7 things about me

I was tagged by Jacinda, so here I go:

7 things to do before I die:
Visit the last 5 states that I haven't visited.
Feel like I have lived a good, long life and that I have been a useful person.
Know that my children are all baptized believers married to Christians doing a great job raising my grandchildren!
Spend a lot of time with Bryon travelling.
Spend my summers on Cape Cod.
Go deep sea fishing.
Work for a local charity aiding the poor in my community.

7 things I can do:
sing
play piano
cook
garden
scrapbook
plan events
get on the floor and play with my kids

7 things I can't do:
eat cheese
waterski
pass up a freshly baked cookie
do any sort of gymnastics
tolerate rudeness
sing soprano
drive well in traffic

7 things that attract me to the opposite sex:
Number one physical trait is being tall
Big smile
Blue eyes
motivated/driven
loves God
optimistic
generous
intellegent

7 things I say most often:
"1...2..."
"You have got to be kidding me."
"Good grief"
"I love you more!"
"I am so exhausted!"
"Uh oh...spankin' time"
"Buckle up, buttercups!"

7 celebrity crushes:
Collin Firth
Ryan Gosling
George W. Bush
Mel Gibson in Braveheart
Hugh Grant

Katrina's wrath

My sister's friend and roommate from college lived in New Orleans. She just moved there this spring as her husband started his dental residency. Last night, she and her husband drove to Lauren's house. When I asked her how she was doing, Lauren wrote:

She said that the broken levy was two miles north of her house and her friend who lives just south of her said everything is destroyed. She saw the Target that was even farther away from the levy that was totally destroyed, too.

She was in Gulf Shores before it happened and couldn’t even go back, but got Joe to get her wedding album and moved things off the ground, which now she realized did nothing. I asked her what she had and she said besides her wedding album, just a few beach clothes and her purse. All her pictures were in there, all her dishes, china, furniture, computer, ipod…everything they owned they say will be ruined from water, sewage, dead animals floating around, etc.

She said that she started crying when she went to bed last night because the bed was so comfortable and she thought, I don’t even have a mattress. They will have to start over from scratch and had no insurance because they were renting. It doesn’t cover floods anyway. I just feel so helpless and wish I could do something. They don’t know if they’ll be back in a couple of weeks or months, but they’ll stay with Joe and his wife in Baton Rouge until then. That’s all I know!

It really hits home when you think about every individual living in the gulf coast region having simular experiences. We need to keep them all in our prayers.

Men are from Mars

I will never understand men or boys but since I live with three, I will continue to strive to learn how they tick.

Why do boys:

Throw underwear into a ceiling fan and laugh as it flies out?

Prefer to run instead of walk?

Obsess about football?

Make noise for no other reason than to make noise?

Love cars?

Love building buildings?

Love knocking them down even more?

Make me laugh everyday?

Take things apart in order to find out how they work?

Want to be superheros?

Get excited about showing me their muscles?

Love their mamas more than anything?

Stamp in mudpuddles instead of dry ground?

Throw rocks at any given opportunity?

Melt my heart?

Raising Joe Cool

Matthew has been cracking me up lately. He is obsessed with being "cool". He does his best little Fonzie impression whenever he can.

This morning, he was fixing his hair. He likes wetting it down and slicking it back. Then I gave him his glasses to put on. He squared off in front of the mirror, put his shoulders back, and said, "Are you ready?" Then he put his glasses on, snapped his fingers, and said, "Oh yeah, that's my look!"

His new favorite song is Summer of '69 by Bryan Adams. He plays his air guitar all over the house wailing,

I got my first real 6 string
Bought it at the 5 and dime
Played it til my fingers bled
Was the Summer of '69!

We listen to the real thing every time he gets in the car.

He is so funny. I wonder where he comes up with this stuff?

What I am thankful for today

Bryon taking Matthew to school. He has done this since Matthew started school which is so helpful!

Getting all the laundry done.

Improving on several of my piano pieces.

Laughing after Thomas told me, "You are playing great, Mommy, but could you please keep it down?"

Staying in my pjs until 2 p.m.

Starbuck's Iced grande nonfat latte with 3 splenda and a little half and half.

Putting puzzles together with Thomas.

Mary Beth making funny faces at me and calling her brothers "Baba".

