My Busy Girl

With Emily in junior high, the days of barely being able to keep up with her seem to have begun. Her schedule is crazy and there is always an event coming up, project due or test to study for. She's constantly on the phone, f*cebook or texting. I'm not complaining, just stating the facts. Her teenage years are coming quickly and I KNOW how fast time will fly. It makes me kinda sad.

She LOVES playing in the band. She's doing really well too. She is first chair and went on her first band trip last weekend. It was a solo and ensemble competition and she received a Division 1 rating! She played a solo of Amazing Grace, a song the band director asked her to try. She was so nervous about it but she did great! Makes this musically challenged mama proud.

Being a big sister has been different than she dreamed it would be. KayLi has a mind of her own and isn't the baby doll Em had imagined. It hasn't been easy to give up the title of "baby" after twelve years but I think we have finally adjusted. She is a great Jie Jie!

She is seriously looking forward to Spring Break. We all are. The girls and I are heading to California. I can't wait to see my family there and meet my new niece. Emily can't wait for Disneyland and the beach! Even if she will miss a certain guy that she texts a LOT!

On a side note, please say a little prayer for us. We are beginning our Spring Break a little early and leaving tomorrow. I'm a little worried about KayLi. It will be the first time we have been on a plane since coming home. Plus, we will be gone for almost a week...without Allie. I know we will have a great time but I'm just the teeniest bit concerned that it may be confusing or over whelming for her. I appreciate your prayers!

And if you have any ideas as to why blogger is underlining the paragraph above and it was first appearing like a link, I would love to hear them. I'm clueless :0)

My First Night Out

In November I left KayLi with Allie for awhile. Just to go over to our church and pick up Emily. I wasn't going to be gone long but started talking and ended up being there for over an hour. I hadn't realized how much I missed my friends. Talking to them uninterrupted was heavenly.

It wasn't heavenly for KayLi. Allie tried every trick he could think of but nothing worked. It just wasn't pretty. Since then we have been working on me leaving for small amounts of time. Slowly, very slowly she is beginning to trust that I will come back.

So when I was asked to do some face painting for a "Sixteenth Birthday Carnival" I was excited but nervous. It sounded so fun! But could KayLi handle me being gone for almost three hours? Was she ready? Did she trust me enough?

I got out the paint and started practicing. Telling myself the whole time that, I would only be a mile from home. Allie could bring her to me at any time. Everyone would understand if I had to leave. And maybe, just maybe if Allie took the girls out for pizza it would work.

So they dropped me off and went for pizza. Then ice cream. She was fine! Allie even sent me video from his phone of her dancing! She was happy and I was having a great time. Huge sigh of relief!

I talked to people without having to keep a constant eye on a three year old who is still learning how to behave in public. I think I had forgotten what it is like to just talk to people. To be able to look at the person I was talking to was almost odd. And wonderful!

KayLi missed me and was clingy in a happy way when they picked me up. She told me all about her pizza and ice cream headache. She was very excited to tell me about riding on the dinosaur! She didn't even like to sit on rides like that seven months ago. She has come so far!

Happy 16th Birthday, Alex! Thank you so much for giving me a great excuse to see if we were ready for some time apart! And thanks a bunch to my family and Emily's friends for being crazy enough to let me practice on your beautiful faces! I still can't believe Allie let me paint a butterfly on him!!!

Snowmen!

Our beautiful snow is melting but not as quickly as I thought it would. There is still quit a bit and the kids were sad to go to school knowing it would likely be gone when they got home. If only the pile of wet clothes they left would magically disappear before they get home. I think they soaked and changed clothing three times! And the final count on snow ice cream...four batches!!! It's a good thing there were lots of kids around to help eat it all.

Even though I missed the "sledding" yesterday I did get a few cute pictures of Emily and her friends making snowmen.

Caitlynn's looks as pink and girly as she is. Later she found a pencil and used it for the nose...very creative!

Shelby used KayLi's cowboy hat and it turned out really cute! These snowmen may look small to you but they are gigantic to us!

Sidenote: Shelby's mom had sinus surgery this morning. I just heard she is in recovery and doing well. I know she would appreciate your prayers. Thanks for lifting her up!

And just in case you missed KayLi's pout yesterday...

I cropped it so you could get a better look.

I love it!!!!

