Keeping Pace with a Cheetah

I know I say this with every post, but where does the time go?? My babies are growing up so quickly and I can't seem to keep up!

Austin turned twelve on May 7th. TWELVE!!! What? That's not allowed!! I still have visions of him sitting at our dinner table at the ripe age of two. He had a Sponge Bob oven mitt on his hand and in his sweet little boy voice he says, "I'm gonna get you" as he attacks Mark's hand with the oven mitt! It seems unreal that he is twelve. It creates a overwhelming feeling of bittersweet joy that I've been blessed to be his mom for this long. But it also produces a sick feeling of panic knowing that I only have six more years before he will be grown and moving away! He always has a smile on his face. IF he gets upset, he's quick to recover and bounce back to his happy self. When he was a baby, he had a smile on his face before he even opened his eyes in the morning!

My heart is tickled by this face!

Chubby baby!!

When the Astros made it to the World Series...he's had a long love for baseball!!

 

To celebrate his birthday, Austin wanted the family to go crabbing again. So we loaded up and headed to Galveston! We stopped in Kemah to have dinner at the Aquarium. And then made the rest of the trip when the sun started going down. This year's trip was a bust because we didn't catch but maybe 2.5 crabs! But the boys had a great time making memories, and that's the difference!

Zay, Andrewe, Cooper, Austin, Abi, and Bastian

 

 Cooper, Austin, and Andrew



 

A favorite memory from this trip was at dinner time. Aunt Georgiet talked Austin and Zay into trying an oyster. Copper had them before, so he volunteered to show the boys how to eat them! After a little squabble, Zay stepped up to try it first. As he tried to swallow it, he started gagging. Austin graciously handed his to Cooper and said 'Thanks, but no thanks!' I can honestly say that if I never have another accomplishment in my life, Austin and Abi would be enough for me.

 

Between Austin's birthday and the beginning of June, not too much happened. But I have pictures!!!

My beautiful girl

Austin catching in one of his games

 

The weekend of June 7-8 tested our flexibility as parents and our ability to be in multiple places at once!! Abi had her first ever Rehearsal and Recital for dance at the same time Austin was playing a tournament about an hour and half away!! Saturday we made the trip to Texas City for Austin's two games, Mark and Abi left before the second game to make Abi's rehearsal on the other side of town. Austin and I made it to the auditorium just as Abi's second dance began!  We ran through the parking lot and everything!! Then on Sunday, we all made the trip to Texas City again. On Sundays, if you win you keep playing until you lose. Well...they won their first game...so they kept playing! We left Austin with his team mates, and Mark, Abi, and I made the long trip across town again! It turned out that Austin wouldn't make it to Abi's recital, as his team played until the championship game and won 2nd place. Abi was a natural on stage. She was beautiful, so much that it brought tears to my eyes! I am so proud that she conquered her fear of performing in front of people. Our family and friends were there to support her, which made her very happy!

 She lves getting to dress up and put on make-up! I'm not ready for her to grow up! (In her ballet dress, performed to 'You're My Best Friend')

 

Abi in her jazz costume, performed to Seven Nation Army

 

Luke and Abi

 Luke, Bastian, Zay, Abi, Kelly, and Pacey

 

A ring as a trophy

FO1

 

Abi kicked the summer off by whacking her hair off! I followed suit, it's hot in Texas!!!

 

Ah, so cool!

 

And Austin attended the Urban Youth Academy with the Astros. They split the kids up into 5 groups: Softball, 7-9 year olds, 10-11 year olds, 12-13 year old and 14-17 year olds. Austin was bumped up to the 14-17 year old age group. They also compete amongst their groups each day in a category, and then the winners from each group competes with all the age group winners. Austin was so excited when I picked him up on Tuesday. He not only beat the kids in the 14-17 age group in fielding, but he also beat the other kids from the other age groups! He received Certificates of Achievement for both!

 





 



These two kid-o's keep me running! I love every minute of it. One day it will be over; So, I want to soak in the blessings of this day!

I've Been Playing Candy Crush

Yes, I fell into the black hole that is Candy Crush. That is my excuse for being gone for so long! I've finally reached a point in the game that I have to wait too long before another level opens up; so, my addiction has been wavering!

