Musical Notes

The first weekend of May brought a piano recital! Caleb enjoys taking lessons from Mrs. Karen, and one cool thing I love about the recitals is that they take place in a nursing home instead of being just a show for family. What a great way to bring a little ministry and joy into the lives of some lovely folks who seldom get to interact with young families!

Player on Deck... Caleb's up next!
Daddy has the Flip Video ready.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Caleb. He has three songs to play for you!

Caleb whipping out some "My Son John" ... deedle deedle dumpling!

I'm not sure what happened to the pic of the middle song.
Finishing up with some "Love Somebody" (...yes I do...)

Taking a bow after a fine performance

Caleb has completed a year of piano lessons, and he has really taken to the process of learning new songs and skills. Granted, this doesn't happen entirely void of distraction and occasional frustration, but overall, Payno (Anna's word) lessons are fun!

T Party

(updates from the past... We've made it to the end of April!)

Not tea party (as in previous post) but Tparty - we had a wonderful opportunity to have a visit from our Tennessee/Kentucky clan: Travis and Licia!

Their visit just so happened to fall in conjunction with Travis' birthday, so, of course, we wanted to celebrate our favorite Uncle-in-law! :D There was good Italian food (fitting!) and more importantly, great company!

These first pictures are my own, but later on, you'll see some pictures by my two budding photographers who love, love, love the chance to take and see digital pictures!





Photos by Caleb:






Photos by Anna (with a little assistance):





Then some post-dessert silliness:

She's on the loose!

Tea Party

Boston style, not Princess style...

Many of you know that I keep a close eye on politics, that I care a great deal about our country, and that I have strong conservative sentiments about what makes government effective: small size, limited controls, fiscal responsibility, championing morality and the value of human life, encouraging individuals to excel as opposed to feeding a sense of entitlement and complacency.

When tax day rolled around and we as a nation were already looking at an irresponsible spending plan that promised to bring debt to generations to come and higher taxes (even hidden ones) as a result, I took note of the fact that there was a Tea Party planned in our general vicinity to peacefully show frustration with the direction of our government's leadership and also support of responsible fiscal policy and the values that make our nation distinct.

I consider myself informed, but not an activist; I had not intended to participate, but to monitor whatever information came out after the fact. We happened to be out and about that day, so before things got going with the event, we visited the site. It was a pretty day.


I ended up staying for the first 20 min. to see what would happen. Mimi kept the kids in the car watching a video. I was impressed with the diversity of the crowd and the balance of strong patriotic feelings and respectful discontent held by the participants. The event was scheduled to last 3 or 4 hours, and even as early as 20 min. following the beginning of the event, there were at least 500 there. Here are some pictures!

Families representing many cultures and economic backgrounds...
Many people carrying copies of the Constitution, homemade signs, flags, and teabags.

One girl's sign read "6 years old and already in debt".

This soldier was wearing his Camo hat and Squadron T-shirt from his service during the war in Iraq.

A speaker who facilitated discussion, celebration of the founding values of the country, and introduced other notable local speakers. Local news reported a ceremony at the end where the symbolic bags of "tea" were tossed into the Bay (and reeled back in to support stewardship of the environment, of course).
Let me encourage you out there to pay better attention to what is going on in our nation! It only takes a moment or two to call your Representative or Senator's office to register your opinion on upcoming legislation. They respond better to phone calls than emails or web-generated form submissions. Call even if you support your Congressman's proclaimed stance... they need encouragement as well as dissent!

Future generations will thank us for being involved and not just watching as things happen! Our liberties (read: religious expression, etc.) and our finances (read: not just income, but ability to give to ministry, missions, and charity) will be most certainly be affected --either preserved or damaged-- by decisions made by those who have been elected to represent us.

Easter in July

(still catching up to the present and still reporting from the Spring...)

After attending Easter services at church, we moseyed on out to Pawpaw and Mimi's for an Easter dinner and hot South Texas afternoon Egg Hunt. Let's just say the Reeses Peanut Butter Cups didn't all survive the short period of time outside!

Preparing to go outside

Gal on a mission

There is a tradition here in these parts that includes Cascarones (coss cah ROAN ez) at Easter. These are real eggs which have carefully been emptied, washed, dried, often colored, and filled with confetti prior to patching the hole on top with tissue paper. A lot of fun is had cracking them on each others' heads!

Drive-by-cracking victim...

recording it for posterity

Look out, Mimi!

But the best, by far, is what character traits (read: flaws) come out during the course of the confetti egg attacks... Take a gander at this gem of a film clip, and watch for: Daddy whacking a sweet girl on the head with no confetti results, self-inflicted wounds, and deception like you'd never believe was possible!

Not us...

We are definitely NOT the family who lets our children eat chips occasionally when we visit our local pizzeria. Not us.

And even if we did, we wouldn't be so uncouth as to let them choose Cheetos and then take picture evidence of the aftermath. DEFINITELY not us!

Sleeping Beauty

You know it's been a long day when she stretches out her nap mat from school instead of making the short trip to her bed...

Can you believe?

AAaaaaaaagh. Take a look at the baby ticker above... Can you believe it's just about 6 weeks (or less!) until Abby is here?!?!?! I'm just sayin'...

Workin' on the Farm

I love that when we get to spend time at Mimi and Pawpaw's, they put the kids to work. There's nothing like some (age-appropriate) hard labor in the outdoors to instill a work-ethic and provide some satisfaction from seeing your work completed.

Girls' Day!

