Zoo trip!

Friday was Thomas's last zoo field trip. I enjoyed hanging out with my Sweet T for a few hours! He has grown so much this year, and acts so much older.  He is still my precious little boy, and I adore every ounce of him, except for the ounce that was touching that snake!

Beautiful music

Adding piano lessons to my life this year has had a surprisingly impact on my life.  I adore my (the kids') teacher, and the challenge of new music and stress relief from playing has become a vital part of my week!

I just finished learning Clair de Lune, and I am planning on playing it in the recital in a few weeks.  I started learning it in January and used my Grandmother's music (circa 1930s).  One of the last things I ever told my Grandma was that I had learned Clair de Lune, and she was thrilled!

My teacher has encouraged me to try a sonata next.  The longest song I have ever played was 6 pages long, and sonatas are 12-16 pages long! I don't know if I have that long an attention span!  After lots of debate, I have settled on Beethoven's Tempest Sonata movement 3.  I love researching songs on YouTube, and have found this rendition of The Tempest so haunting.  This man is in his 70s, and hardly even looks at the piano.  If you love music, you might want to watch this clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfjD-DQ5REk

Hooray for May!

Never in my life have I been more excited to turn the page in our calendar!

Back in February, Bryon and I were discussing the sports schedule for the Spring.  The way soccer works, is you play on a team in the fall, and you have to play in the spring in order to stay on the same team the next fall.  Last year, Matthew played soccer and baseball in the spring, and Thomas played just soccer in the spring, and baseball in the summer.

After much discussion, we decided that is wasn't fair that only Matthew played Little League in the spring.  Bryon agreed to work a little less during the spring to help with ferrying kids around to their activities.  We were going to give this schedule a one year shot, and see what happened.  

We knew that March, and especially April would have a brutal schedule.  With two soccer and baseball schedules, LTC practice, and piano for the boys, we had 2,3, or 4 things going on every night.  Not to mention mounds of homework getting ready for the TAKS test, Thomas's 1st grade musical, Easter, and our church's Ladies Retreat.  And then, there was the whole saga of Grandma getting sick and dying.  I will try to write that post today or tomorrow...

It has been difficult, but also lots of fun!  Soccer was great like always.  Thomas and Matthew are both goalies for their teams.  Matthew also plays defender, and Thomas is a forward at times.  I make no bones about the fact that soccer is my favorite sport for the boys.  My wish is that they stick with it, but we shall see what happens.  They will ultimately have to make that decision.

Baseball has been great as well, although I think that there is way too much of a time commitment.  Both boys practice or play 3-4 times each week, and many of Matthew's games start at 8p.m.  

Thomas has loved his first year in baseball!  He has surprised us with his ability to smack the ball into the outfield most times at bat.  One funny thing to mention is that with Thomas's laid back approach to everything, he isn't the fastest runner, so he has often hit the ball where it stops at the fence, and he gets a single out of it! ;)  

Thomas, Bryon, and I have made the executive decision that we are going to put Thomas in golf instead of baseball next year.  His ability to smack the ball, and his laid back approach to life just scream GOLF to me!  He is so excited to get started!  I also feel strongly that Thomas needs his own "thing" that Matthew doesn't do.  Although he has never said one word about it, I imagine that it isn't always easy being in big brother's shadow.  Golf would be something that he could share with Bryon that is separate and apart from Matthew's interests.

Matthew continues to improve in baseball.  He has been playing right field and third base.  Matthew almost had an unassisted double play at third on Saturday (he caught a line drive and tagged the runner on third, but the tie went to the runner).  Matthew really loves soccer and baseball, so we are probably going to give it another go next year.

Thomas's baseball will wrap up this week, and soccer is winding down as well.  We are going to miss the fun games, but are so excited about having our nights at home again.  We  have had a few nights at home this past month, and we savored every minute of it!  This experience has made us not take those seemingly simple nights at home for granted.

Now we only have to get through that simple, peaceful end of the school year stuff, right?

Bugz!

I still want to write a post about last week, but I am not quite ready yet, so I will write about Thomas's 1st grade musical!  Thomas's class did a musical called Bugz, and performed Thursday night.  We all took a break from being with Grandma, who was in a coma, to watch Thomas perform.  He was one of the stink bugs.  All the bugs were planning a picnic, and none of them wanted to invite the stinky stink bugs.  All the bugs would gasp and hold their noses when they passed by.  The music teacher had to cast the stink bugs with very confident first graders!  Thomas said he didn't mind, because stink bugs were the stars of the show! ;)

Thomas had a line where he thanked the butterflies for accepting them:

"Your wings are so beautiful, like angels or even birds!  Thank you for your gentle thoughts and most inspiring words!"

As the first grade coordinator, I was able to present our fabulous music teacher with a gift at the end of the show.  I love the kids' school so much, and am so proud of our first graders!

April 24, 2009

I am celebrating two very important lives today.

My Grandma, who died peacefully in her sleep in the early hours this morning.

My sweet sister, Lauren, who turns 29 today.

