Memorial Weekend

We had a very busy Memorial weekend. All three days of the weekend were pretty jam packed. It was fun to get to spend time with friends and family, but we are glad to now have a restful week. One of the highlights of the weekend, was Luke & Brady's performance on stage at church on Sunday. They got to help lead worship with a group of others. They sang their favorite song "Oh Happy Day" and did a wonderful job.

Just before going on stage... not nervous at all!

They both did a wonderful job. Luke did his motions and sang while Brady just chose to clap to the rhythm. Very cute!

Owen took his nap in the nursery while the boys sang. Sweet baby!

That night we went swimming at Yaya & Papi's house.

Brady is over his temporary fear of the water!

Dad & Luke practiced synchronized jumping.

Owen played until it was his turn to swim.

Brady & Uncle Saw.

Mom, Owen, & Steph enjoyed the water just before time for some delicious burgers. Fun Fun Night!

Memorial Day was spent with Grammy & Papa. We went to their house for fried fish & shrimp! Somehow I forgot my camera, so I don't any pics from their house :(

After two ruptured ear drums, four different strengths of antibiotics, and MANY trips to the pediatrician's office it was time for our sweet little baby boy to get some tubes put in his ears. Today was the big day and he handled it like a champ. There was to be NO food or drink for 6 hours prior to surgery. I thought this was next to impossible, but Owen did wonderful!

All smiles even though his little tummy was growling like crazy. I think he knew today would change his life forever :)

All dressed up and ready for surgery.

The absolute best part for Owen was the pre-op car rides. These helped pass the time and get his mind off his hungry tummy.

The surgery went great. We knew from when Brady had this done, that it was a fairly quick and painless procedure. Our sweet friend Katie works at Texas Children's Hospital where we were, so she met up with us while we waited.

Post-op pose. Owen is still very confused about where he is and who we are at this point. It took him about 30 minutes to come completely out of anesthesia and recognize us. Not long after that we were all loaded back up in the car and headed home.

Two naps later Owen was enjoying his nightly bath time with his brothers ;)

Here's to many nights of good rest from here on out (fingers crossed!)

Last Day= SPLASH DAY!!!

Since today was the boys last day at school it was time for some splashing fun! Brady's class took their turn on the water slide early this morning. Then had lunch and an ice cream party!

Brady & Mrs. Kim (he couldn't remember that little girl's name)


Then at 12:00 it was Luke's turn for his class to go out and play. Parents were asked to come help out with Luke's class, so I was able to get more pics of him.

Luke & William

Weeee!

Jackson & Luke

Mrs. Palm had this on the whiteboard.

Mrs. Palm had made each child a memory book of pictures throughout the year. In the back was an autograph page for all of Luke's classmates to sign.

One last picture and it was time to go. Thank you so much In His Steps Preschool for a wonderful year.

I remember my senior year of high school on the yearbook committee....We titled our yearbook "The End Is The Beginning". So very true!

Graduation Day!!!

Ready or not, Graduation Day is here!




We sent out these little announcements to family & close friends.

They had this picture in the blank.

All dressed up in his Sunday best, we headed off for one more performance on the stage of Shadycrest Baptist Church.

Me & my big Preschool graduate!

Yay!!!

The whole class.

and a few shots with his peeps who came to see him walk across that stage!

(please excuse my swolen eyes & runny mascara :(

and the traditional Luke & Madi pic. So grown up!

Luke and Mrs. Coffee who is the principal of the school. She is the absolute sweetest lady! She is the first person I ever talked to when I called to inquire about Luke attending. I was sold after the first conversation with her.

one last picture on the way out. Notice how Brady is on the "girl" cutout. Somehow he always falls for Luke's silly tricks!

Happy Graduation Luke! We love you so much and are so proud of you!

Luke's Preschool Journey

On August 27, 2007 Luke started his very first day at In His Steps Preschool and Mother's Day Out. I remember the night before school like it was yesterday. We had just moved into our new house. I was unpacking boxes for the kitchen and crying thinking that tomorrow my baby was gonna start Mother's Day Out. Why was I doing this? I didn't really want him to be gone from me two days a week like that? BUT- Caleb & I had talked about it and decided that it was best for him to be around other children to help him in his social development. So- I picked myself up out of my puddle of tears and started packing his little preschool backpack and lunch box.

The first day was great! He didn't even cry! The second day- it finally hit him that he was being left and he didn't like that one single bit. However, his sweet sweet gentle loving teacher Mrs. Gemma always made both of us more comfortable. She even told me she rocked him to sleep every day for nap.


Luke's first Preschool class picture.

The second year was emotionally just as hard. You see, Luke had just become a big brother only a week before he started school. Only this year- he had a much more firm teacher who didn't really allow much crying. Mrs. Kim is exactly what every two year old needs in their life. STRUCTURED! After about a month Luke loved her and followed all her rules to a tee.

By Luke's third year of school, he looked forward to school every Tuesday & Thursday. He was so excited to go and be with his friends. His teacher that year was Mrs. Alissa. She is a mom of only boys so I knew she would be a perfect boy teacher too. What a great year that was. Luke had so much fun and I loved seeing him enjoy his time there!

Then, it was time for PreK-4. For the first time, Luke would be going to school four days a week. On Monday & Wednesday he went from 9am-12pm. On Tuesday & Thursday he went from 9am-2pm so he got to stay for lunch on those days. Every single Monday and Wednesday he was so bummed that he didn't get to stay for lunch until the month of May when I finally gave in and let him stay until 2pm every day. This year has been such an awesome year of growth and learning. He has come so far. He has made a whole class full of friends- friends who I really hope we can keep in touch with. They remind me of a little family. Mrs. Palm has done an AMAZING job of teaching them. I could not have asked for anything more.

Now, as Luke's preschool journey is finally over I will begin to pray for the next step of his journey. Next year he will start public school. No more learning songs about Jesus and how much He loves us- no more Wednesday Chapel Day- no more learning a weekly Bible verse- and no more guarantee of getting a Christian teacher. Am I sad, nervous, scared??? You better believe it! BUT I know that God has my Luke right in the palm of His hand and He promises to watch over and protect him. So, I will choose to trust in God's Promise for Luke.

Vacation Time!

Yep, it's that time! Time for a much needed beach vacation. We made arrangements to stay in our neighbor's beach house on Tiki Island in Galveston. It was an awesome beach house. Perfect for swimming, fishing, campfires, kids, and especially for parents!

Our first night, we went to each at our favorite restaurant in Galveston "The Spot".

After dinner, we came home to this...


Amazing sunset every night we were there. Doesn't get much more beautiful than this!

The next day, we packed up and went to the beach! This was Owen's first trip to the beach and he seemed to really love it! Luke was also in pure heaven. Brady...well, he's not really a water person, but he was happy to play in the sand!

Do you see that pretend surfboard? He saw some surfers surfing nearby and thought..."yep, it's as easy as it looks!"

This baby had a seafood buffet on sand and sea weed alone ;)

toes in the sand!

and what did we do the next day you ask? went back to the beach of course!

This time, we had some friends with us. The Vanderwoude's decided to join in on some beach fun!!

The water was really cold, so when the kids got out- they needed to snuggle under their beach towels.

Brady decided to cast a line.

Caleb & me in front of the gorgeous sunset just before some adult time with the Vanderwoudes and VanEps.

The fishing was really good that night! It seemed like every time they would put their line in they came back with a fish!

Then we made s'mores by the campfire.

The boys had never been on the Bolivar Ferry before, so we took them the last day we were there. They really enjoyed riding on such a big boat and watching the dolphins play in the waves.

American Flag flying high on the ferry! Proud to be an American!