Camping with Daddy

Here are a few pictures of the boys' camping trip with Daddy. They met up with some other families there. I will have to post the rest of the pictures later. It seems that I have reached my quota of pictures, so I have had to purchase more storage space!!! It will take a day or 2 for the new storage space to become available. I will now have 10 times the storage space! Hopefully, I will not fill that up!

Here are all the kids that were on the trip. My nephew, Austin, is in the blue shirt and the Texas A&M hat. He is 15 years old, and he absolutely refuses to text me. He won't IM with me either. He will pay for this next gift-giving round :)

Cade was so very excited to get to go. This is the first time that he has been allowed to go. He was so very happy. Can't you see it in his eyes.


Throwing firecrackers into the fire - boy fun!

The boys loved climbing on the rocks. Cade was fascinated by a dead bird. Mark told me that Cade carried it around and stroked it - EWWWW. Cade was upset when the bird was taken away from him. Mark promised me that he used hand sanitizer on Cade - EWWW

This tree was hit by lightning.

My Baby

Nate is getting so very big. Where has my baby gone? He is also getting to be more of a stinker - I see discipline fun in my future. Overall, he is a joy. I love his imagination. He pretends so many things. He wears a construction hat (he thinks it is a fireman's hat) he then pretends to put on his fire suit and to put out a fire. Sunday during church, Nate wrapped his bear around my neck (like I was getting a haircut) and proceeded to "cut" my hair. He then informed me that it was good.

He has really been attached to his Daddy lately. Mark took the 3 older boys camping (pictures to be posted soon). Nate was so sad that his Daddy did not take him. When we were out, Nate would point out the trucks that were like Daddy's. "Look, Daddy's truck. I miss Daddy. Daddy is far away." We called Daddy and talked to him for a bit. Nate then pretended to call Daddy a couple of more times. He would hold his hand up by his ear and have a conversation with his Daddy. He had to tell me numerous times about when he helped Daddy mow the yard and all the things that he did with Daddy. Nate really did miss his bubbas and his Daddy. Now it is our turn to miss him. My mom has taken him for a few days so that I can type. Can I tell you how much it bothers me that instead of spending time with my sweet boy I am having to type? I miss my baby.

A Lesson in Grief

Mark and I went to Jill's funeral on Friday. Chase joined us. He really wanted to go because he is good friends with Jill's middle child. I talked to Chase a little bit about what to say to his friend. I think that most people do not know what to say to someone who is grieving. This seemed like a good opportunity to teach Chase about what to say. His friend had a very difficult time at the funeral. Chase went to tell him that he was sorry and his friend became more upset. Chase was worried that he made things worse. It was the perfect opportunity to teach Chase that a friend who is grieving needs to know that you care. We talked about how he did not make his friend feel worse, his friend just feels really bad right now. We talked about how the most important thing for Chase to do is to make sure that his friend knows that he cares and that he is there for the friend. The funeral was very sad; young children should not have to bury their mother. I pray that Chase will not have to comfort anymore friends.

Things I Want to Remember

Just a few of the things that the boys have said lately that crack me up. They may not be funny to anyone else, but I want to remember them.

None for Chase, he is just too cool for that anymore - DUDE! Our house has become a hang-out house, which is fine with me. Most afternoons we have at least 2 extra boys. That is fine with me; I want to be THAT house.

Dylan - his prayers are profound at times. At dinner the other night, he was asking God for forgiveness because we are not taking care of the world. He asked God to help us take better care of the Earth. At the doctor today, Dylan weighed 53 pounds and was 49 1/4 inches tall. I told him that he is now tall enough for the Titan - he doesn't think so :)

Cade - there is some construction near us, they are building a shopping center. Cade told me that he thought that it was going to be a Star Wars store. He said that he would definitely shop there. There are more for Cade, but I did not write them down right away so now I have forgotten them. Hopefully they will pop into my head later. Some random Cade facts for me to remember - after years and years of yellow being his favorite color, he has now decided that he loves blue. He was measured today at the doctor - he is now 46 1/4 inches tall and weighs 43 pounds - he has the longest, skinniest legs that you have ever seen. It is hysterical to see him in jeans with no shirt. I need to get a picture of him like that because, for some unknown reason, it totally makes me laugh.

