First Ranger's Game

Last Monday, Joey's department had access to the company suite at the Ranger's Game. There wasn't a lot of people interested in going so Presley and I were able to tag along. Presley did a great job...it helped to have full access to an indoor area complete with couches, televisions, food, and a snack closet. I am not sure how she would have done in an actual seat in the stands, but I imagine it wouldn't have been quite as easy of a task as it was in the suite. When we sat in the stadium area of the suite she was up and down and all around!! I am sure she would have been the same in a regular seat. The day after we were at the Ranger's game there was a huge North Texas storm and I saw on the news that everyone at the Rangers Game had to be moved from the upper levels down into the basement area below. I also heard that after everyone returned to their seats they were moved below the stadium again for a second time...glad we had Monday's game rather than Tuesday's game! eeek!

One Thousand Gifts

My wonderful friend, Brandi, sent me a book shortly after I miscarried this past March. She has always come to my rescue in little ways such as this. After my mom died, she sent me a letter that touched my heart and to this day I still have it stashed away in one of my many memory boxes. The book she sent me is one that I have passed by in bookstores, but never thought to open it up and take a look. I was so excited when I got a package from her and realized that the book she sent me was one that had crossed my mind before. She sent me the book, One Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voskamp. I have already read through most of the book and IT IS WONDERFUL! I know I have said this before, but sometimes I feel like God is just speaking directly to me through others….whether that be through friends, books, Bible Studies, or sermons. He is definitely speaking! This past year I did 2 Beth Moore studies, Breaking Free and The Fruits of the Spirit. Both studies were great and Breaking Free was a great lead in into The Fruits of the Spirit. The book, One Thousand Gifts, is all about Eucharist (Thanksgiving)…a word that became very familiar to me in both of the Beth Moore Studies that I did. How amazing is that! This book focuses on living fully right where you are today…something that all of strive towards, I am sure. She also has a blog that I have been peaking in on from time to time. She is a mother of six little ones and is homeschooling all of them. She is a great author and seems like a beautiful person. :o) www.aholyexperience.com

Melt My Heart!

We love because He first loved us. I John 4:19

I am sitting here bawling my eyes out and drenching the keyboard in the process, but I have to record this moment. Today was such a wonderful day and Presley was pretty much perfect all day. We visited our Farmer's Market, went shopping for new shoes at Grapevine Mills Mall, had P.F. Changs for dinner where she tried everything...and liked it, and got ice cream for a late dessert. Joey headed out around 8 o'clock to watch UFC with some guys from work and I had the joy of putting little miss Presley down for the night. Her favorite thing to do when getting ready for bed is to pick out the books we are going to read for the night. She chose quite a few books tonight...7 to be exact. Right now her favorite book is The Very Hungry Caterpillar. As I got to the end of the book I looked at her and said in a very excited voice, "he was a big, fat caterpillar!" she just looked at me, gave me the biggest smile ever, put her arms around my neck, gave me the biggest hug, and said, "I love you mommy." Oh. my. goodness! I just melted. She has told me that she loved me before, but it has always been after I have said it first. I always say, "I love you Presley" and then she usually says, "I love you mommy." I remember the first time she responded to me with an "I love you mommy." AND I will forever remember this night as well...the day she told me on her own, "I love you mommy" with the overwhelming evidence of it in her eyes. ;o) MELT MY HEART, I tell ya! It just melts my heart....and makes me want to hold onto her a little tighter tonight.

Six Flags

Last Sunday we went Six Flags for Joey's company picnic. It was Presley's first time to Six Flags and her fist time at a big amusement park. I have taken her to Kiddy Park in San Antonio and she loved all of the kiddy rides, but this was her first time to experience an actual theme park. She was thrilled to be there...at first. We took her on the Carousel and she loved it. Then we took her on the "Log Ride"...which, surprisingly enough, she loved! However, we got a little risky with her and took her on the "Big Boat"...you know the one! We sat in the middle thinking that she would be fine with it. UMMMM...not so much. We forgot how high it went, or at least I did. Poor little girl was terrified. I thought the two girls across from us were going to call CPS on us. Presley was literally shaking during the entire ride. She kept saying, "all done? all done? all done?" Finally, she just buried her head in Joey's side. We felt HORRIBLE after the ride. SO, we thought we would take her on a calm ride, the Yosemite Sams Gold River Adventure. Oh, it was calm alright...but extremely LOUD. She was scared again and wanted off! AND guess who was right behind us in line??? You guessed it, the girls that felt so sorry for her on the Big Boat....I'm convinced they were following us. Needless to say, she hated every ride after that (but one) and she will forever be afraid of Daphe Duck, Elmer Fudd, and Bugs Bunny. Oh well, at least she got along with Tweety Bird!