Thomas "letting me" watch the news all morning. I am a natural disaster junkie.

Getting to read my Texas Monthly while in the pick up line at school.

Matthew getting his 9th green smiley in a row.

Eating dinner with my sister, kids, and Bryon.

Bryon getting home at 5:30!

Bryon taking all three kids to the grocery store to give me a break.

What a great day!

this weekend

What a busy weekend! Aren't they all? Our big event was driving to Dallas Saturday. Bryon is a part of a fantasy football league that had its draft on Saturday morning. That meant that we had to leave the house at 6 in the morning to be there on time. I do think there should be a law against getting up that early on a Saturday! Thankfully, Mom and Dad had Matthew spend the night with them Friday night and had a date with him on Saturday. Travelling with one less child always makes it easier.

I dropped Bryon off at his friends house and then picked up my brother to go house hunting with him. At noon, we picked up Bryon, Kevin, Kristen, and their kids and headed to lunch. It is always great catching up with them. Then we went to our favorite shops and headed home.

Today was church. Bryon and I are teaching Matthew's class this year and spending time with 10 kindergarteners is always enlightening!

I spent some time with my parents this afternoon going through the model home that we are fashioning our home after. They always have great advise on what looks good, what is practical, etc.

Bryon is at worship committee now planning the service for next Sunday.

As always, I can't believe how fast the weekends fly! I've got to spend tonight getting ready for the week!

A dose of mercy and le petite bebe'

This morning I was given a huge dose of mercy. I went to the farmer's market this morning to pick up some fresh produce. Several things looked good to me so I wound up spending 11 dollars. When I went to write my check, I realized that I had written my last check in the book yesterday. I scrounged around for cash but was only able to find 6 dollars. I told the farmer that I would have to decide what to put back and he said, "You know what, just keep it all." Of course I told him that I would come back and give him his 5 dollars but he told me that I would have to remind him because he would forget. I do enjoy an occasional random act of kindness. I will have to seek out a way today to pay it forward.

In other news, Mary Beth had her one year appointment today. She weighed in at 19 1/2 pounds. This was quite shocking to me as both of the boys weighed more than that at 6 months!! She also looks plump to me. It turns out that she is in the 25% for height and weight. Again, we have never been under the 50% mark so this is something new. I was even a hefty 24 pounds at a year, so I don't know where she got her tiny frame from. The doctor thinks that it may be b/c of her being sick earlier in the week, or just weaned babies tend to lose a little weight, or she may just be a dainty little girl. Who knows? I am going to take her back in 6 weeks to see if she has gained any weight.

My changing life

Well, Matthew started school one week ago today and life has changed quite a lot.

*My house is clean and organized. Yeah!!

*Thomas has truly blossomed by having time away from Buddy. He usually is Buddy's shadow around the house and Matthew being gone has forced him to come into his own. He is very talkative and loves playing with toys and games with me. Matthew was never a toy player. He would much rather read, play outside, help me cook, watch TV, or do work books. It has been so much fun watching Thomas play for hours with blocks, puzzles, his build-your-own castle and city, and games.

*Matthew, my independent child, has become very clingy to me. I never saw this one coming! He has always loved going to school and never been extremely physically affectionate. Since school started, he keeps track of the hours he can't spend with me. This never counts school hours. Just when I have to stay home with the sick baby or go out without him.

I also find him nestled into our throw pillows on the floor by bed or actually in our bed every night. Yesterday, I went up to help out during the lunch rush and he cried and cried when I told him he couldn't leave with me. It took all of my strength to pry him off of me. The strange thing is, is that he loves school! He loves his teacher and couldn't be more excited every morning to go with Daddy to eat breakfast at school. He has just been exhausted when he comes home despite getting 11 hours of sleep at night and I think this brings on the clingyness. I am sure that things will get better once he is used to his new schedule.

*Mary Beth has been sick and clingy. My baby's usually bright, sunny personality has been altered as she has felt yucky. She has been crying and doesn't want me to put her down. As all of you mothers know, this makes doing anything productive very difficult! During her naps, I race around and do as much as I can. My shoulders are aching from holding her so much. Thankfully, she is only a little peanut and not as big as the boys were at this age!

