Exploring a little bit of TX

T.C. was able to take off on Friday. After some research, we found a neat place that we wanted to explore. It is called Sea Center in Lake Jackson, and is only about 45 minutes from here. http://www.texasexplorer.com/SeaCenterTexas.htm It is a fish hatchery and has a great exhibit on local fish, touch tank, salt marsh, etc. (the best part is that it is FREE...nothing is free anymore!) Anyway, the kids really enjoyed it and we will definitely be going back again. Clark was a little unsure about sticking his hand in the touch tank...though he loved looking at all the crabs, etc. He did get brave enough to touch a hermit crab that Ali was holding. We were talking yesterday about how before we brought him home, Clark had most likely never even seen a fish...much less be expected to stick his hand in some tank...haha. Wonder what he was thinking?

Well, our big job for the weekend is making a schoolroom change. YUCK! Since we moved into this house, Ali and I have done school in our dining room. However, now I would like our dining room to be JUST that...our dining room. I am a little tired of walking through our front door and seeing school books. So...we have decided to move our schoolroom upstairs. We have a rather large bedroom and it is pretty much wasted space. We have decided to divide our bedroom up and use half for school. We are going to use bookshelves as our divider...pretty clever, thanks to T.C. for coming up with that idea. We are going to our favorite store today to get Ali a new desk and bookshelves. You just gotta love Target...$30 for bookshelves...SWEET!! However, I am not looking forward to emptying the shelves that we currently have so that we can move them. Oh well, it will be nice when it is complete.

Oh yes, I will explain the picture of Clark vacuuming...he has a fit when he sees me vacuuming...so sometimes I give him a turn. Well, he LOVES it. What can I say? Our upstairs vacuum is very light so he is able to push it easily. Why would we extinguish that desire?

Here are pictures from Friday...

Sea Center, TX

Clark never ceases to make us laugh...

Well, I don't have anything real exciting to write about...so I will tell a couple of Clark funnies! Yesterday T.C. was holding his hands and letting him flip around over and over and over and over...he absolutely loves to do this, and we can't for the life of us believe his little body is that strong. Anyway, T.C. was talking to me and said "I wonder if he could do the iron cross" (he was kidding) and Clark overheard and jumped down and did the sign of the cross on his chest. We do the sign of the cross a couple of times during the worship service at our church,and have been teaching Clark how to do it. Well, buddy he heard cross and wanted us to know that yes, in fact he COULD do it!! Too funny. Also, we have been teaching Clark "The Lord's Prayer" before bed. He knows about half of it and now we are working on the second half, which is taking longer with more difficult words to say. Anyway, the other night we were working on the second half and got to "Give us this day our.." and Clark blurted out "PRESENTS"!!! It was so funny but actually I think he was thinking of the next line "trespasses" and couldn't say it. I guess presents sounded good enough to him. Oh the boy makes us laugh!

Remember I mentioned a couple weeks ago that Clark was bothering one of the girls in gymnastics and she was making mad faces at him. Well, this week he was so proud after gym and he told me "girl no mad face." Guess he actually quit following her around and making her upset.

Happy Easter

What a glorious day as we have celebrated the resurrection of our Lord! We started our day with our daughter serving our breakfast at church. She had a fun time (mainly goofing around with her friends) helping this morning. We then had a beautiful church service.

This afternoon the kiddos dyed their Easter eggs. Ali then dressed up like the bunny, rang the doorbell, and Clark answered the door. We can't figure out if he ever figured out that it was Ali. Too funny!

A few pictures from our day....

Easter

Easter came early around here....

Don't tell Clark, but the Easter Bunny came early at our house! My parents came on Thursday, but had to leave tonight(Sat.)...so we decided to have Easter early around here. They wanted to see Clark get his first Easter basket. Let me tell you just how cute that was! He was so excited he just didn't know what to think of it all. The kids woke up to find their baskets, then we headed off to Easter Jubilation at our church. It was an Easter extravaganza for the children. The Easter Bunny was in attendance, crafts galore, singing, the presentation of the Easter story, snacks...and to top it all off it ended with an egg hunt outside. The weather was wonderful! The kids had a great day. After returning home, we cooked a nice dinner and then my parents had to head home. T.C. actually has tomorrow off, which will be very nice. Tonight is his last night for this flight and it will be back to normal hours on Monday...hip hip hooray!! Ali's age group at church is helping to cook breakfast tomorrow for the entire church. She will pull an hour and a half shift. That is right up her alley, as she LOVES to cook. It should be fun for her.

