Cowgirl Musical, Easter, and Audrey's 6th Birthday

Sweet, adorable, and hard headed Charlee on Easter. I couldn't get her to be still for a picture.

Audrey blowing out her "6" candle. I asked her what she wished for and she said a swing. This is what she wanted but didn't get. She just doesn't let things go. We also had to put the candle on Jacob and Reagan's cupcakes and let them blow it out.

Audrey's 6th birthday! She is soooo excited. She has a Toy Story cake and Jacob thinks it is a boy cake. He made fun of her.

Jacob and Audrey acting silly. And yes, they are wearing last year's Easter clothes. No one in Texas knows the difference.

This is Easter Sunday and Charlee did NOT want to be held. Reagan refused to have her picture taken.

Audrey's cute cowgirl outfit. By the way, Reagan is wearing a hat because she thinks she is Super Mario. You will see her holding the Mario Wii case below.

This pic was taken at Prairie View Elementary talent show. The kindergartners opened the show with two songs - "Deep in the Heart of Texas" and "T-E-X-A-S".

A couple of cute notes:

I was rubbing Jacob's hand today while driving. He told me my hand was soft like his blanket. Last week he thought he heard me say that I was going to work with Carl. I laughed and asked him, "don't you think I'd look cool driving a semi?" He replied, "no. You'd look pretty."

(He is the sweetest, handsomest guy ever!) He makes a habit of reminding me how good he is and how bad Audrey behaves. The conversation typically ends with, "do you love me more than Audrey?" I continue to assure him that no matter how they act or what they do I love all four of them more than anything. The funny thing is that no matter how mean Audrey can be, he thinks she is the prettiest of all the girls. In his eyes both Reagan and Charlee are "icky." This is because "their mouths are always dirty." He's destined to be attracted to women who boss him around. I don't think I will handle this well.

NASCAR Pictures

Tony Stewart - my mother-in-law's favorite driver

Carl's favorite driver (and five time champion) Jimmie Johnson

A pic with one of Dale Jr.'s crew members.

Justin Bieber is HOT and the Undertaker is COOL

Carl and Reagan looking for ladybugs.

My sweet but feisty Charlee.

Audrey posing at Texas Motor Speedway.

Most of you know how much Carl loves NASCAR.God knew what he was doing when we chose our home off the internet. We live only six miles from Texas Motor Speedway! The Samsung Mobile 500 was here on Saturday. My favorite drive, Kyle Busch, was signing autographs at a nearby Wal-mart. He was kind enough to let Carl take our picture. As you can see, Reagan is showing him a Super Mario action figure.

This is a picture of Jacob at Monster Jam. One of our favorite trucks - Maximum Destruction.

Jacob, who loves wrestling, had the opportunity to attend WWE Raw with Carl. They were fortunate enough to sit on the sixth row. The first wrestler to appear was the Undertaker (one of his favorites).

We were only in Texas a few short weeks when Audrey learned about Justin Bieber. Not only did she learn about him, but called him "hot", and said she is going to marry him! I assured her that he is not hot and too old for her. Thankfully she agreed but occasionally returns home from school reciting a rhyme or two about him.

Reagan has slowly recovered from the move. She refers to our Texas home as "the brick house." "The white house" is occasionally mentioned, but she has learned to love it here. She and Charlee are rivals in all ways. They are both vying for my attention on a daily basis. Grocery store trips are usually disastrous, but fun to recall. Charlee's favorite words and phrases include "wanna go side" (outside), "shoes", "Fritsi" (our dog), "want juice", and "more". She can also say "Mama" if I'm not paying attention.

The White House

I emailed several of you about our adventurous move to Texas. I can't say that things have slowed down since we've been here.
We have had two snow/ice storms in the three weeks. This has caused school to be canceled a total of five days! The first week of snow was met with colds for all four kids, and Audrey had a stomach virus. Jacob got the virus just last week, Charlee another ear infection, and Reagan has been sick all day. I'm wondering who will be next - Charlee or me. I'm praying that I can somehow get through the next few days without being sick. Carl has been gone for eight days now and I don't know when to expect him home. (That's a story all its own.)

If you're wondering why my title is "The White House," it's because of my sweet little Reagan. Surprisingly, Reagan has been more homesick for North Dakota than the rest of us. She has been insecure and sad for the last three weeks. On numerous occasions she has told me, "Mom, I want to go to Reagan's house - the white house." For all of you who have visited, you know she is referring to our North Dakota home. Just yesterday she began acting happy again. Then last night we were sitting at the table and she looked at me and said, "Mom, I miss the white house. It's gone." My heart sank. I felt so sorry for her. I can't fathom what a three year old is thinking and exactly what it is she misses. For Reagan, all of this must seem so strange.

