime he walked away the kids would go up to the glass, then he would come back and they would jump back. he was very intimidating.
audrey loves anything that is pink, especially the pink flamingos!
the next day brian had the brilliant idea of taking the kids to the imax theatre. the showing, he thought, was sea creatures, but when we got there, it was actually called sea monsters. it was a little scary for them, so we ended up leaving early, and they were nice enough to give us a refund! we got lost in dallas on the way home, so that made for one fun day.

thursday we headed on to the state fair (free tickets, thanks mom!). i carried kenzie while brian pushed the other two... we now officially have 2 thumb suckers. she finally found it, and now sucks it often. (the orthodontists are going to love us!)

the petting zoo was fun. audrey stuck her head through that opening that her hand is in now. when one of the baby goats saw her, he came at her. she tried to pull her head out, but forgot that it wouldn't come out unless you turned your head, and she was stuck. i'm not sure if the goat head butted her or not, but it was pretty funny (she was so freaked out).
brian took zach and audrey on the ferris wheel. i am severely afraid of heights so i waited down below. then they got to ride on one kid ride, and they chose a short little boat ride. why do they have to rip you off at the fair? there are enough people coming through to make a lot of money with out being ridiculously expensive!
the girls!
the boys!!

vacation

life is hard!

so, i have finally begun my quest for a healthier me. and on the way, i have found that my inside needs just as much work, if not more, than the outside.

brian and i joined 24 hour fitness. i don't like what i see in the mirror, and i felt that it just needed to change. we got the best deal there, plus they have a kids center and it is only 5-6 minutes away from the house. with the deal that we got came 6 hours of personal training... i had my first session thursday, but all we did was measuring and going over goals and stuff like that. later when i got home, i had to go online and answer a bunch of questions. anyway, to make a long story short, if i want to lose 2 pounds a week, which was my initial goal (of course, who wouldn't want to?) , i would only be able to eat 1000 calories a day. i don't know if any of you have tried to do that, but it is stinkin hard! especially when you're breastfeeding! anyways, after a day of that, i decided that i couldn't do it. we switched to 1 pound a week (1500 calories). as i was depriving myself, however, i came to some very not so good self conclusions: as a mom of 3 young ones who depend on me for every need, i have lost myself. i am able to do nothing that i enjoyed doing as a single person or young married without kids. i don't play basket ball, i can't sit and read a book. i can't enjoy a meal without little people eating half of it, i can't go away for long periods of time with my husband. even movies have become a rare occurance. this is not a woe is me. believe me, i love my kids more than anything (except brian!), and i can't imagine my life with out them. but what i realized is, that food, for me, was medication. it made me feel good. it is fun. i can sneak bites of cookies or chips when no one is looking (not having to share). now that is seemingly "taken" away from me too. now i am forced to face my insecurities, my selfishness, my loneliness, my boredom with the routine, head on.

sunday at church they played "more than enough". i just started balling. "all of you, is more than enough for, all of me, for every thirst, and, every need, You satisfy me with your love..." is He really enough? i haven't seen it that way lately. i can't remember the last time i cracked open my bible, except at church. i know that i need Him more than ever now, but i struggle in my free time, wanting to spend it my way, not his way. i hope that some day, i can say, "You are enough for me. i can put this food down, because i know i don't need it. i need You. " i'm not there yet, but now that my "medication" is being adjusted, i can start working on the real problem. my heart.

this is the first time i have ever done something like this. journaling, but even more so where others will read it. i hope that it will keep me accountable. and for you mothers out there, how do you do it? how do you find time and then take it to read and pray? love you guys, thanks for reading

pumpkin fest at the dallas arboretum

saturday we all went to the arboretum (i don't know if i'm spelling that right). it was the first day of their pumpkin fest. there were pumpkins everywhere! it was a lot of fun! my brother trey, and his wife stacy, and their daughter aubren went, as well as kristin (and her husband andy, and two sons logan and ian), daniel, karis and boyfriend thomas, samuel, and my mom. it was a big group, so of course we had to get a picture with all the grandkids. my children did not last very long.... of course zach was the first to go, and would not sit still or look at the camera after the first couple of shots. but it was still fun, and after playing in the pumpkin patch for a little bit, we walked over close to the lake where there was a large grassy knoll. we laid out our blankets and ate a picnic lunch, while the kids ran around and played. there was even a guy playing a keyboard with songs for the kids to dance to....

thomas found a little frog, and zach was the only one brave enough to hold it... he loves bugs and animals. one of my greastest fears is that he'll bring in a grasshopper or cricket someday...:)

my big brother trey and his wife stacy (my college roommate) and little aubren!!
waiting patiently for their lunch! ian, zach, logan, and audrey

cutie kenzie!! she's my little butterball!!

uncle dan is trying to reign zach in...