Halloween ~ 2014 Style!

Jedi's and Wonder Woman...oh my!  

Halloween was slightly different this year.  Ben had marching band rehearsal and wasn't able to dress up.  He was disappointed, especially since he and Luke were planning to dress alike.  Oh well...what can you do?

Luke couldn't wait to try on his costume as soon as it arrived! (Grammy made it and I brought it home from St. Louis!)  Ben tried his on too so they could compare!

 And have a light sabre battle!  I love my Star Wars loving boys!

That has to be the cutest little Jedi I have ever seen!

He was more than happy to let me take pictures of him in all kinds of fun poses!

And...my favorite superhero girl!  Wonder Woman!!  How cute is she?!

I was super excited to make a tutu for Abby! I told her I would be happy to make her Halloween costume as long as it included a tutu!  :)

I

I got to take these cuties out trick-or-treating!

Even though the marching band had rehearsal, some band parents came up with the brilliant idea to plan a trunk-or-treat event as a surprise at the end of rehearsal.  It was so much fun!!  The kids were surprised and the parents had fun putting it together for this hard working group of kids!

Even though the kids weren't allowed to dress up, Ben and his friend, Ben, dressed up as twins.  Do you see the resemblance?

I love Halloween!  Such a fun, fun night!

8th Grade Band Night

Abby had been waiting for this night for the last two years (since Ben got to do it when he was in 8th grade) and was SO excited when it finally arrived!  The night when the 8th graders get to hang out in the stands with the marching band, as well as, join them on the field at halftime.  

Thanks to Ben being in band, Abby already knows a lot of band kids.  She received a very warm welcome when it came time for her to sit in the stands.  "Abby!!!!"  "Come sit by me, Abby!"  It was a great feeling for my slightly shy girl.

Luke got a nice surprise at the game!  We found his friend, Wade!  Wade was in Luke's class last year.  They became very good friends and miss each other dearly!  Luke was beside himself with excitement when we spotted Wade from way up in the stands!

YAY!!!

Ben was happy for Abby to finally get the chance to get a little taste of marching band.  Both of them are looking forward to being in marching band together next year, which makes this mama very happy!

I love, SO much, that the high school makes this opportunity available to the kids so that they get a taste of what they have to look forward to next year.

To say that Abby had a great time would be a huge understatement!  She couldn't stop talking about her night in the bandstands.  I think being in marching band is going to make my girl come out of her shell!  :) 

3 Birds - 1 Stone

Grammy knows how to kill several birds with one stone!  She managed to come out and see Abby play softball, Ben march at a football game and celebrate Ben's 16th birthday all in one short visit!  It was busy, but we all had a fun time.

Look at that beautiful sky!  Who would have thought it would turn out to be such a gorgeous night when prior to leaving Bartlesville it was raining cats and dogs and we fully expected the game to be cancelled.  Fortunately, it didn't rain nearly as much in Tulsa and the game was delayed, but wasn't cancelled.

It was a tough game, but the girls did a great job!

I am so glad Grammy got to watch Abby play softball!

The weather was fantastic for the Bartlesville homecoming football game!

Just look at that sky!

This year's marching band show is so cool!!  I'm so glad Grammy got to see it!  Well, part of it anyway.  The rest of the show will be finished by the time the band performs at Super-Regionals in St. Louis next month.  Thankfully, Grammy will get to be there for that too!

Ben's friends are the best!  They loved getting to meet Grammy!

My poor little Lukey managed to get sick while Grammy was visiting.  :(  We went to have lunch with him at school on Friday and he just didn't seem normal.  He was crying when we met him and when I hugged him to try to settle him down, he was warm.  It struck me that he was warm, but I just figured he was worn out from how busy we had been lately, his classroom was hot, he was worked up from crying... I just kind of let it go.  Well, he ended up coming home from school and going straight to bed.  Just for a nap so that he could make it through the football game that night.  In preparation for the game, I had to wake Luke from his nap.  That didn't go so well.  He didn't want to wake up.  Again, I assumed he was extremely worn out.  Jon offered to stay home with Luke until he snapped out of his funk and woke up.  Unfortunately, Luke had a fever.  Not good.