Disclaimer: Please don't take my next comments as complaints. I'm simply trying to make humor out of the craziness of life.
People (this definitely includes family) tend to characterize North Dakota as a backwards sort of place. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. Either way, it is a place I will always hold dear to my heart. We moved to Texas thinking we would be back in civilization - especially since we are in the DFW metroplex. I will admit that our house is in a huge subdivision way out in the country, but we are 25 miles from Fort Worth. Don't let those prideful Texans fool you. I have been astounded at the "backwardness" of this place. Here's a few examples:
1. School canceled for five days because of the snow and ice
2. Slow Internet attributed to all of the Netflix users
3. Garbage pickup once a week and they didn't pick up on a snow day so we had to wait two weeks
4. Jacob's first day of preschool was canceled because there were problems with the well - which meant no water
5. The electricity was turned off every few hours for fifteen minute increments because people had bumped up their thermostats (due to the unusually cold weather). This apparently helped save energy
6. We are ten miles from Walmart and five miles from Audrey's school
7. The gasps from the elementary school personnel when I told them Minot Public Schools play outside as long as it's no colder than -5. The rule around here is as long as it's above 35
I'm sure I could think of more, but I will stop there. I hope you can find some humor in this.

Here are a few things to pray about:
1. Our house still hasn't sold. We have lowered the price quiet a bit just last week. This house and utilities is costing us quiet a lot of money. We need a buyer!
2. That Carl will somehow get to be home more. (I've been praying for this for almost three years now.)
3. Jacob's allergy problem has exploded. He is on three different meds right now.
4. That I will not get the virus.
5. That the kids will continue to adjust and that we can all make good friends.

While cuddling with Audrey after school yesterday she informed me that she is going to live with me "forever and ever." I asked her what if she gets married and she said "he will too." She then informed me that she isn't going to marry Gabe anymore (the boy from her class), but she plans to marry her daddy. "But I'm married to Daddy," I responded. "It doesn't matter. I'm marrying Daddy and you can marry Gabe."

The picture of Audrey is from yesterday. They were having pajama day at school. She was so excited.

The picture of Jacob is from his Christmas program at Escuela. In his mind, I'm sure he thinks the girl reaching for his hand "loves him." He reminds me of his dad 15 years ago!

Long Time No See

It has been quiet some time since I last posted. It's hard to believe we've been in ND for almost three years now. The snow is deep and it's not even January. Somehow I've become accustomed to the cold and snow. Preparing for the weather becomes second nature. Reagan wants to wear her hat and beanie even when we're not going anywhere, and when I get Charlee's coat off the hanger she holds her arms out ready to put it on. Kindergarten has taught Audrey the proper way to dress - she now accepts snow boots and snow pants. Jacob, on the other hand, is another story. He is a t-shirt and shorts kind of guy, and now that his dream is to be a wrestler he prefers to wear underwear only.
Audrey is five and in kindergarten. She enjoys the socializing most of all, and enjoys participating in gymnastics. Jacob is four and attends pre-school at Escuela, participates in martial arts, and plans to join the local wrestling team in February. Reagan is three and now that Audrey is in school she has become very attached to me. She is the sweetest, kindest little girl I have ever known. Reagan is polite and soft spoken (unless arguing with her siblings). Charlee turned one in August. She isn't bigger than a mite, but feisty.
Carl works for Key Energy in coil tubing and I continue to be a stay-at-home mom while attending NDSU part-time. He works lots and lots of hours (105 last week) so that allows me the extra time to do my school work.

Jacob's Prayer

It has been months since I've posted and I'm feeling guilty for neglecting my children's public (online) lives. You've probably heard by now that three is apparently not enough company. We are expecting our fourth child - another girl.
Our two year old, Jacob, blew me away tonight with his bedtime prayer. I will try to quote it word for word but I am sure there will be some inaccuracies.

God, pray for Nanna and Pop, Maw maw and Paw paw, Mommy and Daddy. Help me to sleep in Jesus' name. Thank you for Audrey's class. Thank you for Jacob's class. Thank you for Mommy's class. Thank you for Reagan's class. Thank you for playing basketball with Audrey. Thank you for playing basketball with Daddy. Thank you for riding the golf cart. Thank you for Pop Jeff. Thank you for riding the airplane. Thank you for something to eat. Thank you for watching the movie. Thank you for Walmart. Thank you for Audrey going to the gym. Amen.

I couldn't help but notice that his prayer was filled with "thanks" while my prayers are filled with "wants". Why is it that this two year old boy gets it and I don't? Perhaps this is something we as adults should ponder.