How are things going with us?? Good question!

Once again, I've neglected my family blog for while. This new phase in our family's life is very time consuming, unfortunately. So here's the update:

Grace: Smart as a whip..of course. She has started off the new school year with all 'A's' and continues to challenge HERSELF with new stories, songs and poems. She has made a lot of new friends. We're reading a book together called, "The Doll People" by Brian Selznick. We enjoy reading a couple of chapters a night before bed.

Ryan: What a mess! He is growing into a very smart little boy, if he can just stay out of trouble at school! He seems to like being the class clown! Other than that, he can write his name, spell a few words and add some easy numbers. Most importantly, he can ride his bike without training wheels! He's just a natural! We are so proud of him!

Eli: So incredibly smart! I know...he's only 16 months, but a mother can tell! He says a few words and understands so much more than you can imagine! He reminds me a lot of Grace. He LOVES books! He's also started dancing and jumping around the house! Now if only all his teeth will come in, we'll be on our way to complete happiness! ha!

Rick is starting basketball season this week. Practice is in full swing, which means supper, bed, bath and book is all up to mommy until March. :( With me working such a demanding fulltime job, it's extremely tiring and a bit frustrating, but you do what you have to do.

I'm so glad the holidays are coming up! I'll be spending quite a bit of time at my parent's enjoying the slow life of the country. Only two weeks until Thanksgiving break! Yay!

Rick decides to campout with the kiddos!!

So, Rick decides that, after many years, he should camp out in the backyard with Grace and Ryan. I love it!! We cooked hotdogs, made smores, watched the Olympic Opening Ceremonies, and then decided it was time to settle  in the tent for the night.

Now, I must say, this tent was a tent my dad gave us quite a few years ago. I thought we had lost it, but upon moving, found out we had put it in the attic! I have to say, I was QUITE impressed with myself! I put it together all my by myself! (Okay, it wasn't that hard-but still!)

Grace was NOT impressed! It took a lot of convincing to get her to even stay out there for a quick story! She was scared away by a bug, and then was sure the neighbor's dog was going to jump the fence and get her! Too funny! I'll post some picture tomorrow morning. It's way too dark to get any tonight.

We're all settled in!

This past weekend was CRAZY...but we're all settled in and enjoying our new home! I have, almost, everything unpacked. I know! I'm OCD! I can't sleep if there is anything overwhelming that I need to accomplish! The house is really looking nice and coming together as if we've lived here for years. We ordered the kiddos bed's yesterday. Grace's was put together today, and we went and got her some super-cool bedding:

Ryan's and Eli's bunkbeds will be delivered in a few days. Ryan is so excited to have bunkbeds! I just hope he doesn't do the inevitable...pretending he's Superman and jumping off!

Surprise! Surprise! **sarcastically**

We are moving to Katy, TX! If you remember, we lived in Sugar Land for about 2 years before we moved back to East Texas (Beckville), so we are already familiar with area and know what we're getting into~lol! Katy was an area we would drive to when we lived in Sugar Land, thinking it would be a great place to raise a family. Little did we know we would actually be doing just that someday!

Rick accepted a job as Asst. Varsity Basketball coach at Madey Creek Highschool in Katy, and I accepted a teaching position (4th grade L/A/Reading) at Wilson Elementary in Katy as well.

At first, I was very nervous about telling Grace, because she has experienced moving before, but once we visited Katy and she saw what all it had to offer a little girl with a huge interest in everything imaginable, she got very excitedj!

We love our house we're moving into! It is 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath with a gameroom. PLENTY of room for our unexpected family of 5! It is in a GREAT neighborhood and has a huge water park for the kiddos to play in during the summer.

Of course, Ryan and Eli just kinda go with the flow. Except, I must say, I'm in a bit of shock over the difference of daycare prices in Katy compared to Mt. Vernon! Do they think everyone there are millionaires??? We are looking for a reasonable place, although it may be a bit out of the way.

Here is an updated picture of the little ones:

Finally changed my blog address!!

My sister pointed out to me a while back that I really needed to change my blog address. If you don't remember, it was "mommy2twomiracles", now it's appropriately named: "mommy2threemiracles". Three beautiful blessings! Yes, it's been shocking, scary, worrisome, stressful, financially and emotionally draining, but I wouldn't change a thing! I was browsing pictures and came across this one of Eli's first Christmas. He looks soooo much like Grace and Ryan ! His temperament seems to be just like his brother and sister as well. Pretty laid back, a little needy, already understands so many concepts (yes, he's a genius!) and loves the outdoors!

The Halfway Mark!

I can't believe Eli's first birthday will be in less than 6 months! He is almost crawling, eating solids like a champ and desperately trying to sit up on his own. Time is flying by, as usual. The other night, I only got to see him for a few minutes that morning before work, so when I got home late that night, I snuck into his room and held his sleeping, sweet body for a few minutes. I felt his little hands and feet, and rubbed his soft head...he sighed so softly I could hardly hear it. I remember doing the same thing with Grace and Ryan on more than one occassion. It's like a short glimps of heaven, I'm sure of it. Why you might ask?

