It is December!

Wow, where did Novemeber go? It is hard to believe December is already here. What have we been up to?

Jayce: He finished up football. He enjoyed it, but we were getting tired of running back and forth. He received all As on his report card (except for a B in PE...I know!). He was honored at an honor roll breakfast at his school. He is reading several books at one time. He is reading Moby Dick and the Fudge series by Judy Blume. He believes in Santa, and has asked Santa for an XBox. Santa feels like he might do better with a PS3, but we will see come Christmas.

Lakyn: She has been sick for a few weeks. She got ahold of a nasty bug. She is just about over it except for the lingering cough. She enjoys playing with Conley all day. She makes up little plays for them. It is so cute! She is enjoying dance so much. For now, she is showing up with 2 holes in her tights. That is just Lakyn! She has always been a little wild!

Conley: OMGoodness, he is growing so fast. The child wears a 4T! He is a thick, stocky child! He reminds me of a lovable teddy bear! He likes to play with trains, motorcycles and trucks. Yes, he still has the pacifier, but we are working on it. He is a happy child with LOTS of questions!

Brad: He is super busy with work. It is really something our family is trying to learn to adjust to. His work is interesting but very time consuming.

Me: Oh, it is cold! I find plenty to do in the house all day for the fear of getting out and being cold. I get out when it warms up to at least the 50s. On some days, we get lucky and see 60s! I cut down some on my running due to the weather but mostly because my ankle started hurting. Right now, I'm gearing up for Christmas and our trip to see family.

As you can see here in the picture, the kids love to cozy up on the coach in the evenings and watch Christmas movies!

Veterans Day

Life has been a whirlwind since Brad got back from Afghanistan. It is hard to believe he has been back almost 5 months. We are sure glad to have him home. He works even longer hours now with this new position. He rarely makes it home for dinner. He is out of town more than he is here. I really do appreciate each and every day he is able to come home to us. I stop to say Thanks to my wonderful husband who serves his God, his Country and his Family! I appreciate the Veterans of the PAST, the PRESENT, and those who will decide to step up to serve their country in the FUTURE.

Trick or Treat!

We had a hard time deciding what to be for Halloween this year. At first, the kids wanted to go as the Flintstones. Well, once we found out snow was on the way, that idea was OUT! I thought of ordering costumes, but I waited too long. I was looking at costumes just 4 days before Halloween. We live so far out that I didn't really have the time to shop for costumes. What to do? Well, I can make costumes, right? What can I do with jogging suits since it will be cold. I found some DIY costumes, and decided on the mummy. I tea dyed everything! I sewed and hot glued the strips on. I hot glued plastic spiders on the boys' costumes. I found a striped dress for Lakyn. I glued on sequences and tulle. She wore a tiara with glitter spray on her hair. I covered their tennis shoes with socks. The makeup was pretty easy, too. I painted their faces white. The boys had black rings around their eyes with black lips. Lakyn had silver around her eyes with black lips. We also put a few sticker sequences on her eyes. I'm really proud at how the costumes turned out. Most of all, the kids loved how they looked. It was a fun night with a neighborhood hayride and trick or treating. Jayce ran through the neighborhood with his pals, Lakyn ran around with her new friend, and Brad and I took turns taking Conley to the doors. He mostly walked himself. He loved getting candy! It was a good night!

Rainy Day Fun!

It is raining here today, so we decided to get the pop-up playhouse out. The kids are having a blast. It hasn't rained for a week, so we had a break from it. Winter is just around the corner, so we will be entertaining ourselves indoors more and more. We will make the most of it!

Go Bulldogs!

 

Jayce started playing tackle football with the Bulldogs just a few weeks after we moved here. The team took him in even though they have been practicing since July! Jayce jumped right in. During the first practice, I was a little shocked at how much is expected from these 9-10 year olds. The coaches show those boys some tough love. I must say, Jayce has really matured in the past month. He knows what is expected of him, and he tries hard to do his part. I'm really proud of him for trying so hard. He loves going to practice even though it is 6-8 hours a week. He has walked in pretty dirty and beat up on some nights. He LOVES the game! He has has played in 3 games. He usually plays 3-4 plays since he is new, but he loves every second. Go #35!!!

A Little Late...Jayce's 9th Birthday

Jayce turned 9 years old this summer! We took cookies and his gifts out to Hookers at Lake Amistad. It is our favorite place for burgers out by the lake. Later during the week, Jayce had a party at the house with the Hedman family and the McConnell family. We had a fun time eating cake, playing Charades, playing Wii, playing Monopoly and just hanging out.

Jayce LOVES fishing and football. He can fish all day, or he could run around the yard and play football all day. He recently started playing tackle football over in a town close to where we live now in New Jersey. He loves it! The team has been practicing for months, but they were kind enough to take on Jayce. Jayce is improving by leaps and bounds according to his daddy.

Jayce just had a physical for school. He is is about 53 inches tall and weighs 71 pounds. That puts him in the 50th percentile for height and the 70th percentile for weight. He wears a size 8 or 9 in jeans, a M in shirts, and a 4.5 in shoes.

Jayce finally started 3rd grade on Sept 19. The school here in New Jersey was under construction, so they got a late start. So far, he seems to really like it. He says, "My teacher is way nicer than I thought she would be!" Ha! He says the school day is pretty long even though they start an hour later than his old school in Texas. It sure is a long day for his brother and sister because they miss him! We all miss him!

I am unpacking the photo albums now. One of the first pictures I stumbled upon was a newborn picture of Jayce. I had him propped upon my shoulder. He was so little! I have enjoyed my boy so much these past 9 years. Thank you God for letting me take care of him and love him. I pray Jayce has a great 9th year! We love you, Jayce!

Daddy's Little Ballerina

So, what are we up to? We have been in our house for about a week and a half. We are about 80% unpacked. Brad has started his new job and all is going well. This is a picture of Lakyn at work with her daddy. We took him lunch yesterday. We can do that since his work is only a couple of minutes from the house. Jayce had his first football practice last night. They allowed him to join the team although they have been practicing since July. He had a tough practice for 2 hours. He loved it, but he is pretty tired this morning. His first game will be Saturday. School doesn't start until next week! Conley is enjoying this big house. He runs around and around, up and down, all day long. As for me, I'm trying to find a balance and a routine. After 2 months of taking off from a good jogging routine, I am getting back into the swing of things. This house alone keeps me really busy with cleaning, mowing and keeping up the kids. Lakyn started ballet this past Saturday. So far, she loves it! She was fitted for her slippers just the day before. All she could talk about was going to ballet. I was nervous for her because I know how shy she can be with folks she doesn't know. However, she jumped right in there with the other little girls and followed her teacher. I think she is going to really enjoy ballet.

So, that is what we have been up to. We are just diving into this new life here in New Jersey. More pictures of the kids to come. For now, I'm using Brad's computer since I haven't unpacked mine yet!!