Well, that is about it. We have been staying home everyday as the baby feels bad and Thomas is enjoying himself. I, being the homebody that I am, am enjoying myself and our new schedule very much. I just hope Matthew and ME can start clinging to each other and give me a little break!

Getting our money's worth out of the medical field today

We woke up this morning after a long night with Mary Beth and everything seemed much better. Her fever broke around 3 a.m. although I was up from 2-4 worried that she might spike a really high fever and have seizures. (Always prepare for the worst case scenerio!)

I had a fun day with the kids. Thomas has been such a joy to me. His personality really comes out when we have one on one time and I am looking forward to lots of that this year.

I didn't call the dr. all day because I assumed that all was better. Then, I got out of the shower at 2 to get ready to pick up Matthew. When I checked ME, her fever was back up to almost 102! I called the doctor and I was able to get her in at 3. This meant I had to pick up Matthew a few minutes early. I was hoping to avoid taking all three to the clinic, but I guess a fever comes when it wants to.

When I went inside school to pick Matthew up, he was sitting in the nurses office talking to the nurse. The nurse smiled at me and said that Matthew had had a rough day. Apparently during P.E., he fell and another student fell on top of him. His mouth bled quite a bit. Then, later on at recess, he collided with another student and got a huge bump on his forehead. A rough day indeed! She laughed and said, "Matthew sure is a fun kid!" No telling what he talked to her about.

I gathered everyone up and headed to Dr. M.'s office. Turns out that she has either a stomach virus or bladder infection. Her ears and throat were perfectly pink. I am taking her for her 1 year appointment on Thursday so she will check her again then.

Wow! What a day in the life! Never a dull moment around here. We go tonight to a parent/teacher meeting so Mrs. B. can discuss what she plans to do with her kids this year. I am looking forward to that.

this weekend

The primary focus of this weekend has been taking care of my poor sick baby. Friday night, we went out to eat and noticed that ME was warm. Ever since then, her fever has been between 101 and 104. She hasn't had so much as a sniffle since around January so it has been hard watching her feel so bad. I guess we will be calling the doctor in the morning. Monday morning doctor visit...should be interesting.

I spent a lot of the weekend cooking. I helped Lauren make a meal for a friend who just had a baby. My part was chocolate mousse which is Bryon's favorite dessert. I ended up making 1 1/2 batches for him this weekend!

Matthew and I had some good one on one time yesterday. When I ask him point blank, "How is school?" his standard answer is, "Great!" He answers questions very directly. He only gives the exact answer to the question and no more. I have found that he loves doing "act outs". He pretends to be Mrs. B and I am Matthew. He then gives tons of information to me! What she says, what she does, what the other kids say, etc. We did this a lot when he was in Montessori. I guess we will be doing act outs everyday!

Lauren and I went to see Red Eye last night. I really liked it. Our husbands hate "scary" movies so they were only too happy to not have to see that one!

Since Mary Beth was sick, I stayed home today and cleaned and organized the house. I have all of my groceries bought, most of the food cooked for the week, all of Matthew's clothes and backpack ready to go in the morning, all of my chores done, and a to do list for the week! I can't tell you what a difference it makes in my life starting the week off organized! It makes the week go so smoothly. I am looking forward to a great one!

Signs that Mary Beth is transitioning into toddlerhood

I nursed her for the last time this morning. *sigh* I don't know why I decided that today was the day, but I did. Probably the last time I will ever nurse a baby. *sigh*

She is talking up a storm. This morning I was holding her and she swung her arm around me, gave me a big hug, and squealed, "Mama!" I love it!

She is getting into everything! We are going this weekend to buy more baby-proofing items. She particularly loves getting into my entertaining serving pieces. A Martha Stewart in the making? Probably so.

She is busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy.

Giving up the morning nap. UGH!

I can put a BIG bow in her hair now! Or two little bows to make pig tails!

She is trying to walk. Barnhill babies are slow walkers (so far, 13 months and 15 months) She loves to walk holding our hands.

She gets upset when the boys get something she doesn't. She is a very laid back baby, but if the boys get a sucker and she doesn't, meltdown time.

It is hard letting go of the baby stage. I am such a baby fanatic. More than likely ME will be our last baby so I have tried to savor every moment of her infancy. I think it makes it that much harder though when it slips though my fingers.

I am excited about this year. Walking, talking, and developing more of a personality. So sweet!

