It was a pirate Halloween

So those of you that know me well know that every year, Halloween has been an issue since Easton was a baby because I want the kids to coordinate...Elle is all about it, but Easton is not really into wearing anything that "goes with anything girly"...and the older he gets, the worse he gets about being flexible with us about this topic. So this year, when he wanted to be Jack Sparrow, it worked out great when Elle was excited about being the really pretty girl on the same movie...I can't ever remember her name, but Elle knows...;). I thought the costumes turned out so cute and the kids were really happy with them as well. Easton really wasn't into the wig, but he agreed to wear it, after some "coaxing"...all in all it was a successful year. Hopefully, we can come up with something great for next year...if you have any ideas, feel free to post!!

Fall ball

Easton played tee ball in the Spring and because there were no parents to coach, Jason had to manage the team on our first time doing this whole tee ball thing...it was a little stressfull, but Easton loved having his daddy coach and he learned a lot. When Fall ball rolled around, Jason said that he was going to try to just help out if at all possible and see how things were supposed to run. Well, God is always good and things did work out. Easton got drafted to one of our neighbors teams and he was great! Easton was of course spastic, but he learned a lot and was able to out to use the stuff he had learned from the semester before. It was so fun to watch him play a sport that Jason and I both LOVE and all while the Rangers were playing awesome!! Easton says that baseball is the sport for him, but we will see when Spring rolls around...

Becoming a real equestrian

Elle has been taking horseback riding lessons now for a little over a year...we started at a place out by I20 and moved when the instructor got a little too competitive for her...Elle is not really into anything that is scary or pushy...she is quite the nervous kiddo really, and not into being mean or competitive. Who knows who she gets that from??? But we could tell that the other instructor was not going to work and God showed us this new place right close to our house...this lady is a retired school teacher and super great with Elle. If you didn't know it, I have ridden since I was a little girl and give lessons every other weekend in Waco, but I can be a little pushy as well (I know another shocker) and Elle cannot take lessons from me...so this has been a huge blessing and at this point we are actually boarding a horse at the barn Elle takes lessons at and she and I go out and ride a few times a week together. It has been fun to get to spend time doing something that we both love, is good exercise and is hard work and teaches responsibility. Thankfully Elle just continues to fall in love with the horses more and more and continues to become a better little equestrian and just recently decided that she wants to start showing! Man, my parents are all over that..I had to tell my parents not to go out and buy a new horse trailer and all new show clothes..just to take it a few days at a time...that she might change her mind. :). But right now, she is excited and all about it. We will see--her first show is at the end of January.

Staying healthy

This past summer, the kids and I started a routine of going to the park at least 3 times a week and running. Well, Elle rides her scooter, Easton rides his big wheel and I run...it is so great to get out and exercise and we all enjoy the time together as well. During the summer it gave us something to do in the morning before we went to the pool and before it was too hot; but once school started we had to move it to after school and sometimes in the evenings. Elle is always funny because she wants to be just like me and wear an iPod on her arm and listen to her favorite music (Taylor Swift this week). The iPod thing has to be tied three times around her little stick arm, but she doesn't care, she loves it and feels like she is just like her mommy. Such special times when they are young like this and the little things that you try to hold on to...I don't have a picture of Easton on his big wheel, but he is always really hilarious--trying to go as fast as he possibly can and daring me that he can go off the edge of the bridge or something crazy like that...they always stay ahead of me while I am running and are actually really good pacing and accountability partners!

Enjoying Mommy daughter time

It is so much fun having a daughter and especially fun having a daughter that enjoys going with me to get mani/pedi's!! Elle is so funny because she really enjoys the hot wax and only wants to go to places that have it...she really does enjoy the experience we get to visit and laugh during the time we are there. When we are in Waco, we go with my mom a lot and I was telling Elle the other day that I am looking forward to being able to do this with her for a long time...I got choked up telling her that...why was I thinking about her growing up? I don't want her to grow up! She really is such a great little girl...I think every night as we lay there doing her Quiet time, that she has such an amazing spirit and a love for Jesus. She has such a desire to be "real" everyday ...and knows that she cannot be a good person without God doing all of the work. She is so shy and anxious about so much, but confident in her God...always. It is so humbling to me to hear her talk about him..I guess maybe all kids are that way, maybe that's how I was when I was a kid...and thats the way I try to be everyday because I know that He is as amazing as she thinks He is...
We are so blessed to get to hang out with Elle on a daily basis..what an awesome little girl!!

Here are some pics of the first week of school this year...Elle all decked out in her Justice clothes...(all she wants to wear these day..and that can put a family under) and Easton acting like a complete crazy person!!

Okay so I know it's been a while

I know, I'm not the biggest blogger in the world...but I'm thinking now that I have this iPad...maybe I can keep up with it..we will see..
So--I left off in July..so let's pick up when school started. We made some pretty big decisions this year with regards to schooling...or maybe I should say, that we listened to where the Lord was telling us to go...Elle has been at Tyler ISD for the past three years and we have been very happy there. But the weirdest thing is that we live in Tyler city limits and love this little neighborhood that we live in, but for some crazy reason it is Whitehouse ISD. Well, every year, we would pray about moving her to Whitehouse, but we wouldn't do it because I work for TISD and we liked that control (and thankfully God has blessed that and not punished us for that!!). We were nervous about moving Elle as she fed her school and felt very comfortable there, and she can be a little anxious in new situations, but as always God was so faithful in setting everything up for us and it was almost like Elle had thought of it first!! The move has been so seamless and she is now on the A honor roll as well as the student council. Why do we ever doubt that He will take care of everything?? Even moving schools? Now Easton will be starting kindergarten next year and is looking forward to going to the same school as his big sister...have I mentioned that God is so good?