Schools Out for the Summer!

Well Jolee did it, she graduated Kindergarten and is ready for the first grade! I can not believe that she will be going to the first grade at a new school next year. That is how our summer is starting off, moving! It is the first week of summer break and we are already sooo busy. We are having a garage sale this Sat. to get rid of some stuff, you just don't realize how much stuff you can accumulate in one house in just 3 years! We are selling everything baby and related to having a baby, we are just so done with that phase of our lives. We are so looking forward to watching our children grow and being involved with them at church and school and all that extra stuff! What even makes that better is that we are going to be able to spend it with our children and their aunts , uncles, cousins, mimi, papa, grandma, grandpa, grandad, memaw. Wow, we are going to be living close to our family. This is a first for us and we are so excited about sharing in every ones lives. Most people take that for granted, living close to family, but when you are military there are so many things that you cherish more than most and that is one aspect of it! We are so ready for the next chapter in our lives to start, I know that God has many good things planned for us and the adventure getting there is what is the most fun. We are so excited about getting reacquainted with family and friends from the past, can't wait to see everyone again!

Jolee's recital performance!

This was her ballet routine, she was soo proud of herself and so were her parents!

Jolee's recital performance!

The first dance was her tap routine. As you can see Jolee is the one on the right, she did take center stage. Would we expect anything less from Jolee! She is one of a kind!

Jolee's Performance!!

It was her day yesterday which started off with Kindergarten graduation then proceeded to her ballet recital that night. She was so excited yesterday morning when she woke up she kept telling me that she was in first grade already. I had to burst her bubble and say no you still have a few more days of school left. I then told her that on Thur. she would have to say good-bye to all of her friends and she was o.k. with that. When I told her that she needed to give her teacher a big hug because you may not see her again she just lost it! She cried and cried, I thought something had happened but she said that she could not say good-bye to her teacher. It was very sad and very emotional for her, she gets so attached to people and things. When it was time for the ceremony she was so excited to be able to walk across the stage and get her diploma!

Her dance recital was later that night and was I in for a shocker! When she got up on stage she could not stop beaming with excitement, I did not know how she would do because she has never performed like that in front of complete strangers before. When she started to dance it was like no one else was in the room but her and the music. I have to say that she was in her own little world up there and loving every minute of it. Her facial expressions and her body language told me everything I needed to know, she was born to be on stage! She was so proud of herself and the other little girls. When it was over she kept bowing and hugging the other little girl and smiling like she had just won a million dollars. We then went home for a special cake that I had gotten for her and her little girlfriends ate the cake and just laughed and played until it was time to go. This morning when she woke up the first thing she asked me was " Mommy, can I perform again on the stage today?" I just laughed and laughed. Joe and I were never like this as children we have no idea where her carefree fun loving little spirit comes from. The Lord has truly blessed us with this special child!

Her first and last.....

KISS!! Jolee was playing with the neighbors the other day and their mom came and knocked on the door. She said that Raven ( her little boy who is the same age as Jolee) and Jolee were getting married and that her older son was the officiant. She then went on to tell me that now that they were married that we were in-laws! If any of you know who my neighbors are you know what kind of people that they are, they are very sweet people just a little REDNECK! She went on to say that they went on their honeymoon to Chuck E. Cheese! Little did she know that we were going to have a long talk with Jolee when she got home and we did not think that was in the least bit cute. Joe had to have a talk with her to explain that she is only to kiss people who are in her family and that if she did that again she would be in trouble. The next day Jolee went to play at their house and I caught her in the act again! She did get in trouble and we are trying to stay as far as we can from boys right now. I think my dad told me that this was only the beginning with the boy problems, Oh Lord Please Help Me!

We did it!!!

Well actually Jaxon did it, he is potty trained! It really was not that hard we realized that he would much rather stand up than sit down when he went pee pee. Wow what a revelation! I just couldn't understand why he wouldn't go in his small little potty but all he wanted was to go in the big potty. Daddy was a big help since I am not really knowledgeable in that area, so thank you to daddy! Jaxon's big sissy helped out also with her great ability to cheer him on, she has been so good with him. So I am going to have a little party for myself today celebrating NO MORE DIAPERS!!

