29 For the Fourth Time!

That's right, I am 29. Again. It is invigorating to be 29 again. It is an age I have come to love; I may never leave it. I am an expert at being twenty-nine. I have had two children, quit a job I loved to stay home with my two kids, moved into a new home all while 29. It is so exciting!
I have received some great gifts for my birthday: Nicole and Cody came to Pappasitas and let me hold Maddox until my heart's content. They also got me my favorite brand of candle (available at Target) and a beach bag for our beach trip next month. Lisa and Myles got me some cool cosmetics from Origins, which I love! Molly and I had a blast putting on lipstick together today. And, my parents gave me money, with which I bought a 15 gallon lacebark elm tree for our backyard. (I am a tree freak. I love them! Seriously, if I could pick between a three-hundred dollar dress at Neiman's or another tree...that is right. I'd pick the tree.) Stacey lent us his truck so Mike could get it. Thanks, Pearsons! I have wanted a lacebark Elm tree for a long time. They are supposedly the perfect tree for urban/suburban areas. They grow extremely large, have a huge canopy, are moderately fast growing (25 inches a year), and their bark produces an intricate lace pattern. This, in addition to our two Cleveland pears (quick growing, although at maturity no where near the size of the lacebark elms) and our red oak, which Mike picked out in honor of his grandmother, who adored red oaks and put two in her front yard when she was like eighty! Anyway, when I was researching trees for our house, I stumbled across the lacebark elm, which I had seen at the zoo. I went to purchase one and found out a thirty gallon will cost you around 450 dollars! YIKES! So, when I found a 15 gallon at the Plant Shed for forty-five, I jumped on it!
Also for my birthday, Mike is getting lemon petit fors from Bluebonnet Bakery in Fort Worth, and he took me to the Harold's warehouse sale to update my wardrobe a bit! It has been a great birthday, with wonderful gifts.
To be truthful, though, I am most thankful for the gifts from our Heavenly Father, which are intangible: my health, a happy marriage, two happy, healthy children, an extended family that anyone would be jealous of, my faith in Jesus, a secure future in heaven, a church that Jack and Mollyhappily and willingly attend, a new parttime job doing what I love, Mike's job which, although busy, allows me time with Jack and Molly while they are little. These gifts, all originating with our Lord, are amazing. I am grateful. In addition to these gifts, I have been receiving a prodding from our Lord that states: The giver above the gifts. I will write about this soon, when I have had time for the idea to matriculate. In my head as I say my prayers, all I am hearing is the Giver above the Gifts. So, thank you Lord, as Molly Ann prays everynight, for You. Thank you God, for God, and for your Son, and your Spirit, the mouth and beginning of everything good in my life.

Summer PIcs

While we were at the zoo the other day, we enjoyed cotton candy. So yummy.
In the bottom pics, we were at the neighborhood pool, and a boy had a snorkel, which Jack coveted mightily. He finally fashioned himself one...clever little boy! And Molly in her swimsuit cousins Ava and Ian bought her for her birthday. This summer has been lovely! June and July have been busy, weddings, precious new baby, but really wonderful. Life changes so constantly, and this summer's strange oscillation between mudane, normal cotton candy and swim days intertwined with huge life events like watching Myles and Lisa and Dale and Kasey get married, and welcoming a new little member to our family have made me feel so very alive. It is a peculiar summer, days when boredom looms large, mixed in with the big events. I can't help but feel grateful to God for these experiences that I know are not unique, but they are so special. If I weren't so darned tired, I'm sure I could come up with some poem about it. Tonight, I am glad that pictures are worth a thousand words!

Baby Maddox, Proud Dad and Mom

Here are some (old) pics of Maddox. He is absolutely adorable. I know I've already said this, but what a handsome, sweet boy. (His parents aren't too shabby, either.)

Two Answered Prayers

In a matter of a few days, I have had two prayers answered that I have been on my prayer request for months. The first answered prayer is about Jack's rash. We went to Dr. Ghali in Grapevine, and found out it is chronic pitorysius rosea. I prayed and prayed that God would remove this awful rash from Jack's body, but my prayers went unanswered. I found out why. Evidently, current thinking about this rash is that it is the bodies way to ward off LYMPHOMA! Oh my gosh! In an attempt to get the body back in check, the immune system goes crazy killing whatever virus or cells can trigger this disease. The nurse practitioner assured me he is not in danger now, and many of you know he has had blood tests that have come back normal. I just want to point out that God knew way more about Jack's body than I did, and I praise him for not answering my prayer and taking the rash away before his body was ready for it. It is slowly going away now. This is a reminder that God knows way more about our bodies than we do, and sometimes, unanswered prayers are a direct result of our ignorance in a situation. Thank you, Lord, for not answering my prayer and keeping my son healthy and safe.
Another answered prayer this week was I got a call for Tarrant County College, and I may have the opportunity to be an adjunct reading instructor for them at their South campus. I have been unofficially offered a job, and still have to clear a few hurdles. Still, I consider just being called for an interview an answer to my prayers. God was listening to me, and the interview is proof. Sometimes, silence as the answer to your prayers is harder to take than a yes or no. I consider the interview God's way of saying, Maybe, I'm leaning towards yes. The best part of the job is that I will be working with struggling students right out of high school who need some help with their reading skills. I love the idea of this job: that I can help them. Another interesting part of the interview was that TCC was interested in me for classes I had taken at ACU, and they couldn't care less that I am a graduate student at UTA! Proof to me, again, that ACU is an excellent school with very relevant classes.
Maddox, Nicole and Cody are doing great. A little bleary eyed, but great. Maddox is a handsome, sweet baby that I got to hold and actually change his diaper. Thank you, Nicole, for letting me hold baby Maddox. I love him so much!!!

