Fancy Feet

On Friday Emma and I met some good friends at the spa!  This was a treat Sarah and I wanted to do with the girls before we move.  (Special thanks to Big Daddy for entertaining Owen at his office for a little longer than I anticipated!!)

Emma and Ava thoroughly enjoyed themselves!  Cute massage chairs, bubbly foot baths, personal televisions and snacks galore...what more could a five-year-old girl ask for?! 

Here is the fancy fnished product!!

It sure is fun to have a daughter :)

Gymnastics Gurus

We are so thankful for a three day weekend, which meant that daddy got to spend some extra fun time with us.  The kids were thrilled that he got to come along for gymnastics...which meant that I got to take photos for once.  All good gymnasts must stretch first.....

Owen's motor skills and attention span have certainly progressed over the past six months.  An entire hour is a long time for any two year old!  He participates really well during stretch time.  Just since the holidays he has been able to jump with both feet leaving the floor.  (In fact, now he is one lean jumping machine!)  His class works on various techniques such as forward rolls, log rolls, coordination, beams and bear crawling on high bars for balance.

 

Beam 

Forward roll down the mat

Hand walking 

Hand stand

Bear crawling with Coach Ky

Emma has really enjoyed her introduction to gymnastics this year.  She loves the challenge of executing skills and practicing them over and over again.  Her class learns skills such as pike/straddle jumps on the trampoline, hand stands, high bars and more advanced beam technique.  For safety reasons, this particular gym won't allow children to do a back bend until after their fifth birthday.  Needless to say, she has been excited to do it the past couple of months :)

Beam

Bear crawling

Swinging like a monkey!!

Coach Daddy was super impressed with our champions.  He might have even mentioned something about gymnastics being beneficial to establish explosive power and overall physical conditioning :)

Skating Sister

This weekend Emma attended her very first roller skating party!  This brought back a flood of memories since it was at the same skating rink that I celebrated a few of my own birthdays many years ago :)

Posing with her Pre K classmate (birthday boy) Pierce.  It's great to be 5!

Fortunately the birthday family rented the whole facility so parents were allowed to walk!  It's safe to say that helping a child skate for the first time definitely brings out a whole new meaning to the word patience.  I was crazy sore the next couple of days.

She did a great job and looks forward to getting sturdy enough to do the limbo sometime :)    

Limbo

Our former athletic director's wife refers to this time period as "limbo".  She is exactly right.  Jarrod has moved, we are staying here trying to sell our house and carry on as usual.  We know that eventually we will all need to get to Trinity but exactly how, when and where are yet to be determined.

The past month has been a whirlwind.  I am extremely grateful for sweet and supportive friends who check on me regularly.  They ask how things are going and I usually respond the same way: I'm surviving.

Days mostly consist of packing, cleaning, playing, chauffeuring, staying up into the wee hours of the morning working and showing the house (not as often as we wish).  I'm doing my best to get everything done (and sleep at night!)  Parenting is much easier with a partner :)

I sorely miss the sound of the garage door opening upon Jarrod's arrival home at lunch and in the evenings.  It makes my heart hurt that we are basically living separate lives during the week right now.  I'm glad this is only temporary. 

Both kids had a hard time adjusting at first and Emma still asks over and over again why daddy has to work/live so far away.  Weeks have never seemed longer and I've never looked forward to weekends as much as I do these days.

On Tuesday evening we took a trip east to visit daddy.  The pine trees are BEAUTIFUL!!  We enjoyed cheering the Tigers on to a basketball district title.  Following the game we enjoyed a late night fajita Valentine dinner at Romos, a local Mexican food place.  All five of us (including Roxie!) stayed at his tiny efficiency apartment.  It was quite an experience!  On Wednesday morning we were able to tour several different rental options.  We didn't find anything that would accomodate our family but will continue to pray for a speedy sale of our house.  We were also able to tour Lansberry Elementary, where our oldest will start Kindergarten in just six short months.....

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. ~Ecclesiastes 3:1

Happy Valentines!

Love is patient.  Love is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast.  It is not proud, it is not rude.

It is not self seeking, it is not easily angered.

It keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves.

Love never fails.

