Family Day

Today was a wonderful family day! We started bright and early with our photo shoot. It was only 8:30, but H-O-T!!! Aside from the heat, we had a great time. We'll get the CD with all the pictures on Wednesday.

After the photo shoot, we rewarded the boys (and ourselves) with doughnuts, then headed to church. We dedicated Allie. We stood before the church and recognized that Allie is a gift from God. He's given her to us to raise, and we promise to raise her in a Christian home and teach her about Jesus. The pastor told about how Hannah prayed for a child, then dedicated him back to the Lord when she had a baby. They played a slideshow of pictures of Allie, then said a prayer for our family. It was really sweet! It is something that we've done with each of our children and is so meaningful to us. I'm glad both of our parents were able to be there with us!

Our family with Daniel Lopez

After Allie's nap, it was party time! I didn't know if she would really care about her presents, but she did! The girl loves dolls! The boys chose Hello Kitty plates and napkins, so I made a Hello Kitty cake.


Grandma and Grandpa gave her a doll stroller, stuffed bunny, and two crocheted bibs. Nana and Poppa gave her a Baby Alive. Coleman and Spence gave her a little Cabbage Patch baby. Daddy and I gave her some big girl sippy cups. (On her birthday we'll take the kids to Build-A-Bear.)

Birthday Princess!

She loves the doll the boys gave her, but Spence keeps trying to take it away!

Good presents everyone!

Happy Birthday to you!

Eating birthday cake

Tomorrow...

...is a big day! The 5 of us, Rita and Gale, and my parents are going to a park at 8:30 a.m. for a photo shoot. I am hoping we get some really good family pictures. Then we are having a dedication for Allie at church. And then in the afternoon we're having an early birthday party for Allie so Rita and Gale can celebrate with us! So much going on! I'll tell you all about it tomorrow night.

Speaking of Allie, that little girl is walking! I cannot tell you the exact date she started walking. I did, however, finally get video of it yesterday. I can tell you without even looking in his baby book that Coleman took his first steps on January 31, 2006. We captured it on tape and Brian made a cute little montage set to Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'." What a contrast! I guess that's the plight of the third child. I'll try to make up for it tomorrow with lots of cute pictures of Allie and her Hello Kitty cake!

And yes! Rita and Gale are here. We are having so much fun with them. They took the boys to see their first movie at the theater today. I figured I couldn't send Coleman to Kindergarten never having been to a movie theater. We'll have lots of pictures to share later. It's a busy day tomorrow, so I'm off to bed!

The Things They Say

I can't wait to hold a conversation with Allie. I can only imagine the things she'll say! Here are some of the funny things the boys have said lately!

Coleman: What's the number for the army?
Mommy: What do you mean?
Coleman: You know, 911 is the police and firemen. What number do you call if you want the army to come to your house?

As Spence and I were getting in the car to go to the store:

Spence: Mommy, don't drive too fast or my flip flops might fall off.

There's nothing like a good laugh to relieve stress!

And the Winner Is...

Houston! The perfect job was right here in Houston. Isn't that something? After interviewing with companies in New Jersey, California, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Florida, and Georgia, the job God had for Brian was right down the road! We seriously did not think we would get to stay here. I have to admit that I was a little excited about the prospect of leaving this sweltering heat and humidity behind, but this is home! I'm a Texas girl at heart. I love being close to my parents. And I can only imagine the hassle of moving 3 kids across the country. We're so excited! I'm trying to talk Brian in to writing more about his new job and what he'll be doing, so be looking for that! I also may try to put my thoughts together into words to share what all God taught us through this chapter of life. It's been amazing. Thanks again for all your concern and prayers. Thanks for being a part of our lives! I love sharing it with you.

1 More Month Until...

...my baby turns 1! Every month I wonder where the time has gone! At 11 months, Allie loves to push the little toy with wheels around (sorry, I don't know what it's called). She's even learned to steer. Several times she's taken two steps on her own! Of course, she is the third child, so there's no camera nearby. We do have some video of her strolling along with the push toy, but again, third child, so no rush to upload that video! I'm sorry Allie. At least no one can accuse me of favoring her because she's a girl!