Reintroduced to an old friend

Music was a huge part of my childhood. I sang in the choir all throughout junior high and high school. My parents, children of the '60s, always had oldies playing both in the car and on the stereo at home. I also took piano lessons for 10 years. I played difficult pieces and had been in a few competitions in high school.

When we moved to Waco my junior year, I began taking lessons with a new instructor. I didn't like her nearly as much as my instuctor in Abilene so I stopped playing. Oh, if I could go back and talk some sense into my 17 year old self!

From college age on, my piano playing consisted of 5 minutes here or there when I was at home. My skills eventually faded and I had some difficulty even reading the notes at times.

Fast forward to the present. Matthew is going to begin taking lessons at Baylor starting next month. Bryon's parents graciously gave us their piano as we don't have an extra 20 grand sitting around to buy the piano we want! I went over to my parents house and brought home all of my old music. I found 10 of my favorite and most difficult pieces. The past week, I have decidated 30 minutes to an hour a day to work on relearning these pieces. I have been surprised at how much I have relearned these past few days. It is almost like my brain still remembers where my fingers should go!

My goal is to have these 10 pieces rememorized this year and even add some to my repertoire.

I am looking forward to Matthew starting lessons in a few weeks. I hope he gets as much enjoyment out of playing the piano as I have.

First day happenings

There is not too much to report. I sat in the car pool line for half an hour dying to talk to Matthew! I am told that the car congestion does get better so we will see.

In Matthew's words, school in awesome! They read stories today like Mrs. Bindergarten goes to Kindergarten. They took a tour of the school and met the P.E., music and art teachers. They played on the playground. All in a day's work.

His favorite thing was Sticky News. This is where Mrs. B asks the kids what they did this summer, writes in on tape and puts the tape on their clothes. Matthew came to the car with "I learned how to swim in the 8 feet deep water!" taped to his chest.

I am happy things went so well today!

First Day of Kindergarten

Well, Matthew is in school even as I write! He had a restless night of sleep last night. Around three he woke me and wondered if it was time to start getting ready for school! Then, Thomas came into bed with us and hit me over the head with his lunch box. He was convinced that he was going to school with Buddy so he held onto his lunch box (for 2 days straight) so as not to leave it behind!

When we got to school, I ran into a friend and started talking to her. Matthew walked up to the door and exclaimed in his "Moses voice", "Mom, hurry up! I have work to do!" OK, no fears about Matthew being scared! We walked into class, said our goodbyes, and left.

Thomas was quiet and sulking the entire way home. When I tried to get him out of the car, he said that he didn't want to get out. "I am thinking about how you wouldn't let me go to school." Rip my heart out.

I eventually coaxed him in and have been paying extra attention to him. He seems to be fine now. I keep thinking about Matthew and wondering what he is doing at this exact moment. I can't wait to pick him up!

'Twas the day before kindergarten

Today was mainly spent doing anything Matthew wanted. I told him that he was the boss for the day as long as he didn't abuse his powers! We played a lot of toys, watched TV and explored outside.

At one point, the boys were playing together and Matthew told Thomas that today was the last day he would be home during the day. Thomas got upset and said he wanted to go with Matthew. Of course, Matthew told him that he couldn't and Thomas began to cry.

"But Buddy, if you leave me, I will cry and cry!"

Very sweet. I think that he will eventually appreciate being top dog around the house.

Tonight, we packed Matthew's lunch, got his clothes laid out and read "The Night Before Kindergarten".

We are all going to bed early as our new schedule begins tomorrow!

Meeting the teacher

We just got back from "Blast Off" at Matthew's school! We were excited to meet his teacher, Mrs. B. I tend to get a little obsessive about things I can't control.

I felt this unease about not being able to pick Matthew's teacher so I have been praying that whoever would be the best teacher for Matthew be picked to teach him. When we went up to school on Friday to see whose class he would be in, we found out that he was getting a new to the district teacher. Still, I felt peaceful knowing that God was in control.

We were the first parents and child in the classroom tonight. I first noticed how bright and cheery the classroom was. Then, Mrs. B turned around with a huge smile on her face. She looked familiar to me so after doing some digging, we realized that we were in the same sorority at Baylor! She was a freshman when I was a senior. Her husband graduated from Baylor Law School and is a huge Baylor sports fan, just like Bryon! The more I thought about it (reversing 9 1/2 years) I remembered her sweet smile as a plege while I was a chairperson for our sorority's All University Sing act.

