The Biological Need to Throw Your Child...

The biological need I speak of pertains only to dads. My dad did it, and now Donnie is carrying on the tradition of throwing his children and freaking out his wife. :) We've had so much fun in our "redneck pool" this summer, and one of our evening traditions is to go for a swim after dinner. This always leads to the girls requesting for Dad to throw them and for me to do the "mom gasp" over and over again.  It's a rite of passage, I suppose,  but that doesn't mean I have to understand it.

Sydni catching some air.

She becomes braver with each toss, and attempts to do "tricks" midair.

Makki has no fear, too. (Much to mommy's chagrin.)

4th of July...Without the Fireworks

Due to the drought conditions in Lubbock County, we were not allowed to shoot fireworks this year.  Although the girls (and I'm sure every MALE in the county, including my husband) were disappointed, I actually WASN'T. As a paranoid, morbid mother, 4th of July freaks me out. I'm always fearing the impending danger that could befall my children amidst explosives.  Call me crazy and unpatriotic, but my "have no fear" children are not to be trusted around fireworks. :) Anywhoo, back to what we actually did sans fireworks - we did what any true American families do and cooked out in our backyard.  The Bennetts came over to celebrate with us, and as always, we had a great time with them. Here are a few pics from our get-together.

Syd and Belle - just a swingin'

Mr. ALL BOY, Beau Bennett

The Gals sporting red, white and blue

Makki - always with messy hair, no matter WHAT I do to it! ;)

Mr. ALL BOY, playing in the dogs' water! LOL!

We hit up the park after cooking out

He's a cute little guy!

DRUM ROLL, PLEASE!

Introducing, HART BABY # THREE!

Or as I like to call him/her - LITTLE NUGGET!

For some odd reason, the first question we've been getting is - "Did you plan this?" I'm not quite sure WHY that matters, because it isn't really relative at this point (I mean, the NUGGET is in there - planned or not), but YES and NO.  Yes, because I've never given up the "itch" for another baby (and certainly wasn't doing anything to "prevent" another baby), and NO because we weren't charting, planning or using a book to conceive.  That also brings me the the other question I'm asked on a daily basis - "You want this one to be a boy, right?"  That's a loaded question too, because I was the second girl in the equation that is my family, and I'm pretty sure people wanted me to be a boy. It's natural, and I get it, but I still wouldn't want to here my mother say "I SOOOO wanted you to be a BOY." (And to her credit, she's never ONCE said that! Love ya, Mom.) So, I don't want to go on record saying, "Yes, this one better be a DADGUM BOY. Who wants another girl? Yuck!" Because THAT'S not true. Little, baby girls are the most PRECIOUS gift and Lord knows I know how to take care of baby girls.  I just want a HEALTHY baby to cuddle and love, and that's the God's-honest truth.  Donnie obviously would enjoy a boy, but he's said the same thing. It's just cool we are having another little one when we thought we were finished!   But you know what happens when you try to tell God YOUR plans for how your life should go....we've both learned that you keep your mouth shut and let HIM guide you down the crazy path that is this blessed LIFE.

   Another detail that is very cool about this baby is that it is due on my grandmother's birthday - February 24th.  My Mamaw passed away this year after a long-fought battle with cancer.  Learning that the Nugget is due on her birthday made me really feel that she is watching over us and enjoying being with her maker.  I miss her. She loved her great grandchildren and this little turkey would also be loved and adored by her as well.

A baby that is due in February is a baby that has a very LONG time to get here, according to Sydni and Makki.  They are SO excited and bombard me with questions daily.  My stomach is already poking out there and I know it will be a very AWESOME day when they can finally feel that first kick. Makki lays her head on me everyday, trying to "hear" the baby. It's so sweet! Sydni will be a much-needed helper and is already gearing up to be the "best big sister EVER"...in her words. (Makenzi had to remind her that, "duh, you are already a big sister, Sydni.") I'm pretty sure this little one's feet will never touch the ground. She/He will constantly have a sister carrying it on their hip. I can't wait to see them in action with this little one! 

