Girls' Sleepover (May 16-17, 2008)

The girls finally had their turn to sleep over at Mrs. Davis' house!! It was VERY DIFFICULT to settle on a date that worked for everyone!

Girls can be VERY LOUD when you don't have much fabric in your house!! This has made us really consider getting curtains and rug(s) before Baby Davis arrives and his little cries echo loudly through our home!!

Here we are having our very fancy Chicken Parmesean Dinner...candles and all!!

The star of the night....believe it or not.....was LOGAN!! The girls were flipping through my
Christmas card book (I made a book of all my Christmas card photos....we flip to a new page everyday and pray for the people in the pictures...THAT should be incentive for you to send pictures to me at Christmastime!!)...and I noticed that later that night the book kept on being opened up to Logan's picuture. I finally asked if this was "coincidence," and was met with the quick reply of giggles, blushes, and a "He's so CUTE!!!!"Later the evening, when we brought out the Welches Sparkling Grape Juice we toasted to Logan....They were quite dismayed when I wouldn't call him up at 10 p.m. at night!!Here is Meg releasing some of her energy!!
The sleeping arrangements....See Jonny? He really enjoyed having the girls over! He loves them almost as much as I do!!! :)
We watched the Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant movie, "Charade." None of the girls had ever seen it...and they LOVED it! (Anna, you can borrow it sometime since you fell asleep through parts of it!! You were a very good sport!!)
Meg did her best to keep Anna awake........Later she tried to get the whole bunch to join her in a fun prank.....But unfortunately, they were all too tired. Better luck next time, Meg!!Our candle-lit breakfast the next morning! It is fun to be girly!!! Hope to have you all back next year, girls!!

Camera Blues!! (June 5, 2008)

Summer has come........I have very few pictures with which I could update my blog because my camera is forever broken!! I am in a real dilema!!! I don't know what to do about this problem! We are trying to save money like crazy people for the adoption......But I KNOW I have to buy a camera soon!

Do I go ahead and buy a great one, or do I buy a little on that "will do" for now? AHHHHH! And, to top that off...I get very confused when I compare Digital SLRs online! Anyone on here have any opinions on the Nikon D60 or the Cannon Rebel XTi??

Sam's carries both...but I'm not sure they are the best option!!!

Feedback would be great on this one!

Love y'all!!
Julie

Our Day with Jessica! May 10, 2008

Well, we had a very lovely day today!! We picked Jessica up at her house around 9:30 this morning. She is very pretty. She definitely has Filipino features—her skin is darker in complexion, her hair was long, straight, and very dark, and her eyes were dark and shaped very beautifully. She was “showing”…but was still wearing her regular clothes—her jeans and a cotton t-shirt. While walking with us to the car, she handed us the ultrasound pictures. That was quite the treat!

We decided to go to breakfast at the Magnolia Pancake Haus….I had seen it had been rated #1 in breakfast spots in San Antonio. We expected to wait, but it wasn’t too long. We talked a lot about her family. She genuinely loves her little brother, Jake, and said lots of thoughtful things about him. She was extremely outgoing and laughed a lot with us.

After breakfast we headed to the Alamo….the shrine that is everything Texas! It was beginning to get hot at this point, so we viewed the artifacts inside and then watched a mini-film about the battle, etc. We took a few pictures at the Alamo, and then I dropped my camera and it didn’t work the rest of the day. Needless to say, I was devastated, but didn’t really let this ruin our day….although I wanted to cry!! I’m not sure it can be fixed—but I am glad that we got at least 2 photos of Jessica before I dropped it. At this point, it was getting very warm, and we decided to walk down to the shady Riverwalk area. We grabbed a few cold drinks and then took a river cruise around the Riverwalk. This wilted us completely!! The boat ride was way hotter than I had anticipated! It was very pretty (but I got no pictures!!), but after we got off the boat, we were ready to head to the car. Jonny ran to get it and picked us up. (Our hero!)