While knowing a person doesn't necessarily translate into a fabulous teacher, I know that Matthew will have a young, sweet, Christian woman to spend the majority of his day with. This is very comforting to me!

I feel so peaceful about the teacher that God chose for Matthew. It is going to be a great year!

Advertisements masked as comments

Is anybody else getting annoyed at the advertisements posing as comments? First advertisers started calling our homes, then put stuff in our mail, then cell phones, then email, now blogs. Nothing is sacred.

Mary Beth's party

Well, the birthday party is over and everyone has left. I have spent the last two days preparing my menu and making the cake.

I absolutely love having a lot of people over for a big meal. I get a rush out of making my to do list and checking off things as I go. I got the inspiration for ME's cake from a place called Sweet Lisa's. I love her cakes!

Today I had my family and Bryon's family over for a birthday cookout. ME loved eating her cake and she got some really nice presents.

My parents got her a doll and chair, she got clothes from Lauren and Mimi and Big Mack, and she got toys from Michael and Shari. The big hit was the doll and baby stroller. They were a hit with Matthew and Thomas that is! Matthew kept calling himself the Daddy, and kept saying, "Daddys need to feed babies, too!" I guess they were interested in all of the toys that we have never had in our house before!

We are all pretty worn out tonight. ME is sleeping, Bryon is watching golf on TV, and Nana and Deedah are taking the boys to see March of the Penguins tonight. I am looking forward to a quiet night!

A day to remember

Today is my daughter, Mary Elizabeth's first birthday!






The first time I saw your face



When I look at Mary Beth, I see hundreds of prayers answered. I see God's love for me and his desire to open the floodgates of blessings on me.

Growing up, I always wanted a daughter. My mother and I are very close, and I desperately wanted that same relationship with a daughter of my own. Through God's infinite wisdom, he blessed me with two sons first. Although I felt a pang of sadness when I found out they were boys, the moment they were born, I wouldn't have traded either one of them for all the pink dressed, bow headed, doll holding, tea party throwing girls in the world. I loved them dearly, but there was always a part of me that wanted a daughter.

On December 10, 2003, Thomas's 2nd birthday, I was sitting in a Beth Moore bible study and the question was asked, "What is the deepest desire in your heart?" I confessed that I wanted a daughter in addition to my two sons. That somehow I didn't feel completely whole without her. The very next day, I found out I was pregnant with Mary Elizabeth!



My pregnancy was happily uneventful. I survived the last trimester of pregnancy by spending a lot of time at the pool and even went to Schlitterbahn twice. At the beginning of August, I told my doctor that I was tired of being pregnant and he agreed to induce me on either Thursday, Aug 12 or Friday Aug 13. I told him that I did not want my daughter to be born on Friday the 13th! He laughed and agreed to induce me on Thursday August 12. I also thought that this would be a nice birthday, because it was my great aunt's (my grandmother's sister) 90th birthday.

Bryon went out of town the week of my induction because he had a meeting he couldn't miss. He took the boys down to Conroe and I had 4 days to relax and get ready for the birth. Bryon came home on Wednesday night and Thursday morning around 1 a.m. I started having contractions.



By the time I went to the hospital at 5:30, I had been having regular contractions for a few hours. My doctor checked me at 7 and said I was still a 1 and I would more than likely be there all day long. By 9 a.m. I was in serious misery and the anesthesiologist came in to give me an epidural. This is when the fainting incident occurred that I blogged about previously! The epidural didn't take, and I was sweating and wanting to pull my hair out with the doctor asking, "Did you feel that?" I wanted to kill him.


She's here!
Finally around 9:50 the doctor agreed to do another epidural because the first didn't take. The nurse checked me and said I was a 5. Bryon called my mom to tell her she better hurry up and get to the hospital. I was still in misery, the worst pain I have ever experienced, and the doctor saying, "Did you feel that?"

The nurse checked me at 10 a.m. and I was fully dilated. She calls my doctor and he came in around 10:05. My mother came in around the same time. I pushed twice and my precious daughter was born at 10:13 a.m! This is right about the time that my second epidural kicked in!