Nate - There are lots lately, but I can only remember a couple. I have to be better about writing them down. He loves to wear headphones, but he calls them "doctors" (because of stethoscopes). He will wear headphones even if they are not hooked up to anything. He loves to pet the kitty (the one that doesn't bite) he will chase her around and call her Ashy (her name is Ash). He continues to be a big fan of Scooby Doo and Max & Ruby. He is off the Sponge Bob kick now. He continues to be a sweet, loving, strong-willed precious boy!

Prayers Needed

Jill Fooks died early this morning from breast cancer. I had a lot of respect and admiration for Jill. She had battled her cancer for many years, yet she continued to have a positive outlook on life. She was always kind and had a smile on her face. She had 3 very young children at the time of her diagnosis, and her marriage ended quickly after her battle with cancer began. She was so very dedicated to her children. Her children are very close in age to each other, the middle one is Chase's age. Her children are polite, kind, and intelligent. She has done a beautiful job with them. Jill's mom lost her long-term battle with breast cancer just this last Thanksgiving. Jill and her family had no bitterness about her mother's death, they rejoiced in the fact that she lived many, many years past the prognosis. They rejoiced in the fact that she was in Heaven. Jill continued to smile. I wish that I could have known Jill better, she did not have a lot of time to cultivate friendships. She was working, taking care of her kids, and fighting a disease. She was amazing. Please pray for her family.

Another friend of ours needs your prayers. Amy is the one in the brown shirt next to me. She was experiencing some side pain and the cause ended up being colon cancer. She had surgery on Friday and will begin chemo soon. She and her husband have 6-year-old twins and a 3-year-old. She is a great person; fun, spiritual, strong, and hard-working. She is already focusing on the blessings. I know that she will beat this. Please pray for her healing and for her family.

Penguins!!

The Penguins have returned to the Fort Worth zoo. There was a special penguin event for zoo members. Cade was so excited. I took Cade, Nate, and Dylan while Chase went with Mark to shoot.
Cade brought one of his penguins to show to the penguins. Cade also wore one of his penguin shirts, the one with the same type of penguin that now resides at the zoo.
The boys were so excited to get to see a penguin up close. The zookeeper was there to answer questions.

Meet Domino
Look at that precious face!

Cade is showing the zookeeper which penguin on his shirt is like Domino. After we saw the penguin up close, we tried to get in line for the penguin exhibit. The line was incredibly, INCREDIBLY long. We decided to go to a wildlife show and then look at other things at the zoo. We were going to try the penguin exhibit later.
Of course we had to feed the birds.
The boys all wore animal shirts - not on purpose.

Cade quickly took his shark ring off because he was afraid that it would scare the birds.

The zoo has to include a Komodo dragon shot
We finally made it to the penguin exhibit!

The boys loved watching the penguins swim. Nate was laughing so hard!


What is a zoo trip without a stage coach picture? We had to leave at lunch time because I had to drive to Wichita Falls for an appointment. We had a great time!!

Cade's Very Good Day

Last Thursday was a very good day for Cade. After Kindergarten, we went to a park and ate lunch and played with some of his friends. We then went to Cade's LAST therapy session. He has made great progress and has met all of his therapy goals! His therapist had a graduation party for him. She gave him a gift, he was THRILLED with the yo-yo ball. He also had cupcakes. We are very proud of the wonderful progress that he has made. After his LAST therapy session, we went to Little Gym. That is always fun. Then, we went as a family to Cade's museum school for his open house. Cade enjoyed showing us what he has been doing. He has really enjoyed the cave that his teachers made in the classroom. He really likes museum school. There were a lot of activities at the museum. After it was over, we went out to eat some pizza! Cade was a very happy boy on Thursday.
Cade with his museum school teachers - they have been wonderful!

Cade thought it was so funny that his daddy had him kiss the raccoon.

The famous museum school turtle.

Going into the portable planeterium - the museum is still being rebuilt

Playing at the museum

Dylan watching the paper helicopters fly

Nate really enjoyed the cars

Cade with his therapist at his LAST session - I only had my camera phone with me
Nate playing tea party with some girls while Cade was in his Little Gym class - also a camera phone picture