5 'P's in a Pod: January 2013

Friday, January 25, 2013

13 Things I will miss about TEXAS

13. Texas Rangers, Dallas Mavs, Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Stars- Love my Texas home teams!

12. HUGULEY fitness center- we love our gym just one exit down from our house! Everything about it was just perfect! It wasn't too big or too small. And I love the fact that they knew my name and our kids names too! The kids club area for the boys was amazing! Miss mindy and the other girls loved on our kids and knew them by name too! I'm gonna miss my little hometown gym!

11. The sweet southern accent- there's just something endearing and heartwarming about a thick southern drawl. The word y'all will be forever in my vocabulary.

10. The highway system- sounds crazy but FTW is so easy to navigate (if you can ignore the construction). Having lived here my whole life I kinda like knowing 10 different ways to get to one place! So I guess I will invest in a Garmin until I can figure out the Osage Beach area.

9. Texas Bluebonnets- I always look forward to spotting my first blue flower on the side of the highway between March and April. Here it's tradition to take family pictures in them...or just torture your kids while trying to keep up with this tradition! I must admit that I have tortured Seth with this tradition since he was born! Texans are so proud of this pretty little flower!

8. Chick-fil-a, Sonic and Starbucks and tex mex food on every corner - the lake only has Starbucks and a couple of tex mex places! It looks like I will have get my sweet tea and cherry limeade fix somewhere else for awhile.

7. Trains and planes-I never thought I would say this about the FTW trains! But it's really grown to be kind of comforting in a way. Seth always watches for trains or looks for tracks when we're out. It's hard to be anywhere in the metroplex without hearing a train, seeing a train (running or not) or train tracks. This is especially true if you've ever been near Southwestern Seminary...even more so if you've ever lived in their student housing and had your apartment shake when the train went by...then blew their horn...at 3am! I really am going to miss the FTW trains. There are always planes flying overhead either headed to DFW airport or the local spinks airport! I will miss the sound of them almost coming into our house!

6. SWBTS- Southwestern has been part of my life since 2005 and holds such great memories! There my faith grew and was challenged by professors, dear friends and accountability partners! I will miss seeing the rotunda and the new chapel off in the distance as I go over I-35 and I-20.

5. Dr. Worsley- He has been our boys' pediatrician from day one and we have never been disappointed! He has the best bed side manner with our kids and always has time for my questions! He will be very hard to replace!

4. CUMP- Crowley United Methodist Preschool was a great first school for Seth! He has learned so much from Mrs Tara his teacher! On the second day of school he gave her a hug...for those of you who know Seth, he doesn't give his hugs away easily! It just broke my heart to have to withdraw him. We are so thankful for all they have done!

3.The novelty that is Texas- What other state has the pride of Texas?! It comes out in various ways. It's shape is probably the most well known of the 50. I mean no other state makes cookies, corn bread or bricks that represent their state. Many restaurant chains have a Texas cheeseburger on their menu or you can buy Texas toast at the local store. Here you can have a Texas edition Ford pickup truck...Minnesota edition Ford pickup truck just sounds silly! Texas is also known for its "big Texas sky" because its so flat...I'm going to miss seeing for miles down the road. The fall brings the Texas state fair in Dallas and the new year brings the Fort Worth stock show and rodeo all of which I'm going to miss!

2. Friends- God has provided the right friends at the right time for us here during different stages of our lives, marriage and ministry while we've been in the Fort (aka Fort Worth). They have laughed with us and walked through life with us, loved on our boys and encouraged us spiritually. We will greatly miss the bi-annual camping trips ( even though we only went once due to schedules and babies) but we had such a memorable time! We couldn't have asked for a better group of friends! We love y'all!

1. Family- I have grown up and lived within a 15 mile radius my whole life. My family has always been a 30 minute drive away, sometimes less. So moving 9ish hours away is going to be very different. Now our time together each time will be even sweeter! Love you mom,dad, Steve, Julie and little Kaylee!! I miss you already!

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Noah 4 months

Noah finally had his 4 month check up today! I had been waiting to post until we got his stats. He weighs in at 15lbs 7.5oz and is 27" long. Seth at 4 months was 15lbs 11oz and 26.25" long. Noah is such an easy going baby and smiles so easily! It looks like his blue eyes are here to stay! The Dr said he is doing great! Here are some tid bits on Noah this month:
-rolling over from his tummy to his back
-he loves watching Seth play
-chews on his hands and anything else he gets his hands on
-loves baby oatmeal and sweet potatoes
-talking a cooing a lot more
-loves to practice standing and sitting
enjoy pics of noah and other stuff going on this month

watching seth at a friend's birthday party

my first cereal

I love sweet potatoes

at his 4 month checkup right before his shots

cousin Kaylee at 4 months

helping daddy make eggs

rainy day in fort worth

sharing toys

left: seth 4months right: noah 4months

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Winter Camp 2013

For the 2nd year in a row Spencer spoke at the Southcliff youth group's winter camp. All 4 of us set out on Friday morning to Camp Tejas in Giddings, TX about 3 hours away just east of Austin. All 4 of us stayed in the same room - little house on the prairie style- for 4 days and 3 nights! And really I can't complain, the boys both did really great! Trying to keep a 3 yr old quiet while his 4 month old brother naps is quite a task! Seth loved all the outdoor stuff like canoeing with spencer, "fishing" off the bridge in the creek and playing on the playground and chasing around the other kids! The newly potty Seth didn't miss a beat in the car or the entire weekend!! Spencer spoke on the different world views and what they need to be aware of as they approach college. All in all it was a fun weekend but it wore all of us out!!

the bridge right beside our cabin

daddy and noah at wintercamp

seth loved sleeping on the bottom bunk

didn't take him long to find the basketball and soccer ball

this is how I toted Noah around all weekend

Seth was obessed with the camp cat

Seth's favorite thing at camp

Seth was in heaven!

off to the playground

the huge playground

loving the swing

the boys in the fort

going down the slide chasing his friend Hudson

afternoon nap- wiped out!

he was saying, "I think I can" as he was climbing

in a "cage" with Hudson

swinging with Noah

he had sand all over him

the last night at camp

in a daze from exhaustion- going home

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

All aboard the potty train!

While most people counted down to Christmas, this year I counted down to potty training day. 2 days after Christmas we crossed the line from pull ups to big boy underwear, at least during the day. The night before I covered our couch cushions with trash bags and towels just in case and Im glad I did. The first day there were a lot of accidents, so much so that I wasn't sure if he was ready. He did however sit on the potty whenever I asked him to. But Spencer encouraged me that he was ready and to keep at it. Needless to say I was glad that day 1 was behind us. Day 2 something surprising happened that morning...he got up off the couch and went to sit on the potty without being asked! Training went on officially for another 4 days...I was just nervous about getting him out of the house, so we stayed in for about a week! Now he can hold it for up to an hour and goes on his own when he needs to! He's also doing great at church and at school with his new found independence as a big boy!

so proud that he completed his first potty chart!

he looks mighty cute in his little undies!

Texas Christmas 2012

Lots happened in December. We made a gingerbread house, Seth really got into Christmas, I took Seth to the dr the morning of my birthday for steroids to get rid of his cough, spencer took me to see trans-Siberian orchestra in Dallas, it snowed on Christmas day, we made a birthday cake for Jesus and Noah and Kaylee got to spend their first Christmas together. Enjoy the pictures of our December!