He speaks my love language

we need a roadtrip to the Land of Enchantment

Macy has been learning about the Pilgrims and Indians this week. She had been sharing all kinds of tidbits with us.

The other day...
Macy: Daddy, the black birds they come here because the Indians tried to kill them. So they fly away. The Indians killed bears too.
Gregg: Macy, where did you learn that?
M: I learned it from Mrs. Hendrix. Mrs. Hendrix is very smart about Indians.

...This morning while I was doing her hair, she told me that she wants to be Pilgrim next Halloween.

...Tonight at dinner she prayed:

Thank you for my family.
Thank you for everything.
Thank you for the Indians.
Thank you for the Pilgrims.
Thank you for the Indian staying alive from the white man.
Amen.

New Mexico is only like 4hrs away and Meme has a cabin in Ruidoso. I'm thinking my girl needs to see that more than one Indian survived the white man!

Crazy Hair Day(s)

A couple of weeks ago, Macy's school had "Crazy Hair Day". If they brought a $1 to school (which went to some sort of fundraiser), then they could wear their hair crazy.

I asked Macy what she wanted to do with her hair and she said I just wear it how it is when I wake up.

And sadly, it was tame that morning.

This girl would be the perfect teenager of the '60's. Check out that volume!


And before I knew it, it was Crazy Hair Day again! It was free at school because it was one of the activities of Red Ribbon Week.

But this time Macy wanted her hair spray painted. So I was off to the party store for hair paint.
And the only two colors left marked down from Halloween was purple and black.

Um, purple!

And I'm glad that Gregg was home to fix her hair that morning.

And she chose her shirt on purpose.

She told me I just wear my purple shirt and my khaki pants. The shirt is the same color as my hair.

I wish everyone could've touched Macy's hair that day.

It felt like a Brillo pad.

Bless her heart.

I'm thinking she was the only one with a mortarboard

Friday was red and black day at Macy's school (go Tech!). Check!
It was Walk for Diabetes Day during PE (tennis shoes). Check!
And it was hat and sunglasses day for the end of Red Ribbon Week. Check!

As for the hat, Macy went to her hat dress-up drawer and choose her Pre-K graulation hat.

Because it was red.

Some days I just want to bottle up her innocence!

home life and kindergarten curriculum collide

It was recently Career Week in Kindergarten.

And construction worker made the cut among drs, firemen, mailmen and policemen.

Guess whose Daddy loaded up a certain little girl's class with aprons (no vests), nametags, goggles and little hammers?!?

And when I first donned this look that I'm supposed to sleep in for the next two weeks, Macy informed me that I look like a construction worker.

I do what I can.

**Apparently I'm as erratic in my sleep as I can be in real life. After waking up three times last night with them off my head, on various ends of the bed, I'm thinking they are going onto the dressup drawers 'o hell. So look for them to resurface in a future blog**

this is what a kindergartner looks like

she found a rubber to bring to school

If nothing else, kindergarten alone could give me plenty to blog about.

This week is shape week. Each day Macy is to bring an object from home for the shape 'o the day.

Monday was circle, so I couldn't help myself from incorporating her wardrobe in the lesson.

And for her object, she brought a rubber, because the rubber part is a circle.


It sure is.

western day

Today was western day at Macy's school. It was also "white" day.

So trying to match her now one size too small boots (that she said still fit - I sent a spare set of shoes just in case) with white made my eczema flare up. I like to shake things up by having her look different than the old granola (aka boring) white shirt and jeans cowgirl sterotype.

All at the expense of my skin. It's no secret that I'm a bit neurotic.

It's been two weeks now of color days. Macy's class newsletter has been my fashion bible for her that I have obeyed religiously. And thank goodness the finale of colors ends tomorrow with pink.

We're covered there.

God is at a skating rink in Lubbock, Tx

Seriously.

One of the perks of moving to Lubbock was that we already knew where we would go to church. We first visited Experience Life when we were in town at Christmastime. We were like this church is so cool ~ if we lived here, we'd totally go to church here.

