Cause I'm a big girl now

Olivia is forcing me to deal with the fact that she IS a big girl. She tries to do EVERYTHING that her big sissies do.

She has decided that she no longer needs her high chair. She is ready for the big table. She climbs in and out all on her own(she has gotten stuck by climbing in the chair while it is pushed up to the table, fun stuff).


Daddy helping Abi learn how to ride the bicycle (thank you Sidney).


Makayla preparing for a spin on the bike.


Olivia plotting how she will swipe the bike from her sisters.


A quick cuddle for daddy....


And she was victorious




Abi and KayKay playing with our neighbor, Andrew, whom Abi says she loves. (oh no)


I wanna go outside.
precious




Abi coming in the house and giving Livi kisses through the door. Liv giggled.

This is the result of movie night at the Hill House. All three were sleeping beauties before the movie was over.

Feeling Better

Olivia got up smiling and talking about "Minnie Ma" (Minnie Mouse). She ate breakfast and has been running around for about half an hour. I think that took a lot out of her, because now she is laying on the girls tumble mat for a break. We were all hoping to get to stay at home together with the weather being yuck. But, not today.
I just wanted to take a minute to jot down some new things the kids are up to and things they have been doing for a while that I want to make sure that I don't forget.

*Makayla says when she has tangles in her hair that "ratatouille needs to get out of my hair and go home"

*Olivia called me "Mommy" twice this morning, usually it's Momma

*Olivia said "you're welcome" clear as day when I handed her the minnie mouse bowl with crackers in it this morning.

*Last night Alex was being silly and I looked at the girls and said "Where did he come from?". Abi shrugged her shoulders and said, " I don't know. Texas maybe."

*Olivia said her prayer before breakfast all by herself. The only clear words were "God" and "Amen".


Everyone be safe out there today. We love you all.

Wii-tarded

Ok, first off, I am going to go ahead and apologize for the politically incorrect title. Lol, but I had to do it!!
When I was gone to Blossom, Alex bought a Wii Fit and he has been playing since I got home. lol. He looks hilarious doing it and I am going to try my darndest to get some video of him workin'-it-out on here. You will love it! I'm telling you!
Abi wanted to try the hula hoop today.
Abi's Mii Profile





And Olivia woke up sick this morning. Alex brought her to me while I was in bed and she was perfectly content to just lay there with me. Which is always a dead give away that she doesnt feel good. She has a slight fever and sore throat. She has slept a lot today.

Legacy of Laughter

Tim and Pam's son, Zac

Olivia

Tim's daughter, Lindsey (in the background) and Nana (in the front)

Thank you to everyone for keeping our family in your hearts and prayers.Uncle Tim passed away on January 20, 2009. The viewing was Thursday the 22 and funeral on the 23rd. Brent, Seth, Olivia, and I made the trip to Blossom, TX on Thursday. Gathering for the loss of a loved one is always a reflective and sad time, but it also allows the family to celebrate one another. We always end up finding the laughter that our loved one would want us to hang on to. And in this case, I definitely feel that a legacy of laughter was left behind.

Brent

Abigail and Makayla stayed at home with Alex because they both had school on Friday and Alex had to go into the office. I didn't get to see the girls until Saturday morning because I got home after they were in bed on Friday night. They were glad to see me and Livi. Abi began to talk a lot about cards and things that she had made for Uncle Tim. She prayed for him everytime she got the opportunity as well. I hadn't told the girls about him passing because they have a hard time dealing with situations like this. Their grandmother that had them before us had fallen one time and they witnessed the ambulance coming and taking her away. They were traumatized by it all. I am sure they didn't have anyone to reassure them she would be alright or to explain what was going on. So for the longest time,they would both become upset at seeing emergency lights on the highway or hearing sirens.
That's why I didn't tell them a lot about Uncle Tim. I just told them he was sick and left it at that. They did not know that I was leaving to go to his funeral and I wasn't sure how to handle it.
Saturday night,after her bath, I was sitting with Abi and fixing her hair. She began to ask questions about how people sleep in hospitals and I knew she was greatly concerned about Tim. So, I explained about IV's and then approached it like this: I told her that she didn't have to worry about Uncle Tim anymore because he wasn't in the hospital and didn't have IV's anymore. I told her that he got to go see Jesus. I told her about Pepaw and how they got to be together now. I told her that I wanted to get to see Tim, Pepaw, and Jesus someday too. And she said, "And he sees God too?" I answered yes, and the biggest smile crossed her face. She jumped on me to give me a hug and it seemed to ease her worries completely. She was genuinely happy. And God gave me the ability to tell her this without crying (those of you that know what a bawl bag I am understand what a great feat that was).
I told her how thankful I was that she had such a caring heart and God was proud of her for that. Ahhhh, kids. They are so refreshing at times.

This May Sound Stupid....

"This may sound stupid, but it just don't get much better than this" These were the words of my Uncle Tim as family and friends filed in and out of his room last night at the hospital. It felt so good to be able to see him laughing, joking, and cutting up. I was so worried that I would get to Tulsa and he would be too weak to even know that I was there. It was a rewarding trip. I was able to spend time with his daughter, my cousin, Lindsey. And it was priceless (another word that Tim used last night). We had a wonderful visit and being surrounded by family was great as well.
We have been traveling a lot lately back and forth to Tulsa. I think it has become quiet exhausting for the girls. I took pictures of Makayla and her many sleeping positions while on the ride home. Poor babies were worn out!




I also seem to have a fascination with baby feet. Alex described how Olivia sleeps pretty well. He said she is like a turtle because she tucks her arms and feet underneath her. And it makes for the sweetest way to curl up for bed. She criss crosses her feet and pats her foot until she falls asleep. I know this is something that I am going to miss when she out grows it. So, here are the pictures to always look back and remember.....

