For the Love of the Game...

Ever since d1 has been walking, there has usually been a ball in his hand. I guess it has a lot to do with his daddy being a basketball coach for so long but nonetheless, he has a passion for it. This is the first year that D1 isn't coaching so we wondered if d1 would lose his desire but we see that is not true. The last two years that we went to cheer D1 on, d1 would just sit, stare and eat popcorn with an intense study on his face. Most toddlers his age would be interested with running up and down the bleachers but not him. He watched, waited and cheered "Two Points, Mama" when our team would score. He picked up quite a few pointers over the score of games we attended. And his own skills have only benefited from it. I may be biased but I think he's pretty darn good for a 3-year-old. He's graduated from his Little Tikes 3-ft-goal to the Kansas Jayhawks rim-over-the-door hoop in his playroom (about 6 ft tall). He can dribble, shoot a lay-up and knock down most free-throws! See my future Jayhawk below! Such aspirations!

Trip to the Movie Theater

This weekend was d1's first trip to the movies. We've been waiting to make this trip for awhile; we wanted to wait until we thought d1 would sit still for at least 1/2 of the movie. We were pleasantly surprised when he managed to make it through the entire movie with just one bathroom break and a few (okay, about 10) seat changes between his seat, my lap and D1's lap.

Let me preface this by saying that not only was this our first movie theater trip but this was also a big reward for d1. You see, d1 can be quite a handful with his energy, enthusiasm and love for life....oh, and his desire to use words that his friends are teaching him at school paired with his unusually strong will. That being said, last week he "moved up" to the next class at school (daycare just sounds so wrong), which brings a new teacher and a new set of rules. His former teacher and his new teacher are like night and day with completely different techniques and I think it was just a matter of d1 adjusting to this new atmosphere. His new teacher has a "grading scale" for behavior - green card=GOOD day, red card=needs improvement, black card=BAD day and there are some others in between...you get the point. Well, d1's first couple of days were "free" days meaning he didn't receive a rating. However, the first day he got a pretty red card (not good but could be worse). We talked with him on how we are to act at school and thought it would resolve itself. Ha! The next day, D1 picked him up to see that he was exceptionally naughty and this card was a very dark, sad color of BLACK. Of course D1 and I discussed this with d1 all night long and asked what he did to deserve this card....and he honestly and openly admitted to us that he called his friends stupid, told them to shut-up, and he didn't pick up his toys at clean-up time. We were very unhappy and explained (as well as you can to a 3 year old) that this is unacceptable behavior, that we DO NOT say those words EVER and that we ALWAYS pick up our toys. In fact, we practiced that night in our playroom....and we quickly saw how he earned a black card! He had no interest in cleaning up; he just kept finding more toys to play with and kept saying he would clean up "in a minute" (I believe he learned that phrase from D1). We purposely made that evening quite uneventful to show d1 that we do not get rewarded for naughty behavior - no dessert (his fav meal of the day), no hide-and-seek, no fun stuff until our behavior improved. So, D1 and I decided that if he had a better day on Friday, we would do something super special for him. When D1 picked d1 up at school that afternoon.....HOORAY!! He did it! He got a green card. I don't know if I've ever been so proud of him....and he was pretty darn proud of himself! Which leads us to the reward....

As I mentioned above, we had been waiting for the right time to venture out to the big movie theater and we decided this was the best time to do so. We took d2 to Grandpa's for a couple of hours and made this movie night all about d1. You can see in the pictures that he had a great time. I think his favorite was the large bucket of popcorn that he held on with a firm grasp....he even saw a friend sitting behind us watching the movie, too!

One final note to this incredibly LONG post....we really had a great time, no meltdowns, no tantrums, really just a great night all around....except for the PRICE! If anyone has been to a movie lately, they can relate to my astonishment. Seriously, we went to a matinee and it cost us $20 just to see the movie and then another $16 for popcorn and two drinks. Where has the increased costs to the movie theaters come from??? Absolutely ridiculous....in all seriousness, I doubt we will be going back before d2 is ready for his first movie trip!