So instead of procrastinating church hunting like we have done in the past, we have jumped in head 1st to our new church home. And we fit right in because our pastor has said straight up that no perfect people are allowed, and Lord knows we are far from perfect.

Brandon is the worship leader there, Jill sings on the worship team, Beth plays the keyboard, Steve does the sound...We sit with Gregg and Wendi and all of the little cousins are in Sunday School together. My girls are so thrilled when Tori and Sarah stop by their class to give them a hug and/or help out. Tori and Sarah are like rock stars to Macy and I'm so glad that she has teenage role-models to look up to.

It's no secret that our home group in Arlington was an important part of our church experience at Pantego. Biblical community was just as important there as it is at Experience Life. Except at ELife, it is called Life Houses. Jill and Todd lead the Life House we (and Wendi) are apart of and our Life House will now be meeting at our house every week. I'm so looking forward to expanding on Chris's sermons each week and draw from past experiences and daily life to contribute. Between Gregg and I, we have a few things to bring to the table...

This past weekend was the one year anniversary of the church. Experience Life started with zero people and one service to last Sunday 1,500+ and 3 services! And by the way, ELife rents it's space at a skating rink. But when you are there, you don't think of the snack bar to the right or the concrete floor underneath the chairs. Because, God, he is there amongst us.

Saturday night was the launch of the 5:00 service (which we'll now be attending) and as part of the celebration, there were Cardboard Testimonies. And husband, he participated.

Alcoholic Alone Searching for Answers

Recovering Beautiful Family Seeking God's Will


Tell me the tears weren't coming...

We were there for all three services this weekend. On Saturday night, I just watched the testimonies so I could clap, cheer and cry. 1st service on Sunday, I videoed it with my camera (which looks all distorted on the You Tube video below but watch anyways just to hear Brandon sing ~then watch it again to try to read the words). 2nd service, I took pictures of the card boards. I was all front row Joe and felt like a total ELife groupie...

So, Saturday night after the service, we stayed for a concert where the worship team recorded a live CD.

Clearly Macy and Kendra were into it.

Kendra was having a moment before she started her air guitar.

This weekend was such an spiritual high that was so needed in the midst of the spiritual warfare that has been coming our way the past few weeks.

God is working in this city through Experience Life and we are so grateful to be apart of it.

...I'd love for you to check out the video clip of the past year (Paigey is in it when it shows the Toddler class ~ she's getting out of a chair at the table). I've watched it about 476 times.
...And check out the clever marketing campaign and billboards that Chris created. It's how he rolls.

35 years of Gregg

The Gregg-fest on the blog continues...I go months without writing about him and now it's like he's all over it.

Yesterday was Gregg's 35th birthday. It was his day off (aka Daddy Day) so at lunch, he went to Macy's school to eat lunch with her. After lunch, he had a massage scheduled because I'd rather pay good money for someone else to rub husband's back than me (hint to Sarah M). My digits poop out and I don't have the patience.

We just ordered pizza last night and of course, there was apple pie for dessert. We waited to go out to eat until tonight at Texas Roadhouse so Lindsey could join us too.

Because I have absolutely no self-control, last Friday night I gave one of Gregg's presents to him early. I had just walked in the door from Hobby Lobby when he got home so I had to give it to him right away.

I had a hand towel that was his parents framed. We've been tossing around from cabinet to cabinet the past 8 years. We only had one so I didn't want to use it but wasn't sure what to do with it.

It is now apart of our decor that can be passed down from generation to generation. (It is now one of my favorite things for sure...). It is not often that I can really surprise Gregg but I did this time!

Happy Birthday to my sweet, handsome hubby!

he wore the vest for all of South Plains to see

Gregg and his HR lady presented a check from Lowe's to the MDA telethon yesterday morning. It was big discussion of what should be worn under the vest on TV. Because, yes, he had to wear it. And you know, not everything goes with red.