At this point, I had no plan. So, we decided to look for a Mexican Restaurant out toward her house. We found one fairly close to her house. Then we did opt to get manicures since we had been told pedicures weren’t a good idea for pregnant girls. She had never had a manicure…and was very excited about getting one. When we left, she was giddy with delight over her French manicure, with a green shadow, and with a flower painted on each thumb! It was darling! And she was quite pleased.

As we walked out the door, I had the biggest lump in my throat because I knew that our day was nearing its end. I told her that this day with her had meant the world to me…and that I just loved her to pieces and had enjoyed this anticipated day so much. Of course, by this time I am crying, so she and I hugged and she said she felt the same way. We drove the short 3 miles to her house and I pulled myself together. In her driveway I said, “Well, I guess the next time we see you, it will be the big day!!” She grinned and nodded. I asked her what she would like for us to do on that day, and she said that she had envisioned her mom and I in the delivery room with her…..and that she really wanted us to be there so she could personally be the one to give us our son. She also mentioned that she had been thinking about names…and she gave us an idea that we told her we would consider. We hugged goodbye and told her we loved her. Jonny told her he felt God had really blessed us with her, and she said she felt the same way…and thanks for being there for her and her baby.

It was a very good day—full of emotions—and I can’t wait until August!!

Pony Penning Day in 3rd Grade! May 9, 2008

After reading the book, Misty of Chincoteague, we celebrated by having our own pony auction...just like in the book! A big thanks to Mrs. Teri Walker who was our real-live auctioneer!!

A Fun Evening with Derek Webb May 6, 2008

We found out from Al about a Derek Webb concert...with Sandra McCracken!...and decided at the last minute to go! It was a very fun, but very late night! The concert didn't start until 8 p.m. and we didn't make it home until after midnight!! Keri and Andrew came with us...and we met Scott and Anne Walker there too! A very great evening!

A Sleepover with Aunt Ju Ju and Uncle Jonny! (April 18-19)

Finally! We took the opportunity of Keri's birthday to let her sweet girls come over and spend the night with us!! Mommy and Daddy went out of town for the weekend....and this meant super-fun times for the rest of us! Ha! We made pizza---everyone pushed on the dough, spread the sauce, placed the pepperoni, and sprinkled the cheese! We made two beautiful pizzas, and they were quite delicious!!

Later that evening Aunt Ju Ju got talked into making chocolate chip cookies. I took this picture after we had finished....but it just made my heart leap with joy to see those 3 chairs all lined up to help--and the mixer on the counter---It told the whole story! (And that sweet sippy cup!) Can you tell I am getting excited about this mommy thing?????

Mmm! Almost ready!!

We stayed up pretty late watching Little House on the Prairie and part of Cinderella II. I woke up in the middle of the night and saw the girls asleep like this....and of course I had to take a picture!!
The next morning mean old Aunt Ju Ju did not let them have cookies for breakfast.....We had to have something more healthy! So we ate bowls of Lucky Charms!! I did get talked into giving them all extra marshmallows in their bowls!! (Oh, dear!!) We played Chutes and Ladders and dollies....and then they got to go to MiMi's house for the next overnight adventure!
I'm glad they finally got to sleep over.......now I'm looking for a date for the next time!!! :)

It's A Boy!! (April 2008)

We are very excited to formally announce on our blog that we have been matched with a birthmom!! She is wonderful.....We have loved talking with her so much!! She chose us to be the parents of her baby a few weeks ago...and we just found out last week that it is a BOY!

We are so excited....but we have to wait until the middle of August before we meet him face to face! We hope to meet our birthmom very soon. Hopefully we can travel to Texas to give her a big hug in May!

Please pray for us as we prepare to be parents. We are praying too that we will be a blessing to our birthmom....because heaven knows she has been a blessing to us!

Thanks for being excited with us!! It is such a wonderful thing!!!!

