Three Guys and a Girl

To Blog or Not to Blog...

2011-03-31T07:32:00.000-07:00

That has been the question! I have sat down several times over the past month and a half and started the same blog over and over. I was just feeling overwhelmed at everything that had happened and how in the world I was going to post it in a quick and concise way. If I was a good blogger, I would update more frequently but I'm not, so I don't. Anyway. Finally, today, I decided I would get it done. Not for people who read (because there is really only like 3 people who read this!), but for me b/c this is my way of "scrapbooking" our lives.

So, since my last post a lot has gone on! Let's start with Feb! Bryson had his 4th birthday and birthday party! It was so much fun...in my opinion anyway! He decided that he wanted games at his party so we decided to make it carnival like. We set up about 10 games around the room and as the kids came in they went around and played all of the games. Games like: Ring Toss, Bean Bag Toss, Nerf Darts, Clothes pin drop, Bean Bag Tic Tac Toe and of course a Pinata! We had lots of prizes and the kids had fun. After the games we had hot dogs, Shark cupcakes and opened presents! Bryson made out like a bandit! He had a great time celebrating with his Friends!

Later in the month, we survived the dreaded four year old well visit and all of the shots that go along with it! It was a rough 30 minutes b/c Bryson and Jaden were both getting shots (Jaden was there for his 9 month appt.) but we made it out alive and both boys were well above average in height and weight as well as VERY healthy!

As March rolled around we ALL were getting a nice case of Spring Fever! We were so ready for spring break and some time off. So we planned to take a mini vacation over spring break! Bryson is into Dinosaurs right now so we thought it would be fun to go camping at Dinosaur Valley State Park in Glenrose. After spending a few days in Temple visiting family, we packed up and headed west with a van load of camping gear. I have to admit I was a little nervous how Jaden would do sleeping but he did great! We got to Glenrose on Wednesday afternoon and got our camp set up. Then we went to a cool place called Dinosaur World that had over one hundred life size dinosaur replicas. We got to walk along the mile long path looking at and reading about all of the dinosaurs! The second day we spent actually hunting for dino tracks in the Paluxy River. It was really hot outside and the water felt so good to wade around in while we looked for the tracks! Of course, that was Bryson's favorite part!

Unfortunately, our camping trip was cut a few hours short b/c Jaden started not feeling well at about 4:00 in the morning on Friday. So we VERY QUIETLY got up, put the boys in the car and packed up the whole camp, in the dark, in 30 minutes and headed home. We were home by 7:30 in the morning and spent the day relaxing and letting Jaden feel better...he had an ear infection.

The rest of March was pretty normal. Matthew had lots of track meets, I started VBS practices, Bryson started baseball practice and Jaden learned to crawl!! So for now, that's all! I'll start planning Jaden's First Birthday in a few weeks. Won't be anything big, just family, but I still try to make it special with invitations and a homemade cake, so we'll see! I can't believe that the next time I blog I'll most likely have a one year old!

Christmas, New Years and Everything since...

2011-02-01T16:54:00.000-08:00

Wow! It has been a crazy long time since my last blog! The Christmas season is always a crazy one, in a good way that is, so I had a feeling I wouldn't be blogging during that time. BUT, I can't believe how quickly January went and I didn't blog once during the whole month! Ooops! So here is a run down of our Christmas, New Years and everything since!

This year we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas day with my family here in Allen. We continued with the tradition of going to Christmas Eve Service and then the whole family eating and spending the night at my parent's house. Christmas was so much fun for Bryson this year! He was totally into every aspect of the day: giving, Santa, food, family and of course Baby Jesus! He loved it! Jaden was such a good boy too! He was just so layed back and relaxed watching everyone opening presents! It was a great couple of days!

The day after Christmas we headed to Temple to spend a few days with Matthew's family! We had a good 3 days of more family, food and gift opening! The kids always have so much fun when they are together and this Christmas we had two new babies with us!

When we got home from Temple we quickly unpacked, washed and repacked for our annual New Year's Eve Roomie Reunion! This year we were all going to Cynda's brand spankin' new house in Oklahoma City. Josh and Lacey came to our house Thursday and then we all left Friday morning for OKC! It was great to spend a couple of days with the girls, their hubbys and kids! I love how our friendship is so simple and easy! The way it is supposed to be!

When we got home from OKC Sunday, Matthew immediately started getting ready for work on Monday. And so it began...back to the grind for us all!.

January sure did fly by! I don't even know what all we did b/c it went so fast! All I do know is that we had several days of the month where atleast one person in the house was sick! Bryson had the stomach bug, Jaden had strep (the youngest patient his dr. has ever had to have strep) and Matthew and I both suffered with congestion and nose issues! We did have a nice snow storm during the month too and the boys enjoyed playing in the rare North Texas snow!

Track season has started up and Matthew's Saturdays are starting to be consumed with track meets so we decided to be spontaneous this past Saturday (it was 75 degrees...today it was 16 degrees) and take the boys to the Zoo! We hopped on the train and spent the afternoon looking at all of the animals and being amazed at how smart our Bryson has become!

Today, we were home ALL day! The roads are covered in ice and schools were cancelled today and tomorrow. It's nice that we are all here together but it would be nice if we could get out and do some things as a family! Oh well, games and movies it will be!

Well, that is just about it for the last couple of months! I am in the process of planning Bryson's 4th Birthday Party! It is in about a week and a half! I'm sure I'll blog about it! Until then...

Christmas and The Cross...

2010-12-10T11:16:00.000-08:00

Christmas. I love Christmas! I'm not going to lie, some of my favorite things about Christmas really have nothing to do with the "real meaning of the season." I love spending time with family, watching Bryson as he gets so excited over shopping and making presents for other people. I love the lights and the smells and of course I LOVE the music! BUT, that said, I will say that what I love MOST about Christmas is that it is NOT my favorite holiday. I love that I know that it DOES NOT END with the BABY JESUS. I know that for 33 years a Man traveled on this earth healing, teaching, and praying. Then, HE DIED. Then, HE ROSE! (Easter has always been my fav!) I think so many times people forget that Christmas is just the beginning. The story doesn't stop with a cute baby in a manger with a bunch of strangers and animals starring at him! There is so much more!

At our church we do a musical every year called Christmas Celebration. The first half of the musical is choral, traditional Christmas music. The second half, however, is the WHOLE story of the life of Christ! Birth, Life, Death, and Resurrection. Did you know that people, church going people, have been offended by the fact that we would mention the CROSS at Christmas! (Really, a person asked, "are you doing that cross stuff again, if so I don't need tickets.")

Anyway, all that to say, Christmas is about the Cross! Without the CROSS it would just be a good story!

One of my favorite songs in the musical this year is called Underneath the Tree! Here is a video of the song I found! Great song!

http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=FMMBMNNU

Let the Holiday Season Begin!!

2010-11-26T17:17:00.001-08:00

I love this time of year! I love the lights, I love the food : ), I love the decorations and I LOVE the smells! I am one of those annoying people that can't wait for Thanksgiving week so that I can decorate for Christmas...mind you I've already been listening to Christmas music for a month! It's not that I don't love Thanksgiving b/c I do, it's just Christmas makes me so happy... especially since I've had kids!