My mothers day!

Well my mothers day weekend actually started on Fri. when a friend of mine from WF came with me down to Dallas for the weekend. We stayed at my parents house with no kids!! It was so nice and quiet and relaxing. We did whatever we wanted when we wanted the whole weekend. wow! I had forgotten how fast I can get ready without having to deal with someone else. We went shopping and went to some of the finest restaurants in Dallas, soooo good! When we got back yesterday my sweet husband had gotten me two dozen roses and bath and body stuff. It was soo sweet, I did nothing the rest of the night. He took care of the kids gave them baths put them to bed and picked up the house, so I could watch the season finale of Survivor. I am so thankful to have such a wonderful husband who treats me like a Queen! Thank you babe!!

We have made progress!!

The potty training is still going on and we have made a slight improvement! I have put Jaxon in either underwear or I let him run around naked for the past couple of weeks. When we go out he has on a pull up or underwear, depending on how far we have to travel. He has had many accidents, thank goodness we are not taking these rugs with us when we move, but he now knows what that feeling is when he needs to go. Last night we were running the kids a bath and he was already naked when he came running into the bathroom and said " I need to go potty" ! Joe and I looked at each other like yea right, he sat right down on the potty and went pee pee! We could not believe it! We were screaming and clapping our hands like we won the lottery! When he got off of the potty we rewarded him with his m&ms that we had promised him. Jolee was even getting in on the action by now and told him how proud she was of him! So now I guess I will just keep doing what I have been doing and persevere!

The Interview!

We went to Dallas this past weekend for Joe's first interview, which by the way went really well! He was just a little nervous but overall I think he was just anxious about starting this whole process of transitioning. I may sound a little partial but his resume is quite impressive! This interview was just a starting point for him and I think God has something incredible for him out there somewhere and the journey getting there is so exciting! Thank you Lord for allowing us to be put through certain situations in our lives in order for us to fully understand and comprehend the wonderful future you have in store for us.

I will keep trying......

Potty training a two year old!! Enough said, my son does not want to be potty trained! I am thinking that it is going to be just like with Jolee but it is not. She was so excited about it and he avoids the subject literally when I ask him if he needs to potty he turns his head and says something about cars or trains or something to that nature. I don't want to put it off anymore because he is soo big everyone thinks that he is older than he is and he is still wearing diapers! I need a manual a sign just something to tell me how to do this! I have even told him that if he goes potty in the potty he will even get m&ms but he just sits on the potty and thinks he will get them anyway. Could someone just take him for about a week and just do this for me!

" I don't know how it happened?"

These words were the first words out of Jolee's teachers mouth when I went to pick her up today!! Her teacher said that she saw it after it happened! They were painting today and somehow Jolee's hair at two perfect blue streaks on each side of her head in the front. Her teacher said that she asked her how it happened and Jolee responded with " I don't know how it happened the paint just splashed up and hit my hair!" After her teacher explained to me what happened I told her that her favorite movie right now is Aquamarine and in the movie there is a mermaid that has blue streaks in her hair and the other two girls in the movie get their hair streaked as well so Jolee thought that it would be a prime opportunity to streak her own hair at school! I guess I shouldn't be surprised but come on she is almost six years old! Another one of Jolee's moments I guess!

Transitioning!!

Well that is what they call it, in the Air Force that is! I looked at the calender and realized that we will only be here for two more months! I am so excited yet scared in a weird sort of way? We have always been in the Air Force we have not had to pay a penny for health insurance, we have been able to shop for groceries at the base commissary which is soooo much cheaper than regular grocery stores and we have been spoiled by always living in a gated community, with no elec. bill or water bill or trash or any other bill for that matter. We have been living off of the government for the past 8 years!! I know that the Lord has the perfect job and the perfect house for us but the journey getting there is what is nerve racking! The Lord has already spoken to me where Joe will be getting his job at so I am just praying over that company right now and asking that the right doors would be open and that he come into contact with the right people there. He has received two phone calls already for job interviews and he will be going to one next week, this is a good thing because Joe has never been on a job interview! But, the Lord has prepared him for the last 8 years in his career field for these positions out in the civilian world which pay triple what he makes in the Air Force. We feel that the Lord has allowed us to experience many different situations in the last 8 years just to prepare us for this transition. Even though we will be moving in two months to a place of which we have no idea and to a job that has not been given yet, I feel such a peace about this transition. God is soooo awesome and I know that His plan is perfect but I would ask that you too would pray with me for my family during this time for a peace and for direction down the right path for Joe's job.

