Hola!

School is in full gear and this year I only have 1 little one at home with me. So far it has been so super nice. She's a sweet little girl and she likes to have special one on one time. She loves chocolate and she doesn't like to sweat. She told me a couple of days ago when we were getting ready for Claire's game "I don't want to go to the game because I'll sweat and die!" She is so funny. Hates to be hot and when she is done she is DONE! No talking her out of it. She goes to school this year on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in preparation for Kindegarten next year. I can't believe I'm even saying that. That will be one weird day when I ship them all of to elementary together!!! Emma is not in to school this year. She has started crying when I drop her off. She just loves to be with her mamma right now which makes me feel good. Oh, and did I mention the girl loves to eat. Right now, it seems like it's the only thing on her mind. Sometimes, we'll go out to eat and she'll come home and say she's hungry almost as soon as we walk in the door. She's always hungry!! She'll also take 3 showers a day if I'd let her. The girl loves to be clean. She hates kisses on the mouth and just this morning I took a bite out of her yogurt and she got all grossed out and wouldn't eat the rest because she claimed her spoon had slobber on it. She is something else. She loves to make her sisters laugh by being silly. I think that is a typical "youngest child" move. She is pretty so clever... She is at this stage where she wants to call Mamo & Nana every day. It's cute. She called Mamo on Thursday and asked if she could spend the night. Of course Mamo came right over to pick her up. No doubt Nana would do the same if she lived in our subdivision!!! They are so loved.


Good ole Claire, I've had to stop buying her clothes. Wow. She doesn't like anything I bring home... bye bye cute girly stuff!!! She also tells me that her style is way different than mine and she doesn't like my clothes. Ok so maybe I'm not hip anymore but I really do still feel cool... where's the disconnect!?! Ha! Claire is now a Texan Angel. They are a little cheer/dance team that dances at all the Klein middle school games. It is serious and I am so amazed with those coaches and how they whip those girls in to shape. I think the senior Angels were better than my highschool drill team! Serioulsy. I am so impressed I get chills when I watch them. There are lots of practices and a lot of hard work. The verdict is out on whether or not Claire will want to do it next year. Megan is super ready though and she has said several times "I want to be just like Claire." That just breaks my heart at times because she is so talented I almost think she doesn't realize all of her strengths because she is so worried about being like Claire and beating her at everything. They are so competitive it drives me nutty at times. We watched a video the other day of when Meg came home from the hospital and the rivalry between Claire & Meg started that very moment Claire saw her. She did not want me to spend any time with meg and Claire constantly fought for my attention. Nothing has changed... I love them dearly and I just hope that one day they will realize how lucky they are to have each other.


Megan is doing great in school. Well, she had one mishap last week. She was doing great and had green dots every day until last week. She hit and pulled down the pants of our neighbor while they were in class. Ummmm.... after our talk, I am hoping I don't see any behavior issues for the rest of the year. However; I completely expect some of this from Megan. She is the middle child and from the very beginning of her life she has had to defend herself from Claire. She is going to take up for herself and speak her mind at all times. Now, we need to find a way to channel her feelings/anger because I know hitting classmates is not the right way to do it. We've talked about bullying this week and hopefully she can learn to go to her teacher when she is having issues with her classmates. I love that girl. She is so cute - she tends to develop a close relationship with 1 person in her class. Last year it was Ella who she loves and still plays with at recess every day. This year it is Kayden. They sit at lunch together every day. I love how she is so loyal and she finds tremendous value in having close relationships at such a young age.

Let me back up and say what a nice summer we had! It was busy but that is how I like it. Too much dead time at home and they get bored and fight constantly. We did vacation bible school, Claire did a Theatre Camp and they all did a Princess w/a Purpose camp which was my all time favorite. I loved hearing them come home saying they learned "they were god's little treasures" and that they didn't have to "dress a certain way or carry a certain purse." One day Claire said to me: "God created me with a purpose and I am his little treasure." I cried.

We took lots of mini vacations this summer. We went to Lake Charles, LA with Jacy and her family and went out on the boat. We went to Kerrville with my mom, Jason and his girls and we had a nice time there playing around on the rope swing. Emm even went on it and she was so proud of herself! She's not quite so scared like she used to be. Megan and I went with Lynn and Aston to Playa Del Carmen. So fun! Meg got to swim with the dolphins and go snorkeling for the first time. While we were in Playa, Claire went on her first camp experience. I don't think she liked the girl scout camp all that much. She said next summer she wanted me to find a different camp for her. She was away for 2 whole nights. You sure do realize how much they mean to you when they are gone. I thank God every day for keeping my children safe and healthy and i hope we get to continue this journey TOGETHER for many more years.

