2.28.2011

colins newest thing is drawing.

he grabs a piece of paper and a pencil and gets busy.

he titled this 'things in our kitchen'.

all food groups appear to be represented.

oreos, ketchup, hersheys chocolate syrup,

jam, bowl of fresh fruit, orange juice,

salt, pepper, bud light & skyy vodka.

life through the eyes of a nine year old!



2.27.2011

colin i hope you are always as conscientious as you are now.

you forgot your book at school on friday.

its 7:30pm. i just got home from work.

the oscars are on.

i say: "we'll read 6 chapters on monday to catch up."

you teeter on the edge of a kidbreakdown vs. a kidpanicattack.

we talk about responsibility.

you defend yourself with i'm trying to be responsible by reading my assignment when its due.

hard to argue with that.

amazing what you can do online in two minutes.

downloaded and ready to read.

we read.

we stay up past bedtime.

you say: "now i can sleep tonight"

hard to argue with that.

sweet dreams.

2.24.2010

just finished reading 592 pages this week.
fascinating read.
the biography of cancer is just too simple of a term to refer to this book.
the fabric of this nonfiction work weaves the history of cancer, the progress we have made in conquering cancer & the personal perspective from a doctor.
i can understand why this was on the top books of 2010.
i can understand why i was on the waiting list at the library for months.
worth the wait.

2.23.2011

overheard.

i am in the kitchen programming the coffee pot for tomorrow mornings caffeine fix. american idol is on the tv screen. i hear colin & nathan but i can't see them. i strain to eavesdrop on their conversation over some terrible singer trying to sound like the beatles. what are they talking about tonight? usually its a sports topic or a new app on their itouch. as i get closer i hear colin say 'what is the major conflict between the jews and palestinians about?' - nathan responds. colin continues with 'the arabian peninsula is home to which country?' again nathan responds & colin congratulates him on his correct answer. who knew that the middle east assessment review would be shared among two brothers tonight? who knew that i would witness it? who knew these are the special moments that create everyday memories. good luck on your test tomorrow nathan!

2.22.2011

nathan now.

glimpses into your day.

you love your trumpet & practice faithfully everyday.

you follow us around giving us mini concerts of your latest tune.

you carry this back & forth to school everyday,

usually around your neck as you run for the bus.

you watch espn all the time.

when your not watching sports, wipeout, friends reruns &

the bachelor are on the tv.

you love school & playing basketball outside.

you give 110% in all classes & your grades show it.

you are your hardest critic.

you play on your itouch in the little free time you have left

in your day.

your cell phone often goes weeks without being used.

you have a facebook account.

you use it in spurts.

you broke your glasses today -

good thing you have a backup pair.

you have the amazing ability to eavesdrop on all of mom &

dads conversations.

you are up on your current affairs &

are always informing us of world events.

you are almost as tall as me.

you love to babysit colin to make some pocket change.

you love God, life, sleep & the guiena pigs too!

we love you nathan!

2.21.2011

this is the reason colins homework wasn't done.

this is the reason colin didn't play outside today after school.

this is the reason colin missed the sunny 80 degree afternoon.

this is the reason he is smiling from ear to ear.

nothing better than a new lego kit.

nothing better than a technic lego kit.

nothing better than pages of directions.

nothing better than building a mobile crane.

nothing better than a 292 lego piece smile!

2.20.2011

sunday snapshots to capture a glimpse of our day.

each morning church followed by brunch at home.

our afternoon was filled touring the new model homes

in the teravista village.

evening rolled around and we celebrated faiths birthday

with meatloaf, cake and a game of blokus.

board games are always more fun with

poppa and grandma.

what a busy weekend -

jam packed with fun, activities & laughs.

can't believe its over.

2.19.2011

a day filled with round rock donuts,

basketball games in high school gyms,

panni sandwiches for lunch &

a night out at maggianos at the domain for dinner.

warm, overcast & high 70's filled the air.

vacation days always seem to fly by so fast.

2.19.2011

go spurs go.

go colin go.

go have fun on the court.



2.18.2011

today we traveled back to the 60's.

today we visited the lydon johnson presidential library

on the university of texas campus.

today we watched, listened & learned things we didn't know.

today we walked among 45 MILLION pages of historical documents.

{this is the view from lady birds office in the museum overlooking

the ut campus and downtown austin}

today we appreciated our presidential office.

today we appreciated our american history.

today we ate lunch at the treehouse downtown.

today we laughed, walked & caught up on sippel news.

heres to a day off from work spent with bob & faith.

2.18.2011

today was filled with exploding volcanoes.

today was filled with musical performances.

today was filled with dinner at fridays.

today was filled with pentago & 3d tic-tac-toe.

today was filled with catching up poppa & grandma.

today was a busy day.