Soon, Eli will be pulling up, walking, trying to say words and getting into everything. Soon, he'll bring me books to read to him and laugh uncontrollably when we chase him. Soon, he'll be able to sing little songs and pick flowers....I can't wait, yet I dread it.

I know it's coming-that day when he'll pull away from me and want to do things on his own. The day when independence kicks in.
That's why...

Back again!

Last October, Rick and I were thrown for a loop...after many years of infertility, and finally conceiving Grace and Ryan via IVF, God decided to bless us with our little miracle, Eli Richard. NEVER would I have EVER believed I could conceive naturally. But God is greater, and knows far more, than any doctor on this earth. It's HE that is in control, and no one else.

So that's my explanation to why I neglected this blog for so long. I was in a state of total shock through the entire year last year!! I mean, I'm 39 years old!! Rick and I have been marred for 18 years and were starting to think about what it would be like to NOT get up before 7:00 am on the weekends! Having a newborn was the LAST thing on my mind! We started over from scratch--my house now looks like Babies R Us threw up in it, but I love it!

Eli is such a blessing! He is perfect in every way possible. He looks a lot like Grace did when she was a baby, but his actions are a mixture of both she and Ryan. I've always said I've got "silly kids", and he fits right in! His smile lights up the room and melts your heart. He's a genius..I'm sure of it! Here is a perfect picture of him:

So what's going on with every one else?

Grace: She is sailing through 1st grade! She was accepted into the GT program, but we didn't need a test to tell us she was oh-so-gifted and talented! She was recently invited to move up in gymnastics to Level 2 as well. She is so dedicated and will start practing 2 hours a week this week, working her way up to 4 hours within a few months. In addition to all that, she also started guitar lessons! Santa brought her a "real" guitar this year. She had her first lesson last week and came home playing "Jesus Loves Me". Very impressive!

Ryan: sweet, sweet Ryan.... He is such a mess! So, so smart! He says things that crack us up all the time and keeps us on our toes! He turns 4 on the 31st. I can hardly believe it! He finally started going to Wednesday night AWANAS and is going to be starting T-ball in the spring. He is a VERY good big brother! He is already teaching Eli how to play with his racecars!

Rick is working on his Masters degree right now in school administration. He is not coaching this year, but hoping to pick that back up next year. He really misses it, but it's been so helpful having him around with a new baby.

Picture of my "babies" at Christmas:

First Day of School and Finally Fall!!

Grace had her first day of Kindergarten this year! Her teacher is Mrs. Whitaker, and we just love her! Grace acted like an pro on the first day. She was well past ready! It's been 5 weeks now, and she still wakes up everyday ready to go! I know these days will soon pass too quickly! Everyday she walks down to my classroom like a big girl, and announces what "color" she landed on today. Most days it's blue- up the chart- and not down!

I'm sitting outside on my backporch watching, and listening to, a summer storm come in. It's beautiful. It makes me think about when daddy came to the house for the first time and said, "this is a good backyard..you'll be able to spot a tornado comin' for sure." Great!! I couldn't be happier! Thankfully, after almost a complete year of living here, we've had no tornados!

We actually just got back from a little vacation of visiting family. We stayed at Jodie's a few days and went down to the beach. Grace and Ryan LOVE the beach! But I think next year we may try to drive down to South Padre Island to see some clear ocean water! We also saw our newest little nephew, James. He is so darn cute! We also spent a couple of days with Nanny and Paw Paw and went swimming with them. What a great time!

Grace had a ballet recital back in May, but has decided since then to go back to gymnastics. She will start back in about two weeks. I really think she has the determination to stick with it and perhaps go into competition. She also just received her new manogrammed backpack and lunchbox for Kindergarten next year. She is going to be one little awesome student!

We are in the process of potty training Ryan. What a job! We're doing away with all pull-ups starting on Monday! I think he'll do well. He already has a good grasp on the whole concept. Mostly we haven't been as consistant as he's needed with all the traveling and VBS.

We are working on some updates on the house as well. We're refacing the cabinets in the kitchen and I'm going to attempt to put up a backsplash. We'll see! I'll post pictures of the end results....maybe!

4th of July is around the corner and hopefully we'll see some great fireworks and cook some hotdogs out on the grill!

It's raining cats and dogs now-thank goodness! I was so worried about our little tree outfront, and was about to run the hose out to water it, but God took care of the thirsty little thing for me! He has a way doing things like that!

Well, this is just embarressing....

I decided to click on my own blog address just to see what was going on, and now, frankly, I'm quite embarressed! I can't believe I haven't posted anything in almost a year! So, I'm just going to sum it up and move on!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. Ryan really got into saying, "ho-ho-ho! erry ismas!!" So cute! He is quite the little happy toddler, running around and laughing most of the time. He's had to learn not to bite, hit, say no, and throw fits all within a few months! He has also learned to say/sing his ABC's count a little and can pretty much identify most shapes and colors-when he wants to! He's a bit stubborn like his Pop! He's starting to look a lot more like Rick, except for the blonde hair and blue eyes! Ryan turned two on January 31st. We had a modest party at our house. Can't believe he hardly fits in my lap to rock at night. My baby's growing up.