Baby Maddox is here

Okay, Baby Maddox is here and arrived safely on Saturday. I have pictures, but I am waiting for Cody to post them first. I don't want to steal his blogging thunder. I have seen the sweet baby Maddox, and let me just say, he is so handsome! His hair is perfect, and his little body is so sweet and long! 21 1/2 inches! I get to hold him more on Saturday, when Cathie and I are traveling sans children to welcome him into the whitehorn way!

Frugal Traveler Goes to Texas

I have been reading the Frugal Traveler series in The New York Times. It is a fun read to follow him through the country, however I have been waiting for him to come to Texas to review it and to find out what I've known all along: That George Bush notwithstanding, any New Yorker can love what Texas has to offer! He stayed in Fredricksburg. I love this review of the town. And, although his writing seems a bit romatic at times, it is fun to ride shotgun as he tours the country. Here is the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/11/travel/11frugaltraveler.html?_r=1&oref=slogin.

First Literary Debate

I am so excited to blog about my children's first literary debate. And, no, it wasn't over ownership of the book, or possession of the book. Jack and Molly were looking at a book about a boy's trip to the doctor. The boy is suffering from what Jackson dubbed as "Spots", they look like chicken pox, but with his rash, no doubt he could identify with the child in the book. Molly looked at the book and decided the boy, who looks quite distraught, was crying. Jackson, having seen the picture and having suffered similar spots, assured her he wasn't crying. Mayhem ensued. Molly screamed that the boy was crying. Jackson screamed, coaxed and cajoled that he wasn't. I wish I could say that this debate stayed in intensity while Jackson explained why he wasn't crying, and Molly calmly stated her reasons for thinking he was crying. However, they both continued to scream their thesis at the top of their lungs. I slowed down and tried to remove the book before Molly pinched Jackson, only to be honked at by the car behind me. (I am assuming the tint on my car is too dark to decipher that I have two children in the car, therefore I should not be honked at, pointed at, cursed at nor tailgated. However, I think we all know drivers in the metroplex...I myself, sans children, am one of them!) I finally wrestled the book away from them, took a glance at the boy, and could see both of their arguments. But, there were no tears visible, so I am afraid Jack was right, and there is to concrete proof of the tears.
On a fun note, today was Jack's first soccer game. Let me just say that it was a thumping: the other team scored umpteen goals to our team's two. Two of our players refused to play, so Jack got to play quit a lot. It was fun to see Jack smiling as he raced up and down the soccer field. My mom told him, you ran up and down the field, Jack. He asked if the other side of the field really was up. Funny, funny boy. One bad thing that happened was that Jack thought he would be Chick Hicks from Cars and push the other players out of the way. Regardless of the color of their jersey: green (our side) or blue (their side) suffered his wrath even after we told him to stop. Finally, the other team's coach told him to stop, and he listened! AHH, the power of the coach! When he finished the game, he told me he was Chick Hicks, as I had suspected, and he didn't want to let the other players beat him to the Piston Cup. Jeremy Paul, is his coach, and Hunter and Ethan are on his team! It is so fun to have moms I know watching the games. I love it. Tomorrow, we have another game.
And, on an exciting note, my Sister In Law, Nicole, is in the hospital as we speak about to have baby Maddox Reed Bain. YEAH!! We are so excited and will be so glad to see him safely here, hopefully tonight. My brother has been keeping a blog about his experiences, entitled goosemebaby.blogspot.com. We cannot wait to meet sweet baby Maddox (Molly insists that his name is Goose Maddox.)
One more funny Molly story: yesterday, I threatened to pull over to spank her. She said, no I wouldn't and that she would shoot us with her bubble gun if we did. Her imaginary bubble gun proceeded to go off in our direction. Yes, unfortunately for her, she did receive punishment. No matter how darned cute/slightly disturbing it was!

Hick's Airfield Pictures

In this pic, I had just told Molly not to small, and to please cry so I could get a good picture of her tears!

Fourth of July Pics

Here are some pictures from the fourth in Granbury. We went to the parade and shot off fireworks, which scared Molly quite a bit. We had matching t-shirts, which I know can be kinda dorky, but it was fun! Fourth of July was awesome.