Jesus is Our Gift!

Friday night, the girls had their program at their school. Because their day care is a church, it was the children's version of the Christmas story. Clara's class were the shepards and Ashley's class were the animals of the inn. It was so very precious! I have posted some pictures for you to see. They are not the best. We have only had this camera for two years and because technology advances so rapidly, we have not been able to keep up with the times. It just doesn't have the zoom that those newer ones do. But you can get the point through the pictures we do have. Maybe, my awesome husband will splurge and get us a new one for Christmas.

Hope everyone is staying well and looking forward to the holidays!

4 1/2 more days of school!

YIPPEE!!!!!

Out of the mouths of babes!

Have you had your "BUTT BREAD" today? As we were fixing sandwiches for lunch today, Clara noticed that Ashley got the heel of the loaf. All of a sudden, she yells out "Ashley has the butt bread." We were a little taken back by what she said until we realized what she was referring to. Then it was hillarious ! So my question to you, is Have you had your butt bread today?

This picture was taken on Thanksgiving day in the "snow" (whatever that is in Texas). It is amazing to see the kids faces all lit up with joy.

The girls had their Christmas dance recital last Friday night. They had a blast !! It was Ashley's first dance recital so it was a lot of fun. Can you imagine a group of 3 year old girls on a stage attempting to dance? It was so much fun! Thanks to Erin, Clark, Andrew, Corinne, and Mimi for coming to watch them. They enjoyed having the audience ~ especially Clara.

Fall Happenings!

Fall is our families' (and everyone else's) busy time of the year. Keith is gone most weekends from before sun up to after sun down. In light of us keeping up with each other and "keeping the flame alive" if you will, we have resorted to using our children's toys to leave little messages for each other. When I came home the other day from school, I was greeted to this message as I went to begin dinner. It is amazing how it will make you feel when you receieve those little notes of love when least expected.

Since Keith is gone all day for the entire weekends, I have to find something to keep the kids busy and for us to enjoy the wonderful weather. This past weekend, we went to a church fall festival and had a blast. The kids are excited at the opportunity to dress up twice for halloween and to get twice the candy!

Finally, since the weather has changed, I decided to spend my weekend changing out the girls' summer clothes for winter clothes. After I realized that the stored winter clothes were not so clean because they had been stored in a trash bag that had come untied, I had to wash them all. As you can see from the picture this took the ENTIRE weekend just to wash their winter clothes in preparation for winter weather. The most amazing part of it all, all of these clothes pictured are hand-me-downs. They are all winter clothes that have been passed on to us. Thank God for wonderful friends with older girls.

Other small events going on in our lives....

1) I have 5 classes down and all As in my quest for a master's degree.

2) Not sure what is new with Keith, haven't seen him in 4 days

3) Girls are still dancing and loving the practice that we do at home (behind closed doors I practice too)

4) My sister, my mom, and I took the 3 youngest grandchildren to the Ft. Worth Botanical Gardens a couple of weekends ago. I am so excited that Andrew and Ashley are really growing up together and building a bond!

5) Richard is just being a typical 9 (almost 10) year old. Testing every limit placed upon him!

6) I went shopping a bought a dress for my little sister's wedding this weekend...I am super excited that she is getting married..BUT I HAVE TO LOOSE WEIGHT!!! wowwie!!!!

Off to the gym.....

Man Tag

I have been tagged by my sister's blog tag! Enjoy!

MAN TAG:
1. Who is your man? Keith
2. How long have you been married? 3 years
3. How long dated? 2 years
4. How old is your man? 31
5. Who eats more? oooh... Keith
6. Who said “I love you” first? Keith...after MANY years!
7. Who is taller? I think we are the same height
8. Who sings better? um, neither
9. Who is smarter? I am (I can say that I think)
10. Whose temper is worse? Keith's
11. Who does the laundry? both of us!
12. Who takes out the garbage? Keith
13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Keith
14. Who pays the bills? Keith
15. Who is better with the computer? I am
16. Who mows the lawn? Keith
17. Who cooks dinner? we share that experience
18. Who drives when you are together? depends on whose car it is
19. Who pays when you go out? we both do...joint account!
20. Who is most stubborn? We are both hard headed!
21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? me
22. Whose parents do you see the most? I'd say its pretty equal
23. Who kissed who first? Keith after many years of chasing!
24. Who asked who out? Keith asked me out on our first official date after knowing each other for 8 years.
25. Who proposed? Keith
26. Who is more sensitive? KEITH
27. Who has more friends? um, me I guess
28. Who has more siblings? me - 2 sisters (Keith has 1 bro)
29. Who wears the pants in the family? ME (I think)

I tag Stacie Nix!!!!

