Colin is playing SPORTS!

A little bit of a catch up post!

Colin started playing sports last year. He started with soccer in the spring & played baseball this fall. The only problem with his activities, compared to Sheridan's activities, is that they are outdoor! For both the spring & fall sports last year, we had A LOT of rainouts & what seems to be endless rescheduling! In the end though, Colin is very patient & understanding about the rain & hides his disappointment very well!

Colin's soccer season was played in the Spring through Upward Sports, and his team was called the Lions. We've really enjoyed the Upward program that Sheridan has participated with her cheerleading. The program is very laid back & emphasizes encouraging & including all children, no matter their skill level. The program prays before every game & has a devotional at the end of every practice. They also encourage the players to memorize scripture.

I guess at this age, it's probably more accurate to really call this sport Bunch Ball instead of soccer. However, Colin played hard and didn't feel discouraged, even though he was one of the smallest boys out there. He didn't score a goal this season, but came very, very close to it and kept trying! There were a few times that he would get run into by other players, and he would just shake it off, play the tough guy, and keep on going! I was very surprised by his "toughness" especially when other "bigger" boys would come off the field crying!

Colin's baseball season was organized through the local youth baseball league. His team was called the Scrappers! His original schedule had his last game scheduled for October 15th. However, due to A LOT of rain and many, many, many rescheduled games, his season was extended into the 1st weekend in November! Again, he was very patient with the weather and very attentive to the game.

Colin played every position, including catcher, and was even awarded the game ball for his efforts in that game. In his last game, Colin played 1st base & managed to get 3 or 4 players out at 1st! It was really exciting to watch. We really enjoyed this team too. His coach was very laid back and very encouraging to all the boys! Some of this team actually played tee-ball together last Spring. We were hoping that Colin would be able to continue with the same coach this next season, but he's been placed on the Braves team. So far, his coach seems a little more "hard core" than his previous coach. However, all the coaches seem to be focusing on the boys learning more technique & skill. So, this will hopefully be a good experience for him.

He has really enjoyed playing both sports. However, both sports coincide this Spring, so Colin has chosen to play baseball instead! So far, 3 practices have been either rained out or fields too muddy to practice! The season starts in a couple of weeks, so we'll have to wait & see what the weather will bring! Thankfully, there is an INDOOR Upward Soccer league that we'll let BOTH kids participate in this summer!

Are spelling bees in Colin's future?

Colin has learned so much in his pre-k class this year. He has learned all of his sounds for the letters & is working on his writing....he can write the letters but just working on the "neatness" factor.

So, what amazes me is that he is becoming a great speller! Sheridan learned to read by recognition, so sounding out unrecognized words was rather challenging to her. However, Colin is learning to read by sounding out the letters. So, he keeps asking how to spell something, sounds out the word, then VOILA! He has spelled it!

Here are some words: hot, gas, pass, duck, pack, mud. There are more, but I can't think of the words.

Just so proud of my 5 year old!

Our Olympians

I love the Olympics and am quite a t.v. junky when it comes time for them to come around, summer & winter! Our DVR is FULL of Olympic t.v. coverage that I still need to watch! And no, I probably won't delete them until I've watched it...even though the Olympics will be over after tonight!

As it turns out, we have 2 in our home that have a different kind of interest in the Olympics. Just thought that you'd like to see who our Olympians are & how they will participate in the Olympics in multiple, unrelated events! NBC is showing Olympic highlights...so here's the Kemper Network's Olympic highlights!

Our Ski Jumper

Our Figure Skaters

Anyone want to play hockey?!?!

The Next Apollo Anton Ohno???

I thought I lived in Texas!!!

Or at least that's a phrase I've heard a lot in the last 6 months! In October, we had what seemed like non-stop rain & gloomy days.  Many people thought we suddenly lived in Seattle!

Now, we have had 5 snowfalls so far this winter, which is unheard of in Texas.  The most recent snowfall was on Tuesday, although that one was very minimal & more like a dusting!  Also, Dallas had it's first "White Christmas" in over 80 years. Unfortunately, we missed that one because we were in Houston...bummer!

Just a couple weeks ago, we had the biggest, longest snowfall in one day that I can remember.  I think the snow started falling about 2 a.m. on February 11th, didn't stop until well after midnight on February 12th, & the "official" recorded amount was 12.5 inches. I think I heard that it was a new record for the DFW area too! The kids were out of school for President's Day on the 15th, so the snow days now gave us a 5 day weekend! The only down part was that their Jesus Loves Me parties had to be postponed, but it was worth it to them so that they could play in the snow!