She enjoyed the swings at first, but once Joey and I were out of her view she was not happy and started crying. She probably would have done well had she not had such a bad experience with all of the other rides....so much for taking her to Kiddy Park in the future. :o(

DKH

Glory be, I found a place for Presley to attend pre-school at this fall. Originally, I was not going to put her in a Mother's Day Out program, but after talking to her teachers at Moppets and Bible Study I have decided that she would benefit from a little social time. Right now we do many activities, but she tends to attach herself to the teachers rather than the kids....she almost seems "frightened" of the other kids. I have also noticed this during Gymboree. So I think a few days a week of socializing will be good for her....and me! ;o)

Originally, we started out at Lakeland Christian Academy in Lewisville. However, it ended up being a bit of a drive and the days were going to be a little bit longer than I had originally anticipated. So, about a month ago I set out to find a Mother's Day Out program for Presley. I ended up being a bit more picky than I had anticipated. I had no idea it was going to be so hard for me to find a place. I think I had in mind what kind of atmosphere and learning environment I wanted for Presley and nothing was lining up with that mindset.

One of the girls down the street from us recommended DKH Academy a few months ago, but I just never had the time to set up a visit. Finally, 3 weeks ago, I set up a time for us to visit it. As soon as I walked in the doors I knew it was the place for Presley....the learning environment, the facility, the outdoor program, the teachers, the schedule, almost everything fit Presley's personality and temperament. When we visited one of the classrooms she didn't hide her head in my shoulders or bury her face in her hands. She walked around and talked with the other children. It was so great to see. It is NAEYC accredited and I noticed that they use the same curriculum that I have been using with Presley, as well as, the Handwriting Without Tears program. :-) I was thrilled!! I was so thrilled that I actually asked the director about teaching opportunities...unfortunately for me, the teacher turnover rate is very low. Presley will only be attending on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9-12, but this will still allow me to get out and run errands, go to future dr appointments if I need to, have brunch dates with friends, etc. I am very excited about her attending DKH Academy!

Kids Kastle

Yesterday, Presley and I went to the most fabulous park in Highland Village. I heard about it from Presley's Kindermusik teacher, Heidi, about a month ago and just now ventured over to check it out. I can not believe I have lived in Flower Mound for 4 years and just recently heard about it. It is a huge park that has a stocked fish tank, fishing pier, soccer fields, tennis courts, basketball courts, sand volleyball courts, and the most wonderful playground that looks like a huge castle. The weather was perfect for a day outside so I packed us a lunch and headed down the road to Kids Kastle. As we walked up to the play area, Presley's eyes got huge and she said, "LOOK AT THAT" We spent a good part of the afternoon there, ate our lunch, and then headed home...where she took a 3 1/2 hour nap! If you are ever looking for a great park to visit then THIS IS IT...even if you don't live in the area ;o) it would still be well worth the drive to venture out this way!

These pictures don't do it justice! This is just a fourth of it....there are 3 other sections and two more playgrounds in a separate area for kids under 2! ;o)

7 Years and a Weekend Getaway!

This past weekend Joey and I celebrated 7 years of marriage. We dropped Presley off at her Nana and Popo's house and headed down to Granbury, Texas. We stayed at a cute little Bed and Breakfast on the lake called The Inn on Lake Granbury. It was beautiful and so relaxing! My plan was to do absolutely nothing and lay out by the saltwater pool all day, but it was a bit too chilly for that. The weather was beyond beautiful on Saturday so we headed up the road to Glen Rose, Texas and went hiking at Dinosaur Valley State Park.

at the top!

Once we got to the top of the park we tried to head back down to the river, but ended up getting lost! We walked in circles for about 3 hours! We ended up running into some campers that lead us back to where we needed to go....we had been reading the map upside down. LOL! Thank goodness for my iPhone compass app. ;o)

back across the river...yeah!!

