Already????

We're home!!!

We got home shortly after 8, and started getting the kids ready for bed fairly quickly. They were all very tired, and very hot, and missing their family in Kansas. Micah seemed especially upset, and asked me to pray with him and put him to bed. Since this rarely happens, I was savoring the sweet "I Want My Mommy" moment.

After we prayed, and sang the Doxology, I told him I was going to give him lots of kisses. He turned his sweaty little face away from me, and told me, "No kisses. You can just hug me."

Already?!?! I know we will reach the point where mommy is no longer then sun in his universe. I know he will gravitate towards his daddy to learn guy stuff. And I know if I do my job right, he won't need me, call me, or want to be kissed all over by me.

But already?

Here's hoping it's just a phase.

Loose Krajcas out on the town!

This evening, my parents and sister graciously watched our three children as well as the three children of our friends David and Susanne.  That would be six kiddos, ages 5 to 2!  The mommies and daddies were able to our on a double date!  Such fun!

As you can see form the gentleman's lovely demo, we ate at a tasty restaurant called Carrabas.  Yum!!!
Don't Susanne and I look cute??  My jewelry is some of the jewelry that I got while in Atlanta.  $3 for the necklace AND the matching earrings.
And, of course, a picture of Curtis and I.  Awww!!!

The Looses are such a sweet family.  I have gotten to know Susanne through phone calls, e-mails, and Face Nook.  But this was the first time that we've really been able to get to know them as a couple.  It was tons of fun!

My parents and Shannon were awesome!  I so appreciated how they willingly gave of their evening to give us an evening out.

A poopy day for Elizabeth

Yesterday, had her first run in with dog poopy. As you can tell, she was quite distressed about the entire situation.

See, you just thought you were having a bad day!

Bullets

So much to blog, so little time.  Here come the bullets!

• We are all back together in Kansas!!  I'm thrilled to be back with my family, though I'm really missing my sister, sweet baby Jeremiah, and Matt.
  
• After leaving Georgia, I've decided that Elizabeth and I belong in the south.  We both love sweet little girl dresses, smocking, big bows, gingham and all things monogrammed.  While I was in GA, I went to this great little store!  They had the most adorable bags, purses, onsies, mugs, and jewelry.  Lots of cute, cute, and CHEAP jewelry.  I'll have to post pictures of all my great finds.  We also went to a kids' store where I was able to buy sweet dresses or Elizabeth.  Never before have a I seen so many sweet dresses.  Sigh.  Maybe I should move to the south?
  
• I'm a fan of the show John & Kate Plus Eight.  Have been for awhile.  This past Monday, the new season started, and just made me sad.  It's the reality that you don't want to see.  And I wonder how much of their actions is real at this point.  It's just sad.
• I'm looking forward to heading home to Texas, where I know it will be summer!  This morning in KS, it's 55 degrees.  The high is going to be in the low 70's.  Great weather, but I'm ready to use those pool passes!
• When I flew to GA, it was the first time in 16 years that I had flown.  I've decided that flying in very convenient and I love how quickly you can go from one place to the next.  However, I've learned that I'm not a fan of flying.  The whole process is so crazy and stressful.  I'm not scared of actually flying, just the process of getting on and off the airplane.
• We are staying in KS till Sunday morning.  Today and tomorrow are low key days, where we have a few fun activities planned.  Then on Friday and Saturday, Curtis and I will be going to a homeschool conference.  We are very much looking forward to hopefully learning some new things, and making some decisions about this coming school year.
• I'm reading a book called "Wild at Heart".  I'm intrigued, but not overly impressed.  More thoughts on the book when I'm done.

I think that's it!  We're off to drink some coffee, run to Target, and maybe see a movie. 

My sweet kids

My Dad just made my day by posting pictures AND a video of the kids. Go to his blog to share in the exciting day they had in Kansas.

Still Alive!!!!

Miss us???? We are all alive and well, just doing a lot of traveling.

Benjamin's birthday party went so well! I'm hoping to post pictures, but don't hold your breath at this point.

Last Tuesday we drove up to Wichita, KS.

Last Thursday, I left to fly to GA to see my sister and brother-in-law and to meet my new nephew. I hadn't flown in 16 years, and that adventure is an entirely different post. But I made it in one piece, with stories to tell!

While I'm in GA, Curtis and the kids have been spending time with my parents. They've been quite busy!! Curtis took Micah to a minor league baseball game, and took Elizabeth on a date to see a movie and have dinner. There have also been trips to the park, bubble baths in the big, fishing, sleeping in the tent.... lots of fun!

