My Kailey

I cannot believe that I met my precious girl 7 years ago today! It was love at first sight!! She brings more joy to my life than I could ever have imagined! She is loving, compassionate, smart, brave, and beautiful inside and out! She is kind when others need TLC, she sticks to her guns when she believes there is injustice in the world. She sets goals and puts in the hard work needed to accomplish them. She loves school, learning, exercise, gymnastics, swimming, american girls dolls and most of all, her friends! She puts others needs and wants above hers more than any 7year old I have ever met. She astounds me with her wit and charm! I am a mom who could brag for hours, but most of all I just want to say, "I love you Kailey"!!!!
Love mom.

That's my girl!

My sweet Kailey got up earlier than me today. I came downstairs and she said "mom, I fed the dogs, got ready for school and made us breakfast!" Wow, pretty impressive little lady!! Love her!!

My girls ....

My girls are just too much....


I'm so proud of my smarty pants first grader!! Kailey completed unit 35 of Readwell today (which is a great accomplishment in and of itself) at a rate of 124 words per minte (the goals was between 60-91 WPM). Blew that one out of the water! She is such a hard worker! Yeah Kailey!!!


When she is not tackling accademia, she works her tail off in the gym. She is in better shape than I am by a long shot. They run a mile, do push ups, sit ups (real ones, not girly ones), 90 degree leg lifts .... holey cow! She is doing so well at it! She just tackled her 'back hip circle' on the bars last week! Whoohoo!!


And my little Lexi. From the moment she was born she was a party waiting to happen!! The littlest song comes on a commercial or radio or cartoon and she is fluttering in song and dance around the living room. She went to preschool with Gramma Kathy last week. She was AMAZED that the other kids called her gramma "Mrs. Brown". She gets to go to school with Gramma again tomorrow, which, while putting her to bed I let her know what to expect in the morning. She proceeded to tell me that she would "just call her Brown". HILLARIOUS!!!


Lexi (the artist of getting out of bed at bedtime) just came downstairs this evening and said "sissy is coughing, I need ear plugs" - LOL - Nice try honey!

sleep-over

Kailey has 2 very special friends sleeping over (Maegan and Hailey). The girls BD's are all 3 just weeks apart so they got matching outfits for themselves and their dolls. So cute!! They will double as holiday outfits.

At 11:23pm they finally calmed down. They are planning to make mini Bibles for their dolls : ) They are designing in bed. So sweet! I love that Kailey has such GREAT girls in Christ!!

Sweet heart

So proud of my Lexi. Today at preschool a little girl had an accident. She quickly consoled the girl, saying "It's okay, that happens to me too". She continued to console her while the teacher helped her clean up and the teacher couldn't stop commenting what a sweet friend she was to the little girl. Love her empathetic heart!!

Count on you....

Oh.. my little Lexi! I finally got her to bed this evening. Earlier, I was helping her clean up the playroom and she ever so suredly said "mom, I can count on you". SERIOUSLY!! I love her!!!

Little does she know it is her I can count on. I can count on her to make me laugh, to make me smile, to bring me to tears of joy when she is joyous and tears of sorrow when she is sad. I can count on her to out smart me, to me one step ahead of me and to keep me on my toes at every second. I can count on her to give up her prized toy if her sister should want it even a little bit. I can count on her to dance her way through her day and giggle her way through the night, until finally, yes, ever so late, she finally gives in to her sweet dreams, only after pressing the play button on her "Now I lay me down to sleep" prayer bear so many times I can't believe it still even works. I can count on her to inspire me to think outside the box and live with a happy-go-lucky spirit that I wish I had just a piece of. Little Lexi-flower you are blossoming into more of a beautiful little girl right before my eyes every day and I adore you to pieces!!! I hope you truly feel that you really can always count on me to be there for you. I pray you continue to blossom into the amazing young lady and woman God has planned for you to become and I will be so blessed to be a part of the process.
Sweet dreems sweet girl!!

Night before first grade

Hair is cut, nails are done. Apparently that wasn't enough for my little over-achiever. She had to go and pop another tooth out the night before first grade. Such a cute gap : ) I will miss my sweet little bug SOOOOOO much as she is gone ALL day. Happy for her, sad for me. Sniff, sniff, sniff!!! I love you Kailey-bug!!

