Aggie Youth Experience

About 2 months ago, one of David's co-workers told him about an event at Texas A&M for kids...the Aggie Youth Experience.  500 kids get to spend 3 hours watching a scrimmage and doing drills with the Texas A&M Football team...for free!  WHOOP!!!  Where do we sign up? 

This morning, we loaded up the van and headed out to College Station.  I've only been back to my beloved alma mater a handful of times since I graduated, but when I do, I get a feeling only an die-hard Aggie can explain.  There's just somethin' about it...the "Spirit of Aggieland."  I love it.

We got to Kyle Field early, so we walked around campus and showed the kids a few points of interest, like the Memorial Student Center (MSC), Rudder Theater Complex, the "Quad" (where the Corp of Cadets live), The Commons (where my dorm was, but I also lived in the "Quad" for 2 years), the Sterling C. Evans Library, the Academic Building, and The Century Tree.  This was honestly the kids' favorite.  They'd never seen such a huge oak tree where the lower limbs rest on the ground.  Many a marriage proposal has taken place under the widespread canopy.

Image courtesy of Flickr

David didn't propose to me here 14 years ago, but today we though it was the perfect place for a kiss. :-).  For once, I don't mind getting my picture taken by my 11-year-old daughter...I think I look skinny for once, LOL!

My...what memories I had walking around campus...pointing out other buildings to the kids where I'd gone to classes, eaten lunch/dinner, and studied all night in the library.  Hopefully we have 5 future, 4th generation Aggies in training!

After all that walking the crew started getting hungry, so we headed back to Kyle Field for lunch.  The program provided the kids with sausage dogs and water...but we'd brought extra snacks too.  David made a run to a nearby Walmart for sweatshirts and some lunch for us.  Although the day was mild, the wind had a chill to it, and we didn't bring jackets.  I wasn't too worried about the older 3, since they'd be running around, but the younger two had on short sleeves.  David found what we needed on clearance...each shirt was just $2.00!  Score!

He made it back just in time to watch the scrimmage.  

Gabriel and Theresa happily inhaled chicken nuggets and french fries while we watched.  Theresa was fascinated by the action on the field and kept pointing at the players, saying "Aggies, Aggies!"  Too funny!   

All the kids were then divided up into 7 groups acccording to age.  So David, Gabriel, Theresa, and myself had a fun time going all over Kyle Field to watch our kids.  They were in 3 different groups, so believe me when I tell you we got our exercise yesterday. ;-)

Here's Joshua...

Rebecca....

and Christina!

In between rotations, we caught a glimpse of Johnny Football himself and Coach Kevin Sumlin.  My goodness...it was amazing to be in the same arena as them...the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner and the best coach Texas A&M has had in over a decade.  We hoped for photo ops with them, but knowing they were really there for the kids, we just took pics from a distance.  Honestly...it was good enough for me.

David taught Gabriel and Theresa how to do a 3-point stance.  Oh my goodness, just look at these 2!  I laughed so hard.  They were too young for the drills, but they had plenty of space to run around the field.  The girls taught their little sister how to say, "Gig 'em" and "Howdy."  It was adorable.

One very tall young man, Nehmiah Hicks (#81) saw Theresa and said, "Aw...she's so cute."

 Can I just say I had the cutest little Aggie out there today?  So glad the dress I made for her last year still fit after I let down the hem.  And she finally has enough hair to keep a hair bow in! 

Nehemiah let me take a quick photo with Theresa.  He was a tall 6' 4"!  It was really nice of him, and when I said, "Thank you, " he replied, "Yes ma'am, you're welcome."  Such nice manners too!

After all the rotations were done, Coach Sumlin spoke a few words, saying maybe in 10 years, a few of the kids today would be playing football for Texas A&M on Kyle Field.  Lots of applause, whooping, and cheering.  He's a great speaker, even without a mike! 

We shook hands with a few of the players...got a couple more pictures around the south end zone goal post...

And that was it.  The kids said they had FUN.  We seriously had a blast.  Thank goodness we were able to come, since the upper age limit is 13.  That means Joshua will be too old next year.

After leaving the stadium, we drove over to St. Mary's Student Center (where David and I met) to see Kristine Cranley, Gabriel's godmother.  At one point, she was a novice with the Sisters of Life in New York, but eventually left the convent, went back to school for another degree, and is now working as a campus minister at St. Mary's.

We hadn't seen her in over 3 years, so it was great to just sit down for a while and catch up.  I made sure to get a picture of Gabriel with her.  I know she is always praying for our little boy.  There is just something special about Kristine.  And I think Gabriel senses it.  He's not great about taking pictures...and often won't look into the camera...but every time I've taken his picture with his godmother, it turns out amazing.  

See what I mean?