I've had a blast with my sister! Jeremiah is the sweetest baby ever, and I've been soaking up every minute with him.

Hopefully, more pictures will come soon. But now, I've got to go take pictures of my sweet nephew!

favorite picture of the day

I have 167 picture from today. But this is my favorite.

The day was tons of fun! I can't wait to blog about all we did in only 14 hours. The party was wonderful! We had a great time with our friends. Even though it was a little cooler than we would have liked, the kids still played in the water! There were a lot of blue lipped children!!

More to come soon!!

But we're leaving tomorrow for almost 2 weeks in Kansas. So don't hold you're breath!

Happy Birthday Benjamin!

Tomorrow is Benjamin's 2nd birthday. It will be a busy day, with presents, do-nuts for breakfast, going to Chuck E's house for lunch, and a Choo Choo party in the evening.

I can't believe that the baby of the family is turning two! This past year I have watched Benjamin change from a sweet baby to an even sweeter little boy. Compared to his first year of life, things have been much calmer, and I am very thankful for how richly God has blessed us. We pray that this next year will bring more blessings as Benjamin continues to grow and learn about God.

We love you Benjamin!! You are a delight, and we are so thankful to have you as part of our family! We look forward to seeing you grow and change in the coming year.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Prayer for my children

Normally, Curtis puts the children to bed. This involves praying with them, saying the "blessing", and singing the Doxology and Gloria Patri. That was his time with the kids. Since the past semester has been anything but normal, I've gotten in on the bed time routine. It's turned into a beautiful time of family worship. We practice the catechism, read Dangerous Journey or a story from their Bibles, learn hymns, have time talking about stuff (recently, it's been about confessing our sins :-)) and then we pray.

Tonight was a little abbreviated since our entire evening was running later than normal. As Curtis was quickly praying for our children, I chuckled when he prayed, "And Lord, please help the children to sleep well so they don't freak out at Benjamin's birthday party."

AMEN!!!!

Maybe we should make the request of non-freaking out children to be a regular request.

Birthday Re-do

Since yesterday was a very busy day, and we weren't with the kids, Curtis offered to have a birthday re-do this morning. He let me sleep in, which hasn't happened in a long time! Then he and the kids brought me breakfast in bed. The kids were adorable as they came marching in singing "Happy Birthday". Elizabeth was carrying the bow of strawberries, Micah was carrying the plate with my favorite do-nuts and some coffee cake, and Benjamin marched in with a fork!

Aren't I pampered!!!

The ups and downs of life

Today was a strange day. And today has nothing on tomorrow.


Tomorrow we'll be meeting the new daughter of some very good friends.


Tomorrow we will also be going to the funeral for the father of our best friends.

We will be driving to San Antonio tomorrow to attend the funeral of Michael's dad. Our hearts break for the Findleys. We know the pain that they are going through, and the hard road that they are walking. But we've never had to do it with a four year old watching. We mourn with the Findley, yet at the same time rejoice in the knowledge that Michael's dad is in Heaven. Our desire is to be there to encourage Micahel, and his family, as they say good-bye.

After the burial, we will be able to go meet Kaelyn, the daughter of our friends Daniel and Molly. We will get share in the joy of holding a new baby, and see the pride and joy on her parents' faces. Our desire is to be there to encourage Daniel and Molly as they say hello.

Please keep the Findleys in your prayers. It's never easy to lose someone you loved so much. Michael and Christi have shown so much strength and grace during this time. I'm not surprised though, just impressed. :-)

So many emotional ups and downs, all in one day. How thankful I am that in the midst of the ups and downs, God is faithful, good and loving.

Benjamin-ism

After a long morning of errand running, we finally hit our final destination, Sears. As I was dragging 3 whinny kids into the store Benjamin kept saying, "Chuckee house!!!! Go Chuckee house!!!" I had no idea what he was talking about, so I picked him up (much to his dismay) and made it into the store.

On our way back to the van, "Chuckee house!" started up again.

Finally, I realized what he was wanting. He saw the entrance to Chuck E Cheese's and wanted to go in. Chuck E's House!

Gee thanks!

As I was getting the kids ready for bed tonight, Elizabeth asked if we could play dress up. I told her that we could play dress up in the morning, but for now, we needed to get ready for bed. Shockingly, she was okay with that! We continued our bed time routine, and my little planner started planning what we could play tomorrow. She informed me, "My brothers and I can play dress up. They will be kings or pirates, and I will be the queen."
"Sounds like lots of fun!" I told her.
"And you," she said, "can be the servant and get us dressed."