2.17.2011

basketball thursdays are coming to an end.

tonight we ran from colins practice to justins game.

tonight we had special visitors at justins game.

straight off the plane right to the bleachers -

poppa and grandma!

even their cheering couldn't help the hornets tonight.

happy thursday.

2.16.2011

this is why i clean the boys rooms:

to find more memorable treats.

same white lined paper.

probably same pencil.

different handwriting.

found this in colins room, next to his

spongebob square pants battery operated alarm clock...

'please wake up justin if i am not awake yet. thank you, justin.'

colin is our backup alarm clock.

colin likes to get up at the sametime everyday.

colin is time conscientious.

guess he inherited these genes from steve.

guess justin wanted to get up early.

2.15.2011

this is the only reason i clean the boys rooms:

to find treats like this....

'don't firgit a bout colin's birthday   -   mom'

ummmm...

this was found in justins room today.

i did not write this message.

i wonder who did?



2.14.2011

doesn't get any better than this!

valentines day party with my favorite 21 third graders.

pizza, cookies, popcorn & sprite.

movies, games, crafts & a valentine exchange.

i {heart} valentines day.

2.12.2011

colin is nine.

today.

when did this happen? how did this happen?

our curly is nine years old.

it was just yesterday i was at millard fillmore suburban hospital in new york

anxiously awaiting the arrival of dr. bob.

i remember looking at the clock at 10am & having a full blown panic attack.

i'm sure it was the hormones.

i'm sure it was that i knew what the next couple days would be like.

i'm sure it was right after they said they wanted to put the foley in preop.

i'm sure it was because i wasn't at "my" hospital.

i'm sure i attempted to get up and leave.

i'm sure steve was there & talked me through it.

i'm sure it was a tuesday morning.

i'm sure this was just yesterday.

i'm sure this was yesterday.

wasn't it?
there are only snapshot images from my memory surrounding colins
wonderful arrival into this world.
anesthesia not lasting during my c-section, a reaction to something
that caused terrible itching, a semi-private room for 6 hours,
not seeing colin for the first 6 hours after he was born - not sure
why, getting a private room, walking to the bathroom but not able to
make it back to bed - so i sat & cried until someone found me - pca pump
& scds all still intact, nathan & justin coming to the hospital for a visit - one of
them just sat and colored a picture.
i don't remember leaving but i remember
steve having to settle up for my private room on the way out.
i don't remember getting home but i remember
it was a friday and it was cold & grey outside.
i don't remember any pain but i am reminded
everyday what a blessing you are!
happy birthday dude!

2.11.2011

our birthday eve celebration continues in a big way.

this is colins year for a big party.

(not sure how this started but the boys have a BIG party one year,

followed by a family dinner party the next year.)

he picked austin park & pizza (again!)

he invited the basketball team, taggert, riley & the brothers.

oh to be nine again.

he was so excited all week.

i think he was exhausted by the time his birthday arrived.

lots of pizza, lots of tokens &

lots of magical nine memories!

happy birthday colin !

2.11.2011

colins birthday eve celebration continues.

an end of the day party at school with 21 classmates

and 24 round rock donuts.

talk about a sugar high - they were still warm in the box!

i love this picture.

i already had put my camera away but quickly found it

as the class all took turns "giving the birthday person a compliment gift."

each student raised their hand and said something nice about colin.

'he is very good at math.'

'he helped me get to the nurses office when i was sick.'

'he is funny.'

'he is kind.'

love this stuff.

2.11.2011

“life is a series of surprises.”

― ralph waldo emerson

nothing better than arriving at the school cafeteria with a mcdonalds

lunch and surprising on birthday boy on his birthday eve.

doesn't this smile say it all?

-

"mom, this is the best day ever!" he said.

{i pray i can always make his day with nothing

more than a mcdonalds lunch.}

2.10.2011

that was an exciting game.

that was an easy school to find, just hard to find the door that would grant us access to the game.

that was a cold austin night as we ran through the parking lot

from colin practice at stony point high school to the even colder minivan.

that was a zig-zap route from one school to another through the side roads

of round rock in the dark winter night without glasses.

that was a lot of basketball bouncing for one head to listen to

all in one evening.

that was all worth it.

heres to thursday nights, basketballs and dvr's!

american idol, greys anatomy & the office are

all awaiting us.

2.9.2011

this is now.

this is today.

this is what rain and 44 degrees at 6am

followed by a 15 degree nosedive by 7am looks like.

frozen raindrops.

everywhere.

the layers are on.

the car is warmed.

the mittens are found.

the boys are all safely deposited at school.

the house is in lock down.

the blinds stay closed.

the sweaters are on.

the wind is beating against everywall.

this is a wild texas winter - makes ya long

for the good olde fashioned 3 feet of snow storm!

2.8.2011

basketball round rock tournament tonight.

chalk up another win for the hopewell hornets.

next round on saturday.

{love the wildcat on the wall at walsh.}

speaking of wild - that wind is picking up tonight.

a storm is blowing in.