Enough about that. What has the Brew Crew been up to? Well, we had the privilege of sharing our blessings from the end of January until about a week and a half ago. Family friends of ours while waiting for their new home to be built, had temporarily taken up quarters in a small travel trailer. Mark and I suggested that they use our spare bedroom, and we would make room for their kid-o's. They finally took us up on our offer! So, we went from a family of 4 to an family of 9 really quick! When the children (our two, Austin and Abi, and their 3, Cameron, Remington, and Lyla) went to bed, it just seemed like a nice evening hanging out with friends! When all the children were awake, things at times became more complicated. But for the most part it was a blessing. It was a blessing for me, and a blessing for Austin and Abi. I often reminded them of a verse that God put on my heart shortly before they moved in: Hebrews 13:16 Don't forget to do good things for others and to share what you have with them. These are the kinds of sacrifices that please God. Before they moved in, other friends questioned our sanity. They asked if we were scared to lose our friendship with our friends. In the end, our friendship was not only intact, but even stronger than it was before! Some of the highlights from our 3 month slumber party:

 Lyla LOVES Austin. Every morning or any time we would return home, she would make a running leap to hug him!

 

These two, Abi and Remi, had their days when they were BFFs or mortal enemies! Sometimes within 5 minutes!

 

Mark and Javier. These two kept us entertained nonstop!

Lyla helping Mark build a shelf for my laundry room. That didn't work out, but Lyla was so excited to help!!

Lyla, Abi, and Remi having a tea party with a tea set that was my Grandmothers.

 



Our family made sure to clear our calendar for Winter Jam this year! We also helped transport some of the youth from our church, as it was also a youth group event. Some of our favorite bands were there: Lecrae, Tenth Avenue North, and Thousand Foot Krutch to name a few!

 

Austin waiting to enter the concert, rocking his blue Mohawk!

 

One of the youth worshipping!

 



Abi turned 10 on March 11th this year! Her request for a birthday party this year was to have a few friends over for a spaghetti dinner, Paris style, and then to have her friends spend the night. Unfortunately, my grandfather passed away on Abi's birthday, and his funeral was the morning after her party. Abi was a good sport, understanding that sometimes things don't work out the way you always plan for them to. She did get her fancy spaghetti dinner, and was happy enough with that!

Even the Eiffel Tower is edible!

Abi and (her very best friend!) Luke!

 

We have really slacked on the field trips this year. We tried to make up for it this spring. We took a field trip to the George Ranch where the kids got to see what life was like in the the 1800's.

 











Here, Austin and Abi did an impression of old people that started with "Back in my day sonny..."

Abi was most curious to see the inside of ever building on the ranch!

 

Field trip number 2 has become kind of an annual trip. We packed a picnic for Memorial Hermann Park, which Mark was able to join us for this year, and then went to the zoo for one of their free admission days! I made sure to pack the camera because I wanted to take spring photos of Austin and Abi. I pulled up some spring pics of the kids from the last 4 years to see how much they've grown!!

Spring 2010

Spring 2011

 

Spring 2012

Spring 2013

 

Spring 2014

I love these two with my whole heart!

She is so beautiful!

And he is one handsome fella!

 

Then we went to the zoo!

His personality makes me laugh!

Silly, silly kids!

 

I love this picture. Abi's face is priceless!!!

 

Of course, I can't forget Easter. This year we didn't give the kids Easter Baskets. I've always dreaded giving them baskets anyways because then the holiday, like Christmas, slips away from the true meaning of what we are celebrating. I don't want them to look forward to Easter because they get more STUFF, but because they can have new life! They have a way to heaven because Jesus died and then rose again three days later! We did give them one item each, and they seemed okay with that!

 



Easter 2014

The BIG 9

What a year it's been! It doesn't seem so long since Austin's 8th birthday, but as I look back through pictures from the last year I can see how much he has grown!!

 We celebrated Austin's 8th birthday with dinner at the Aquarium

Becca, Abi, and Austin

You lost a LOT of teeth this year, this was the first of many! 

Spent summer time with cousins that you don't see very often 

Spent some time in Daddy's shoes, or shorts rather... 

Celebrated your love of baseball 

 Probably TRIPLED your knowledge of how the body works

Actually sat still long enough to take a picture with Mommy 

Won a trophy in a championship baseball game

Took a LOT of pictures like this (when you grow up, don't think that I love Abi more because I have more pictures of her...) 

Put the Angel on top of the tree 

Dissected a lot of stuff (GROSS!) 

Read a lot of books, making it hard for me to keep up! 

Baseball 

Baseball with a smile 

And more baseball!!!!

Austin, you are such a blessing. You always make me laugh! A mom couldn't ask for a better kid-o with a better sense of humor! You are turning into a gentleman. I pray that you continue to walk closely to God, that you continue to put others before yourself, and that you always realize that 'stuff' isn't what matters in life, people do. You are an amazing little man and I love you so much!