Thomas right now...

Here are a few things going on with my Sweet T...

*He just finished his Upwards basketball season. I love watching him play basketball! His specialty was rebounds and jump balls.

*I have never once in his 8 years of life heard Thomas say that he was scared. This could come from his laid back nature or calm demeanor, but nothing worries him or gets him worked up. He substituted for Matthew in his game yesterday (Matthew was playing baseball) and had no fears playing ball with 3rd and 4th graders. He actually scored the winning two free throws to win the game for Matthew's team!

*He loves to skip.

*Thomas does not have the greatest fashion sense. Some of his wardrobe combinations are legendary.

*When I was halfway through my pregnancy with Thomas, I started measuring 4 weeks too big and did for the remainder of my pregnancy. I even had to have a special ultrasound done to make sure everything was OK because of this. Turns out, I was just meant to have a big boy! My 8 year old wears size 10-12 shirts and pants, so he and Matthew share a wardrobe. He has a Hos Cartright quality about him. Gentle giant with a heart of gold! ;)

*Thomas adores all sports. You couldn't tear him away from the Olympics these past two weeks. He reads the sports section of the newspaper and watches ESPN for all his sports knowledge. Above all sports, he adores Alabama football the most. For as much as Matthew loves Baylor, Thomas loves Alabama. He has big plans to play football there in college.

*He wants to be a lawyer some day, after his professional football career is over, of course. Any time Matthew gets in trouble, he has to "hire" Thomas to defend his case. These are hilarious moments in our family. During Matthew latest offense, not keeping his room clean which put his new baseball bat ownership in jeopardy, Thomas made Matthew pay him $15 to argue his case to the judges, Mom and Dad!

*Thomas reads on a high level, but isn't motivated to read like his big brother. Above all subjects in school, math is his favorite. He loves doing percentages with me and is thrilled that his teacher is very math minded as well.

*Because of his bend toward math, Thomas has a very analytical mind. I love listening to him talk and wondering what is going on in his mind. I told him yesterday how much I love my children. He said, "I love my Mommy. Much more than I love my children right now." Everything is qualified and very literal! Many of the funniest moments in our family are Thomas's take on different subjects.

*One of my favorite things in the world is watching this boy dance! It has landed him on the jumbotron at Texas Rangers games and Baylor basketball games, not to mention hysterical laughter from his family and friends! One of the highlights in Thomas's life at the moment was enrolling in a kids Zumba class. I am in a Zumba class and Thomas is always wanting to learn my moves. My friend, who teaches the class, began a kid's class last week, and it has been all Thomas could talk about for weeks. My friend said that Thomas was the least inhibited in the room and started doing the Robot for the class!

I was helping out in his class recently and I saw a funny picture Thomas had drawn. It was a picture of a child's body and arrows were pointing to different body parts with action words attached. For instance, arm had the word "wave" next to it. Thomas's had an arrow pointed to his stomach with the word, "roll" next to it. He is very proud of and proficient in his belly roll!

*Thomas is very patient. His piano teacher comments on how calm he is and he will practice and practice particular parts of songs without getting frustrated, unlike other Barnhills she teaches ;). Thomas has a very calming voice and spirit.

*One of his favorite activities is riding his Rip Stick around the neighborhood. I am proud of him for mastering this since I cannot get on it without falling!

*He is extremely obedient and I rarely have to get on to him. If I ever do, it is because of a frustration with Matthew. He adores his older brother and I also love watching his relationship with Mary Beth. He will do anything for her and the play together well.

*Thomas has an adorable giggle and laughs easily. He also has a sweet group of friends whom I adore.

We love our Tom boy! What a blessing he is to our family!

Matthew right now..

I was at a baby shower last weekend and I talked to another member of our church about the preschool years with Matthew. She was shocked to hear that, in her mind, our Type A, serious, obedient 10 year old had ever been as precocious as I described him from age 1-3! Yes, I have often thought what a tragedy it was that I didn't have a blog during the preschool golden days of Matthew! I also thought later that day that since I didn't kill my lip stick ruining, no napping, door locking, car back upping, car seat/stroller/high chair wiggling freeing, running naked down the aisle at church preschooler, God has rewarded me with a fun, interesting, cool 10 year old!

Here's what is going on with my sweet boy:

*The biggest event in his life right now is that he is now playing select baseball. This is something that he had wanted to do for a while, but we didn't feel like it was the right time. We had even decided that this spring, Matthew was only going to play soccer. A few weeks ago, the coach from the select team, that Matthew had wanted to play for for ages, called us and talked to us for an hour about Matthew joining the team. We thanked him, but declined the offer. He called again. We thanked him, but declined the offer. He asked us to come to a parent meeting. Bryon went. We thanked him, but declined the offer. He asked us to come to a practice and see what it was like. Matthew hit two home runs in practice. He was sold. The more we realized what was involved with the team, we became sold as well. We told the coach that he was an amazing salesman! ;) Matthew is a very passionate person and he gets excited about many things, but I have never seen him so excited about a sport ever. He can hardly wipe the smile off his face! Truth be told, we are excited about it as well and are glad that Matthew is playing baseball again. His first tournament is this weekend. Watching Matthew play sports is one of the highlights of our parenting life.

