School Daze

The lazy days of summer have come to an end, girls!

Wow, what a bad blogger I've been! I'm not sure what all has kept us busy this month, but it sure went by fast. School is back in session, which has all sorts of meaning in our family. It means Friday night football (Lamar), Saturday football (UT), Sunday football (Cowboys), back to work for me, cleaning the summer out of Greg's office, cool breezes, open windows, and most importantly, Morgan's first school experience!

Here she is posing with her new backpack.

She is attending Sonshine Bible School at Pleasant Ridge on all day on Tuesdays/Thursdays. Yesterday was her first day. Kirklyn is also in school there, and we are carpooling so Amanda and I can continue to work one day a week. Yesterday was our turn to drive!

There were some pre-Bible school antics before we left.

We made it to school. They are trying to carry their lunch boxes and hold hands at the same time. So cute!

Morgan cried quite a bit as Greg and I left, but her teacher said she stopped pretty quickly. I'm proud to say that Morgan was the first one asleep for nap time and she slept 1 1/2 hours! I have no idea how they even got her to lay still on a mat on the floor, but more power to 'em! Morgan had a wonderful time. She was in a great mood when I picked her up. She talked nonstop about her backpack and lunchbox. Now we get to do it all again tomorrow!

Next week, Greg and I are taking a much needed vacation to Mexico (Puerto Vallarta to be exact). We are so excited we can hardly stand it. I always wanted to go there because that's a trip they used to give away on Price is Right when I was little. It always sounded so fun and exotic. I hope I'm not disappointed! So, barring all hurricanes (John nearly hit PV last week), Greg and I will be there over next weekend. Morgan will be passed between Grammy and Grandpa and Mike and Katie. I'm sure she will have a blast!

That's all for now. Days is starting. I'm excited to hear that they have a new head writer who is going to change things up a bit. He claims that he doesn't write about demons, aliens, and mysterious gloved hand story lines that carry on for months. We'll see!

Found this on Katie's myspace

In My Arms

Morgan woke up an hour into her usual 2 1/2 hour nap today. Great, I thought, there goes watching "Days" in peace today! By the tone of her cry (and past experience), I figured she was not going to go back to sleep. Kirklyn was sleeping in the guest room across the hall from Morgan at the time, so I ran to Morgan's room to get her before she woke Kirklyn up. I noticed as I walked in the room, though, that she wasn't her normal perky post-nap self. I usually go in to find her bouncing up and down while holding onto the crib rail. I swear one of these days she is going to launch herself over. Today, however, she was just sitting there clutching her bear with the pink blanket still wrapped around her. She was kind of in a "I don't think I'm supposed to be awake yet" daze. So, I picked her up and laid her in my arms. Surprisingly, she didn't object to being horizontal, so I sat down in the rocking chair. Lately when I try to hold her like that, she will have nothing of it. She squirms and arches her back to be released from the grasp of my arms. Toddlers just do not want to be confined - even for a minute! Today was different, though. She was lying so still and was snuggled up next to me just like old times! I couldn't believe it when she fell asleep a few minutes later. It seems like an eternity since she fell asleep in my arms. We have been so concerned for the last year about "putting her down while she's drowsy, but not asleep", as all the books instructed us. In all my haste to teach her to sleep on her own, I forgot what it used to be like when we rocked her to sleep. It really touched my heart today to hold her in that way again. I realized a few things in those few moments as I rocked her...

• The distinct shape of her eyes - they are so much like my sister's.
  
• The softness of her eyebrows, which are white and perfectly compliment her eyes.
• The way her nose angles up perfectly at the tip.
  
• Her white hair resting on my arm. She didn't have much hair the last time I rocked her to sleep. Today her cowlick was being blown softly by the ceiling fan.
  
• The way her lips are perfectly shaped - this was the first feature Greg and I noticed in the hospital when she was born.
  
• How much she has grown - she is 34 inches long and her feet now hang off my legs as I'm sitting in the chair
• How she looks like an angel when she sleeps. She has always looked that way to us.
  

Most of all, I was reminded of the precious gift God blessed me with 18 months ago. Morgan brings so much joy and happiness to our lives everyday. She has such a friendly personality, which she shares with EVERYONE we come in contact with from the teenagers at church to the grocery sackers at Kroger. We are the luckiest parents in the world to have been blessed with a child who truly makes our family complete.

So, after gazing and Morgan for those few minutes which seemed like an hour, I decided it was time to put her back in her crib. I wiped the tears from my face and then realized I didn't remember how I was supposed to get out of the rocking chair without waking her up! Those early motherhood fears came rushing back to me very quickly! I definitely took a few minutes to psych myself up for the task. I planned my strategy and prayed I could get all 3 feet of her her, as well as the bear and blanket, in the crib without tripping over the toys in the floor and/or ramming her into the side of the crib. It went very well and she stayed asleep for another hour or so.