Oh, and lastly... I am training for a half marathon!!! The goal is to eventually do a marathon for my dad. This morning I ran 6.5 miles and no one was chasing me!!! It always feels so good to meet a new milestone.

Hope you enjoy the pictures of my sweet family!!! I'm going to go back to May 10 since I am so behind.

Meg with her graduating class from Pre-K and later pizza/cupcake celebration w/Ella



Graduation swim party for Claire's Kindegarten class. So fun!!


Claire's bud from Kindegarten - Kayden


Mamo's new dog Bella - the girls are finally getting used to her 4 months later but they love her. Especially Meg.



So many pictures from our trip to Kerrville this summer so here is a link with all the pics. This one below is my favorite though. It gives me chills every time I look at it!
Daddy & his first born





Other sweet pictures




4th of July Parade



After Claire's 1st Theatre Camp with Lauren & Eliza



We had so many cute pictures from Meg's first trip to Mexico... we had such a great time with Lynn & Aston. Love traveling with Lynn because she is just so easy going... Megan went snorkling for the first time and swam with the Dolphins. She loved it! Of course she had coca cola and slushies the whole time...


Nana's Birthday in August. It's always such a treat and I'm so glad Nana and Papa are ok with all the madness that comes along with the 3 of them. Because sometimes, it's just no fun at ALL to go out to eat with them. I think this day they were all freezing. Of course, Nana and I took off our jackets but that leaves 1 kid still cold!


Cute pics from when they started school. All 3 wanted hair in rollers - thanks to my sweet friend Lisa Schumaker!



Claire turned 7 on Sept 11 and she had a great party at Cypress Academy. Unfortunately, I didn't have any time to take pictures. I'm so bummed. Dan and I were running all over the place. The kids loved it though!!!
Since my mom and I both like taking short little trips and I love one on one time with the girls we decided to take Claire on a short trip for her birthday. We decided on Colorado Springs and we found a deal at the Broadmoor. Most beautiful place ever! I can not wait to go back and hopefully take Dan one day. It was so relaxing. We found ourselves a little reading spot underneath the most beautiful Willow tree. Claire roamed back and forth between the big pool, slides and the hot tub. She loves the independance. We rode bikes, visited Garden of the Gods and 7 Falls and also had a Chuck Wagon dinner at a working cattle ranch. She met real Indians and even got a feather hat. Good times!









7 Yrs Old (breakfast in bed before school)


I am 7 and Super Sassy - off to school I go!!


And lastly, I am pleased to announce my little Texan Angel. Her first game she won the "Shining Star" award. Very proud of her!!




Over the last month or so we have spent our Saturdays at the football fields. What fun we have had. 2 weeks ago Emma cried for almost 3 hours straight. All she would say is "IT's HOT!" I would've had Dan take Meg & Emm home early but we tried that on the first game and Claire got upset because Daddy left early and didn't get to watch all of her performance! OH MY GOODNESS! The drama continues... ha! But look at all these cute girls!!! I wouldn't change a thing!!!

Happy Mother's Day to me!

I feel really blessed. This morning (ok... so it was early afternoon), I was laying in bed with Emma and we were playing an animal game. I make the noises and she guesses which animal it is. Her head was about 2 inches from my face. Here's what went down:

Emma: "Mommy, why do you have freckles all over your face?"

Me: "Well babe, because God made me different and special in my own little way."

Emma: "I wish I could be just like you"

So cute. I will never forget that moment! Of course I didn't tell her that all my life my freckles had given me trouble. And that growing up, people made fun of those dots... those moments are all a blur now and what a blessing to have children who think they are pretty!!! And to top it all off, I have a husband who tells me I look better without make-up. How lucky can I be? My dad used to tell my mom that same thing and I will never forget the first time Dan said it to me. It was a special moment.

I sure hope I can teach my girls the difference between real love and the not so real stuff they may think is real along the way. I read this on Facebook the other day and thought it was good:

"Find a guy who calls you beautiful instead of hot, who calls you back when you hang up on him... wait for the guy who kisses your forehead, who holds your hand in front of his friends, who thinks you're just as pretty without makeup on. The one who is constantly reminding you of how much he cares and how lucky he is to have YOU... The one who turns to his friends and says, "thats her."

I can't wait to talk to my girls about all of this stuff. Ok, actually I already do. They think it's silly but I want them to know it's ok to wait and find the right guy to marry. I struggled with a couple of my exes.... do I break-up or do I just marry because I love them and accept all of the other not so good stuff? Well, I hope and pray I stay healthy so I can walk my girls through all of this. There has to be love of course but there needs to be so much more.