OUR KIDDOS!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CLARA!


Clara's birthday is tomorrow, October 11th. She will be 5. Before her 5th birthday she successfully mastered learning to ride her bike without any training wheels. At her birthday party on Saturday, we took the training wheels off and today (4 days later) she has it down pat. She can start and stop and turn without any trouble. The only problem is if her bike riding skills are any indication of how she is going to drive, we are in trouble.!!!! She only has one speed and that is SUPER fast. And she is a typical girl, wanting to look around at her surroundings instead of ahead of her. Watch out world...10 more years and she will be back on 4 wheels instead of 2.

I have also posted some pictures of Richard at his last elementary school program which was last night. He played a muscle in the program which was all about how the skeleton is put together. Clark would be so impressed at his knowledge.

Ashley is just plain old Ashley at the moment. She has not asked for the paci in the last month since we got rid of them at her birthday. She even found one tucked away in the toy box and she just handed it over like it was nothing. I would ask that anybody that reads this put Ashley on your prayer list though. Her excema is out of control and I think she is going to have to have a double root canal on her two front teeth. When we were moving at the first of August, she feel and dislocated her two front teeth. We were told they 'might' die and we would know because they would start to discolor. Well....they are beginning to discolor so we are going to see the pediatric dentist. We will have to see what happens from there. Keep her in your prayers because they will have to put her to sleep do to the root canal.

Other than that, we are still going 90 m.p.h each day. Keith is in his 'superbowl' month so he is a silent member of our family at the moment...at least on the weekends. But he loves it so what can you say....

Milestones reached with Victory

Ok, so the deal was that when Ashley turned three, we had to give up the 'P' (pacifier). Keith and I racked our brains about how in the world to do this because we had been so unsuccessful in the past. UNTIL one day Ashley mentioned wanting to go to dance class like Clara. The studio where Clara dances requires that they be 3 years old. SOOO, we made a deal with Ashley about 2 weeks before her birthday that when she turned 3 she could start dance class IF she gave up her paci. For her birthday we gave her a new leotard and tights and asked for her to hand over her pacis. She did gladly and everyone at the party cheered and clapped for her. It has been 10 days and she is doing it great! She only asked for it for about 2 days and then it was a thing of the past.

Other goings on in our family - EVERYTHING! With the start of school, marked the start of dance class and boy scouts. Since Ashley has started dance, I have to sit there for 3 hours on Monday (each girl's class is 1 1/2 hours long) and then we have boy scouts at 7:30 (which is about the time I get home from dance. So Mondays are LONG!!!!

So we are in full swing of the school year and it is a milestone year to say the least. Richard started 4th grade which in Keller is the last year in elementary school so he will start intermediate school next year. Clara and Ashley started a new day care which is fabulous but this is Clara's last year in day care as she will start Kindergarten next year. Wow, how time flies.

When I reflect back on the last couple of years, it is amazing to see how the kids are growing and the way life changes are they get older. It really is important to enjoy every minute with them. These are their pictures of the first day of school this year.

Yippee Skippee!

Several good things to post...pictures to come soon to illustrate our great week we had last week. SO I thought I would pay tribute to David Letterman's top ten things about my week:
Here ya go!!!!!!!!!!

10) School started and the kids actually went to bed willingly (as much as a 4 and 2 year old do)

9) School started and Keith has some peace and quiet to be productive while working at home since we are all gone.

8) Keith's business is doing really well...

7) The girls love their new day care. Big relief!

6) My friend Sherry moved within 2 miles of my house so now we can see each other more often and let the kids hang out.

