Now that She's 4...

 ... Allie has graduated from the church nursery and now goes to the worship service then Children's Church on Sunday and Kid's Bible Club on Wednesdays!  On her first night in KBC, I walked in at the end just in time to hear her telling the teacher that Jesus died on the cross for us.  Big smiles!  She acts like she's been going to "big church" and in with the older kids forever!  She's full of wisdom. Just listen to what she told me today:  "I know God is bigger than an elephant standing on his tippy toes." So true.
 

Allie's first night in Kid's Bible Club her friend Drew invited her to sit next to him

Now that she's 4, she also has her own castle.  Well not completely her own, she has to share it with her brothers.  We have a ton of boxes in our house, so this was our first attempt at repurposing some of them. I wonder if all business-owners-who-work-out-of-their-homes-and-get-large-box-deliveries kids' have it so good?

This week is all about getting ready for our big road trip.  I'm really excited and nervous at the same time.  We're stocking up on snacks, treats, and dollar store finds to keep everyone occupied in the car.  A sweet friend gave the kids a Nintendo DS, and another pair of sweet friends gave them lots of games to use with it!  I've been putting together some activities for them to do on the long drive, and one of my favorites is what I like to call Magna-Daughter.  I'll post some pictures of it soon!

Happy Birthday Allie!

I'm hoping VBS is a good enough excuse for not posting pictures of the birthday girl on her actual birthday!  We are really having a great week in VBS, and we did not totally overlook Allie's birthday!  Since she wanted to go to Sea World, that trip took the place of a birthday party.  We had a blast with our friends Paul David and Judson (and Mrs. Candice and Mr. Paul).  It was both of our first vacations with friends and we called it a success!  I'm sure Candice got some great pictures, so I'll be sharing more pictures from Sea World later, but here's what I got:

Ready for fun (June 12, 2013)

The water ski show that I had been looking forward to

After posing with Shamu, Spence said, "I didn't know whales were fuzzy."

Waiting for the real Shamu (check out Allie's face)

The kids loved the Sesame Street characters

Allie and the Count

Farewell to Sea World!

Two days at Sea World will wipe you out!

And I had to add a picture of the big roller coaster that Coleman and Brian couldn't get enough of

On Father's Day, Brian and the kids took a picture by the OralID boxes.  I think that will be a great reminder of what was going on for Father's Day 2013!  It's been so nice to have Brian working from home, enjoying his work, and having NO commute!!!  We have dinner together every night.  That is totally new to us and we are loving it!

Happy Father's Day to the best Daddy we know!

 Sunday was also Allie's last time in the Church nursery.  Now that she's 4, she will come to church with us for worship, then go to Children's Church!  And on Wednesday night she will go to Kid's Bible Club.  What a big girl!

Love this little 4 year old, and her photo bombing bro!

Monday was Allie's birthday, so after VBS Nana and Poppa met us at Los Tios for a birthday lunch.  Gotta love a girl who chooses Mexican food for her birthday lunch!  And Grandma, we sure missed you.  On your next visit Allie will take you to get a taco!

Chips and salsa make me happy!

The banner I've been using to decorate for Allie's birthday since she was one

The cake that Sam's forgot to make!  They were fast though and had it done by that afternoon.

Allie, you are truly a blessing to our family! I thank God for you and pray every day that you will grow up to love Him, know Him, and serve Him all your days.  Sometimes I look at you and wonder where you came from - this blond, curly, full of personality little girl that turns heads everywhere she goes.  I'm so glad you're part of our crazy clan!

Summer Time!

Seems I approach Summer with mixed emotions every year.  I'm glad to have the kids home, have a more relaxed schedule, and go on some fun trips.  But on the other hand, there's just a lot of togetherness.  Every year I try to come up with a plan to keep the peace and ward off boredom.  Hopefully we'll kick the whinies out and have fun this summer!

 Wednesday we went to Spence's end of the year program then Allie and I stayed for lunch.  Spence is holding up double L's for "last lunch" since that was his last day to eat in the cafeteria!

