Update in a Slideshow

Our borrowed pet

Hey, Denise! These pics are for you! My kids are sure enjoying taking care of your "baby" while ya'll are on vacation. These pics are from last week. It didn't take long for Denae to warm up to Bo, and Dallas has taken a real ownership of the dog. He takes his turn feeding, checking water, and basically spends all day outside playing with Bo. He makes sure Bo rests too, finding nice, cool, shady places for him to lay down and then sitting beside him, petting him. The girls play with him too, but with school, quizzing, etc they don't have as much time. The kids are really going to miss him when take him home. Now we'll have to get a dog!

Dallas turned 5 years old

On Feb 13, Dallas turned 5 yrs old. Here are some pics of his birthday celebration and a few of his gifts.

The fireman raincoat was a Christmas present from Aunt Kathy, so she got him matching rain boots for his Birthday.
Cool! A fishing pole and lures (he got a tackle box too!)

Letting Delaney play with his excavator before church.

Finally - BQ Finals Post

Okay, I finally sat down and did it. I made a slideshow of the pics I took at Finals 2 weeks ago. Wow, I am really slow! Anyways, finals was a lot of fun. Friday night we went to John's Incredible Pizza with everyone after orientation. We had a blast. I don't have any pics of that on my slide show because the pics all turned out too dark. But, the beginner girls all had matching outfits from Children's Place (Thank you Sis Horton for picking those up for us!) Everywhere I looked it was pink shirts and headbands! Then after a late night of partying (and even later night of Denae crying because it was very hot in our room and she was over exhausted), we got up for a big day of quizzing. Our church junior and beginner quizzers all wore navy, white, and yellow this year. Everyone looked really nice. After a long day of great quizzing by all of the quizzers, Delaney and Darilyn took 2nd in the beginner division. First place went to another Sacramento team, Karly, Oriana, Katrina, and Kayla. They were a tough team and quizzed very well. Delaney was highest scorer on the all tournament team with 99 pts per quiz. Darilyn was 5th. And this tournament, the juniors and beginners were able to participate in the Ultamate Challenge competition, normally just a senior thing. Delaney and Darilyn both did really well in this too. In the charting competition (locate as many 1 time words as your can correctly in 30 seconds) Delaney was 2nd and Darilyn was 4th. In the quoting competion (horizontal quote as many vs 1's as you can in 30 seconds -horizontal is quoting all of the same vs numbers through the material Gal 1:1, Gal 4:1, Gal 5:1, Gal 6:1, Eph 2:1, Eph 4:1, Eph 5:1, and Eph 6:1) Delaney took 1st and Darilyn took 3rd. Delaney actually quoted all 8 of the beginner verse 1's in 30 seconds. Juniors and Seniors, of course, have more verse 1's to quote. But, if I can brag a little more, according to Danny Barba, our Ultimate Challenge coordinator, Delaney did the best of all the divisions! And, Bro and Sis Horton, our beginner program directors, received coach of the year! In the junior division, my nephews Christian and Austin, took first place, with Austin being 1st on the all tournament team and Christian being 5th (that looks familiar). Faith and Caleb, our 'adopted' niece and nephew took 2nd, and Faith was the junior Quizzer of the Year. And Carlos and Denise, received Junior Coach of the Year. Everyone did such a great job and worked very hard. Of course, juniors and seniors are still working hard getting ready for Nationals just 2 weeks away, but Delaney and Darilyn are done for the year and this Mom is ready for the break. Kevin is working dillegently from the official side of things making sure everything will be ready for the National tournament and tonight is actually at Kathy and Craigs helping Christian and Austin study. So for all those still working hard, rememeber EVED (every verse every day!)

Dallas Does It Again

Okay, so tonight I once again had to take Dallas in to the Dr for x-rays. His sister, who will remain anonymous due to her horrible feelings of guilt and sorrow, accidentally slammed his pinky in the door of the girls' bedroom during 'nap time' (which apparently is defined as the time for Dallas to keep sneaking into their room every few minutes (or seconds lol), annoying them to the point that his finger gets slammed/smashed in the door as they attempt to keep him from coming in). It was very indented, bruising and swelling quickly. He couldn't/wouldn't move it, so we iced it down and called the Dr.
We then had to take him in for x-rays. This was the aforementioned mishap which kept me from being able to finish Darilyn's timed quoting before church service. Thankfully, it doesn't appear to be broken, just horrible disfigured for the present time.
While waiting on the nurse to bring in the splint, Dallas and I were looking at the paper copy of one of the x-rays of his hand. We were discussing the bones and joints and were comparing them to how our hand moves. When discussing the thumb and its various joints, I showed him how the one closest to the wrist lets our thumb move and then had him do it. Then I showed him how the middle joint works, and he demonstrated that one as well. Last, of course, was the top joint. He made a fist and then wiggled his thumb at the top joint. "This one's for pushing the buzzer," he said. Spoken like a true up and coming Bible Quizzer. (And also giving me another entry into my "Kids Say the Cutest Thing" file.)
Anyway, hopefully it will be looking and feeling better soon. In the meantime, we will ice it and splint it as necessary and hope that our next trip to the Dr/ER won't be anytime soon!