We have another.....

sick child that is!! Well I guess it was only a matter of time when Jolee was going to get this nasty pneumonia! Thur. evening she had a program at school and she had been looking forward to it for weeks, she came home from school with a fever and I just had a feeling it was pneumonia, she had the same symptoms at Jaxon and her wheezing was alot worse! I took her on base to the doctor and told him what had been going on at my house and he did not even want to give her an x-ray because he did not hear anything in her lungs! I get so frustrated with these doctors on base they just don't seem to care, I will be so glad when I can go and shop around for a pediatrician of my choosing! So since she is allergic to penicillin and czefcil he put her on zythromax. I hope this does the trick because I have had it with all of this! On a better note Jaxon is feeling much better and back to his old self, thank you Jesus! I hope that when we move back to Dallas that these allergies will stay here in Wichita Falls.

My Sunday afternoon!

I spent my Sunday afternoon in the e.r. today with my son. He had a fever all day yesterday of 99 so I just gave him the usual Motrin and he seemed fine. Then last night he came and got in bed with me and when I woke up I felt something really hot next to me. When I took his temp. it was 103.6! I took off his clothes and gave him Motrin after a few minutes he cooled off a little but in the morning his temp was still 102. I called the nurse line and she said he needed to be seen since his temp. only fell one degree after giving him medicine. I then proceeded to take him to a clinic here in town but just did not have a good feeling about it, it was the Lord telling me to go to the e.r. Thinking I would have to wait a long time to my surprise I didn't and when we got back to the room we saw a great P.A. who was great with him. She said that she did not hear anything in his lungs but she would have a x-ray done just to make sure. Thank the Lord she did because he had two spots on his lungs of the beginning stages of pneumonia! I just thank the Lord for sending us to that hospital and sending us that doctor, He provides our every need!

She got an orange!

My strong willed daughter received an orange yesterday at school, this is not good! Everyone starts out on green and you can move up to purple then blue which is excellent or you can move down to yellow then orange then red! She has always received good colors mostly green and purple, but today it was orange. It happened the last 10 minutes of class the teacher said a little boy was bothering her and so she went to tell the teacher and she told Jolee to use her words and let the little boy know what he was doing wrong to her. Well, instead of telling him she just hit him in the back with a pointer! When you receive an orange you must sit in time out and by the time I had gotten there she was still crying. She has been telling me that some of the little boys have been bothering her lately so I went and told her teacher a few days ago about what was happening and she said she would watch them to see what was going on. Did I also mention that Jolee did not get alot of sleep that night because she woke up at 4 a.m. throwing up, I told her teacher that she might be a little cranky that day because of lack of sleep. So I guess that was Jolee's breaking point yesterday, I don't think she will ever do it again not only did she get in trouble at school but she also gets in trouble at home too. We have a rule, if she comes home with a yellow or worse she will get a spanking! I was tempted yesterday not to give her one but she must learn that there are no exceptions to punishment when we break the rules. Some of you might think that is a little harsh but for Joe and I we are raising a future adult who needs to learn to abide by the laws of the land and respect authority even though we don't always agree. I guess that is my soap box for the day. I love my children with my whole heart and thank the Lord everyday for them.

My son, the sweetheart!

