Quick Slideshow of our girls

Out on the Farm from Mike Shelton on Vimeo.

Mike took the girls out to a Watermark family's ranch and took some pictures with our new camera while they were out there. Enjoy :) He's the best cause I sat inside in the AC for 5 hours by myself yesterday! You can get a lot done in a couple of hours with no kiddos...... What a sweet hubby!
-Holly

Beginning of performance!!

Ellie the Ballerina......

Bed Bugs.... Yuck!

I just saw this on Yahoo and thought how scary and yucky. Mike and I are both really grossed out by thought of them and we are kind of picky about where we stay in Hotels. It is different if we are in a third world country, but in the U.S. you just wouldn't think we would have a resurgence of them. Hope you don't dream of bedbugs tonight!!


The biggest bedbug outbreak since World War II has sent a collective shudder among apartment dwellers, college students and business travelers across the nation.
The bugs — reddish brown, flat and about the size of a grain of rice — suck human blood. They resist many pesticides and spread quickly in certain mattress-heavy buildings, such as hotels, dormitories and apartment complexes.
Two shelters have closed temporarily in Charlotte, N.C. , because of bedbugs, a Yahoo chat group dedicates itself to sufferers and countless bedbug blogs provide forums for news, tips and commiseration. State inspectors say that more emphasis may be needed to tackle the creatures.
Federal officials have taken notice of the resurgence. Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency held its first-ever bedbug summit, and now a North Carolina congressman wants to take on the insect.
Democratic Rep. G.K. Butterfield just introduced legislation that would authorize $50 million that's already in the Department of Commerce budget to train health inspectors how to recognize signs of the insects.
The Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite Act of 2009 also would require public housing agencies to submit bedbug inspection plans to the federal government. It would add bedbugs to a rodent and cockroach program in the Department of Health and Human Services . It also would require the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to research bedbugs' impact on public mental health.
Butterfield's letter to congressional colleagues about the legislation attracted lots of attention: It was topped with a full-color picture of the insect sitting on human skin.
"Unfortunately, in recent years, the United States has seen a resurgence in bedbugs," the letter reads. "That's right — they're back in the sack — and biting."
Bedbugs have hit hotels and homes in every state. The creatures are amazing hitchhikers, experts say, and easily travel in suitcases, boxes or packages. They can live for up to a year without food.
Apparently no state has a central reporting system for bedbugs, according to Butterfield's office, and since the bug carries no known diseases, many health departments don't consider it a public health threat.
That leaves the critters falling through the cracks among regulators, said Michael Potter , an entomologist at the University of Kentucky and one of the country's bedbug experts.
"Most health departments say, 'Hey, we don't deal with bedbugs,' " Potter said.
Those who've suffered outbreaks say that the anxiety it induces can be debilitating. Potter said many sufferers tossed out furniture and could spend thousands of dollars on repeated treatments from pesticide companies. They call him about anxiety, insomnia, shame and the incessant annoyance of itchy red welts on their skin.
"They're, like, ready to blow their brains out," Potter said. "It's emotionally distressing. Anyone that has never had a bedbug problem is not one to judge whether we're dealing with a medical, emotional public health issue."
In Congress , Butterfield first introduced his bill a year ago after hearing from a constituent who'd brought bedbugs into her home from a hotel trip. The bill died in committee last year, but Butterfield aides say they hope that higher attention will help the measure this year.
The co-sponsors include Reps. Don Young , R- Alaska , Ben Chandler , D- Ky. , Bobby L. Rush , D- Ill. , Betty McCollum , D- Minn. , Corrine Brown , D- Fla. , Steve Cohen , D- Tenn. , Brad Miller , D- N.C. , and Eddie Bernice Johnson , D- Texas .
Butterfield also has received support from the National Pest Management Association , which says that bedbug calls to pest control companies are up 70 percent in the past five years.
Greg Baumann , a Raleigh, N.C. , pest control expert and the vice president of technical services for the National Pest Management Association , said that a decade ago few pest control companies dealt routinely with bedbugs.
"Now it's everyone today," he said.
Baumann said companies could use pesticides on the bugs but that they also tried such alternatives as extreme heat, freezing and isolating the insects through mattress covers.
Since the EPA restricted the use of several effective pesticides in the 1980s, bedbugs have built resistance to the chemicals that now are on the market, said Potter, the University of Kentucky entomologist. Public education is important, he said, but the industry also needs a good insecticide.
"Whether that bill is going to solve the problem — certainly it's a start," he said.