*Matthew continues to be a passionate reader. He reads on a very high level, and it is always a challenge finding interesting books for Matthew with appropriate content! Books geared toward junior high and high school don't always have the content that I am OK with for my 4th grader!

*He is a meat and potatoes kid. His favorite meal is roast, carrots, and potatoes, with my grandmother's spaghetti a close second.

*He is vaguely interested in video games but would rather play outside. He does enjoy playing Club Penguin on the computer and some Disney teen shows on tv.

*Matthew is incredibly independent and reliable. I never have to ask him if he has done his homework or read. I haven't looked at a spelling list with him in years. He just gets it done.

*Although he is independent, he really wants me with him. He can't stand when I go out at night. One of my favorite stories to illustrate this happened many years ago. When Matthew was in kindergarten, he found my cell phone, looked at my contact list, and called my friend, Martha Kate and left her a message saying that I no longer wanted to be her friend and please stop asking my mommy to go out with you! He would still do this today if he could! ;) While we were in Las Vegas, he called me many times just wanting to check in. I love this contradiction in his personality!

*He also is the most open with me about what is going on in his life. Matthew will sit on the couch and talk to me about his friends, teachers, etc.

*He has a great sense of style and is particular about his wardrobe. He chooses what he wears to school, and I never have to tell him to try again. Lots of hoodies, athletic shorts, and UnderArmour in his closet!

*He is a good big brother. I have seen him ooohing and aaahing over Mary Beth to his friends. He also will talk to Thomas for an hour every night in bed. He doesn't enjoy it when Thomas is spending the night at a friend's house, because he doesn't like to be alone in his room. It never bothers Thomas when Matthew spends the night with a friend! He also adores being the oldest cousin and caring for the younger ones.

*Matthew has several good friends who live in our neighborhood. When talking about his friends, he usually talks about his daily football game at recess. Always interesting to hear about who did what well!

*He is as strong as an ox. Matthew is built just like a Robinson. He has great muscle definition and has always had defined pectoral muscles, even as a two year old! His legs are very muscular and solid as a rock. Matthew loves that his hands are bigger than mine, and that he is able to wear my flip flops. We also wear the same shirts. He hit the 100 pound mark this year which amazes me!

*Matthew is obsessed with all things Baylor. He already has his life plan set and Baylor has a huge part of that! He loves drawing BUs over all of his papers, and drinks in every Baylor sporting event. I am sure I will have a Baylor Mom sweatshirt in, gasp, 8 years!

*He continues to grow in his faith and being a Christian is a huge part of his identity. We love that Matthew loves Jesus and cannot stand missing church for any reason.

Just a few things about our Matt man. Updates on the other two to follow!

Snow day!

On Sunday, we were at a baseball scrimmage enjoying the beautiful, sunny, 77 degree afternoon. After practice, we were making plans for the next baseball practice and the coach said we needed to wait and see what would happen with the snow. Yes, the elusive snow that usually comes to Waco every few years. It sort of made me chuckle.

The next few hours, a strong wind came in from the north and wrecked our Sunday evening picnic. It got colder and colder and yesterday morning, beautiful huge flakes begin to fall from the sky! I quickly went out and saw my patient and prepared for an afternoon at home.

My mother came over for lunch, since her office had closed down, and Lauren and the boys came over following an early release from Mother's Day Out. My kids joined the party at 12:30, and we enjoyed several hours of snow ball throwing, snow angel making, sliding down snowy slides, and snow ice cream making fun!

Then, for a few hours, each kid played with one of their best friends. Matthew went over to his buddy, Ethan's house. Mary Beth and Thomas kept changing houses with their friends, Whitney and Justin. The boys were outside and the girls were in. Mary Beth tolerated the snow, but she was much more comfortable enjoying the snow in a cup on a beach towel in the kitchen!

Then, Bryon came home early, and SnowBowl 2010 began! My three boys are so funny, but if there is any change in the weather (well, in addition to any other time of the year), they love to pick up a football and run outside. Years from now, when the kids are grown, I think this memory of my kids will be one of the strongest. Such joy!

Yes, we played outside until there was no more light left. What a fun day full of great memories! Here's hoping for one more snow before Spring!

Matthew and Ethan making an igloo

Fun Cousin time!

The girls gathering snow for snow ice cream.

Where did my little boy go? He has been replaced by this big guy!