Our family life has been so chaotic this summer with trips, events, everyday busy-ness, and the nature of an 18 months old a.k.a. the Tazmanian Devil (as I like to call her). I think that God was telling me today that I needed to STOP in the midst of the chaos and remember what is truly important. I wouldn't have all the chaos if I didn't have this precious little girl. She is why I choose to stay at home instead of working full time. Her physical, emotional, and spiritual growth should be my focus daily. Don't misunderstand, I don't feel like I've neglected her in any way. I just realized today that it is way too easy to get caught up in other tasks that we think determine our success as moms (laundry always done, gourmet dinners every night, dirt free floors, etc.) I pray that God helps me focus on the big picture more and the everyday business less.

Thank you, Morgan, for waking up early from your nap today. It was just what I needed! : )

Happy Birthday Isaac!

We were so excited one year ago today when we welcomed you into our "family". You have such a sweet spirit and a wonderful smile. We love you and your mommy and daddy very much and we can't wait to celebrate your birthday with you!

Love,
Greg, Alison, and Morgan

Summer Fun

I can't believe it's been a month since my last post. Time has flown by. We've been out of town quite a bit, which has been fun, but tiring! We're settling back in now and we're ready for the rest of the summer. Here is our month of fun narrowed down to 13 pictures...

1.) Morgan's 1st haircut. This is Marty, our family hairdresser. She has cut my hair since I was 5 years old.
2.) 1st trip to the Guadalupe River in Kerrville, TX. My sister and I pretty much learned to swim in this river near my grandparents' house. It was so neat to have Morgan share a piece of my childhood like that, although, the water was too cold to swim that day!
3.) Hunting ladybugs at her friend Marlee's birthday party. Morgan enjoyed squishing them between her fingers after catching them.

4.) Enjoying ice cream and cupcakes at the party with Kirklyn.

5.) After the party, we dropped Greg off at the church for a mission trip to Houston. We then headed up to Aunt Katie's house in Frisco where she was having a Kojie roommate reunion! They were so nice to invite us! Morgan made a new friend, Ashlyn (17 months), who belongs to Katie's roommate, Andrea (Hise) Whiteside. The girls are enjoying beverages by the pool.

6.) We then headed over to Jamie (Sommers) Schlegal's house in Plano for "Pancake Night".

7.) Morgan and Ashlyn playing with Jamie and Steven's dog "Biscuit"

8.) Morgan can hardly stand all the excitement!

9.) We came home from Frisco and attended our Bible Class swim party at the Howard Moore Splash Pool in Arlington. Here, Morgan is posing with her new friend Kasen Underwood, who is Kevin and Lacy (Litton) Underwood's 3rd child!

10.) Next, we headed down to Houston to spend time with Greg while on the Mission Trip to Impact. We stayed with Greg's dad and did lots of fun things. Here, is Morgan with her new pal Andre at the Astros game. He is one of the interns with the Impact Church.

11. In Grandad's backyard with Aunt Leigh Ann, who is due around Thanksgiving with Baby #1! His name will be Brandon Scott Kasberg. Morgan is excited to finally have a cousin! See how green it is in Houston? That's because it actually rains there!

12. Back at home with her BFF Kirklyn. They were twinsies that day! This was 2 days after Morgan turned 18 months old!

13.) Greg and I last weekend in Chicago, where we attended a friend's wedding. Morgan stayed at home with Grammy, Grandpa, Mike and Katie! It was our first time to leave her for more than one night, but she did great and we had a fun, relaxing weekend!

Lots and lots of girl time!

Having a husband as a youth minister has it's privileges. For instance, you get an extra set of keys to the church building (handy for mid-errand diaper changes), you always get invited to the church sandwich suppers even when the party doesn't directly apply to you (I happen to love the token pimento cheese sandwiches), and you also get the most wonderful wedding and baby showers thrown in your honor. With the perks, however, come the disadvantages. Most youth ministers are gone to camps 2-3 weeks sporadically during the summer. Our youth minister, however, is gone for 4 out of 5 weeks straight. Therefore, Miss Morgan and I are trying to keep busy without being outside too much, yet without getting cabin fever! What a task it has been! Luckily we've got 2 weeks down, 2 to go!

13 Creative Ways Morgan and Mommy have kept busy while Daddy's gone

1. Made a picture bulletin board of Morgan for church (it was her turn to be featured outside the nursery)

2. Story time for babies 0-18 months at the library followed by...

3. Story time for 2-3 year olds at the library - I felt Morgan was advanced enough for the older group (and I was desperate last Wednesday)

4. Stayed in for 3 days with a stomach virus

5. Weekly swim time at Carrie (Holley) Foster's house

6. Weathered our way through Morgan's daily "independence declaring" fits. Today it was because I wouldn't let her suck toothpaste out of the tube.

7. Began a new season of MTV reality shows with The Hills (love it!), Cheyenne, and Fresh Meat (I watched these, not Morgan)

8. Rejoiced as Patch and Kayla returned to Days (Morgan and I both did this!)

9. Shoplifted a .99 cent water bottle from Hobby Lobby on accident

10. Found ACU and Lamar High School alumni on My Space

11. Killed our beautiful hanging flower baskets due to excessive heat (and forgetting to water them)
12. Faithfully watched every Mavs playoff game in its entirety

13. Above all, Morgan and I have grown closer and are more mother/daughter bonded than ever. It has really shaken her world with Greg being gone, but she really has handled it the best she can! She is so precious to me and I am learning to treasure our alone time together rather than feeling anxious about being an only parent for a month!

