love in the midst of a shoot

messy summer hair
comfy clothes
warm sunshine
unconditional love
yep, that just about sums up this moment in time lovely, isn't it??
Princess A has no clue I am there watching and loves with all of her heart while Queen V sees me and pastes on a quick smile.... they played for hours together this hot summer day under this pecan tree
I still have the buckets, cars and shovels under the tree to remind me of this moment while I ran around getting pictures for a client and her moving cards. All in the midst of my trying to get a little work done there is love of my children that pulls at my heart. I think I will leave the buckets only for the girls to have a moment under our pecan tree again when the weather gets a little cooler.

boyfriends and girlfriends

I have a best friend.
He has a girl friend.
She likes me more than she likes him.
So she sits next to me during lunch.

and yet they are still best friends....
gotta love this logic of kindergarten boys. wonder if his best friend knows all this?

tactile learners

So we need to learn again.. Mr. T is now in school... I can't believe it. I am doing some research to understand where he is and where he needs to go. We already knew he was a boy on the go. He even told us so. "Dad, I just like to go and do." Out of the mouths of babes, right? He knew and told us. Why don't we listen more to our children?? Makes me wake up when I hear it again from an adult. Anyway, so this post is about learning a new way- tactile or kinesthetic. Here goes what I have found so far. I am sure there will be more.

Micheal Farris: some children retain their strong tendency toward learning through their sense of touch. These children are known as kinesthetic, or tactile, learners.

If your child is a kinesthetic learner, he is active and hands-on about everything, including learning. He is probably very athletic, energetic, and uses lots of gestures when talking. Of all your children, he's the one that just can't seem to sit still. He's in perpetual motion and touches almost everything he sees.

Your kinesthetic learner may be your greatest teaching challenge, simply because most traditional curriculum isn't designed for him. Workbooks provide visual learners with things to see, and storybooks give auditory learners things to hear, but you're going to have to be creative in giving your kinesthetic learner things to touch. Use real pennies or an abacus in teaching math. Don't just tell him about evaporation; put some water on to boil and let him feel it!

http://child-1st.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/02/kinesthetic-tactile-learner.html

First Day of School for Mr. T

My heart skips a beat with my little man stepping into the world. Did I teach him enough? Will he be polite, make friends, smile and have fun? Will everyone be kind to him and know he is so very lovable?  He got a little scared this morning, crawled into my lap and reminded me how little he still is.  I so love my little guy and hope that all the world sees how absolutely wonderful he is and what he has to offer others.

 After putting away all the supplies he ran into the room to get right to work on his play dough.  He looked at me asking me to stay. He was scared not knowing how it would all work out at the end of the day.

Queen V and 3rd grade

 a bigger step into being the big kid. she is now the oldest Z kid in school here. she feels the pressure.. she puts it on herself. She prayed hard for the teachers she got and was thrilled to see them with open arms ready to teach her, fill her mind, push her curiosity further than it had been pushed...

3rd grade is going to be a great year for you, Queen V!!

Colorful Queen V

Queen V in a moment in time this summer... I love how I found her just looking so pretty.
It's like a vision of what is to come in the future...
confidence
colorful
standing out among the rest
love my Queen V

curiosity

I think, at a child's birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift should be curiosity.
~Eleanor Roosevelt

Field Day for Queen V

My favorite part about field day this year was being with Sadie. She is very, very funny. She makes me laugh.
Tug-of-war was my favorite sport. We won second place!!!
I got ribbons for tug-of-war, hippity hop, and golf ball search!
-Queen V.

Latin Mass at St. Mary's

I am what is called a cradle Catholic. I was Baptised as an infant- like only 3 weeks old- and have gone to Mass every weekend since that time. I have missed only a handful of times since I received that sacrament. The only times I have missed have been when I had major surgery due to endometriosis or the birth of my 4 kids. I take pride in knowing that even when I didn't "feel" like going I went. If Jesus could go into the garden hours before he knew he was going to be crucified I can give one hour of my week to Him to thank him for the gifts and graces I have received. It is how I feel and what I teach my children...

