A little about our week...

Looking back on the week, I cannot think of anything so exciting I needed to write about it.   Rachel is building muscles tugging her tuba between home and school.  She had her very first lesson last Wednesday.  She is still very excited and has spent her spare time studying up on great tuba players around the world.  Alyson and Matthew played soccer games yesterday.  Matthew scored a point........for the other team!  He was playing goalie and went to punt the ball.  The ball went up and over his head landing in the net scoring a point for the opponent.  He was bummed and I don't think he will try punting the ball for a while.

This is Matthew's week.  We started a day early since our weekdays are very busy.  Matthew got to open his birthday present from Mom and Dad today along with cake and ice cream.
 

David teasing Matthew with his present - don't you love the wrapping paper?  Grocery bags come in really handy when all you have on hand is Christmas paper!

He can't wait to start tearing!

Do you think he's happy?

Lego Prince of Persia Set - "Wholy Cow!  This is the best present ever!"

Rachel and Alyson pitch in to help build the castles



It's fun to see Matthew so excited for his birthday.  This is the big "8".  He has been talking about turning 8 for months now.  He is excited most about his chance to be baptized this coming Saturday.  We are expecting grandparents and other family to come share in this event.  I cannot believe it's this time already - this is my baby!  I can still remember the day he was born.



Matthew at 3 months old - isn't he so cute?



Back into the swing of things

I was reading Mary Anderson's blog earlier this week and I can totally understand what she is feeling - eating and sleeping soccer! School is back into full swing and so is fall soccer season for us. This is Matthew and Alyson's first season to play. They are excited! We have soccer practice Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and games on Saturday. Then this week, we'll add tuba lessons on top of that. I didn't realize how much this would affect my life, but the kids seem to enjoy having this to look forward to. Dave went to Amarillo and Hereford at the end of the week with a friend from our ward. I had to navigate our busy schedule all by myself and then add the stresses of an unsuccessful email migration and computer virus attack at work on to that. Whew, I am still alive and breathing today!

Dave and his friend went up to the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce Barbeque and a trip to Hereford for shooting practice. Dave said the food was wonderful and he got to meet some really interesting people. I think the highlight, though, was shooting "sweet innocent animals" (those are my words, not Dave's, meaning prairie dogs and coyotes) on a farm outside of Hereford. They slept out under the stars on Friday night and came home Saturday evening. As Dave puts it, he enjoyed remembering the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 by exercising his 2nd amendment rights - "the rights to bear arms".

We had rain this week and a couple tornados. When I left work on Tuesday, I could tell I was just ahead of very black clouds moving my direction. I was listening to the radio on the way home and as I pulled into the driveway, the weatherman said there was a tornado on the ground just east of Mockingbird Lane and Stemmons Freeway. This was less than 2 blocks from my office. Kind of scary to think I could have been in the middle of that had I stayed at work a few minutes longer. Unfortunately one business lost their roof and an 18-wheeler gained a new one. Other than that, the damage was minimal.

Here are some pictures from the week:

Looking out our back windows. Water running over the road.

More water - we got 7.9 inches of rain in this storm.

Alyson being called out to the field - I think the expression on her faces says "Really, me?!"

Alyson waiting for the ball to head her way.

Matthew practicing dribbling the ball.

Matthew going in for a kick.

Rachel - doing what she does best - talking on the phone. I believe this call was to Aunt Kaylene to wish her a "Happy Birthday".

It's a Beautiful Day!

My spirits are really high today. I cannot give any reason except for I feel like I am getting balance back into my life AND the sweltering heat of summer has seemed to gone, even if only temporarily.

A couple weeks ago Dave encouraged me to try doing my workouts in the evening since getting up in the morning and trying to cram them in along with everything else was causing stress in my life. Once I've had a bad morning at home, my day just seems to spiral down at work too. I resisted for some time and then thought I would give it a try. I started a little over a week ago and I am amazed at the outcome so far. I was worried that working out too late at night would cause me to have trouble sleeping. So far, that doesn't seem to be the case. I am finding it makes my mornings so much easier because after my workouts I am able to get lunches made, review and sign kids papers, gather my own stuff for work together, and even read my scriptures before showering and going to sleep. Then in the morning, all I have to do is get dressed and fix breakfast. The key is to get kids in bed by 8:30 so I am not up until midnight. The other key is to not allow my work deadlines and stresses to interrupt my personal time at night - this has been a large part of my problem even when I wasn't trying to exercise.

It's been a really nice Sunday morning. It's 10:20 a.m. and I've been able to accomplish so much already this morning that I will not feel bad about a nap this afternoon. The kids have been playing semi-nicely with their new "Gluep" and they are all ready for church. By the way, "Gluep" is a slimy playdough made from water, Elmer's Glue, and Borax for anyone interested. It's kind of weird looking and I am amazed that it doesn't stick to everything. But...it keeps them busy for a long time.

The kids are doing great. Matthew started soccer practice last week and Alyson was scheduled but cancelled due to rain. Both kids are excited to be playing this fall. They had fun last night as they practiced with each other in the backyard. Rachel is excited to be able to bring her tuba home from school at the end of this coming week. She is thrilled with the idea of playing in the band. I hope this excitement continues as practices will be required and she may have to work at the music harder than anything she's done thus far in life. She is also thrilled to be called on to babysit for several neighbors and friends from the ward - even more exited with the money it brings in.