Megan said the other day that we were "really lucky" to have a house and a pool. I had to correct her and explain that luck had nothing to do with it. Here we go.... this is when the kids go "mmmmmmoooooommmmm.... can you please stop?" 30 minutes later Claire had memorized the 4 things (Jennifer's version) that you need to do in order to get a house and have a good marriage. Here's what she repeats and it's so darn cute: 1.) you must get a good education 2.) you must get a good job 3.) you must work hard 4.)you must find a husband that has all your same morals & values.

She has a hard time saying number 4. She doesn't really like talking about boys and is getting really shy. But, she knows what it means.

Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful Mamo & Nana. I think my kids are the luckiest girls to have both of those ladies in their lives. Talk about unconditional love. I can only imagine how I will feel when one of my girls gives birth. Wow!

We went to Tommy Bahama's for lunch today and here are a few pics:







And since it was mommy's day and my girls wanted to go on the jumpy, we went on the jumpy. I wanted to go shopping in the market area but that quickly went out the window when Claire pleaded with me with those precious blue eyes and that freckly little face. We waited in line for an hour. I had to run to the Gap to get Claire some shorts.... but by all means!!!

Claire had the flips down pat!





Megan practiced her beautiful stradle.





Emmie was a little scared at first but she did great!

My Family is Weird!

I mean "weird" in our own sweet, perfect, little ways... :)

Emma is OBSESSED with not getting dirty. If I spill water on her shirt when I brush her teeth she freaks out (of course she never spills anything on herself). We go to a sandbox and she jumps in and then comes running out because she doesn't like the feel of dirt on her toes. She had a nose bleed in bed and after I washed her sheets they still had a couple small spots on them. Sheets are clean - just a little stain or two... no big deal right? Nope, she she can't go to bed so we have to change her sheets/pillowcases. Oh my.... I'm going to have to buy her new sheets. She got her ears pierced and every time I put alcohol on them she flips out if any of it drops on her shirt. Any bump, bruise, scrape is a traumatic experience for her. Emma, I love you...

On a completely different note, Emm said to me "Mommy, when you are not here I will make a margarita by myself and drink it. I will sneak it..." ummmmm... should i be worried?

Here are a few super sweet pics from her 4th bday party:









Emma right before getting her Ears Pier'd


And after



Megan saw a plastic Harmonica in Justice one day and threw a huge temper tantrum for because I told her I wasn't buying it. They don't normally ask for much in stores because they know I won't buy it. My typical response is "let's put that on our list for santa..." So, I was shocked with this harmonica tantrum. I asked her in the car when we left Justice if she would be interested in a real harmonica. She loved the idea. I ended up finding this guy who teaches at Kingwood Music School. He drives from Humble once a week to teach her. She can play twinkle twinkle little star and she is so proud. I hope she continues to have something that only she is good at. I guess I'm always worried about her feeling "lost in the middle" as she grows up. But maybe they are so close in age it doesn't matter...?

Megan is proud that she is in Gold level gymnastics with Claire. She has this awesome natural technique and is in tumbling class with 8, 9 and 10 year old girls and can hang with the best of em. She's so happy and proud of herself while she's there.

Love, love this of Meg's sweet little hands:


And, I don't think I posted this christmas picture of Megan... I just love it



Big sister Claire is thriving in school. We've gotten 3 report cards and she has gotten all E's on everything. Probably the norm for kindegarteners because they don't really grade just yet, but hey... I'm reading this Birth Order book by Kevin Leman and she is such a typical first born. She has high expectations of herself. Not the compliant one though... she is definitely the opposite of that. If I ask her to do anything there is usually a struggle. But she does love order and she loves to please. She asked her dad the other night when he put her to bed... "Daddy, how can I be smarter? What do I need to do...?" Ummmmmmm.... she must not be my child. That's all I have to say about that.

The girl has lost about 10 teeth in the last week...! j/k but it seems that it has happened all at once. I think she has lost 6 teeth total... here... let's look at the progression:
Besties May 09


Oct 09



Feb 10



Mar 10


Ok, I'm missing some pictures... I have been looking for the past hour for her missing teeth pictures. A little detour but we'll work on that next week... :)

Claire's 1st Valentine - he basically threw the card at her and ran across the room back to his seat. This was no ordinary valentine. He drew he and Claire on a piece of construction paper and wrote sweet little nothings... Cooper is so sweet. All we have to do is say "Cooper" and Claire's response is a "What?!?" She will never respond to anything we ask her when his name is mentioned. So funny!
So sad my camera was acting up that day - all I got were fuzzy pictures!







Until next time "Happy Easter!"