Around 5:00, we said our goodbyes with promises to stay in touch, and took the kids to Double Dave's for dinner.  Luckily I had coupons in my purse, and we got 2 large pizzas and a half-dozen pepperoni rolls for just over $30 bucks.  Yee haw!

We drove home in the twilight, admiring the millions of bluebonnets along Highway 6 and 105.  I wanted to get out and take pictures of the kids in the flowers...but they weren't having any of that.  I guess they were too tired.  Oh well...maybe next year.

It was an eventful day, but everyone held up great, even the baby who dutifully took a catnap in the van 2x (going up and coming back).  Yeah!  

A day with the Aggie Football team, and Gabriel's godmother...what could be better?  Here's hoping we can do both again next year!

Happy Birthday Theresa

My Momma's heart is feelin' the love. Our little rose is two years old today.  

Two years old.

How the heck did that happen?

Seriously...I feel like she was born just yesterday.  I remember when she came out, and we marveled at her light brown hair with a tinge of red.  People are still talking about this child's hair...where did it come from?

We're still trying to figure that out. ;-)

I sure wish we could keep our babies just a little bit longer.  Hasn't anyone invented a way to keep 'em itty bitty for a while...but still get 8 hours of sleep every night?  Wouldn't that be a dream come true?

LOL.  Okay...maybe not.

Some days I just want to super glue this sweet girl down.  She is into everything.  I know...I KNOW...she's supposed to be climbing onto the kitchen table, pulling crackers out of the pantry, whacking her brother over the head with a toy...OUCH!

But...she also loves to kiss everyone goodnight, cuddle in my arms with her blankie, fold her tiny hands when it's time for bedtime prayers, and just be her precious self.

And dang...isn't she just the cutest thing?  

Just born...

6 months...

One year

18 months

2 years

Happy Birthday Theresa.  We love every bit of you! XOXOXOXO!  

A Small Miracle

Last Wednesday, David called me while I was reheating leftovers for dinner.  It was only 5:45 PM, so I was pleasantly surprised (almost shocked) when he said he was on his way home.  For those of you wondering why this is such a miracle, let me explain.

David works for a photo services company as their CFO.  They put Santa and the Easter Bunny in over 100 shopping malls in the United States.  So as you can imagine, the fall and the spring are VERY busy times for his company.  This was David's second year working as CFO, so I was secretly hoping he might not have to work quite as many hours as the year before.  Ahem...I was wrong.

Most nights, my hard-workin' man would come home sometime between 8:00 and 10:00 PM.  If we were lucky, he would say good night to the kids, and spend a few minutes helping Joshua with his math homework (cause Momma + math = no bueno!).  He would only then eat a late dinner (reheated in the microwave, long after the leftovers were put away and dishes were already done) and relax for maybe an hour before hitting the sack.  He was frequently too tired to do anything else.

Now...don't get me wrong.  I'm thankful...VERY thankful my husband has a job.  A good job that pays enough to support our family of 7 and enable me to be a super SAHM (lol).  He doesn't have to travel at all, and isn't putting himself in mortal danger (like my brother) to provide for us.  I haven't forgotten to thank God every day He has blessed us with steady employment.

But Lord have mercy, the hours are long people.  Really long.  We're talking til 1:00 or 2:00 AM.  Some nights, after David got home, he'd spend a few more hours burning some serious midnight oil.  Once, he stayed at the office and didn't come home until 5:00 AM (yes AM, not PM).  I witnessed my husband wearily coax his tired eyes back onto the computer screen after I kissed him goodnight and went to bed many other nights.  I cannot begin to tell you how much I appreciated his efforts to give us all enough attention, especially to the kids, knowing he'd be up for hours after we all were fast asleep.

There were times he'd call and say he was staying late at the office, and I knew I'd be making dinner, giving baths, tucking kids into bed, and doing numerous other tasks...running solo.  It was hard to offer that up...I'll be the first to admit it.  But I also knew God was answering my prayers.  For so long, I'd asked for the grace to be more patient, more loving, more giving with my time.  And God decided the perfect way to show me was to give me the opportunity to run solo...many, many nights so I could do just that.  I didn't always do the best job...there were a couple of nights I was SO tired and frankly, cranky with the kids.  But I promised myself I wouldn't cry over spilled milk.  I was going to smile, get up, and do it all over again the next day.  I told God I would do it all with the best possible attitude, and give as much love to the kids and to David as I humanly could.

And you know what?  It really wasn't so hard after a while.  I just rolled with it.  The kids drove me just as crazy, and David still came home late. There was another revelation though...I realized I had to be careful an not get angry with David on the weekends.  We all got used to Daddy being gone, so when he was home, it felt like he was "in the way," although that was certainly NOT his intent.  Poor guy!  Just saying, "I love you" several times a day when he was home helped to diffuse that resentful feeling I sometimes had.  We tried to spend one night a week together...and we actually squeezed in 3 date nights last fall...just to try and get some precious time together.