The moment she was born, I felt a wave of peace like I had never felt before. I had my children, God had blessed me with a daughter, my family was complete.





I can't believe how quickly this year has gone. Not only did God bless me with the daughter of my dreams, she also looks like me, and she is the sweetest, happiest baby that I could imagine. She loves to dance, "talk", and be apart of the action. She always seems happiest when she is on the floor with the boys watching their antics. The boys adore her, Bryon has a new appreciation for the term "Daddy's Girl", and I have my prayers answered.

Life is good, God is good. Happy Birthday, Baby Doll!

A bad day followed by a good day

Yesterday was an awful horrible no good very bad day. We were cooped up in the house watching the rain falling. I was exhausted after 4 nights of poor sleep. Bryon has been out of town, so I have been doing all of the parenting. The kids were in desperate need of an outlet to burn off excess energy. Instead of riding their bikes, they took out every toy they could find and made a huge mess. We are having a lot of people over on Saturday to celebrate ME's first birthday, so I am trying extra hard this week to keep everything straight.

Around 5:30, I decided that we would go to church even though Bryon was going to be working really late. He had been in a conference the beginning of the week and would be in trial all of the rest of this week and into next week so he needed a long day at the office.

I raced around and got everyone fed, cleaned, and clothed. I got myself dressed, hair done, and make up on. I loaded everyone in the car, ran inside to get Thomas's shoes, and we were ready to go. Then I went inside to get my keys which were no where to be found. I had just been out on a drive and I had them less than an hour before so they had to be around here somewhere! I told Matthew to get out of the car and help me look. We looked in every room, in my purse, in the car. No keys. It is now 7 o'clock and there is no way to get to church. So I shakingly defeated get everyone out of the car, take off Mary Beth's dress, console the boys who were so excited to be going to church and getting out of the house. I put everyone to bed early and promised the boys that we would have a fun day tomorrow.

This morning I went back into my car to look one more time for my keys. I found them hidden in Thomas's shoes. On my way out last night, I had them in my hands and they must have slipped into his shoes!

I told myself that we would have a good day today, and so far so good. Matthew surprised me this morning by making my bed and brewing coffee for me. He made it perfectly with just the right amount of splenda and cream. We got dressed and headed out to Riverside to play at the park and swim. No one was around so it was very quiet. A cool breeze was blowing and everything looked green and fresh after the rain. I sat back and watched the boys laughing together in the pool and tried to savor every second. Next week at this time, Matthew will be at school and the lazy mornings will be gone. Although I am looking forward to getting back on a routine, I know I will miss moments like this.

A bone to pick with Mother Nature

It's one thing when my kids wake me up at night, but when Mother Nature rears her ugly head between 3-6 a.m. I get a little irritated! We had what I would guess to be one of the loudest and brightest thunderstorms I have ever experienced last night. The windows rattled every few seconds and the lightening literally never stopped for hours. We kept hearing the electricity turn on then off.

Thomas woke up at one point and came into our room. He was upset that the light in his closet was off. Remarkably, Matthew and Mary Beth slept through it. This is a good thing and a bad thing. Since I was awake most of the early morning, I am a little draggy today and the two kids are bright eyed and bushy tailed this morning!

I am concerned about Bryon today as he is going to be heading into the worst flooding in the area. I called him earlier and he said that I-35 looked like a battlefield. If you get the chance today, please say a little prayer for him. The rain still hasn't stopped and it is supposed to be this way most of the day. Oh, it's going to be a long day...

Official P.T.A. Mom

Tonight, I attended the first of what is most likely to be thousands of P.T.A. meetings! I was asked by a friend of mine who is on the executive board to be a member and of course I, Mrs. Overcommit, was only too happy to join! About 50 mothers met at On The Border for Mexican food, fellowship, and information about the coming year.

I am in charge of the birthday book club. This is a neat program that allows parents and grandparents to buy a book for the library in their child's honor. A name plate is put into the book and the child gets the honor of checking it out first. My duties are to work with the librarian, get the word out to parents, and most importantly, set up a booth on Grandparents Day. I have been told that more books are bought on that day than any other! Nana and Deedah, get your checkbook out! I am passionate about reading so I think that I will really enjoy this job!