Breech Baby....

I got to see our baby girl today on a sonogram cause she decided to move to the breech position. The doctor could tell just by feeling my stomach and then he did a sonogram to just confirm. Her feet are for sure down and her head is on my right side. My question is have any of you had a breech baby? Did the baby turn prior to delivery?
My options are:
Do these exercises every night and hope gravity will help her turn (we shall see cause she is lazy baby and very calm).
C-Section if she does not move most likely in the 38-39 week mark. I am 36 weeks today.
The doctor can manually move the baby. I know he could probably do it cause he is incredible and been in practice for 30 years. However, it will HURT and there is no way to know for sure that it will work or that she will stay in the head-down position. I was very excited about my quick 3rd child delivery! We'll just have to wait and see.

I also have a BIG baby girl this time. The sono showed that she weighed 6 lbs. 8oz. and this is 4 weeks from my due date! Ellie and Anna were both 7 lbs. at birth. I really don't think I will last till June 10th or that he would let me unless I want to have a 10 lb. baby girl! Wow... if you could see my stomach you would believe it!!! I might be brave to post one picture soon. Anyways, please let me know if you have any experience cause I don't know anyone who has done the manual turn of the baby? Thanks!

Mother's Day 2009 and One Month To Go......

I am so blessed today by my awesome husband and two amazing little girls. We've had a great weekend and I am so thankful for my family! Mike and I went out for dinner on Thursday night cause we traded off with someone on baby-sitting. We used a Cheesecake Factory gift card and it was so yummy. We didn't even have Cheesecake cause we were so full which is very rare for us! Mike served me all weekend by crossing things off a "honey-do" list! The main one was getting our garage clean and organized. After, we did the tile it just got really dirty and crazy out there! It looks amazing now and I am so thankful. Today, I got to sleep in a little later than normal and when I woke up there was a balloon, flower, and snoopy card from the girls. Anna thought it was my birthday and kept asking me if I was going to get cake. It was also really sweet cause they both gave me big hugs and said "Happy Mothers Day". They've kept saying it most of the day. It was so sweet and was really the best present. We had an awesome service at Watermark and it reminded me that I have the best job in the world. I can't believe our third little girl is due in one month. I go this week for my 36 wk. appointment and we will have to see what the doctor says about when he thinks she might make her arrival. I am doing pretty good, but if I don't get enough rest I really start to get sore and exhausted. We have a lot going on until May 21st and then life slows down which will be good timing for this momma! Mike took these pictures today in our yard. Ellie loves to get her picture made, but Anna is not a fan! Happy Mother's Day to all my amazing friends and my mom and mother-in-law! Love you all!

Don't they look happy to be there?.......

I forgot I had this picture on our desktop. It is Anna's preschool class picture. They look so excited huh? I actually forgot it was class picture day and didn't dress Anna up to "cute". She also does not like having her picture taken along with her friend Grayson. He has the paci and blankie. His mom LeeAnn and I are good friends and she teaches with me. We always laugh cause most of the day Anna and Grayson are enjoying their blankie! We LOVE Anna's teacher so much and I will always have great memories of her first school experience!

What's been going on in TX.....

I've been such a blog slacker mainly because I can't find our camera charger so I can't upload pictures. I really need to find it soon before baby girl #3 makes her arrival! We've been really busy the last couple of weeks with all kinds of fun things.