More Lexi chatter

I asked Lexi why I was cleaning her room and she wasn't helping. She replied "because you are more fabulous". I didn't have much I could say about that, so I said that she needed to start helping, to which she replied "why do you come upstairs every time and fustate (frustrate) me". Wow. Later on, I was working on the computer and she was playing next to me with dolls. She spontaneously asked, "mom, am I distacting (distracting) you?" I say "no dear you are fine, thank you." She said "okay". So random but so cute! She may have trouble with articulation of specific sounds still (K, L, G and R) but her vocabulary is great : )

Afita

Lexi is SUCH an amazing staller when it comes to bedtime. Tonight while trying to tuck her in, she went on a tangent, hardly stopping to breathe. "Mom, the kids in Afita (AKA Africa) don't have any food Mom (she often repeats my name when insistent on a topic). Mom, we have LOTS of food Mom. We need to give them some food Mom, for the kids in Afita, you know!" She went on for like 5 minutes until I agreed that somehow we would get them some food. Determination of a three year old to feed the hungry conveniently at bedtime is still pretty sweet : )

The children of Africa are prayed for often in our home actually. At dinner, Kailey decided that in addition to saying thank you for our food, she added "please help the children in Africa to get clean food and water". I love her heart!! Lexi added to this prayer with "please help the children in afita have clean food for all times" as she waved both hands magically up in the air in a circular motion. I just love these girls!!!!

4th

I love our country. But on this day of independence, I like to remember that it isn't just our military who save and protect us. Jesus went to battle for us, shed is blood on a hill, and dared to come back to life and show them all that he couldn't be kept down. When I am having a bad day, it is Him who throws me me on... his shoulder and drags me out of life's war. He deserves a Purple Heart, and so much more. This song reminds me of his sacrifice: Rise Again by Dallas Holmes.
http://www.playlist.com/playlist/additem/416151569

Fingers and Toes

Toes and fingers all dolled up! We are ready for the 4th for sure now!

Wedding Day

Me and the girls were reading a book in which the little girl was a flower girl in a wedding. So Kailey and Lexi starting talking about how they wanted their wedding. Kailey dreamed up that she will have Lexi as a brides-maid, Brooklynn's daughter (to be) as her flower girl, the reception will be in a garden with piano music playing (actually mom thinks dueling piano's would be super fun : ), and fireworks at the reception. Lexi, well, she just wants to marry daddy : ) Love these girls.

Time Out

Oh to be 3 . . .
I was talking to Kailey about her attitude, which wasn't delightful at the moment. I had a stern voice and Kailey was revolting back with yet more 'tude. Lexi butted in with "mom, sissy is trying to love you and you are not loving her. Do you need a time out?".
Oh that girl!

God's Perfect Timing

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace." Ecc. 3:1-8

"He has made everything beautiful in its time." Ecc. 3:11

Little teacher

Lexi is pretending to be a teacher today. She said "mom, watch my mouth (with her hands to her mouth like a megaphone), GARDEN. Now you say it". Then she asked me to write. I was pre-occupied so I just grabbed the pencil with a full fisted grasp and drew a scribble like she did (I was told to do what she did). She said "no mom, like this with your thumb too" and proceeded to demo a perfect tri-pod grasp. NICE!!! Could she be the daughter of an OT?!?! And could it be that she does listen to her mom after all : ) Too funny!!

Some of my favorite verses:

Isaiah 41:10 Fear not; for I am with you. Be not dismayed; for I am your God. I will strengthen you; yea, I will help you; yea, I will uphold you with the right hand of My righteousness.

Phillipians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Proverbs 18:21 (The Message)
Words kill, words give life; they're either poison or fruit—you choose.

James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Matthew 20:16 (NIV)
"So the last will be first, and the first will be last."

Mark 8:36 (NIV)
What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?

Proverbs 16:3
Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Mark 10:27
Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God."

Philippians 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts,
always hopes,
always perseveres.

John 15:13 -No one has love greater than this, that someone should surrender his soul in behalf of his friends.

Provers 18:24 There exist companions disposed to break one another to pieces, but there exists a friend sticking closer than a brother.