It was so cute...Ali decided to have her own egg hunt for Clark this evening. She stuffed some eggs and hid them outside...then told him the bunny left them. It was hilarious...he came equipped with keys attached to his pants and his toy cell phone hanging from his wrist. At one point he said "wait"...and proceeded to stop, answer his phone, and then finally got back to the business at hand. Oh boy!!

Here are photos from our day...

Easter came early!!

Oh the things we endure!!!!

I hope our kids know just how much we love them. We ENDURED the spring break crowd (just about every spot was taken in the HUGE parking lot) at Space Center Houston so that Ali could attend a "High School Musical 2 Dance Party" and Clark could see Diego in costume....and my only words are OH MY GOODNESS! Well, anyway...it was all worth it when we caught parents joining in on the dance lessons. We even caught some on tape...it is wrong, I know...to video people without them knowing...I should feel more guilty. However, just watch the videos and have a good laugh. The parents were trying to dance their way to a free poster for their kids....well, my wonderful husband leans over to his precious daughter and says "I will just buy you a poster"...and she responded "good idea." Haha! Man, these men deserved SO much more than a poster.

We hope everyone has a wonderful Easter weekend with their families. We are looking forward to the first Easter with our son home...what a blessing! May we all marvel at the resurrection of our Lord and Savior.

Space Center Houston

Story-time, a ride on a horse, and a whole lot of water!

Well, with T.C. working the space shuttle mission that is up right now...that means he is working weird hours. (go in late in the afternoon/early evening and works until the middle of the night)With those hours means he is here with us some of the day. He was able to attend story-time this week and see how well Clark is interacting. Today we went to a children's program at one of the local malls. They had horse rides, a magic show, a clown making balloon animals, etc. He loved riding the big horse...he looked so tiny on that big thing! He really enjoyed watching the clown make the animals also. He also got to wave at the Easter Bunny. (that sure brought a huge smile to his face!)Then, after we ate dinner the kids wanted to play with the water table...and boy did they!! They were drenched...head to toe! They had the best time...they really prefer to just throw the water on each other. Ha! After getting soaked they slid around on the trampoline. They love that trampoline...one of the things they really enjoy doing together.

Clark is going to be evaluated by a speech pathologist on April 1st to see if he needs any speech therapy. His speech is really coming along...but we would rather be proactive than wish later on down the road that we HAD done something.

Here are just a few pictures from this week.

library, horse, water table

Soapbox.....

I am going to get on a soapbox for a few minutes and vent about a show T.C. and I ran across the other night. I admit...we do a little channel flipping in the evening...generally landing on my favorite show "House Hunters" (etc. etc.). However, this particular night we turned to TLC and found a show called "The Secret Life of a Soccer Mom." http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/soccer-moms/soccer-moms.html To try and explain this relatively quickly, it started off with a stay at home mom that "gave up her career or dream to stay home with her children." Blah blah blah! Now she will be given the opportunity to see what she gave up and in the end she will have to decide whether or not to follow the dream...or remain home. The show we happen to watch caused many comments and much irritation with T.C. and me. We couldn't believe this gal was actually crying because she gave up her dream of being a chef. When did being a stay at home mom become second best? Why is it that people like this give those of us that don't feel that way a bad rep? I mean, isn't it totally acceptable to feel like you wouldn't change being at home with any career in the entire world? Oh my goodness...if I had a chance to be with my children day in and day out or be a world renowned surgeon...you better believe beyond a shadow of a doubt I would choose my children. I have the best job ever! I get hugs when I want them, I get to guide them, watch them explore their world, discover new things, kiss their boo-boos, and be the constant in their lives all day every day. I get a first hand seat watching our daughter blossom into a lovely young lady (and try to see past the hormone cloud that occasionally looms above)right before my very eyes on a daily...minute by minute...hour by hour basis. I am the one that gets to talk her through the grumpies, guide her when I see her not reaching her potential, and kiss her just because. I am the one that gets to rejoice over our son speaking more clearly, learning a new word or short sentence, guide him through his new whiny stage, and relish in the fact that God chose this amazing little boy to be our son...all day every day! No, it isn't easy...mothering isn't for the faint of heart. It is a tough job. I am not here to say that you can't be a working mom...give me a break...my mother was a working mom and did a great job juggling everything that she had to juggle...and I am definitely no worse for the wear. I am just here to say that it is disheartening that society puts some sort of second rate take on being at home with our children....like we all gave up these amazing dreams when we decided to be at home. Can't this be our dream? To see up close and personal as our children grow and develop...to be their encourager all the while? Well anyway...just had to give my 2 cents...any comments?

