Spring Fieldtrip and Concert

A few more pictures from this spring. I haven't gotten the Easter Pageant pictures from Mark yet, so here is one of the very few that I have. I loved this picture of Bethany and her friends at the church Easter Egg Hunt and had to include it. I also have a few pictures of Bethany's field trip to Crowe's Nest Farm. All three kids have just finished their choir concert.

Independence Day - April 25th, 2009

It's hard to believe but the school year is drawing to a close and so many firsts have been accomplished this year. Bethany has started Kindergarten, began reading, accepted Christ, starting doing handstands in gymnastics, can hula hoop like a crazy girl and is now riding her bike...without training wheels! Most children have quite a few crashes while they learn to bike but Bethany was adamant about learning how to stop and not fall over. She about drove me crazy by slamming on the brakes as I was pushing/balancing her. With that accomplished she could stop every time that she felt unstable. As a mom I can't help but be proud of her accomplishments but then I think about the fact that she doesn't need me as much. I love the freedom that all this is giving me but what about my baby? Who gave her permission to separate from me? As she began balancing that bike and then took her first trips out of the safety of my arms it all hit me... THIS IS INDEPENDENCE DAY AND SHE IS DOING GREAT!

Jake's State Swim meet

On April 18th Mark and Jake traveled to San Antonio for Jake's first State Swim meet. He swam in 4 events - 7th grade Medley Relay (Jake's part - 50 backstroke) 3rd place overall, 200 freestyle - 4th place, 50 backstroke - 3rd place & 200 freestyle relay (Jake's part 50) - 3rd place. Not bad considering Belton was competing against 31 other teams. Jake was the first leg of the relay and got out to a great start for his team.The split time after Jake finished his 50 back!!! He put them in first! So intense! Waiting for the start of the 200 Individual Freestyle.What a great start off the blocks - Jake is in lane 7.It wears me out just to watch him! He started a little too fast and was winded by the end of the race.The Relay Team - Elliot Linder, Ethan Becker, Barry Rockwood & Jake

Easter Sunday April 12th, 2009

We had a fabulous Easter Sunday. Mom and Dad came over for lunch and to watch the kids with their Easter Egg Hunt. It was great talking with Bethany about Jesus really being alive. We hid their Easter Baskets again and with the help of clues they eventually found them. At the end of the day I remembered that I had bought confetti filled eggs (I know there is a name for them but for the life of me I can't positively remember it and don't want to call them something wrong!). We had fun hitting each other with them until I realized we were all standing in a fire ant pile! It's all fun until someone gets hurt!I love this picture of the kids before church on Easter Sunday.
Yes, Bethany and her doll match. I even did their hair the same.
Each of the kids picked out their own outfits this year!
Can you tell I love dressing a little girl?

Our Spring Break Trip

I can't believe we were able to take this amazing trip to Washington DC and Maryland. It always seemed just too far out of our reach. After visiting with Andy and Micelle at Christmas we decided to visit them in Maryland for Spring Break. The entire trip was incredible! I loved the whole experience of the history of our nation. The best part of the trip was spending time with Andy, Micelle and Colin. The trip was much less stressful because we know we will be going back to visit them regularly. Grab a cup of coffee or a fresh coke...even though it seems like a ton of pictures it's not even half of what we took! Enjoy our trip...we had a blast!

Drew is pretty busy too!

Drew is busy as ever. This year he competed in the photograph section of Reflections. The theme was "WOW". He submitted 3 photos. Two received honorable mention and the third went on to state. His picture was a waterfall in Glacier National Park. January through March was filled with Upward Basketball - we had a great team and an awesome coach (Curtis Moore). We left basketball and went right into baseball. This is Drew's first year in kid pitch and the very first game of the season he was on the pitching mound! He faced 11 batters (1 walk, 1 hit and 9 strikeouts) and did great for his first 3 innings of pitching. When he isn't on the pitchers mound he has been on first base. I think he will see a few other positions as the season progresses.

Bethany Stuff

This has been one exciting Spring for Bethany. She went forward in church telling everyone that she accepted Christ. We were thrilled to get an email from her teacher telling how she told the whole class that she had Jesus in her heart. She continued with her ballet & tap classes and she is taking gymnastics. Much to Mark's delight she attended the Belton High Cheerleading camp with his cheerleaders and did great. She has formed a special relationship with a lady at church and is being ridiculously spoiled!

