Hefner Happenings

Catching Up - Merry Christmas!

2011-12-20T13:25:00.000-06:00

Seems like every six months our lives change dramatically! Here's a quick synopsis of what everyone is up to:

Bekah: Fourth grade! It's been a fantastic year so far. Bekah, always our math girl, has really picked up more reading and writing this year. A testament to her wonderful teachers. She just turned ten (I can't believe both my kids are in double digits...yikes!) and she loves peace signs, the color lime green, playing with friends, what she calls "projects" (crafts), and cooking and eating good food with her dad. She's actually pretty good on the grill!

Paul: Seventh grade...really, am I that old? Paul enjoyed playing on the 7th grade football team this fall. He is also still enjoying playing percussion in the band. We are wondering where he will choose to continue come high school (what, did I say that? High school? Not possible!) An avid Green Bay Packers fan, he is loving the current NFL season. We keep careful watch over games scores each Sunday :)

Peggy: Worked as a substitute teacher until the last three weeks when I finally landed a job in first grade at Bekah's school. I am so excited to have my first teaching job. Luckily, my class is one that I had subbed in a lot so the students and I were already familiar with each other. It hasn't been easy, but better than if I were going in cold. Can't wait for the new year and a fresh start.

Tim: We know the Lord is looking out for us because as soon as I got my job, Tim was laid off. He has since started a construction services company, specializing in survey, with some co-workers and we are excited to see how it plays out in the new year. Tim also shot his first elk in Colorado this fall. Paul is hoping to add that trophy to the collection in his room (I cannot commit to having any of those things in my living area).

While this has been a busy season for our family, we are so grateful for all our Lord and Savior has done for us and look forward to celebrating His birth. Merry Christmas!!!

Easter

2011-07-09T14:51:00.000-05:00

Our kids are finally getting too old for Easter egg hunts...waaaaaahhhh! I really just want them to stay young enough for Santa and easter egg hunts. It's too much fun! We had to practically force the boys to do it. Anytime there is candy gathering, Bekah is all in :)

Tim and kids

Me and kids

Our beautiful and growing children

The fun part about them being older is hiding the eggs in harder and higher places

Bekah never misses a chance to get candy and she runs! Those boys better hurry up or they'll be out of luck :)

Not the Four Seasons

2011-07-09T14:17:00.000-05:00

Tim finally persuaded me to go to his hog lease in east Texas ( I believe this was the end of April). We packed up the kids and drove for five hours. Now, I was not expecting the Ritz Carlton or the Four Seasons. But I was not prepared for the experience that awaited me either.

A hunting cabin is, by definition, not the cleanest or best organized place. I was told that there was toilet in addition to the outhouse. I was not told that is was a two room metal shack, with no running water, right next to the house of the guy who leases it. There was a bathroom, but with no working water it was of little use to me. On this weekend getaway I learned how long I can go without going to the restroom!

On the plus side, there was air conditioning and a working door to keep out the bugs. Although the view from the porch was the guy's fledgling garden, there were also horses to keep Bekah entertained. There was plenty of time to read and because of the lack of electronic facilities, I was able to force whichever child was with me to play games :)

Bekah had first hunting shift with Tim. Here she is all decked out. Paul's turn came after dark.

Another photo of Bekah and Tim.

Bekah made friends with the horse right away.

Me and my girl :)

Father and son...learning to shoot the rifle. I believe that after the aim lesson, he actually shot the shotgun instead. The rifle is pretty heavy and hard to hold up if you are small.

All said and done...I did not die ;)

Fruits of our Labor

2011-07-09T13:52:00.000-05:00

This year we planted a real garden. Tim and his brother managed to gather some railroad ties and other lumber to set up a border into which we brought dirt and fertilizer (our natural soil is terrible!). It has been so fun to take care of the garden and enjoy the harvest. It's such an interesting experience to see everything growing and figuring out how best to nurture the plants. We even ended up with some cantalope plants that we didn't know we had. We are already planning an extension for next year.

This first shot is shortly after we planted in the end of March, beginning of April. Each progressive picture shows the garden growth.

Tomatoes in the back, then cucumbers and onions (can't really see those because of the squash), squash, peas, lettuce and greens, and more squash up in the front corners.

Squash is growing!!!

First harvest!!!

Ignore me and focus on the cherry tomato! Thank goodness for the tomato plants with the price of tomatoes this year!

One of the best things about having the garden has been sharing the loot with friends and family! We've enjoyed squash cooked every which way, cucumbers (and pickles), fresh salsa (my favorite!), and yummy peas. The lettuce, greens, and onions didn't do as well. We'll have to experiment with those some more next year. The cantalope are still growing.

2011 Family Vacation

2011-07-08T12:10:00.000-05:00

I cannot believe it has been seven months since I posted! We-e-e-lll, yes I can. Student teaching took ALL my time. However, that went very well and I enjoyed it very much. First grade was so much fun and I'll probably do another post on that later. To make up for lost time, I'm starting with our recent Elko vacation pictures. My favorite part of every year!!!

Friday - Sunday, June 10th - 12th
Our favorite lunch spot in Clovis, NM. Every time we drive we stop and eat lunch with the tank and the airplane.

There is nothing cuter than Grampa playing Headbandz with the girls. ADORABLE! Grampa did have an unfair advantage because Rachel kept telling him what was on his head band. (Don't forget to notice the snoozer in the background :) giggle That's what Sunday afternoons are for, right?)

I guess I didn't take any pictures Monday and Tuesday. I know we played a lot of games and practiced for the lip sync.

Wednesday and Thursday, June 15th & 16th
These days we decided to camp (this particular event will not be repeated next year unless the dads go it alone!) We drove out to Ruby Lake, about two hours. The area was pretty and the campground was actually really nice - cleanest campground bathrooms I have ever seen...yea! The pictures are in a random order because I still cannot figure out how to upload them the way I want. ;)

Campfire and Smores!

Well, I could have posted the one with Ben sharing the contents of his mouth, however, for the sake of those who choose to view the pics, I chose this lovely shot of Emily and Ben.

Group photo

Audrey...need I say more?

Alexis and Audrey making smores and enjoying the fire.

Paul caught a trout! It was a nice size fish and it tasted great :)

Scenery with Paul...I guess that was a cliff edge so I'm glad I wasn't along on that walk.

Paul and Bekah on top of a mountain. See the sweaters? It was not 100 degrees there!

Sticks seemed to be the favorite past time of the girls. They "made" them almost the whole week.

Friday, June 17th
My favorite activity! The lip sync. Em and I decided we wanted to do something different this year. The kids weren't sure about it at first but they really got into it and it was FANTASTIC! We did Allstar by Smashmouth. Hopefully I'll get the video uploaded soon. We geared the actions to fit Mom and Dad and their life and interests. I don't think we'll have a problem getting the kids to think of some on their own next year.

Another favorite of mine: To celebrate Mother's and Father's Day (It's hard to do those things when your parents live out of the country) we decided to find things that reminded us of our parents from childhood. It was really fun to sit and reminisce and come up with things around the house as well as a few small purchased items. This might be a lasting tradition. We had the kids do it for their dads and for Uncle James as well.

Cuteness...period.

Trampoline fun at Andy's.

Always must have a photo of Grampa and Granny with all the grandkids.

Saturday, June 18th
Sadly, Emily and family left Saturday morning. Do not fear, we continued to party by heading up to Lamoille Canyon to see the snow and picnic.
The river was flowing high and fast but the kids had fun getting as close as we would allow.

River

Snow! Paul and Bekah loved it...but then we only see snow once a year at the most and only for a few hours at best. I, having had many experiences with snow in my life, elected to sit in the car and talk to mom :0)

Cousins...except that I now see that Daniel is cut out in the top right corner. Sorry, Dan!

Why are you taking my picture? I'm trying to eat a sandwich.

Rock climbers

I love this shot. I'm sure is was a great discussion on fishing and how to best find them in such a rushing river.

The canyon was littered with waterfalls from the snow runoff. Very cool.

And, finally, the two who make this family possible. Love my mom and dad and so thankful for all they've done for us and providing a place where we can gather and make memories.

Easily my favorite week of the year. Wish it could be two.

Christmas 2010

2011-01-04T16:32:00.000-06:00

Well, the season started out with me getting very sick for three or four days. Yuck! Thankfully, that didn't last too long. I love Christmas! The music, the ambiance, the tree, the decorations, the giving...everything! I love finding the perfect gift for someone. I love baking a whole bunch of cookies of various sorts and giving them away (and eating them!). I love receiving treats from friends and family (and some friends who are close enough to be family).

We had a great time decorating gingerbread houses with cousins. Thank you to Jenn for providing ours! I love all the different facial expressions in this picture.

The most important reason to celebrate is, of course, JESUS! I wanted to capture the importance of Jesus amongst the rest of the fun of Christmas.

I love this picture of Bekah playing with her Uncle Chris because she so rarely reaches out to anyone of the male persuasion besides her dad. So cute.

Well, Uncle James sent the kids about five pounds (that's 5 lbs!) of Jelly Belly's apiece! Needless to say, that gift was a hit!

So, the next three pictures are what happened after presents and breakfast...
Bekah - enjoying her new Taylor Swift CD and boots.

Paul - playing the new Mario game Santa brought.

Tim - taking a nap.

I got a Belgian waffle maker for Christmas! I've wanted one f-o-r-e-v-e-r. It works fantastically! I love, love, love, love it! And so does the rest of the family :)

I just love this picture of Tim and Bekah barbequeing (don't know how to spell that) deer meat. Our garage light does not work so Bekah had to hold the flash light so they could see how the meat was cooking. Tim got the BBQ for Christmas. It's a dual - which means propane and charcoal - very cool!

Concerts

2011-01-04T15:59:00.000-06:00

Both children participating in musical entertainment in December.

Bekah sang at Breakfast With Santa at her school. She was a little nervous but they did so well. It was very well done and so cute. My pictures aren't that great because I was in charge of the sound system so I had to hover near the CD player.

You can see Bekah in the second row in the left corner.

Closer shot, middle left.

Paul's first band concert!! We have a wonderful band program at our middle school. A first concert is always scary but in the three years that I've attended the sixth grade concert (neighbor's kids are in band too) I've been amazed at the quality of sound they get out of 11 year olds playing their first instrument. Paul is in the percussion class which means drums, xylophone, etc.

Paul is in the back, red shirt and Santa hat.

Paul on the big base drum...you can barely see his head.

Now, that is me playing the base drum. They do one parent participation song which was really fun.

The Final Step Approaches

2010-12-17T17:29:00.000-06:00

The semester is over! It was a bittersweet end because I absolutely loved the first grade class I interned in. This was the hardest but most rewarding semester. I am so thankful for my mentor teacher, Denise Bridges, for all she taught me and for allowing me to work with the wonderful kids in her class. By the end of the semester, they were my class too!

The first graders were so funny, challenging, and delightful. I love that you never know what might come out of their mouths and how excited they get when they figure something out.

Now, on to student teaching! I am super excited to be going into Mrs. Johnson's first grade class at Winkley Elementary. When we talked about student teaching at the beginning of the semester (and even the end of the semester) I got kinda freaked out. But after meeting Mrs. Johnson today, I am already so much more comfortable and excited. It's going to be awesome!

More Random Shots

2010-12-17T17:05:00.000-06:00

Here are some more pics from the last few months.

Yes, people, she is actually sleeping with her hand in the popcorm bowl!

Beautiful rolls fresh from the oven for Thanksgiving. Yum!

We found some really cool old sawmill equipment on a land hunting trip one weekend. Unfortunately, it wasn't actually on the property we were looking at.

Bekah and Rian, cousins and friends.

Halloween 2010

Playing Bingo with Nana. The best part? She gives candy for prizes!

This is a middle school playdate :)

I just like this picture.

Bingo again. She is such a good Nana!

I guess I'm into taking pics of my food. I am proud of my jam making this summer/fall. This is strawberry but I also made pear and it was delicious!

Some of My Favorites

2010-12-17T16:15:00.000-06:00

So, I thought I'd post some of my favorite pictures from vacation in Elko last August. I know, I'm months behind on my posting. Better late than never, right?

Dad and James on the porch relaxing

This is me trying to imitate my incredibly talented sister in law, Dana. This is the poppy's view of the sky. I thought it turned out pretty cool. Even used it on a school assignment.

Bekah loves to pose for pictures. And she loves flowers. Perfect!

Cherith and her banana...doesn't she look so much older than her eleven (then) years.

Another attempt at trick photography.

Uh, maybe that's a little too friendly?

A huge thank you to Andy for providing bikes for all the kids to ride!

Ow! Don't bite my toes, puppy!