I have not posted many blogs about Jaxon so this one is dedicated to him. He is such a thoughtful child, today his sister wanted to be pushed on the swing even though she already knows how to swing by herself, he went over there and pushed her like a sweet brother would. He also shares with her whenever she asks for something, even though she does not do the same with him! He is always asking about her when she is gone to school and when I tell him that it is time to pick her up his whole face just lights up. He wants to be with her all the time, I can honestly say that he is in love with her! He also has a little girlfriend, her name is Gracie and she is sooo precious. On Valentine's day he bought her a little dog that had a sign on him that said I am all yours. When he gave it to her he leaned over and gave her a kiss on the lips! When they left that evening he walked them out to their car and when her mother put her in her car seat he shut the car door for her, it was soooo cute! Oh, yes the little girls father was out of town so he did not know that my son was putting on the moves! haha! I love my son sooo much, there is such a special bond between a mother and her son. Thank you Lord for this wonderful precious child!

Spring Break 2008!

Well I can say that we did not do anything fun during spring break, we were pretty much sick the entire time. We did manage to feel better on Sat. so we could have an egg hunt with my family, which was fun! On Sun. we were able to go to church and watch the play which was awesome! After church on Sun. we ran home got things ready to go home ate lunch with all my brothers and sisters and had another egg hunt. My dad was sick and we finally got him to go to the doctor and he was put on antibiotics, which he said he had never been put on any kind of antibiotics. This is sooo rare for someone not to take antibiotics all their life but I promise when we went to pick up the medicine he was not even in the computer! I hope things will be getting better in April I am sooo sick a tired of all of these illnesses, did I already mention that in another blog? Anyway I know that God is in control and he will provide for us and take care of our every need. Thank you God for today!

Two sick kids on a road trip?!

Well I should of known that taking two sick kids on a road trip that I would suffer consequences. We only had to drive for one hour to Decatur to meet my parents and we had to pull over twice! The first time was to give Jaxon some medicine for his nose which kept bugging Joe because he kept making that sniffling noise because he won't blow his nose. Then we had to stop again to give Jaxon a spanking because he would not stay in his car seat, he is usually my good kid! Well we met my parents for lunch and then they took us to their house which is another hour and a half, half way there I was getting very frustrated with both of them and I said "I need to take a vacation by myself!" A few minutes later Jolee then suggested that she too needed to take a vacation by herself but she was kind enough to invite me to come with her on hers. I guess I learned my lesson! Thank you Lord for my children!

Jolee the reader!!

So tonight when I put her to bed she asked me if she could have a flashlight and read a book. I asked her why and she said that it helps her fall asleep. So I got the flashlight and gave her a night time devotional to read, she was actually reading it aloud! I could not make all of what she was saying but when she was done she actually turned off the flashlight and went to sleep, that is with the book on her face. It reminded me of when I go and stay with my parents Jolee's mimi and papa, I often find papa asleep on his bed with the book on his chest. Thanks papa for being such a great influence on our children's lives!

Tired of these illnesses...

I am home again today with Jaxon who has a fever probably caused by a sinus infection, and Jolee once again has the congested cough. I am so tired of these illnesses, I am pretty sure that it is caused by a number of things one of which being where we live. Wichita Falls is known for its wide variety of allergies and living in base housing does not help either, where there are mold spores, harmful paints and a number of things we do not even know about. I feel as though when fall hits I can count on someone being sick at least once a month until spring. Please don't get me wrong I do pray over my children daily and Joe has prayed through this house several times. I am very thankful that my children are healthy and I thank the Lord everyday for mine and Joe's good health. But, through the last several months many of our friends and relatives and been hit hard with very serious illness cancer, IGG antibody deficiencies, bone cysts just to name a few. I have to say that we have had to be prayer warriors these past few months but it has only made us stronger and closer to the Lord. As I was reading in my devotional last night and I quote "As you look to Him, unfurl your sails and bravely face the raging storms on the sea of life. Do not exhibit your distrust by staying in the security of the calm harbor or by sleeping comfortably through your life of ease. Do not allow your life and emotions to be tossed back and forth against each other like ships idly moored at port. The Christian life is not one of listless brooding over our emotions or slowly drifting our keel of faith through shallow water. Nor is it one of dragging our anchor of hope through the settling mud of the bay, as if we were afraid of encountering a healthy breeze. Sail away! Spread your sail toward the storm and trust in Him who rules the raging seas. " Put your hope in God (Ps. 42:5) My righteous one will live by faith. (Heb.10:38)

Gianna Ava!