Monkey Boy Strikes Again

I don't know if all boys like to climb like mine...but if something looks like it can be scaled, my Monkey Boy will find a way to scale it! On a rare sunny day this winter, he figured out how to climb our 6 foot fence (which we're hoping to replace with a nice, non-painted 8 ft fence to match our next door neighbor's adjacent fence).

Up he goes...

All SMILES! He's so proud that he's a BIG BOY!

When I told him that he was going to give me a heart attack, his response was, "Well, then, go inside!" All Daddy had to say was, "At least he still has his helmet on!" All I can think...life on the edge with a boy!!!

Future Camera Man???

I'm cleaning out our digital camera, in an effort to post some "catch up" postings from the past 8 months. I've come across SEVERAL (at least 10) short little digital videos that Colin shot when he got a hold of our camera! These were taken back on May 22nd (you knew I am WAY behind!).

This one is particularly cute & funny!

Here's another one that makes me smile & laugh!!

And now that I've watched them all, I'm beginning to wonder if he thought he was taking "still" pictures instead of the videos. Kind of glad that he took the videos...just a little glimpse into his almost 5 year old mind!

Pirate Colin, Our Growing Boy

Colin is getting so big and growing so fast! A couple of weeks ago, I had to take him to his pediatrician for a follow-up check on his asthma and for a height & weight check. His asthma is doing really great, and the dr. thinks that we can start weaning him off of one of his medications. However, this is a busy time of year for me at work, so we will be SLOWLY weaning him off, just to make sure that he doesn't get sick or have a flare up, which causes me to have to stay & work from home. His height & weight are doing pretty well too. In the last 6 months, Colin grew about 2 inches and gain about 1.5 pounds. He's now a lengthy 40 inches tall and weighs a strapping 32 pounds. He's still only about the tenth percentile compared to other 4 year old boys, but we were excited about the 2 inch growth!

So, after the dr. visit, we had a beautiful December afternoon with the weather and about 45 minutes to kill before we picked up his sister from school. Colin was very cooperative with the dr, so I decided to take him to a nearby park. I call him my "Monkey Boy" because he LOVES to climb on just about anything. In fact, he's growing so much that he didn't want me to "spot" him on anything that he climbed on. He was insistent that he could do it himself and didn't need any help from me. Meanwhile, as I'm watching my monkey boy climb high on some of the equipment, my heart was RACING! I did tell him that I really didn't want to take him back to the dr. if he fell. His grown up response was, "Don't worry Mommy! I won't fall because I'm being careful!"

In between his climbing adventures, we played on the playground that is shaped like a sailboat. Colin loves to pretend to be a pirate. In fact, he said that he was the captain and was talking the ENTIRE time like a pirate. Imagine Colin talking with a deep, scruffy voice...well as deep & scruffy as a 4 year old can get. It was so cute and so funny. Unfortunately, the only camera I had on me was my phone. So, I could only take pictures and couldn't video our pirate adventures. It was fun to pretend with him! I was either walking the plank, being rescued by Colin from the surrounding sharks, or being "tossed around" & trying to not get "sea sick" from his WILD steering of the ship! We were laughing so hard and having such a great time that Colin didn't want to leave! He told me that either Daddy or Mrs. Douglas (our neighbor we carpool with) could pick up Sheridan! But alas, I did finally get him off the playground with the hopes of returning on another great weather afternoon!

Pumpkin Patch 2008

Before we get too far away from the fall, I thought that I'd post this year's Pumpkin Patch pictures. Every fall, we visit this GREAT pumpkin patch for some FREE family fun and an opportunity for some great pictures!

I'm going to steal a word from a friend and admit that I am a "Mammarazzi" when it comes to taking pictures at the Pumpkin Patch. I love posing my kids and taking these cute pictures! This year, they weren't so thrilled to have to sit & pose for me...oh well!

Every year, we take a picture of the kids in front of this chart and see how much they've grown. I thought that you'd enjoy seeing how much they've grown & changed over the years!

"Making" Money

Part of my job at the church is to count money, even coins, and get it ready for depositing to our bank. Some of our ministries do different types of collections to help raise money for special projects. For example, Children's Ministry collects quarters for the Water is Basic project (go to waterisbasic.org to learn more). The Women's Ministry collects "Small Change for Big Change," and they collect all types of change and together help various women make Big Changes in their lives around the world.