Our family has some awesome traditions this time of year and I love getting to do things with my kids that I remember doing as a kid! Of course, we have started some new traditions also and one of those traditions is quickly becoming my favorite and we are doing it tomorrow night! We call this our Progressive Tree Decorating Dinner! We start at Jansen/Crystals house with appetizers. We all munch on chips and dip while decorating their tree! Then, we move to our house! This year I'm making a big pot of chili and we will decorate my tree and then eat our main course! Finally, we head to Mom/Dad's house. They have the biggest tree, by far, so it takes quite a bit longer to do theirs! Here, we have our dessert and finish up the tree decorating! It is just a really fun thing and the kids get a kick out of decorating everyone's trees. I'll post some pics after the big event! : )

Well, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! We had a great time visiting with family and eating LOTS of AMAZING food! We even had a special visitor come to remind the kids to be on their VERY best behavior over the next month. Here are a few pics of that special visit!

Happy 6 Months Jaden Dane!

2010-11-12T08:02:00.000-08:00

We love you SOOOOO much and could not imagine out lives without you!

Fast and Furious October!

2010-11-08T08:55:00.000-08:00

October was FULL of lots of fun here in the Bush household! Football, pumpkin patch, State Fair, soccer games, addition of a new little baby (our beautiful neice Delaney Jaymes), groundbreaking for our children's building at church and Halloween. It has been an action packed month that seems to have flown by so fast I have to look at pictures to believe things even happened!

Matthew: Freshman football season is over and all 3 teams ended with GREAT records, including one that was undefeated! He is now practing with the varsity team as they get ready to enter the first round of the playoffs! He is only about 8 or 9 lbs from his goal weight and is looking pretty stinkin' good if you ask me!

Bryson: He has been very interested in planning his future lately. He has decided that he is going to be a football/basketball coach and a church teacher! : ) He is going to live in McKinney and Jaden and I can come visit anytime we want! (I'm sure Daddy can too!) Soccer season is wrapping up with only 3 more games to go and then we will take a break until spring when T-Ball starts! I am soooo excited! I LOVE baseball and can't wait to watch him play! I think he will love it too!

Jaden: He is a rolling machine! He is constantly moving and skooching to get where he wants to go! He loves playing with anything that makes noise and can sit up for a about 5 or so seconds by himself before he tips over. I really do believe that he is going to be our musical child! He responds to music so much more than Bryson does or ever did! He "sings" all the time and loves it when anyone...especially big brother...sings to him!

Me: Same ol' Same ol'! Getting excited that the holiday season is coming! I love this time of year! I love Christmas music and I love all of the smells of this time of year! ( I know I'm weird!) I'm just proud of myself for only letting a month go by before I blogged again!

Well, that's all I got for ya today! Enjoy our month in pictures!

Happy Homecoming!

Jaden watching Uncle Jake play football!

Pumpkin Patch

State Fair with Big Tex!

Children's Building groundbreaking at church.

Halloween!

Fall Fun

2010-10-08T11:17:00.000-07:00

Happy Fall! Football Season is in full swing here at the Bush house and we are loving it! Bryson is at the age now that he loves going and actually watching the game and Jaden is very easy this year! He just "hangs out" in his Bjorn most of the game occasionally taking a break to nurse here and there. We do go to 2 or 3 games a week between Thursday night and Friday night so by the time Saturday gets here and Bryson's soccer game is over, we are all ready to CRASH!! I decided after last post it is much easier to sum up what is going on in our house if I break it down by person. Since most people that read this are family and close friends I thought I'd keep it simple! So here we go...

Matthew: School is going well. He is working 7 days a week right now so we have to make a lot of our time that he is home! His freshman football teams are doing great! Lots of Ws! The varsity team is also doing great! They are undefeated going into game 6 tonight! All of us have been living a healthier lifestyle the last 12 weeks and Matthew is doing great! I'm not allowed to post any numbers or pictures of him b/c he wants it to be a surprise when we get to see his family. But let me just say that he is doing REALLY well!

Bryson: Loves Soccer! Got a Black Eye! Had to buy size 5 clothes! Favorite color is Green! Has an imagination like no other! This kid has really come into his own over the last few months! He is such a big boy and he is so smart! He loves to learn about anything and will ask a million questions until his brain just can't take anymore! I am so glad that I am getting to be home with him during these years before he starts school because I love seeing his mind at work! Bryson loves to play outside and spends no less than 2 hours a day outside in the backyard by himself digging, climbing, building, whatever he can find to do! (this does not count the time when we are all outside playing!)

Jaden: Jaden is a growing boy! He is pushing 18lbs and is over 26 inches long! He started solid foods and loves everything I give him! Unfortunately he has had a pretty bad ear infection that needed 2 rounds of antibiotics to get rid of...and today I'm thinking it might be back! He is a very happy baby and last night and today he has been a little fussy and not wanting to eat really well....that is huge for this baby! He also rolled over yesterday for the first time! Now, some of you might be thinking, "he just now rolled over?" Well, you see, I have chubby boys, and it takes a lot for these boys to muster up the strength to roll all of that chubbiness over! Bryson didn't do it until he was almost 6 months old! LOL Anyway! He is a big ball of cuteness and is the most happy, laid back little boy you will ever meet!

Me: Well, things are going great! I am doing a women's Bible study and MOPs this year so that gives me a little adult time here and there which is nice! I'm doing some experimenting when it comes to cooking and baking to fit some of our favorites into our new lifestyle! I have been running again and getting ready to do atleast one 5K this fall...I would like to do more but we'll see. I, too, have lost a good bit of weight over the last several weeks and am hoping to be really close to my goal by Christmas time! I only have about 20 lbs to go which is great considering where I came from! : )

Well, there you have it! Our lives summed up! I'll end with a few pics and possibly a video! Enjoy!

The Black Eye

Sweet Boy 4 months Old

Brothers Playing

Art Project
Sweet Boys eating!

Holy Cow!

2010-09-05T15:01:00.000-07:00

Wow! I cannot believe how quickly the summer flew by! I really can't believe that I have a 3 1/2 year old who has his first soccer game this week and a 4 month old who is starting to eat solid foods! You know, people always say that your kids grow up so fast and I am really starting to feel that! I mean, sometimes I still feel like I'm a kid! I can't believe that TOMORROW I will be 28 years old! What the heck? Where did the time go? I just don't feel like I am a grown adult, but I guess I am!

Anyway! Back to what has been going on in this household over the last few months!

Matthew: Matt taught summer school again this summer so his summer was cut a little short. He spent some time in San Antonio for coaching school and then hit the ground running with trainings and football about mid-July. Football season is in full swing now and we don't get to see him as much as we like but we do enjoy football season and Allen Eagle football is a huge part of our family life! He is teaching Physics again this year and is actually the team leader which adds more work for him but I know it will be beneficial to him in the future! He loves his job and that is all that matters!

Bryson: Bryson is now 3 1/2. We decided against pre-school for this year mainly b/c I am not ready to give him up yet! I have only had him to myself for a year and we really didn't see any reason to put him in preschool. He is one smart little boy! He asks a MILLION QUESTIONS a day and the simple answer is NEVER enough! I already feel sorry for his kindergarten teacher! He started soccer this season and has his first game on Saturday! He is so excited and so am I! I grew up watching my brothers play sports and it was such a huge part of my life and I can't wait to do it with my boys! Bryson is a GREAT big brother! He loves to play and help with Jaden whenever he can! I love watching him interact with him!

Jaden: Jaden will be 4 months old this week! He is weighing in at about 15 lbs 5 oz which is right at average for his age! He is smaller than Bryson was at this age weight wise but boy is he LONG! I think he is going to be our basketball player! He has long arms and fingers too! Jaden started on rice ceral this week. We only give it to him once a day right now but I know that the Dr. will up that when he goes this week....it is just crazy that his is growing so quickly! He is a very laid back baby but he kind of has to be in our house! He gets taken everywhere, and has been since he was 4 days old, so he just learned quick to go with the flow! Such a sweet baby!