 

~1 Corinthians 13:4

Striking Smiths

Fifteen years ago this Summer Jarrod and I met at the local bowling alley.  We can still recall almost every detail of that first memorable encounter during 'galaxy bowl' :)  On Friday night we met Jarrod in College Station and the kids enjoyed bowling for the very first time!

Emma is very competitve and only needed help on her first turn. 

Needless to say, she was THRILLED about rolling a strike!!

Owen may have been a little young but seemed to enjoy rolling the ball down the lane.  Here his daddy is plotting some major game strategy!

He did a great job and only attempted to run down the lane after his ball once :)

Jarrod and I exchanged bowling shoes for wedding gifts to each other.  Neither one of us knew ahead of time!  Over the past eight years we have only worn them a handful of times :)  The kiddos were excited to borrow their own pair!

Yep, that's the real score screen below.  Looks like yours truly needs to brush up on the skills.  Give me a break, it had been at least seven years since I last went bowling  :)

Emma is already asking when we can go again, so I'm sure it won't be long....

Emmaisms

I recently heard a voice recording of Emma from right at one year ago.  I was shocked at how much her voice, vocabulary and pronunciation has transformed!  I decided I better start recording her sweet and funny sayings before I forget them......

"I'm isappointed" (disappointed)

"That's disappropriate" (inappropriate)

"I really need to bless you" (I really need to sneeze)

"I'm exciting" (excited)

"Popa gots" (polka dots)

"Camote tatrol" (remote control)

"Here or not, here I come" (Ready or not, here I come -- hide & seek)

(Owen was fussy about not getting his way)

"Owen, when you get big and have kids you can make the rules." (I've said it to her!)

"How does God make ____?"

"Why? Why? Why?"

"Hey buddy, I know how ya feel." (to Owen as he sits screaming in time out)

"Whoppin' spoon" (wooden spoon, which is occasionally used to whoop!)

"God is even bigger than Daddy!"

Emma:  "Mom, am I a baby or a kid?"

Me:  "You are a kid."

Emma:  "A grown up kid, right?"

"Owen, you behave.  You do what Daddy, Mommy and Sissy tell you."

(Isn't he lucky to have three parents under one roof?!)

"(Insert name) isn't here, so let's talk about them!"

"Yes, ___ was there but her hair was not curled."

"How many birds are there in the whole wide world?"

"Did God make Santa Claus?"

"I can't wear this.  This is not fancy!"

Me:  "If you invite Jesus into your heart you can live in Heaven forever."

Emma:  "Do they have cheese sticks up there?"

Emma:  "Do bad things happen to God?"
Me:  "What do you mean?"
Emma:  "You know, the really bad stuff, like ants.  Ant bites. What about mud?  Is mud in Heaven?"

Emma: "Why does God make it cold outside?"

Me:  "It says in the Bible that there is a season for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:1)...."

*Long pause.  Her mind was racing.*

Emma:  "Hmm, you better check with daddy to see if you are right or wrong."

"I want to look fabulous and this outfit doesn't do it!"

"It says in the Bible to wear matching clothes and this doesn't match." (oh my!)

"I have eight boyfriends.  I like ___ best, mostly because he has a funny looking face."

Me: "Emma, will you take your kids to church someday?"

Emma:  "No, I'm not having any kids."

Daddy:  "What if your husband wants kids?"

Emma:  "Boys can't have kids!"

Daddy: "Sure they can...." (Oh boy!)

"Owen, you are my best boy!"

Father/Daughter Dance 2012

Emma looked forward to the father/daughter dance all week long!  She loves any opportunity to dance, get dressed up and to have her daddy all to herself :)

The perfect dress, matching finger nail polish, sponge curlers and a new sparkly headband!  Our princess was ready for the ball :)

Jarrod and Emma had such a great time last year that they invited some friends along for the fun this year!  (Girls from left to right: Aubree, Vivian, Lexi, Elizabeth, Emma and Bailey)

Below are some of our fellow coaching families as well as our Sunday School teacher.  We have been so very blessed with such a strong support system during our time in Cameron. 

These sweet girls and enjoyed dinner at Olive Garden with their daddies and then arrived at the dance just in time for the horse and carriage ride!

"Any man can be a father but it takes someone special to be a daddy." ~Proverb