Gearin' Up

So...we are 10 days away from the big move. The junk cleaned out, new things bought. Boxes are packed and stacked to the sky. The entry way and dining room have become make-shift storage units. We are living on minimal dishes and silverware. The kids, minimal clothes(the rest are packed).

The boys are oh so excited to make new friends and be closer to an old one(Taya Sanders, our Taya's name sake). Not to mention they will be able to go to Pepa's football games and sometimes join the boys in the field house(this is a BIG deal).




Odd fact...the closer we get to moving day, the sadder I get. This move is very bitter sweet. This has been our home...a place of love, comfort and safety for the past 2 years. It has felt like HOME, not just a house. Corbin started "real school" here and Ethan soared through tough tests. Taya was an itty bitty thing when we moved in-now she's a big girl.

We have chats every now and again to get the kids pumped up about moving and leaving some friends behind. The other day Taya and I were having a chat and I asked her if she was exited to have her new room. She looked at me so serious and pittiful. She started breathing fast and hard(the seconds before the tears), looked at me and said "But I will miss ya'll". This BROKE my heart. The thought that she could even think that she would leave and we wouldn't be with her. Only a sweet, precious little Taya could be so sensitive.



I love THIS life...couldn't ask for more. Priceless.

It's The Small Things

Who knew receiving a text message from your husband simply saying "Taya went poop on the big girl potty chair" could make you grin from ear to ear and literally laugh out loud. Aww, It's the small things...that mean the most.

What It Really Means

So, I had a defining moment(multiple moments, really)over the weekend and today. This after having a fantastic weekend with my wonderful husband and children. Date night at the horse races Friday night(Matt has been a few times, but this was my first. Won the first race but lost the rest), lunch with the kiddos and my folks Saturday and a day at home chillaxin' with the fam yesterday.

Friday night on our way home we had a nice chat. Then once home, all comfy on the bed, more conversation(If you have kids, you know these chats are hard to come by). Much needed. Then today on my way home from work, I hear an old song on the radio that stopped me in my tracks(not really since I was driving-but you get the drift). The song was "My Best Friend" by Tim Mcgraw. Ya see, this song first came out right after we were married, almost 11 yrs ago. Back then, we were in love and only had each other(Or thought that was all we had). We were each others best friends. In fact, this was one of our songs. Corny, I know.

The fact is that the things/reasons you are best friends at 18/19 yrs of age and have really no responsibility/children are COMPLETELY different in your late 20's. Having 3 kids also plays a huge part. I guess from the start I always thought that being a good wife/best friend was just being in love and enjoying being together. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, as time passes and you mature and life changes, you must learn to change with it. I STINK at change. I always thought that a wife made made her husband happy by keeping a tidy house, having clean laundry, clean dishes, food on the table, healthy kids, fed kids and happy kids. I believe this because these are all the things my mom did and still does for my dad and my brother and I. Well, I have determined that this was all I saw. Yeah, my mom was always fun with us and I know her and my dad were best friends, guess I just never SAW that part or really fully understood it until now.

In listening to the words of that one simple song, I heard simple words...simple words my husband has been trying to point out for years. Being a "Best Friend" and being a "Best Friend to your husband" are closely related, yet totally opposite. Being a best friend/wife have a lot more detail that go into them. I know some of you out there that have a seemingly "Great" marriage may think that I am crazy for taking 11 yrs to realize this. Oh well.

Somewhere along the way, down this winding, curving, adventurous, sometimes emotionally draining road we have traveled down, we(and by we, I mean me) lost site of this. Or it could be that I just never changed when change needed to happen. We fell out of love. We became different people...or is it that we were these people all along and never knew it. You take the good with the bad. I see now that being the wife/best friend I was back then and the things that make my husband happy now are all together different. I see that a tidy house and clean laundry are still important but more importantly is that he have someone to laugh with and tell jokes/stories to. Someone who will compromise no matter what the case may be. Someone that is a partner, a confidant and a TRUE FRIEND.

Getting married as teenagers and having a child before your 20, the second at 20/21 and the third at 26/27 is difficult. You essentially grow up along-side your kids. You learn things about you that you never knew. Some good, some bad. But you learn to accept the things you can't change and change the things you can. I am a work in progress. My marriage is a work in progress and I am pretty sure it will be for a long time...forever in fact. I accept this.

I know how very blessed I am to have the amazing husband I do. My children are IN LOVE with their father. And so am I. I am blessed for all the things he has done for me. I am blessed for him standing by me in the midst of all my stupidity. I am grateful for what we have and how far we have come. I now see WHAT IT REALLY MEANS to be your spouses best friend. And that my friends, is priceless.