Saturday morning, Luke still had a fever.  It worked out well for snuggling with Grammy!  Later in the day, while he still had a fever, I discovered that Luke had a rash.  I knew immediately that he had strep.  A trip to the doctor the next day confirmed what my intuition told me.  Poor baby!  We did a lot of lounging and dozing that day!  We all needed that!

Ben had a few gifts that needed to be returned/exchanged in Tulsa, so Jon offered (again!) to stay home with Luke so that me, Mom. Ben and Abby could go do what we needed (or wanted (:) to do.  I felt bad, but it was so nice to get out with just the big kids!  We had a great time!  We found some great bargains, laughed a lot and had yummy food!

Abby chose The Cheesecake Factory.  While we were ordering, it struck Grammy that it was Ben's birthday.  Close enough, anyway. (:  Ben wasn't thrilled that he would be sung to, but he got over it real quick!  That boy was treated like royalty when the waitress found out that it was his 16th birthday!  She went well out of her way to make sure Ben had a great birthday dinner!

He still didn't love the singing, but he definitely enjoyed the dessert!

Ben chose the Chocolate Tuxedo Cream Cheesecake.  Mom, Abby and I shared Chris's Outrageous Cheesecake (quite possibly my new favorite!) and the White Chocolate Caramel Macadamia Nut Cheesecake.  WOW!

I am so thankful that my mom is retired and is able to come out periodically to see that kids participate in their activities!  We had a great time despite me (I just had a cold) and Luke not feeling 100%.

Thank you, Mom, for coming out and spending time with us and making the kids feel special in coming to watch them! 

First Day of School ~ 2013 - 2014

Somehow it has happened again.  Summer has flown by and it's time for the kiddos to head back to school.  I am, usually, ready for them to go.  This year...I'm not!  I don't feel like we had enough time for fun this summer.  I want a few more weeks!  They, however, are ready and excited to go.  Well, two of the three, anyway.

I have the hardest time believing that Ben is a sophomore this year!  Ugh!  Time is just flying by way too fast!

 

Abby...can she possibly be in her final year of middle school?!  How does this happen???

 

I know that Abby is a beautiful girl, but, for some reason, this morning I just couldn't get over how beautiful and grown up she looked!  My girl is gorgeous!

 

 And then there's Luke.

Luke has not been looking forward to school starting all summer.  I have been very nervous about how he would handle the first day.  It is going to be long!  I know he will do great, but still... I worry.  I am not a fan of all day kindergarten.  Ben and Abby never had to go to kindergarten all day.  I don't want Luke to go all day.  But I never told him that.

Thankfully, Luke got up, got ready for school and was very willing to let me take some pictures of him before we left for his big day.

Seriously, I did not ask him to pose for me!  He just kept being adorable, so I kept taking pictures.  I love this!!

 

I am so thankful for Luke's teacher, Mrs. Nickles!  She is going to amazing for my little guy!!

 

Yes, there are significantly more pictures of Luke on his first day of school, but how often does your baby start kindergarten?!  I am sad and happy that Luke is in kindergarten.  I know he is going to love it!  He is going to learn so much.  He is going to have influences that I don't like.  He is going to grow up so much this year.  Oh dear...

Lord, please protect my babies.  Please keep them safe from harm, from bad influences. Help them to make good choices and to know that you are in them and at school with them all day, every day.  Please put friends in their lives that know you and love you.  Help them to be strong and faithful.  Help them show you in all that they do.  Thank you for the teachers that you have hand picked for Ben, Abby and Luke.  Please bless them.  Give them an extra dose of grace and patience as they teach every day.  Thank you for giving us another school year.  Amen.