Me: Well, I'm just me. Staying home with my babies and keeping Julianne during the week. Teaching piano lessons and doing lots of stuff at church! I love it! I love the place I'm in right now! I couldn't ask for anything better!

Well, that is just about all I can think of! Here are some pictures of my awesome family!

3 Guys and a Girl!

2010-06-03T09:27:00.000-07:00

Well, I told you that the next time I posted we would be a family of four! What I didn't know is that I would be the only female in that family of four! Jaden Dane Bush was born May 12, 2010 at 8:00 am. He was 7 lbs. 1 oz. 20.75 inches long! Our tall skinny man! He is beautiful! Bryson loves his little brother so much and is such a great helper! Bryson cannot get enough of Jaden (I know we are still in the honeymoon phase and that will change)and wants to hug him, hold him, talk to him and touch him! He has been our handwashing police and has also done a very good job at that...even telling Daddy he had to wash his hands before getting Jaden!

We are starting to get into the swing of things now that it has been 3 weeks! Since I have still been keeping Julianne during the day we haven't ventured out too much with all three but I have taken them all to Target and to the park which was fun. Starting next week it will just be the 4 of us all summer and I can't wait to really get into that new dynamic!

Here are a few pics of our new family!

And my favorite of all...

The Countdown Begins in the Bush House

2010-04-09T09:33:00.000-07:00

This time of year is crazy for us every year! The end of school tends to fill up a calendar faster than you can blink an eye! I'm sure that's how it is for everyone! From musicals at church, track meets, spring football, sports banquets to spring cleaning and yard work our lives are very hectic from Mid March though the end of the school year! Of course, this year we added a little more excitement in that in a short 4 1/2 weeks Baby Jad_n will be here and boy are we praying that this baby and my body hold out that entire 4 1/2 weeks! (since Bryson came at 37 weeks it makes me nervous that we might have that case again!) We have managed to get a lot done over the last few weeks when it comes to being ready for the baby. For the most part, the nursery is finished and I have washed diapers, burb rags and bibs. I still need to pull out a few outfits from our boy stash and borrow some girl outfits from my brother's girl stash and get those washed so that we are covered for the first couple of days! I'm sure after that we will be covered on clothes no matter if we have a boy or a girl! Other than that, I am just trying to stay caught up with the rest of the house work...which by the way is getting harder b/c I just don't have the endurance I need to get it done! But that's okay! I'm not worried about it...

Bryson is so excited and asks on a daily basis if Baby Jad_n is coming that day! When we hit 30 days we are going to make a paper chain to help with the visual aspect of how long we have! Hopefully that will help him understand! He is going to be such a good big brother! He says that he wants the baby to be a boy so that he has someone to play dinosaurs with but I'm sure he will be completely happy with a little sister to love on!

All that said...here are a few pictures of what has been going on around our house! At the rate I'm going my next post might include pictures our new bundle! Enjoy!

It's Getting Close!

2010-02-26T12:20:00.000-08:00

Holy Cow, it is already the last weekday of Feb.! How is that possible? We have been crazy busy around here which is probably why it seems like 2010 is flying by! Matthew is dead in the middle of track season so we only see him a couple hours a night and on Sundays basically. Most Saturdays are taken up by meets...of course...it is raining right now so I'm secretly hoping that the meet for tomorrow gets cancelled! We'll see!

Bryson turned 3 last week, we had a McDonald's party for him and he had a blast playing with all of his little friends! It is so funny to watch them interact at this age! If only we could all be that honest with each other! He is getting so excited for the baby to get here! He tells me at least once a day that he is going to change diapers and share his toys with Baby Jad_n! We'll see how long that actually lasts! I really do think he is going to be a great big brother! He loves babies and is so gentle with them!

I, well, I'm here. Still loving staying home! Getting a bigger belly EVERYDAY! (even though I'm still in the negative technically on weight gain since I lost so much from being sick in the beginning!) I had a prenatal massage yesterday that was amazing, of course, I am sore today!

We are doing a lot to get ready for the baby! Finally ordered wall decor for the room, starting to get stuff out of the garage and cleaned up, but the biggest thing is...We bought a minivan! YES, a minivan! I swore I would NEVER drive a minivan...probably b/c I learned to drive on a purple Ford Windstar! (That would scar anyone for life!) But they are made so different now then they used to be and we NEEDED the room! With me keeping Julianne, the thought of cramming 3 kids into the back seat of my CR-V made me cringe! So we researched exactly what we wanted and believe it or not...we found it! 2007 Nissan Quest, 38000 miles, DVD player, lots of convenience features, and it is pretty! We got a really good deal and our payment is less that what we were paying...so we are saving money! Can't get any better than that!

Anyway...probably won't post again for a while but just thought I'd update! Here are a few pics of the car!

Goodbye 2009!

2010-01-04T11:47:00.000-08:00

Wow! I cannot believe that it is 2010! Where in the world did the last 10 years go? It is so crazy how fast time really does fly! We have had a great last couple of months spending time with family and friends over the holidays! November and December are always tough for us b/c we spend SO MUCH TIME IN THE CAR! We are used to it by now but man it sure does make for short Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks!

I guess I'll start back mid November. Last time I blogged the Allen Eagles were heading into the playoffs. We had an awesome first round winning 35-0 but unfortunately fell short 35-34 to Southlake Carroll in double OT during the second round ending our season the Saturday before Thanksgiving. I must admit it was nice to have Matthew home for the week, but I would've loved to be playing football into December! We traveled to Wichita Falls for Thanksgiving and spent a few days with my grandparents and the rest of my family. Very nice!

The weeks between Thankgsiving and Christmas are a complete blurr! I have no clue what I did during that time other than shopping and eating! Once school got out we began our travels for the Christmas Season. We started off by heading to Temple for the day for Matthew's extended family Christmas. It was really nice this year b/c Bryson was old enough to entertain himself and I kind of got to relax a bit and watch everyone else play volleyball. Next year won't be so easy though! : ) We came home early Sunday morning and spent the next couple of days getting everything ready for Christmas. Bryson was completely into Christmas this year! He loved to talk about Santa, he will tell you the REAL meaning of Christmas and he loved shopping for everyone and helping to wrap the presents! It was awesome! We had our Christmas celebration at my parents on Christmas Eve morning with everybody! It was great! I love watching the kids open their presents! I loved seeing Bryson's face when he looked on the fireplace and saw the blue Allen Eagles helmet that he had asked santa for! Priceless!! After our breakfast we got back in the car and headed to Temple for Christmas. (Jans, Crystal and Julianne headed to Wichita Falls and got stranded in the horrible blizzard for 17 hours! Can you imagine being in a car with a 15 month old for 17 hours!!!) It snowed on us a bit on the way down to Temple and a little bit off and on all day when we got there! (Of course Allen/DFW had the first "White Christmas" since 1925! We missed it!) We spent the next few days with Matthew's parents, sisters and their families! It was a lot of fun and Bryson had a blast playing with his cousins! We headed home the Sunday after Christmas and actually got to spend 2 days at home just the 3 of us. That was really nice! We took down Christmas decor, cleaned out and gave away clothing and toys, found a place for new clothing and toys, and found a little time to just relax!