* We found a used wooden swing set on Craig's List and got it for $100! It was such a great deal and the girls love it. We also did not have to put it together. Mike had a really long trailer and went with some friends to pick it up. It was a little scary hauling it back on a major interstate in Dallas. However, it all went great and it has provided so much fun for the girls and friends.
* I am 34 weeks preggo as of tomorrow. I go to the Dr. in the morning and will meet a new doctor. There are 3 guys in the practice and they are all wonderful so I really don't mind which one is there on the big day. I am feeling her move more mainly at night and still sleeping great. It is such a blessing to feel good at night and not be up half the night. I am getting pretty big and I think I will end up gaining the most weight with this baby, but it will be close. It will just depend on when she decides to come. I will say the third pregnancy has not flown by and it has been really hard on some days to have enough energy to get everything done.
* Mike decided to tile our kitchen floor over the weekend. I was not super excited at first mainly cause of the mess and our house being crazy for a few days. However, our friend Cory could help him over the weekend so we decided to go for it. We had slate floors before and they were not installed properly by the previous owners. Their were pieces that were starting to come up or break. The guys did a great job and we are all exhausted from long nights. I think the refrigerator will be out of our living room by Friday and I am so glad!
*I cannot believe the school year is almost over. Everything kind of slows down for us in the summer. Of course, we will have a newborn this summer, but it will still be fun to have a change of pace. Ellie and Anna will both go to VBS at the church where I teach pre-school right after my due date so that will be great. We are also looking at swimming lessons etc...
* Ellie and Anna will miss school so much this summer. They have LOVED it this year and their amazing teachers. Ellie can now spell her name (not write), but find the letters to spell it. Anna loves to paint and play with her friends. She has a super sweet teacher who loves to spoil her. It is really sweet and we have been so blessed.
* Mike is busy planning the students summer mission trip to Camp Barnabas. There is a waiting list of students wanting to go and it will be an awesome trip.

Anyways, we are about to watch Idol and our favorite is Kris Allen! It has been a really good season. Who is your favorite?!

Sweet Sisters.....

We took the girls to the Dallas Arboretum a few weeks ago when my mom was in town. It is a really beautiful park in Dallas. It is amazing to see how pretty it is there. Ellie loved to pose as you can see and Anna was not very into it. However, I love the pictures I got of them in their Easter dresses especially since it was so rainy here on Easter Sunday. I can't believe there will be one more beautiful girl here so very soon. My 32 week appointment went really well and all is fine. I am feeling okay just starting to get uncomfortable when sitting for a long time and of course bending over etc.... She will be here before we know it hopefully with a name! We have quite a few that we like, but just want to see her first!

Ellie Belly.....

The picture describes Ellie really well right now. She is full of life and love. She is a little over 3 1/2 years old. I am enjoying her very much right now especially the last 4 days cause she has taken a nap all 4 days. It is glorious. I love her much, but to have 1 hour of total quiet is amazing and whoever says room time is quiet has not experienced Ellie during room time! She is so much like her daddy. She is full of energy and really doesn't need a nap at all, but this pregnant momma does for sure. Here are some things I really want to remember about her during this stage of life:
* She is so loving and probably tells us all " I love you" at least 10 times per days.
* She loves to sleep with this one frog that we got at Myrtle Beach last summer.
* She enjoyed Easter a lot and kept us laughing when we thanked God for Jesus, the Easter Bunny, baskets, and hosanna all in one sentence.
* Her favorite things to do are play outside, draw, paint, sing (Hide them in your heart songs), pre-school, Anna, and play doctor.
* She loves her friends and talks about them all the time. She knows the routine of who will be at school or who will be at community group etc...
* She does not care at all about what she wears and still lets me pick out all of her clothes. She is still missing her front tooth from a chick fil a accident, but after 4 trips to the dentist she is getting a new one next week! She is not afraid of the dentist anymore which is really nice.
* She loves Anna so much and can't wait for her to wake up after naps.
* She is not to picky right now with eating, but some of her favorites are blackberries, oatmeal, bacon, chicken nuggets, yogurt smoothies, strawberries, any cookie, corn, and turkey.
* She has loved pre-school this year and her teacher. She talks about school ALL the time. She is still pretty small and for sure the tiniest one in her class. She now knows most of her letters and sounds, numbers, counting with fingers, and lots of fun songs.
* She has enjoyed ballet class, but I think we will try soccer in the fall when she is 4!