Coming to a magazine near you...

Ok, maybe not...but we sure think they are pretty darn cute! I decided to be cheap this year and take our own Easter pictures. They turned out pretty well...though it did take a while. Clark lasts like 2 seconds when it comes to being still. You will see a shot of him pouting because I wouldn't stop taking pictures. (heehee) Then there is the one of Clark laughing and Ali about to choke him...aaah, the joys of siblings. She really does love him. Ok, and you can't miss the video clip of Clark dancing....who said white boys can't dance? He is dancing to some Ukrainian pop music that our facilitator gave to T.C. before he left Ukraine. Pretty funny stuff...enjoy. Oh goodness, Clark had gymnastics this morning and we had to have a talk afterward about leaving the girls alone! The other boy that is in the class wasn't there today...so it was just Clark and 3 girls. One girl hates when he comes up and sits RIGHT next to her...he doesn't know the personal space rule yet. Ha! (he did come from Eastern Europe...there is NO such thing as that over there) Anyway, he did it again today and she was getting so mad...she would get up and scoot over and he would get up and move by her again...over and over and over this happened. He finally had to take a turn on the mat and left her alone. We got in the car and started having a discussion about leaving this girl alone and he all of a sudden said "girl had mad face like this (and he showed me the face she made)" it was priceless and I did have to laugh!

Easter pictures

First Easter egg hunt!

Well, another first for the little Clark man. He attended his first egg hunt this morning at our community Health and Nutrition Fair. It was held at the high school football field. It was a cold start to the day...40 and windy when we left home. It began with a "parade" around the track following behind the marching band and dressed up characters. Then, it was followed by the egg hunt. (we cheated and put him in the age group below so that I could go on the field with him...only 2 and under could have a parent...his height has advantages at times..ha!)Anyway, since he had NO clue about egg hunts we figured he needed a little guidance. Boy was I completely WRONG! All I said was "see all the eggs, just picked them up and put them in your basket"...and off he ran...overflowing his basket. It was so cute. They announced that there were 2 golden eggs in each age group and the finders would win a bike! Well, I spotted the egg in the middle and point him in the right direction and off he ran...........right past it. So needless to say he didn't win the bike...I couldn't bring myself to be the mom that grabbed the eggs for my kid. However, after he finished gathering eggs we went down to watch Ali's age group and low and behold Ali started sprinting towards the golden egg and got it. She won a beautiful new bike and she was so thrilled. She outgrew hers, so it couldn't have been better timing! Her long legs are to her advantage sometimes. Let me tell you, nothing or NO ONE was coming between her and a free new bike! She is my child...free is a wonderful word! After some inflatable bouncy houses and a little train ride...we were off to check out the firetrucks. Clark was in heaven, as you can see by the pictures. He loved being inside the truck...he sat down proudly and quickly reached over and put on his seat belt. It was so funny...the fireman got a huge kick out it. He said "at least he knows how to put his seat belt on!" Then we checked out some helicopters and actually watched a life flight helicopter land right in front of us. All the kids loved watching that and sitting in them all. Ali's friend, Sierra, spent the night and joined us today. All I can say is.....GIRLS...and preteen girls at that. WEW...the giggling never stops and neither does the talk of all the boy bands that are out. I am including a picture of Ali's bedroom door...JONAS BROTHERS. For those of you with kids this age, you know who I am talking about. Ali loves their music...but claims she doesn't think they are cute. Ha, I am not buying it...but whatever!