My baby girl loves to eat! We went to IHOP Friday night and she had her own kid's meal - seriously! She ate an entire chicken strip and much of the fruit. She's had Arby's twice, and I've got to say, she's an Arby's girl! (Everyone knows what Arby's is, right? Roast beef sandwiches.) And she's all about the chicken strips from Whataburger. She may not have my hair or eyes, but she's got my appetite!

At 11 months, Allie still just has two teeth. Every day I think I see another one about to break through, but it hasn't yet. And as for words, I think she's more of a thinker! She says "mama" and "dada" and what sounds like "hi dada" and "na na na na" when I say "no no" to her. Every so often she gets babbly and "talks" to us, but mostly she just observes.


Strolling, eating, babbling. These are all minor details in her day. Her true passion is unrolling toilet paper. She is getting very good at it! I think she knows the quickest route to the bathroom from every point in the house. She can sense when Spence has left the door open and the toilet paper, stashed in the cabinet below the sink, is left unguarded.


Those are just a few details about our Allie at 11 months old. I think she's the sweetest little girl in the world!

211 Days

7 months

300 job applications

8 interviews

1,000,000 prayers

1 God who heard them all

And the answer we've all been waiting for...

2 job offers on Friday!

Yes, Brian heard Wednesday that the company he's been talking to in Houston was going to make an offer on Friday. Thursday, the company in Atlanta told him they wanted to make an offer and just needed some paperwork from his previous company. So Friday, within 90 minutes of each other, the two offers came in! Brian will make a decision early next week. So we'll let you all know what decision he made then, and I'll write more. We cannot tell you how much your prayers and support have meant to us during this time. Some people have asked if it feels like a weight has been lifted off of us, and to be honest, it doesn't. We weren't weighted down. That's the thing about completely trusting in God: it's freeing. God has taken care of us and made Himself very real to us over these past seven months, and we give Him all the praise for these job offers. This is His perfect timing that we've been waiting for!

Brian told the boys that when he got a job they could celebrate by staying up all night. This all started because every night Coleman says, "I don't like to sleep. I wish I could stay up all night." So last night they made it until almost 2 am. Spence is a little crabby today, but for the most part they're all doing fine. It helps that it's a sleepy, rainy day around here.

I'll admit that I feel strange about leaving this job search phase. After all, it's been 211 days since Brian's company ran out of money. Strange, I know. Maybe I'll write more about that later. Until then, have a great weekend! We sure are!

Remembering My Goals

Back in January I debated making New Year's resolutions. I decided to set some goals for myself and just not call them resolutions, fearing the same thing would happen that happens every year: February arrives and the resolutions are long forgotten! How am I doing with my goals, you ask? Here are the goals I set, followed by my progress, or lack thereof:

• To have a closer relationship with Jesus - I set this as my top priority this year. Is it always my top priority? I'm afraid not. But I feel closer to Him than I have ever before. A few months ago I started noticing that Allie was waking up every morning at around 5:15 or 5:30. I would go feed her then go back to bed, usually staying there until the boys nagged me enough times for breakfast that I couldn't ignore them anymore without feeling like a completely horrible mother. After awhile, I figured maybe it would be a good idea to feed Allie, then stay up. I could do my Bible study, drink a cup of coffee and eat a healthy breakfast, then get in a workout before the boys were up. I decided that God was actually waking Allie up at that time so that I could get up and spend time with Him and have some time to myself before the demands of the day started. It has been awesome! And I've written many times about how God has spoken to me and the things He's taught me through Brian's job search. Again, awesome. This top goal of pursuing a closer relationship with Jesus is a daily commitment, and I pray that He will continually give me the desire to say yes to Him each and every day.
• To be the best wife I can be - You'll have to ask Brian about this one! Actually, I think this again goes back to how God is working in our lives through Brian's job search. Brian and I have become so much closer. We pray together at night and talk about the things God is showing us. Several times we've felt silly about something we've been feeling, only to share it and find out the other one was feeling the same way! And just like living for Jesus, being a good wife can be a daily commitment also.
• Develop friendships - I'm not the life of the party...yet. But I have started getting out there a little more. We get together with one of the boys' best friends and his mom at least once a week, so we are always caught up on each other's lives. And just recently some friends and I have revived our food journal blog and communicate daily on there. And believe me, you can only tell your true friends all the junk you eat in a day! Overall, let's just say I'm still working on this goal.
• Get healthier - Drum roll please... I've lost 15 pounds since January!!! I get up and walk with my buddy Maestro (who slows me down miserably) and then do my workout DVD. I'm having so much fun! I even opened the box tucked away in the back of my closet labeled "skinny pants." That was fun! Together with my blogger buddies, I write down everything I eat (during the week) and get encouragement from them. I don't deprive myself when I want a coke or a Whataburger, I just don't give in to those cravings every day. Yeah, I'm a recovering coke-aholic.
• Organize my house - For the past few months I've been trying to get rid of junk, but I haven't gotten as far as I would like to. The whole "are we moving or are we staying" thing has been a distraction. If we're going to move, I don't want to start getting everything nice and organized here (what a lame excuse, I know!) But I did have a garage sale several weeks ago, so that's at least one point for me! I'm hoping to kick this goal in gear really soon.

