Memorial Day

West Windsor Township Memorial Day Parade 2009



The best part was the candy!!!

Can you see Jordan's missing front tooth?

A Week in the Life.......

We have had quite a week. Been pretty busy, seems like we have had something to do everyday. Jordan had a field trip that Chris chaperoned, I took Jaron to kindergarten orientation, Jordan had Field Day at school, and we spent lots of time with our friends. We also learned how precious life is, and how precious our loved ones are.

Here's Jordii running a relay race with a sponge full of water.

And another relay race involving water!
Some of her classmates waiting to start yet another water relay race. Her friends are Jordan L., Krishna and J.P.
Here is Jaron sitting in one of the kindergarten classrooms listening to one of the teachers at orientation. They taught the kids a song, Jaron sang and participated very well. I don't think he knew I was watching!!! Then he got to stay while the parents got a tour of the school and played with play-do!!
Such a big school for such a little boy!!!!
He was very proud to stand in front of HIS school and take a picture. Now Dutch Neck is Jordan AND Jaron's school!!!
Saturday we spent most of the afternoon at the farm with our friends. This is Emily's family. She has two older brothers that went with us. Her brother Manny is Jordan's age, and their classrooms are across the hall from each other.

They had a great time taking turns flying the kite. It was a great way to wear them out!

Manny is pushing the swing for his brother Christopher, Emily and Jordan.

I know this just looks like a random mass of twigs, leaves and rocks, but Jaron and Emily found a little-bitty green caterpillar in the dirt and made it a home. They worked very hard and were very proud :)

And this cute little bunny has spent alot of time in our backyard lately eating grass. The kids named him Brown Eyes...he is so cute! So now we have Judy the Chipmunk and Brown Eyes the rabbit, along with a whole slew of squirrels, blue jays, doves, cardinals, chickadees, woodpeckers and a bunch of other birds I can't remember the name of! We love our little wild life sanctuary :)

And today after church, we stopped at the Hershey's store in Times Square. It was super crowded and over-priced, but I got another magnet for my fridge!!!!!!!!

This is a video of the cutest gosling at the farm. Jaron and Emily are feeding the goat, too. Actually, Emily just wanted to throw the corn at the animals !!!



Now, back to learning about how precious life and our loved ones are........My Aunt Norma, Dad's oldest sister, had a stroke. I think at first things were a little uncertain about her recovery, but now, PRAISE GOD!, things are getting better for her. I thank God for that, it is only because of Him that she is doing well.

Secondly, we had quite a shock with my brother-in-law, Wes. He is my sister's husband. He found out this week that he has testicular cancer that has spread to his lungs. He is 35 years old. He is in great physical shape, eats well, takes care of himself, loves his family, loves the Lord...I couldn't believe the news when I heard it. It really threw me for a loop. It wasn't that long ago that we were in Lubbock spending time with them, and everything seemed fine. It is frustrating how life can take such sharp turns without any warning. I don't understand it, and I am not going to pretend to ever understand it. My sister and my niece and nephew need their man! He is a wonderful husband and father!!! I just don't get it, but I know, even if I am confused, frustrated or angry that God with be with Wes, Candace, Jaden and Claire. If I didn't have that hope, I would be miserable with worry. I am thankful that God is merciful, that He loves us, and that He provided healing through Jesus Christ. I may hold on by the tips of my fingernails sometimes, but I have to hold on to that truth. PLEASE pray for my sister's family. Pray for Wes during his treatment that he starts tomorrow, pray for Candace, Jaden and Claire that they will have strength and comfort during this time. The only way they can make it through this is with the supernatural help of the Holy Spirit. Thank you, my friends and family for praying and believing with us!!

Tagged

This worked out really well. Our cousin Tonya (author of the blog "Journey of Hope") tagged me, AND I can include some of our Mother's Day activities in this post. Thank you, Tonya for helping me get two things done at once!! I need all the help I can get!!!!!!

8 THINGS I LOOK FORWARD TO:
~the pool opening
~anything chocolate
~Girl's Night on Fridays
~church on Sundays
~my mom and Jaden coming to visit in June!!!!!!!
~a nice, hot shower
~good sales at Old Navy
~going home, and by that I mean heaven :)

8 THINGS I DID YESTERDAY:
~went to Max Brenner, Chocolate by the Bald Guy in NYC for lunch

~saw a fabulous view of the Empire State Building

~spent the day with my favorite little guy :)

~AND with my favorite princess and her hero (he's my hero, too)
~went to the movies and saw Disney's Earth
~went to church
~heard Chris sing at a TTU reception at the Snapple Theater
~went to bed!!!!!!!

8 THINGS I WISH I COULD DO:
~keep the apartment clean
~have a green thumb
~play the piano better that I do
~be a ballerina
~make alot of money, ha ha ha!!!
~go swimming right now
~be a better friend
~give to more people who are in need

8 SHOWS I WATCH:
~Max and Ruby
~Charlie and Lola
~Curious George
~Hannah Montana
~The Rachael Ray Show
~Dancing with the Stars
~Ghost Whisperer
~The Office

8 PEOPLE I TAG:
~all of my blogging buddies :)

Redeemer

Just on the Jersey side of the Hudson River lies the city of Hoboken. It is practically part of New York City, separated only by the river. It has the city "feel" where everyone walks everywhere, the streets are narrow and the buildings are crowded, but it also has a peaceful charm about it. Fortunately, we got to spend some time there yesterday. Chris was asked to participate in a gospel choir that was performing in Hoboken in support of the local homeless shelter. The church that was sponsoring it is called Redeemer Hoboken, a satellite church of Redeemer Church in NYC. We had heard alot about Redeemer and its pastor, Tim Keller, from our friends Amanda and Chris that live in Hawthorn, NJ. So coincidence has it that two of Chris's cast mates attend Redeemer Hoboken. Actually one is a current cast mate and one is an ex-cast mate. In this first video, Janet is the third woman down from Chris and she is a swing in Phantom (she covers lots of different parts), and Julie is the fifth woman down from Chris. She used to be the Christine alternate. Enjoy this video from the song "I'm Gonna Wear a Crown".