Kids say the cutest things!

Dallas about why he was so excited about the Family Fun Night hosted by Bible Quizzing; "Oh, yeah, and God is going to be there too!"

Denae's version of what a kitty cat says: "Memow."

Darilyn's main concerning when finding out my mom was in the hospital again: "Does Grandma's antibotics (her word) taste like bubble gum?"

Dallas on why he wants to quiz next year: "So I can get first place!"

Denae, after mommy told her to tell daddy 'I'm cute': "Mommy cute!"

Delaney's obeservation regarding losing some quizzes and then taking first at the last BQ tourney: "I guess Jesus was trying to show us that even if we lose some quizzes, we can still win." (This comment struck me as kind of funny, but true, too. Even if we lose some, whether it be in a game or any part of life, including our spiritual life, if we keep playing, living, or doing our best, we can (and WILL) still win in the end. Even kids can have profound thoughts sometimes!)

Born Negotiator

Dallas went to work at the greenhouse today with Kevin. He always enjoys working with his Daddy and Kevin can usually find him things to do to keep him occupied. Today he asked Dallas if he wanted to clean out weeds from under the plant benches. Usually Dallas would jump at the chance to be a "working man," but today he said no, he didn't want to do that. Well, Kevin knows that normally the girls and Dallas love the chance to make a little money, and they usually get a little bit for doing extra things like that, so Kevin told Dallas he would pay him if he pulled the weeds. Dallas, immediately, without even thinking about it asked, "A hundred dollars?" Then he began to negotiate down how much he had to do. "I'll just pull the big weeds okay?" Definitely Kevin's son, already learning how to negotiate a job to get paid more for doing less lol!

Another trip to the ER

Okay, for all those wondering what this picture is about: This is what Dallas and I did Saturday night, May 17. I was giving him a quick shower before bedtime when he slipped and fell, busting his chin open. (I was holding his arm, but the fall happened so quickly I couldn't catch him.) We then spent a couple of hours in ER waiting to get it stitched up. So much for getting to bed at a decent time on Sat night! He was a real trooper. He cried when he first fell, but then didn't cry when they looked at it and cleaned (irrigated) it. He did however scream and required 3 people to hold him still when the 'numbing' shots were given. Apparently that medicine really burns. After a few minutes he was fine and laid perfectly quiet and still while they gave him 5 stitches. His eyes, into which I stared for this entire procedure, still told of the trauma, however, all red-rimmed and full of betrayal. And I was still shaking from the screaming episode even when it was all over with. All's well that ends well, though, and his stitches were removed last Friday, with none of the drama and fanfare. The NP even gave him the stitches to bring home in a little plastic container.

No Limits

I haven't posted for a few days, but I did want to add a bit about No Limits. The services were wonderful! I don't have time to post a lot of details, but suffice it to say that once again God met with His people in an awesome way! Many ministers were ordained on Friday night through Reach World Wide Inc. And on Thursday night I lost count of how many people pledged support to local ministers in Africa. It was one of those nights that touches the heart in a way that will not soon be forgotten.

These are a couple of pics of the kids at the service the last night of No Limits. The girls all match in the dresses we made. Dallas was being onery and wanted to pose silly in all of the pics I took of him. I finally gave up getting the "perfect" picture. With him, you get what you get! By the way, he is holding a "gold nugget" he received in Children's Church. He was very proud of that!

Dallas' Fourth Birthday Party

We had such a good time Saturday night. Kevin's mom and dad, Kathy and Craig and the boys, and Carlos and Denise and the kids came over for Dallas' late B-day party. We had hot dogs, Dallas' food of choice, with chips and salas, another of Dallas' favorites. The kids played baseball and we all wore fire men hats to go with the theme. It was great! Enjoy the pictures!

Oh Happy Day!!

Over a year ago we received a new computer. In the process of moving pics from our old computer, which was close to demise, to our new computer, I inadvertently lost several folders of my most important pics. These included when Dallas was born, his dedication, and 1st b-day, when Denae was born and her dedication, as well as some others, such as various Easters and vacations. I knew I had e-mailed pics to my mom and dad, but they had been unable to find them on their computer. So, as dissappointed as I was, I had to resign myself never seeing those pictures again except in the photo albums of my mind and heart. However, today, something wonderful happened! My mom found the pics on her computer!!! So to celebrate I have included some pics of Dallas' first b-day, which I was not able to put in his slide show. I will share some of the other "lost and found" pics later. Enjoy!