Even though I have gone to Mass every weekend I had never attended a Latin Mass. The order of the Mass changed before I remember anything going on... my oldest brother and his son offer their services up to the Lord by helping with Latin Mass at St. Mary the Assumption on Magnolia in Fort Worth. I went when my nephew was confirmed. It was quite different than how I attend Mass. I will have to go again with my brother so he can explain it all to me. My mom, of course, knew it all since this is how she celebrated Mass all through her childhood and young adulthood. It was very reverant and I can't wait for my brother to explain more to me since he understood so much more than I did.

Good Friday

I took my girls out of school today... so that they may learn about our faith, about our Lord who gave his life for them.
They were not too happy about it- they wanted to be with their freinds. I understood but asked them... Do you know what was happening to Jesus at this hour?? Do you know what happened to Jesus as we were having our breakfast?
And then started the story of our day and how we went so casually about it. I ran a timeline of our day versus what happened to Jesus on that Good Friday.. the first Good Friday. Lady G sank a little in her seat, listening intently, Queen V asked more detailed questions, Mr. T was busy checking out his new toy car that Queen V brought home from Junk Day and Princess A listened more than I thought she would... answering with "oh, no!" or a "gross!" It was an interesting ride to church to say the least but I wanted to impress upon them that the world is bigger than them.. bigger than their school where their friends are- where the fun was so they thought. This day is not about fun but about reflection. A reflection of our lives, as Jesus' life and how ours are so intertwined and it is GOOD to stop and reflect how important this day is to us, to our family, to our faith.


What do you pray as you go about the Stations of the Cross? What do you say to Jesus? My kids, still being kids, are looking for guidance as to what to say to Jesus...
This was the last prayer we said before leaving the silent church:

Behold, O kind and most sweet Jesus,
I cast myself upon my knees in Your sight,
and with the most fervent desire of my soul
I pray and beseech You
that You would impress upon my heart lively sentiments
of Faith, Hope and Charity,
true repentance for my sins and a firm purpose of amendment,
while with deep affection and grief of soul
I ponder within myself and mentally contemplate Your five most precious wounds, having before my eyes that which
David spoke in prophecy of You, O good Jesus:
they have pierced my hands and feet,
they have numbered all my bones.

Holy Thursday

and Jesus went into the garden to pray all night..

Learning Christ
Teach me,
my Lord,
to be sweet and gentle
In all the events of life-
in disappointments,
in the thoughtlessness of others,
in the insincerity of those I trusted,
in the unfaithfulness of those on whom I relied.

Let me put myself aside,
to think of the happiness of others,
to hide my little pains and heartaches,
so that I may be the only one to suffer from them.

Teach me to profit by the suffering that comes across my path.
Let me so use it that is may mellow me, not harden nor embitter me;
That it may make me patient, not irritable.
That is may make me broad in
My forgiveness, not narrow, haughty and overbearing.

May no one be less good for having come within my influence.
No one less pure,
Less true, less kind, less noble for having been a fellow-traveler in our journey
Toward ETERNAL LIFE.

As I go my rounds from one distraction to another,
let me whisper from time to time,
A word of love to Thee.
May my life be lived in the super-natural,
full of power for Good,
and strong in its purpose of sanctity.

Girls on the Run!

Queen V and Lady G have been training for a 5K. Yep, a 5K. Amazing, isn't it?? It's not just about the running though. This training that they have done has prepared them for so much- finding and setting and keeping goals- who doesn't need that? Perseverance... big word for such little girls but with the world ahead of them this is not just a good thing, but a great thing!
Completion- to find, set and complete goals- long term and short term.
Friendships- who runs, who helps, who cheers another on.. even for the little things
Family- to stick together.. find comfort in family, to confide in one another

They had their cousins as running buddies... from playing at Gran's to being able to hang out with each other as they get older.. I hope they stay close!

You bring back memories...