Gianna was born yesterday morning at 7:55 a.m. and weighed 7lbs 9oz and was 18.5 inches, she is very petite but very precious! Hollie is doing very well and did not have any side affects to the medicine, she looks great! Gianna is very feisty, well that's what the nurses said I hope that doesn't mean that she is going to be strong willed! She was very hungry yesterday she ate more than what they expected, she is just doing perfect. The kids were so anxious to see her yesterday and Madison did not want to put her down. Cade was a typical little boy he held her and then was ready to play and look out the window at the snow. Jaxon was very cute and kept calling her the baby. I will be spending the day up there with Hollie and Brad at the hospital, what fun it has been being able to spend time with them and the baby.

Jolee the drama queen!

That is an understatement!! She is so into everything she is doing at that moment whether it is good or bad she will do it with all of her might. I have never been around a child who goes 90 mph all day long, she is soooo exhausting! I keep telling Joe that she is not in any way related to me and he insists that we were given the wrong child at the hospital! haha!! Only the Lord knew what he was doing when he made her. But, I know that there is not a doubt in my mind that the Lord has a great destiny for her, I have always felt that she would someday go to a third world country and save lives. Yes spiritually but physically too, she has never been squeamish about anything and since she has been to the e.r. 8 times in her 5 yrs of life she has been through many things. She was very emotional tonight she cut her toe in the bathtub and then her grandma called and said that she was sick and she just let it all out. Earlier we told her that one of her friends was very sick and we needed to pray for her tonight and so when we put her to bed she just started to cry and ask why everyone was sick and how the Lord needed to heal everyone. And yes she remembered everyone of them in her prayers tonight she is a prayer warrior! She is so thoughtful and sweet and when she tells you that she has missed you or she has prayed for you I can honestly say that she has had those feelings. Thank you Lord for our precious children and I pray that I can always remember to have a child like faith!

I think he learned his lesson...

Well, my husband has a habit of throwing things away without asking anyone if it was important or not. So, Jolee printed out some fairies on the computer last night and was very proud of them because she created them herself and was going to give them to her friends. Joe did not think about it and threw them all away! Well, yesterday morning when she found out that daddy threw them away she was very upset with him. Actually it was quite funny to me not so much for them though! She got on to him and told him that he was never to do that again without asking her about it first and that she created those for her friends! After about five minutes of this I think it actually made him think, I have been trying to do that for 7 years! She was fine after he told her she could make some more on the computer later and we went on to church happy! whew!

Shopping on a Sat. in Wichita Falls!!

So it was Jolee and I in the wonderful mall in Wichita Falls, not much of a mall when you consider I am from Dallas the shopping capital of Texas!! There were so many people doing the same thing I was doing shopping for Easter clothes and shoes. Jolee was a pretty good sport about the whole thing especially when it came to the shopping part, she even helped pick out Jaxon's outfit. They will be wearing yellow and black and white, which will sorta match my outfit which is black and white. Next was the shoe shopping, Jolee has such a narrow food and Jaxon has such a wide foot, what is a mother to do. We went to Target and found Jolee's shoes and they were only 8.99! Jaxon is another story, we even went to Stride rite and I was very disappointed in their selection. If any of you have any more ideas on where to get shoes please let me know. He might just have to wear his black shoes from Christmas oh well.
Now we just need to get Joe on board with the whole color coordinating thing, he is such a black, gray and navy kind of a guy. Maybe I can get him into a yellow something? I 'll just have to pray about that one, until next time.

Blogs!

Today a friend of mine told me to just start writing so I am. No, I am not the most proficient or creative person so they will not be perfect and will not be like reading a Jane Austen novel. So, it will just be me telling about those little moments or words that were spoken during the day that probably mean more to me than anyone else but hey like my friend said it is something that your kids can read about in years to come. So thank you to my friend and somewhat cousin for giving me those words of encouragement!