5) I completed my third online class in my masters' program and recieved my third A...on my way to a 4.0 GPA.

4) I only used a quarter of a tank of gas in one week of driving...instead of a whole tank in 4 days. WWHHHHOOOOOO! I'm rich! -well not really.

3) Richard started 4th grade and his last year in elementary school ~ OUCH!!!!!!!!!

2)I started teaching for Keller ISD and it only takes me 7 minutes to get to school. Keith helps me out by taking the girls to day care so I can go straight to school.

and the #1 thing that happened this week....(drum roll please)

1) did I mention school started !!! yeah! (we are a routine oriented family - we need the structure)

Life is good for the O'Briant clan....right now!!!!

Back By Popular Demand....

So in response to requests from my sisters...here is the latest update on the O'Briant Clan.

WE ARE GOING, GOING, GONE!

In the last three weeks, I have begun my new journey with Keller ISD and opening it's 19th elementary school. What a blur! We have had issues with everything that is usual normal at the beginning of school. We have yet to be 100% cleared from the fire marshall so our decorations are VERY limited. I am not sure who all has been in an elementary classroom lately, but decorations are anything BUT limited. So this has been a huge obstacle for us. Not to mention, we have all this time to "work on our room" when we can't do anything in it.

Since I have been back at work full time these last three weeks, the kids have been hangin' out finishing their summer at home with Keith. When I got home last week one night, Ashley climbed up in my 'cozy chair' (thanks Erin, it is the perfect way to unwind when I get home each evening)...and said..."You missed me today Mommy." As though she knew just what I was thinking.

In preparation for school starting, Clara decided to have her hair cut in a new way. We searched magazines and watched every kid on TV (and some advice from Mimi). She finally decided to get it cut in a short bob hair cut....she is REALLY growing up! It is scary how old she looks by just changing her hair cut.

Things will begin to fall into place as we begin our usual school routine. Dance starts Monday, School starts Monday, and my third master's class ends Monday (as long as I get the paper done). So as we said good-bye to the summer, we had some friends and family over to enjoy some bounce houses (donated by the local company of course). Tori (my cousin's daughter 3 yrs. old) and Ashley decided instead of getting hot and sweaty, they would play dress up...And boy did they get dressed up!

Till next time...we are goin' crazy!

We're Home!!!!!!!

Well, we finally got all moved into our new home. We are all super excited ! The girls love their bubble-gum room and Richard loves his mud room. It's funny how they just don't call the paint pink and brown. So here is an update of what has been going on with all of us!

~ Keith remains busy with his business since the rain has stopped and that is a great thing. I have kept him busy getting things hung up and moved around the house.

~ I am super excited about not driving 50 minutes to and from school each day. I clocked it yesterday and it was 10 minutes. Whoo Hoo!!! I am thankful for my huge play room, although the toys never stay in there. As Ash says, "Mommy, that's just where they go night-night." ARGH!!!

~ Richard continues to amaze me at how old he is behaving. Still not wanting to cut his hair, but the jury is still out. Mom may overrule any decision made when school starts. He talked on the phone for an hour the other night "in his room". 4th grade should prove to be interesting.

~ Clara is just Clara. She loves being outside and that her friend Cassie lives just around the corner. She tells me she is old enough to walk there because she knows the way. It doesn't matter that I can't see her get all the way there unless I walk her, she knows the way. She becoming more and more a little girl everyday! She is eagerly awaiting her dance to start up next week.

~ Ashley is still courting her paci. I dropped the ball and forgot to leave it at the old house. We have begun working with her that when she turns 3 she can't have it anymore because she is too old ! We will see. See thinks she is going to start dance soon too but she has to wait till she is 3, although I don't think dance is going to be her thing. She is going to be my tom-boy. The other morning while riding in the car, I heard someone spitting. Before I became outraged, I inquired about what was going on. Ash imformed me that her honeybun had made her hands sticky and she HAD to wash her hands. She was quick to say "What else am I gonna do? My spit is wet." So true!

I end this update with a picture of how we spend our evenings here in our new neighborhood. It leaves me to wonder...how many kids do I have????