Colin loves to come in my office and help me "make money," as he likes to call it. Basically, he helps me by placing the coins in our coin sorter/counter so that I can roll the coins and know the amount that we have. I think that he thinks we are "making money" because the coins go in the top all together, then are "produced" out the bottom into the appropriate containers. He gets excited about helping me and tells me that he's working too! He really is a cute, sweet boy!

Back to the Baby Days!

Earlier in the month, I had my monthly Comfort Zone (nursery) duty at our church. This happened to be a day when Greg worked the night before, and therefore, was at home sleeping. So I had the kids at the church by myself.

While I was finishing the clean up, the kids managed to entertain themselves in an interesting manner. It was really cute, and I had to capture it with my phone camera!

As you can see, they enjoyed pretending to be babies again and were even crawling over each other...just as our crawling babies do in the nursery!

Halloween 2008

We had a fun halloween night this year. Sheridan dressed up as a cowgirl, and Colin was a race car driver! Both outfits were practically FREE, and the kids were very excited about their costumes. Funny thing about Colin's Race Car Driver costume, everyone kept asking Colin which race car driver was his favorite and who he was rooting for. We have absolutely NO CLUE! Colin just liked the outfit! We didn't even know that there was a big race this weekend at the Texas Motor Speedway!!!

As it turns out, both Sheridan and her best friend, Isabelle, were both dressed as cowgirls! They were so cute together!

We let the kids go trick or treating for about an hour. Colin did so much better than last year. He walked up to the doors with or without Sheridan and would say "Trick or Treat" and "Thank you" to each homeowner. Greg & I were able to stand back and watch our son become grown up and independent before our eyes! Last year, we had to walk to the doors with him, and he wouldn't say a word to the homeowners. This year, he would walk up on his own and sometimes insist on "going alone" (as much as we would let him). But, Colin did tire out after about 30 minutes, then wanted to be carried the remainder of the time. Sheridan was having a great time going door to door. So Greg carried Colin on his shoulders the remainder of the time, and Sheridan proceeded to fill her bucket, then fill Colin's too!

We finished the night by coming back to our house, turning our lights on, and passing out candy to more kids! It's a toss up on which the kids liked better, going door to door or passing the candy out!

This is the 2nd year that we've let the kids go trick or treating. Since Sheridan can't eat the candy, we take it to their pediatric dentist who will "buy" the candy from them. She pays them $1 for every pound of candy. So, this year, Sheridan wanted to take the candy to the dentist the very next day, but her offices were closed. The kids waited patiently and sold their candy on Tuesday. Sheridan was paid $4, and Colin was paid $2 (I redistributed some of Colin's candy to Sheridan's bucket since she was the one that did most of the work). Colin did ask why Sheridan got more money and understood my explanation that Sheridan did more trick or treating than he did.

Here are pictures of one of their favorite treats from the night that we let them keep!

I must say that I was very proud of my kids for how they handled their candy money. They each divided the money up between their Spend, Save, and Give envelopes. I was going to let them put it all in their Spend envelopes, but they insisted on dividing it up, just like they do with their chore money! They are learning early how to handle their money! Hopefully, they'll remember when their older!

Casanova Colin

Once again, Mommy's heart is breaking!!! I was paid a visit by our Kids Klub director at IBC on Tuesday and was told that Colin and his very good friend, Emma, have been kissing and hugging on each other!!!! AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!

Now, I've heard Colin talk at home about how he and Emma are going to GET MARRIED one day! I can totally hear Sheridan's influence when he says this. But then, come to find out that he and Emma actually talk about it and act it out...WHOA!!!!!

So, Greg and I had to have a talk with him. You could tell that he knew that he had done something wrong, but at the same time, he doesn't completely understand why it's wrong. I mean, Mommy & Colin kiss all the time. Sheridan & Colin kiss each other good night (a very sweet insistence on both their parts). Colin also kisses his aunts, grandmothers, and cousins! So, you could see the look on his face of "why not Emma!" I did explain that Emma is not family and that they were too young to be doing this. I think that he actually understood it!

So, for now, I have another child that is growing way too fast....and of course, a husband who is proud of his son for going after the girls! I just hope that this isn't a true taste of what life will be like with Colin as a teenager!!! AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!

Success to a 4 Year Old

What is SUCCESS to a 4 year old???

Being able to drive to a nearby hospital to see the much ANTICIPATED helicopter that he has been patiently waiting for!

We finally saw the helicopter, and Colin was very excited and satisfied! Yes, we were late to school on Monday, but he didn't care! He got his helicopter fix! The hospital has it fenced off for safety and security, so we can't get too close. But Colin is satisfied with just seeing it. Again, so easily entertained!

So Easily Entertained!

