hey, guess what!!!

I am going to have ANOTHER nephew!!!!! He should be here sometime in July!

And...I had to type in three different passwords to log into blogger. It's been a while!

That sweet baby boy I last blogged about is now a busy little 16 month old. He WILL NOT say my name, but he really does love me. As long as Poppy, Nana, Momma, or Daddy aren't around. And as long as I have goldfish or a cup for him to drink out of in my hand. But he sure is a cutie!!


There are two other sweet (is that the right word?) boys in my life who are growing up too fast. Benji is in Kindergarten this year, and I love having him and Andy in the building with me. Ben loves school, and has some great friends in his class. He is also starting to sorta/kinda like basketball. Kevin and I have the honor of coaching his team this season, and they are fun! Well, I am more like the team mom--keep them in line, remind them to take a drink between periods, that kind of thing. Kevin is the real coach. Ben is also finally taking a slight interset in reading. He's gotten pretty good, but he hates to practice!

Andy is LOVING second grade. He has two adequate teachers. Ha!! Just kidding!! He has the two best teachers in Texas!!!!! He loves school, too. He is pretty sure he's the smartest kid on campus, but he usually works hard, anyway. He has become a pretty decent baseball and basketball player. I love to watch him play!

Life is crazy/busy right now, but we are loving it!

i have a new nephew

Jaxson Lee McCollough
4 lbs. 15 oz.
18 inches
and PERFECT!!!

"andy growing up"

Andy Growing Up

Win I was a babe. I lrnd to toc.

In frst graed I maed new frens.

Win I am a edlt I am gunu not get a job.


I guess he's decided that babysitting isn't going to work out, after all.

The grammar is lacking, of course, as is the spelling. However, I still have third graders that do not capitalize the beginning of a sentence or the pronoun I.

t-ball

I can't decide if it's T-Ball or Tee Ball. Whatever. Doesn't really matter. I DO know that playing ball with a bunch of rookie 4, 5, and 6 year olds is about the most fun you can have on a Saturday morning!

Thanks, Aunt Judy, for the pics! And thanks for coming to our game!!!

careers

Ben (who has always said he was going to be a policeman) told me today that he has changed his mind. He wants to be a construction worker and drive an excavator. He asked me if I thought he would do a good job digging up dirt. I said, "Of course, baby!" I then told him that he could go to work with Daddy when he gets a little older and learn how to use tools and stuff.

So, Andy says, "He needs to be fourteen. Because on The Brady Bunch, Greg starts working for his dad when he is fourteen." Ha! Thanks, Nana.

Andy then started thinking about his own career, and he said, "I don't want to work very hard. Maybe I'll be a babysitter."

"You don't think that would be hard work?"

"All you have to do is give them food and put them in bed. That's SUPER easy."

Well, I have set a fine example for him. Seriously.

andy's kindergarten graduation

It's official...
Andy is a
FIRST
grader.

it's summer!

No excuses...I will try to blog more often because SCHOOL'S OUT!

We started our summer break with a week at the beach with some sweet friends. It's been a VERY long time since I have stayed up until 1 or 2 A.M....but that is exactly what we did every night! It was awesome!

The kiddos stayed up pretty late as well, but this is how we usually found them!

We made s'mores. A LOT of s'mores.

Brody thought this dragon needed a bite of his hot dog.
We could not stop laughing about this!

Ben and Brody were good buddies. Love them!

So far, our summer is busy, busy. But that is OK with me. We are having plenty of fun!

sweet boy

I just found this picture...I hardly remember Benji being a little boy like this. Oh, he was SOOOO sweet!

quiet night

My hubby and my boys are at the church camping out tonight. Belle and I have the house to ourselves! I have been looking forward to this since I signed the guys up for the campout!

A couple of nights ago, I was putting Andy to bed and getting ready to pray with him. He said, "Mom, tonight I am going to tell God that I am SO glad we have a computer so I can go to legos.com, and I am SO glad that Daddy is smart and helps me build stuff with legos."
I told him that those were awesome things to thank God for.
He leans toward me and says, "Could you tell Him for me? I don't think I can explain it to Him."
Oh, how I love that boy.

snow!

what's missing from this picture???

Andy's tooth!!!

Andy lost his first tooth this week--on Thursday. I was a little sad, but he was SOOOOO excited. The tooth fairy visited that night and left him a crisp dollar bill!

basketball

Andy has started playing basketball. He loves it. I mean, he gets to see his best friend at practice and games, lots of people who love him come and cheer him on, and he LOVES yellow Gatorade. So, it's not so much the game that he loves, but the social aspect of it. I think he got that from me. And Deneise.

