Sweet Aubri Jane

I am continually amazed by this little girl. She is a true delight and we are so blessed by her. While we can not seem to keep her ears healthy, she is progressing SO quickly with her language. It's so strange to us because at 18 months of age Kaleb did not even say "mama" or "dada" He certainly had ear trouble too. Nathan was much quicker with his language but most of his language was through signs. (then one day he started speaking in complete sentences!)

Aubri just turned 17 months old the other day (on the 29th) and she can say so many words...

mama, dada, bubba, mimi (my mom), Pawpaw (my dad), baby, more, PEEEEE (please), BeEE (belly), Go, shoe, apple, nana (banana), duck, up, ball, rock (like in the rocking chair), EEE (eat), poopoo (she already tells us sometimes if she needs changed), Hi, bye bye, nigh nigh (night night), eye, toe, woof (doggie sound), moo (cow sound), ju (juice), chee (cheese), es (yes), Ja ja (Jack Jack...her boyfriend at school) and a few others

She is also picking up her signs very quickly too. She knows these signs...

more, please, thank you, bed, duck, milk, frog, fish, drink, eat, play

She can also locate her eyes, ears, hair, cheeks, belly, toes, mouth, and nose.

She blows kisses, gives hugs, waves bye bye, and can nod her head yes and no. She also can complete simple one step tasks (she loves to close doors and drawers).

If you can't tell, we are a bit proud. She is truly a gift from the Lord. God is the giver of good gifts...she is evidence of that!

Crossfire Commandos

Today Kaleb got to attend a birhtday party for his friend, Caden. He was turning 5. Nathan was invited too, but he threw up in the middle of the night (just once, I think he merely gagged...but nonetheless he didn't get to go). The party was at a place called Crossfire Commandos. It is pretty much little boy heaven. You strap on harnesses...dive into a foam pit...do some extreme trampolining...and then ride a short little zipline. What's not to love? It was a blast....I just had to share the pictures!

Even the mommies got to do the zipline. These are my friends Becky, Nikki, and Lindsey.

Kaleb getting ready to zipline. They basically grab you, give you a running start, and then fling you into the air.

I'm not sure they anticipated how light Kaleb is because he almost hit he ceiling! Everyone literally gasped as they watched. He, of course, loved it!

This is Kaleb with his buddy Caden.

Getting ready for the harness.

Those are some super giant muscles!

Kaleb loved the jumping part!

I love this one because I was really trying to take Caden's picture, but in the process I captured Kaleb doing some awesome ninja moves. He later told us that he was doing a "super batman kick"

Tiny witness

So, I just got back from the doctor's office with the kids. Aubri has more ear infections. I was a bit surprised (although happy because they were thinking it was influenza) because there was no drainage coming out of her ears. This just tells us that the tubes are already clogged up. Hopefully the drops they gave us will loosen whatever is blocking them and the drainage will start soon.

But that's not why I'm posting (although feel free to pray that her ears heal soon...poor baby...this is her 5th ear infection since sept 08). While we were at the doctor I was holding Aubri and talking to the doctor (while the boys quietly played their leapsters....hallelujah!). In the middle of him saying that he was sorry that the tubes weren't doing their job Aubri shouted "MAY MEN" The doctor looked puzzled so I began to explain. I didn't have to though, because he looked at her hands and noticed that they were folded in her lap. He smiled and I said, "yes, she is praying." He paused, smiled, and said "That has simply made my night. She must have seen that a lot before. "

At dinner Aubri has begun to fold her hands and pray with us. It was such a blessing to watch this tiny little person minister to someone and she doesn't even know it. It is my prayer that my kids will always know that prayer is never a last resort....but our first line of defense. I pray that they will come to love God's presence and spend their lives in sweet communion with Him.

Our cast is gone!

Today is a day for celebrating! Nathan got his cast off today! Hooray! He and daddy went to the doctor this morning at 8:40 and they cut off his cast. He said it was "tickly" when they used the "buzzing saw" on his arm. They took another set of Xrays to determine if the bone had healed and it seems as though it has. He has lot a little bit of flexion (ability to do a bicep curl all the wayup) and we are going to watch this over the next two weeks. If this flexibility does not return by Feb 6th we will go back for one more Xray just to make sure that everything is okay.

Nathan was such a trooper through this whole experience. I am pretty sure that I complained more than he did. We've been talking a lot in our family about the verse in Philippians that says, "Do everything without arguing or complaining so that you might shine like stars in the universe." When we are arguing or complaining we gently remind the boys that we need to make sure we are shining brightly for Jesus. Well, I can proudly state that Nathan has been a beaming star...shining for the world to see.

We celebrated today by giving Nathan a new game and then after school we all went (with Mimi) to Incredible Pizza. Today was a wonderful day!

Good news for Texans!!

We are on a pretty strict schedule in our house. Monday and Tuesday we catch up on household chores, Wednesday is school and AWANA, and Friday is school and movie night. Thursday has a special event too. Every Thursday we read our new Cubbie bear story and learn our new AWANA verse. This week's verse is "Lord, teach us to pray." Luke 11:1. We talked about what prayer is, what you can pray about, and when we should pray. In the midst of the conversation, Kaleb chimes in with this profound truth, "mommy...you can pray anywhere you want. You can pray when you are driving in your car. You can even pray in Texas."