One is in heaven this morning with Jesus.  The other is right here with me.

This has been such a unique experience.  Once I get a little rest, I am anxious to share it here.

Thank you for your sweet thoughts, words, and prayers!

My Grandmother

These pictures were taken at my sister-in-law's shower 1 1/2 weeks ago.  Today, my grandmother's body is slowly shutting down from a bad case of pneumonia.  I have gotten to spend time with her over the past few days, and feel peaceful that I was able to tell her how much I love her.  She also blessed me by looking me in the eyes and saying, "Elizabeth, I  have always loved you."  She is very peaceful today and enjoying time with her family.  My aunt and cousin came in from Alabama today, and my uncle and aunt are driving from New Mexico as we speak.

I will write more once this is all over.

Easter 2009

Easter weekend was lots of fun!  I did the worst job ever taking pictures.  Just a few were snapped before teaching bible class on Sunday morning.  We had a wonderful lunch at my sister's house after church, and then a loooong nap in the afternoon!

LTC weekend

After three months of preparation, it was finally time to participate in Leadership Training for Christ!  Nearly 3,000 children flocked to Dallas for this annual event.  Kids, third grade and older, competed in events such as bible bowl, chorus, puppets, drama, art, song leading, speech, and more.

Matthew was thrilled that he was old enough this year to participate.  He competed in bible bowl, chorus, and puppets.  Bible bowl this year was on the gospel of John.  He had a great teacher and spent the last several months learning the entire gospel.  We were so proud of him getting a silver medal in the event!  His puppet team got the gold.  Bryon was particularly pleased with this because he was the coach!

The weekend was lots of fun.  I was also so happy to finally meet my blogger buddy, Jacinda while we were racing into the bible bowl room.  Also, I got to see my best friend from 5th grade, Melanie.  Other than one occasion in middle school, we hadn't seen each other in 23 years!

I am so proud of all that Matthew has learned from LTC this year.  Looking forward to next year!

Biggie at bat!

"Biggie" is Thomas's nickname on the team.  He loves it! ;)

Thomas had a great game tonight!  He went up to bat 4 times and smacked it each time!  The Indians have won all three of their games.  We were curious how Thomas would do, being his first year in Little League.  So far, he has had three great games and really loves to play.  He has hit the ball 9/10 times at bat!  He is playing third base, catcher, and right/center field.  We were thrilled that one of Thomas's life long buddies, Noah, was also drafted on our team.  We look forward to a fun season!

Matthew in the Spring

If its Spring, you will generally find us at either a soccer or baseball field!  Tonight was one of Matthew's baseball games.  I managed to get a few pictures since I wasn't freezing my tail off!  He plays several positions, but really loves playing first base.  I was able to snap a picture of him getting the third out tonight!  I can't wait to snap some pictures at Thomas's game on Thursday.

He played very well tonight especially considering that he was playing on a hurt leg!  He played goalie in soccer on Saturday.  In typical Matthew fashion, he dove for the ball while a huge opposing player was barreling toward him.  Matthew slid, and the kid jumped on Matthew's leg.  The bruise is pretty much the shape of the kid's cleat!  At least he got a good save!  We are starting to get an idea of why soccer is one of the most dangerous sports!

Mary Bethisms

Mary Beth came home from school so excited!  She got a medal yesterday for being able to say her birthday, address, and phone number.  She has known her b-day for a while, but we have been drilling the others for a week.  Many times when I would ask her to say her birthday, she would put her lips to one side and say, "Awwwwwww-gist  tuh-way-ulth!"  She loves saying August 12th "like a redneck"!  She also does it with her teen numbers.  It is hilarious!  Anyway, when she got in the car, I asked her if she said her birthday like a redneck.  She said, "No.  I said it like a woman."  So funny!  

Mary Beth says several things in a funny way, and I know pretty soon, these will slip into the correct pronunciation.  I want to remember a few of them:

"tennis shoe" - tissue

"breaktist"- breakfast

"tub tub"- bath

"splend it"- stir it.  I stir lots of Splenda in my coffee, so she likes to "splend" sugar in her oatmeal!

"caffeiner"- a drink at Starbucks!

"valance"- what she does in ballet (balance)

She also loves using Fancy Nancy words, and will say "Merci" for thank you, and she says that I am her "Chauffeur".  

That's all for now....  

Au Revoir!

A few recent pictures

A quick picture before heading to Matthew's baseball game.  I am hoping to have all three kids in one place to take a bluebonnet picture before the season is up.  We shall see!

Reve d'Or just starting to bloom.
Trumpet vine
I love when Mary Beth dresses herself.  You never know what combination she will come up with!  She is very proud that she doesn't need any assistance with swinging now.
Ready for school!
Finch feeding frenzy!
My two favorite sports stars taking a break from playing!

An exciting season!

