Jack's in the box!: April 2010

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

I scream, you scream

Jack and Caroline had a tasty treat after soccer practice yesterday evening. The whole family is really enjoying the extended daylight. It's so nice to be able to play together in the evenings before bedtime... which we've pushed back a bit just for this purpose (and so Jack won't get up at 5:30). Jack even got a taste of what it's like to be the pusher instead of the pushed on the swing. So fun!

Snacks on the Swing

The Coursey kids came over a couple of days ago to enjoy the weather with us. After a while the fabulous foursome were ready for a little break. The backyard swing made a great resting spot and there was lots of lemonade and pretzels to go around.

Happy kids!

Jack and his lemonade

Selah examining her pretzels

Caroline inhaling her snack

Matthan figuring out how to dump out his Cheerios

Monday, April 26, 2010

Get to work!

Now that Jason's not hard at work at work (or as much as he was for the last few months) he's kicking it into high gear at home. While I taught an all-day childbirth class on Saturday, he spent the day with the kids at his parents house. They headed to the Plant Shed and Gigi and Pappaw hooked us up with some lovely plants to spruce up our backyard. Jason spent the afternoon yesterday getting them all in the ground. Jack even helped by digging some holes and planting most of the caladiums. It looks wonderful!

Jack's working hard! He needed a swing break!

Abelias and caladiums

Much prettier than the weed garden we had just a week ago!

Gulfstream nandinas

They may not look like much now but they're going to grow fast in this bed with full sun!

Daddy's Day Off

With tax season ending on April 15, Jason decided to make last weekend a little extra long and took Monday off. We all had a wonderful time together at the Fort Worth Zoo, our go-to getaway. We are SO GLAD to have Jason back!

The Big (wet) Birthday Bash!

Jack's birthday party day arrived with much excitement and anticipation last Saturday. Jack has been talking about his party for weeks and weeks. He and Caroline had been having regular practice parties in their play kitchen on a daily basis. Finally the day arrived. And it was raining. And raining. And raining some more.

Well, rain or shine the bounce house company comes... kind of like the mailman, I guess. He arrived bright and early at our house - 7:30am. It was a little torturous for the kids to have to sit in the kitchen and eat their breakfast when a giant Thomas the Tank Engine bounce house was staring at them from the other side of the window. They muddled through and after a little while, were able to go out and bounce until the rain picked up again. Most of the day was a cycle of bouncing, running in to stay dry and wait for the rain to stop, run back out and towel off the bounce house, and bouncing again. Over, and over, and over.

By the time the party started (4pm) it was raining steadily. That certainly didn't keep the kiddos from jumping like maniacs! Jack's party was so fun and flew by in a flurry of water, mud, pizza, cake, presents, thank-yous, and good-byes. He had a BLAST!

Caroline and Reagan, soaking wet from jumping

Some of the crew in the playroom

SO HAPPY!

Gigi and Jack having a discussion about his goodies

Caroline, just before I had to peel her soaking wet clothes off

Monday, April 12, 2010

The end is near!

The end of Tax Season 2010, that is! I don't think I've EVER been so excited to see April 15th come! The kids really notice Jason not being here and these last few months have been really hard on the whole family. We can't wait to have Jason home for bedtimes and are so ready for our three-day weekends! Family time, here we come!

Also, it's really easy for me to get into a funk about how hard things are during busy season. Some days I have to work really hard to get out of it and other days I just don't even want to get out of it. I've been doing lots of feeling sorry for myself lately. I read something the other day that basically said "You can't be unhappy if you're thankful". How true is that?!

Really, my life is SO hard... My husband's gone a lot because he has a great job that he really loves. Bummer. My kids are happy and healthy and acting like a two-year-old and a four-year-old should act. Terrible. My house is a mess sometimes and things go wrong with it (just like anyone else's house). Yep, I have a house. Awful.

How silly does that sound? The truth is that the Lord is pouring his blessings out on me and I'm giving him grief about it. I'm completely ungrateful. Why? Because I'm human. Arrogant. Selfish. If I would realize that the gifts and blessings He's giving me are what are perfect for me I'm sure I'd be a whole lot more content. So, that's what I'm doing. Praise the Lord for my husband, partner, and love that He's given me in Jason. Glory to Him for my wonderful kids, Jack and Caroline, who are happy, healthy, and all in all, amazing. I see His fingerprints when I look at them. They were created in His image and are a testament to what an amazing God he is. Thank you Jesus for all the provisions you've given my family... my home, two cars that work and are reliable, jobs for me and Jason that provide enough to support our family. The abundance of blessings is just too great to list them all. I'm so thankful for all God's good gifts. So, today I'm meditating on this passage from Paul's letter to the Philippians:

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:4-7

Friday, April 09, 2010

Jack is four!

And what a whirlwind of a birthday it was! We woke up and Little Man bounded into our room and said "MOM! I turned FOUR! Can you believe it?!" He was so excited. There's just something about "four" that makes you a "big boy" and not even remotely close to a baby.

After a few early morning snuggles in bed we all enjoyed breakfast together. It's become a bit of a tradition to get your breakfast with candles in it on your birthday so Jack had waffles, complete with birthday candles. After brekkie, we all got ready for the day and were off to take Jack to school.

Jack had a school performance yesterday so Caroline and I got to go and see the Rodeo Roundup! We only stayed through Jack's class' part because Caroline was soooo uninterested and ready to go. The kids did a really good job and Jack participated, which is kind of a big deal. He's pretty stubborn and doesn't want to do anything unless it's his idea so I was really glad to see him following instruction for the most part.

We sent cookies and a special book with Jack to school for his celebration during snack time. He was so excited about it. I think his excitement got the best of him though because when I went to pick him up his teacher, Mrs. Harris, said he'd had a rough day. Apparently, he wasn't able to control himself well and was just kind of irritating the other kids. One, so much so, that she BIT him on the FACE. I was not happy about that, no matter how annoying Jack was to her. Anyway, he also had to go sit in the office because he couldn't be quiet during rest time and was disturbing the other children. Sigh...

When we got home we spent the rest of the afternoon playing outside and Jack got to pick what we had for dinner. Pizza, of course! Jack, Caroline and I had dinner and then cake together before bath and bed. Both kids were exhausted after all the excitement of the day and were asleep before 7:30!

Dear Jack,
Words cannot begin to express how proud we are of what a wonderful boy you're growing into. You're so fun to be around! You love your sister so much and you two are becoming such close friends (when you're not trying to take one another 's toys). You are growing more and more independent each day and I can't wait to see what kind of young man you'll become. Daddy and I love you so much and we thank the Lord each day for you. You are fearfully and wonderfully made!
All my love always, Mom

I'm THIS many!