Now that the Christmas season is over, David's not so busy at work. All too soon, it's going to pick back up again for about 8 weeks before Easter.  But for right now, we're going to enjoy this period of peace...the calm before the storm.  I'm going to praise God my husband came home at 6:32 PM, sat down with us, ate dinner while his soup was still hot, gave the two youngest kids a bath and put everyone to bed before sitting down to give some attention to the dog (yes...even the dog needs some love!). 'Cause I'm tellin' y'all...it was nothing short of a miracle.

Crazy

Last Friday, when I was on Facebook at one point, my heart stopped.

I read a post about the school shooting in Conneticut. 

I started checking the news reports online. (I stopped watching the news on TV years ago.  I don't want the kids to see the ugly and bad glorified in our home). 

After reading three separate breaking news reports, I shut my laptop and wept. 

20 kids.  6 adults.  Merciful God.

By this time, Theresa had gotten up from her nap, and I had to get Joshua from school.  I held her tight, breathing in the sweet scent of her baby-fine hair.  Marveling that she was safe in my arms, while 26 families's lives would never be the same again.

I decided I would try harder over the next few days not to let things get to me.  Theresa is honestly driving me a bit batty these days.  She loves to empty out the tupperware drawer, the cereal in the pantry, climb up on the kitchen table and throw down all the napkins...dump out an entire bag of legos, and pull ornaments off the Christmas tree.

But that's really not all that awful is it?  I am sure there are 20 familes in Conneticut who would give anything to see their child's face again, to happily let them dig in the dirt in the backyard, run around with a bubble wand, eat too many cookies, or sing their favorite Christmas carol.

It has been a somber few days here...even though we are thousands of miles away from Newton.  The grief in my heart has been a constant steady ache, even though life must, and always does, go on.

Dear Jesus, please hold these precious souls and their families in your comforting arms, and bring them peace.  Amen.

Music Monday- Carol of the Bells

When I was in college, I sang in the church choir.  Among those choir members, several of us became pretty good friends.  We loved singing together.  Once, we went out to breakfast at Denny's, and we sang a few Christmas Carols acapella to all the customers and wait staff.  It was so much fun.  The director of our choir Eddie thought it would be great if we tried more accapella music.  So we'd meet up at his place on Sunday afternoons, hang out, and sing some more.  We never did perform any of the songs at Mass, but I still remember my part to a few of those lovely songs.  When I sang with the Women's Chorus at Texas A&M, small groups of us would go around campus and sing the "Hallelujah Chorus," acapella to promote our Fall Concert (back then, it's wasn't called a "flash mob," lol!).  There's nothing like singing that song in the rotunda of the Academic Building...the acoustics were amazing.  

Ever since then, I've loved acapella music.  It is HARD to sing songs with no music in the background.  No piano, no bass, no nothing!  I fell hard for Straight No Chaser years ago, but now I have a new love...Pentatonix.  They won Season 3 of "The Sing Off" on NBC, and I've been following them ever since.  Yeah...I'm a bit of a stalker.  

But...just listen to their version of "Carol of the Bells."  Seriously...it's different.  Edgy.  It rocks ya'll.  And...they're coming to Houston in March.  Who wants to go with me?  ;-)

Enjoy...you'll be hooked by these guys!  

It's Not About the Journey...

This morning, I got up.  Threw myself in and out of the shower.  Dressed.  Put a bit of makeup on.    Saw a half-dried puddle of orange juice on the floor.  Couldn't find Gabriel's sweatshirt for school,Christina didn't like the way I did her hair, so she took out the ponytails I'd carefully arranged.  Rebecca's new skirt didn't fit, even though I'd ordered it one size bigger that her old one. Really?!

Sigh...it wasn't even 8:00 o'clock yet.  

I wiped up the spilled juice.  Told Rebecca to take off the skirt and put her old one back on.  Told Christina to give back Rebecca her old skirt (which she was wearing), and put her old one back on.  At least we'd show up at school with uniforms on, right?  Found Gabriel's sweatshirt crumpled in the bottom of his backpack.  Yelled at Joshua to come downstairs with his school things, and NOT go back upstairs until it was time to go. 

Thankfully, the baby was all ready to go.  She even had her socks and shoes still on.  Hallelujah!

We finally loaded up the van and got everyone off to school.  I'm about to call the uniform company and figure out this skirt.  So far, I am not impressed.  They sent the wrong skirt for Christina the first time we ordered from them.  

Sigh again...

