Four becomes two

The girls and I have been watching this bird nest for several weeks now. When we first noticed there were 4 eggs (blue in color with light brown speckles) and a storm came through and two eggs ended up in the grass. Hailey really wanted to pick the eggs up and place them back in the nest. I thought by doing so the mother bird would leave and not come back. Steve told her to give it a try. She did and before we knew it the mother bird was back protecting all four eggs. I took this picture this afternoon to realize two of the eggs are gone again. We had some more bad weather so I'm assuming the same thing happened; however, this time the eggs are not on the ground. We can't find them and that makes us sad. We'll continue to keep a close eye on these two and we can't wait to see the baby birds. This is a new experience for the girls. Once again, something else they may not have experienced in "the city."

One of my favorite pictures....

This is one of my all time favorite pictures of the girls. I've had it on my desk at work since I got it developed. It was taken at Spring Break, March 2004 at a Children's Museum in Tyler, Texas. This was the first time we took a short trip as a family of five and one Hailey has not forgotten. We had such a fun time and it confirmed that

you don't have to take an elaborate or an expensive trip for kids to have fun or good memories. We spent two nights in a hotel in Tyler, visited the zoo, the museum and took advantage of the hotel's indoor swimming pool. Steve was holding Kelly up (obviously since she was only 3 months old) and she was not a happy camper. I tried and tried to get Hailey and Brooke to look at the camera, but they were more concerned with Kelly. It's a pitiful and sad picture of Kelly, but I love it! Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Girls no longer deprived...

Believe it not... my girls finally have a pet and they are so happy! I was reading the newspaper yesterday and saw the add for 3 male kittens that needed a home. Without giving it any thought I picked up the phone and began making plans to meet the owners. Before I knew it we were in the Home Depot parking lot picking one out. The owner has been calling him "Big Red" but I'm not sure if we'll keep that name or not. I also took my nephew, Aaron, with us and he got one too. His has the same kind of stripes as ours, but is gray and black. They are both adorable! The kids are bringing them inside for play time, but they are staying outside at night in a cage under the covered porch. He will definitely be an outside kitty and will hopefully help keep the bugs and snakes away!

Who is scared of a dog, but not a horse?

Brooke is! This is Brooke on Danny the horse Saturday afternoon. We spent the day with friends, Clifford and Kenda and their kids. Cooked out hamburgers and sat outside while the kids played. Kenda is one of my best friends from our younger days growing up in Montgomery. It was so much fun seeing them. Danny is Kenda's horse and she is currently trying to find him a good home. She is unable to ride now because she had her 2nd baby (her oldest is 11) in September and there is no time for that. The plan is for us to take Danny since we have plenty of room for him and this will allow her to visit and ride whenever she'd like. You see... I'm not riding Danny, that's for sure so I'll be around to keep the baby, Colton, while she rides. Did I mention that Brooke had no fear? She loved him! She rode all alone, no help at all. And let's not forget Hailey and Kelly. They both loved him too! Of course, Hailey rode alone too, but Kelly had a little help from her daddy. Danny... we look forward to seeing you soon!

TAKS Test

The important TAKS tests for 5th graders are finally over! They still lack the science test, but it's not necessary to pass to advance on to 6th grade. It's painful to think back to Hailey's 4th grade year. It was a bad year. Her teacher (bless his heart, very nice guy, but...) was not in control of the classroom and struggled to just get through the day with the basics. Forget going above and beyond, forget grading papers, forget recording grades in the online grade book... no wonder so many kids were pulled from his class. Instead of pulling Hailey, I chose to fight for what I thought was right and what I thought he should be doing as a teacher. Needless to say, she remained in his class for the year, and as a result started 5th grade way behind. This year has definitely been a struggle for her, but let me just say with hard work and dedication she aced her TAKS tests. She is also confident that she will do well on her science test scheduled for April 30th. Way to go Hailey! I'm so proud of you and you make me very happy!!

Prayer Requests Please

As some of you know, my brother Chad was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in 2000. MS is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the central nervous system. He has spent the last 9 years with what is called relapsing-remitting MS... meaning he continues to have "flare ups" from time to time. Over Easter weekend, Chad spent some time with Kevin McMichaels, a friend from High School and Kevin's wife Casey. Casey works for a neurologist in Conroe (Chad's doctor is in Amarillo) and went to work the Monday after Easter and discussed Chad's case with her doctor. The neurologists feels like Chad is a good candidate for an upcoming stem cell transplant trial that will take place through the Baylor hospital system. She requested Chad's records from his doctor in Amarillo, prepared a letter of recommendation and sent it this week to Baylor for review. We pray for two things - (1) that Chad will be accepted into this trial scheduled to take place sometime in May and (2) that the stem cell transplant will be successful. It's difficult seeing someone you love so much suffer of an illness with no cure. Please keep Chad and his family in your thoughts and prayers!

Jordan World Circus

Monday night, the girls, Steve and I attended the Jordan World Circus at the Montgomery County Fair Grounds. I knew nothing about this venue, but thought for $25 it was worth checking out. I learned quickly I had been spoiled! Spoiled by The Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus that is! Regardless of my disappointment, the girls had fun and we can't go anywhere these days for $5 per person. I'll miss attending the Ringling Brothers circus this summer in Fort Worth. If we're lucky we'll catch it somewhere along the way in Houston.