So that's what's new in our world.  We are incredibly blessed and would love your prayers for this new addition. We have a long road ahead of us, but I know with the support of our friends & family, we can get through anything. (You've helped us prove that time and time again...this little guy wouldn't exist, otherwise. ;)

A Little Behind...

I haven't posted since MARCH, so I guess I'm more than just a LITTLE behind! We are in the thick of summer and loving every minute of our time off. I guess I'll use this post to catch everyone up from March to NOW, but if you have me on Facebook, you pretty much know most of our exciting news (but I'll save a seperate post for THAT). So here are the past four months in a nutshell...

Makki graduated from Pre-K and is eagerly awaiting the start of Kindergarten. (She already has a backpack! LOL!)

Sydni had a super-cool, Justin Bieber-themed birthday party at Main Event to turn SEVEN. (Where has the time gone?)

The girls went to Vacation Bible School for a week and didn't burn the church down. Whoo-hoo!

Daddy took us on a very fun vacation to the exotic Dallas, TX, where we went to Six Flags, Hurricane Harbor and the insanely awesome Medieval Times. It was "a knight to remember" for sure!

So that's about it for April, May and June. Stay tuned for the next post for the BIG news. :)

Sassy Salon Spa Day

Lubbock has a salon just for little girls, and even though our girls can hang with the boys on the playground, they do enjoy all things girly.  We went with a group of girls to the salon for a manicure, up do', and glittery makeup.  We topped the day off with a ride in the Sassy Limo and a trip to Cup of Yo. I have a feeling we will be enjoying many more manicures in the future. Hide your wallet, babe!

All glammed up and ready to take a ride in the Sassy Limo.

Sydni and her friend, Tia, modeling their "Glam Glasses".

Limo ride...they thought it was great. I thought it smelled like a dog. Odd...not  what I envisioned a "sassy" limo to smell like. ;)

Hollywood Came Knocking on my Classroom Door...

What started out as a small assignment for my students ended up as being one of the coolest things that has happened to me in my ten years of teaching.  I teach a fabulous, dystopian fiction novel, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I've been teaching it since 2008 and it was a relatively new teen fiction work.  I'm sure others who have read it have had the same reaction I did to the novel, and it has become one of the most popular teen fiction novels on the market.  It is well-written and it's a crime I get paid to teach something so enjoyable and interesting.  My students LOVE the novel and ACTUALLY ENJOY reading it...something that can't be said of every book I've ever had to teach.  This year, the novel is being made into a major Hollywood film.  This guy that you see below, Gary Ross, is directing the film for Lionsgate studios.

The Hunger Games novel and the in-production movie's director, Gary Ross

I decided to have my students mirror what a group of 8th graders in Fresno, California did in the early 80's with a book you might have heard of, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton.  This group of students loved this novel so much, they wrote Francis Ford Coppala and sent him a petition, begging him to make their beloved book into a movie.  I figured I could do the same for our beloved book, but since it already had the green light to be made into a movie, I took the letter idea a step further.  I had my students write Gary Ross and tell him what he needed to do to make this movie a success in their eyes.  They wrote the letters before Christmas break, and Donnie and I paid the postage to mail them, even though I told my kiddos not to expect anything out of it.

Upon returning from Christmas break in January, I get a call from Karen Valby. She works for this magazine:

Karen called to let me know that during a recent interview with Gary Ross, he mentioned a packet of amazing letters he received from a group of 8th graders in Lubbock.  She asked him questions about the letters and wanted me to be aware that we would be mentioned in the January 11th edition of the magazine. To say I was excited would be the grossest understatement of the century!  My students and I still can't believe a big-time Hollywood director not only took the time to read their letters, but that he LOVED them.  What followed this phone call was a whirlwind of attention for my school and students.  We were featured on Fox News 34:

And in the Lubbock Avalanche Journal"
http://lubbockonline.com/education/2011-02-18/eighth-graders-impress-director-upcoming-hunger-games-movie

Now all we need is for Gary Ross to show up at FMS and make the ending of this tale true to the Hollywood script it has seemed to follow...the students ask me EVERYDAY if I've "heard from The Hunger Games guy"! Here's to hoping I do!
Here are a few pics from our Lubbock AJ interview...I love these kids!

