Emily is growing up so fast. We were at the mall & her and Cliff were shopping at Libby Lu's (a very cute little shop for "princesses"). Emily looked up at Cliff and said, "Daddy, can I get my ears pierced?" Of course, it's very hard for daddy's to say no to their little girls, so Cliff did the easiest thing he knew and said, "You have to ask your mom." They then went looking for me, to ask me the same question. I have been fine with her getting her ears pierced, my only concern was causing needless pain, for something that is obviously has no purpose except added cuteness. BUT, when Emily came and asked me, I wanted to make sure she knew exactly what was going to happen. So, I asked her to tell me. She said, (very matter-of-factly) "They are going to poke holes in my ears, and it will hurt really bad, but only for a little bit. But, I still want to do it!" So, needless to say, we let her do it. She was very brave and was so happy after she saw her ears in the mirror. She was so excited to go tell her friends and teacher at school. She's so proud. Oh, the things we females go through for beauty, even at 4 years old.

Then today, I gave Aaron a haircut. Its such a nightmare to try to get a 2 year old little boy to sit still long enough to cut his. Its been so hard in the past, that this time I let it get way to long trying to avoid the inevitable. But, finally today, I put a big pile of gummy bears in front of him and started shaving. I cut it as short as I could bring myself to do, to buy more time before the next haircut. I must say, her looks very cute now, and not like a little white boy with an afro.

The Joys of Children




Okay guys, I posted this on my facebook sight a few days ago, but I thought all of you might enjoy too!

Well, first of all you'll notice the time right now. Its after 4am. When you become a mom, something happens when it comes to sleeping. Literally a pin drop, tiny cry, cough, bump will wake you up. So, tonight I heard Aaron turning a lot in his bed. He usually sleeps like a rock, so needless to say, I got up to check on him. I quietly sneak out of bed, tip-toe to his door, open it as quietly as possible. Then proceed to carefully make my way over to his bed without stepping on a squeak toy, then I peak over the rails of his baby bed. And, what do I find, not a pajama clad toddler sleeping soundly, but a bare bottom sticking straight up in the air. The entire bed is soaked, bumper pads and all. Not to mention, poor little Aaron asleep, face right in the middle of the mess. At first, I think "oh, poor baby!" but then I laugh (in my head) and think, "this is so much like Aaron." He is hilarious but has a flare for trouble. So, I stop for a second to think what to do, when I spot the discarded diaper & pajamas on the floor, across the room, aparently flung there. So, I proceed to as gently as possible put to his pajamas back on not to mention a new diaper. Lay him quietly in bed with Cliff, change his bed sheets, move him back his bed & head back to bed myself. He barely woke up as I was putting his clothes back on, just enough to give me a sleepy smile that said so much more than I am sleepy. Well now, he's soundly alseep, back in his fresh bed, and I am left here not being able to sleep, but also thinking back on the days before I had kids & knowing I would never go back for anything even though I do have have to clean up a lot of messes, its so worth it!!

We Have A Computer Now!!!

Ok! So I know that we have not blogged in close to a year, but our lives have been a little crazy. Needless to say, we finally have a computer with internet access, so now its actually possible to post. In this absence we also have built a house, switched jobs, put our brand new house on the market, and are hoping to move to Austin as soon as possible. In Feburary we left camp Buckner after 5 1/2 years of full time camping but for Cliff it has been the last 9 years. So, it was very painful at first, but looking back absolutely brilliant on the Lord's part. I can only say that Ciff & I both say that we have never been more sure of our salvation and the evidence of the Lord than through the situation of us leaving camp.

Many of you don't know this, but before we came to camp, Cliff worked @ Chick-fil-a for 8 years. Six years we had decided we were going to start the process of being a Chick-fil-a owner/ operator, but then David English called a week before we got married and offered Cliff the Summer Camp Director job. Well, obviously after we got married we headed straight for camp always having Chick-fil-a in the back of our minds. Now, after an amazing almost 6 years @ camp the Lord has brought us (at points plucked and thrown) full circle back to Chick-fil-a. Right now, we are in the process of applying to operate a Chick-fil-a. Lord willingly, it will go quickly. In the meantime, Cliff is working at the Chick-fil-a in West Lake (Austin) for an amazing Godly man who we absolutely love!!!! Therefore, since Cliff is commuting to work over an hour, leads us to the reason we have put our house up for sale and are trying to move to Austin. We are so sad to be selling the house that we designed from floor to ceiling but on the other hand we love Austin. We love the culture, the landscape, plus the best thing of all, our church is in Austin! We will no longer have to pack up the car and the kids for an hour & a half drive to church. Yippey!

Wow, where do I start on the kids. I will post some pictures soon. They are both huge!!! Emily is 3 1/2 and Aaron will be 2 @ the end of August. Emily still is obsessed with everything disney, doing puzzles, and quoting movies (only G rated ones, every once in a while a PG). Plus, she loves to tell Aaron and everyone else what to do. If you visit us & leave the door to the bathroom open be prepared to be scolded. And, Aaron, where to begin. If you could see everything he does you would just laugh and wonder how we do it. He is so lovable and cute. He will give anyone who asks as many hugs and kisses that you want but when you turn your back he will rummage through your purse or steal your wallet. He gets in trouble a hundred times a day, but never once will you see him without a smile or mischevious look on his face. The Lord has blessed us with an abundance of joy through both of our kids!

Thats about all. We are just enjoying a relaxed summer, something that we have not had while we have been married. I will post more later since we have the internet. As Emily says, quoting Full House "See you later, dude!"

Hello all! Cliff and I have decided to create a blog, so friends and family can see what we have been up to! Plus, of course, so you all can see pictures of our cute kids. Right now we are living in Marble Falls and Cliff is in his 5th full-time year at Camp Buckner as the Summer Camp Director. He loves his job and all of his counselors. He also really loves playing tennis, fantasy basketball, and the Mavericks.

I am a stay at home wife and mom which I absolutely love! There is nothing better than just taking care of my precious little ones and my dear husband. Right now, I am on a big reading kick. I have been reading through the classics which after being an English minor, never thought I would ever want to do again. Two great books that I have read recently are Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.

Emily is 2 years old and loves anything Disney and her baby brother Aaron. She is such a joy and a ball of energy. Emily is a night owl. She would stay up until 2am every night if we let her. On the other hand, since she is a night owl that makes her a morning monster. We have to pry her out of bed in the morning, but usually by around 2pm she's in a good mood and ready to play. Right now, we are figuring out how to use the potty. You should see Emily's TT and Poo-Poo dance, she could have a future in dancing.lol We love to laugh at the funny stuff she comes up with, not to mention her amazing ability in pronunciation (especially the word "frog"). We are constantly amazed at how smart 2 year-old little girls can be. Praise the Lord for little girls!

And last but definately not least is our little Aaron. He is 5 months old and weighs 20 lbs which was Emily's weight at the age of 1. We are loving him so much; he's our pride and joy. We love him and all of his rolls that qualify him to play the pillsbury dough boy. The way he looks up at us when he is checking to see who is holding him turns our hearts into mush. The past few weeks we have been working on sitting up. He is getting pretty good at it, but you have to watch his sticker fingers. Anything that comes within an arm's reach is fair game for Aaron's little hands and not to mention his mouth. He also has the most adorable little squeal. When he lets one of his high-pitched squeals out he breaks into the biggest smile that causes his eyes to disappear behind his chubby little cheeks. We couldn't be happier with the precious lives that the Lord has entrusted to us!!