Tom and Katie....you can be glad to know that God can hear you all the way from Texas! =)

Pizza Maniac!

Mommy didn't feel like cooking, so we ordered pizza last night. Man, was that a hit! The boys love pizza...and so does Aubri. She ate two whole peices of Pizza Hut pan pizza. Although, not all of it made it to her mouth...

no kidding....

This sign hangs in the Magic House in St. Louis, Mo. Let's just say that I have an inquisitive four year old and an over-achieving 3 year old. Enough said!

Monster truck Jam

It's becoming a tradition in this house that the boys go see the monster truck show each January when it comes to town. A guy at our church works at the FedEx forum and he graciously got the box seats for us this year (and last year too!). The boys invited Clayton and Donnie Smith as well as Mike and Collin Stansbury. As it turned out, the other seats in the suite were also occupied by Forest Hill dads and their kiddos.

I could tell from the second that they walked in the door last night (at 10:30 by the way!) that they had had a blast. Kaleb came running in and in a very out-of-breath fashion described how the trucks "VRMMMMMMM" and then jump over all the cars. Then, Rayden came through the door carrying a very asleep Nathan. We changed his clothes and he didn't even open his eyes....he was OUT!

While the boys were out having fun, I decided that I should have my kind of fun. Me, my mom, and Aubri went to the mall and bought some baby girl clothes on sale! What could be better!

Enjoy the pictures!

Mommy's treasure

I spend a lot of my day disciplining my kids. I have three babies under 5 so it just sort of comes with the territory. It's really easy as a stay at home mom of 3 rambunctious kiddos to focus on the negative. It's easy for me to get overwhelmed by how many times my kids did the wrong thing....i too often forget when then do the RIGHT thing.

So, I am taking a second to reflect and celebrate. I am stopping to publicly declare that my kids are awesome! They are spirited, energetic, spunky, fun, hilarious, loud, boisterous, friendly, opinionated, active, full-of-life, smart, kind, helpful, sweet, and so much more.

I was brought to this moment of sweet reflection today by a tremendous act of generousity from my oldest, Kaleb. He is normally the one I have the most "wrongs" to remember about, but today God used this little fellow to remind me that some of the very things that get under my skin about his behavior are the very things I love most about him too.

In preschool, the kids get to pick a prize from the treasure box on Fridays if they have been good all week. It is not unusual for them to come home with a piece of gum, parachute man, or a bouncy ball (which for the record....I hate when they pick bouncy balls!). Lately, Kaleb has searched the treasure box and come home with some "wonderful" piece of plastic jewelry for me. I have loved these pieces of jewelry because they respresent to me sacrifice, generousity, and true love. Kaleb only gets one treasure....and he gives it up for me.

Today was even better, though. As we got in the car to head to school Kaleb had a beaming smile and a devilish look in his eye. He declared that at the end of the day he was going to have a wonderful surprise for me. I had a pretty good idea about what it was. I was anticipating another pink or purple ring that I could add to my collection. Much to my surprise, though, it was not a ring. You can see here the treasure I got today...



Kaleb came running out of his room to show me what he picked from the treasure box. As he handed it to me he whispered in my ear, "I saw this in the box earlier and I knew it would be beautiful on you. It's an ice cream charm. Do you want to wear it?"

I can't even type this right now whithout tearing up. My sweet little four year old worked so hard obeying all the rules (which is kind of a challenge for him...he doesn't like to be still) so that he could win this treasure for me. When he saw something beautiful it made him think of me. What in the world could make your heart soar higher than that?

Sure, it clearly has a sticker claiming that it cost .97. But, to me, it is priceless. My son paid a high price for this....and it is truly a treasure. So, Kaleb, the answer is "yes. Yes, I want to wear it!"

Happy HollisDays!

What a fantastic weekend at Grammy and Grandad's house. Each year we celebrate Christmas in January with Rayden's parents and brother, sister-in-law, and niece. We have coined this get-together, "Happy Hollis-days." Cute, huh!? I have to brag for a moment and let you know that I came up with this title the first year we were married! Anyway, there were presents, yummy suppers, loads of sweets, and lots of fun. The weather was even warm enough to play outside. It was a blast. We sure do love our family!


Grandad and Nathan are trying out the Spiderman football that Uncle Tommy and Aunt Deanna got him.

Aubri Jane lovin' on her grandad

Playing games in the corner so that the babies wouldn't "mess things up"

A fun cousin bath---Aubri Jane and Jordan

Even with only one arm Nathan is a pro at tearing open presents.

Kaleb loves his new Bible heroes game

We got Jordan a new slide for Christmas. Based on that big grin, I think she likes it!

Aubri loves her new Curious George

What fun! Grammy and Grandad got Aubri Jane a rocking horse.

The boys discovered Jenga....they played it over and over again (notice how focused Kaleb is!)