We love you so much Ellie. You are tons of fun at 3 1/2 and bless us so much!

Holy Week....

Easter is approaching quickly and the girls are trying to figure it all out. Oh they love bunnies, eggs, and candy! However, Ellie was singing Hosanna today in the car. I'm thinking she learned this at preschool? I haven't taught her that word as of yet.... I love that she has learned so much incredible truth at our preschool this year. We've been talking all about how we are celebrating Jesus and I hope to dye eggs with them as an illustration as well.

Tonight, my high school girls small group went through the holy week. We went through each day in the life of Jesus. It was really a great reminder of all Jesus did for us. The girls are in 10th grade and are amazing. They go to a really large public school in Dallas and are awesome examples to their friends at school. They've been together since sixth grade and we will stay together as a group till they graduate. I've learned so much from them and it is so neat for me to see different "girl" personalities as teenagers. I will have three of them at one time remember! I have triplet girls in our group and it is so fun to see their different personalities and gifts. They are so different and I can still see a birth order even though they are triplets. Well, I should probably get some sleep. Mike is at the Mavs game (lucky guy) and I am exhausted. I am now 31 weeks and am still feeling pretty good just a little uncomfortable.

A Great Week.....

I've had a wonderful week as my mom has been in town. I am unlike most TX girls who have grandma somewhere in this state. My parents live in GA and we see them about once every 3 months or so. It was perfect timing as this pregnant mommy was getting pretty tired and had a very long to-do list before June arrives! My dad was here as well for the first day or so to drop off furniture for the nursery/guest room. They brought my bedroom furniture and a crib to go in the nursery. The room is now painted and all furniture is in place. Today, we were on the hunt for curtains and it all looks great! It is such a relief to have all this done in April and not at the end of May. We also had to go though a huge amount of baby clothes as well as go through the girls clothes and reorganize their closet (a job I hate to do). Everything is now washed and put away. I am so thankful to have all this help as I am lacking much energy these days. I will post pictures soon.
Mike and I got to go away last night one last time before baby girl arrives. My dad has Hilton points so he gave us a night at a wonderful Hilton. We went to dinner and then laid in bed from 8:30 P.M. till 11:00 A.M. this morning. It was so nice and I don't think I've ever seen my husband relax that much.
It has been such a fun week and I am so thankful for the blessing of a mom who loves to serve us. Ellie and Anna have enjoyed having Nana here so much.

Wildflowers....

Our city plants random wildflowers all over and after ballet class today I noticed some in the parking lot. The girls love to play in them and I had my camera. It was a fun way to spend some time and get some great pictures!

7 days....