So there it is. I wanted to share these because actually, I would be failing miserably if I were attempting to accomplish these things on my own. I truly believe it is God who is working in me to shape me into the person He wants me to be. So I give Him all the glory and pray for His continued help where I miss the mark. I hope your resolutions or goals are going well!

Happy Mother's Day

The three reasons I love being a mom

Six years ago I was sitting in church trying to hold back tears as all the mothers were recognized. My mom and mother-in-law were both there with us, but I felt an emptiness because I had wanted to be a mother for several years. Infertility was not an issue, but timing. Brian had been in graduate school and wanted to wait to have children until he finished school and had a job so that I could stay home. (He had just graduated and walked through the Sallyport at Rice University the previous day, even though he completed his thesis months before and had been doing a post-doc and was working for M.D. Anderson). I knew this was a wise decision, but my heart had a hard time understanding and waiting. I'm so thankful that he stood his ground on this decision and didn't give in to my desires, because not only was it Brian's timing, but it was God's timing also.

What I didn't know as I sat there crying and later explaining my tears to my mom and mother-in-law is that I was pregnant! My journey of motherhood was about to begin! And it has been, and continues to be, an amazing journey. God has blessed me with three wonderful children. Each day with them is another blessing, and I am so grateful. Even for the days that are crazy! Today started with the boys dancing around with underwear on their heads when they were supposed to be getting dressed for church, and culminated with Allie knocking over and breaking the floor lamp, leaving shattered glass all over the living room. It was still an amazing Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to Mom and Rita, two of the greatest moms I know. I love you both and am so thankful to have you in my life. You are always there to listen, give advice, say a prayer, share a laugh, and love a grandkid! My life is so rich with you both in it!

Happy Mother's Day to each of the moms reading this. We have one of the hardest, but most rewarding jobs. May we cherish every minute of it! Even if we're pulling underwear off heads or vacuuming up glass.

Guess Who Said That

Welcome to Guess Who Said That, the game that's got America guessing who's doing the talking! I'm your host, Amanda Pik. Here are the rules: I'll give you the qoutes, then you guess which Pik said each one. Ready, set, guess who said that!

Quote #1:
Look at that cloud! It's an engineering marvel!

Quote #2:
I'm hungry! And I'm thirsty! And my hiney itches!

Quote #3:
They want to talk to me again this Friday.

Quote #4:
Yay! The mailman brought my Tuli's!

Are y0ur guesses locked in? Then let's reveal the correct answers. If you guessed Coleman for Quote #1, you guessed wrong! Spence is the correct Pik. Coleman is the speaker for Quote #2. But really, who among us hasn't uttered that phrase? As for Quote #3, that was Brian. He was referring to the company in Houston that he interviewed with last week and then went back Tuesday to talk to again. Things are moving along! And finally, Quote #4 is me, and Tuli's are heel cups that go in your shoes.*

Thanks for playing Guess Who Said That. Tune in next week! You never know what you might hear.

*I saw a foot/ankle orthopedic surgeon this week and got a diagnosis of plantar fasciitis. I pretty much already knew that's what I had, but I needed to find out what to do about it. They also took an x-ray to make sure there was no bone spur. I am banned from wearing flip flops or anything other than supportive shoes with the heel cups, and he gave me stretches to do. I'm dreading summer without sandals, but the pain has gotten so bad that I'm willing to do it!