Happy Halloween!

The boys had such a good time! This was the first year that Spiderman (Dagen) really understood how this works - walk up to the door, ring the doorbell, say "Trick or Treat" and get candy. Well, he was fine walking up to the door but, at first, he didn't want to wear the Spiderman mask; he just wanted to be Dagen. Then, when he did finally succumb to the pressures of the mask, he didn't want to wait for the nice person to fill his bucket ~ he wanted to determine what candy he would have by grabbing a handful out of the nice person's bowl. Fortunately "most" of our neighbors were okay with his slight bossiness. By the end of our trip around the subdivision, Dagen figured out how the scenario works and he had it down pat - just in time to be done and head home! As for Davis the Turtle, he just followed Dagen.....as usual. In any case, they were super cute and it was a fun night. It was also a great way for us to meet our neighbors who are otherwise holed up in their homes.

Hay Days!

Last weekend we took the boys over to a little festival in Woodruff (I think!) where they had old-time tractors and machinery for the boys to climb on. They also had hay rides, animals, etc. Dagen was on cloud 9 ~ tractors are his passion. And Davis loves anything Dagen loves so it was a fun time for them. We went with Dallas' aunt and uncle and Dagen just LOVES Uncle Bob because Uncle Bob has many tractors as well as a four-wheeler, a golf cart and a horse. That is paradise for Dagen! Bobby and Tammy are incredibly nice people who are always so welcoming to us and who love our children and we are so thankful they are in our lives. Here are some pictures from our day!

Who We Are....

I thought a little introduction was appropriate to those who don't know us very well. Dallas and I have been married 4+ years. We met in 2000 and he proposed on Thanksgiving Day 2001. It was the biggest surprise of my life! He had done everything he could to throw me off ~ he even went so far as to "pick" a fight with me days before he proposed and claim that he "didn't know if I was even the One" for him. So, needless to say, when he proposed, I was in shock! What was even more shocking was the ring! He had it custom made based on "hints" I had dropped in the previous months. He has always been good at surprises!

We were married on June 14, 2003 in Grandview, Missouri. It was a wonderful day for both of us as we joined as one in our new life. We set sail on our honeymoon cruise to the Western Caribbean the next day and thoroughly enjoyed our time away. Good thing we enjoyed that time away because three months later, a little white stick showed two big lines and we were off on the next journey of our lives....preparing for the arrival of Dagen Joe. I was very blessed with an extremely easy pregnancy....only complaint I could get away with was the weight I gained (probably due to the all the Chipotle burritos I consumed in a 9-month period). Birth was relatively easy, thanks to the sharp needle fully loaded with meds!

During this pregnancy, Dallas and I started attending First Baptist Church of Warrensburg. Neither of us were raised in a Christian environment but some friends invited us so we gave it a whirl! And our lives have not been the same since then! That year we both received our salvation and both Dallas and I were baptized just 2 days before Dagen made his grand entrance into this world. The Lord has blessed us in so many ways and we continue to praise Him for all of His wonders! When we fall, He picks us up, dusts us off and loves us the same.

Fast forward 3 years later....Davis James joined our fam in June '06 and our little family of 4 is currently 1,000 miles from where we began our life together. We have a beautiful house in Greer, SC, we have great jobs and we have found an incredible church that has welcomed us with open arms. Dallas and I have our moments of struggle and sadness being so far from "home" but we are finding so much love and support from such an incredible group of people. There are no words to describe how much it means! Thanks!

Finally....got me a blog!

So, I'm finally catching on to the Blog frenzy and it's pretty neat. I'm learning so many great things from my new bible study girls....and I am so thankful for each of you. Your friendship, compassion, inspiration...truly a blessing to me, especially when I am struggling with our new life here in the South. I look forward to getting to know all of you!