I'm finally able to sit down and reflect on the last seven days. They have been full of joy, tears, exhaustion, and spring break. A week ago today one of my good friends here who I have gotten to know through Watermark and our play group lost her sweet 28 week old baby boy. There were 4 of us in our play group who were due between May 25th and June 12th. Caren was due with her 2nd baby boy James Bradley at the end of May. She was in a car accident last Wednesday morning and was taken to the hospital to be monitored. She was fine, but in the middle of the night there were complications with her baby. They did an emergency c-section and her baby died shortly after birth. My heart aches for this sweet couple and today was the memorial service. I have been to two funeral now for babies and both have impacted me so much. I have seen so much this past week about the "hands and feet" of Christ. Jay and Caren's community group have supported them in an amazing way and I have seen our play group girls support their sweet friend in the lowest of times. I think I have seen the purpose of community and how we truly do all need one another. It just so happened that our pastor was speaking on community this past Sunday and was able to mention Caren's story as a way to show how we are to care for one another. I have been so grateful for Ellie, Anna, and our baby girl arriving in June.
I had my 28 week appointment yesterday and all is well. I gained some weight which I thought was most likely 10 lbs. in a month! I go again in 2 weeks. I can't believe I am already to these appointments. I love my Dr. and feel so well taken care of by him. The girls love him as well as they go to most of my appointments. He gives them band-aids to play with and a sucker so they think it is a great place!
I am on Spring Break this week and it has been so nice not having to rush out the door or plan anything the night before. We've enjoyed beautiful weather and we are hoping to do something fun as a family on Friday. We've tossed around the idea of camping cause the girls love to be outside and if we are going to do it we better do it before June. We are thinking more of a KOA camp ground so that it is kid- friendly. We will have to think about it for a few more days. What do you think? I am working on the babies room which will be a guest room/nursery. I found bedding for our guest bed and just have to pick a paint color since it is blue and then we will pretty much be done!
I hope you are all having a great week and I know that I am so thankful for where we are at in life with amazing community and a supportive church.

Pictures from our weekend.....

Good Times...

Our community group over the weekend went to Possum Kingdom Lake (no idea why it is named this)? It is only about 2 hours from Dallas and a sweet family blessed us with allowing us to use their amazing lake house. It reminded me of many beach houses in N.C., but in Texas people go to the lake! We have 4 couples in our group and only one has family in town. So we always take our children along. We had 5 toddlers and 2 babies. They did fabulous! We went on a retreat about 6 months ago and it was so much more difficult. It is really neat to see them growing up and enjoy playing together. We got to enjoy time in the hot tub which was like a warm bath for the kids, rides on the golf cart, playing outside, and looking at lots of animals. Ellie and Anna loved to look at the deer which they called reindeer. We also saw a couple of coyotes and horses. After, the kids were in bed we all sat outside on the back porch that had a fire place and enjoyed great conversation about where we are at as couples, parents, and individuals. It is amazing how God knit our group together and we are so thankful they are in our lives. Another highlight was the girls went out to lunch while the guys watched the kids and then the guys went out that night while we watched the kids. It was really fun to spend time together and talk without kids in high chairs etc....! Anyways, we had such a fun time and are so thankful for good friends and the blessing of getting out of the city for a weekend!

We are so proud!!!

So this is a really long, crazy story so you really need to just go to the website. However, two guys on our student ministry staff and a volunteer are always thinking of creative videos and they had this idea a couple of months ago to become the "Fake Jonas Brothers". Well, the videos are hilarious and the producer of the Jonas Brothers movie contacted them about being in the movie. They got to go to NY to film and just premiered in the Jonas Brothers 3D Experience. Well, it got more exciting cause last night they got to walk the red carpet with the Jonas Brothers, Mark Cuban, Kidd Kraddick, etc...... They are famous!!! You must go here to read Alli's and go to their website to watch some hilarious videos. I think it is so great cause these guys really could be on SNL and they are just awesome guys who love Christ above all! Mike went to the midnight showing of the movie and loved it! Way to go Fake Jonas Brothers!

Playing together....