Abby ~ University of Arkansas Summer Band Camp

As soon as Abby heard about summer band camp for the first time, she wanted to go.  I was happy that she wanted to go, but concerned as to how it would be able to happen financially.  Once it was official that she could go (You can read about that here. It's a great story!), we were both very excited!

The time finally came!  Off to Arkansas!

We arrived at camp, got Abby checked in and got her all settled in her room.

She was happy to discover that her roommate was someone that she already knew from her school.  (Although, she later told me that she kind of hoped that she would room with someone that she didn't know so it would force her to meet someone new.)

Prior to camp, Abby worked very hard on her etudes and scales in preparation for her band camp audition.  We wanted her to get her audition done and over with so that she could get it off her shoulders.  

   She sounded great, but was very nervous! She spent a lot of time warming up and practicing.

Finally...the audition was done.

Then...the waiting game began.

Ugh!!  The waiting is the worst!  She had to wait until after dinner that night to find out which band she would be placed in.  There were 10 bands.  The first band is the best and goes down to 10.  And we waited...

It felt so weird to leave Abby at camp and head home, but we knew she was in good hands and was going to have an amazing week doing what she loves!

We finally got a text from Abby saying that she made 1st chair in the 5th band.  I couldn't be more proud of my baby girl!!  This was her first time at band camp and to make it into one of the top five bands was awesome!   Abby was slightly disappointed, but she was ready to make the best of it and have a great week.

Throughout the week, while Abby was gone, it was so fun for me to open Facebook and see that I had a message from my girl!  I loved, so much, that even though she was at camp playing music, having fun and making new friends, that she actually took the time to communicate with me!  I could tell from her messages that she was having the time of her life!  It made me happy!

I couldn't wait for Friday, when we would go back to Fayetteville, pick up Abby.  I couldn't wait to hear all about her week and attend her concert.  I was so looking forward to hearing her band perform what they had learned during the week.

I have to say, I wasn't prepared for the way Abby looked when we showed up at her dorm room on Friday morning.  I knew she would be dressed nice, but I fully intended to see her hair up in its normal bun.  Abby hasn't quite grasped the flat iron or curling iron, so I tend to do her hair for her when it's not up. She told me that she would just put it in a bun for the concert, so that was what I expected when I saw her.  

That was not what I saw!

What I saw was my gorgeous girl in her pretty dress with her hair CURLED!  She looked absolutely amazing!  I, actually, had tears in my eyes!  I know she had only been away for five days, but it looked like she grew up while she was gone!  Oh boy...

I wish I had a picture of what Abby looked like.  Unfortunately, the camera was dead.  ):

(There is a group picture below.)

We had some time and it was too early for lunch, so we drove around Fayetteville a little bit.  We stumbled upon the Fayetteville National Cemetery.  Neither Jon nor I had ever been to or seen a national cemetery, so we wanted to check it out.

 It was breathtaking.  It was so neat to drive around and look at the dates on the headstones and think about what these men and women had been through for our country.

 We finally made it to lunch!  You just can't go wrong with Chick-Fil-A!!

 Look at my girl!!!  She is gorgeous!!!

 Concert time!

 That's my girl!  1st CHAIR!!

  It is so hard to believe that these kids came together less than a week ago and were able to master four songs for a concert.  Totally impressed!

I know Abby was tired from a long, busy week at camp.  I'm not sure why Luke was so tired.  That's ok.  Jon, Ben and I were able to enjoy the rest of the concert in peace. (If you know what I mean...)

Band camp was a great experience for Abby!  My, normally, fairly quiet child that doesn't say a whole lot was full of stories about her week when we picked her up.  I think she talked for two hours, nonstop!  That's how I know she had a great time!  That, and the fact that she is already looking forward to going back next year!  

Better Late Than Never (:

Abby likes to believe that her birthday should be celebrated for a whole week, so she definitely wasn't disappointed when she received a few birthday gifts a little bit late.  Who can resist getting excited about seeing packages sitting on the porch when you get home from somewhere?