Being a mom

The author of this story is unknown.
We are sitting at lunch when my daughter casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of "starting a family." "We're taking a survey," she says, half-joking. "Do you think I should have a baby?""It will change your life," I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral. "I know," she says, "no more sleeping in on weekends, no more spontaneous vacations." But that is not what I meant at all. I look at my daughter, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes. I want to tell her that the physical wounds of child bearing will heal, but that becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will forever be vulnerable. I consider warning her that she will never again read a newspaper without asking "What if that had been MY child?" That every plane crash, every house fire will haunt her. That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die.I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub. That an urgent call of "Mom!" will cause her to drop a souffle or her best crystal without a moment's hesitation. I feel I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by Motherhood. She might arrange for childcare, but one day she will be going into an important business meeting and she will think of her baby's sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of her discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure her baby is all right.I want my daughter to know that everyday decisions will no longer be routine. That a five year old boy's desire to go to the men's room rather than the women's at McDonald's will become a major dilemma. That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming children, issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in that restroom. However decisive she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother. Looking at my attractive daughter, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about herself. That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child. That she would give it up in a moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years -- not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish theirs. I want her to know that a cesarean scar or shiny stretch marks will become badges of honor. My daughter's relationship with her husband will change, but not in the way she thinks. I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man who is careful to powder the baby or who never hesitates to play with his child. I think she should know that she will fall in love with him again for reasons she would now find very unromantic. I want to describe to my daughter the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to ride a bike. I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog or a cat for the first time. I want her to taste the joy that is so real, it actually hurts. My daughter's quizzical look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes. "You'll never regret it," I finally say. Then I reach across the table, squeeze my daughter's hand and offer a silent prayer for her, and for me, and for all of the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this most wonderful of callings. This blessed gift from God . . . that of being a Mother.

Love

Before you were conceived, I wanted you. Before you were born, I loved you. When you were born, I saw your face and I knew that I was in love. Before you were an hour old, I knew I would die for you. To this day, I will. Better yet, I will pray for you. For every ounce of love I feel, God loves you even more. ♥ ♥

Kids say the silliest things . . . .

Kailey asked me how flies make the buzz sound. I said it was from their wings flapping so fast. Lexi said, I go so fast I buzz too!

In the car the girls love to sing songs. Lexi does her own rendition of many of them.
Some examples are:
"Old McFahma had a Fahm, E I E I O"


"The itsy bitsy spida went dancing in the wain (rain)"

The eggs are dancing!

Making cupcakes for St. Pat's Day with my girls today. I cracked the eggs into the bowl with the mix and Kailey started to stir. Lexi said "Oh, mom, the eggs are dancing". Too cute!!!

Lexi CRACKS me up!!

This will be an on-going post I am pretty sure. Lexi is CONSTANTLY making us laugh! She is pretty witty for a 2 1/2 year old ; )

Tonight, I was getting changed into my jammies and she said, "o mommy . . . your boobies . . . I love them".

Then she grabbed my pants, opened the waist band, held them up, and said "hop in".

Then, when we got home from being out, she left her boots in the middle of the floor. I said "Lexi can you put your boots away?" She said "Nooooo" in a winey voice. I said "I didn't put them in the middle of the floor, you need to put them away". She said, " but you put them on me".
Wow, she is something else : )

Home commentary:
Me: Kailey time to clean your room
Kailey: Can you come help me?
Me: no, I am cleaning my room, you clean yours
Kailey: Can I pay you to clean mine too?
Me: LOL - No

Washed my car to the tune of Lexi singing "go mommy go" . . . "go mommy go" repeatedly. Vacuumed, worked out and rearranged the living room to the same tune. If only I had this much encouragement every day : ) Love my little cheer leader!!

Most boyfriends think it is dorky to dress in matching outfits. You know you have a good boyfriend when he let's you do his hair with matching lavendar headbands. Way to score brownie points with your best girl Cas!

My friend Kerri watched Lexi for me so I could volunteer in Kailey KG class the other day and shot these pics with captions and all so I had to post what she captured. Too cute.

Hmmm... should I give him a kiss?
No! I'm way too shy!

He is pretty cute though... I think I will.

On second thought, there's no need to rush. I could just start with a kiss on his forehead...

What? You want me to kiss him again? I already did!

Nicely done Kerri. Lexi truly does LOVE Casey, who is 1 1/2 but she still calls him 'baby Casey'. I teased Kerri that if they get married she can call him 'baby' for the rest of her life : )

Love these kiddos : )