Well, I am starting to see the girls loving playing together these days. We had a long couple of months where Ellie was just a little more advanced and Anna was always taking her toy etc... I felt like all I said was "if you don't share, mommy will have to take it away." Lately, they love to go in their room and play pretend. Their favorite right now is "doctor". I gave them a thermometer and they love to take each others temperatures. It got really quiet the other day and I walked in to Ellie putting diaper rash cream all over Anna. She told me Anna needed cream. They also love to play in the guest bed and act like they are having a sleep over. It is so fun to see them enjoy each other and not need any toys to have so much fun! It has been a beautiful week here (86 deg. today)! We've played outside a lot lately and I give them each a plastic shovel. They love to play in the dirt which makes this mommy very happy. I would hate for them to be afraid to get dirty! Mimi and Granddaddy are coming for a visit tomorrow while Mike goes to Minnesota to speak at a retreat. I am so thankful that they are coming to visit us! It has been 3 retreat weekends in a row so I am just a little tired. I am so glad Mike is getting to go see our good friends and am so jealous I don't get to see them as well! It will be a little more cold there this weekend as they just had a blizzard! Anyways, I am off to bed. The "belly" is wearing me out lately. Mainly, from bending over so much to pick up toys or kids! I am still sleeping so well and feel great besides the exhaustion, but who wouldn't be chasing a two crazy little girls!

George and Laura....

Well, the Bush's have moved to Dallas. I just saw on the news that their moving vans have arrived. I did a mapquest and their house is about 6 miles from ours. However, their zip code is the wealthiest in Dallas. Their house appears to be pretty "Texas" normal on the outside and not that large. It did cost over 2 million mainly because of its location. The news also said that Laura went out to dinner last night at a local mexican restaurant and it was kept pretty quiet. So maybe we will bump into our new neighbors!

Twins......

I am getting the question "Are they twins" more and more as Anna grows up. They mostly look like twins when they are both in the stroller or sitting down. It is normally from older men who don't have a clue that Ellie is about 4 inches taller than Anna. I think they look alike as well, but not as close as twins! I'm sure in a couple of years we will get the question "Are they triplets"?

On another note Mike got home yesterday from speaking at a retreat in Kentucky. The girls and I did pretty well, but I was ready for him to come home. We're taking the girls on a Valentine's surprise tonight that I think they will enjoy. Mike doesn't know what it is either, but I know he will like it! We have a really busy next couple of weeks. We have d-town (disciple now) this this coming weekend. I will have my small group girls at our house and Mike will stay with his guys somewhere. He's also speaking at it! The next weekend he is going to Minneapolis to speak at Travis and Steph's church for a retreat. I am so excited for Mimi and Granddaddy to come for a visit that weekend. I don't know if I could do 3 weeks in a row! Our sweet baby girl #3 is still mellow, but moving a little more. The doctor said in the next couple of weeks I will feel her more often. I can't believe she will be here in 15 weeks or less. We have a lot to do for her room! I hope you all enjoy a great week!

Thanks for making room for me....

Our church shows these videos periodically and it just shows the story of people who recently joined Watermark. It is really neat for us to see what all is going on at our church besides student ministry!


Thanks for making room for me 3 from Steve V on Vimeo.

You're Beautiful....

You're Beautiful - Phil Wickham from Steve V on Vimeo.

I love this video so much. Our video guy at Watermark made it and it was shown last week as we are studying prayer. It is to show us how to remember who God is and exactly how beautiful He has made this world. I love the end cause it shows baptism day at our church which is a huge celebration that they have once a year. Mike and I both get teary-eyed every time we see this video. We are so blessed to be a part of such an awesome community of believers.

Silly Anna....

Ellie's funny comments....

On the way to ballet today, Ellie said:
"Mommy, I'm going to listen to the teacher today and I'm not going to run". She has a slight problem with sitting still!!

We were delivering a meal to our friend Elizabeth who just had twins a couple of weeks ago who are so precious. I told Ellie we were going to visit Hampton's family. He's their almost 3 yr. old son that is in our play group.
Ellie: " Where's Hampton live"?
Mommy: "He lives kind of far away so we will have to drive there. It is about 20 minutes away."
Ellie:" Does he live in China? We have to fly there"?

A little boy in Ellie's class just moved to China cause his parents are becoming missionaries there. Ellie has been so intrigued with Eli's story about flying on the airplane to China. I love her little imagination!

The "belly" at 23 weeks....