A HUGE Fundraiser!

Another sweet family is raising money to bring their little one home. Adoption shouldn't be this expensive but it is. Please consider helping them. A $10 raffle ticket (and there are A LOT of prizes!) would really help.

Another Snow Day!

We went to sleep last night knowing we would likely wake up to snow. We didn't realize we would wake up to 2+ inches and that it would continue snowing until 10:00 am. We actually ended up with over 4 inches. The most we have had in one snowfall since we have lived in West Texas. This is huge here!

Everyone is thrilled to have another snow day!

Except KayLi. She does not like it. When I opened our back door to show her the snow, she immediately starting closing it saying "No, dat no cold."

Don't you love the way a cleft baby pouts?

After a slow start Emily bundled and headed out to enjoy all this glorious white stuff. She and her friends were off being pulled around on a sled and trying desperately to find a small hill they could slid down. Good luck with that. I was really hoping she would take a few pictures with her phone. Nope. Not one. "It's too cold to take off your gloves off to push the button."

So Allie bundled KayLi and headed out. Just for a little while because, seriously, she doesn't like it. I understand. I love the snow. It looks very pretty out my windows.

When I stepped onto the porch to take these pictures, I knew, why Emily din't take a single picture.

It's 1:00pm now and EVERYONE is inside. Were it is very warm. The fireplace is blazing. Soup will be on the stove soon. Three batches of snow ice cream have been made. Lots of kids helped eat it. Shoes and gloves are drying by the front door. Curling is on the television?

Huge flakes just started to fall again. Really huge flakes. They are outside. Looking beautiful!

I love snow days!

Our Week in Pictures

MONDAY:

After spending the weekend in Austin, Ryan surprised us by stopping by and staying the night on his way back to Lubbock. We all love it when he gets to visit!

Ryan LOVED Mercer Mayer's Critter books and it was so surreal to look over and see him reading one to KayLi.

TUESDAY:

KayLi loves her little pink sunglasses, so when these two swapped glasses I ran for the camera.

I will love this picture forever!!!

WEDNESDAY:

KayLi loves making crafts! For this one she "rumpled" tissue paper and glued it onto a card stock flower. With every piece of tissue paper she would say "Rumple, rumple, rumple."

THURSDAY:

Ah, F*cebook. These two were cut from the same mold!

Sorry for the terrible lighting. I was trying to sneak the picture before they refused to let me take it and turning on lights would have ruined the moment.

FRIDAY:

I had no idea how influenced by China I was becoming until KayLi walked over to me wearing her cowgirl hat and I said "Yee Hao!" As in

Ni Hao + Yee Ha = Yee Hao!

SATURDAY:

Most of you already know that Allie plays guitar and leads worship at our church. I haven't written much about it but Emily is awesome on the djembe (drum)! Seriously awesome! Every week these two instruments are hauled to church and then put back in this little corner. It touched my heart to see KayLi guitar thrown in the mix!

SUNDAY:

Emily walked out of her room saying "She begged to be put in here mom, really she begged!"

She must have because she stayed in this laundry basket for almost twenty minutes. When I would ask her if she wanted out she would say "No. KayLi looking." And she was...through each little hole.

Emily took a lot pictures of KayLi in the basket. Since I couldn't decide between these two, you get to see them both!

Our Little Artist

Emily helped out in our church nursery this morning, which meant that I felt comfortable leaving KayLi for the first time in months. Don't ask about the last time. I'm still trying to forget it. This time my cell phone was on silent and Em could text me quickly if KayLi had any problems.

I was very excited.

It was so nice to worship and really listen. Too bad Em can't help out every week. And praise God she does help, every Sunday night. It's the only hour all week that KayLi isn't with me.

Anyway, they colored a little and with Emily's help, KayLi drew her first drawing that actually looked like what she was drawing. Emily drew the eyes but the rest is all KayLi.

What? You can't you see the eyes? It's a perfect likeness. Can't you tell what she drew? Come on, really? Look closely...

It's Goliath, or as KayLi calls him "BIG!" As in "Ahhhh, Big coming! Oh no, he Big!" Which is what KayLi says every time she watches it.

KayLi was so excited to show me her "paypa." When I asked about it, she told me "Dat Big. Big mad!"

She's such a budding artist. I love it!!!!