We Made It Through

As the 2009/2010 school year comes to a close, I sit and ponder all the goodness that has been. 2 years ago we moved to this town and for the first time the boys have actually attended the same school 2 years in a row. This has been great. Good friends and helpful teachers and staff.

As some of you know, Ethan had to take the TAKS test for the first time back in April. Keep in mind, this is a new gig. When I was a youngster, this test didn't exist...at least not for third graders. Well, we sat down, had a talk with "E" and told him how very important this test is. We told him it was gonna be tough and he really needed to focus and that OF COURSE, no matter what the end result was, we would be so proud of him for trying his best. Test day arrives, we pump him up and send him on his way. Test day ends and he tells us he feels that he did a good job. So now we wait...Well, I am please to say that he comes home and says " Dad/Mom, I have great news" to which we respond, "What is it bubba?" He then says "I PASSED the TAKS test!" Yes folks, he PASSED both the math and the reading. We erupt with joy and tell him how proud we are of him, but I gotta tell ya, the best part was the sense of pride and accomplishment he had on his safe for himself. Truly priceless. He got 27 out of 36 correct in the reading and 31 out of 40 in the math, only missing 9 out of each test. I now owe him $50. Money well spent, I know.

Corbin received a huge accomplishment as well. See, Corbin gets in trouble as all kids do at home but the kid can't get in trouble at school if he tried-I actually think he does try at times with no success. Well, he received the PRINCIPAL'S ACHIEVEMENT award for having STRAIGHT A'S ALL YEAR LONG...NOT A SINGLE B. The excitement on his face when he brings work home is precious. He comes home and makes sure you see EVERYTHING he has done. In fact, he has so many "100's", that if they aren't all 100, he gets upset. I ain't lying...even a 98 upsets him. After all, he thinks that if he did the work and tried he deserves a 100. We are working on this.



I must add to this post by saying that we only have 1 more yr until Tot starts Pre-K. This terrifies me.

So my friends, the close of this school year is bittersweet. 1 more year down yet 1 more closer to them graduating. This year was full of firsts. First major test, first straight A's, first programs, first time to CHOOSE what you want from the lunch line, first time to miss less that 4 days of school all year...the list goes on and on. As they say goodbye to the school and friends they have known for 2 years, they gear up for a new journey.

The 2010/2011 school year brings many new firsts. A new home, new room, new yard, new city, new school, new friends, new teachers...and a wonderful new beginning.

Yes, my friends, as we head into summer, I realize...We made it through.

A Storm Is Brewing

Picture this. It's 2:05PM, you're driving down the highway on your way home from a hard day at work and suddenly there's an interruption on the radio channel you're listening to. The topic of conversation...a TORNADO headed straight for your area.

Yes, my friends, this happened to me last week. I was on my way home, at 75 and Mockingbird in Dallas. The sun was shining and it was hot. Suddenly there's a Public Service Announcement regarding a tornado warning heading straight for Waxahachie. I ,like any other calm, collected person, panic. I pick up the phone and call my husband, who's at home with our daughter. He answers and sounds as if all is right with the world. I inform him of my findings and we hang up. It's now 2:15pm and the tornado is due at 2:45. I am 35-40 minutes away. Please keep in mind, our precious Ethan and Corbin get released from school at 2:50...right when the tornado is due to strike. I am hauling booty down the highway, trying everything I can to get my boys and home before 2:45.

Ya see, Corbin hates thunderstorms. It will thunder and lightening and he asks if a tornado is coming, all the while trying to hold back tears. Now, this time, a tornado IS coming and he and big brother are AT SCHOOL, not with mommy and daddy. My heart was breaking. How scared they must be.

I get a call from my darling husband asking me where I am. He also notifies me that he is outside and that it looks WICKED. NOT what you want to hear.

I drive faster and faster. I get on 35 with just a bit of sprinkles. It's now 2:35. I have 10 minutes. I have no idea what the heck happened but as soon as I hit Red Oak Rd the flood/hail gates opened. I was terrified. Never in my life have I driven through rain that hard. Much less hail. Much less knowing I have mere minutes to get home. The people on the road were moving at snails pace. Probably a smart thing considering the circumstances. Not me, my adrenalin was pumping and I didn't care. I needed to get home. As I exit the highway, it's 2:42pm. I have 3 minutes. It's raining so hard now that trying to get the boys from school is impossible. I get home, run in and thank God I made it. Looking back, I'm really not sure how I got home. Just know I did. That gratefulness was immediately halted when I realize my boys still aren't here and the tornado is due to strike NOW.

Our stinking' satellite isn't working, so I have to get Tots radio to hear the news alerts. I was in tears. Heartbroken. Scared to death.

The boys are due to get out at 2:50 but with the weather like it was, we(Matt)decided the safest place for them was at school as the structure is better. Not safe in the car at all. I am still terrified.