Little guy, you crack me up. I see so much of your granddaddy in you at times. You never met him but you put your hands in your pocket like he did to find your coins. You love to have coins in your pocket. Your grandaddy always had coins in his pockets.

You are quick with a smile... even when you are being bad.. especially when you are being bad.. you so have my number. When you know something like a smile will get what you are wanting. I am on to you, too, though!

simple times

May the sun shine, all day long,
everything go right, and nothing wrong.
May those you love bring love back to you,
and may all the wishes you wish come true!
~Irish Blessing

red, white and a whole-lotta blue!

under a Chinaberry tree we found the most lovely patch of bluebonnets. It was a dream with the fence, the two barns and lots of shade... I could have had an entire day spent here with Princess A. This was the day to teach her how to walk in the bluebonnets so they wouldn't get trampled....
very carefully she stepped through them. There was a perfect patch here and there to allow for little feet to step through and pause just long enough for me to catch a few photos.

Eight is GREAT!

With Rosebud tucked in her arm our beautiful Queen V turned 8 this year. We are so blessed to have you in our lives!!

Your 8 favorite things are:
toy: Rosebud
color: green
food: spaghetti followed by chocolate cake with chocolate icing, icecream in a cone with lots and lots of whipping cream
song: Bubbly
vacation spot: Wisconsin
game: solitaire
animal: horses
number: 11 is heaven!

Big Bug's Bad Day

Big Bug had a very, very bad day. Can you imagine having allergies if you were a bug?? How horrible would that life be??

Queen V and her friend were amazing butterflies! Princess Butterflies to be exact. They each came up with their own lines, their own costumes, own props.. it was so much fun to see it all being pulled together.

They had to come up with a problem- as a team- and come up with a solution- as a team. I know some adults that can't come up with solutions to every day problems and this group of kindergarten through 2nd grade did just that!! They were creative in how they did it but knew their purpose of how they wanted to accomplish their task.

How cute is this group?
They had a mad scientist, a baker, Princesses, a stage manager and of course, Scary Gary.. the Big Bug with the Bad Day!

Pie Contest

look at all those lovely pies!! How could you resist being a judge for this?? Kids, mamas and daddies made these lovely concotions for the school Hoedown!

and the waiting for the judge to like it... hope he does!! Come on, Mr. K... like my pie!

oh, and the shirt Lady G is wearing her daddy wore when he was little boy- cute, huh??

Shoot OUT!

so I walk into the gym JUST in time!! I caught Lady G's bestie shooting and she makes it!! whohoooo!!! Go E!

and on to Lady G!! she plays a little on the driveway at home with Daddy but this is for a title!! not to spell HORSE!
the set up

she shoots!


and she makes it!! goal!

Neither of the girls won a title but boy they sure had fun!!

Texting... oh my... here we go!

I think we entered tweendom.. yep.. we have a tween on our hands.. not quite a lady, not a little girl any more..
how on earth did this happen?? She really is becoming quite the young lady before our very eyes. While I am excited about what the future holds I am nervous also... lots of changes headed our way I am sure...

Mother Mary,
Pray for us as we enter a new chapter in our lives with our young daughter learning more about the world!
Amen!

a-b-o-r-i-g-i-n-e

#19. That was your spelling bee number. Not the first, not the middle, not the last.. some where towards the end though..

You would stand, listen to the word given to you, and look up.



and then sit and wait to be called again.... letters being missed one way or another and you would look out at me with eyes seeming to say, "are you seeing this, Mom? Do you see I am getting to be one of the last ones?"

The practice and looking words up again and again has paid off! You were one of the top 4 kiddos to be a part of this year's spelling bee. Even though you did not win- to your sister- you were a winner! She was inspired by you and now is reading the dictionary.. waiting to be a 5th grader and be just like her big sister.

You and a classmate went back and forth a few times.. and then the word came.. ABORIGINE. I wasn't even sure how to spell this word.. is that with an "ie" at the end... is there a "u" next to the "0"
I didn't know it.
You didn't know it.
but that is OK. You are still a winner to us!! Way to go, Lady G!!