A Prayer for Peace

Every Thanksgiving and Christmas, we would be at Memaw's and the topic of National Lampoons Christmas Vacation would never fail to come up. Uncle Tim would always associate me with the "Aunt Bethany" on the movie and he would tell me to "Say thaaaa blessing". We always got a good laugh out of that one.
I remember one Sunday after church at Daisy when I was a pre-teen, we stopped at the Self Creek Restaurant (which is no longer there, it's a shame) and Lindsey and I were talking about bands. We happened to be discussing The Smashing Pumpkins and Uncle Tim said "you have got to be kidding. that's the name of a band?" and he laughed. We thought he was crazy for not knowing who we were talking about, and he proceeded to show us up with crazy band names. He said, "well, have you ever heard of Toad and the Wet Sprocket" I died laughing and never did believe him that it was a real band until I saw a commercial on tv a long time later advertising the band.
Uncle Tim has always had a warm hug or firm handshake for those he meets. He likes David Letterman. He ALWAYS has something funny to say. He is a Christian. He is a dad. He is a husband. He is a grandpa. He is a hard worker. He is a provider. He is a son. He is a brother. He is an uncle. He is a cousin. He is a friend. He is a wonderful man.
My Uncle Tim calls me "Bet" and he calls my mom "Pup Head". He has a name for everyone! :o)
Please pray for peace. Pray for all of those that will be left behind. Pray that he does not hurt. Help us all to remember the wonderful life he has lived. I can not imagine the wonderful memories that Pam, Lindsey, Zack, and all of his childhood friends have. I didn't get to see him as often as we got older. But I know when we were all together there was never a dull moment. So I know that there are so many stories of his past.
I have no doubt that Tim is a man of God and he knows where he is going. He has been a servant to the Lord.
Uncle Tim, you better believe I will be saying "tha blessing" and thinking of you everytime that I do. I love you.
God bless.

My Little Pony...

After bath time, I was able to pull Livi's hair up in a teeny tiny pony tail. It was another Momma moment. Made me sad inside a little.

Abi then decided to put on Brent's boots.

Lord be our strength....

I have an Uncle Tim that was diagnosed with liver cancer in April of 2008. He has been fighting for a long time and he has been giving it all he's got to kick this thing. He has been doing rather well, considering. Until now. This morning his wife, Pam, let the family know that his kidneys are failing. They moved him to ICU this morning and are not able to move him to a hospital with a kidney specialist because he is not stable enough.
My uncle has always been the funny man. He has always been up for a good laugh and always been a joy to be around. Please pray for him and his family. Many of my family members are on their way to be together at the hospital in Tulsa( he is at Cancer Treatment Centers of America). I'm not sure how to handle the situation now with the girls. I haven't had to deal with a family crisis before and consider anyone other than mine and Alex's lives around it. I am trying to put on a good face in front of the kiddos. We will hopefully be headed out to Tulsa sometime today. Everyone please put this situation on your prayer lists. God Bless.

Constructive Weekend

My cousins Brent and Todd came up on Thursday and we all went out to Chili's for supper. It was great. We had a good visit. The girls are always super excited about seeing them too.

Here is the outfit that Nana got Livi for Christmas. Too cute! But she has already lost the head band to it. Hopefully it will turn up soon.



The girls had gymnastics again on Friday this week. Abi's instructor has been suggesting for a while now that she move up to a bigger class. Now she and Makayla will be in different classes on different nights of the week, and (lucky Momma) I get to corral Olivia and one of her siblings twice a week now. :o) I should be thankful for Abi's growing talent, and I am.


Alex and I recently got a toy chest from the Unpainted Furniture store. I was excited about getting to pick out the colors and design for it, but it was also overwhelming. It was bigger than I remember it being in the store. So I had a lot more surface area to deal with, which also meant a lot more possibilities for messing it up completely. But I have to say that I am pretty pleased with the finished product.

Before:




After:



Poppa Rock came up today to help us get railing up on our deck. The girls were VERY excited to see him. Olivia was whiney and fussy with him, as usual. By the end of the evening, she was warming up to him though.


Poppa built a fire in the fire pit and the girls got all excited about that too. They bundled up and went outside to sit by it. Olivia had a fit to come out too. So, as you can see, she was wrapped up in the first blanket I could get my hands on so that she would quit screaming. It made for a cute pic though.






As some of you may remember, Olivia was a HUGE thumb sucker as a baby. Her thumb was shriveled up all of the time. It was a concern of mine from the get-go. I tried everything to get her to stop! I tried to get her to take a binky, tried tying her sleeves up at night, and finally I put cloth pantyhose on her backwards at night before she went to bed.(Don't turn me in!) And that one worked! Now, all of a sudden, binkies are appealing to her. She runs around with one in her mouth while she is playing a lot. I think it is cute, but I sure hope it doesn't become an addiction of hers.


Makayla baking cookies.


Poppa and the girls devouring the cookies.


My dad,Livi, and I travelled to Tulsa on Sunday evening. We made it to the hospital around midnight. I was able to see Uncle Tim for a few minutes on Monday morning. He was very tired and not able to visit for very long before going back to sleep. We left from Tulsa on Monday to come home. Tim was not feeling very well when we left and nothing much had changed with his situation. He had become stable enough to move to St John's Hospital so that he could see a kidney specialist. I talked to my mom last night after I had arrived home and she said Tim was feeling better. He was alert and talkative. That was really good to hear.
I dropped Makayla and Abigail off at Alex's parents house while I went to Tulsa. Last night while blow drying Abi's hair, I leaned over and gave her a kiss on the forehead and told her that I missed her. She hugged me and said, " I missed you too. But I didn't miss Olivia." I laughed and asked her why. She said ," Because she messes everything up." It was a wonderfully honest moment.