For the last 5 years, we have gotten together with my college rommates and their families to celebrate New Years. We have rotated from house to house and this year it was our turn to host it! Everyone has a kid now and 2 of us are getting ready for our second so you can only imagine the fun we had! 3 boys (almost 3, 2.5 and almost 2) and 2 girls (10 weeks and 8 weeks)! Love it! We did decide that we need to start researching places we can rent out to hold us all! We are getting too big! But in my opinion...the bigger the better!

Well, Matthew started back to work today, Julianne came back, and we are trying to get back into the swing of things! We'll see how it goes! BTW...only 17 more Saturdays until our new addition arrives! Kind of freaks me out a bit...but we are very excited to be a family of four! Enjoy the pics!

Slacker Blogger!

2009-11-04T07:47:00.001-08:00

Wow! Has it really been over 2 months since I have posted? I guess either one of two things has happened to cause that...1)I have nothing exciting to say that I think people would be interested in reading, or 2)We have been so crazy busy that I don't have time to sit and gather thoughts to write. Acutally I think it is probably a little of both! But that said, I must say that I am not the only one who has slacked off on my blogging! I have a list of blogs that I am religious about checking and none of those people have blogged either. I'm wondering...is blogging already going out of style? Has twitter really replaced the blog? I really hope not! I must say I will be so sad if that is the case! Maybe it is just the time of year. Nobody has time right now to write about what's going on in there life. I know that is the case for me...right now I'm just lucky to have 2 year old who is entertaining himself by stacking chairs!

Anyway! As far as we go, it is still football season! We will be headed to the playoffs next week! We don't get to see Daddy alot right now but we have lots of fun when we do! We love going to football games..yes gameS...everyweek and cheering on the Eagles! That is our life right now...well probably forever!

Bryson is growing like a weed! He definitely has a mind of his own and is not afraid to use it! We are amazed everyday by some of the things that come out of his mouth and by the things that he figures out! He loves to play games! Red light Green Light is his favorite at the moment! Only bad part about that is that now he knows what all the lights mean when we are driving and he has become quite the little backseat driver! And I must say that he is a very handsome little boy!

I'm loving staying home! It is definitely a hard job but worth every minute! Every time I even think I've had a bad day I ask myself, "would you rather be teaching 650 other peoples kids?" and of course the answer is always a BIG FAT NO!!

We are pretty sure we are close to selling our House in NRH. We have a contract and we are just waiting on all the details! That will make our life a lot easier!

We do have one other piece of exciting business....Bryson is going to be a big brother in May! We are very excited to start a new life as a family of FOUR...that sounds weird!

Anyway! I'm not going to lie...it will probably be another 2 months before I post again...but I'll leave a couple of pictures of my handsome boy to hold you over!

First Day of School!

2009-08-24T07:10:00.000-07:00

Well today is a big day in my family! It is the first day of school. My entire life, this day of every year has been huge! Well, for me this year is different. It is the first time since I was 6 years old that I will not be going back to school....weird huh? I will say that I had been fine and that it had not hit me until yesterday morning at church. Our pastor asked all teachers to stand so that we could pray for them and this coming school year....well if you know me, you know that my parents are teachers, my bro and sis in law are teachers, and my husband is a teacher. Therefore, the entire row of people I was sitting with stood...except for me. THAT Was Weird! But good in the same way! I did feel a little relieved. Anyway! A year ago a great friend of mine was going through the same thing I am today and she blogged about it on her blog. I'll put the link b/c she summed it up perfectly! (The only difference I think is that Matthew really does have his dream job...I'm sure some days he would not admit it but...we all know there is nothing better for him to be doing!)

http://bethanyleann.blogspot.com/2008/08/back-to-school.html

So to all of my family and friends: I pray that you have a great year this year and that you know you are impacting the life of every child you teach! Remember that teaching is the best job in the world....ASIDE FROM BEING A MOMMY! Have a great first day of school!

Where has summer gone?

2009-07-20T17:15:00.000-07:00

WOW! How can it already be July 20th? I don't understand! Even more than that...Matthew goes back to work for football in less than 2 weeks!!! I cannot believe how quickly summer has gone by this year! I'm sure it is because we stayed completely busy all summer. Matthew taught summer school, we had a week long vacation in Tennessee, we went on an anniversary weekend! And now, here we are, less than two weeks left! Even now Matthew is at coaching school through Wednesday and he has 2 days of training next week so really even these two weeks won't be much of a break for him. Oh well. One fun thing though is that his parents are coming Thursday to stay a week with us! It is always nice when they get to come to our house. Bryson really enjoys having their undivided (usually it is divided by 5) attention! Then we will go back to Temple with them to spend some time with his aunts and uncles! That will pretty much be our last trip to Temple until Christmas other than a one day trip for Kaci's wedding. Once football starts we don't get Matthew for the weekends...but it is okay because he truely loves his job...and hopefully that will mean another STATE CHAMPIONSHIP RING! Anyway here are a few pics of our adventures over the last few weeks....most being from Tennessee. LATER!

Summer Days!

2009-06-13T19:44:00.000-07:00

Today we spent lots of time at Grammy and PawPaw's house swimming! Bryson is very much a "water baby" but over the last couple of days he continues to get braver by the minute. Here is a video of him jumping and doing his version of a dive (belly flop) into the pool!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAz9G9Wdl08

The End of a Chapter!

2009-06-05T14:48:00.001-07:00

Well, I am officially no longer a teacher...in a formal setting that is....I know I will always be a teacher! I must say that I did have a little bit of a break down when, in my excitement, I turned around to tell Bryson, "Bryson guess what! Mommy is not a teacher anymore!" And then it hit me...I just walked out of the building as a teacher for the last time (and I cried). Don't get me wrong...I am so excited and greatful that I am able to stay home with Bryson, but it is just a little weird knowing that I won't go back anymore, knowing that someone else will be taking over my classroom and my kids! I know it will probably hit me even more mid August when everyone else in my life....and I mean everyone....husband, mom, dad, brother 1, sister in law, and brother 2 will all be going back to school! So for now I am going to enjoy the summer with my family, try to get some new routines into place and start to figure out this whole stay at home mom thing! I know it is going to be the hardest yet most rewarding job I will ever have and I will never regret the decision that we made! So for now "so long" to the world of education!

Just for fun a picture of my precious BIG BOY!!

Do I hear a little Handel??!?!!?

2009-06-04T14:41:00.000-07:00

Haaaaallelujah! Haaaaallelujah! Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Ha l-ay lu jah!! Tomorrow is the last day of school!!!!! I am soooo excited! I will officially be a stay at home mommy at 2:55!

4 more days!!!

2009-06-01T17:44:00.001-07:00

Count Down...

2009-05-31T19:01:00.000-07:00

5 more days until I am a STAY AT HOME MOMMY!!!!

Friends

2009-05-27T15:16:00.001-07:00

This post is going to be about friends which is funny b/c I really do not have a whole lot of friends! I have always been a "quality not quantity" kind of girl! But I will tell you that the friends that I do have are amazing! This is probably going to sound a little sappy, and well, I really don't care. I have 3 (well i have more than 3 but these are the ones I'm talking about today) really great friends that am so thankful that God put them in my life! It is funny how God matches you with people are are different from you in so many ways yet so much like you also! Unfortunately, not one of these friends live anywhere close to me so several times a year I go through a phase where I truely, honestly miss my friends! We are very faithful and have been over the last 5 years (since we all started getting married) at getting together a few times a year but those weekends just go so fast! Thank goodness for technology! We stay in touch that way the most and can stay caught up with each others kiddos and families but of course in person would be way better! So all this to say, I think I'm going through a phase! I can't wait to see my friends again and just hang out! My favorite part of us getting together is that it is always like we were not apart....I guess that is what true friendship is! Anyway! Just thought write to say that I am thankful for my friends and can't wait to see them again...in August or whenever it may be!!