This,

has been dominating our lives (more than usual) over the past 1 1/2 weeks!  There are usually at least 2 Barnhills at every basketball game, unless we have a major conflict.  We are huge Baylor basketball fans, and this has been an exciting post season!  Our men had a promising preseason, and were ranked #20 in the country before completely falling apart during conference play.  Then, somehow, we rallied during the Big 12 tournament, and managed to knock off Kansas, Texas, and Georgetown in one week!  Both our men's and women's teams played for the Big 12 championship.  Our girls won, the boys fell to an incredible Missouri team.  Just a few points short of a NCAA automatic bid!  Oh well, they got a bid for the NIT, and the women are a number 2 seed in the NCAA tourney.  We are enjoying watching both teams in post season play.  This is the first time since my 60 year old Dad was 14 months old that the Baylor men won a post season game!  Next stop....Auburn of all places!

Go Bears!  Sic 'em!

Spring Break 2009

I can't believe it is Monday, and the boys and Bryon are gone!  We had a fabulous spring break!  Our family had a busier than normal winter, and a lot coming up this spring, so my chief objective on our trip was to relax, and have lots of quality family time.   Bryon's friend/mentor/colleague has a cabin near Angel Fire, and he has given us an open invitation to use it when we wanted to.  We felt that this was the perfect time to take him up on his offer!   I feel like our relaxation mission was accomplished, and our family has some great memories from our trip!  Here are a few highlights:

*After baseball practice and two soccer games on Saturday, we headed west and had the privilege of eating in Abilene with our dear friends, the Wertheims.  We ate a Perini Ranch, which is a working ranch/great steak place.  It is always so great to see the Wertheims, who have been dear friends of our family for over 20 years.  

*We made it to Angel Fire mid afternoon on Sunday.  Our friends' cabin in set in a valley a few miles outside of Angel Fire.  It is known for good bird watching, and some wild animals (we saw elk every day).  The temperature was cool, and the kids enjoyed seeing their first snow this year.

*For Christmas, my parents got me the dvd of Centennial, my favorite mini series of all time.  It is 26 hours long, so I thought it would be perfect for the trip!  We watched two episodes a day, and are about 3/4 of the way through it.  It was great introducing the kids to this special movie.

*Driving/shopping/eating in Taos.  On Monday, we drove over the mountain and spent some time in Taos.  My eyes were open for Julia Roberts' house, but I couldn't find it!  We ate at a great place called Orlando's, and enjoyed people watching.  Taos has some interesting residents!

*Tuesday we took the boys tubing.  The boys had a blast!  Toward the end of the session, the workers told me I could do a run or two (I tried to get a ticket, but it was sold out).  I had a great time!  I couldn't believe how fast we were traveling.  I was scared to death, but there was no fear on the boys' faces!  I raced both boys down, and beat the pants off of both of them.  Matthew said I was lucky to be 100 pounds.  I am a lucky 100 pound person, don't you think? ;)

*Wednesday, Bryon took Matthew skiing for the first time.  We decided to take the whole family skiing next year, but Bryon wanted to give Matthew a taste of one of his favorite activities this trip.  Meanwhile, I stayed home and had a Yachtzee marathon with Mary Beth and Thomas.  Bryon reports that after he gave Matthew a few pointers, he was skiing down blue trails without poles, and not falling down!  Matthew has a new found passion for skiing, so I am sure we will all be hitting the slopes again soon!

*We had a huge treat Wednesday afternoon.  The people who had the cabin next to us are big bird watchers.  They invited us over to observe one of three known bald eagles nests in New Mexico.  Through a telescope, we were able to watch the Daddy eagle feed the Mama eagle, who was sitting on her eggs.  All five of us were in awe of this scene.  The pictures I took don't do it justice!

*Thursday morning, we woke up and saw that a big snow storm was moving in later that day.  We decided to pack our things and head out 1/2 a day earlier than planned.  We did manage to stay long enough to watch no. 9 seed Baylor knock off no. 1 seed Kansas in the Big 12 tournament.   That was a great way to top off our great vacation!

*We drove onto Abilene and spent the night.  I spent 10 out of my 18 years of childhood in this city, and I loved driving around and showing the kids where their mother went to school, church, and where I lived.   After an hour or so, we made the trek southeast, and back to Waco.

*I can't tell you how great the kids were on the trip.  They were so happy to be together, and were great car riders, a great asset in our family!  

*Our vacation plans had been made to allow for us to be home in time for baseball practice and soccer games on Saturday.  Wouldn't you know that everything was cancelled because of the rain!  It was such a treat to be home on Saturday with no sporting events.  We worked hard to get our mudroom and laundry room completely cleaned and organized.

*This trip was another reminder of how much I love my family, and how blessed I am to call them mine!

Where do you buy that costume?

The boys have a Storybook Character day at school this week.  Matthew and his good buddy want to be Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer.  The kids get to dress up, then introduce themselves on the announcements.  Thomas has been asking me who he can be.  I told him I would think about it.

Later, I overheard the boys talking...

"Matthew, do you know who I should be?"

"Thomas, you can Huckleberry Finn's father.  You can stand next to Connor and me.  All you have to do is tell the school that you are the town drunk!"

Great idea, Matthew!