 

 Thank you, Aunt Becca, Uncle Neil and Nolan!

This is so adorable and looks perfect in Abby's bedroom!

Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa Grief!

Abby has been wearing these bracelets everyday!

My Baby Girl Is Officially A Teenager!

Can it be?  How is it possible that Abby is officially a teenager?  I hate to always say the old cliches, "Where has the time gone?" or "Time flies!", but is the only thing that comes to mind when I think about Abby turning 13.

Needless to say, Abby was very excited about her birthday. She started emailing birthday lists to us months before her birthday. She wanted to make sure we knew what she wanted for her birthday.  That, and she loves email!

As soon as she woke up in the morning, she asked to open presents.  Ummm...I wasn't quite ready...  (I was working on the birthday cake!)  She didn't like having to wait.

One of Abby's birthday wishes was to go to Frank & Lola's for lunch.  Her birthday wish is our command!  Can't turn that one down! 

(Disregard the crummy pictures.  I took them with my iPod in a room with strange light.)

One of Abby's birthday wishes was to go to Frank & Lola's for lunch.  Her birthday wish is our command!  Can't turn that one down!  While we waited for an available table, I asked Abby to let me take a picture of the two of us. This is what I came away with.  That stinker!

She finally, reluctantly, let Jon take a picture of her with her delicious birthday lunch.

It was finally time to open presents! 

I don't think she was disappointed when she opened her presents!  Well...except for the fact that the thing she wanted most was a Facebook account.  I just couldn't convince dear old Dad.  Yes, she was disappointed about that...

Time for cake!
Yep, we skipped dinner.  We ate a big lunch late in the day, that Abby's wasn't even hungry for the birthday dinner she requested.    However, there's always room for birthday cake and ice cream!

Abby's request for her cake was chocolate cake with chocolate frosting with coconut, but she wanted sprinkles like Luke's cake had.  This is what I like to call "the best of both worlds."  (:  She was very pleased with how it turned out!

"Happy  Birthday To You!"

Pure delicious-ness!!

I got another one of those texts, again, asking if we would like two tickets to the OK Mozart concert on Saturday night.  And, like I said before, you just can't turn them down.  Especially the grand finale concert! I would go to every concert if I could.  This time, I thought Abby would enjoy going to the concert with either me or Jon for her birthday.

YAY!! I got to go!

This concert did not disappoint!  It was...awesome!  I am so thankful Abby and I were able to go together on such a special day!

All day, I continued to hear things like this:

"I really thought I would get a Facebook for my birthday."

"It's not fair that Ben got Facebook for his 13th birthday, but I don't."

"Ben ruined it for me to get Facebook."

It is safe to say that Abby was genuinely disappointed.  I felt terrible!  I am positive that Jon didn't feel nearly as bad as I did.  However, I may have guilted him into one last gift for Abby to open after  we got home from the concert.

Abby finally got her very own Facebook account and she couldn't be happier about it!

I couldn't resist posting these pictures of Abby and Luke.  Look how precious they are!  Sadly, Luke doesn't treat Abby very well.  I don't know why and it makes me sad.  Abby loves Luke to pieces!  She is so sweet to him.  Well, I don't know if it was because it was her birthday or he was feeling especially nice that day, but when Abby asked Luke to take a picture with her, he was very cooperative.  He made Abby a very happy girl!  They are so adorable!

Abigail, I hope you had a very special day for your 13th birthday!  I honestly can't believe that you are officially a teenager.  You will always be my baby girl. I am so proud of the young lady you are.  It makes me so proud to walk into your room and see the Bible verses all over your wall.  Remember how much Jesus loves you and he made you perfectly!  You are growing so much in your clarinet playing.  Keep up the hard work and you will do amazing things with that instrument.  I love you so much, Baby Girl!  Welcome to your teenage years!

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
Psalm 139:14