My kids really make me laugh and bring big smiles to my face!

Yesterday, our family ran some errands together. While Greg was trying on his new suit, Colin and Sheridan managed to entertain themselves! They were so cute that I couldn't resist pulling out my camera phone and taking some pictures to share.

Of course, Sheridan had to pose for us!!

Again, goofing off...they take pictures just fine, no problem! But tell them to stand still, look at the camera & smile...that's another adventure!

Kids & Pictures

Why is it that kids are so hard to photograph?!?!

The kids received a package in the mail today from their Mimi & Papa V. They opened it to find a Pirate t-shirt for Colin and an Aggie Cheerleader outfit for Sheridan. Both wanted to put them on immediately!

So I thought that I'd take a "quick" picture of them to email to Mimi & Papa and to say thank you! Do you know how many pictures I had to take?!?! Too many! And I didn't even get what I think is a good one! I finally gave up and decided to send what I had.

These are what's left after deleting a few!

Sheridan NOT smiling

Still not smiling

Colin looking off!

Seriously...my kids DON'T have bug eyes AND I asked Sheridan to get the hair out of her face!
But she smiles great for this one!

Yes...I would NEVER make it as a professional children's photographer!!!!

A Colin & Mommy Weekend!

Sheridan and Daddy are off on a Daddy/Daughter camping trip with some of our friends. We'll blog about that later...hopefully, Greg is getting some good pictures! However, since I sent the camera with Greg for Sheridan's 1st camping trip, I had to take pictures with the camera on my phone. But hey, at least I got pictures!

So, Colin and I had the weekend all to ourselves, this is a first for us! First, we spent Friday evening with the ladies and some of the kids from our home group. Afterwards, we ran to Target for a quick errand. Colin really is ALL BOY! While looking at some clothes for him, he decides to climb on the garment rack to hang or swing off of them! I told him that he's my "Monkey Boy," to which he just laughs and starts climbing MORE! I tell him to be careful (typical mom) and he always responds, "I won't get hurt because I won't fall!" Gotta love boys!


Then, today was the busy/fun day for us. After a leisure "special" breakfast, Colin and I headed to Michael's to make craft pumpkins. I let Colin do whatever he wanted on HIS pumpkin. It actually turned out pretty cute!


Then, a friend told me about an open house at the Central Fire Station in Flower Mound. So, Colin and I drove to Flower Mound in the hopes of seeing some firetrucks up close and more importantly, a HELICOPTER. Of course, we got there past the scheduled helicopter time! However, we found out that the CareFlight helicopter was called to an emergency and was hoping to come later. Colin & I saw a ladder firetruck with the ladder fully extended, a HAZ-MAT simulated treatment "area," a mock rescue extraction from a car (they cut up the car to peel back the doors and top), an ambulance, and a safety house that simulated what to do in a house fire. There was also the chance for kids to use a fire hose to put out a fire, but Colin didn't want to stand in the long line to do this. I was curious why, and he said "No, thanks, if I hold the hose, I might get wet." Of course, no arguments from me, you should have seen the LINE!!!

By the time we left the fire station, the helicopter still hadn't shown up, so I told Colin that we would come to the nearby hospital (close to our house) to see the CareFlight helicopter that's usually there and was there earlier this morning. By the time we returned from Flower Mound, the helicopter was gone. We went back to Michael's to finish our pumpkins (we ran out of time trying to make it to Flower Mound for the scheduled helicopter time). After Michael's, we went back to the hospital before heading to my nephew's football game. Unfortunately, still no helicopter. While at Elliott's football game, we saw the helicopter fly over and head back to the hospital. So I told Colin that we would stop by the hospital before we went home. Of course, STILL no helicopter! I guess that it was a VERY busy day for CareFlight!

Still my Monkey Boy, Colin was climbing all over these bleachers at Elliott's game and wouldn't even sit still for this picture!

We spent a quiet evening at home. Since it was just us, I gave Colin the FREE choice of having whatever he wanted for dinner. At first, he wanted pizza. But last night and all day today, he wanted only mac 'n cheese, even asked for it for breakfast and lunch! I love having such a simple family! So Colin enjoyed mac 'n cheese for dinner, had a bath, and fell quickly asleep in bed!

Tomorrow, we get to go to church, and hopefully, Daddy & Sheridan will be home shortly after we return. Even though Colin and I had a wonderful time together, our family isn't complete without Daddy and Sheridan, and we miss them both!!!

Kids Kamp Chefs

A little catch up time...