Life in the Fast Lane

I am beginning to wonder what I have gotten myself into with all that we have taken on right now. I thought I became a teacher to have the summers to relax and lay low. Ha Ha Ha. We have taken a family vacation, I started working on my master degree (online) and we are going to move next week. Life/summer is moving really fast. So heres a brief update on our lives:

Richard is getting ready for 4th grade and loving that his hair is long. He seems to be playing phone tag with this girl from his class last year to no avail though. He went for an orthodonitc evaluation and was extrememly disappointed that, at the moment, his teeth are straight enough to not need braces. What a bummer! (I was estatic)

Kylie is getting ready for 1st grade and reading better and better everytime she is at our house. Of course we make her read, that is the teacher coming out in me. She has adjusted well and gets along with the kids most of the time, except Clara. They are two peas in a pod.

Clara seems to have forgotten her shirt issues and about her "ol bra". She hasn't worn it in a whole week. She is becomming more ane more of a sass-a-frass and not too worried about the trouble it brings her. Her favorite thing this summer is to dance around the house with radio disney music on. She has been using our hearth as her stage. This girl is going to be the one that gives me all the grief.

And finally, Ashley. She is definately coming into her own personality. I haven't quite figured out if she is going to be the tomboy or a prissy girl like Clara. She has her days. Speaking of days, she has her days and nights mixed up. She will not go to sleep at night nor will she stay asleep. it is usually 11 or so before we get her asleep and she is at our bedside by 2 or 3 everynight with "Daddy, I need you". Painful. Keith and I threw her for a loop last night and switched sides of the bed. Boy she was really confused why daddy looked a lot like mommy and respond like daddy does.

Here is a picture of our new house about a month ago. Now we have a yard and landscaping among other finishing touches. Watch for more on our new house after we move. We are all really excited!

As we head into our busy week of packing, writing papers, and of course I have two inservices and Keith has 3 large bounce house events this week, we prepare for whatever life has to throw at us. Pray for our sanity!

Life Back to Normal - What is That ???

Well, as you can see from the pictures, Richard and Clara have returned home. They were all talk for the first 24 hours. They only stopped talking about their three week vacation long enough to enjoy a bowl of ice cream Thursday night. Ashley was estactic at their homecoming.

So the average person would think now that all three kids are running amuck around the house, life would have returned to normal. Although we do not really know what normal is, with 4 total kids, it appears in three weeks, life has totally matured my kids. Richard returned home looking way older than he did. Mostly due to the fact that he has joined the ranks of the "older group" and wants to wear his hair longer. He must have grown at least three inches also. To top it all off now, upon his return home, he is now receiving phone calls from a girl. I am not ready for this!!!

BUT..... I would much rather deal with a phone call and hair cut from Richard than what Clara Beth had in store for me. Since her return home, she has informed me that she needs to wear one of those "ol bras". Where she got this notion from, I am not sure, but she is certain that an "ol bra" will fix all the problems she appears to be having with her shirts not fitting right. I did manage to find a girls' sports bra from some hand-me downs to let her wear. She is SUPER excited and even wants to sleep in it. That won't last long!!!! She topped it off by asking when will her "ol bra" get full??? I REALLY WASN'T READY FOR THAT!!!!

It has been a fun weekend having them home and having Kylie as well. We went from 1 child, quiet and calm to 4 kids running CRAZY!!!!

Life is back to OUR normal !!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEITH !!!!

Today is Keith's birthday, so last night we took Kylie and Ashley (Richard and Clara are still with John) to Dave and Busters to hang out and play games. I am not sure who was the "kid" since Keith really seemed to have a great time too. Check out the pictures at the end. The girls won a lot of tickets and we had fun watching them play. Our friends Chris and Monica came and hung out with us too, even though their kids are in Australia visiting her mom for two months. (And I thought my kids were spoiled going to Destin and Cancun back to back ~ HAHA). My sister Erin and her husband Clark came and hung out with us for a while too. We really had a great family night.

The girls earned enough tickets to both get a huge Care Bear stuffed animal. I thought that would help them sleep better when we got home. Of course Kylie drifted right off to sleep when we turned the TV off (she is so much like her dad when it comes to TV and bedtime)...BUT Ashley was a different story.