All the grandkids with their grandparents.

Emily making jam...and it was delicious!

This lady is HILARIOUS!!!!!!!

2010-07-01T15:05:00.000-05:00

If you've never seen any of Anita Renfroe's comedy, try this out...guaranteed to almost make you pee your pants (especially if you are a married woman):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hbd-2lhYMqw&feature=related (Don't Breathe)

Here are some other juicy nuggets as well...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLjWDKu0jfM&feature=related ((A Real Life) Love Story)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygWO30gdpK4&feature=related (Before I Eat)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaruNs_7okY&feature=related (All the Wrinkled Ladies)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYukEAmoMCQ&feature=related (Momisms, William Tell Overture)

Last Days of School

2010-06-30T12:43:00.000-05:00

Bekah - Second Grade Finale
Pancake breakfast! Love this tradition for the second grade. Yum!

Bekah and Grace

Bekah receiving her awards from her wonderful teacher, Mrs. Churchill.

Fifth Grade Awards
Can't believe Paul's leaving elementary school. A new chapter begins and I'm not so sure I like it!

Singing! Paul was so mad about this because they used up PE time to practice.

After the ceremony they had cookies and lemonade. Oh the joys of fifth grade :)

A final elementary photo. I am so proud of Paul! He is such a good student and a great kid. It's been hard to watch him grow so fast. He keeps asking for more independence and I have to remind myself that he's growing up so it's okay to let him stay up later and ride around the block on his own. Exciting things are on the horizon for this young man!

Austin Children's Museum

2010-06-30T12:11:00.000-05:00

Second Grade Field Trip 2010
We were supposed to picnic at Zilker park before the zoo but it rained buckets! So, the kids had to eat at 9:30 am in their classrooms. Interesting start to the day...

In the classroom, playing games and eating "lunch". Ready to go!

This was an exhibit modeled after a local childrens' author's books. Her books are about her life growing up in Texas and her family traditions and such. It was a really neat exhibit.

I love this picture will all the girls working with the nuts and bolts. The kids were encouraged to use their imaginations to "engineer" things.

Huge exhibit about air that the museum employees built themselves. Very, very cool. This thing used air to push those circles.

These things were to see how things sound if ears were different shapes. Or something like that.

Very fun museum. Paul went in second grade too and it was neat then. Very unique and "Austin". They embrace the "Keep Austin Weird" slogan.

Longhorn Cavern

2010-06-30T10:40:00.000-05:00

Fifth Grade Field Trip 2010
Little bit of history: This cave was carved out by an underground river many, many, many, many, many years ago. That is somewhat unique, according the the guide. Most caves are formed from the eating away of rock by water. It was used as a Native American meeting place, an outlaw hideout, and a speakeasy before it was cleaned out by CCC workers after the Great Depression.

The entrance...tips accepted at the end of the tour...whaaat? Did you notice that this is a group of students?

My favorite picture. Some of the areas were huge and looked really cool with the lighting.

The tour group...Paul down in front with the brown jacket on.

Frog formation...That's for Mom and Dad :)

Crystals. What's a cave without crystals?

It was a pretty neat place. There was even a bat resting on the ceiling in one room. They rent out some of the space for concerts, weddings, etc.

Don't forget to tip your tour guide. They only make minimum wage, you know. (sheesh!)

Wildflower Center

2010-06-30T10:06:00.000-05:00

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - April 2010
One of my favorite places in Austin...even when it's not wildflower season.

Dragonfly sculpture at entrance. They had a ton of cool sculptures all around the place. All for sale, if you can afford the price.

This was our favorite sculpture. Anyone want to spot me $20,000?

A field of wildflowers.

Paul and Bekah posed for me; Bekah quite happily, Paul with resignation :).

A turtle at the entrance pond. There were three or four. The kids (and Dad) could have stayed for hours just watching them. But it was getting hot.

The kids and Dad at the entrance pond.

Mom resting on a bench while we climbed the tower.

Spider sculpture made from various metal objects.

Some weird fish sculpture - definitely interesting!

We had a lot of fun at the Wildflower Center. It was beautiful and we took a long walk around the field and through the wood. We did not, however, make it to Grandma's house :) Just back to the other side of the Center.

So............

2010-06-14T15:54:00.000-05:00

I really, truly have been meaning to finish updating my blog. I have pictures from the Wildflower Center with Mom and Dad, Bekah's play, end of school year pics, this years art from the kids....

And now is the time that my lovely computer decides not to work properly! I guess I'm calling ATT tomorrow to complain about the internet speed...again. I'll do that in between chores, playing with the kids (it is summer after all), finding a percussion kit for Paul (have you heard he made the percussion class in middle school?), doing homework, and cooking for the fam.

What is the deal? And while I'm ranting, why can't I find a contractor to redo my bathroom? They either want an arm and leg, haven't returned the bid to me, or won't call back in the first place. I guess business is just good for them and they don't need a new customer. Good for them, not so much for me.

On the happy side of life, it is summer. The summer classes I'm taking aren't all that bad. In fact, there's really no work at all in the math class (and I'm even learning a thing or two!). I have purchased plane tickets to visit Elko in August - YEA! - and I'm running almost the whole 5K distance now. Can't wait for that race just before my b-day in August.

Ok, back to work...school work...I guess I should utilize this time at school to do that. :)

Ramblin' at the Park

2010-05-13T19:05:00.000-05:00

Bluebonnets...
Our state flower and Bekah's all time favorite. They were especially beautiful this year and there were several nice patches at the park on this day.

Perspective

Stalking...
We happened to see a deer while were were walking along the path. I certainly wasn't expecting it but the deer is probably used to it by now. (I have no idea why this is underlined...don't know how it happened or how to turn it off...hmmmmm)

Of course, one must try to get as close to the deer as possible...

but when a gaggle of other kids join in, it doesn't work too well.

No, really...it's for the kids...

2010-05-13T18:53:00.000-05:00

Have I mentioned that I get addicted to things? Chocolate...coke...reading...chocolate...oh yeah, Guitar Hero....
So, we borrowed a Wii from Tim's brother for the kids to play with over Spring Break. They (and by they I mean Tim and myself as well) loved it. It is actually pretty neat. Of course, the kids do not have a real appreciation for a lot of the music on there as most of it is from waaaaayyyy before their time. We felt obligated to play so the appreciation would be noted...yeah, that's the reason...

ROCK ON BABY!

Yeah, we still got it...whatever it is.

Spring 2010 Sports

2010-05-13T18:32:00.001-05:00

Soccer

D-E-F-E-N-S-E
Bekah is really good at defending the goal. Almost nothing got past her. She also improved her long kicks this season. Her dad taught her to back up, run up on the ball, and kick it hard!

Strike a pose!
Always one to pose for a shot...I took this one for her teacher. Although, I don't think her teacher ever got a copy...note to self...

Football

Huddle up!
Paul is at the very right hand side of this huddle. That is our favorite ref in the picture as well. Some people just love what they do and he's one of 'em.

CATCH!
Yep! That's my boy, right in the middle about to catch the football. This was their first game where he was just on fire! He caught several passes and pulled several flags. Future MVP??

Bekah

2010-03-12T14:02:00.001-06:00

Just some random shots of Bekah from the last couple of weeks.
She had an assignment to write a paragraph of an experience she had. Well, she whined and whined that she couldn't think of anything so I finally just pulled out all the pictures from the Yellowstone trip to remind her (btw, she loves to pose for the camera).

Playing defense on her new soccer team. They've had one game. No win but we have lots of potential!

Our project. We are weeding this flower bed in hopes of planting strawberries, tomatoes, and anything else that sounds or looks good.

This one taken just today at recess. Bekah and her friends Grace and Maddie. So sweet!!!

Business Fair

2010-03-12T13:43:00.000-06:00

Fifth grade had their business fair today. The students have to come up with a product to sell (I think the teachers give them a list of ideas), they have to market it (make a poster), and sell it in the gym on the appointed day (yell at each student who walks by). So here we see Paul and his partner, David, eagerly awaiting their next customer.

Their product was paper clip flippers. Bent paper clips that will flip any object a few feet away when pressure is applied correctly. They come in multiple colors. Please feel free to send in your orders.

For an extra fee, you can also purchase specialized objects to flip with your paper clip flipper.

And here are the industry moguls counting out the number of tickets which indicates how many items have been sold.

We are still trying to figure out the purpose of this unit of study since we had to have a lengthy discussion with Paul about how businesses don't get their supplies donated to them by their mothers and then count every sale as pure profit. I do know that they enjoyed being out of the classroom for a whole day!

Car Conversation

2010-03-12T08:08:00.001-06:00

Here's how it went on the way to school this morning (maybe not exact words but it's pretty close!):

Paul: I love chipmunks. Chipmunks are so cool.

Bekah: Yeah, chickmunks are cool.

Paul: They are my second favorite...next to pigs. Pigs are the best!

Me: (Laughing hysterically inside my head.)

Paul: Pigs are so awesome and oinky...

I can't remember anymore because then I started thinking about how I had to put it on the blog as soon as I got home. Pigs...really? That must have been some powerful eye medicine he took last night :)

These kids crack me up!

Snow!!!!

2010-02-23T16:35:00.001-06:00

What fun it is to receive snow in Texas! It was so fun to come out of the school this morning to see big snowflakes! When we went it was sleeting. Changed so fast! Been snowing off and on all day. I brought the kids home early from school and the neighborhood has seen many a snowman and snowball since. They are all loving it! I may have extra laundry to do tonight but the look on the sweet faces around the neighborhood are worth it. The best part is that my classes are canceled tonight! Not that I was going to venture out anyway, but at least I'm not going to be docked for attendance or assignments now.

8 a.m. Big snowflakes! Felt like I was back in Colorado.

11 a.m. Very cool!

This is what happens when you try to catch a long pass in a yard that is littered with trees. The trees will generally win the battle. :) Not to worry, the boy survived with only a few scars.

This is Bekah's homemade stethescope. I think this was right after we took her in for a bladder infection. What an inventive child!

Sad with Hope

2010-02-01T07:46:00.000-06:00

Yesterday a friend of ours passed away. While we had not seen Alton in quite some time, we will miss him. He was one of those big, tough, burly, teddy bear guys. His wife, a dear friend of mine, plays the piano at our church. Every Sunday she picks up her three grandsons and brings them with her. With our church being so small, we are really quite a close family. It's always so hard when someone leaves the family...for any reason. We are sad.

Our hope comes in the knowledge that Alton is now with Jesus. While that information may not be as comforting for Vicki and their children right now, it still gives hope. Hope that one day they will see him again and hope that one day, we will be with Jesus as well. None of the disheartening aspects of this world can compare to the hope we have in Jesus!

So, until it is our turn to see Jesus, we will remember Alton with love and live this life with the love and fervor that comes from knowing our Lord and Savior.

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. (somewhere in Psalms) God is so good!

P.E. and T.V.

2010-01-22T08:07:00.000-06:00

P.E.

So, instead of actually doing any kind of physical activity in PE yesterday, the kids (even the ones who weren't supposed to have PE today) all sat for an hour and listened to a pitch about how to raise money for diabetes. When did fund-raising become a part of the curriculum? I have so many issues with this it's hard to know where to begin.

1. I hate fund-raising at school...they lure the kids with promises of prizes if they raise a
certain amount of money and then the parents are the "bad guys" when they don't want
or can't participate.
2. The kids are learning to only do good works when there is something in it for them, hence
the prizes.
3. They already watch "health" movies when they have PE on Fridays (another hour of no
physical activity. Isn't that the point of PE?).
4. They are taking up valuable time away from other classes because the students that were
supposed to have other Specials (art, music, theatre arts) were sitting in the gym.

Have I said enough?

T.V.

After being let out of class extremely early, I thought to myself, "It will be so great to be home and spend time with the family. Maybe we can find a show to watch all together." I was actually quite excited at the idea of all of us enjoying one show (it very rarely happens). 7 o'clock rolls around and I start flipping channels to find a good family show. Here is what I found:

Medical mystery that is too graphic and contains adult themed discussions.
Lawyers that will sleep with whoever happens to be around after a hard day.
Adults returning to college with an emphasis on one student who is sleeping with a professor.
Three nerdy science guys on a trip to Vegas trying to find someone with whom to "score".
Vampires...'nuff said.

What happened to family shows at 7 pm on prime time television? Not one major network has a show that is appropriate for the whole family to watch. No wonder we never watch TV together. I can remember watching Cosby with my family every week when I was a kid.

It was a somewhat disappointing day.

The Grindstone

2010-01-19T17:20:00.000-06:00

My nose is almost there. Made it through the first class but I can't really say I am excited to be back. Honestly, I really enjoyed just being a housewife for a month. So, the semester begins. I only have two of the six books that I need...compliments of the university bookstore. Hopefully they will all arrive this week.