My 8s (tagged by Bethany)

2009-05-21T15:31:00.000-07:00

8 things I am looking forward to
1. School being OUT!!
2. Staying home with My precious little boy!
3. Going to Tennessee

4. Going to the lake Saturday

5. Watching Bryson learn to ride his bike
6. Hanging out with other moms from Church

7. Going to Ranger Games
8. Doing a whole lot of nothing for the holiday weekend

8 things I did yesterday
1. Went to school
2. Umpired a kickball game

3. when to church

4. went to the store

5. Had chicken for dinner
6. checked facebook

7. Made a new friend

8. Picked up the living room

8 things I wish I could do
1. Stay caught up on Laundry

2. Keep my house clean
3. Live headache free for a week!

4. Fly anywhere I needed to go

5. Sleep all night every night
6. Train for another 1/2 marathon

7. Invent something

8. See my friends more often

8 shows I watch
1. The Biggest Loser
2. Lie to Me

3. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

4. Rules of Engagement
5. Grey's Anatomy
6. Big Bang Theory

7. How I Met Your Mother
8. House Hunters

8 people I tag
I don't even know 8 people!!

Just Something to Make you Smile

2009-03-23T18:20:00.001-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAQBmQUeXj8&feature=player_embedded

One Month to Live

2009-03-08T12:29:00.000-07:00

Kind of a strange title for a post I must admit, but, for the last six weeks our church has been going through a sermon series with this title...One month to live. Basically it gets you thinking about how you would live your life it you knew that you only had one month to live and it challenges you to live that way all of the time. One of the big things that the study talks about is how you are living your "dash." That refers to the dash between birth date and death date on your tombstone. Today's semon was focused on leaving a legacy and what we want the end of our story to look like. Pastor Chad challenged us to figure out what we want our end to look like. What legacy do I want to leave behind? What do we want for people to remember us by when we are gone? Am I living today as if I only had one month to live? Would I leave behind the legacy that I really want to leave behind or will I be forgotten? Interesting to think about and a little difficult to grasp, but here is what I have come up with so far...I'm sure I will be changing and adding to as I have more time to think about it.

I want people to remember me as a person who:
1. Loved the Lord and showed it through my life.
2. Loved and provided for my family spiritually and emotionally.
3. Showed compassion to others.
4. Had a passion for worship.
5. Had a passion for teaching children.
6. Had a helpful hand.
7. Lived everyday as if it were my last.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRYSON!!!

2009-02-19T11:05:00.001-08:00

Well today is the day. In exactly 2 1/2 hours Bryson will officially be 2 years old. It is so crazy to think that only 2 years ago I was in the hospital in a massive amount of pain (b/c the nurse upped my pit every 15 minutes!!) waiting for a baby to arrive...not knowing it was going to be a boy! Now we have an amazingly smart little man running around our house telling me that his favorite animal is a goat because he likes to brush their hair!! (Only b/c he did that this weekend at the zoo!) I love this age...honestly I think Bryson has been in his "terrible 2s" for a while now...he is quite advanced : )...But I love it! I love that he has a mind of his own and questions me when I tell him something! I love that he wants to understand why things are the way they are and he is already a very independent little boy. I love how sensitive he his toward others...he wants people to be happy and he will love on you until you can't help but smile! I love his smile! I love his laugh! I love how he wants to put his clothes on by himself but everytime something ends up backwards! I love that he is already a sports fanatic! Duh, how could he not be!! I love it when he comes to our bed in the morning and says "Mommy, sing a song."! I love it when his night time prayer takes 10 minutes because he thanks God for everything and everyone he can think of! I love how laid back he is! I love how much he loves me! I love it when he says, "I love you lot, mamacita!!" I just love my little boy! The last 2 years have been amazing and even though I can't believe how fast they have gone I am so happy we are where we are right now! So now that you know how much I love him...here are a few pictures!

Asleep in the bathtub during a really bad storm!

Taking pictures for birthday invitations!

Oh my Goodness...How time Flies!!

2009-01-28T17:38:00.000-08:00

Well obviously from my post title you can see that I am beginning the shock phase of Bryson turning 2! Over the last couple of weeks I have been doing little things here and there to get ready for his party and it is starting to get to me a little bit now. I just can't believe that he is almost 2...how is that possible! I always thought people were just saying the whole "it feels like yesterday" thing, but now I really want to say that! And I know 2 years is not a huge amount of time but it really makes you think about how fast the rest will go, I mean only 3 years and he'll be starting school! CRAZY!!! Anyway! His party is going to be so much fun! It has a puppy theme and I'm making really cute cupcakes instead of a cake! I'm so excited! I'm sure I'll post pictures! I ordered his Birthday invitations last night and they looked cute online so we'll see how they turn out! I was never really big on fancy parties for little kids, and I'm still not, but we have like 35 people just in our family so every party is huge! So to spare my house, we are going to have it at the park and a I rented this little clubhouse! It will be fun! Well, as I do more I will post more!

Potty Training 101!

2009-01-09T19:25:00.000-08:00

Wow! What a crazy couple of weeks we have had!! Since I posted last, we have been to Oklahoma and back, finished two sets of antibiotics (Matthew and Bryson both had sinus infections), started school and starting potty training! Crazy, Crazy, Crazy! But you know...for the most part it has all been great! (Well except the getting up early again to go to school!) Matthew and I decided that we were going to start working with Bryson hardcore over the Christmas break on potty training because we would both be home and could set a good routine and schedule that would hopefully help it go smoother! Being that Bryson is our first child to potty train I have been all ears for advice for the last several months and we have utilized most of what we have heard...well except the part about letting your kid carry their toilet all over the house to find a place to go...that grosses me out! The biggest thing that we decided a long time ago was NO pull-ups! I'm not really big on them b/c they are just diapers and I just think it takes kids longer to realize that they are not supossed to be going in their pants when they can't feel it. Sooo, we have been using cloth training pants which are a little bit thicker than underwear but boy can he feel it when he has an accident! Pretty much the only time we have been using a pull-up is for sleep. So here we are less than 2 weeks from day one and he usually only has one accident a day which of course is poop...but who cares...the rest of the day he is accident free and loves to go pee in the big potty. And the best part about it is that he has been on the one accident thing for almost a whole week! It is awesome! I just love watching how excited he gets when he is successful at something and he is only 2! What am I going to do as he gets older?!?! Anyway...YAY FOR BRYSON!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

2008-12-30T10:40:00.000-08:00

Well we had a great Christmas week! I loved getting to watch Bryson understand what was going on this year and it was totally awesome to see his face when he walked into my mom's living room Christmas morning and saw the Basketball goal Santa had brought him! He Loved it and was totally consumed with it and the Little Tikes car he got from Grammy and PawPaw! Of course that meant that he didn't even care about the other billion presents that he had under the tree! I do have a funny story to tell though! On Christmas eve we went to church with my family just like we always do, but this year was a little different! You see our church is really big on Christmas being a family thing and so on Christmas eve there is no nursery so everyone brings their babies and toddlers into the service. So Bryson was in "big church" with us! Of course I came prepared with paper and crayons and even some goldfish b/c I knew we were taking the Lord's Supper and I didn't want him asking for crackers while we were trying to pray! Anyway...the service was awesome and Bryson really got into. Our Pastor did a children's sermon where the kids sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and Bryson sang along...of course then after everytime we sang any song he would say "Happy Birthday!" It was pretty funny but not as funny as when after we prayed and everyone said AMEN, Bryson hollering out "Amen, Amen!" Of course everyone around us started laughing! All in all it was a great experience. Bryson loved being in "big church" and he read the Bible story with us and listened while Pastor Chad preached! So here are a few pictures from our Christmases!