And...we've decided to pull Gabriel out of Regina Caeli.  Long story short...he doesn't seem to be able to handle the structure of the school day.  He is acting out, physically and emotionally, although academically he is doing great.  But...the bottom line is...the hybrid program is clearly not the best fit for him right now. 

I spend 2 heartbreaking days agonizing over what to do.  But I really knew after talking to a dear friend that bring him home was best for Gabriel.  It may not be the best thing for me...I've enjoyed my one-on-one time with Theresa and relative freedom I've had with just one child toddling after me at home.  But, we don't want school to be a constant struggle...and it's no fun dreading pick-up time...wondering if Gabriel will bring home another 2-page note from his teacher.  We've been blessed with an amazing, supportive staff at the school, and we hope to re-enroll Gabriel next fall for 1st grade.  

So...we will be at home.  The benefits are he can still continue his speech therapy just down the street from the house with a fantastic therapist.  We can try out a gymnastics or martial arts class to build his self-confidence and self-discipline.  We'll have time to go to playgroup on Wednesdays and make weekly trips to the library.  I can work with him one-on-one...a setting he clearly thrives in and loves.  We never had trouble getting the schoolwork done...even with a few distractions (like a 22 month old!); he's able to sit and get his assignments finished in about an hour with a happy attitude.  Best of all, he can be nurtured and supported by Mom...who knows and loves him the best. 

Still...I am a bit sad.  I really wanted the school to work out for Gabriel.  It's hard for me to switch gears...being the recovering control-freak perfectionist that I am.  It's hard not to take this personally, even though I've been assured by kind souls that I am not to blame.  After all, the girls are thriving (I mean, really thriving!) at Regina Caeli.  It's the simple matter that Gabriel needs more time to grow.  And I really want him to grow in a place where he feels secure (definitely not public school).  Home is obviously where he belongs.  And since I love him to pieces, I will do anything for him...even if that means swallowing my pride and stubbornness.  There's no place for that when you're a mom anyways, right?  If I reject God's plan...I'm not allowing Him to help ME grow...how silly is that? 

So...I'm also reading a great book my spiritual guide recommended.  It's called, The Land Between-Finding God in Difficult Transitions by Jeff Manion.  He writes about how to grow in our faith and trust in God when we are faced with life-changing events.  A constant parallel in the book is the story of the Israelites after their flight from Egypt and subsequent wanderings in the desert.  God constantly told them to trust Him, but they chose to complain for almost 40 years instead.  Wow...can I relate.  I'd like to kick and scream too!  Sometimes, a plane ticket to Tahiti and a pina colada to go sound SO much better that taking care of 5 kids and homeschooling!!!  Anybody want to go with me?  

Just kidding.  

All right then.  Apparently, I'm not on the same journey I thought I was.  I'm off the beaten path.  Or maybe I'm not seeing the straight and narrow.  Regardless, I'm not planning on wandering for the next 40 years in the desert.  No matter what He has in store...I'm going to TRUST in God, GROW in faith, and be OPEN to His plan.  It's surely going to be hard...but in the end, it's going to be fruitful.  It's not about the journey...it's about the promise and reward of the oasis at the end. AMEN!

P.S.  This is my new favorite song.  It sums up everything I couldn't say above.  

Endeavor's Final Farewell

Yesterday morning, David called me from work and said we should go to Ellington Field to see the space shuttle.  Endeavor was on it's way from Florida to California, and was due to make a pit stop at Ellington Field.  So David took off from work a bit early, and we drove out to see the shuttle.  

Thank goodness we stopped and got dinner at Chick-fil-A on the way.  I knew the traffic would be crazy around the airfield, but I had no idea it would be PACKED.  It took us nearly 2 hours to get there, and over one hour to get home (normally, it would be about 45 minutes each way).  Thank goodness the kids behaved...even Theresa was a trooper and didn't fuss one bit!  I read several news articles online this morning...over 20, 000 people (including us) came out to see the shuttle.  WOW.  

We were only about to see the shuttle from about 100 feet away.  The general public wasn't allowed any closer.  There was some kind of official event going on while we were there, but the gates were locked, and police officers were everywhere directing traffic.  Craziness!  For a while I though we weren't going to make it, but luckily we finally were able to park in a field, and walk up to the gates.  I took as many pictures as I could before we lost daylight.  

David hoisted me up so I could get pics over the chain link fence...thanks honey!  One kind woman took my camera and got this shot for me...just to prove David could support me...and she let me hold her very nice camera too, LOL!  (Glad I've lost 10 pounds in the past few months!). 

Not to be outdone, Rebecca decided Theresa need a little boost too. :-)

One more shot after the sun went down. 

The kids got to bed late, but they were glad we went.  David says we wouldn't even get the opportunity to see a space shuttle that close ever again.  I'm sure he's right.  Fly on Endeavor...we wish your final home was in Houston so we could see you again!