I really should be reading textbooks but I think I'll finish the Clive Cussler book first. MUCH more interesting!

Off I go :)

Back to School

2010-01-04T11:00:00.000-06:00

For the kids! I still have two weeks of freedom...if you call deep cleaning the house and finishing random projects freedom. Already I'm behind. But that's what happens when you can't breathe and end up sleeping on the couch.

The goal for today: take down Christmas. Always bittersweet. I also need to call the piano tuner, order books and clean the kitchen.

Speaking of ordering books, why is it that the professors don't put the required textbooks up until the last second? Do they not realize that some of us order them online and they have to be mailed? Grrrrrr....

Other goals for the next two weeks: see New Moon and get a pedicure. Maybe I should do those first :)

Christmas

2009-12-28T09:39:00.001-06:00

Well, we had a wonderful Christmas season this year. We made cookies, went caroling, saw a wonderful Nativity program in Austin and enjoyed much time with family and friends. I always love this time of year and really tried to just relax and enjoy it instead of going crazy with activities and shopping. I did my fair share of shopping and went to plenty of activities but it seemed that it was still a wonderfully relaxed atmosphere. Maybe it was all the Christmas books I read or the Christmas music I listened to. Whatever it was, this Christmas was a blessing to me.

Here are some pictures from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in no particular order. The cedar in the air, and consequently the meds in my system, are blocking my brain activity so I couldn't figure out how to do that. Enjoy anyway! :)

Nerf guns from Aunt Emily's family!

Bekah loves to pose for pictures!

Making cookies! This is my favorite holiday activity, except for the Nativity program.

Wrestling with dad.

She actually sat down and started practicing her cursive the moment she opened this present from her NaNa.

The whole crew.

NaNa's traditional "Find Baby Jesus" game. Every year she waits to put out her nativity so the kids can help and whoever finds baby Jesus is the winner.

Hefner grandchildren.

random shot.

It's so rewarding to find the perfect gift for someone. This year it was for Zack. I had my heart set on a Dallas Cowboys jersey for him. Well, after seeing the prices of those I was about to settle for just a plain old, nothing special Cowboys tshirt from Walmart. But that last shopping outing, we went to Academy and decided to look at their Cowboys stuff, just to see. I found a tshirt that I like better than the one I had but then, out of the corner of my eye, spotted a tshirt that had Zack's favorite player's name and number! It's almost the same as a jersey but better cause it was way cheaper! I believe I was jumping up and down in the store out of excitement. The look on his face when he opened it made it all worthwhile. That is how a kid is supposed to look at Christmas.

Besides celebrating the birth of my Savior, that is why I love Christmas. It's a special time to make the people around you happy in a special way. It's not the stuff...it's the joy and excitement of pleasing others.

One other note; the kids and I had a special opportunity to bless some others in our community. As I sat feeling low one morning (stupid cedar trees) Paul's Sunday School teacher called and asked what we were doing. "Nothing," I replied. "Want to go deliver some of those boxes to the homeless?" she asked. A few weeks prior, the kids had made boxes for the homeless that included snacks, personal hygiene products, etc. The idea was that we would all keep some in our cars and hand them out when we saw the homeless as we drove on our various routes during the week.

I have to say, I wasn't all that excited about it but I knew that I needed to do something for someone else to get out of the grumpy mood I was in. So we met at the church and away we went. I can't say how many boxes we handed out but it was a lot. And it was rewarding. I know that not everyone we saw may have "deserved" a box but we were learning to love people where they are, not how we think they should be. And that's what Jesus taught! I'll never forget looking in my mirror and seeing the homeless man we had just delivered to reading the card a child had made for the box and getting a huge smile on his face. His day was blessed and so was mine.

Random Pictures

2009-12-16T12:51:00.001-06:00

Well, since it's been sooooo long since I posted any pictures and I have discovered that I have been really bad at taking them this fall, the following is an assortment from the last several months :)

The boys and their bows...

Bekah as the Grumpy Cat at the school's book character parade (their version of Halloween). I actually forgot my camera on Halloween and have no pictures from the actual day :(

Soccer! Bekah is in the blue.

I love this picture. The trophies had little soccer balls that spun around so as soon as they got them they were enthralled for several minutes.

My awesomely delicious turkey at Thanksgiving! OK, Tim helped me smoke it a little bit.

Roller skating for the first time. She actually got pretty good...right before we had to leave.

When she opened this gift at her party, there was a resounding "OOOOOOOO!!!" from all the little girls. It was so cute. What girl doesn't like shiny, pretty things?

More birthday party...Bekah's friend Maddy in the yellow had a birthday on the day of the party so Bekah wanted her to blow out the candles with her.

More skating. From left, Paul, Bekah and Alyssa.

Paul and his volcano. Such a fun project!

A Whole Semester

2009-11-29T14:16:00.000-06:00

Wow! I wish I could say that amazing things have happened since that last, long ago post. Alas, my life has only been a blur of studying and soccer games for the past three months. Thankfully, for many reasons, the semester is not almost over (two more weeks!) and I am able to relax for awhile.

I started Texas State University, Round Rock Campus, in September where I entered the education program for elementary school teachers. The classes are, shall we say, interesting? I haven't gained very much practical, useful information as of yet, but, such is life, right? I just do the work and hope that the volunteering in the actual school will prepare me for what my own classroom will look like. I guess I'm not a theory person. Don't care who said it, all I want to know is how I can use it to teach. Anyway, I'll end this tirade with saying that I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to go back to school.

Bekah had her second season of soccer this fall and they did fantastic. She played with the same team and they learned some stuff and won most of their games. Most importantly, she had fun! She started second grade and has a great teacher. She loves school and was upset that they had the whole week off for Thanksgiving. Silly girl.

Paul started fifth grade...sniff. I can't believe how fast they grow. We are holding off on football until the spring season this year so he can play with his friend. We'll see how soccer and football mesh with each other. We've not done two sports at a time yet so I'm a little nervous but I guess we can work it out.

Tim has enjoyed a successful hunting season so far and we've all enjoyed the fruits of his labor. I made some delicious deer chili last week. My best so far, if I do say so myself. He went to Colorado in September and had a great time hunting for elk. Unfortunately, he did not bring any elk back with him. Something to look forward to next year.

Finally, today is my baby's 8th birthday. I can't believe how the years have flown. I look at pictures of my niece, Rachel, and remember when Bekah was that little. I miss my baby but look forward to watching Bekah grow into a young woman...okay, that it totally a lie! I don't want her to grow up at all! I miss my baby!

Enough of that! Happy Birthday to my precious daughter. I love your smile and your silly jokes. I love that you will still snuggle with me when you are tired. I love that you are active and love to play with your friends. I love that you are so smart you can already do multiplication up the the sixes without help (a little bragging there). Thank you, Lord. for sending me Bekah. I pray You will guide her and keep her safe under Your wing always.

Countdown!

2009-08-14T20:27:00.000-05:00

One week till school starts! Bekah is cheering and Paul is moaning. And I am in between. We've had a great summer. Wonderful vacation, lots of play time with friends and plenty of relaxing for me. But, it's time to get back into the swing of things.

My plans for the fall are school, of course, and starting a fall garden. I'm so excited to get my front flower bed to actually look like a flower bed and a kitchen garden with tomatoes, herbs and greens. With classes only two night a week, I should have plenty of time to work on it and be at the school some too.

Other goals include getting my leg to heal (it hurts when I run) so I can train for a 5K in October and keeping up with my Bible study. I've been reading some really great books this summer. My current study is on Ephesians 5 - 6, the armor of God. And I'm reading a very convicting book called The Power of a Woman's Words. It's really making me think before I speak and try to find ways to use my words to lift up the people in my life and praise my Savior.

As always, God is so good and continues to provide for us in this time of slow construction. Tim's job remains secure for awhile...again. It all depends on bids being accepted. I consistently praise the Lord for allowing Tim's company to win bids at the last second to save jobs.

That's all for now...Goodnight!

Paul Turns Ten

2009-07-22T09:23:00.001-05:00

Well, my boy is 10 years old. Where did the time go? While he is excited about getting to stay home by himself and ride his bike around the neighborhood without his mommy, I am crying because he only has one more year of elementary school.

Memories of Paul:
-escaping the house at the age of two and running down the street
-watching deer, turkeys and cows at Aunt Ruthie's
-wizard teeth...he'll never live that one down
-coming in bloody almost everyday for a month or two...just from playing outside
-the way the hair on the back of his head stuck straight up when he was a baby
-finding him sleeping under the crib one morning
-the joy we both felt when he started school :)
-building a lego gun the length of the living room with his dad

I pray that he will continue to grow into a wonderful young man who loves the Lord and serves others. These lessons can be hard to learn but he is smart and willing so I have no doubt that he will...eventually. :) I love you Paul!

Favorite past time

Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you!

Blow out those candles!

Waiting for presents.

New bike!

I Hate Painting

2009-07-14T13:41:00.000-05:00

Just needed to say it one more time. I've been working on some door frames and doors today...trying to finish the painting project from a year and a half ago. Can you see that I hate painting? It's messy and boring.

Okay, now I'll go finish.

4th of July

2009-07-06T15:04:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday United States of America! We had a great time at Lori and Chris' house. We met for dinner, games, swimming and much more fun! Here is a glimpse...

Fourth of July poker game. Tradition when we gather at Lori and Chris'.

Fourth of July Amy

And...the winner of the family 4th of July poker game! That's right! With a king and a five, no less! hee hee hee hee

Fun in the pool! Tim forgot his old age and had a great time playing with the kids.

That would be Tim on the right side of the picture jumping into the pool. I snapped a little too soon to catch the belly flop.

And there's Tim doing a flip into the three and a half foot deep pool. Crazy man!

On to the trampoline! Front flips, back flips, crack the egg...

Jason's attempt at a flip. I know these guys were sore the next day!

It was a really fun party. Thanks to Lori and Chris for hosting!

Vacation 2009 - It's a Doozy!

2009-06-30T08:50:00.001-05:00

Wow! What a trip! We had so much fun on this vacation. These first two pictures are Hoover Dam. The first being a look at the beautiful canyon and the second one of the new bridge they are building. Notice how high it is!

Here's Mom and Dad's house where we all stayed. It was great! The kids were able to run around and they had a great time together. I love how they just meld together so quickly and thoroughly. I know my kids were not ready to leave when the time came.

So, the big boy's project (one of them) was to finish the shed. They worked really hard and got a lot done and I think they enjoyed it as well. Here's how it looked when we left, waiting for sideing and touch ups.

What project would be complete without a mishap? Daniel ran into the house asking for a hot glue gun one morning. We were a bit confused about that, wondering what good a hot glue gun would be on the shed. Emily and I decided to be nosy. Turns out, Andy cut his leg and needed a first aid kit and super glue (which worked pretty well for keeping the would closed). Then we decided a big crowd around the invalid would be just the thing :)

Bekah had a ball with Rachel, who is just short of ten months old. She was pretty shy with the adults but loved Bekah.

The girls were so cute collecting rocks...from the driveway! In fact, Em's family arrived while the others were at church and we had just got back from church. Alexis and Bekah proceeded to find a bucketful of rocks for Grandpa. When Andy's van arrived, their first question was "Where is Grandpa?" Below Bekah and Ellie show off their rock collection, which was later sorted into rocks to keep and rocks to give to Grandpa. Thankfully, they all stayed there!

We did go to the pool one day. But it was crowded and not as much fun as we had hoped. The kids enjoyed it though...until some started getting cuts and scrapes on their toes. We were definitly ready to leave when the time came.

Chipmunks were everywhere at the house. Catching them turned into a favorite pastime. No chipmunks were harmed in the process.

They had a bucket rigged up to a string, food under the bucket and the chipmunks could not resist. They just kept coming back for more.

One day we drove up to Lamoille Canyon. It was beautiful. The kids had a great time walking the trails, even walking up high enough to find snow. Dad said Bekah just wanted to keep on going and going.

I love this picture of Dan and Paul.

Here's Dad taking the girls up to the snow.

Great picture of Thanny throwing rocks into the stream. And the sexy legs behind him, of course!

Ben, Tim, Audrey and Megan.

Another precious picture of Bekah and Rachel.

Mom and Dad and all their grandchildren.

Roasting marshmallows! We had a great big bonfire in James' firepit. Great fun and good eatin!

James and Ellie

I like this picture of Mom and Dana.

Dad playing with Thanny.

Paul, Dan and Audrey at the firepit just before we left.