Coming into Christmas at Mimi and Grandaddy's house with Haylee and Kimberlynn!

Hangin' with cousins in front of the presents!

Being cute!

Getting ready to shoot into his new goal!

Playing with Cade in his new car!

Jumping on his new trampoline! (Or lamoleen as he calls it!)

Merry Christmas EVE!!!

2008-12-24T05:58:00.000-08:00

Well we got home from Temple yesterday afternoon and we had a great Christmas in Temple. Bryson is really getting into it this year! He loved opening presents and I can't wait to see him to it again tomorrow! Today will be a day of last minute preparations. I already have everything wrapped...thank goodness!!...but I have to bake a pie and do laundry from our trip. Plus, I have to take all Bryson's new toys out of the box and put them in his room to replace all of his old toys that I packed up yesterday! I cannot believe how much stuff he has and we have only had one Christmas! It kind of scares me!!! Anyway, I will try and post some Christmas morning pictures tomorrow, but again I hope you have a great eve and Merry Christmas!!!

UPDATE!!!

2008-12-13T14:52:00.000-08:00

UMHB LOST :(

ALLEN EAGLES ARE GOING TO STATE!!!!

It's Begining to Look A lot like Christmas!!!

2008-12-13T08:11:00.000-08:00

I am so excited I can hardly contain it!!! I don't know what it is about this year! Well, actually I do think that it is because this year Bryson will actually really get what is going on! He knows who baby Jesus is, he knows who Santa is and what he says. He helped pick out presents for people and even helped me put stamps on Christmas cards! Last year he was only about 10 months old on Christmas and I think it really overwhelmed him. All the noise and colors and movement was too much and he kind of had a melt down. We ended up having to just sit him away from the action in his high chair and let him eat his breakfast! But this year I think he will be all into it!!! I just can't wait!!!

Of course we still have one more week of school before we can even get to that point! Oh well... the last two weeks have gone fast so hopefully this one will too!

I'm actually at home all by myself today because Matthew left this morning to head down to Belton to watch UMHB play in the national semifinals! If they win, the will be off to Virginia to the Stagg Bowl again! Very exciting! Bryson left a few minutes ago with my parents to go to the Allen HS football game b/c they are in the semifinals too!! Matthew will be meeting them in Waco when the UMHB game is over! I on the other hand am in our Christmas Celebration at church and we have a performance tonight so I had to miss out on all of the football festivities! I'm kind of sad, but hopefully both teams will win and we will get to watch UMHB on TV next weekend and will be going to Houston to watch Allen play! Who knows!

Anyway! I hope you all have a great weekend!

Merry Christmas From the Bush Family

2008-12-02T19:31:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly.....

2008-11-28T20:24:00.000-08:00

I'm sure we can all finish the tune above! I am so excited that it is officially the Christmas season now!!! I love Christmas so much I can't even stand it! We already have our house decorated...except for the outside lights which will go up tomorrow...and it has been decorated since Monday! Now, normally I would wait til after Thanksgiving but on the years that we go to Temple for Thanksgiving it is much easier to do it before b/c we are so tired when we get back and it is so nice to come into a nice, clean, Christmassy house! I love it! Bryson actually was really good with decorating the tree. He had a lot of fun. We got a cute picture of him hanging the first ornament that I will have to post later because....I am actually updating this on our brand spankin new laptop that I waited in line for 6.5 hours for this morning! I know I am a nut but we had been looking for a laptop and had a very strict budget for it but also needed quite a bit of ram and memory for all of my photography stuff. So Tuesday I was looking through sale adds for "black Friday" and there it was. The laptop that we had been looking for. They were going to have it at walmart...of all places...for 6 hours today! So I knew there would be a line so me and my sisters-in-law got to walmart at 11:45 or so last night and I waited in line until 5:00 am this morning to get my Laptop! It was ridiculous! I have always heard stories of black friday and I saw them for my own eyes and experienced a few myself...but it was all worth it. AND...they only had 4 of the laptop that I wanted and I bought the first one! Anyway! I'm just really excited about Christmas and my laptop!!!!! I'll post pics as soon as I get everything transferred to this computer! Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Happy Fall!

2008-11-01T15:56:00.000-07:00

Well...I must say that I believe I had the cutest St. Bernard in the history of Halloween last night! Even though it was 80 degrees, Bryson was such a sport about being in his hot costume! We went "trick or treating" to Grammy and PawPaw's house, both sitter's houses and to a co-workers house! It was really fun! Then of course...we went to the football game. Here are some picsfrom our night as well as a few from our trip to the pumpkin patch!

RANDOM: A birthday cake I made for Bryson's friend! I'm proud of it. Thanks Bethany for the idea!!

The CUTEST St. Bernard Ever!!!

Looking at the pretty bumble bee!

Climbing on the biggest pumpkin we've ever seen!

Bryson picking his very own pumpkin!

Hangin out on an old truck with his pumpkin!

Such a BIG BOY!!

2008-10-21T18:42:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe how time flies and how much kids learn in such a small amount of time! I say this because I feel like right before my eyes my baby is very quickly becoming a little boy and I'm not so sure I want it to happen! Bryson just turned 20 months so that means only 4 more until he is 2! That is crazy in it's self. On top of that for the last 5 days he has gone peepee in the potty every morning and for the last 2 nights he has slept in a big boy bed...and at our house that is a twin day bed not a toddler bed...a real big boy bed! It is so crazy how fast things change! He is talking so much and is very smart. He already knows how to work the system...it is kind of scary! He loves sports of any kind and wakes up almost every morning chanting Al-len Ea-gles! (probably b/c we go to 3 football games a week...yea for being a coach's family!!) He loves to read books and climb on anything. He is a dare-devil to say the least and will count to three before he jumps off of the couch or bed! Yet, even though he is rough and tough, he is so gentle with his new cousin Julianne (Judi as he calls her). He loves to look at her and rub her belly!
It is just funny how all of the sudden things hit you and you almost just want to sit and cry because you can already see your baby going away to college! I know it is weird but it is sooo true! Anyway...I was just really having a "man I have the best son in the world" moment and wanted to share!

Sick Day :(

2008-10-14T09:42:00.000-07:00

Well, today when I had been at work for about 30 minutes Bryson's sitter called to let me know that he had thrown up a few times. So here we are. I called in a sub and was there to pick him up within 10 minutes! So we are spending the day together! Both of us need the rest b/c we are both under the weather but his is more serious than mine! He has thrown up about 6 times today so he is getting to enjoy popcicles and pedialyte today! He is still a happy baby even when he is sick he just wants mommy to lay by him or sit in my lap so it makes for an overall good day even though he is sick. I just laid him down for his nap so I thought I would update.

This weekend we went down to Temple for my niece's 2nd birthday! I can't believe she is already 2! It was so much fun! This was the first time that she and Bryson really truely played with each other. They are finally both at they age where they understand how to do that. It was really cute. They would walk around the house holding hands and talking to each other. They seemed to understand each other even though they were definitely not speaking perfectly! Well I had told Jacque that I would make Kimberlyn's cake because I'm all into hobbies right now! So I did and it was really fun and I was very please with the turnout! Here are some pictures of the fun this weekend!