We LOVE Science!! (April 17, 2008)

We performed the COOLEST science experiment! (All science experiments that require goggles are cool!!) Since we are studying the solar system, we decided to figure out how moon craters are created. So, taking some sand, marbles, and a meter stick, we dropped our marbles from different heights and measured the created craters' diameters. Then we used BIGGER marbles...and to our supreme happiness....they made even bigger holes!! So, we found out the higher and bigger the marble, the deeper and wider the crater!!


Measuring their crater.....

Getting ready to drop the marble from the specified height.

Do you see his marble in mid-air? He made me retake this picture until I finally got it right!! :)

Mrs. Lamb is reviewing the day's lesson.

Happy Birthday, Jonathan!! (April 11, 2008)

We celebrated Jonny's birthday with his favorite little girls! Keri made a fabulous cake...one she had never made before! (It was fabulous!) The kids had a ball blowing out Jonathan's candles for him...!


MMMMMMMMMMMMM! That was one yummy cake!! It was chocolate, pralines, and whipped cream!!!

Just a Touch of Spring! (April 2008)

We may not have a full-blown yard....but we have daffodils and tulips!! They have been such a blessing to me these past few weeks...I'm sorry to see them go! But Jonny says we'll plant more grass soon!

CrossRoads of America! (April 6-8) 2008

This past week has seemed like Grand Central Station at our house!! We were so blessed to have Joann, Austin, and Ariana stop and spend the night on their way back to Texas after a two-week stay in Kentucky! Above you can see our sweet new neice, Lucy Grace Chandler, who came to visit us when she was only 2 weeks old!! Jennifer and Al came down with the boys and Lucy to visit poor Aunt Ju Ju who didn't get to be there for the birth!! Keri and I fought over who would get to hold her! I can't believe I don't have any pictures of Keri and the girls hogging her!! :) You can see a picture of it on Jen's website--The CHOG!
Here is proud Uncle Jonny holding sweet Lucy....he and Al had just returned from a Grizzlies Game (the realy reason they drove down!!!). Below are some pics from the game. There's Shaq--he didn't play, and they were disappointed.

I had to include this picture.....This is Austin's first time to eat salad!! He loved Aunt Ju Ju's favorite Ranch Dressing.....LiteHouse!! He kept asking for "More, Please!!" He probably ate over 35 spinach leaves dipped in that yummy dressing!!How fun it is to live in a place where everyone just drops by for quick visits!! This was surely not the case in Chicago! I missed it....and am so thankful to have these sweet opportunities back!

More Third Grade Fun (April 7-8, 2008)

Just a few snapshots from last week....Lots of science fun (observing mosquito larva, building Roman Arches, Discovering geometric patterns), and getting to read our novels outside in the sunshine!! Just another day at Westminster!!

We Are Proud of Our Team!! (April 5, 2008)

We had a blast watching all the Memphis games with our community group! I took this picture because I didn't have a Memphis shirt....I was wearing red!! Ha! This was taken after we won the game that sent us to the Championship! (We didn't take one after Kansas won the championship!) We had a blast cheering them on. They had a great season!

Hanging out with my Boys!! (March 28-29, 2008)

My 6th grade boys from last year (who are now 7th graders) came over to spend the night with their former favorite teacher....(me!).....and one of their new favorite teachers....(Jonny!). I had a ball with these boys last year....and Jonny enjoys them so much this year! We were missing one.....Andrew has moved to California and couldn't be with us! :( But we texted him....just to make him feel bad! :) We did lots of "manly" things while they were here....we grilled big 'ole steaks and I didn't make any of them eat salad. (So none of them did!!) (As you can see, just Jonny and I have salads!!)

They loved playing outside on our big lot.....they built forts down by the pond and did all kinds of "boy things" down there. They wanted me to come see...but I declined. Here they are laying on all our bags of leaves waiting for the compost pile!!

We watched the Memphis game....They won!! We played on Brennan's Wii and we watched Gladiator...but not nearly all of it! We laughed our heads off, and they ate TONS!! It went too fast!!

Here we are about to go home......It was a good thing we dropped Will off last....John didn't know how to get to his house!! Ha!!
We'll have to do it again, guys!!!