*******************************

Sorry about that. I'm sure that game show will be canceled and you'll never have to go through that again! Now for some pictures:

Mother's Day Tea at Coleman's school

The tables were decorated so pretty

And this was one of the gifts he made me

Ding dong! Let us in!
The new front door and new siding above

Look Out for the Orange Poll!

Vote in our Mommy's poll! It's on the sidebar.

Finally, Pictures!

The kids at Nana and Poppa's last weekend

Our Latest Remodel

When Brian started looking for jobs nationwide, we began getting our house ready to go on the market, just in case. My mom did a lot of painting, and Brian and my dad put in a new counter in the guest bath. I didn't realize how disgusting the old counter, sink, and faucet were until they were replaced with the new ones! Now I just need some guests that need to pee!

A Few Words

I'm bummed because I can't download any pictures from my camera! Either Allie's sucking on the cord or my not-s0-gentle handling of my camera has it not working correctly. Well, hopefully Brian can figure out what's wrong! Until then, no pictures. And I have some really cute ones to share!

I'll have to share something else though for now. This is a quote from my Bible study yesterday morning. I'm doing What Happens When Women Say Yes to God. It's about radical obedience, which has been wonderful during this season of life!

How easy it is to obey partially. Obeying just enough to give the right Christian appearance is not the obedience God desires. He looks past all the outside trappings and misguided intentions straight to the heart. He wants our full attention and absolute devotion.
Lysa TerKeurst

What a bold statement that I so desperately need to remember daily. There are some areas in which I have no trouble obeying. There are other areas that I struggle with and don't mind admitting that I struggle with them. Then there are areas that I would like people to think I obey God fully in, but in reality, I struggle with them too. Does that make any sense?

Recently God asked me to give up two things. They are both things that took my focus off of Him. The first thing is something that I love. But it is something tangible. Even though I want it badly, it's relatively easy to stay away from it because I said yes to God when He told me to give it up. The other thing is not something tangible. I guess you could say it has to do with my tongue. Even though I desire to give it up, I still struggle. I slip up and go back to old habits, but not always. A week or so ago, Brian told me about something that I perceived as a huge injustice. I wanted so badly to let everyone know about how unfair this situation was for Brian. But God reminded me that doing so would serve no purpose. I succeeded in being obedient in that one situation. Victory! And I know it was not on my own, because on my own I'd still be ranting about that situation and thinking about how wrong it was. It was all God. Isn't He awesome? Now if I could only be consistently obedient. That's a daily commitment.

And as we wait for the job God has for Brian, we grow more and more excited to see what His plans are! Brian had two wonderful interviews this week. One of these jobs could be it! Hopefully we'll know soon. And hopefully I can share some pictures soon. Until then, you get just words from me!

Time Out for an Update

Things are busy around here! I'm taking the boys to my parents today to stay for the weekend. Allie and I are coming back tomorrow to get ready for a garage sale. I would love to add some pictures to this post, but unfortunately my camera and computer are not getting along at the moment. Here are just a few things that have been going on around here this week!

Coleman got some Laffy Taffy at his school carnival and enjoyed the jokes on the wrapper. He informed me that he is going to be a Laffy Taffy man when he grows up and write jokes. This is the joke he came up with:

Coleman: Why did the little boy run away from home?
Mommy: Why?
Coleman: To join the army!
Mommy: That's funny because little kids can't join the army!
Coleman: Well, it's a kid army.

He went on to explain the joke a little more, and I told him I didn't think that would fit on the wrapper. Maybe he can work a little more on his jokes before he heads to Laffy Taffy headquarters for an interview.

Speaking of interviews, things are really happening with Brian's job search! There was an opportunity in Austin, but that door has been closed. We're still waiting to hear about the job in Clear Lake (which is about 40 minutes from our house). Brian got a call from a recruiter for a company in Houston and went and met with him last night. He's going in for an interview early next week! Then later in the week he'll be flying to the Atlanta area for an interview! Maybe he can stop by the other company there that is interested in him! Yes, two companies in Houston and two companies in Georgia are talking to Brian at the moment! I'm sure my use of exclamation marks is getting across my level of excitement! So I'll stop now.

After the first attempt at a Laffy Taffy joke, I decided to change the subject and tell Coleman and Spence that Daddy was talking to a man in Georgia about a job. With a worried tone, Coleman asked, "GEORGIA! Do they speak Texan language there?" What a hoot!