The best day ever...I mean it, Mom!

Wednesday, January 28th, 2009, was Bethany's best day ever. I have to agree it will go down as one of my best too. I arrived at the school to pick Bethany up from Kindergarten and she was so excited. She had earned Student of the Month for January. She was so proud of her sign and was smiling from ear to ear. Our next stop was our church. Bethany had an appointment with Pastor Andy. Mark met us there and we all went into the meeting. After answering several questions she prayed to ask Jesus into her heart. That would make it one of the best days for us, but for dinner that night I took her to Mex Taco Express and that pushed it over the top for her!

The decision had been coming for a few weeks now. She has asked many questions and I have answered a lot. About 3 weeks ago she asked me to go forward with her to talk to Pastor Andy about having Jesus in her heart. I asked her to wait a little bit and we would talk more about it at home. Then a week ago she was doing her bed time prayers and very clearly told Jesus that she loved him and wanted him to come into her heart. She went on to explain why she wanted him to do so. We made the appointment with Andy more as a formality I believe she asked Jesus into her heart in the most precious language he has ever heard. The office visit is a unique experience and will stand out in her mind to help her remember the time frame that she accepted Christ.
Student of the Month!
Bethany and Pastor Andy
Mark, Wendi, Andy & Bethany after accepting Christ as her Savior
On the phone calling Grandma to tell her she accepted Jesus
Telling Nana she is a Christian
Sharing with Grandad

Cotillion Semi-formal 2009

The semi-formal cotillion dance was held at the Cultural Art Center. The room was beautifully decorated (I helped). Much to Jake's shock he found out that Mark and I were going to chaperone the dance! The kids were so much more relaxed this time. They are learning to dance and would all put me to shame.

Flower Girl

We arrived home in time to prepare for Terra Webb's wedding. Bethany was given the honor of being her flower girl. Terra wanted Bethany to fill the role as "Little Me". Thankfully both girls are "girly girls" and think they are princesses. The beautiful flower girl. Only instead of flowers she was ringing a bell down the aisle to announce the bride.
J'net made Bethany's beautiful dress!
The dress was as beautiful from the back as the front. I did her hair and don't think I have ever been more nervous!
Bethany showing off her "red" shoes.
Terra and Bethany comparing their "red" shoes.
Bethany, Terra and the brides maids. Once again, thank you Terra for letting us be a part of your special day.

Our Montana Friends

I don't know how to limit the pictures and so here I am with another slideshow - I want to control myself but I can't! We had a special addition to our Montana trip this year. We found out that Andy and Micelle would be there at the same time. So after 10 long years, we finally got a little face time! We showed off our beautiful children to one another and of course we sat down for a little game time! We left a day early to avoid bad weather and spent a little time in Missoula. We met our other special friend, Kim and her granddaughter, Cassidy, at the carousel. It was fun telling the kids about Jacob's 3rd birthday in that very place. We rode the carousel so many times I thought I might be sick! As we hit the road we decided on a little detour to show the kids where we lived when the last 4 years in Missoula. I was telling the kids about the big horn sheep we saw all the time in our yard and sure enough as we pulled up to the house a beautiful big horn stood there for my kids!

Christmas in Montana

With the addition of Facebook I feel like most of you have already seen these pictures and it may be redundant. But on the off chance that you haven't seen them, here are a few from our trip to Montana. You need to move the cursor over the picture to get the captions. It's a little long.

Almost a Teenager

This year has brought a lot of changes with Jacob. One, he is going by Jake more often (I don't mind we originally named him Jacob expecting it to change to Jake around 2, but I couldn't adjust). Two, he can pass as a high school student (a young one...but still!) while walking the halls of BHS for Mark, Jacob has been asked for his highschool ID on numerous occasions. Three, the EMOTIONS! I will leave it at that. Four, he has decided he likes fancy coffees - I don't even drink coffee. So, as a special treat on Fridays, Mark takes the younger kids to school and then he and Jake head to Texas Java for a little pick me up. I thought no big deal, until one Friday I took the kids to school and decided to follow the tradition. When you enter a restaurant and they call your son by his preferred beverage ... I think it may have gone too far.
I happened to have the camera in the car and couldn't resist documenting this part of our lives!Snicker FrapMmmmm good!
This is how traditions are created.