Brotherly love in the middle of a snowball war.
Behind our fence. A winter wonderland!
Nana and Mary Beth making snow ice cream.

Cheers!




Bryon preparing for a snowball war with Thomas and Justin.

Snowbowl 2010

Daddy and the boys.

Exciting day!

And to think that two days ago, we were playing baseball in shorts! Can't wait for the kids to come home early from school!

Viva Las Vegas!

We are back from our whirlwind tour of Las Vegas! Here are a few thoughts on our trip:

*To be truthful, I really am not a Las Vegas fan. However, when given the opportunity to go away with Bryon for a few nights, I would happily travel anywhere! Bryon had a conference there, so we spent Thursday together and Friday mostly apart. He went to the conference, I had an hour long massage, pedicure and long nap!

*We watched Avatar on the IMAX theatre on Thursday. It was an absolutely beautiful movie. Some weird tree worshipping things went on, but if you are on the fence about watching it, you need to see it in 3D on the big screen!

*Thursday night, we saw O, by Cirque du Soleil. What a stunning show! I recommend it to anyone going to Las Vegas.

*O was in the Bellagio hotel. Also in the hotel that night was Obama. We had to walk by bomb sniffing dogs, secret service, and metal detectors to get to our show. Any resident Las Vegan we talked to had very strong negative feelings about Obama. It turns out, Obama can't stop talking badly about the town. Harry Reid asked him to come to Las Vegas on a reputation building mission. He spoke at the City Center next to our hotel. Obama stood up and said, "Don't get me wrong. I love Las Vegas!" Everyone cheered. Sometimes I worry about the Lemming quality of our citizens.

*Again, we just had a great time together. It was wonderful for a few days to have conversations with Bryon where we didn't hear, "Mommy!", every few minutes. Oh, and I need to mention that the weather could not have been more beautiful on our day to walk the strip. It was in the 70s, desert sun shining, not a cloud in sight or drop of moisture in the air. I love cold winter weather, but I really think I needed a day of sunshiny weather!

*Meanwhile, back at the ranch....the kids had a great time with my family! Aunt Lauren and her boys came over after school and bridged the gap between end of school and Mom getting off work. Aunt Lauren is like a second mom to my kids, and they had a great time with their cousins.

Its funny, but since we live in the same town as my parents, my mom had never slept over at my house! The kids enjoyed lots of good quality grandparent time with my parents. For years, I found it very difficult to leave the kids because of their young ages. Now that the kids are in school and very self sufficient, I feel better about leaving for a few days during the winter. I still can't hand off our crazy Spring and Fall sports schedule to anyone I love. ;)

*As much fun as we had, it was nice coming home to Mayberry. Looking forward to a normal week!

My trip to Alabama

When I came home, the life waiting for me was extremely busy! I am just now able to sit down and write about my weekend.

I love being with Tesney and Karen! Bryon encouraged me this fall to pick a weekend in January or February, when our schedule is traditionally less hectic, to spend the weekend with my sweet friends. He also encouraged me to fly. Generally speaking, I hate to fly, and I love the drive to Alabama so much, that I finally got my way on that one!

Friday morning, I woke up before dawn and started heading east. After we moved away from Tuscaloosa when I was in elementary school, we made the drive from Abilene to Birmingham several times a year to visit my grandparents. They were our closest relatives living a mere 15 hours away! The drive on I-20 east is very special to me. It was always filled with excitement to see our grandmother. I loved hitting each milestone: Shreveport, Monroe, the Mississippi River, Vicksburg, seeing signs for Yazoo City, which I always wanted to see, Meridian, the Welcome to Alabama rest stop, Tuscaloosa, then finally, Birmingham. I loved watching the scenery change from the plains of Texas, the swamp land of Louisiana, to finally the loblolly pines on each side of the interstate.

Alabama is my happy place. I wouldn't trade the life I have in Texas for anything, but still, there is a very special, happy place in my heart for Alabama. It smells like pine trees, azaleas, and sweet gum balls. It looks like red clay, rolling hills, and pine needles (which I braided endlessly as a child). It tastes like Buffalo Rock ginger ale and cornbread. It reminds me of visiting Grandma, eating her delicious meals, and playing in her jewelry. It reminds me of walks with my Dad exploring the woods around his childhood house and looking for Buffalo Rock. Yes, Alabama is my happy place.

And what a blessing that I have gotten to be such good friends with two sweet girls from Tuscaloosa! We laugh that we met each other on the internet through blogging. Over the years, Karen and Tesney have become so dear to me, and I have enjoyed not only blogging and facebooking (is that a word?) with them, but also visiting face to face with them over the past few years. After my grandmother moved to Waco to be closer to our family, I am sad to say that I hadn't visited Alabama from 1995-2008. In fact, the last time I was there when she lived there, I was touring the Masters program at UA where I had hoped to go to graduate school. Two months later, I started dating Bryon which made that dream not quite as sweet! I vowed never to go that long without being in Bama, and have gotten to go 4 times in the last 1 1/2 years.