Okay, these crazy girls decided they wanted to get up early to go on a hike. They set the alarm for 5:30 am (but didn't go to sleep until 10:00pm). They actually woke up at 4! They did have their early morning hike and then set out later in the morning to have a picnic before we left. Needless to say, Bekah slept a lot in the car that day.

Family photo which Mom and Dana managed to not be in.

Waving goodbye.

Tired kids!

So, we had sooooooooo much fun. Thanks Emily for bring the Twilight books and Phase 10 Dice. I now have two new addictions. :) Thanks to all the cousins for the awesome time playing and exploring. Especially great for Paul and Bekah because we live in town and don't have the ability to that too much. Thanks Mom and Dad for letting us invade your house...hope it's still standing :). And let me just say, when we got home at 12:30 am Monday morning and it was still 95 degrees outside, we were wishing we had stayed a little longer!

Wizard Teeth

2009-06-15T20:16:00.001-05:00

Paul was talking to me about teeth today (he's recently lost one). He asked how many molars I had (???) and then asked if wizard teeth are molars. I did a double take and asked, "Did you say wizard teeth?" "Yes," he replied. "Are they molars?"

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhaahahhahahahahahahahahhahahah

After I had a good laugh, I explained to him that they are called wisdom teeth. Then he had a good laugh. I wonder what he's been reading, watching, playing lately.

And yes, they are molars :)

Last Day of School

2009-06-05T21:28:00.000-05:00

Sigh......
It's a relief and a tear. I'll be so glad to not be on a schedule for awhile. But the kids had such a great year in school and we loved their teachers so much it's a little bittersweet. I feel like I get to be such good friends with their teachers that it's like breaking up a friendship. It's really hard to keep that relationship going the next year.
Anyway, Bekah's class did a little breakfast and Paul's class signed pillowcases, had class awards and then pizza. Then we all went home early. I crashed on the couch...combo of antibiotics and allergies dragging me down and the kids played.
Bright spot - vacation in less than two weeks! Yea! I am soooooooooo excited to see my family and for the cousins to play together and for us all to hang out. Paul and Bekah are excited to see everyone too. Since it's only been a year this time they remember how much fun they had last time.
Well, I have lessons to prepare for Sunday so I'm signing off.

Geology Field Trip

2009-06-01T19:34:00.000-05:00

So, what a fun trip this was. This post may only be interesting to those that enjoy rocks and flowers. This particular rock is called Llanite and is only found in two places on the planet! You can see the little blue crystals that are in it, that's what makes it so special. It is very hard and the samples I brought home were picked up off the ground. The lab guy couldn't even make a dent with his rock hammer...in fact, the hammer was dented, not the rock!

Here is some Texas Pink Granite. Pretty stuff and to show off my knowledge, it is comprised of quartz, potassium feldspar and biotite.

Bluebonnets, of course. This picture was taken specifically for Bekah who loves flowers and bluebonnets especially.

This is graphite schist with an igneous intrusion running through it. That was pretty cool. And there were lots of "schist" jokes going around :)

My prof took this picture of me (left) and my classmate Hannah on either side of a fault. I think faults are neat. And I am now a geology geek!

Various Pictures

2009-06-01T19:03:00.000-05:00

Tim and Bekah enjoying some delicious wild pig ribs that Tim cooked. Tim had a great time with the hog hunting this year...like two or three times a week fun. Geesh!

All the Hefner cousins at Easter. Don't they all look thrilled? Zack is the only one smiling. I think they were hot and tired.

Some more delicious ribs from the master chef.

Paul and Bekah on St. Patricks Day. These are the green outfits they chose to wear. Bekah had just started soccer and Paul had just finished football so they were especially attached to their uniforms. Thought...I may have already posted this picture. Oh well. They are still cute :)

Bekah warming up before a game. She absolutely LOVED playing soccer. We plan to play with the same team in the fall.

Celtic Woman

2009-04-20T16:08:00.000-05:00

If you watch PBS on a regular basis, you may have seen them air the Celtic Woman program with these lovely young ladies from Ireland with beautiful singing voices. Tim and I had the opportunity to go see them in person last night and it was soooooo awesome!
The singing was fantastic, but there is so much more to the show. There is a violinist who is amazing as she dances, literally twirling and jumping around (in high heels!), as she plays. She has so much energy it is mesmerizing.
The drum guys.....oh my! I wanted so badly to get up to the stage just to see all their apparatus. Mom, you would love it. They were so great and wonderful showmen as well.
There was also a pianist...I always love piano music...and three other musicians. One was on bass guitar, one was on an acoustic guitar but the third had a whole repetoire of instruments. Flute, piccalo, bagpipes, oboe or bass sax and another little instrument between a piccalo and a clarinet that I don't know the name of. So talented!
If anyone has the opportunity and they like that sort of thing, it's well worth the price. But! We would suggest springing for extra good seats. We certainly enjoyed the show but our seats weren't near as close to the stage as we thought they would be. We couldn't really tell who was singing sometimes...which isn't that big of a deal but we thought it would have been even better if we had been closer.

Anyway, it was an awesome experience. See, we have some culture :)

Just a Moment

2009-04-13T15:26:00.000-05:00

I just want to take a moment to say "thank you" to my Lord and Savior. Amidst all the crazyness of school, family and church, He always finds a way to bring me back to the big picture, the number one most important thing in my life and the world...Jesus. I constantly need that reminder that life isn't about me and what I want and what I like. Life is about the holiness and awesomeness of Jesus. I praise Him now and give Him the glory for everything that I am blessed with.

Pictures

2009-03-13T16:07:00.000-05:00

Bekah's Valentine party at school.

Paul's Valentine party treat.

Paul's DI team. They did an improv play where they had to solve a problem. They had 30 minutes from they time they got their topic until they had to perform. They didn't win but I thought they did well considering they only had a short amount of time to prepare. The kids decided they didn't want any photography during the play so this is the only picture I got. Next year I may request that they not be given the option!

Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh..........

2009-03-13T15:18:00.000-05:00

Spring Break! Hallelujah!

It seems like this semester had been the busiest and longest yet. I have sooooo looked forward to this day...when classes are out of session for a week. So, now that it's here, I have a sore throat and upset stomach. Well, what are ya gonna do?

We've had a busy winter/spring so far. Paul played flag football, which he really enjoyed. He was on the Chargers this year with the same coach and many of the same boys as last year. They were 4-4 I think, including the "championship" game. We wrap that up for good on Sunday when they have their team party. Paul was also on one of our school's Destination Imagination teams. This is a problem solving and team work competition. It's a really neat program and they did great. Paul's newest adventure is glasses. Yes, both the children have inherited our (Tim and my) eye genes.

Bekah has started soccer. She's been wanting to do this for awhile and we have a nice league here in our town. She only cried once during her first game! She gets confused about where to go on the field and it's comfortable enough to ask questions yet. But she'll get there. She did have a lot of fun. She absolutely loves school...has said she would skip spring break if she could. Crazy child!

Tim still has his job, thankfully. We are praising the Lord for that blessing as much of the construction industry is spiraling downward at the moment. They won the bid for a nice fat job in Waco at the last minute. Thank you Lord! The rest of his time is spent hunting and thinking about hunting :) He's found a new hobby in hog hunting, which actually isn't as easy as it sounds. We are getting some delicious dinners!

I have three labor intensive classes and one ridiculously terrible class this semester. Math, Physics and Geology...sooooooo much work! But they are good classes and I enjoy them. I made a 99 on my first Geology lab quiz and the prof said it was the highest grade she's given on a lab quiz! The education class (which should be my favorite since that's the field I'm going in to) is horrid. It's supposed to be about special populations in schools but is actually about how minority students do not get good educational opportunities because of white people. Puhlease! Most of my complaint stems from the fact that I disagree with the teacher's educational methods and philosophy (although she is a nice person in general). I have learned some important and valuable concepts that will help me with all students that may come into my classroom. So I guess it's not a total waste of time...but I can't say I enjoy the class.

Other than all of these fun and exciting adventures, we are active in our church. We are in the middle of Mission March which has been pretty fun. I am teaching the children's church and we are learning all about missionaries and how they teach people about Jesus. The ladies of our church had the opportunity to help feed the homeless in Austin last Sunday and that was a very rewarding experience. Things like that are waaaaaayyyyy out of my comfort zone and I'm glad I have friends that will push me into them.

I am really looking forward to this week off. Not having to be anywhere at any specific time will be soooo great!

Snow and Art

2008-12-10T16:03:00.000-06:00

Brrrrrrrrrrr! Look at our snow! Ok, it's not as good as Emily's snow, and technically it might be sleet, but we count that down here!

Art Project: Four Color Schemes

Monochromatic, Tertiary, Complementary, Triadic (from left to right, I think)

Art Project: Illusion of motion

Art Project: Underpainting and Perspective

Art Project: Interpretation of Song: Dreamland Express by John Denver

So, I really had a good time with this art class. Some things were frustrating, like being able to get the paint on the paper nicely. But it was fun and I enjoyed painting. Maybe it'll be my new hobby :)

Decorating the Tree

2008-12-10T15:54:00.001-06:00

I love putting up the tree! I love all the ornaments from years past and the stories that go with them. The kids had so much fun getting them out, looking at them and putting them on the tree.

Paul's new favorite past time is watching football. It's so funny how he gets hooked on something. He watches it, reads about it, plays it, anything.

Bekah Turns 7!

2008-12-01T18:43:00.000-06:00

The pictures are backwards! Oh well. I can't believe my baby is seven. She is so smart and cute. I am so thankful for this little girl that God has given me.

Bekah and her friends got to ride ponies at the Christmas Festival in Bertram. Alyssa is on the right in the background and Taylor is on the left. They absolutely loved it!

Here are the girls just after we got on the train. They were wide eyed as it started (none of them had been on one before) and it was so cute. On the ride back the volunteer in charge of our car told them how they could hide inbetween the seats. He called it the cave and of course the girls loved that.
Here is Bekah with her stash of office supplies from Granny and Grandpa. She loved it all and her friends all wanted to share in the loot!

Bekah is getting used to new glasses. Apparantly she is blind and we never knew! She never complained about not being able to see. Anyway, we think she looks super cute!

Aunt Amy and Nana gave Bekah a bunch of cool girly stuff for her birthday. Bekah especially loves the Hannah Montana slippers and High School Musical hat. Let it be known that she has never seen either one of these shows.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEKAH!

Halloween

2008-11-07T22:11:00.001-06:00

OK, this one's a little blurry. We trick or treated with cousins and had a great time.

All the cousins: Jacob, Caleb, Zach, Paul and Bekah. Aren't they cute?

At school we have a book character parade (no Halloween celebrating there). Bekah was Cinderella and even though we have several Cinderella books she insisted on using her teacher's book.

Here's Bekah's class lined up on the wall waiting for the parade. I didn't get a picture of Paul but he was happy about that so I guess that's okay. He just wore his football jersey and carried a book about football.

I must say, I have been enjoying the candy but I wish it would go away. It's a love/hate relationship!

Seriously! Really!

2008-10-24T20:25:00.000-05:00

So, we got a notice on the door from DHL saying they had attempted to deliver a package. It needed to be signed for so they could not just leave it. We are not home during the day so I called the service number the next morning to make other arrangements. After being routed through the automated system, I received a message that the number was no longer a working number and to please call this other number. So, I hung up and called this other number which led me through the same system and to a message that said this is not a working number and to please call this other number (which was the number I had just called). So I tried a few more times during the day and received the same message.
Needless to say, I was getting a little heated at this point. When I got home, there was another notice saying that was the final delivery attempt. Knowing the service number was "not working", I hopped online and found a live chat option. Here is the transcript from my chat with the "shipment specialist":

Paul: Welcome to DHL Live Chat. How may I assist you today?
Peggy: Hi Paul, I tried to call dhl this morning concerning a notice on my door. I can't get through to talk to anyone. I get a message that says not a working #, call this # and then that number says the same thing.
Peggy: We are not home during the day to receive packages and I wanted to make other arrangements. Today I received a second notice and I don't want that package returned to sender.
Paul: I'll be glad to help you with that. Please give me a moment while I check the records for you.
Peggy: thanks
Paul: Please confirm us do you wish to pick up the package from the service center.
Peggy: is there another way to receive the package? The service center is not close to me.
Paul: The next delivery attempt will be made on the next business day, barring any unforeseeable delays.
Peggy: the notice I received today said it was the final attempt. Does the local office have a number I can call?
Paul: Due to security reasons I am unable to provide the contact number.
Peggy: So, what about the final attempt notice?
Paul: You can also contact our customer service at 1-800-225-5345. Once you contact our DHL representative will be glad to assist you further.
Peggy: That phone number does not work. It leads me through a bunch of questions and ends with "this is not a working number please call 1-800-225-5345", which is the number I just dialed.
Paul: Its the customer service number.
Peggy: But it does NOT work. Where do I go from there?
Paul: You can re try the number once.
Peggy: I have called the number several times today. IT DOES NOT WORK.
Paul: You have the option to pick up the package from the service center.
Peggy: What's the deal with the service number that does not work?
Paul: I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
Peggy: Paul, what country are you in?
Paul: We are located in Tempe,AZ.
Peggy: Where is my local dhl office so I can pick up the package?
Paul: The service center address is 2631 KRAMER LANE, AUSTIN, TX 78758. It will be open till 7:30 PM.
Peggy: So, why can I not talk to somebody using the service center phone number?
Paul: I sincerely apologize. Due to security reasons it is not possible for me to provide the service center phone number.
Peggy: I am not asking for a phone number for the local office. I am asking why your 1-800-225-5345 does not work.
Paul: Please give me a moment while I research this for you.Paul: Due to some technical error it might not have been working. However I request you can re try after some time.
Peggy: I will pick up the package by tomorrow afternoon at the office in Austin.
Peggy: Please make sure to note that so they do not send it back.
Paul: I will forward the message not to return the shipment to the sender.
Peggy: thank you
Paul: I have forwarded a message to the service center not to return the shipment.
Peggy: later
Paul: Is there anything else I can help you with?
Peggy: no

AAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH! I know it's the blasted service number...I've called it a hundred times today! And what's the deal with the security reasons for the local office to not have a phone number? Good Grief!