I met several new people tonight as well as reconnected with friends from high school, college, and working days. I am excited about expanding my circle of friends by my volunteering at school.

I am so excited both for Matthew and for me about this year! We will both experience new things and make new friends. Only 9 days to go!!

Saturday night at the rodeo

I have lived in Texas for 24 years now and last night I experienced something that will lead me even closer to being Truly Texan: I went to my first rodeo! (See the side panel for pictures of the event.)

Bryon works in several small towns around the city where we live. One of these towns has a rodeo each year. Bryon helped sponsor the rodeo this year so we got tickets for whole family. The boys even entered an event, but I will get to that in a minute...

The rodeo we went to was relatively small so we were able to get choice seats. The first event was bronc riding. I had no idea what to expect, so my jaw dropped as I watched a man riding bare backed on a very angry horse, body flailing, for 8 seconds. Then, two other men riding very quickly on horses flanked the angry animal and the rider tried to jump onto another galloping horse to get off of the angry bronc. Wow...

About an hour and a half into the rodeo, the boys got to ride bare backed on sheep through the arena. This is known affectionately in the cowboy community as "mutton bustin'". This has been about all we have talked about for weeks. The boys couldn't wait to get their chance!

Finally it was time. Matthew was third in line. I watched as the first two children got onto the sheep and rode for a few seconds and fell into the mud. This was an outdoor arena and it had rained the past few days so it was very very muddy! Then, the announcer came on and announced "Matthew Barnhill!!!" The shoot opened and out came Matthew like greased lightening! He held on for dear life about 3/4 of the way around the arena. Over 6 seconds! People were screaming for him! (You know he LOVED that!)

Matthew ended up placing third among the 27 other children. Sadly, Thomas was so tired by the time it was his turn (almost 10 o'clock) that he decided that he should wait until next year! On the way back from the shoot, a bull rider came up to Matthew and told him that he was a real cowboy. So sweet.

Matthew was very disappointed that he only placed third. I told him that children in this little town don't have libraries, museums, and zoos to go to for entertainment. When they want something to do, they go outside and ride sheep. This gives them a distinct advantage over "city boys". For whatever reason, this explanation made him feel much better! I told him that there was always next year. He looked at me and said rather confidently, "Next year, I am not riding a sheep, I am riding a horse!" We'll see about that, little cowboy!!

Quotes from today

5 year old Matthew:
Matthew: "So I was talking to Matt the other day."
Me: "Who is Matt?"
Matthew (eyes rolling): "Mom, I was talking about myself metaphorically!"

Thomas: "Matthew hit me!"
Me: "Matthew, did you hit Thomas?"
Matthew: "Mom, he hit me first, it is true!"
Thomas: "But Mom, he hit me second!!"

Caution, next tale isn't for the faint of stomach:

Thomas came in smelling like poop. I realized it was coming from his hands. Apparently, it came from a whiping incident gone bad.
Me: "Thomas, what do your hands smell like?"
Thomas (rather sheepishly): "Poop"
I washed his hands really well with good smelling soap
Me: "Now what do your hands smell like?"
Thomas (taking a big whif of his hands and smiling): "Love"

Mary Beth is turning to the dark side

Around a year in age, both of the boys became unabashed Daddy's boys. They would cry everytime he left and would do about anything to be with him. I jokingly always called this turning to the dark side. Bryon called it turning to the dark side when they began seeing the light and became Mama's boys! (OK, Thomas is in the in between stage still!)

This morning, I was holding Mary Beth and talking to Bryon when she lunged over to him. I held my hands out to take her and she shrugged her shoulders and laid her head on Bryon's shoulder. You could almost see Bryon's heart melting. I took her back and a few minutes later, I kissed Bryon goodbye. She again lunged for Bryon and he couldn't resist one last hug. Mary Beth then looked at me with her sassy face (yes, my daughter already has a sassy face!) and waved goodbye to me! I couldn't believe it.

Use the Force, Mary Beth! Resist the Dark Side!!!

Happy Anniversary Bryon!!