Since Kylie was here this weekend, we thought we would start to wean Ashley off sleeping in our room and back in her room. It has been ok, up until last night and she had a fit. I believe she was just tired. Isn't it funny that we are the most tired, we can find the energy to throw the biggest fit. It is crazy how God gives us bursts of energy like that. So needless to say, Ashley has started out sleeping in her room the last two nights, but we have found her safe and sound back at the end of our bed each morning.

Life will soon get back to normal around the O'Briant household, yet we continue to stay busy. I thought the summer was suppose to be my vacation. (isn't that why I became a teacher? ha) Since this is July 1st, we have a very full and crazy month ahead. I am currently working on getting my master's degree, so that keeps me computer bound most evenings. On top of that, we have my birthday, Kylie's birthday, and we are moving towards the end of the month. Be sure to watch for further posts about busy month!!!

Living the Single Life (only child that is)

This week while Richard and Clara have been gone, Ashley has totally taken advantage of being "the only child". She has had full run of the house, playing with all their toys (even though they usually don't play with them), She even made a comment about playing with Richard's guitar. She said "It's ok to play the guitar mommy, See, Bubba's not here" as she looked around to double check. She even persuaded me to buy her a ball at the store even though I don't usually do that because then I would have to buy 3.

We have really enjoyed spending quality time with Ashley this week...all 24 hours of the day. Yes, I meant to say 24 hours because you see... she told us Saturday night when the kids left "I not sleep in my bed, see Clara's not there." So of course we let her sleep in our room. She has the most lush pallet on the floor. We took a pillow top mattress cover and folded it over several times. It is quite soft and comfortable. The problem here is she goes to bed when we do (usually late) and gets up when we do. My only fear is how long is it going to take to break this habit. I am hoping that she is so excited when Clara comes home next week, that she will want to sleep in their room with her. We will see.

By the way, I have talked with Richard and Clara. They are home in the States and hyper as ever (thank goodness they are with John). They are going to spend next week at John's grandparents' lake house and then come home around the 4th of July.

Check out Ashley as she gladly says "cheese" while playing with others' toys.

Playing with Richard's guitar and wearing Clara's prized sunglasses while playing with her new special ball. She also took a dip in the pool without having to fight for space or share the toys.

MAN.....LIFE MUST BE GOOD !!!

Our Version of the Plague

Well, while the older kids are gone for the next two weeks, it is going to be our goal to get Ashley to "loose" her pacifier. She will be three in September and clings to the paci like none other. Well, we have done pretty good about getting her to agree that when she is playing, eating, or talking, the paci has to be in the drawer where we store the extras. Well, tonight, like all normal kids, she outsmarted her parents. She had to have her "fix" and she got a full dose....TWO PACIS AT ONE TIME. They were both physically in her mouth at the same time.

I guess one day we will conquer this nemisis...but not during these two weeks.

Till next time....we are still plagued with a pacifer !

Life After Vacation

So we finally joined the bandwagon as well, and started family blog. As if I didn't have anything else to do.



We just spent the last week in Destin, Florida. For those of you that don't know, this is a special place to me as my family used to visit there every summer to stay with my great-grandma and then my grandparents moved there. It is the most beautiful beach in the world, not that I am biased or anything. (Like I have seen all the beaches in the world)



So we drove the 12 hours, with 4 kids to Desitn. We left at 4 a.m. (stopped and gambled in Shreveport - thank goodness the kids were still asleep - just kidding mom) and arrived around 4 p.m. or so, after the horrible traffic getting into Destin. We spent the some time at the beach, the pool, and some of the tourist attractions. We had a blast !! It was the first time Kylie, Keith's daughter, had gone anywhere long distance with us. It was great to share that vacation with her. I have posted some pictures of our vacation. And as if a week in beautiful Destin wasn't enough, my kids left with their dad yesterday to spend a week in Cancun. What a life to have when you are 9 and 4...to spend to weeks in luxury condos/resorts and not a care in the world. (**Boy, I can't wait till they come home...just kidding...I already miss them).



I hope this blog helps my family and friends keep up with what is going on in all our busy lives. I look forward to hearing back from many of you.