 Last day as a 2nd grader and Kindergartener?  Really?  I mean, it seems like I just took this picture:

I'm so proud of the boys for how hard they worked in school this year.  (Skip this paragraph if you don't want to listen to this Mommy brag.)  Spence did a great job and is now a reader!  I've also discovered that he is quite the artist.  Both the boys got perfect attendance.  That included no tardies!  My running joke was, "Despite Spence's best efforts, they haven't been tardy yet!"  Coleman got honor roll, making all "A"s this year.  He also earned a Texas Reader's certificate for reading books and writing summaries on each one.  The award his teacher gave him was for being so helpful to his classmates.  I love that one, because what good is being smart if you're not kind and helpful?  Way to go guys!

This picture's just for fun.  Or to gross you out.  We got home on the last day of school and Spence said, "Can you clip just one toenail?  It's already out for you!"

And finally...

Summer's here!  Freedom!  No school!  Lazy days at the pool!  Hope you have an awesome summer!

Big Day for the Pik Boys

Today was the final game of flag football for the season.  Coleman's team, the Saints, was playing for 1st place in the 1st/2nd grade league.  It was a great game, and ended up going into overtime, where each team could chose to go for 1 or 2 points.  The other team went for 1 and scored.  Then our team went for 2, Coleman got the ball, and ran it in with guys pulling at his legs!  Great way to end the season!  Congratulations to the champions!
 

After taking pictures, I rushed over to Spence's game.  He had his best game ever: a good run, a center sneak, and finishing off with the winning point after with no time left! Way to go Spence on your first score!

We'll post some more pictures and video later that Brian got.  I'm so proud of all 3 of my boys!  I feel extremely blessed to have healthy, energetic kids and a husband willing to coach 5 and 6 year olds.  I love you guys!  This mommy will always be your biggest cheerleader!

Sweet Prayers

Sweet prayer by Allie at lunch time today:

Thank you for God and thank you for Jesus.  Thank you for Jesus and thank you for God.  Thank you for coming out of the tomb.  Amen.  Mommy, you pray for the OralID now!

I love our car ride home from school each day.  It's probably only about 8 minutes or so, but the boys love to talk about their day or just talk in general.  I hope they don't lose that any time soon.  Here was today's conversation:

Coleman:  What word do you think people say the most?
Me:  "The" or "a" probably.
Spence:  What animal word do people say the most?
Me:  It depends what kind of animal you like best.  We probably say "dog" the most since we have a dog.
Coleman:  Or "fat" or "fishbreath!"

It took me a second, but then I realized "fat" and "fishbreath" are words often associated with our chubby little bad-breathed dog Maestro!

His Peace

There has been so much going on lately.  Some good and exciting, some not so much.  I haven't really felt like writing about things going on in life right now.  But something compels me to write today.  Strange as it sounds, I think it was a familiar children's song that Allie was listening to on YouTube this morning.  I wasn't even listening to it since she had on headphones.  I was feeling once again overwhelmed by things happening in the world.  Feeling thankful that my children are with me, and at the same time feeling an overwhelming sadness that some parents don't have that today.

I walked over to the computer where Allie, who I'd barely been able to stop hugging this morning, was sitting listening to songs.  She had started with Jesus Loves Me, then was on to I've Got the Joy Joy Joy Joy.  The words were flashing across the screen with pictures of hearts, smiley faces, and fuzzy little kittens.  Then there must have been a break in the music, because after the verse which says , "I've got the peace peace peace peace down in my heart" some Scriptures popped up.  One of them caught my attention and hasn't let me go all morning.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.  John 14:27

The world views peace as the absence of trouble or fighting.  There can only be peace when things are going good.  When everyone's happy and healthy.  But that's not true peace that comes from Jesus.  Through that children's song He reminded me that the peace that He gives is so different.  He is holding us and comforting us in spite of all the trouble and heartache.  He is there, waiting for us to cry out to Him and allow Him to hold us and comfort us.