The cake...far from perfect but still fun and it tasted great!
Cousin's playing with play-do
Kimberlyn excited to open presents!
Bryson playing on the really cool see-saw MiMi bought.
Kaleb being too cute!

New Business!

2008-09-21T19:36:00.000-07:00

Okay so I'm trying to break into the photography business to just get a little bit of extra income when I start staying home in a couple of years. Right now I'm mainly just trying to build of my portfolio and make a little cash but here a few portraits I took of my precious new neice yesterday! Isn't she B-E-A-Utiful!!

New Niece!

2008-09-13T07:19:00.000-07:00

Well...yesterday at 3:48pm my beautiful niece Julianne Elizabeth was born. Crystal was induced yesterday morning at about 6 and as the day went on we had our moments of drama but everything turned out great and Julianne is perfectly healthy! Honestly we were all shocked she was a girl. Most of us thought she was going to be a boy...but we should've known. She has been a fighter since she was only 8 weeks in the womb and that's was girls do! Finally a girl in this family!! Anyway...enough talking here are some pictures.

The Happy Family!
Pretty Little Girl! She had a tough day of work!
The new Mom!
Sleeping baby! BEAUTIFUL!
Bryson coloring a picture for his new cousin!He is such a HAM!

Sorry!

2008-08-30T06:30:00.001-07:00

Okay, I know I haven't been around much lately...well I've been reading, just not writing...but school has started! For anyone out there who has ever taught or been in a school setting you know what that means....no more time!
I'm not going to lie, this week actually went pretty good. I am exhausted because it takes my body so long to get back into the swing of things! My feet and legs hurt so bad from standing all day! But I know it will get better!
Bryson had a great week with his new sitter. For those of you who don't know, the sitter that he had last year took a church job and could only watch him 2 days a week so he has a new sitter the other 3 days and it has been fabulous. Her name is Shannon and she has 2 school age girls (who go to my school) and lives right across the street from the school. Since she has girls she has had a blast keeping the boys and they already love her. Bryson calls her Nannon. I think it is funny! It always makes going to work easier knowing that he is getting lots of attention and not at a daycare with 10 or 12 other kids in his class snotting and drooling all over him!! (No offense to daycares)
Anyway! Everything really is going well. Football season is well under way so we don't get to see Matt as much as we would like but we know that it is best. He is technically a JR. High coach but in order to move up the ranks quickly he has been working with the HS a lot the last few weeks. Kind of pulling double duty! Last night was the first game and it was so much fun! Bryson is such a people person. He sat with us the first half and did okay but he was moving around alot...surprise surprise. But the second half he made friends with the family in front of us (who by the way sat in front of us last season too) and sat with the them the whole second half watching the game and talking to them! They kept telling us how cute he was and that they can't wait til next week to see him again! (We have season tickets so we will sit behind them every game!) So now Bryson has some friends at football games! I told my mom we are going to have to come up with a code word for our section so that people can let us know that he is annoying them b/c he would just walk up to anyone and say "Hi" and start talking to them about the game. Oh well...takes after his daddy already!
Well we are about to go to another football game. My brother Jake's first game is this morning so we are going to head that way!!

18 Months old!

2008-08-11T14:44:00.000-07:00

Next week Bryson will be 18 months old! How crazy is that! The other day I decided to go ahead and start taking his 18 month pictures so I thought I'd share a few!

Where the heck did summer go?!?!

2008-08-04T18:43:00.000-07:00

Okay, I just cannot believe how fast the summer went! I know most teachers say that every year but this summer was ridiculous. I don't even feel like we got a break! Now I know all the corporate world people out their are thinking..."poor you" but seriously this summer went so fast! Matthew started football stuff today so his summer is over and Bryson and I were up at school for several hours starting the long process of getting my room ready for 570 kids to come through for the next 187 days! On a good note...I am pretty sure my huge music carpet got ordered for my room today! It was on sale so we got it at a good price and I am so excited about it! It is going to be such an awesome learning tool for my kids...especially the little ones! Anyway, Bryson and I are gonna go hang out with his sitter and his friend and his mom(from the sitter) so that the boys can get reaquainted with each other and Lisa! Have I ever mentioned how much we love our baby sitter! I cannot imagine having to go to work everyday and leaving him with anyone other than Lisa! She loves him so much and I really do think he loves her too! She is amazing and lives practically at the back door of my school so I tend to sneak over there during lunch at times! Anyway! Well, I guess I should go finishing cleaning up the kitchen. We had sloppy joes for dinner tonight and boy were they sloppy! Bryson made quite the mess and between playing, bath time and getting him to bed I just haven't gotten to cleaning yet! And of course if you know anything about Texas Football you know that Matt is not home from practice yet and it is almost 9:00! Man I love football season!!! No, really I do, it just will take me a few weeks to get back into the swing of things! Later~

We're Home!

2008-07-27T11:03:00.000-07:00

Well, we have actually been home since Friday but we have been in a daze b/c we are all sooo tired! Those of you who know me know that I'm not a nap person, but, I even have taken a couple of naps! Crazy I know! Well, this post is going to be lots of pictures and little exlanation! First of all, we had a blast and Aunt Pam and Uncle Richard spoiled us to death! We saw lots of this and Bryson took everything in stride! It was a really great trip! So, I will now get to the good part...the pictures!

Washington Monument
We had to take a Picture here!

At the national zoo, petting a cow!
At the airport on the way home!
At the national zoo, there is a panda way in the back! Bryson kept calling it a puppy!

Chesapeake Bay! Matthew relaxing in the hammock.

Bryson having fun on the plane.

Changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The capitol.

At Arlington National Cemetery.

UP, UP, AND AWAY WE GO!!!

2008-07-20T19:41:00.000-07:00

Well in approx. 7 hours we will be headed to the airport and off to Washington DC for our family vacation! We are sooo excited! We are going to be staying with Matt's aunt and uncle and we are very excited about that too!! Anyway, we spent today making sure that we had everything together, you know, stroller, straw cups for Bryson, QUIET toys for the plane, diapers and all that jazz. We actually did pretty good on the packing we only have 2 suitcases and a stroller to check but we will be carrying on a diaper bag, car seat and bag of toys so that should be interesting!! Please pray for safe travel for us and for my good friend Bethany and her family. They are flying tomorrow to Alabama with a 3 month old!! Bless them! Have a good week!!!

Bush Look-alike Meter

2008-07-02T20:20:00.001-07:00

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Family tree diagram - Family heritage

VBS

2008-06-20T11:38:00.000-07:00

Well we just finished our last day of VBS! I am actually a little sad about it. I really had a lot of fun and I think Bryson did too! (I'll post some pics in just a sec!) I was on the music team...surprise, surprise...so we led worship and then I taught the preschool music classes. Since preschool was only for the workers kids I didn't have very many but we had a lot of fun. It amazes me how quickly 2 yr olds learn music!! Bryson was really cute too. He wore his VBS shirt today which is way too big but he had to wear it at least one day. All of his teachers loved him. He is a very social child, just like his daddy, so even random people were coming up to me all week telling me how precious and sweet he is!! I love it!! Anyway...here are some pics of him from VBS!
Being silly when we got home from VBS!!
Still being silly!
His frame "he" made at "Outrigger Island!"
His Class
My favorite pic!! Mr. Cool!

Me and Bryson this morning before we went to church.