Once we got back to the Inn we were exhausted, but luckily we were met with Wine and Hors d' oeuvre. We had a wonderful evening planned at The Loft: an upscale restaurant and martini bar. However, by the time we got there at 8:00 I had a terrible migraine....caused by dehydration from our afternoon adventure, I'm sure! So we gave our reservation to another couple and headed back to the Inn with Chicken Express in our hands. We ate, watched a movie in our room, and just relaxed. It was actually quite nice.

Our favorite spot at the Inn...so relaxing

Sunday morning we slept in. Yeah! Breakfast was super yummy and delicious. I love Granbury because the Town Square and shops are so cute. However, most of the shops are not open on Sundays...oops! So, we headed back to Fort Worth and saw the movie, "Water for Elephants." Which was very good! :o) I have heard the book is better! We had a great weekend and Presley had a blast hanging out with her Nana and Popo. She talks about them all of the time and every time she sees Joey's phone she says, "talk to Nana." :o)

Our Room...John St. Helen's Room

Granbury is a great town for a weekend getaway and I highly recommend The Inn on Lake Granbury.

Nana's Pretty Princess Outfit

My Little Singer

Presley loves music and loves to sing. Every Tuesday we go to Kindermusik and she enjoys every minute of it. At night, Joey and I will just sit in the living room with the baby monitor on and listen to her sing until her little heart's content. She loves to sing toddler tunes, but she also sings along to all of my praise music...it's rather cute hearing her sing praises. ;o) Last week, as we were driving in the car Presley sang Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star over and over and over again. Joey and I were so surprised that she sang it correctly that I grabbed my phone and started taping her as she sang her favorite little song. By the time I got the phone out she had lost her way in the song, but it was still so cute! Here's the video of her trying to sing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star....the rain in the background is a bit loud, but she still tried to sing over it. You can hear her get stuck on the phrase, "up above the world so high." It kept coming out "up a bubble" ...she just couldn't get her mouth to cooperate with what she knew in her head, lol.

Last Update...;o)

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." -Isaiah 55:8-9

I met with my dr today and it looks like everything is finally good with me. Everything is clear and I am feeling 100% better. After looking at the pictures that my dr took during my surgery, I now understand why I was in so much pain! Good-ness! The fibroid was quite large....kind of made me queasy just looking at it. After discussing things with my dr. it seems that the cause of my miscarriage was most likely due to the size and position of the fibroid. This was, of course, a bit hard for me to hear because this means that the baby was completely healthy and viable....what made it even harder was that as I sat in the waiting room I watched a couple of girls walk out with their husbands and they both had their sonogram pictures in hand excited about what they were having. I started thinking about how if I was still pregnant, Joey and I would have been finding out what we were having this week. I couldn't help but tear up a little. I still have to trust in God and believe that His ways are better than mine...that His ways are ultimately good.

Joey and I also met with a specialist on Monday to discuss our future options and risk factors. The plan is to take a 4 month break and schedule a few more tests in August. Once we get back the results from these tests then we will be able to make a more educated decision about adding to our family of 3. So until then, we have decided to pray about things and just wait on the Lord. I am going to enjoy this down time of not having to think about anything. ;-) Ill just shift my focus to the one that is here...little miss presley girl. Thanks for all of your prayers!

A Mind of Her Own!

Presley's Nana Burda got her a trunk full of dress up clothes at a great garage sale about a year ago. She stored it for Presley in her house until this past December when she gave it to Presley for Christmas. Since, we have slowly been adding to her collection of things and now she has accumulated quite a little stash. Just within the past couple of months Presley has begun to play dress-up. She has also started to dabble in make-believe play....which, most likely, she picked up from observing her cousin Reid.
On Friday Presley came out of her room with her sunglasses on and a tutu in hand. She waned me to help her put on her tutu, gloves, bracelets, etc. It was funny because I wanted to put her in the purple tutu and she wanted the pink one. I wanted to put her in a cute little pink shirt and she wanted to wear the t-shirt she had on. She knows words like...I want these one, it's too big, it's too small. So, when I gave her the purple tutu she responded with, "I want these one (the pink one). When I put the pink shirt on her she pulled at it and said, "too small." When I put her birthday crown on her she threw it off and said, "it's too big!"

So with all of that said....this is what she ended up with. *sigh* I have come to learn, just within the past few days, that my daughter has a mind of her own and an opinion about everything....a very strong one! eek! Things change so quickly.