Yummy cake! He just digs right in!
Look at all that frosting in his hand!
All done! Now I rub the plate on my head!
Exhausted! We tried to wash the frosting out of his hair, but without shampoo at the church it was to no avail. It made a wonderful smelling hair gel though! lol

Happy Birthday, Dallas!

Wow, I can't believe my little boy is turning 4 today! He is truly all boy, despite having 3 sisters. Yes, he does have his moments of wanting to play dolls with his sisters just to have someone to play with, but his toys of choice are cars, trucks, trains, and dinosaurs. He is really into firetrucks and other vehicles with sirens right now. He likes to ride his bike (no training wheels) and drive his John Deere Gator. Mud seems to attract him like a magnet, and keeping him cleaned up is a full time job. But, he also loves to wear suits and he cannot leave for church without his Bible. He still loves the drums and will use anything that remotely looks like a drumstick to play drums on any surface. Even at this age he can keep the beat. I guess that comes from being born in "the 'hood." lol Dallas, you are such a special treasure to Mommy and Daddy. You have been a joy and a blessing and a trial (lol) all wrapped up in one precious little boy. From the moment we knew you were on the way, we have loved you and that love has just grown as the years have passed by. Watching as you have followed after your sisters, and then as you began to do your own 'boy' stuff has been so fun. You are one tough little dude, thinking you big enough to do what the big kids do, but you are still ready to snuggle up with Mommy or Daddy at days end. We can't wait to see what all new things you will learn to do this year and we know that as the years pass by, God is going to do great things with your life. We love you bunches and bunches!!

Kids sing the funniest things

Today I heard Dallas singing a Christmas song in his room and it really struck me as funny. He was trying to sing "Felize Navidad." However, his version said "Alysse Mom and Dad." Too funny! And I was fixing Darilyn's hair for church the other night as she sang a worship chorus from our services. She loves to sing and was really 'feeling' the song. The song is "More of you, Jesus. More of your face. More of your glory in this place." Darilyn was singing with all her heart, "No other, Jesus. No other face. No other glory in this place." Well, I helped with the words and sang with her and we chuckled about the different words. She then explained, as only Darilyn can, how her words worked as well, because we don't want any other Jesus or his face or glory in church. That child like wonder and innocence is always refreshing.

Pictures of the Girls at School and Other Things

I went to the girls' class today to take some pictures for scrapbooking. The girls love to scrapbook, so for Christmas we are making their teacher some scrapbook pages of the class. Of course, we will have to make double the pages so the girls can put them in their own scrapbooks. And for those wondering, yes, my kindergartner and first grader have the same teacher. She teaches a kindy-1st combo class. I took Darilyn's pic with the kindys and Delaney's with the 1st graders. The other teacher is an aide in the class for one of the boys. I thought I would share those with my blogging friends and family.


When I got home, I took some pictures of Dallas and Denae. I made Denae's bow this morning (Thanks for the ribbon, Mom!) and she wanted to show it off for Grandma. Then we had to have more pictures of Dallas, and Denae wanted in those too. My kids are not camera shy at all!

In the above picture Denae is saying and signing please. I told Dallas to say Candy for the picture, and Denae said, "Please." That is her way of saying yes she would like some.

Ready for Church on Sunday Night

Just some pics

Thought I would post a couple of pics I have taken lately of the kids. Take a look at the mess in that toy room. We get it cleaned up every night, but the too babies, (Denae and Kaitlyn) can sure make a mess. But, I guess that okay since it is in the toy room. Besides, take a look at the expression on Denae's face. It is priceless. She is just having so much fun! Dallas is being a cool kid with his hat. He is also holding Bible quiz cards. He asked me to "learn" him a verse, or actually 2. The funny thing is, he really can quote them since he has heard the girls say them so many times!

With Daddy's Help

We were eating out the other night and Dallas said the cutest thing. He was getting a drink when he looked at me and said, "Mama, I got my drink all by myself with Daddy's help!" He was so excited to tell me just how big a boy he was. It got me to thinking (uh oh!) about my relationship with my heavenly Father. So many times I just don't think I can do something or that I can't make it through a tough situation, but then He reaches into the situation and helps me out. Others looking on may say what a great job I did or how strong I must be to do such and such or get through thus and so, but I know that I did it with my Father's help. And no matter what, I need to always remember where my strength comes from and give glory to Him for all the glorious and wonderful things that He has done.

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Phillipians 4:13

Dallas

Just chilling

Looking good, Cowboy

Tough Dude

I called Dallas a dude the other day and he made a big deal about not being a dude. That is until I told him dude was another word for cowboy, like a dude ranch. He thought for a second after that and said, "Yeah, I'm a dude!" He is growing up too fast, I think. Well, I think that most of the time! As you can tell, he likes to pose for pictures too, just like Presley! Dallas keeps us hopping, and I wouldn't have him any other way! I love you, little dude!