Long Overdue Pictures

2008-06-11T19:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm terrible at all of this blogging and facebook and myspace stuff! I love checking and I do about 20 million times a day because I love looking at everyone's pictures and see what is going on with everyone but I never update my own stuff. I know that is pretty selfish of me, not that my life is exciting or anything, but I know that some of you would like to see pictures of us. ( well, not me, just Bryson mainly!) So here today...finally...I am going to post several pictures that will be a representation of about the last 4 months or so.

This is Bryson getting is first haircut about 2 weeks after he turned 1. He really did well

Bryson's first trip to the Dallas Zoo over spring break! He liked all of the fake animals the best!

Bryson in his Easter outfit! Too Cute huh?!?

Playing at the park...my beautiful BLUE EYED baby boy!

Walking through the Bluebonnets...of course!

Swimming with cousin Kimberlyn Claire.

Daddy's favorite picture of Bryson snapping the football!
Hanging out at Uncle Jake's Baseball game!
Being silly at Grammy's house!

Well, I hope this has updated everyone at least a little bit on our beautiful little boy! He is getting big really fast! I can't believe it! The video on this post is of him telling us how old he is...we were on a car ride so he gets distracted quickly but I wanted to share it...he is too cute (if I might say so myself!)

This is it!

2008-06-05T11:05:00.000-07:00

Well, today is the last day of school! My kids are watching The Sound of Music when they come to music so that I can finish getting my room packed up for the summer! I am actually almost finished and it is only 1:00. Hopefully I'll be out of here ASAP to finally begin my summer!!! I'll post more later...when I'm on SUMMER VACATION!

9 more days!!

2008-05-22T12:38:00.000-07:00

9 MORE DAYS TIL SUM-MER! 9 MORE DAYS TIL SUM-MER! (TO THE RHYTHM OF THE CONGA!)

I am so excited that we are almost out of school! This week has actually gone pretty fast and as of an hour ago I am officially finished with everything that I am in charge of! That is the best feeling ever!!

Stressed!

2008-05-13T16:50:00.000-07:00

Okay...I have never experienced the end of the year as an elementary teacher but I can pretty much say now that I miss middle school!!! I have never in my life seen so many out of control kids! They are so wound up it is ridiculous! The schedule is messed up all of the time b/c of parties or field trips of whatever else is going on and all that does is make the kids even more wild!! At the secondary level everyone is ready for school to be out but they are at least semi focused b/c they still have finals to take!! Oh, am I gonna miss finals week!! Oh well. Only 3 1/2 more weeks. I can do that...right?

What a Week!

2008-04-30T16:01:00.001-07:00

This is a picture of my niece/nephew...we don't know...and are not going to find out!! We love surprises!! This picture was taken on Friday and isn't s/he cute!!! Bryson is going to have so much fun with his cousin!!

Well it is TAKS week! For anyone associated with any school district in Texas you know what that means!! Lots of Testing!! Being that I am a specials teacher I don't spend a whole lot of time dealing with the actual test but this year I got the wonderful chance to administer the test! Not so much fun! I am not very good at doing one thing...or looking at the same kids...all day long. That is why I am a music teacher. I get something different every 45 minutes! I love it and couldn't ask for a better teaching position. ( I won't say "couldn't ask for anything better" b/c what would be better would be staying home and that is not possible right now, but will be soon!) Anyway! I will tell you that I was never so tired as I was last night! I don't know what it is about doing nothing that makes me so tired. I don't think I was that tired in the first weeks of Bryson's life! I mean I went to bed at 7:30 and was still tired when I woke up this morning! It was ridiculous!!! I really just think it is funny!

4 Day Week!

2008-04-21T13:05:00.000-07:00

What is it about knowing that you have a four day week that makes that four day's take forever! I am so excited because I took off this Friday because we are going out of town but it is only Monday and I'm exhausted!! Oh well, maybe the week will speed up!! I sure have a lot to do before we can leave so maybe that will help!!

2008-04-17T13:07:00.000-07:00

3s About Me that people may not know:
Three jobs I have had in my life:
1. Teacher at daycare
2. Old Navy sales clerk
3. Sales at Coach House Gifts

Three movies I would watch over and over:
1. Sound of Music
2. Enchanted...my new favorite
3. Beauty and the Beast

Three places I have lived:
1. Wichita Falls, TX
2. Belton, TX
3. Allen TX

Three shows that I watch:
1. Biggest Loser
2. How I met your mother
3. Grey's (if it ever comes back on!)

Three Places I have Been to:
1. NYC
2. Canada
3. London

Three people who e-mail me regularly:
1. Rosa
2. Brandi
3. Facebook giving me notifications

Three places I’d rather be right now:
1. at home with Bryson
2. in the car with Bryson
3. anywhere with Bryson

Three friends I think will respond:
1. Brandi
2. Aimee
3. Ashley

Three things I am looking forward to this year:
1. School getting out!
2. This summer when work is finished!
3. Being with my family this summer!

Jobs Stink!!

2008-04-16T18:48:00.000-07:00

I will say that I looked forward to teaching my whole life and now that I'm doing it I'm ready to not be!! I know that it all has to do with the fact that I want so bad to be staying home with my beautiful son but I'm telling you...I'm sooooo ready for summer!! I just find myself getting annoyed with the smallest things lately when it comes to my kids at school! I try to be patient but I'm like, "come on we are in the 31st week of school you should know by now!" I really miss teaching middle school (I know I'm weird to haved loved such an akward age, but I did). I'm so tired of teaching kids things that their parents should be teaching them! I don't get paid enough to be a teacher, mom and dad to 600 kids everyday!!

I've decided to do a social experiment! ( not really, but I wish someone would so that I can read about it someday!) I think that it is time for the pendelum of discipline to swing back the other way! I think the generation that has kids in elementary school right now, for the most part...and I'm sure their are exceptions...did a lousy job at teaching kids discipline of any kind. The kids are unorganized, unable to sit for more than 5 minutes, and think they have the right to talk back to anyone...including adults...that they don't agree with!! I can't stand it!!

What I'm wondering is: if people who are my age (25 or so) are watching how kids are behaving now will that influence they way they raise their children since most of us are just now starting to have kids. I know from watching these kids every day I have a list about a mile long that I want to make sure my kids can do before they go to school...#1 on the list...tie their own stinkin' shoes!

Still trying to figure this out!

2008-04-13T10:36:00.000-07:00

Obviously I'm still trying to figure this out because my picture looks weird. If anyone can tell me how to fix my picture and add more that would be great!!!

On to other things...I seem to have just been living life lately not really focusing too much on any one thing or thinking about how totally blessed I am. well that changed drastically yesterday!! I am addicted to reading a really good friend of mines blog...she just had a baby so I'm constantly checking for pictures!! Anyway...she has a link to a blog on hers that I am now addicted to also. I started reading it yesterday and couldn't stop I just kept reading and reading about the family who had just lost their newborn baby due to several genetic factors. Yet all the while the family praised God in everything! After reading for about an hour (while Bryson was napping, otherwise that would not have happened!) I just wanted to pick him up and hold him the rest of the day!!

Often times we take advantage of those things in life! Just being able to hold my son and smell his hair and listen to him cry!! I can't imagine losing those things after only a couple of hours. And to still praise God through it all!! It totally touched my heart!!

I've been sucked in!

2008-04-11T06:02:00.000-07:00

Well, I tried as long as I could to not get sucked into this blogging thing...mainly because I know I will not keep up with it...but I did! So, I'm going to try my best to write every once in a while to let everyone know what is going on! But for now...I'm going to get to work, so I'll write some more later today!