Nine years ago I married the man of my dreams! Since Bryon is going to be very busy today, we decided to get up at 6:30, drink some coffee, and have a nice talk. Since the kids NEVER get up before 8 or 8:30, this would work out well. We were awoken before 6:30 by Mary Beth who I don't think has ever gotten up before 7:30 or 8 in her entire life. This woke up Matthew who insisted on staying up to play with sister. Thomas woke up because Matthew wasn't in bed with him. Bryon and I got a big laugh out of this and tried to have a conversation with our three rugrats crawling all over us! The events of nine years ago started the whole circus!

One of the most memorable moments of my wedding day was waking up early that morning to have breakfast with my Dad. We have always had an extremely close relationship and we wanted to spend some quality time together before the mayhem began. On the way to breakfast, Dad started crying. Up to this point, I had only seen my Dad cry once, so this was a little traumatic for me. I too began to cry. We went to Cracker Barrel and tried to eat between tears. When it was time to leave, the waitress came over and said that the person sitting right by us saw us together and paid for our breakfast! I don't know if she knew the reason for our tears but I am sure we looked pretty pathetic!

Our wedding was beautiful. Bryon looked so handsome in his tux. I just couldn't believe that I was going to get to spend the rest of my life with him. Our reception was also a lot of fun. We had a jazz band and lots of great food. After what seemed like only minutes, our reception was over and it was time to head to Dallas. We got into our limo and as we pulled away, I saw everyone cheering and I saw my Dad looking like he was holding back tears, and I began to cry. I don't think Bryon was expecting that reaction! I think it was just a let down response. My whole life I had dreamed of this day and had spent the previous nine months eating, sleeping, and breathing the events of the day and now it was over!!

We had a wonderful night in Dallas and headed for Bermuda the next morning. The alarm went off before 5 a.m! I was so happy looking at Bryon's hand with his wedding ring on. He would be wearing that ring forever.

That was nine years ago. All of the sudden, it is starting to feel like a long time ago. Our pictures show out of date hair and clothes. Cousins who were young in the pictures are now college graduates and married.

I feel so blessed to say that if I had to do it all over again, I still would marry Bryon. He is such a wonderful father and a thoughtful husband. I know that he would do anything for me. We love being together and feel like the other one is our treasure. Of course, we have had our ups and downs but we have always felt like God is in the center of our relationship. This is such a reassuring feeling.

Thank you God for nine years of marriage. May you continue to bless our relationship so that we may bless others by our relationship.

Last tuesday of the summer

I had a lot of fun on my last day of Mother's Day Out for the summer. I dropped the younger two off at church and took Matthew on a special date to get his school supplies. He was soooo excited! He wanted to hold the basket all by himself.

Then I took him to the dentist for his checkup. His teeth look great and he did his usual charming of the nurses. He informed them that he was working as a spy! The dentist was shocked when I told him that Matthew hadn't started kindergarten yet and had already lost 6 teeth! He told him to stop trying to grow up too fast. After buying school supplies, I felt the same way.

After I dropped Matthew off I ran a few errands and met a few girlfriends for lunch. We went to a really great little place here in town with incredible/overpriced/small portion food. Each time mother's day out lets out for spring or summer, we like to go to a nice place because it will be a few weeks before we can go out again!

Nothing else to report. I am watching a huge thunderstorm roll into our area which is always thrilling for me!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Cameron Park Zoo

The Playful Otters

A Lazy Leopard

Our zoo has made some huge improvements this year! It has always been nice and shaded, but they have added a new exhibit called the Brazos River Country. It takes the seven geographical regions that the Brazos River runs through and shows the wildlife found in that region. From pelicans and beavers at the gulf to cougars, bears, and otters in the Piney Woods, this exhibit is a must see! My favorite new part is the otters. They seems to want to play with the kids and there is a slide that runs through the water they are in so the kids can get even closer to the otters. When we went today, the bears were swimming and got within an inch (separated by plexiglass) of the kids! I am so proud of our little zoo!

Poison ivy and babysitting

I am suffering with the worst case of poison ivy that I have ever experienced. I guess I brushed up against some in my garden last week, but I now have it on both of my arms, fingers, stomach, back, neck, legs, and toe. I am about to go insane!

Today, one of my best friends is leaving her daughter with us all day. Her sister is having a baby and she, of course, wanted to be there. Her daughter and Matthew are great friends so it should be fun. I think I will take them to the zoo this morning to get out of the house. It should be interesting to have 4 kids 6 and under all day. Wish me luck!