Well, here is what I look like at 23 weeks pregnant. I tend to blossom a lot in the next couple of months. I think I will gain about the same amount as I did with the girls, but we will see. I have enjoyed my food a lot this time and exercised about once. However, I think my daily job of chasing a 3 1/2 yr. old and 2 yr. old is pretty good exercise these days! This pregnancy has been the easiest by far except for the fibroid problem which only gave me pain for one week. It is still there and I can feel it easily, but I am not in any pain from it. I most likely will get it removed a couple of months after this baby girl comes in June! I am so excited to hold her and meet her. She is still mellow baby (PTL)!!! I have to be really still to feel her move and she pretty much just sleeps it seems like. I go to the doctor tomorrow for my 24 wk. appointment so I will give you an update. I think we have narrowed down our name choices, but I don't think we are gong to share this time. Something has to be a surprise! It am so thankful for this sweet little girl and what joy she will bring our family. God is so good to us......

Anna's Stats at 2!

For the record since I am not doing so good on the baby books!

Weight: 22 lbs. (exact same as Ellie) -5%
Height: 32 inches 20%

She was not a fan at all of the doctor, but she was a tough girl. He said at least we can tell that she is a 2 yr. old!

Anna's 2!!!

Anna turned two years old and we had such a fun party for her. We had a small party with our comm. group friends and a few play group friends. I planned it for Friday morning at Chuck E Cheese's. A little tip is that they will let you bring your own cake, etc... without doing the "official Chuck E party"! It was so fun and the kids had a blast. I think they all slept for a very long time that afternoon. Anna loves Elmo so we had an Elmo cake, balloons, and plates. She was in such a good mood except for when I wouldn't let her eat her Elmo cake for breakfast! Ellie was just as excited about Anna's party and she was all about playing games. I cannot believe my sweet Anna is two years old. However, she is talking so much lately and for sure has the emotions of a two year old. There are days she tests all of our patience! I am so thankful that Lord gave us Anna and I look forward to seeing her grow into an incredible girl. She has all of this mama's heart. We love you Anna Katherine!

Train up a child....

A verse in the Bible that I constantly think about is "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." I know lately there is A LOT of training going on at our house. The picture above is my sweet little Anna who loves to take many of these items to bed with her, but she also likes to take them out. I've been telling her we can only take one toy out and she tends to get a little upset about it. My girls are so different in personality. If you are around our house long enough you could observe it pretty quickly. They are both angels most everywhere we go (church, mdo, friends house, etc....) Ellie is my rule follower who for sure loves to tell me when Anna is disobeying mommy and she has to follow all of our daily routine. We must brush our hair, teeth, hands, pray, milk, books, etc.... she would never let me forget any of them. Anna is the one who tends to be more emotional, but then melts in your arms after she has to be disciplined. They each respond differently to discipline. Ellie doesn't mind it very much and forgets about it in a short amount of time. Anna responds really well to time-out. She hates it while she has to sit in her crib, but when I go in to get her she always says "sorry mommy" and then gives me a big hug. She's like a new person after time-out. I am certainly learning much during these toddler days and I'm thinking baby girl #3 will teach me even more.  What are some ways your children respond to discipline? I love to get new ideas!

ps- our ice storm lasted about 3 hours. My driveway is completely dry, but school was cancelled today. It was fun while it lasted!

Ice Storm 09

I am still waiting for this big ice storm that is supposed to hit us anytime now. We got out of preschool early which was nice, but there is still no ice. We mainly got out cause many of the teachers live pretty far away from school. I think Texas is the worst on people going crazy. NC was pretty funny as well, but there were many northerners that were used to it.  Anyone from seminary remember our big ice storm? ha! What a fun memory. So I guess I will stay glued to winter weather coverage all day. It does get pretty amazing watching there coverage. Many out of state people have heard of Dallas and all the loops/bridges that go around the city. We have one about a mile from our house called the "High Five" where there are 5 loops/ bridges that intersect. It is crazy, but they always show cars slipping all over it. I don't like driving on it when it is dry so I think I will stay home for the day. I'll keep  you posted if our "extreme weather" ever gets to us.....