Here's another funny...When I went to pick up the package, I notice their motto is "Anything, Anytime, Anywhere". Then I notice a sign that listed like twenty things they would not ship. Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha!

p.s. The title of this blog comes from a hilarious segment of SNL. It's on on Thursday nights on NBC.

Funny Story

2008-10-16T22:05:00.000-05:00

So, there a radio station that I listen to that's doing a big mamogram push for Breast Cancer Awareness. They have stories about women who've had breast cancer and lots of "spots" to tell women to go get a mamogram. They say to tell your friends, neighbors, and bosom buddies.
Get it? "Bosom Buddies"? Ha! I think that's hilarious. I just got it today.

So, one of my five classes is finished! Hallelujah! I feel so free. I feel like now I have time to study for other classes and today I managed to mop and vacuum. I'm loving it already.

Other news: Paul is very into football right now. He likes the Oklahoma University Sooners and the Green Bay Packers. Don't ask me why. It's actually kind of dangerous to be a Sooners fan here because they have a huge rivalry with UT.

Bekah's birthday is coming up next month. I think we are going to take the train from Cedar Park to Bertram. She's always wanted to ride a train. I asked her what she wanted for her birthday and she said Hannah Montana stuff and other stuff she likes, such as Post It Notes. Isn't that hilarious? I must admit, I'm a post-it note fan myself :)

One last thing...I have the best friends and neighbors! They have been so sweet to help me get the kids to school and watch the kids while I'm in class. Thanks Brianna and Suzanne! You guys are the best and I am so thankful for you!

Out of the mouth of babes...

2008-10-16T22:01:00.000-05:00

So, Bekah and I are driving home from church last Sunday and here's our conversation:

Bekah: What's that?

Me: What? That store?

Bekah: Yeah.

Me: That's Cashway.

Bekah: What do they do?

Me: They sell wood and tools and paint supplies and stuff.

Bekah: Are they expensive?

Me: A little bit. Not too bad. The people are very nice.

Bekah: They should lower their prices. Then they would make more money because people would buy more stuff.

I think Bekah should be president.

Shelves

2008-10-03T14:00:00.000-05:00

Tim built me shelves! Don't they look great? I'm so excited to fill them up with food storage and stuff.

My Super Hero!

2008-09-25T15:53:00.000-05:00

We had a great lesson in our AWANA class last night. For those who don't know, this is a program that teaches kids to learn Bible verses. Our verse was 1 John 4:14, I think, and talked about God sending His Son to be our Savior. My friend and I team teach this class and she took that verse and taught it in such a unique way.

She had the kids name their favorite super hero. Then she drew a picture of a super hero and a person at the top of a building. She asked the kids what the super hero would do. They said, of course, that the super hero would save the person. Then she applied that thinking to how Jesus saves us from our sin.

The kids loved it and by the end of the night, the knew that Jesus was their Super Hero and Savior. Isn't it great that we have our own personal super hero?!

Crazy Life!

2008-09-25T15:45:00.000-05:00

Well, I didn't think life could get this crazy! It's insane at our house right now. The kids are in school and having a grand time. We looooooovvvvveeeee their teachers. Praise the Lord for that! We have been so blessed every year. Bekah would go to school on Saturdays if she could. Paul is quite that enthusiastic but I do think he likes his class and I know he likes his teacher.

I am taking five classes, Design (an art class), Intro to Visual Art, Philosophy, TX Government and Math for Elem Teachers. It's a lot of work and I don't have as much free time because only one is an online class this time. Plus, they are not at the campus that is closest so I am spending a lot more time in the car, which I do not like. I will not be registering late next semester!

In addition, I am volunteering in the kid's classes and my friend's K class. I was going once a week but that seems to be too much and not leaving enough time for studying and housework so every other week is going to be the new schedule.

Well, it's about time to go clean the kitchen and make dinner before class!

Utah Trip June 2008 - Part Two

2008-08-20T13:15:00.000-05:00

We stayed with Tim's brother Jason and family for several days and had a lot of fun with them. We drove the Alpine Loop which gives great views of the mountains, especially Mount Timpanogas. Below are Paul, Bekah and their cousin Zachary.
Family photo.
Mount Timpanogas
Here we are hiking the trail to Timpanogas Cave. It was hard! Very steep mile and a half long trail with cliffs on one side. We were constantly watching the kids and telling them to stay on the safe side of the trail.
Tim, Paul and Bekah high on the mountain.

Part of the trail actually cuts through the mountain.
The kids made it to the top! Here they are at the cave entrance. You can see the elevation on the trail. We started about a thousand feet below that, I think. Do they look tired?
This was the next day as we recuperated from the hike! Tim and Jason talking about who knows what.
Bridal Veil Falls.

Paul and Zach at the bottom of the falls. They are in the background climbing up.

Utah Trip June 2008 - Part One

2008-08-20T13:04:00.001-05:00

We got up early June 14th and started our journey. We like to start early and get to our destination relatively early which allows for swimming in the hotel pool and possibly some sight seeing. We found these great lava beds along the freeway in New Mexico and had to stop and check them out. The kids picked up samples to take home.

The scenery in New Mexico and Arizona is amazing. I think this big rock mountain was in Arizona. We attempted to see Four Corners but the indians are charging too much to get in and it didn't look like anthing special so we opted not to do that. That led to a drive through Arizona. Normally we'd cut up through Colorado from New Mexico.
More interesting land formations along the freeway.
This is a natural arch just before getting into Moab. See the tiny figure below the left of the arch. That's Tim! You can see how big the arch is. Tim said it was a straight drop off the other side so I'm glad I didn't go all the way up.

Yellowstone Day Six and Seven

2008-08-20T12:58:00.000-05:00

Thursday we hung out and took the kids into town for souvenir shopping. I guess I didn't take any pictures this day. Oh, as I recall, some people did go into the park early and were rewarded with some geyser eruptions. Anyway, it was a nice relaxing day to end the trip.

Friday we got up as early as we could and headed out. We drove all the way to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Perhaps the reason for no pictures was because it was miserable to drive that long! It took so long and we were all just ready for it to end. We did have a nice hotel room and we stayed two nights.

Sunday we drove home and it was another long drive but we were home and that was nice. It was a wonderful vacation and we loved it. I have neglected to mention the fabulous time we had in Utah prior to Yellowstone. Stay tuned for more info and pictures!

Yellowstone Day Five - Dyer Reunion

2008-08-20T12:15:00.000-05:00

We all met Wednesday night for dinner. It was so great to see all my aunts, uncles and cousins...not to mention my grandparents and some family friends. I hadn't seen some of them for at least fifteen years! The following pictures are from that evening.

Our family, in our lovely t-shirts that Emily made for us.
Bekah, Alexis, Meghan and Cherith. They loooovvvveeeddd the huge field of flowers.
Dana, Gramma, Grampa, Cherith and Ellie.
My Aunt Alison is taking the picture (we got tired of waiting around) and my cousins Jonathan, Keagan and Wesley.
The whole gang! I'm not even going to try to get everybody's name in here :)

Mom and Marian, who has been a friend of the Dyer's forever.
Uncle John and brother James.
My uncle Andy, aunt Kristen and cousins McKenna and Keagan.
My uncle Joel and his wife.
My cousin Hannah and her precious baby.

Yellowstone Day Five - Old Faithful

2008-08-20T12:07:00.001-05:00

The Dyer Clan at Old Faithful. This is where we met up with Dad's family, although we had seen them earlier in the week.
Emily and I trying to get a picture of us and the pool behind us. Well...we at least got us!
Old Faithful
Can't remember the name of this pool but it sure is pretty.
Another geyser erupting. Really neat area.

Yellowstone Birthday Party

2008-08-20T11:50:00.000-05:00

Tuesday night we had a birthday party for the kids. They all exchanged names and had fun choosing gifts for each other. Of course, Dan and Paul got each other rocks. It's so nice that they have similar tastes! :)

Instead of birtday cake we decided to do s'mores. The kids had a great time. We were all extremely exhausted after this long day!

Yellowstone Day Four

2008-08-20T10:49:00.001-05:00

On Tuesday, Tim and I decided to get up early and go into the park. The next six pictures are from our early morning adventure.

Sunrise!
I found a bear! I was actually the first to see it. We were just outside of Mammoth and we caused a slight traffic jam. He didn't stay around tool long though. Seeing bears in the wild is really cool!
I can't remember the name of this waterfall but it's located just past Junction. Pretty!

When we got out to take a hike, these little ground squirrels were everwhere. They ran around our feet and "yelled" at us.
Our third and final bear of the trip. A black bear. There were quite a few people watching this one so he must have been there awhile.
We drove high enough over a mountain to find the snow.

We met the rest of our crowd at Canyon for lunch and views of the waterfalls. Here are Thanny and Audrey scraping bark off a tree.
Our acrobatic girls! In the tree are Bekah and Meghan and on the ground are Ellie and Alexis.
A whole passel of girls enjoying the waterfall! I had so much fun with my nieces and nephews! The trail to get to this lookout spot was narrow and straight down to the rushing river on one side. It was somewhat nerve racking to walk it with several children!

I can't remember if this is upper or lower falls but nonetheless I love watching the water fall (I meant for that to be two words). The amount of power displayed is awesome.
Bekah and Ellie at Artist's Point.
Nice pic of Yellowstone Lake.
One of the coolest animals we saw were bald eagles. There was a nest just inside the park boundaries; it was the first thing we saw, actually. This day both eagles were out of the nest and across the river.

Yellowstone Day Three

2008-07-16T18:29:00.001-05:00

That's Emily's van in front of us heading into the fog.

Paul and Bekah in front of Gibbon's Falls. It was pretty chilly up in the mountains early in the morning.

Mom and Dad with all the grandkids. Audrey, Paul and Daniel are in the back. Front row left to right is Thanny, Ellie, Cherith, Bekah, Meghan and Alexis.

Our family in front of one of the hot springs. I wish I could remember the names of all these features.

Paul and Bekah somewhere in some geyser basin in Yellowstone. If I had a map I could probably tell you the name but I don't.

Tim and Paul in a similiar location.

I believe this is Roaring Mountain. Apparantly is used to be pretty loud with steam vents. It was pretty quite the day we were there.

Grizzly Bear! I really wasn't expecting to see a bear at all. This one looked pretty young and was just walking on the hill beside the road. He looked like he knew where he was going. Traffic was backed up forever! But we happened to be near a little spot to pull out so we parked and got out to watch.

Dad had walked down this path and then called really excitedly for all the kids to come and see something. So we all ran down the path to see this really exciting something. It was rocks. That's my dad for ya! Big obsidian rocks. The kids thought they were pretty cool.

This place was called Sheepeaters Cliffs. The kids had a lot of fun climbing on the rocks and walking the trail. My niece Audrey, in the middle, is a great climber!

I think this is a Mammoth Hot Springs. This area was very different from what I remember fifteen years ago.

Look at the rack on that elk! That's a monster and he still has two or three months for those things to grow. Their neck muscles must be massive! Holy cow...elk!

And that is the conclusion for Monday. It was a long day but really fun. It's kind of neat to know that you can only see some of these things in one or two places in the world. At least in this volume. And, of course, I was with my family. That was the best part of all!