All of the music performed by the choir was either arranged or written by Shelton Becton. He was there conducting, playing the piano and singing his music. He was absolutley amazing, and his bio is pretty impressive, too. He grew up in North Carolina, came to NYC in 1980 to play the piano for the Broadway production of "Ain't Misbehavin'", has played for performers including Phylicia Rashad, Bette Midler and Anita Baker, has had choral music featured at Lincoln Center, played the organ for "The Color Purple", and continues to play for Roberta Flack. He took an old familiar hymn, "The Solid Rock", and set it to a beautiful choral arrangement. Have a listen....




This was by far my favorite song. (Chris was disappointed because I didn't get all of it on video.) "Lord, We Praise Your Name".......that's what it's all about....praising the one who created heaven and earth, the one who keeps us through trouble and good times, the one who supplies all of our needs. He is worthy of all praise!!!

Bravo!

May I brag for just a moment? Chris and I have the two most precious kids in the whole world. They fill our lives with such joy. Sure, they can be disobedient, loud, annoying, stubborn, etc...but they are wonderful. I used to think they were crumb factories.......now I am convinced they are MADE of crumbs. They mess up my clean windows, they need too many snacks, and they whine alot. But sometimes if I am tense or anxious, if I will just allow myself to stop and enjoy them, their hugs alone can make that stress melt away. Jaron is in the phase of picking dandylions for me...I have a collection of withered ones on the porch. Jordan is in the phase of making gifts for me. She already made my birthday present and gave it to me the other day; it was a mask. Yesterday she made me a Mother's Day card at her friend's house. Not only are they unbelievably sweet, but they are also remarkably talented. Here, you take a look. Jaron is working on sight words...words that are used frequently in literature. He is a reading ROCK STAR!!!!!!



Not only am I proud of Jordan's progress on the piano, but I am proud of myself for being able to teach her successfully!! She can learn music so quickly...not just on the piano, but singing and dancing as well. She has decided she wants to do ballet again in the fall. I am so glad, she was really good in her first class. She is a musical ROCK STAR!!!!



She's Mozart!! Aren't they smart?!?!?! We are so proud...thank you for letting us brag for a moment! Now it's your turn...do you have anything you would like to share? :)

Texas, Our Texas...

This is the last of the Texas vacation posts. It makes me a little sad to say that! We weren't ready for vacation to end, and most definitely not ready to say goodbye to everyone.

I kind of need this post today...everyone in our house has been sick since we got home except for me. Jordan is on her second round of antibiotics for an ear infection that wouldn't go away, she has been home the last three days with a stomach virus, Chris started the stomach virus last week, and has also had a case of gout, and Jaron woke me up last night with a fever and a vomiting session in the bathroom. So far today, he seems like he's OK, Jordan is still running back and forth to the bathroom, but nothing has happened yet. I have been armed with Lysol spray, disinfecting wipes, and paper towels all week. Not to mention I have been washing just about anything that can be put in the washing machine. SO, I need a little pick-me-up!

Here's some of my favorite memories from our trip to Texas.

~ The kid's hands after dying Easter eggs with Granny.

~ Grandad and Dee Dee's cracker barrel room, Nana and Papa's new "antique booth" home, Janice and Chad's renovated home, and Candace and Wes's FIRST home!!

~ The water faucet in Grandad and Dee Dee's guest bathroom...it is sooo cool....it looks like an old-timey pump water-thingy.

~ Toby (Granny's new dog) barking at Chris anytime he was around!

~ Playing with Cooper, Rowdy, Max and Harley and getting to meet Toby.

~ Jordan and Jaron riding the lawn mower with Grandad.

~ Watching Chris and Papa spend several minutes and several dollar bills to win a pink and blue bunny for Jaron out of the machine at Furr's.

~ Taco Villa and Sonic

~ Jaden using my phone to send people text messages that said things like, "You are weird!" and "You stink!"

~ The Mexican food!

~ Watching Jordan and Jaron decorate the Easter cake Nana made...they were smacking on Laffy Taffy while they were adding coconut grass and jelly bean Easter eggs to the cake :)

~ Jordan told Nana that I am always on vacation since I am always at home.

~ Claire decided to brush my hair one of the last nights we saw her. She brushed and yanked, and brushed and yanked, but it was so fun!! She can yank my hair out any day!!!!

~ One morning Jaron and I had the following conversation:
Jaron: "I want to see Granny."
Me: "She's not home right now, we will see her later."
Jaron: "Where is she?"
Me: "She's at work."
Jaron: "Oh. What show is she in?"

~ All the hugs we got to give and get!!!!

The Yellow Rose of Texas

I know this is really dorky, and is definitely a product of my 6 year profession, but I try to sing as many Texas songs around the kids as possible. My two favorites are "Deep in the Heart of Texas" and "The Yellow Rose of Texas", hence the titles of my last two posts. I need to learn to play them on the piano, too :) Jordan and Jaron are starting to pick up on some of them, thank you very much!!! You know, Texas pride is innate in us all! So, here are some sweet videos from our visit to Texas. I have already watched them over and over, and I am sure I will continue to watch them. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have!




Jaden, Claire, Jordan and Jaron playing in Claire's big girl bedroom



Jordan and Jaden's secret handshake that they made up while we were at Beijing House



Grandad and Jordan riding on the lawn mower :)