Ellie the ballerina.....

Ellie went to ballet this week and it was so cute. We were excited to see two of our playgroup friends were also in the class. Ellie was ready to move and dance right away, but the teacher wanted to "instruct". It was pretty funny to watch. I think the more they do she will start to love it! I think she looks so cute in the black leotard and tights. She will be wearing tennis shoes as most the girls parents did not buy ballet shoes! I was glad that they didn't have to wear them. Anyways, Anna watched with me through the window and I know she enjoyed the one on one time with me. She tends to be quite the mommy's girl. 

Ponytails....

The girls hair is finally long enough to put up in a pony tail. They want me to do it everyday and they love picking out what rubber band. I love it cause it keeps the hair out of their face. Ellie's hair has taken forever to grow and Anna's is actually longer. They look super cute and I love it! 

What are we having? Spiderman?

Go down to the next video to see what we're having...

Third Time is a Charm......

Well, the third baby is a charm cause baby #3 is another precious baby GIRL! We will be full of pink and estrogen in our house, but we are so excited. Baby Girl tricked us all including my doctor. He said it is so rare for someone to feel so different and it not be a different gender. However, I think God knew  I could not handle being sick, two toddlers, working, ministry, etc... I am very thankful that she is so healthy. I have been really concerned cause I am still not sure if I've felt her move, but she is perfect. She was sound asleep during the ultrasound which will be good if she continues her trend of mellow baby in about 5 months. Mike really wanted three girls. He is such a girl dad and even though a boy would have been so fun I like the idea of three girls. I am very sad that I don't get to use my boy name cause we actually agreed on it and we have NO girl names. My boy name was Graham and I just loved everything about it. If you want to give me some ideas on girls names feel free! I took a lot of pictures and some really fun video of the girls, but we left our camera at the doctors office. I hope to go get it today, but it is in downtown Dallas (not a fun drive). The other funny thing I keep thinking of is whenever the girls are teenagers. We will have a 16 yr. old, 14 1/2 yr. old and a 12 yr. old. When I was at my 10th grade girls s.g. the other night and I listened to all the drama. I really can't imagine our house during those fun days!  Anyways, sorry to keep you hanging last night, but I was so tired from a really long day. Have a great Friday!

You think you've had a bad day and baby #3 is......

You have to read my friend April's blog of her day with her kiddos. She has some "memory maker" stories with her kids and I love her so much cause her craziness at home reminds me of how we are all in toddler world together! Oh and I will let you know what Baby #3 is tomorrow cause I am to tired to tell the story!
Read Here

My Big Girl...

I signed Ellie up for ballet class for the spring semester. I feel like she is so big and changing daily. I don't even have to stay for the class. How crazy is that? I will love to watch though I am sure. I did it through our city recreation dept. The dance classes at a real studio are a little more than I want to pay for a 3 year old who I am unsure if she will like it. I am pretty sure she will as she loves to do anything with other kids and especially if it involves movement. I feel like she is gaining weight for sure as she is so heavy to lift up into the car seat. I think she is still under 30 lbs., but is growing like crazy. Her favorite things to do currently are:
- drawing
-painting
-feeding the ducks
-pre-school
- playing outside
-anything with a ball
-tormenting her sister!
A funny thing she said yesterday at pre-school according to her teacher is that there was a boy who was having his birthday. The mom brought in sponge bob party plates, cupcakes, etc.... Ellie said "Sponge Bob is wierd, I can't watch that show" in front of the little boys mom. I am thankful that a few other kids commented!
We are finding out the gender of baby #3 on 1/15. It is only six days from now and I can't wait. I will be so excited either way. My prediction is still a boy cause this pregnancy is so different from the others. Ellie wants a sister, no brother for her!

She amazes us daily and we are so thankful for such a sweet little girl. Have a great Friday!