For my friend whose son's classmate drowned at their Kindergarten pool party in their presence, Jesus offers His peace.  For that hurting family, He offers His peace.  For the parents in Oklahoma who didn't get to pick up their children from school yesterday, He offers His peace.  For my family as we learned that Brian was laid off before his own business can financially support us, He offers His peace.  Our problem seems so insignificant when I look at these other situations.  But of course nothing is insignificant to Jesus.  From the smallest detail to the most devastating event, He is there.  And oh how I am thankful for that.  What would I do without Him?  What purpose would this life have?  I want to praise Him and thank Him continually for how He shows Himself at work in my life.  All I have to do is open my eyes.  I ask Him to show Himself faithful in all these tragedies.  I pray for believers to lean on Him and for unbelievers to turn to Him.  I hope you'll lift your cries to Him today too.

New Old Dolls

About a week ago Brian and Allie went up in the attic and brought down a chest filled with some of my Barbies and Cabbage Patch dolls.  I imagine they've been living in Texas attics for the last 13 or 14 years, so I was shocked to see that they weren't all melted together!  They are actually in great condition!  I washed the clothes and gave the Barbies a bath and brushed out their hair.  Maybe I enjoyed the hair brushing a little more than I care to admit. Allie has totally enjoyed playing with all her new 30 year old dolls!

Look Grandma!  These are the matching child and doll outfits you gave Allie for Christmas!

We also found some of the kids' old baby clothes for the dolls to wear

The Barbies are a big hit!  And their clothes remind me of how big a deal poofy sleeves were in the 80s.  Remember poofy sleeves?  I know we've all worked hard to forget...

You never know what kind of fashion statement Allie will be making.  I'm not sure what to call this one!

 Allie was super excited about her second week of ballet.  And she got a fun surprise when we arrived at the studio:  her best friend from school joined the class!

Mommy's first attempt at a bun

Ready for ballet class!

From Football to Ballet

On Sunday, April 7th the boys had their first flag football game of the season and Grandpa was here to watch it!  Their games were at the same time, but luckily the two fields were side by side.  Brian is coaching Spence's team, which is made up of Preschool and Kindergarteners.  The first play of the game was hilarious.  Spence's team was on offense, they snapped the ball, and the kid with the ball took off running, but Spence and the other 3 kids on his team just stood there!  Later he told me he was supposed to guard that spot.  Ha!

 Today Allie started a ballet class.  She had so much fun!  Even though she wants to play football next year, I think she'll do great at dance too!

 

Catching Up With March and April

This is one of those catch up posts where I share pictures from the last month and a half!

 Toward the end of Spring Break, our Momsnext group volunteered with Lunches of Love, an organization in a neighboring town that provides sack lunches for school age kids during holidays, summer break, and weekends.  This is such a fun and meaningful activity that we enjoy taking part in!  Even kids Allie's age can help out!  And speaking of the princess...

 It started with us coloring in her new princess coloring book, then escalated to making a crown, and before I knew it we were crafting a princess dress out of a paper bag!  So much fun!  The gloves were her idea.  And see the tape?  She found out the hard way that this dress wasn't made for bending over.  That meant I had to be at her beck and call for the entire time she wore the dress!

 From princess to bug catcher!  One day I decided to clean up the pile of leaves and acorns I had been sweeping off the back porch all winter.  Under the pile it was nice and moist.  Allie grabbed a bucket and started collecting rolly pollies and worms.  She was pretty upset that she couldn't keep them all.

 Exhibit A in "Evidence that a quiet child is probably up to something."  She was very proud of her work and called to me in the kitchen, "Mommy come see what I did!"  Those are scary words.  So I was relieved to see that it was just stickers.  We actually left them up almost a week!

Here Allie was helping me make homemade cinnamon swirl bread.  Yummy!

 Allie loves the college kids so much that sometimes it's hard to make her go to bed while they are at our house.  This night she fell asleep right between two of the girls.  Precious!

 Easter Sunday we had our neighbor friends and some ladies from church over for lunch.  I just love seeing these kids together!  Gianna is one of Allie's besties! 

The first weekend of April Grandpa visited!  We had a great time with him!  He came down to watch Coleman and Spence play football.  (See the next post for those pictures.)  These pictures were taken outside our church the Sunday Grandpa was here.

 Allie has decided she likes pig tails.  They are really cute, but curly hair is extremely hard to part evenly!  Especially curly hair on a wiggly child!