We get a call on our phones at 3pm(WISD has alerts sent anytime something important needs to be passed along), 10 minutes after the boys are due out. The little ladies voice on the other end of the line lets us know that due to the gravity of the situation, the school has been put in LOCKDOWN. No one going in and most definitely no one coming out. They will call again when the kids are released. I start to cry even harder at this point. I am a basket case. I call my mom hysterical and ask her to pray.

2:45 comes and goes and the tornado either went around us or above us. We weren't touched. No signs of anything other than rain, hail and heavy winds. We were spared.

We get the call at 3:45, almost an hour after the boys were due home. They have been in the hallways of the school, on their knees, hands over heads and on lockdown for over an hour. How scared they must be.

Matt gets the boys and heads home. By this time, I'm talking to my brother on the phone who lives in CT. The front door opens and there stands my 2 perfect boys. I tell my brother I will call him back...I think, I have just hung up. I grab them both, hug them, and start to cry again. I ask Corbin(the one I was sure was horrified) if he was scared. He simply looks at me and says "No mamma, I didn't even know there was a tornado." He turned and walked off to play. I then ask Ethan if he was scared. He looks at me and says "No, I was scared for ya'll...and uncle Brian and Nikki." I laughed, he smiled and was off to join his brother. Ya see, the funny thing with him being scared for Brian and Nikki is the fact that they live in CT, 3000 miles away and safe from the tornado. He didn't know I had been talking to him as he walked thru the door. His sweet little soul was just thinking of them.

So, after almost 2 HOURS or hell, tears and panic, our boys were home, safe and sound...right where they belong. And for that, my friends, I am thankful:-)

Again, I say, hug and kiss your kids as much as you can and cherish EVERY moment. Even the stressful ones. They could be gone all too soon.

I love them boys...they bring us all so much joy. WE ARE BLESSED!!!

A Defining Moment As A Parent

Let me just start with this.


As crazy as it may sound, I find myself questioning my parenting skills on a daily basis. How will the decisions I make today affect my children tomorrow? Am I doing the right thing? Do I show them enough how much I love them? Do they know how proud I am of them? These and many, many more overtake my mind...all the time.

Well, my precious Corbin. What can I say about this little gem of a son? Besides being the cutest blonde haired, blue-eyed little man, he has a heart of gold. He is always asking what he can do around the house to help. Unloading the dishwasher, folding laundry, vacuuming, cleaning the bathrooms and on and on. I must add that after(sometimes before) these "helpful moments", he will ask "Are you gonna pay me mamma?" Yes, he is definitely my child.


I stayed home from work on Monday. The boys are early birds and are awake before the roosters crow. As I walk out to get them ready for school, I turn the corner and see both my precious boys in the dining room floor, fully clothed-shoes and all-getting their backpacks ready for their day. All the while, just as happy as can be and chatting it up as only brothers can.

Here comes my defining moment. I ask them if they are ready and did they have breakfast, Corbin replies with "I made our lunches mamma." No joke, PB and J sandwiches, chips, a snack and a drink, all out-fitted with the proper ice packs. I noticed grape jelly drippings on the counter but was too taken back by the fact that my 7 yr old made lunch, all on his own for him and his brother, that I simply wiped up the jelly and we were off to school.


In the moment of jelly-wiping, tears in my eyes, I then realized, "Yes Amy, you ARE doing a good job as a parent and the decisions you DO make are noticed by your kids." I thank God each and everyday for my babies and chance to mother them. I have been given 3 perfect little gifts that I sometimes take for granted. Something as simple as lunch-making opened my eyes to see the positive affects of my mothering. There's nothing better than that and I couldn't ask for anything more.

Family Vacay

For Spring Break this year, we took a well needed and well deserved to trip to Houston, Galveston and the best of all Kemah. We had a blast. I wish all our days as a family could be so great. Talking, laughing, playing, running, biking...just quality family time.

Fun at the Kemah Boardwalk...



The kids loved this playground...it was really neat.



Me and the kids were flyin' high.


All 3 wishin' for a better world.




Daddy and Tot takin' a ride on the Dolphin.


The craziness that may be...Ethan and I rode this roller coaster, the Boardwalk Bullet. Now, this wasn't quite as big as the Texas Giant, but it was most definitely twice the speed. Had I know how fast in insane this ride was, I would not have gotten on, much less put my precious Ethan on it. Lets' just say i was clenching my sunglasses so tight, I had to buy a new pair when we returned safely to the ground. Ethan was such a trooper, as he always is...he lives for adventure.



Chillaxin' on the train.


The Battleship Texas.



The Houston Space Center...Pray for those in space now.




Fun on the beach...Galveston Island



It was an amazing trip and the best is yet to come...we are so blessed:-)