(Catching up little by little from as far back as March)

We took a morning to go see Sesame Street Live! with my friend Julie and her daughter Aliyah, who is Anna's age. They had so much fun together from up in our balcony perch!

Just call me Tortoise

No, not because like a tortoise, if up-ended, I have a difficult time getting up... (pregnancy can be awkward at this stage...)

...Because I'm slowly and steadily getting caught up to the present on my blog posts. I just posted two below. I also love that posts on Blogger can be "scheduled". That way, you don't have to get inundated with a million make-up posts in one sitting.

Expect several new posts to come, mainly one a day. This week should at least get me through March and into April. :)

BabyAbby is a ....

Honeydew Melon by now!

If you read my last Abby post, you'll remember that she still has an above-average amount of space in which to flip, turn, and perform other feats of strength and acrobatics. I'll find out next week (34 weeks) if she is still Breech (head-up vertically instead of head-down and in ready position).

You can pray that she'll flip, if you're so inclined! I have several friends who are experts at having C-sections, but having not had one myself, I'd much rather stick with what I know... Sooooo, the plan is that if she hasn't flipped by 37 weeks, we may attempt an ECV, or external cephalic version, which involves manipulating the baby's position from outside the belly. (I hear it's not that comfortable, but that it's more successful if this is a 2nd or 3rd, etc., pregnancy.) If it works, they'll induce me immediately so she doesn't have time to get ornery and go breech again. That's why I'd be thankful for a little intercession on our behalf!

Here's what the baby development site had to add about our little Honeydew:
Baby’s senses are continuing to improve -- when light peeks in through your (extremely) stretched belly, those tiny eyelids and irises blink and dilate. And, baby can now recognize and react to simple songs… time to start practicing your lullabies! Growth (at least inside your womb) is starting to slow, and you may notice baby descend into your pelvis at the end of this month.

Perspectives of a Kindergartener

With First grade approaching quickly, I'd like to submit into evidence some examples of what goes on in the mind of Kindergarteners.

People's Exhibit #1:
This is a homework document in which our esteemed student was to illustrate words that contain the sound of the letter X.


Granted, it's possible they talked about these examples in class that day, but I guess it's a sign of the times... I never would have expected Caleb to automatically think of texting! I also love the pictures! See the finger, hand, and wrist bones? Scott is so proud of the Smartphone. :)


People's Exhibit #2:
(Translation included at the right) Background: This is a journal piece written back in November or late October, presumably during a government unit preceding the recent Presidential elections. Note the clear presence of opinion, and make sure you don't miss the bit of political activism at the bottom...

I like George W Bush.
(I can handle that.)
He gets taxes.
(Not sure if he meant that W gets the tax money or
if he "gets" --understands-- taxes.)

If I was the
President, I would
Let everyone

Scribble-scrabble.
(There must have been some reprimand that day for Caleb's lack of quality work at that point in the school year... Which really cracks me up!)

BabyAbby is a ....

Squash! (Gourd?) (Squashed?)We're smack-dab in the middle of month 7, and according to TheBump.com's How Big Is Baby list, Abby's:

energy is surging, thanks to the formation of white fat deposits beneath the skin. (Have those kicks and jabs to the ribs tipped you off yet?) Baby is also settling into sleep and waking cycles, though -- as you’ve also probably noticed -- they don’t necessarily coincide with your own. Also this month, all five senses are finally functional, and the brain and nervous system are going through major developments.

I notice her reacting with movement to sounds like the vacuum, loud drumbeats (though loud music in general makes her really still), and to sounds like water in the shower/at Anna's bathtime. She likes to kick a lot just as I'm setting down to sleep, but she doesn't wake me up during the middle of the night yet (but my shifting hips do!)

My most recent doctor appointment yielded some interesting conversation: Didn't I measure (fundal height -- aka measuring tape on belly) ahead of schedule with Caleb and Anna? Yes, about 3 wks ahead with each of them. Hmm.... (what does that "Hmm" mean?) We'll have to keep an eye on you. How far ahead am I measuring? 8 weeks ahead... at 28 weeks, you're measuring like you would with 4 weeks left. Huh.

That took me by surprise, since of all my pregnancies, this one is the one that I've gained the least personal weight with, and surprisingly enough, I don't always feel pregnant... even now!

Before you moms start throwing stuff at me in protest,

I definitely have days that I feel slow and heavy, and I'm tired almost every day, but there are some days where I have decent energy, little swelling, and aside from Abby's movements, I feel pretty good and think I can do more than I should physically. :)

So what does measuring big mean, then?
Right now, nothing. I do have a slightly larger than average amount of amniotic fluid (only slightly), which would cause my size. We noticed that when we attempted a 3D sonogram Wednesday. I say attempted because Abby was either deeply asleep or very stubborn and wouldn't turn from facing my spine to be seen. We'll try again Monday.

I'll keep you updated, and only the Lord knows when Abby's birthday will be, but I don't expect that it will be much (if at all) sooner than her August 28th-ish due date!

Hiatus? Sabbatical? Naw, it's just end of May/beginning of June.

I can't believe it's been a month since I've posted. Then again, maybe I can. :) There are lots of things that have taken place in the past month. I hope to post on them soon: end of a school year, birthdays, funny stories, a trip, and an anniversary!

Please bear with me! I hope to get all of these done quickly and still keep my house clean, finish the crocheted blanket I'm making for Abby, clear out her "room", keep daily things structured for C & A, and a whole host of other things!