Yellowstone Day Two

2008-07-16T18:18:00.001-05:00

Sunday, we went to church in the morning, rested and then visited Earthquake Lake. This lake was created by a landslide triggered by a massive earthquake in the late 1950's. Here's Paul and Bekah outside the visitor's center.

Here we have Mom, Andy, Dana and Cherith in the background and Dad and Meghan in the foreground. It was windy and chilly there. We drove through a thunder storm on the way back.

Paul, Mom, Dad and Meghan sitting on a bench. I just can't get enough of these pictures of my family. I just don't see them often enough.

Here's a nice picture of the lake.

Here's the landslide that caused the lake to form. It's actually a river that runs through this valley. The Army Corp of Engineers had to dig a channel through the landslide to let water through so everything would not be flooded upstream.

Yellowstone Day One

2008-07-16T16:23:00.000-05:00

Okay, I know I said I'd get this done a couple of weeks ago...chaos has reigned! We've had Vacation Bible School and school started for me again so I'm a little behind. Better late than never!

This first picture is from the day we arrived, Friday. What I'm actually calling Day One is Saturday, when we first went into the park.

This is Ellie and Bekah, who by the end of the week were convinced they were twins because they are in the same family, are the same age and have the same middle name. They were so cute! And talkative!
This is the next morning, waiting for the adults to get ready, I guess. Bekah and Audrey, watching a movie. I think Hoodwinked ran several times that week. We won't be watching that one for awhile!
Our first buffalo encounter was pretty quick after we entered the park Saturday. Not uncommon. I was riding with Emily that day and one snort and I urged her to keep on movin'.
Tim must have taken this picture cause it's awesome. With the mountain in the background. He should take up photography.
Another buffalo.

This little ground squirrel...down by the rocks...was cute. The kids had fun trying to see him up close. This was at the Madison ranger station.
Beautiful river...I think the Madison river. The scenery is just gorgeous!
And more buffalo. Funny story...on this day, Emily and I were taking a car load back to the house and we got stuck behind a buffalo walking, in our lane, on the road. It took awhile for him to get where he was going and we just had to inch along behind him. I think Emily has a picture of that on her camera.
A field of buffalo.
Nice hot spring. I love how you can see right down into them and the blue color is from the minerals and such that are in it. This was is Norris Geyser Basin, I think.

Nephew Daniel by a mud pot. Love those mud pots...they smell soooooo good. :)
Paul standing in front of a small geyser. There was another one right behind it.
Paul and me...same geyser.
Another hot spring with steam. If you look really close you can see the water boiling.

Mom, Dad and Cherith waiting for a geyser to go off. I don't know the name of it but the next three pictures are of the same geyser.

Nice elk! Can you see the rack?

Elk in the river.

Daniel watching elk in the river.

And that is the first whole day we spent at Yellowstone. It was great! I had so much fun seeing my family and getting to know my nieces and nephews again. I already miss them all soooooo much. We also had the wonderful opportunity to see Dad's family and that was great too. Pictures will be forthcoming.

We're Baaaack!

2008-07-02T15:12:00.000-05:00

Two weeks away! We've never taken such a long trip! We started out in Provo, Utah visiting Tim's brother and his family. We climbed a mountain and saw some old friends as well. Next, we headed up to Yellowstone to hang with the Dyer family. We had a great time visiting, seeing wildlife and scenery and playing around. The next few blogs will have pictures and explanations of all that we did.

For now, I've got Vacation Bible School starting on Sunday and college classes starting on Monday so I'm swamped. It may be slow, but I'll get everything up soon!

I was so happy to spend time with my family. I have really missed them. Especially Andy's kids who I hadn't seen for several years. I loved everyone of them! My siblings (and Karri) are my favorite people to hang out with and I hardly ever get to do it! We just had so much fun being together and playing cards and stuff. The kids really got along well and had a lot of fun together.

The house we stayed in, which I didn't get any pictures of, was large and had plenty of room for everyone. The kids had room to run around outside and there was even a creek roam around. anyway, I'll go through the days with pictures in the next blogs so come back and see!

Friends

2008-06-10T16:43:00.001-05:00

This is my friend Karri and her girls Emma (left) and Taylor (right). We have our weekly lunch date at Wendy's eating baked potatoes with ketchup.

Paul and Josh playing with the Lord of the Rings Risk game.
Bekah and Alyssa playing something (house?) in the hallway.

Last Days of School

2008-06-10T16:31:00.000-05:00

Isn't this picture adorable? I love it. Amy and Bekah just sat and talked for quite some time.
Here is Bekah getting her "diploma" from the principal. What's funny is that as the kids exited the stage, they handed the diploma to the assistant principal. It was only for show. Hee Hee!
Last day of school silly picture.
Last day of school nice picture.
Paul receiving his multitude of award certificates. He received five: math, reading. student council, A honor roll and ethical principles. Yea Paul!

Farm Field Trip

2008-05-30T18:18:00.000-05:00

Arrival at the farm! It's about 45 to 60 minutes to get there and I'm sure the kids were excited. Notice the facial expression of the boy on the bottom left :) That's Keven. I wonder what he was thinking about. Bekah and her cronies, Daniela and Rhiannon, are just behind the boys. There were so cute holding hands and wrapping arms around each other.
Baby ostriches! I've never seen babies before. Next time you go to a zoo, pay attention to how the ostriches move their necks. It's such a fluid movement. The kids were very excited to see these guys. Were were on a hayride and there was one ostrich outside the fence because the male in the photo was mean to her for an unknown reason. He even gave us a display of his wings when she got too close.
Turtle pond. You may not be able to see but there is one turtle on another turtle's back on that rock. Reminds me of that Dr. Suess story of Yertle the Turtle. Don't you love Rhiannon's hat? So appropriate.
Big turtle. They had several this size and one even bigger. I love these guys!
Aren't these morning glories beautiful? I love that brilliant blue color. Just had to have a pic.

You may be wondering what happened to Rhiannon's cool hat...the goat actually tried to eat it! Ha! Never seen that in real life but lots on cartoons. I got to wear the hat.
This was the entrance/exit to the Faerie Woods. Pretty neat to walk under and it had the beautiful blue flowers on it. Bekah and Daniela are just ahead and Rhiannon was just behind because she was counting faerie houses. How cute is that? She counted 60 something.
After lunch the kids had fun roaming, running and climbing in the picnic area. The climbing was quickly discouraged but they still had fun. There were several donkey's in the pasture next door to look at too.
Madison's dad thoughtfully provided ice pieces for the kids to cool off with.
Bekah really enjoyed the bus ride. Here she is just before heading home. She says she wants to ride the bus every day.

This place is called Crowe's Nest Farm and it's really neat. In addition to traditional farm animals, they have a lot of rescued wild animals that are neat to look at. We were able to roam the paths of the farm and see the animals, butterfly house, faerie wood, and gardens. The kids had a lot of fun. Bekah said her favorite part was the hayride. One of her classmates said his favorite was lunch. This friend is diabetic so food is really important to him.

I just love all these opportunities to spend time with the kids, their classmates, teachers and other parents.

And can you believe that this makes two posts on the day of the events!

Puppet Show

2008-05-30T17:10:00.001-05:00

Paul's class did a fairy tale puppet show today at school (can you believe I'm posting pictures about something that happened today?). I wasn't able to be there because I was on the Kindergarten field trip but Tim and his parents attended and Tim's mom took these pictures for me.

Paul was the voice of the pig.

Here's Paul and the puppeteer (I think her name is Genevieve) and then a picture of the whole cast, I believe. I'm about to go watch the video!

Garage Sale

2008-05-30T16:53:00.001-05:00

Finally, all that stuff is out of our garage! I should have taken a picture of the garage before and after. I was going to postpone it another week but Tim convinced me to have it the 24th. Well, that was the day after Field Day at school and being outside all day two days in a row did not sit well with me. I slept all afternoon on Sunday! Then I walked a 5K race on Monday that our church youth group sponsored. That was a pretty neat event and the atmosphere was very special. I wish I had some pictures but I didn't take my camera. Anyway, here are some garage sale day pictures.

We had a lovely garage sale last weekend. Since Emily shared hers I thought I should share mine too. :) The girls kept reading the books and playing with the toys and I had to constantly put them back into the sale.

We had LOTS of clothes!

The boys spend their time collecting bugs and making homes for them. It all started with a beetle with extra cool pinchers and then they were off looking for any and all bugs in the yard.

Here is a flower growing in my yard. It's the only one! :) I haven't had much time for the yard and this one is leftover from last year.

Field Day Fun

2008-05-30T16:40:00.000-05:00

Here's Bekah running a relay race. That's the station I manned for the day so I have lots of pictures of it. It was so fun. In the morning is was nice and cloudy and breezy. Just lovely. The afternoon produced sun, sun and more sun that made for a nice sunburn on the back of my knees. Ouch!
Here's Bekah's class waiting for their teammates to tag them. Bekah's teacher, Mrs. Augustine, is the most wonderful Kindergarten teacher ever.

Bekah doing some sort of sponge race. My friend took this picture, as she manned this event for the day.
Here's Paul running the relay. It's amazing how much these kids just love to run!

This is Paul's class waiting their turns. Paul's teacher, Ms. Varner, is the tall one. She also is an awesome teacher. She really pushed Paul to do his best and provided new opportunities for him to be involved in.

Field Day is one of my favorites. We've been at schools that make it really fancy with lots of water slides and blow up bouncy things. But I love the simplicity of this one. And the kids had just as much fun! We had about ten minutes with each class so we ran several relays and mixed them up with running backwards, skipping and so on. They had a blast. And I did too!

Family Picture

2008-05-14T18:53:00.001-05:00

These were taken at Easter time but they are the most recent we have!

Assorted Pictures

2008-05-14T18:27:00.001-05:00

Paul helping take down the flag at school. This was part of his student council duties. They also recently had a service project where they collected books for the children's hospital. We were able to take the books to the hospital and get a small tour of the facilities they have available for children who have to stay there. It was pretty neat.

Kids singing in church around Christmas time. Paul is the back, third from the left. He was really sick that day so he's not looking too enthusiastic. Bekah is in the fron next to the really small girl.

AWANA Grand Prix! The pink car is Bekah's. The kids had so much fun building and racing their cars.

Kindergarten Rodeo! It was soooooooo cold and windy that day. But the kids had a great time.

Paul and his friend Colton at the Star Theatre at the Bob Bullock Museum in downtown Austin. This was the third grade field trip. Very cool place! I need to go back without the children so I can actually look at the exhibits.

Mother's Day flowers from Emily. Thank You! They were so pretty and I was so excited to get them!

School is Out!

2008-05-14T18:15:00.000-05:00

At least for me! Yea! Today is the first day since last Wednesday that I have felt decent. I didn't realize it would take so long to overcome the fatigue of this stressful semester. However, I can report that I have earned all A's, except possibly in Physics and I don't know that grade yet. I kinda feel like since I'm out everybody should be out!

Anyway, I had a great time shopping with my sisters-in-law today. We love to search the bargains and have lunch and it was a great day for it. Thanks Amy and Lori!

OK. I am seriously behind on pictures so I will now make an attempt to catch up!

Here is Bekah beside the only patch of bluebonnets we found at the bluebonnet festival. When Tim asked her if she wanted to go to the Bluebonnet Festival in Burnet she was horrified (pronounced "burn it"). Hee, Hee! Then she was disappointed that there weren't any bluebonnets to be found when we got there. She was extremely happy to find this little patch. My mother in law sent in a picture of all the grandkids around these bluebonnets to a local tv news station and they aired it!

This isn't working out how I want so I'll make another post!

Yay, Paul!

2008-03-20T09:10:00.000-05:00

Paul got a perfect score on the standardized test at school. We all knew that he wouldn't have a problem getting a great score (it was reading) but a perfect score is awesome! The third grade at his school did very, very well.

You know I don't believe in these tests as a measure of a student's overall knowledge and skill, but I gotta brag on my boy a little :)

Spring is Here!

2008-03-14T14:51:00.000-05:00

At least in Texas! We have ninety degree weather today, it feels like summer. I went outside to read my history book and came back in sweating.

Well, I see from the last post that I am NOT up to date on this blog. I thought I was doing okay and didn't realize it had been so long. In my defense, I am taking five college classes and spend most of my time studying. Even on Spring Break!

I do have pictures to post so I'll try to get that done this weekend before the madness begins anew. We've had a busy few months. Paul's flag football season ended in February and he really enjoyed that experience. He was also involved in a program at school called Destination Imagination that was really cool. His team placed sixth in their category out of 28 teams. The kids had to use the scientific method to figure out if a myth could have really happened. They chose the myth, wrote the skit, made the props and figured everything out themselves. We are so proud of them! They will be performing their skit for their school in the next couple of weeks.