I made it to Tuscaloosa in a little less than 10 hours. I enjoyed listening to a book on cd, listening to my music, and enjoying a peaceful drive. When I got to T-town I was thrilled to see my sweet friends and eat at Dreamland! What a great night! Saturday, Tesney and I hit all the Alabama t-shirt and gift shops. I love being in Tuscaloosa where almost everyone is a fanatical Crimson Tide fan! I have never seen a town with more school spirit! After doing lots of retail damage, Karen, Tesney, and I made our way to Birmingham. We enjoyed lots of shopping and then went to P.F. Changs for dinner.

Karen recognized him first. This is pretty impressive as Karen is an Auburn girl. Yes, Greg McElroy, Alabama's National Championship quarterback, was also at the restaurant with his girlfriend. He sat down to wait and we sat right next to him. I let him know that I was also a Crimson Tide fan in Texas (he is from Southlake, 1 1/2 hours north of me). He was as nice as he could be and introduced us to his girlfriend. Sadly, I chickened out of asking for a picture with him, but I will always have the mental picture! Also sitting near us was Bart Starr, an Alabama quarterback in the 60s and the quarterback of the winning first two Super Bowl teams. It was quite a night!

Sunday was great. I love going to the University church in Tuscaloosa. I also enjoyed going to Tesney's small group Superbowl party. It was funny being there while knowing that my own small group was meeting at my house!

After a fun filled friend weekend, I hit the road early Monday morning and got home 5 minutes after the kids did on Monday. Had it not been for the torrential hydroplaning downpour the last three hours of the trip, I would have made it home sooner! I love my sweet friends in Tuscaloosa dearly, and can't wait to go back!

The past week

Well, lots has happened since last I blogged!

Last Wednesday, I woke up to get ready for a trip to Dallas with my sister. The first thing I noticed was that I had a stuffy nose. This was slightly annoying to me, because stuffy noses end up being sinus infections. Ugh. Lauren and I had a great day in Dallas and enjoyed seeing Michael, Jilinda, and Lydia. We got home just in time for the kids to get off the bus. Right around this time, I started feeling horrible. Achy, congestion in my face and chest, shaky. I realize that this sinus infection came on strong and I would need to go to the doctor to get an antibiotic. Bryon came home from work and took the three kids to the Baylor game.

When I woke up Thursday, I realized rather quickly that this was no sinus infection. My doctor did a test and, sho enough, I had the flu. After a terrible first day at home, I went back to the doctor to find out I had pneumonia on top of the flu. I don't think I have ever had the flu, and I hadn't even had a fever in 5 years. I was shocked! My doctor told me that I needed to be quaranteened away from the rest of the family. This is not the best news for a Type A CEO of a busy family! Fortunately, my darling husband came home from work before the kids got home and did so both Thursday and Friday. It was such a blessing knowing that the kids were taken care of and I didn't lift a finger for 4 days! Very few things were enjoyable about the weekend, but I did get a kick out of watching Bryon take Mary Beth to ballet and then taking her church shoes shopping. She was in desperate need of church shoes and came home with church shoes, tennis shoes, a houndstooth coat, and several Hello Kitty necklaces! Mary Beth has now decided that she would rather Bryon do the bulk of the clothes shopping!

Another strange thing this weekend, Matthew went for a jump ball in his basketball game, fell the the floor and hyperextended his elbow. Bryon and the kids spent Saturday afternoon getting x-rays, and eventually getting a soft cast and sling. It was quite an adjustment for us for 4 days helping our extremely independent child tie his shoes and take baths! By Tuesday, his arm was much better and he is enjoying the use of both of his arms again!

Also, by Tuesday, I took a turn for the better, and really began to feel like myself again. I have said that I will never take for granted breathing out of my nose again! I was so thrilled to start feeling better mainly because I am driving to Tuscaloosa tomorrow for some Karen and Tesney time! It's been a year since I was in Alabama, and I am anxious to cross the Black Warrior River, eat Dreamland bar b que, laugh and talk to two of my favorite girls, and help stimulate the economy by buying National Championship gear!

Bryon is definitely filling my love bank being the single parent two weekends in a row! Fortunately, all he has to do is coach 2 games, take Matthew to a birthday party, take the boys to their piano theory tests at Baylor, take Matthew to baseball tryouts, participate in the Crestview Dodgeball tournament, and host our small group's Super Bowl party at our house! Yikes! When we planned our Bama trip, I didn't realize that this weekend was the perfect storm of activities! He handles these things remarkably well, and I am sure it will be great.

Looking forward to a fun weekend and one of my favorite drives in the world!