The class they chose to interview was mainly boys...rowdy, smart, ornery boys! Mr. Gulick, the columnist from the Lubbock AJ had a pretty interesting morning that day!

This is the pic they used for the cover of the Local section.  My students pointed out that it made me look like I had rolls. Thank you, 8th graders...thank you. ;)

One of the awesome projects my students did of The Cornucopia...a very important part of the novel!

New Year's Party!

Call us wild and crazy party animals, but Donnie and I like staying at home on New Years! Since Sydni was old enough to count down, we've been having a "kid party" at our house to celebrate the new year.  The girls and I make homemade pizzas, and we play board games and shoot off poppers when the ball drops.  Its become a very laid-back and fun tradition around our house that I hope results in special memories for the girls.  I know Donnie and I will miss having New Year's parties with these two little stinkers someday when they are too cool to hang out with Mom and Dad!  Aunt McCaleb also joined us this year for some 2011 fun!

Makenzi's 5th Birthday!

Just like with the Halloween costumes, I never know what type of birthday party the girls are going to request.  Makenzi's Wizard of Oz party last year resulted in my rush-ordering supplies because I couldn't find the stuff she'd requested at any of the party retailers in Lubbock.  Why did I think this year would be any different?  Hoping to curb the "rush" fees, I had her looking for party stuff in October!  She had her heart set on having a "Unicorn Party", and lucky for me, Celebrate Express had unicorn stuff, but in VERY limited supply.  Who knew unicorns were in such high demand?  Nevertheless, we pulled it off and Makenzi had a swingin' good time at Ready, Set, Go!  Her classmates and cousins were able to play in the foam pit, jump on the trampolines, and swing on the bungee cord harness.  After loads of cake, ice cream and play, Makenzi proclaimed that "this is the best party EVER" at the top of her lungs! (High five, Donnie!)  Mission accomplished. 

Mmmmmm....Aunt Norie's Bakery cake. Delish!

Alyx (Makki's cousin) and the birthday chick!

She REALLY wanted to be standing still at this moment in time while I took pictures of her. ;)

Syd had a ball, and now wants her next birthday to be at Ready, Set, Go!

Where in the heck are we gonna put this stuff?

Sweaty, happy birthday goers! 

More Christmas Memories...

Buddy - our Elf on a Shelf.  I <3 Buddy! Everyone seems to behave when he shows up after Thanksgving!

SPOILED! Syd testing out her new bike from Pop and Granny.

Somebody was VERY proud of her gingerbread house she made ALL BY HERSELF at daycare!

One of my favorite pictures - all three of my loves with bed head!

Syd-o, excited about presents!

Makki helping Mommy cook Christmas morning breakfast on the new griddle.

Tearing into gifts at our White Deer Christmas.

Makki and her new baby, Molly. Mak and Molly go everywhere together. :)

Sydni and Mak, painting on their new easels from the Danners.

Donnie and I enjoying Christmas Eve with our Shobert family members.

Christmas 2010

The girls love their loot from Santa!

Another great family Christmas has come and gone, and I truly think this Christmas was special in so many ways.  2010 would be the last Christmas we had with our Mamaw, who passed away this month after a long battle with cancer.  Our girls are so blessed to have so much family that loves them dearly. We enjoyed all of our visits and get-togethers this Christmas.

Santa brought the girls Rapunzel's tower from the Disney movie, Tangled! (Truth be told...Mommy had as much fun playing with it as the girls did!) 

Donnie is like a mini-Clark Griswold. He has to have everything PERFECT when it comes to our holiday decor. He does such a great job and LOVES the reaction his hard work garners from the girls!

Sydni and good, ole' Frosty! They fight over who gets to turn on the Christmas lights.