Just another day as a mommy, I see!

The joys of an (almost) two year old

Tonight is Curtis' last night of the semester!!! Yay! He's taking his final right now, and then he's done. We've gotten a taste of what life with Daddy done with school is like, and we like it. This evening, with Daddy was in class, the kids were antsy, and I was antsy. To fight off the antsiness, I decided to head outside with the kids to burn some energy. While we were out there, I decided to try to get some pictures to use at Benjamin's birthday party, which is next Monday.

Oh the joys of having an almost two year old! Here's what I got.

"Bug you head?" Translation: Is there a bug on your head Mommy?

Yep. There's a stick in his mouth.

And of course getting him to stay in one place was quite the challenge.

This is the best picture of him showing how old he'll be. But look at that face.

But I did get one good picture, and one's all I need!!

Doesn't he look like a little boy?! I can't even believe that my baby will be turning TWO in less than a week.

Sigh.

The moments and days of mothering young children can be long and go very slowly. Yet what everyone says is true. Blink, and it's over. Turn your back, and you no longer have a baby.

Signs of Summer

February brings the first signs of spring. And May brings the first signs of summer. The past few days have felt like summer, so we decided today was the day to bust out the new pool. Needless to say, the kids were thrilled!! By the end of the evening, all five of us were soaking wet, the kids had blue lip, and it was dubbed a good day.

Fun pictures from our evening

Tonight we had the great pleasure of celebrating God's great goodness to a dear friend, Norval, as he celebrated his 60th birthday!! I have well over 100 picture from the evening, but here are my three favorites. Micah and Daddy. Like the queso on Micah's face? What a cutie!

Oh Benjamin. Sweet Benjamin with his sweet tooth!

Elizabeth and Mrs. Laura, showing off their round bellies!

Happy birthday Norval!! We are blessed to have you in our lives!

Puppies!

This morning we went to Adam and Andrew's house to meet their new puppies. I thought the kids would be thrilled and beg to have one. They enjoyed the puppies, but had more fun playing with all the fun toys that Adam and Andrew had. The puppies were so cute that I wanted to take one home! But I knew Curtis would not be happy if he came home to a puppy. So we enjoyed the puppies, and left without one. A win-win situation!

Is there anything more beautiful than a sleeping child?

Because I'm cheap...

Elizabeth had pictures taken by a professional two weeks ago at dance. I decided I was too cheap, and took her to campus to get my own pictures. Way cheaper, and super cute!!

New Blog

I get bored relatively quickly. Just look at my hair!! Maybe it's the fact that I grew up in a military family, where we moved every three years or so. Maybe it's just my personality. Maybe it's because life is so fast paced right now, two months with the same blog feels like forever.

Regardless, I'm bored with my blog. So I've started looking at some new backgrounds. In the past, I've used the amazing site, Cutest Blog on the Block. But (you guessed it!) I'm kinda bored with what they have to offer. Same old, same old. I found a new site, Aqua Poppy, that offers free backgrounds. This site offers nice, calm, soothing blog backgrounds. That would be a nice change of pace, but I'm not sure calm suits this Party of Five.

But before I really start looking, where do you get your backgrounds? Remember, I want free, since I'll probably change it in a couple months.

Once I pick a background, I'll start working on a new header. I heart new headers! Such fun. It might even involve a new picture. And if there's anything I heart more then a new header, it's taking pictures for a new header!!!

And does anyone know how to change to a three column blog? I would love to be a three column blog!

One last thing. Yesterday, I stumbled on another Party of Five blog! How could that be?!? The only appropriate thing to do would be to make them change their title. Or I could change mine. Oh, like that!

Anyone have some Ritalin for this blogger?

Recital video

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

"I love the stage!"

This weekend is Elizabeth's first recital on "the big stage". She has been going to a Christian dance studio since the fall, taking ballet and tap. This semester, they've been talking a lot about the recital, and dancing on the big stage. Elizabeth started telling us that she was nervous, and acting silly in dance class. I was worried that she would get up on the stage and either freak out or act a fool.

Tonight was her rehearsal, and she did neither!! She was happy, beautiful, and did an amazing job! Between her two dances, I went to check on her and help her change into her tap shoes. She ran over to me and declared, "I'm not nervous! It was fun! I love the stage!"

We were only able to take pictures tonight at the rehearsal, and since I know that there are some grandparents out there, who are disappointed to be missing the recital, here's a sneak peak.

TAP TIME!

BEAUTIFUL BALLERINA!