Lake LBJ

Wednesday, September 27, 2017
There were lots of giggles at the lake house with cousins.

And a busted lip for our newest walker :( Good thing Granna was there to give P "feel better" snuggles.

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It's My Birthday!

Tuesday, September 26, 2017
I had a great (birth)Day! Thank you for all the sweet wishes, they made my day. I'm celebrating my 33rd trip around the sun!



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Thirty Something

Monday, September 25, 2017
Shake your bum bum because it's my birthday!


Good job Paige :)

I'm thirty something turning another thirty something today!


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Girls!

Sunday, September 24, 2017
From the bakehouse last weekend:


From L to R: Claire- 3 yrs, Paige-1 year, Alexandra- 2 yrs, & Madison- 4 yrs

Granna sure does have her hands full!
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Flying Circus

Wednesday, September 20, 2017
My flight from Midland to Houston was supposed to leave at 2:30, then got delayed till 5. Boo. But then we are unable to land at Hobby because of a thunderstorm so we had to just circle over Houston. But then we got low on gas so we had to go to San Antonio. My flight landed at 7PM. It was a long day. But some girls stayed up late to see Mom and I got some snuggles. :)



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Fire Trucks

Monday, September 18, 2017
A couple weeks ago,  during the hurricane actually, one of our neighbors had a bad fall and a fire truck and an ambulance came. Claire had a million questions about what was happening, the lights and the sirens. I was trying to calm her down before bed so I suggested that maybe it wasn't a fire at all, maybe they were going to use their ladder to get a kitty out of the tree. *Silence and Thinking* "'Yeah mom I think that's what they're doing" And off to bed we went.

Fast forward to today. Ross and the girls passed a firetruck on the way home from school and Ross asked Claire what a firetruck does. Claire said, "Gets kitties out of the trees". I'm sure a "Mommy said" followed up when Ross asked her who told her that.

Welp, there we have it. Parenting.

Sleeping Claire. Notice, no fingers in her mouth!

Arts and Crafts for Paige

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Mommy's Turn

Wednesday, September 13, 2017
2 girls + my lap = Mommy with a full heart!



And then there's this one...

Which may actually be my favorite :)
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Gentle Touches

Tuesday, September 12, 2017
I got called into the teacher's office at school today. Claire was not using "gentle touches" with her "friends" so she had to sit in the "cozy corner" to have some quiet time to reflect. On the way home when I tried to talk to her about it, she says "you don't love me mom?" Sooooo then we had to divert and talk about how I will always love her but sometimes her actions can make me sad. I wasn't sure if Claire was paying enough attention to our conversation, but she said our pre-dinner prayer and it went something like this tonight-
"Dear God thank you for our food and our family. Please help me not hit people at school tomorrow. Amen" 

So there you have it. Maturity beyond her years, right? Well then Claire says "Mom, Paige is chewing her food with her mouth open. No Paige. No. You're a bad baby Paige"


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Baking with Mom

Monday, September 11, 2017
Baking with the girls is like no baking I've ever done before. Claire wants to do everything herself and the cookie dough also disappears at a rapid pace. Paige thought she was doing everything big sister was doing, right there in the mix.

Sous chefs in training!






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Daddy's Girls

Sunday, September 10, 2017
It's so much fun watching these girls interact with each other and with their Daddy. Paige doesn't walk around saying Dada all day like she does Mama, so I wasn't sure if she could say it. But this weekend Ross walked out of the room and P started crying and saying "Dada, Dada!". Ross came back in and asked her to say Dada again and she just looks at him with a twinkle in her eye and says "Mama. Mama. Maaamaaa." Yep, she's our child.





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Jammies

Wednesday, September 6, 2017
Special sisters. BFF's.












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Lightroom

Tuesday, September 5, 2017
I [finally] got a new computer last week! I bought my previous MacBook in 2011 and it just wasn't able to keep up with the most recent updates and revamped operating systems (ahem, Sierra).  So Happy early birthday to me.

Along these lines, photography friends and fellow enthusiasts have encouraged me to give Lightroom a try (photo editing software). I've resisted because change is hard :) But when you get a new computer it kinda becomes the time to be adventurous. So enter, my first picture. Organized and edited in Lightroom. This is big people.


Seesters, Seesters in matching "Goodnight my Deer" PJ's. I mean love right?!
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Hurricane Harvey's Aftermath

Monday, September 4, 2017
Hurricane Harvey devastated the lives of so many people across Texas last week.  We were fortunate to have a dry house and power throughout four days of incessant rain.  I had no idea that tornados frequently spawn from hurricanes; we had over 20 tornado warnings blaring from our phones at all hours of the night telling us to "take shelter".

Most public schools are closed until next week, but Kingwood Highschool was so damaged it will not open this school year and all the students will attend a nearby school while the repairs are made. My downtown office building re-opens tomorrow, but I'm struggling with regaining some semblance of normalcy when so many people are still affected. I feel guilty. There are entire neighborhoods that are still underwater, and will be for weeks, as the water from the reservoirs must be released to maintain the integrity of the dams. I mean what??? How can we go back to work when there are people a couple miles away without any home to live in? Can you imagine evacuating, thinking that there's no way two feet of water will come into your house that's never flooded and you find that six feet of nasty water came in? I read that only 20% of Houstonians effected have flood insurance. Story after story like this. I hear the chopping/thumping of helicopters flying overhead in the darkness even now, more than a week after Harvey made landfall.

Ross's aunt and uncle (Wade and Jane) in Dickinson got about 2 feet of water in their house and had to be rescued, his aunt and uncle (Cindy and Steve) in West Columbia are still evacuated as the flooding peak of the Brazos is uncertain, and Ross's mom discovered water in her house- the yard just couldn't drain the water fast enough along the side of her house.

Claire helped me bag up some of her old clothes for "people who got water in their house", but that is about the extent of understanding a three year old has. And that's probably a good thing. Ross volunteered his handyman services over the last few days while I watched the girls. Here's some pictures from his travels.

Wade & Jane's house in Dickinson.



Ross helped gut a house located inside 610, not far from our house. 

Huge debris piles up and down the street.

Laura's house


I've learned a lot about water damage in the last few days. I didn't understand the 48-hour rush to pull up wet flooring and get holes in the drywall for them to dry out before mold and mildew take over. I also didn't realize that clothes have to be thrown out and pretty much anything that comes into contact with the yucky water.

This is going to be a long road to recovery for Houston and other cities in Harvey's path.
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HBD to Claire and Ross!

Such a fun birthday weekend for two of my favorites! Claire turned 8 and Ross turned… more than 8 :)  Date night picture--