It's a good thing I recorded the segment because I couldn't hear what husband had to say while watching it live. The kids were all yelling "Daddy" and Paigey was yelling "yellow!" (the check). It was more hysteria than I'm used to mid-morning.

Macy told Gregg when he got home, "Daddy, we saw you on TV, and it was hilarious and we cracked up."

...Several years ago while living in San Antonio, Gregg was interviewed by a local station about how to "winter proof" your house. It's like if you work at Lowe's, you know all about such home improvement stuff. This was still early on in his career (he was an assistant manager), and Gregg was winging it. "Ah, put a towel around your pipes." It was the 1st year in our 1st home and Gregg had never winter proofed anything. But still, the Lowe's name was attached, so the clip ran for several years. I tried to find in on the station's website but it looks like Gregg has been replaced with someone else. Maybe someone who had been a homeowner in the winter...

Gregg has gotten very handy over the years and can pretty much fix and rig anything in the house. But, as for the early days, it was unchartered territory.

he planned a date

After a lovely trip to Target with the girls, I came home Friday night to this...

My birthday was Sunday and Gregg had called Lindsey to arrange for her to watch the kids. Then he printed out various restaurant menus from around town for me to choose where I wanted to go. I chose Harrigan's because it is a local place that sounded un-kid-friendly that I wanted to try.

Birthdays ~ don't have to be big but I love initiative!

...Gotta love free in-law babysitting. But how awesome is this? Lindsey was "paying it forward" to us with her time and I got to pay it forward right back to her. Our church is doing an "At the Movies" sermon series (complete with candy, popcorn and caffiene). Every week through this series, red tickets are passed out as you enter the building. At the end of the sermon, two ticket #'s are called and the winner gets a $25 gift card to the movies. Gregg and I had already decided when the sermon series started that if we ever won, we'd give it to Lindsey and Derek. Because engaged, college people need it more than us...

Would you believe that on Sunday, I won! So, Lindsey gave me a date and I gave her one! Tell me that is not an accident! And while I'm on the topic, I can't begin to tell our blessings since we have been faithfully tithing from EVERY windfall, paycheck etc... God is so faithful!

thank goodness for public school

There are many reasons I am not one to be on the home school bandwagon. If I did, Macy would be still illiterate by the age of 18. And with her aspirations of being a cheerleader and a veternarian when she grows up, she is clearly in the wrong household for that training.

I've had 5+ years with her as my side-kick, my protege, my shadow, my mini-me.

She's through with what I have to offer. On Sunday night she told Gregg that she was ready for kindergarten because she was "boring" at home.

I got teary on Thursday night at Meet the Teacher night at her school. But yesterday, I was fine because she is ready to move onto greener pastures.

Good thing bandages are cool in kindergarten...because Macy has a big one.

This is Mrs. Hendrix ~ Macy's very pretty and tall teacher. Macy made sure to thank God for her (and her new class) at dinner last night and at bedtime.

I helped her find her locker, her chair and told her to put on her name tag. The dear, sweet child next to her informed me that it was a "necklace not a name tag".

Thank you sweetheart. And what is your name?

Macy was clearly ready for me take my camera and go on with myself.

Today Gregg took her to school and she left him at the door without even a hug. She told me this afternoon that she was too busy to hug him.

It's already starting ~ we are boring, she is way too busy and getting very independent.

At this point, I may never potty train Paige just so I'll be needed!

the mister, mud, a monkey, and mulch

It's no secret that Gregg loves a pretty yard. Within the 1st week, he was already landscaping and mulching. There was a corner of the yard with more mud than grass, so Gregg decided to mulch it and put the kid's picnic table there. After that he moved onto the front yard to trim the hedges.

I'm mean, really, HOW long did ya think it'd take him to start on the yard??



When I went to Amarillo the other day, it was "Daddy Day" and he and the girls put together the playhouse (in the background) and mulched around that area.

It is really killing him that the front flower beds are done yet and that he hasn't thrown in grass seed to make the lawn "like a golf course".

It's how he rolls.