Sheridan & Colin spent part of their summer in Kids Kamp, the childcare that was provided for IBC staff kids. They were still in the building with me, but had specially planned activities and were very loved & cared for! Both of them looked forward to their time on Tuesdays & Thursdays of each week!

The summer theme for Kids Kamp was cooking in the kitchen. Throughout the summer, the kids learned how to prepare, make & cook a variety of foods under supervision, of course! During August, their class focused on foods from other nations around the world. It was fun to hear about, then, come home to look on our world map to find where that country is!

The last day of Kids Kamp, our little chefs hosted a Taste the Nations food demonstration for all the parents. They "took" our order from a menu, then brought our food and served us just like a REAL waitstaff would! It actually was REALLY good, and they were sent home with recipe books of the food they made so we can make it together at home!

Greg & I forgot our regular camera at home, but thank goodness, our new phones have cameras on them. So, the pictures are a little grainy and dark, but at least we have them!!

Hannah Montana & Jonas Brothers Mania

Hannah Montana & Jonas Brothers mania has officially hit our home!!!

We started letting Sheridan watch Hannah Montana after her birthday, and she has gone CRAZY for this show & character! She likes the Jonas Brothers too, but she's more interested in Hannah!

When the Hannah Montana 3-D concert was on t.v. last month, Sheridan decided to put her Hannah wig on and do her own little performance. She doesn't know all the words yet, but it's pretty cute! Colin also joins in on the fun, and he was told to pretend to be the Jonas Brothers, all 3 of them...big job for 1 little guy!!! Here's a video of our little Hannah and mini Jonas trio (sorry it's dark, this was very impromptu!)

We think that the princess phase is slowly fading away for "older" fascinations now (sniff, sniff)!

Sheridan & Colin's Houston Adventure

Sheridan and Colin are in Houston this week, spending time with their grandparents, aunt & uncle, and cousins. I know they will have a great time...provided the TROPICAL STORM or HURRICANE miss them!

Yes, that's right! We left our kids in Houston just in time for a storm to be heading their way. So they get to experience lots of wind & rain! For me, if I were down there with them, we would've left already! Tropical storms & Sarah do not mix!!!

So this Mommy has nervous knots in my stomach; and the time over today and the next day will be a test for me to not worry and to TRUST God to watch over my babies!

I heard a Third Day song this morning ("Come On Back To Me") that really helped me that I wanted to share the chorus words:

Never mind your worries
Never mind your fears
They can only take you far from me
When you feel there's nowhere
Left for you to turn
Well, I got all you want
And everything you need
Come on back to me

Isn't it GREAT that we can run to the Lord with ALL our cares and concerns. He's got all I WANT and all I NEED!

As of 10:00 this morning, the storm had weakened a little and is currently Southeast of them in the Gulf. So I'm asking God to continue to weaken the storm before it makes landfall (my want) and to be with & comfort my children during the storm (my need that I know He has covered!). And I know that He's already with me to comfort and care for me! He's with you too if you will trust and ask Him!

Cowboy Camp, day 2

Colin went to the last half of Cowboy Camp today. He was so excited about going and knew that he would get to "ride" the pony. He told me last night, "It's a little pony" and imagine him holding up his two tiny fingers to make an inch size! He's so cute!!!

The picture below was taken by the WinKids staff & printed on regular paper. I scanned it in, so the quality isn't great. But at least we can see how "little" the pony really is!

Colin did better today being dropped off. After I put his nametag on, he started to get teary-eyed but managed to walk in on his own. Then, while I'm waiting to sign him in, he sneaks back out for "last hugs." I was about to cry for him because he looked so sad. While he wasn't screaming this time and walked back in on his own, I felt worse today then I did on Tuesday. I watched from a distance as he stood by the foam pit and was crying silent tears and not moving. One of the staff members walked over to him, picked him up, talked to him, and tried to comfort him. He was still crying when anyone tried to talk to him, but managed to stop crying if they left him alone. We asked him if he had fun, and we get an emphatic "YEAH!" However, he asked me if he had to go back to Cowboy Camp. When I tell him that Cowboy Camp is over, he is VERY EXCITED!!!

WOW! I didn't want to torture my child or make him feel abandoned! I felt terrible for him! One of my friends pointed out that I should feel great that Colin loves us so much and doesn't want to be separated from us. However, I just wanted to give him a chance to have some fun on his own and something special that he doesn't normally get to do! Maybe next year will be different when he's a little older....hopefully! Until then, we'll just accept that Colin likes familiar places & faces and loves to be with his family!

WE LOVE YOU TOO COLIN!