Happy 17 months!

Morgan's most recently learned words at 17 months! (written in Mavs blue in honor of Game 1 tonight) 1. Hi buys (guys)...mama...dada...tadie (Katie)...diddy (kitty)...the list is endless 2. Babis (Paci) 3. Bible 4. Ice 5. Elmo 6. Ree Ries (french fries) 7. Buhfies (butterflies) 8. Bots (blocks) 9. Pay pays (toothpaste) 10. Ray Ray (Rachel Ray)- thanks Auntie Lynley for getting us hooked on that show! 11. I-dis (Isaac)- in connection with #10! 12. La La (puppy)- strange, I know 13. Choos (shoes) Morgan turned 17 months old today and is a mere one month away from graduating from the nursery class at church. I can hardly believe it! So, to honor her tonight, I've written my Thursday Thirteen in honor of her. As a speech pathologist, it's been so fun to see Morgan's language develop these last few months. In my profession, I only get to work with kids with speech problems, so of course Morgan seems brilliant to me! She seems to pick up new words everyday and is starting to repeat us more often. I can't wait to see what her next 13 words are!

Sunday Seventeen

Well, I missed posting my Thursday Thirteen last week for several reasons. We had a very busy week last week cleaning and running errands for our 1017 Roommate Reunion. So, when Blogger would not cooperate during the small timeslot I had set aside for this on Thursday, it unfortunately got pushed to the bottom of the to-do list! To make up, I've decided to start a new fad called "Sunday Seventeen" for those of us who miss Thursdays! You could also do "Saturday Sixteen" or "Tuesday Twelve". I don't think it matters, as long as aliteration is involved!

We had so much fun on Friday all seeing each other again. Lynley, Leigh Ann, Laura, Kara, and I had not all been together since Kara's wedding four years ago! Now we've added 3 kids to the group, which definitely made for a more chaotic meal than we used to enjoy back in Abilene.

Morgan, Elizabeth (Kara's daughter), Isaac (Lynley's son)
Unfortunately, this is the best picture I got of the three of them! Elizabeth looks as if she is about to attack Morgan while Isaac looks on innocently.

Here are 17 fond memories I have of our "1017" days...

1. Tuesday night is Pancake night- tap, tap, tap, tap. This tradition was carried on by my sister and her Kojie roommates. They still have a Pancake Night at their roommate reunions!
2. Hosting "Pajama Rush" - our house was way too small and stuffy for this event. Why did we choose to host an event in which everyone would wear flannel?
3. Brandon Sheets' revenge - involving limbs against the front door, the police, and Laura screeming
4. Doug Crum risking his life to put a Happy Birthday Lynley sign on our roof. I'm thinking that a letter was written backwards on that sign, but I can't remember exactly.
5. B.O. "Peeps" Youngquist - enough said
6. Soldier Lady
7. Blind Man
8. The "Friendship Chair"- a touching ministry to those in pain (e.g. Rusty)
9. The Jackson 5 - I'm sure we could have tried out for American Idol with that routine!
10. The Tish wig - not only stealing it from Tri Kappa, but the hours of fun we had trying it on. I remember crying so hard due to laughing whenever Shelly put the wig on and asked "Anyone got any bread?"
11. Doing a group session of Tae-Bo in the living room. I still have this on video and may use it as blackmail in the years to come!
12. Our baby pictures on the mantle. Why did people say mine looked like Tracy Baugh?
13. Beware of this memory!
14. Leigh Ann side-swiping the house with her car. Apparently she couldn't drive and eat a banana at the same time! Isn't that what happened?
15. The chore board - such a clever idea, yet so poorly executed by the roommates
16. My 2 surprise birthday parties our senior year and being embarassed in chapel without actually being there.
17. Our post-graduation dessert we threw for our families. Such a fun and memorable, yet strangely awkward event to close out our college years together!

Living with those 4 girls was such a blessing to me in college and their continued friendships are an even bigger blessing to me now that we've moved on to the next phases of our lives.

Ironically, these are the same faces Lynley and I are making in our Kojie picture in our senior yearbook. What a touching legacy of being photogenic we have left for our children!

My favorite sounds

Some of my favorite sounds 1. Morgan's sweet voice saying "Hi mama" 2. The sound of Greg coming through the front door after work 3. Morgan's squeal of excitement when she hears him! 4. Morgan's first cry the day she was born 5. My cats purring 6. The sound of the ocean 7. Morgan's cackle laugh 8. The chirps of the baby birds that live outside our kitchen window 9. The sound of thunder in the distance 10. Morgan's attempt to meow 11. Greg saying "I love you" 12. The beep of the oven timer when our cookies are ready 13. The sound of the ice cream truck coming down the street

April 2006 - Easter

 

April 2006 - Rangers Game

 

March 2006

 

February 2006

 

January 2006

Morgan's 1st Birthday 

Catch Up

I have a lot of catching up to do, so let's tackle this month by month!
Here's December!