Bekah's kindergarten class participated in the Kindergarten Rodeo, which is their big event of the year. It would have been great if it hadn't been so cold and windy! The games were fun but the kids were freezing so we ended up going back inside early. But they did get to pet a horse and wear cowboy/girl clothes so it was fun for the kids.

I am doing pretty well in school. Getting good grades on my tests, for which I thank the Lord. I could not do it without Him. I am a little worried about the research papers/presentations that are coming up. I'll just keep on going and keep on trusting and I guess I'll make it through. Needless to say, I can't wait for May when then semester is over!

As for Tim, he has enjoyed a couple of hog hunts in south and east Texas and with the warm weather, the fishing is picking up as well. He and the kids have been three times this week! We had a nice mess of fish for dinner last night.

Pictures will be posted soon!

More Christmas Pictures!

2008-01-25T15:43:00.000-06:00

That's our nephew Caleb, Tim, Uncle Don in the back, Loretta (aka Nana) and Jackie (aka PaPa).
James , nephews Jacob and Caleb. They look so excited, don't they?
Bekah is always helping her Nana. She picked up almost all the trash from the presents. Good little helper!

Christmas Eve

2008-01-25T15:35:00.000-06:00

Bekah with her doll that her teacher at church gave her. She just loves that doll! Such a sweet picture.
Now, I've started Weight Watchers and don't look that bad anymore! Such a horrid picture of me but the kids are cute. Again, Paul did not feel good that day. Poor thing.
Christmas Eve at Nana's house. There is almost always a fire going and the kids had such fun helping Tim trim trees and PaPa burn the branches.
Here's Paul throwing something into the fire.
Nana and PaPa (Tim's parents) opening their gifts. That's Tim's uncle Don behind Nana.

Christmas Parties at School

2008-01-25T15:23:00.000-06:00

This is some of Paul's class at the Winter Party. Forbid we even say Holiday anymore at the school. But the kids had a great time. They had a breakfast party that morning and then watched a movie with hot chocolate in the afternoon.
Our kids and their church group singing for the congregation. Bekah is in the front and Paul in the back with a grey shirt. Bekah has such fun with the Christmas songs. Paul wasn't feeling very well that day.
Paul and his friend Kolton. Such a nice kid. They love talking about Pokemon together.
Here's Bekah and Rian at Bekah's Winter Party. They had yummy snacks and did crafts. Rian had a great time too. She always gets such a kick out being able to participate with the school kids.
Bekah and Rian weaving their snowflakes.

Bekah's Birthday and Paul's Student Council

2008-01-25T15:10:00.000-06:00

We have Emma, Taylor, Bekah and Alyssa dressed up in their ballerina outfits. We had a couple more girls come a little later as well. Everyone loved dressing up and putting on blush and lip gloss.

My friend Karri danced with the girls. You can see Bekah being shy off to the right side.

Bekah blowing out her candles on her birthday cupcakes. You know, the last few cakes I've tried to make did not come out. Thankfully, kids are versatile.

Here is Paul doing one of his duties as 3rd grade rep. They put up and take down the flags three days a week. The other two days he is on "safety patrol" which helps kids out of cars in the morning and tells kids to stop running in the halls in the afternoon. He really enjoys doing these jobs.

Christmas Is On The Way!

2007-12-08T08:19:00.001-06:00

And I am so glad! The kids will be off of school, Christmas Day, James will be here to visit, my newest babysitting gig will be over. I just can't wait.

Bekah's birthday party was fun and I should have pictures soon. The girls put on ballet outfits that I made and danced around. We played bingo and just had fun. The ballet slipper cake did not make out of the cake pan, but we substituted with cupcakes with pink icing. Amy and I decorated the house with pink and white balloons and ribbon. It looked really cute. Can't wait to put the pictures up.

Paul is really involved in his duties of 3rd grade representative. He alternates between putting up the flags and doind safety patrol, which means we have to get to school early. It's a challenge for us but it's worth the lessons of responsibility and commitment he's learning. Paul also had his first flag football game last night. We did not win, but the boys had a good time and they learned more about how to play. Plus, the other team had boys that were much bigger and most likely older. Our coach does a really good job of mixing in the discipline it takes to play the game and encouraging the kids to have fun.

Paul and Tim are off hunting this weekend. They left shortly after the game last night. It's a special trip they take with a guy that time works with. I know Paul was excited for that too. Big weekend for him. Bekah and I are going to the Christmas deal at the school. There will be lots of crafts to do so Bekah will have a good time.

The last few weeks have been tough for me with the babysitting. The baby wants to be held ALL the time and screams and screams and screams and screams and screams. Yesterday she cried for and hour and a half straight and I ended up with a headache and a desire to quit right then. But I said I would watch them (there are three girls, two come after school) until the end of the month, which actually means until school lets out. Only two more weeks...I hope I make it. Plus there have been issues with the other girls lying. ARRRGGGGHHHH! Definitely can't wait to stop! I'll have Rian until just after the new year but she is like a part of our family and no trouble at all, usually.

On a better note, we've been watching lots of Christmas movies, which the kids have loved. Bekah and I read Christmas stories last night and sang some songs. We started decorating the house this week and put up our outside lights. It's all very fun! And in the midst of it all, I try to always remember why we celebrate this wonderful season. I am so glad Jesus was born. I'm so thankful that He chose to be a sacrifice for my sin. And I thank Him every day for picking me up out of the world and puting His Spirit in my heart. In my class at church I've tried to encourage the kids to think of gifts they can give to Jesus and I just hope that my gifts to Him are pleasing in His sight.

That's all for now. Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving Comes!

2007-11-16T11:06:00.000-06:00

Life just seems to be flying by this autumn. If you can call 80 degree weather autumn :) We've had such nice weather. We just got a "cold" front in yesterday. I think we stayed in the 60s and it was quite chilly this morning. But it's back to the mid 70s for the rest of the weekend.

Our school had a really nice Veteran's Day program on November 9th. I thought Bekah's class was going to sing but it was only the fourth and fifth graders that stood up, everybody just learned the songs. So, Bekah looked awfully cute with her red white and blue, even if she didn't get to stand on stage. Paul was star of the week in his class that week as well. He and I taught his class how to make a paper airplane. That was fun. They are both doing very well in school.

This week was busy with Bekah's teacher's birthday, Thanksgiving lunch at the school and helping Amy clean her house after the renters moved out. Today the Kindergarten classes are having a feast to celebrate their pilgrim/indian unit. Should be fun! Pictures will, of course, follow in the next couple of weeks.

The kids get all of next week off from school, which Paul is really excited about. So, we are planning some fun activities, like making cards for wounded soldiers. Some of you may have gotten the email I forwarded about sending cards to Walter Reed Medical Center. And, I get to cook the Thanksgiving turkey this year. Pray for me! Ha! :) I found a recipe I want to try and my mother in law was more than happy to let me have the honor this year.

And, of course, the wonderful tradition of shopping the day after Thanksgiving. I am so excited! We just have so much fun (my sister in law and I) and are hoping my friend Karri can come along this year.

And then, Bekah's birthday is the following week! I can't believe she's six. She has requested a Ballerina party so the boys may be a tad bored (cousins and neighbors). I think I'll send them out to play football or something while the girls do girly ballet things.

Such exciting times! Happy Thanksgiving!

Halloween

2007-11-02T09:55:00.000-05:00

Princess Bekah and Pokemon Trainer Paul on Halloween on the way to the church party.

Story...Bekah told me for weeks that she wanted to be a strawberry for Halloween. So, I made a strawberry costume. On Halloween, I got her dressed in her costume and was fixin' to do her hair and she said she didn't remember telling me she wanted to be a strawberry. She wanted to be a princess. Luckily for her, because I was fuming, she had that princess dress in her closet. Hence the princess in the previous picture. Well, the school does not do Halloween, they do a story book character parade instead (we can't offend anybody at any time, you know) so I made her wear the strawberry costume for that and carry her Strawberry Shortcake books. At least it got some use! And doesn't it look cute? I was proud of myself for figuring out how to make Bekah into a strawberry.

L to R: Bekah, Emma, Frank (scarecrow) and Taylor. Emma and Taylor are our good friends. They didn't want to take a picture with the scarecrow so Bekah sat with them. You can also see Taylor's dad holding her hand. Emma was Thelma and Taylor was Daphne from Scooby.

Bekah and Ruby. I watch Ruby part of the day during the week. Her family lives across the street from us. Bekah loves to hold her!

LBJ Ranch with Mom and Dad

2007-11-02T09:30:00.000-05:00

Mom, Paul and Bekah in front of the Texas White House (LBJ's home). We took a bus all around the ranch which is a National Park. Since Lady Bird's death, they have started renovating the house and will eventually open it to the public.

Dad, Paul and Bekah. Isn't this a cute picture? I wish it didn't have the glare.

OK, you can't tell from the picture, but Dad is looking at a butterfly. We really enjoyed looking at the butterflys. There were these black ones that had yellow stripes on the underside of their wings that were really cool.

LBJ ranch is a working ranch. They have their own brand of cattle and everything. On the tour we stopped at the barns and saw a couple cows, a horse and stuff. The kids are looking at a baby hiding under the mama cow.

Mom and Dad on the bus!

I'm not very good at getting pictures taken. But there are few cute ones.

Labor Day 2007 with James

2007-11-01T13:27:00.000-05:00

Just got these pics to cd. We had a lot of fun on Labor Day weekend with James. The boys went fishing and we went to the beach and to the zoo. I must have forgotten to take my camera anywhere but the zoo cause besides a few at the apartment, those are the only pictures I have!

The kids and tim looking at the Komodo Dragon.

I can't remember what this exhibit was. I just wanted to get a picture of everyone. We didn't last too long, it was really muggy and sticky that day. But the zoo was free!

Since James has no furniture, we all slept on the floor. Not that Paul and Bekah mind. They can sleep anywhere. Us old people had a hard time, though! :)

Visits, School and Cool Weather

2007-10-19T12:52:00.000-05:00

Well, we just had a great visit from Mom and Dad. I've not got those pictures to a disk yet so I'll have to put them up later. But we had fun doing some things in Austin and the surrounding hill country. We went to the Botanical Garden and Nature and Science Center, which were very cool. We also visited the LBJ Ranch. We had extra special fun at the Half Price Bookstore, of course! The kids just loved having them here. Bekah sewed her buttons with Granny and Paul was able to show Grandpa his rock collection. All my extra kids loved having them here as well. Rian thought the world of James and Grandpa and wanted to spend all her time with them. It was so cute.

In other news, I am looking into starting school in January. I'm a little nervous about that, but it would be a wonderful opportunity for me. Probably looking at Elementary Ed, which would give me summers and vacations with the kids.

Paul is running for Student Council as a third grade representative. He is excited about that, although I did make sure he understood that he may not be elected. We'll see how all that turns out. I'm not really sure how he'll do giving a speech in front of all the 3rd - 5th graders.

Tim shot two deer this year, so far. We cut up meat last night for sausage making. Not my favorite activity and I've told him that we do NOT need anymore! :) Although, the fresh deer meat is delicious, as Mom and Dad found out. We usually cut some up and freeze it for use all during the year but Tim wants to try the sausage making this year.

Our weather is turning cool! Yea! It finally feels like fall. The kids actually wore sweaters to school this morning. Next week, when it cools even more, they can wear pants to school. I love when the weather turns. It really makes it feel like the holiday season to me. I am trying to figure out how to make Bekah into a strawberry and Paul into a Pokemon trainer for Halloween. HMMMMMMMMMM..........

First day of school! My silly kids. The serious picture did not turn out. They are both doing so well. Paul has all As at the moment. Bekah keeps asking when she will be able to read.

The Kindergarten teddy bear picnic. This was so cute. They ate teddy grahams and played with their bears. Bekah is on the far left in the light yellow shirt. All the kids thought this was sooooo fun.

Bekah lost her two top teeth. She was so proud. When she lost her very first tooth, she was very nervous about it. Paul had to reassure here that it would grow back in. Surprisingly, she hasn't cried when she loses them. Blood, even a tiny speck, can make her lose it.

Look sideways and you can see Paul and Tim scraping the popcorn stuff off of our ceilings. What a messs! But it looks so much better with texture and paint. We've really been please with the final outcome. I'll have to get some picture up of that.

All the Hefner cousins. Starting on the left:
Zach, Bekah, Caleb, Paul and Jacob. Youngest to oldest. Or shortest to tallest, :)

Tagged!