We know God is working out this job thing. The opportunities that are here this week may be gone next week, but we'll continue to trust that He has something better for Brian and our family. For now, He's providing the consulting work to get us through. Thanks so much for your prayers! Have a great weekend everyone!

10 Months!

Mom can't believe I'm already 10 months old

At a pool party today
I think we've got another fish in the family!

Spence and Allie playing in the fountain (Coleman was off at the deeper end)

Jail Break!

One side of our living room opens up to the entry, where the stairs are, and the other side opens up to the study. When Allie plays in the living room, I block off the two exits. One can be blocked with the pack and play, but the other one is quite wide, so I have to line up several things to make a wall to keep her in. I usually use the ottoman, a toy box, and the ball wagon.

Yesterday, Allie was in the living room playing, and I was in the study. I looked up and she was sitting on top of the toy box! The little stinker had climbed my well thought-out, neatly constructed wall and was on her way to freedom! She just smiled at me and was so proud of herself. I love seeing her grow and accomplishing new things, but boy does it make my job harder!

This morning, with a new, higher wall constructed, she did not find a way out. And she probably was looking for one because two little firemen were trying to rescue her from the flames! They were so cute playing together though. Just another example of another one of my babies growing up too fast.

"I figured it out, Mom! You're going to have to get smarter!"

Posing with Spence

It's Happening...

My babies are growing up! And it's happening too fast! I knew it would, but there are some events that take place and I think, "How did this happen? When did my little boy become a big boy? How can he be ready for... for... Kindergarten!" Tuesday night we went to the school to register. There weren't many people there and the principal gave us a personal tour of the school. Coleman got to see the Kindergarten classrooms, music room, art room, computer lab, and cafeteria. While he was taking it all in, Spence seemed to be making his case to come to school next year too! He was singing the ABC's at the top of his lungs (which is actually his normal voice I must admit) and running around the colorful rug naming off all the colors correctly. I told the principal that I may try to sneak him in next year!

Coleman outside his Elementary School

At one point, Coleman said, "I don't want to go to school here." We told him if that was the case, he needed to start praying that Daddy would get a job somewhere else! I think I can still be a little bit in denial about him starting Kindergarten in a few months because I realize that we may not be living here then. But I do realize that wherever we live, they'll have a Kindergarten for him and he'll be going!

I could share all my emotions about this, but I don't want to get all teary-eyed. I'll just say I'm excited and sad and a few other emotions that I can't quite figure out.

So I'll move on to something silly. Check out this picture of Allie!

Are you wondering why Allie is sitting in a box?

So she doesn't tear apart her brothers' train tracks!

Oh how easy to keep her out of trouble. Just stick her in a box! And she played there happily for at least 5 minutes. It's a good thing her brothers love her though, because once she was out of that box, that bridge didn't last much longer!

Um, You've Got a Little Something On Your Face

What's worse: constipation or having to eat prunes?


She wasn't upset for too long!


Can you see the teeth?


She cleans up pretty nice!

You're Back for Answers!

So yesterday I asked several questions and told you I'd give you the answers today. Was I trying to be mysterious, or was I just tired? I'll let you guess on that one.

I think Rhonda answered the first question about why Allie is so adorable: she just is! She knows no other way to be! As for the second question about what Coleman was doing on a horse? It was field trip day! We went to Bayou Wildlife Park in Alvin, Texas. That pretty much answers the question of Spence's whereabouts also. His class didn't go. I can't imagine why they wouldn't want to take a class full of three year olds. Can you??? (I'm being very sarcastic here, in case you didn't catch that.) Here are some more pictures from our fun day.

Coleman and his classmates

There was a tram ride that took you around the park. Each person was given a bucket of food to feed the animals. This is one of Coleman's teachers feeding a buffalo.

Upclose encounter with a camel

They didn't look like the ones in books or cartoons!

I think zebras are one of the neatest animals. How creative is God?

Big birds were everywhere!

I wish we could have gotten closer to this rhino!

Ya'll come back now, ya hear?

Come Back Tomorrow...

and I'll answer these questions:

Why does Allie look so adorable?

What is Coleman doing riding a horse?

And most importantly: Where is Spence???