Well, enjoy the pictures and have a great weekend...I am going to enjoy the rest of ours.

Dickinson egg hunt

Easter preview...

I just wanted to post some pictures of Clark in his Easter outfit. Isn't it cute? Thanks to his Aunt Paula and Uncle Jay...they spoiled him with that cute outfit. He was a riot when I was trying to get a few pictures...he would pose this way and that wanting me to take his picture. I am going to take Ali and Clark to a nice park soon for Easter pictures. I thought about going to the mall, then thought, heck I will just take them myself. Ali didn't want an Easter dress this year...she is growing up. She hates dressing up...she prefers to wear simple skirts to church. So that is what she chose...a skirt and top...not even Easter looking, but that's ok!

This weekend in our community there is a huge Easter extravaganza of sorts. There are craft booths, Easter egg hunt, the bunny will be there for pictures, inflatable things to jump in, a firetruck will be there along with the EMS and a SWAT team. Clark will love all that stuff and Ali is just glad the egg hunt goes up to age 12! Ha! She hates getting left out of getting free candy...heehee! Should be fun for them and I sure hope the weather is nice.

We found out yesterday that Clark still has giardia. I did a little research digging on my own and discovered the pharmacy gave him the wrong medicine last time. Long story...we were traveling and the order was called into a pharmacy in Indiana. I think there must have been a mix up along the way. Anyway, he didn't end up taking the correct medicine and therefore still has giardia. I am going to pick up the CORRECT medicine today and please pray that this gets rid of it once and for all. Another prayer request at the moment is that we are able to get him into the preschool at the school right down the street from us (for the fall). It is only available to children with English as a second language and he has to take some language test to be accepted. I explained to the teacher that his language is definitely behind and she said that she can test him in April. I hope he gets accepted. It is free (and free is always GREAT) and would be so good for him! It is for kids just moving to the states from other countries and are behind with language. I also have been in contact with the speech department for the school district. They are going to evaluate him and see if he might need speech therapy. They don't have any appointments available right now, but said it shouldn't be that long.

Well, that is about it right now. Enjoy the photos..we think he is pretty much too cute for words! The photos of the eggs are beautiful hand painted eggs from Ukraine. You can get them made out of wood or actual real eggs blown out. I only brought home one real egg as I didn't know how they would travel. However, the painting is gorgeous on them all. We love to have things out during the holidays to remind us of Clark's birth country.

Easter preview

Our weekend...

We loaded up the van late Friday afternoon and headed to Nona and Poppy's house. Clark had been asking for them for days...so we gave in! My brother and his family joined us all for lunch on Sat., then we took the kids to a park on the lake. They all had a great time. I can't believe it, but I actually forgot the camera! (I take the camera EVERYWHERE..ugh!!) Uncle Jay, Aunt Paula, and Abby gave Clark his baptismal gift...which was a darling backpack with his name on it. It is his "things to keep him busy during church" bag! He is so proud of it. He HAD to wear it into church, after church, around the house...he LOVES it. It will be perfect for preschool in the fall. Well, Clark has been asking to "go play at Nona and Poppy's house" all day long...oh and all the way home last night. He doesn't get that we just can't pop over there. One night just wasn't enough time for him...we keep telling him that they will be here for Easter.

Well, round 4 (I think, but I have lost count) of vaccinations has proven to be just as hard on his system as the other rounds were. He becomes a whiny, puny, mouthy terror...ummm, did I just write that? I mean well, ummm well...I don't know what I mean. Vaccinations make him so grumpy and whiny. Let us hope it doesn't last all that long.

I hope everyone has a great week. We went around to several garden centers today trying to decide what we want to plant in our backyard. It is a blank slate right now. We took pen and paper with us to add it all up...OUCH...trees are NOT cheap.

new backpack