2007-09-25T11:34:00.000-05:00

Well, my turn. Enjoy!

Jobs I've held:
1. Wife, mother, homemaker extraordinare, TX
2. Adminstrative Assistant for HOA management company, TX
3. Receptionist/Office Manager for small company, TX
4. HEB checker (grocery store), TX
5. Worked at a computer company in Orem, UT making hard drives
6. BYU grounds crew
7. Worked at at tourist Candy Store in NV
8. Cleaning Lady for small office in Evergreen, CO.
9. Co-Owner of cleaning company with best bud Elizabeth, CO
10. McDonalds (for a whole six months!), CO
11. Babysitter, CO and Sonora, CA

Places for a Weekend Getaway:
What's that? :) We have had some nice getaways at B & Bs around here. But I really like to have a soft bed in a clean place with cable tv.

Guilty Pleasures:
1. Reading all day and doing no housework.
2. Watching a favorite show or movies all day.
3. Drinking a coke and eating chocolate-at the same time!

Movies I could watch over and over:
1. Sgt. Bilko - never fails to make me laugh
2. Princess Diaries one and two
3. Sahara
4. Cheaper by the Dozen one
5. Lord of the Rings, all of them
6. Little Women
7. Elf
There's a lot more!

Places I've lived:
1. Portland, OR
2. Fresno, CA
3. Sanger, CA
4. Sonora, CA
5. Evergreen, CO
6. Provo, UT
7. Virginia City, NV
8. Orem, UT
9. Leander, TX (Last 11 years!)

What was likely the first thing you thought of when you saw your husband for the first time?
Who is that wierdo with the long hair and why is he always hanging out here? :) Well, you certainly can't judge a book by it's cover. He was so unlike other guys I'd been attracted to but you never know what God has in store for you.

Places I've Been on Vacation:
1. Orlando, FL (I've been twice)
2. Las Vegas, NV (before kids)
3. Los Angeles, CA for a friend's wedding
4. Portland, OR (have lots of family up that way)
5. Brown Deer, WI(my wonderful and beautiful sister lives here, love ya!).
6. Various towns in Iowa and WI as Mom and Dad moved around.
7. Austin, MN (Andy and Dana and family)
8. Minneapolis, MN area to visit Em and Ben
9. South Padre Island, TX (right after a hurricane!)
10. Houston area to visit James in his various locations
11. Port Aransas, TX

Favorite Foods:
Pizza, Chinese, and guacomole, at the moment.

If in a "jam" with your spouse what are your tactics to get out of the "doghouse"?
I usually just have to wait it out (although, I wouldn't say I was in the "doghouse" just because he was mad at something.)

Websites I visit daily:
1. Hotmail
That's really it for daily. Just don't have the time!

Best first Kisses landmarks:
First kiss with hubby was in my apartment. We sat there forever waiting for one of my roommates to leave!

Places I would rather be right now:
1. Getting a pedicure
2. At a resort somewhere lounging around reading a book not thinking of all the work to be done and the children to be watched this afternoon

Now I get to pick 3 blog friends to tag:
I don't have three blog friends, so whoever read this, YOU'RE IT! :)

School Is In!

2007-09-25T11:19:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile! The kids have been at school for over four weeks! Paul is in third grade and he's doing well so far. Third grade starts all the testing and such so it will be a new experience come spring. He is in the advanced math class which is great for him. His teacher is pretty young and we weren't sure about her at first. But, I should have just trusted God, because she seems like she'll be great. I am a little sad that there aren't as many opportunities to be in the classroom, but I know she has some big projects she'll need help with later. Paul's favorite subject is still PE. And we do have a really good PE teacher.

Bekah did a lot better her first week of Kindergarten than I thought she would. By the end of the first week she went right in without crying. Her teacher is sooooooo wonderful. Of course, on assembly days and when there is a substitute we start off teary, but once she gets busy with school work she is fine. She just loves everything about it. She was the student of the week last week and that was really fun. I am probably going to end up as room mom, or co-room mom.

I, of course, am keeping busy at home. The work never ends, plus we are painting the main living areas of the house now. Last week we scraped the popcorn stuff off the ceilings and sanded. This week or next we'll put up the new texture. Hopefully we can get it done before Mom and Dad get here. And, if that weren't enough, I still have little Rian three or four days a week and I just got a new crew yesterday.

We have new neighbors across the street. They are super nice, but don't speak much english. We talk through the children. Anyway, the mom just got a job so I watch the baby (7 months) for a few hours in the afternoon and their 4 yo girl and 8 yo girl after school until the teenagers get home from school. It went pretty well yesterday. I know it's a lot, but it's only until the end of the year and I really wanted to be a blessing to this family. They have a total of like eight kids in a house that's no bigger than ours!

And, if that weren't all, I am going to teach spanish to kindergartners for 30 minutes a week. I am really excited about that. I also teach a class a church on Sunday nights. Am I a little overwhelmed? YES! But I really feel like the Lord is going to make all this work out.

Well, considering all that, I better get going. I still have to do the tag questions from Emily!

Fishin' Fools

2007-08-13T12:07:00.000-05:00

The fishing was great this year with all the rain. The boys fished all the way into the beginning of August, very unusual for Texas. Our lakes are all full after many years of drought. So, these pictures are samples of what they caught on an average trip. These pictures were taken at Lake Buchanan, about an hour and a half northwest of our house. These are all catfish, mostly blues. Paul also caught a record flathead catfish on one trip.

More Pictures!

2007-08-08T21:08:00.000-05:00

It's kinda hard to see the new house colors well, but you can see the difference with the siding.
Another view of the front...it used to be white siding with dark green trim. Now the siding is gray with light green trim.
And a view of the back.
Paul is now 8 years old! He had fun at his party, even though it started to pour rain as we ate outside.
Paul opening his presents. The boy to the left is Paul's best friend Josh who lives across the street.

Six Flags Pictures!

2007-08-08T20:54:00.000-05:00

We were the second car to arrive that morning. We were about an hour and a half early but we ate breakfast and walked around the outside a bit.
Paul and Bekah on the Batman for kids. They could make the planes go up and down on their own.
Tim and the kids on the teacups. They loved this one. You can see Bekah peeking over the edge.

July Activities

2007-07-18T14:58:00.000-05:00

Another month has gone by! I know, I know...I still don't have pictures up. I will continue to try.

We have been working on Bekah's room this week. Her's is the first to get a remodel in the house. We've scraped all the popcorn stuff off the ceiling and put up texture (and I must say that Tim did an excellent job) and are now working on the paint. We've chosen a light purple and then I'm going to paint some big flowers on one wall. Bekah wanted flowers everywhere so we compromised. My lovely neighbor took Paul and Bekah to the movies with her kids so I actually have a quiet house this afternoon.

Paul's birthday party is on Saturday. I can't believe he will be 8. We are having a few family and friends over to celebrate. We went with an easy theme...water and barbecue! Sprinklers and a slip and slide for the kids (and any other water stuff we can find at the house) and and easy barbecue lunch for everyone. Should be fun!

Then next weekend is Tim and my anniversary. Number 12! Don't know what we are going to do yet, except go out to eat. I bought a new dress so I need to go out somewhere decent so I can wear it!

Of course the remodel will continue through the end of the month and into the next. Paul's room is second (we figured to get the easy ones done first). Then maybe the hallway...I don't know. I never realized how much prep work there was. Tape, scrape, texture, sand, dust, prime, paint...good gracious! It should look really nice when it's all finished though.

Oh! The outside of the house finally was finished a couple weeks ago. I didn't like the paint at first but it's grown on me. The horizontal siding makes such a difference. It really looks like a different house. Again, I'll have to get pictures up so everyone can see.

Well, that's all the news for today.

Addendum to Six Flags

2007-06-22T22:42:00.001-05:00

Well, my computer is screwing up and that last post did not make it all the way! Grrrrrrrrr! Anyway,

Us adults enjoyed the bigger roller coasters. Tim isn't a huge fan so James and I rode some together and had a great time until James had an unfortunate accident with a toe. Without going into detail, James did not ride anymore that day, but he is fine. His toe will be fine in a couple of weeks but he is not in pain, so don't worry. He graciously watched the kids for awhile so Tim and I could ride a coaster together.

I probably had more to say, but I don't remember anymore. I'm trying to get pictures up. My computer does not want to load them but I'm still trying to check back again!

Six Flags Over Texas

2007-06-22T19:52:00.001-05:00

Well, we just had a fabulous time yesterday at Six Flags in Arlington. James went with us and made the trip extra fun. We got up really early and got there with about an hour and a half to spare (we were the second car there!) so we hung out and walked around the outside for awhile. The kids loved the little roller coasters, although it took Bekah a few times around. The weather was perfect, cloudy and not too hot. And it wasn't crowded at all. We were able to get right up the rides without waiting most of the time.

Paul was adamant about wanting to ride the Judge Roy Scream, which is a bigger coaster. So, after we rode a few of the smaller ones, that's what we did. Paul quickly figured out that it wasn't all that he thought. The first hill was really big and Tim said his eyes were about out of his head by the time we got to the top. Bekah rode too and even though they didn't care for it, they were little troopers.

Bekah's favorite was the Wile E. Coyote coaster in the little kids section. Paul's favorite turned out to be the Mine Train, which is a more inbetween size. They also loved the teacups, the little Batman planes that went up and down while going around in a circle and the bumper cars. They were so good the whole time.

Us adults enjoyed the bigger rides

Whistling

2007-06-19T15:37:00.000-05:00

Bekah has learned how to whistle and she is so proud of herself! It's so cute how she walks around whistling to herself. She is still trying to master snapping...we practiced that this morning.

I am really close to putting pictures up so stay tuned. I borrowed a digital camera and just need to get the software on my computer.

I've often wondered how Dana survives with five kids at the grocery store. I just took three today and I was thinking how I couldn't wait for school to start again so I can go by myself. I am weary!

Our new siding and windows are in the process of being installed, which makes for a loud day. They start at 7 am and somehow the kids sleep through the first 30 minutes or so. I was trying to read my Bible this morning but had to abandon the effort once the pounding started. But, I am grateful it is being done. We were going to paint the house ourselves but have thought better of it. Hopefully next week or the week after I can put up some pictures of our redone house. And then we start painting the inside. Woohoo!

James is here this week, attending an education conference in the area. He said the first day was good and he enjoyed it. Thursday he is going with us to Six Flags in Arlington Texas. We are excited for that fun day. Pictures, of course will be forthcoming!

Summer Has Begun!

2007-06-07T15:22:00.000-05:00

Well, I started a post a couple days ago and never got it finished. So I will try again.

Summer is going well. We have had tons of rain, for which I praise the Lord constantly. Our area lakes were 20 to 40 feet below capacity and it was getting pretty scary. But they are now full and the fishing has been abundant, which, of course, makes Tim very happy.

We went to Lake Buchanan, about an hour north of our house, last weekend and had a wonderful time. We went looking for stripers but ended up catching white bass. The kids had a great time and each reeled in several fish. I just drive the boat and soak up sun. :) Just in case somebody hasn't heard, Tim caught a couple of lake records in Lake Travis in April. A 32 pound flathead catfish and a 43 pound blue catfish. (Just had to do a little bragging on my man!) Tim and Paul had their picture in the local paper and everything.

Paul is enjoying the time off of school. He did manage to pull off straight A's for his last report card of second grade, which is great! We are very proud of him. Bekah finished up her gymnastics class and really loved it. We'll have to try that again soon. I hope to have some pictures up soon so ya'll can see how cute she was.

We are expecting a visit from Uncle James in a couple of weeks and we look forward to that. We are trying to get down to the beach this summer so we may see him beyond that as well. Next week we start getting new windows and siding on the house, woohoo! It will be nice to have that done.

Next time I'll try for pictures! See Ya!

Beginning

2007-05-01T14:22:00.000-05:00

Well, I decided to start a blog. I really enjoy reading Emily and Dana's and hearing about the kids. It is a rainy day in Texas ( not something to take lightly!). Bekah is going to spend the night at her Nana's house so that I can go on Paul's second grade field trip tomorrow.

What can I say that not everybody has already heard? Bekah lost her first tooth a few weeks ago and is working on her second one. She was really concerned about that first one and we had to convince her that it was okay for her tooth to fall out. She can get a little dramatic about pain and especially blood! Bekah also learned to ride her bike without training wheels and has the best balance I've ever seen. She can go as slow as a snail and not put a foot to the ground.

Paul is just about to end second grade and I think he's ready for the break of summer. He is, of course very into fishing with his dad and when I get a little more organized I'll post some if their prize catches. Tim and Paul were recently in the newspaper for catching two lake record catfish.

That's all I've got time for today. Life is good!