Ribbie - We love you more than words can describe

Little bit about Beau

Beau can be really funny sometimes. He isn't afraid to poke fun of himself. He doesn't easily embarrass. These pictures are just funny that he took with the new Face Swap App. Can you guess these first two? 

And oh yeah, we love watching him play ball. From the last game of rec basketball to the first game of Stars baseball....busy March!

Spring Break

Speaking for the family, I think it was a great week for everyone. 

Kids got to see both Grandparents and spend a few fun days with each set. Brian and I enjoyed a few kid free days as well! 

We took the kids to OKC on Thursday to Top Golf and the Science Museum (Omniplex). I think everyone enjoyed the time at each place. The weather was beautiful and our evening meal at KD's was the perfect way to end! 

The Tornado Simulator!!!

Beau's Career & Life Planning Class

Beau has the coolest electives this semester. One is Teen Leadership and the other is Career and Life Planning. In this class they simulated themselves as grown ups;  picking a spouse, jobs, houses, kids, etc. At the end of it, their assignment was to tell their parents what they learned. Here is Beau's letter to us. And yes, we are well aware we yell to much. Thanks, Beau. I hope you have kids that don't need yelled at.  Love you to the moon and back and around again. Xoxo

Almost forgot

Baby girl wrote every one of her thank you notes this year for her birthday gifts. No prompts from me except a few name spellings.

Auh....mazing.

Where o where is 2016 going?

The first half of the year is always busy, but seriously - February is almost over?  How can that be?

Let's see.....we got back to school. We got back to work. We celebrated a lot of family January birthday's. Seeing Me Ma on her birthday and having lunch with her was really special.

Beau is playing basketball through the YMCA. He practices Sunday's and Monday's. He  is practicing baseball on Sunday's with classes on Tuesday night. So those first few days of the week are super busy.

Sister turned 8.

We celebrated Valentine's together as a family.

And we love our dog. Okay, there you go!! All caught up!!

Here's hoping for time to slow down and me to remember to TAKE.MORE.PICTURES!!!!

Brenley Turns 8

I can't believe my beloved baby girl - that I prayed for, that I dreamed about - is already 8!  And oh boy, I knew she would be independent, a bit stubborn and sassy, but never did I think it would be so extreme at age 8.  But really, I love it.  We are learning how to "manage" her because we say this a lot, "the will in this one is strong."  She does things her way in her time. It needs to be her idea. And she is full of ideas.

She still has her stutter, but we continue to work on it, and it ebbs and flows.  The important thing is she knows about it, and can "fix" it when necessary, and it doesn't embarrass her.  That may not always be the case, but it is right now.

She is super smart. I mean. Like scary smart. She absorbs everything you say, and can say it right back to you. Her reading comprehension is off the charts. She is reading huge books right now and can finish them quickly and tell you all about it.

She can be a walking, talking encyclopedia.

She loves Friends lego's and puts them together all by herself. She loves baking, and helping Mom in the kitchen. She loves helping others. She wants to do everything.  She loves to "garden," and tells me she will be a gardener someday.

She loves all dogs, but certainly her pup Ribbie. She loves Pa Pa's rabbits. She loves to sing. Her current favorite is Charlie Puth's, "One Call Away" and she sings lovely.

She loves to be outside so she can be in her own world. She talks to herself a lot when she is out there. Complete imagination play time. She prefers playing by herself, which worries us a bit, but her teacher assures us she is very social and well liked at school.

She has gotten into watching YouTube videos on how to create things, and she watches these little family shows on there, so sometimes I catch her describing her toys or walking through the steps of building lego's, because I think she is pretending she is on YouTube. I asked her if she wanted to create her own channel. She said no, but I think she'll change her mind soon.  Has to be her idea.

We had her grandparents over on her actual birthday, which she loved. She got to pick her own places to eat out.  We headed to Kansas City the weekend after her birthday to celebrate her some more at Great Wolf Lodge and Build A Bear.  She built a new bear friend named Hannah.

Anyway, we love this one. She is so special. So smart. So beautiful.  Happy birthday, baby girl. Mom and Dad love you to the moon and back and around again.

And this is two pages out of her new scrapbook. Add that to the list of her skills!!!

And I just love this picture. Her hand. My rings.