Soccer pictures

Matthew had his team tournament this weekend, and afterward, we received a slideshow of the boys playing this fall. I love these pictures, and how they show the intensity of our little man on the field. We had a fun fall, and now we wait until spring!

Going in for a save, or bowing down to the great soccer ball? You decide!

Matthew practicing the art of soccer ball levitation!

School Pictures

Matthew-4th Grade

Thomas- 2nd Grade
Mary Beth- Kindergarten
Aunt Lauren in Kindergarten wearing the same dress! My mother made it for Lauren, and kept it well preserved!

A few things around our house

I realize that my blog has gotten very boring since the kids are now out of the house, but I wanted to share a few things going on with the kids:

Matthew:

Matthew has been reading more than ever. Since his books are getting bigger, there are lots of big words that he is coming into contact with. He loves asking me what words mean, which is an interesting task. Try explaining "empathize vs. sympathize", "irony", "manipulative" on the spot! Once he figures out the meanings, he tries using these words in his conversational speech. He sounds so grown up! Matthew is also getting more and more into soccer and is pretty sure that this is the sport he wants to stick with. Could this mean the end to our crazy baseball schedule? Stay tuned...

Thomas:

Thomas is just my little love. He plays with the big boys and loves all things sports, etc., but deep down, he is just a mama's boy. We also found out yesterday that he is in the above 95% for height and weight. That is a BIG mama's boy! Last night, he got in bed with us at 3am claiming that he had a nightmare. Nothing really ever phases this kid, so I was curious this morning what got him so spooked. When I asked him about his nightmare, he froze, got huge tears in his eyes, and could hardly utter a word because he was so upset. He said that he dreamed that I decided that I no longer needed my legs and that Bryon could shoot them off if he wanted to. Which he did. Of course, this was a hilarious dream to me, but it completely melted my heart that he could almost not talk about it the next day! Love my Sweet T!

Mary Beth:

Ever since the day I found out I was having a little girl, I knew that I would have to fight off the Princess Syndrome as hard as possible. Being that she is the only girl and the baby of the family, I knew the cards were stacked against me. There is nothing in my house that says "princess" or "spoiled rotten", etc. for that reason. Unfortunately, this stance has not sunk in with her Daddy and big brothers. The other day, Mary Beth asked me for something, and I said "No". She asked me again, and I said, "No". Then she said, "Mommy, I know that any time I want something, all I have to do is ask for it over and over, and someone usually gets tired of it and gives it to me!" This makes me think she is very smart for figuring this out, and not so smart for fessing up! Let's just say, I had a long talk with Daddy and big brothers after this! ;)

Halloween Night

We had a fun Halloween night! Our neighborhood is always a hotbed of Trick-or-Treating activity as evidenced by the following picture that a friend took of our house around dusk...

So the family always comes to our house for the evening. We enjoyed a great meal together, and then most of the family went around the neighborhood while my mother and I hung out at the house handing out 100 pounds of candy! I love staying home and seeing all our cute neighbor children looking adorable or scary as the case may be. We were happy to have Jilinda and Lydia with us, but sad that Hiney Swiney Flu Michael had to stay home. We missed him dearly! Another interesting thing about the evening was that Matthew chose to hang out with his friends and trick-or-treat. He just keeps growing up and excited about every new independence. He is, after all, going to be a "ten-ager" in a few short weeks!

Trunk or Treat 2009

Wednesday night was our annual Trunk or Treat at our church. We look forward to this just as much as we do Halloween night! Matthew decided this year to be Danny from Grease. He also thinks he looks like Fonzie and Michael Jackson. Thomas wanted to be Snake Eyes from the movie, G.I.Joe. This wasn't my favorite idea, but sweet Thomas is always so agreeable and a go with the flow guy, that when he really wants something, we try to accommodate! Mary Beth wanted to be a cat and looks so cute in her costume! What a fun Halloween!

Happenings

Wow! Our Fall has been quite a blur of activity! Most of my days are spent working, volunteering at school, and occasional lunches with friends. Most of our evenings are spent ferrying children to their practices and games. Most of our weekends are spent watching soccer games on the field, and watching football games at Baylor and at home. Lots of activity, none too blog worthy!

Last week, I got to travel with all of our kindergartners to a Christmas Tree Farm. They had cute activities for the kids, and it was fun seeing Mary Beth in her school environment.

Saturday, we spent the morning at the soccer fields. Matthew is always fun to watch. He is such a passionate child, and nothing turns on that passion like soccer. Matthew's team playing the number one team in their division on Saturday, and they got their clocks cleaned. However, Matthew had what we believe was his best play ever. There was a penalty kick awarded to the other team. Their best player lined up right in front of Matthew (playing goalie) for the kick. He hit a line drive to the goal and Matthew stopped it! We were so proud of him! Hard to believe that we only have 2 games left. Then it's on to basketball!

Yes, that is Matthew in the blue..face planted to the ground saving a ball! No wonder that child has such bad allergies!

Mary Beth absolutely loves soccer, and we have loved seeing a new, sporty side to her. She never complains about being hot or tired, and runs around happily for an hour!A breakaway that almost ended in a goal. Just a little to the left. Oh well!

Book Luvah!

I found Matthew like this yesterday, and had to take a picture.  This is so typical Matthew:  Shin guards on, bruised/cut legs from playing too hard, and a book in his hand.  I find it very interesting that my child who never slows down, who plays hard from morning until night, can sit for hours and read.  

Matthew is passionate about reading and always has been.  He can't wait to tell me about the characters in each of his books, and will bring a book anywhere he goes if he knows he will have a spare 5 minutes.  In the past two weeks, he has read the first two books in the Lightening Thief series.  I have gotten quite an earful about Greek mythology!

I love that I never have to remind him to read.  I can't tell you the number of times we have put him to bed at 8:30 only to find him running into the living room at 10:30 or 11 praising the "GREAT!!" book he just finished!  It thrills me to see this passion in him.  Not only does it remind me of me as a child, but I know that a passion for reading will serve him well his entire life!