Every time he sees someone taking his picture, he stops and smiles. Seriously. Luckily, his coach is one of the most patient people ever. I don't think I could coach a group of 5-year-olds in a sport they've never played. But I DO LOVE watching me some 5-year-old b-ball. It is the best way to spend a Saturday morning. Even if the games are at 8 AM!!!

rulers

Ben: Momma AND Daddy are rulers at this house, right???
Kevin: Yeah, but I overrule momma.
Ben: Well, there's only one ruler at Nana and Poppy's house.
Kevin: Who's that?
Ben: Nana.
Kevin: (laughing) I can't wait to tell Poppy that.
Ben: (very serious)He already knows.

so thankful

I am thankful that our cousins live close, and that we get to play with them often!


This girl makes me smile every time I see her!

I am thankful for my family (the ones you see here and the ones who aren't in this picture). They are true blessings to me!

I am very thankful for this girl (and her momma). She has made my days after school so much easier by taking care of Andy for me, and Andy loves every minute of it.

This little man made his appearance earlier this year...I am thankful for him and his mommy and daddy!

I am thankful that we had the opportunity to take the boys to Disney World this summer. It was hot and crowded, but totally worth it. The kids had a great time.

There are about eleventy-million things I did not include on this list. I am abundantly blessed in every way.

Happy Thanksgiving!

alphabet zoo

Alligator

Bunny

Camel

Dinosaur

Eagle

Frog, Giraffe, Horse, Iguana

Jaguar, Kangaroo, Lion

Monkey, (tiny) Nightengale

Octopus, Pig, Quail, Rhino (hard to see because it's sooo tiny, Snake, Tiger, Unicorn, Vulture, Whale, X-Ray Fish, Yak, Zebra

Andy and Ben made an alphabet zoo tonight! If they couldn't find the animal they wanted in their closets, they just drew them! Then, they took Kevin and me on a tour of the "zoo." It was super fun!

(And you can just go ahead and ignore those spots on the carpet that look like stains...there MUST be something wrong with my camera. Because I DO NOT have stains on every square inch of the carpet in this house.)

halloween...yeah, I know it's late!

long time, no blog/kindergarten

It's not that we have nothing going on, it's that by the time I get home, I don't want to think about the computer. But I did want to list a few things about Andy's Kindergarten year:

* He LOVES his teacher (and so do I)!!! She is so calm, and I am in awe every time I visit her room.
* He can READ! We have been working on sight words for a long time now, but it was always a chore for him. Now, he can't wait to get home to read something. He reads out loud to me, he reads to Ben, and he really loves for Daddy and me to read to him. He even loves to listen to chapter books! (This makes my heart happy!)
* He wants to write stories all the time. And they aren't too bad, considering he is 5. He stays on topic (usually animals) and puts his whole heart into it.
* He knows and UNDERSTANDS how to use the words respect, trustworthiness, and character. And he is SO proud that his class won Character Classroom for the first six weeks.
* He falls asleep on the way home almost every day. He is worn out after all that learning!
* He refuses to buy his lunch. Even on chicken strip day, I have to pack it. Which is a bit of a bummer for me, but I guess it's better for him.
* I get to see him during the day, and that is so cool! I love having him on campus with me. My class and his class are "buddies," so we get to hang out and do fun stuff with them every couple of weeks.

Here are a couple of pics (not related to Kindergarten!) that I took of the boys while I was cleaning the pool. They decided it would be okay to swim, though the water was a little chilly for my taste! Normally, they would wear actual swim trunks, but sometimes...

boys

Tonight, I walked to the boys' bathroom and heard a lot of laughing--never a good thing (right, Miss Estes?). Here's how it went:

Andy: Ben just flushed a TOY down the TOILET!!!
Me: WHAT??? What kind of toy???
Ben: (laughing, still) A dinosaur!
(Ben was quite proud!)
Me: What kind of dinosaur???

Okay, I was looking for stuffed, squishy, big, little...

Ben:.......a triceratops!

I was laughing too hard to be mad, and I went to tell Kevin the story. While I did that, Ben also flushed a car. As of now, the toilet is still working, but I'm sure soon enough we'll be seeing some aftershocks!

one, true God

I was in Andy's room praying with him last night, and he said, "Mom, our God is the ONE true God.".
I said, "Yeah, he is! How do you know that?"
"Well, when Daniel had to get in that lions' den, God made their mouths stay closed so they wouldn't eat him! And they were HUNGRY!"
He then went on to tell me that he also knows God is the one, true God because Shadrach, Meshach, and "A-ben-dee-go" didn't burn up in that fire!
***not sure if those names are spelled right, but I don't have time to look them up!

So, all that to say, I am thankful for my church, and the sweet girls who love Jesus and my kids so much that they share truths like that with them faithfully every week. Thanks Stacey, Heather, Neesie, Sarah, and Sasha! My boys are growing in truth because of you!

my boys are a little obsessed with star wars...

I overheard Andy saying this to Ben:

"Ben, I'll be your master, and teach you all kinds of tricks. Then, you can be just like me when I DIE!"

A little disturbing, yes, but still makes me laugh!