Grace impresses me everyday! Before she was born, or even conceived, we prayed that God would use her to make a difference for Him. I can't tell you how many times God has already used her in the lives of others. So many people tell me about her love and kindness she shows to everyone. She is touching lives for Him! She says she wants to be a missionary when she grows up, and I certainly don't put it past her! She's amazingly beautiful and sees the world as her own little rescue mission. She is sooo ready for Kindergarten! I may try and teach her to read this summer. She's certainly ready. She turns 5 on March 25th. What a milestone!

Both kids got to experience their first real snowday!! We were all overly excited and took lots of pictures! Who would have ever thought when Grace prayed for snow, God would send 8 inches!

Rick's basketball season was, how should I put this, challenging?? This is a great school with great kiddos, but they haven't had a basketball coach stick around in quite a few years. Needless to say, Rick has his work cut out for him! We're here to stay, though, so hopefully in a couple of years we'll see a winning season!

My job in Mt. Pleasant as a Science teacher is going well. My team is great and the kids I have are good. I'm still praying for a position in Mt. Vernon to come open for next year. I really need to be at the school where the rest of my family goes! My heart is already here, now I just need to get my body here as well!

I'll be back on to post pictures soon!

Sorry it's been so long!!

I'm so sorry I haven't posted anything in such a long time. Shame on me! Needless to say, we have had a lot to happen in the last 3 months.

So here goes:

April- Easter was great! We spent the day at Nana and Pop's and got some wonderful pictures of the kiddos Easter Egg hunting. We also went to Nana and Pop's church and enjoyed a really good time visiting with all the members there. We had a delicious lunch and hunted over a couple of hundred eggs. Grace is still young enough to believe the "Easter Bunny" came to visit, so when we got home from Nana and Pop's, the "Easter Bunny" had left some Easter basket full of goodies on our front porch. It was so much fun watching her reaction! Ryan could have cared less, of course!

May-Well, we missed the Baby Reunion at Baylor Center for Reproductive Health this year. We had planned to go, but Rick had a coaching clinic that interfered, so we had to skip this year. Hopefully we will be able to attend next May. Mother's Day was uneventful. I got to sleep in and then we headed off to church. Grace made an adorable flower vase for my kitchen window. I absolutely love it. Perfect for little flowers she picks now and then. We attempted to eat out at the Jalopeno Tree, but Ryan was so tired we had to get everything to go and eat it at home. Still, a very nice day spent lovin' my kiddos. We also had Grace's Graduation from Nana's Playhouse and Learning Center at the end of May. When asked who her hero was, she proudly replied, "Jesus". We are so proud of her.

June-Wow! What an unexpected month June was! Rick got a call from Mt. Vernon ISD for an interview as Head Basketball Coach. He went to the interview and was offered the job that night. He accepted the offer and that pretty much threw us into panic mode! I also turned in my letter of resignation to Beckville, reluctantly, and began praying that God would provide me with a job. We also put our whole faith in God by making an offer on a beautiful house in Mt.Vernon. We haven't purchased a home in a while, so this is very exciting for us. We also went on a very short family vacation to Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, Tx.

It was just wonderful and we plan on going back very soon.

Here are a few pictures:

July-so that brings us to now.... I had an interview for a 5th grade Science teacher position in Mt. Pleasant last week and got the call on Tuesday that they wanted to hire me. Yay!! Thank you Jesus!! We were really getting nervous since Tuesday was also our last day to back out of the house contract. But everything is moving forward now! We should close on our house on July 24th and moving around the 27th. Sooo exciting! We also just signed Grace and Ryan up for the First Baptist Church's preschool for the fall. We had a grand tour of the school on Wednesday and Grace is ready to go!

Grace's 4th Birthday!

A Day at the Park

Ryan's 1st Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Ryan!

What a great day we had last Saturday! The weather was absolutely gorgeous and everyone who was invited came to join in on the special day. The party started at 2:00 with horse rides. Our friends, the McRights, brought over a few horses and the kiddos had a blast! Ryan wasn't afraid at all and seemed to know exactly what those huge animals were! After the horse rides, Ryan opened gifts while "Taco the Clown" entertained the other little ones. Ryan didn't seem impressed with "Taco", but loved opening all his presents.

Next, we had a yummy cake! Ryan LOVED his cake, as you can tell from the pictures! Everyone stayed and visited for a while and enjoyed chili dogs and corn dip.

It was a very exciting day that went exactly as planned! What more could you ask for?

My daughter amazes me..

My daughter, Grace. What a special jewel she is. I thought I would share with you a few of her latest words of wisdom.

Here are the top 10 (and these are direct quotes):

10. "But mom, you're the one that wanted the slider phone.."

09. "But my tears won't leave my eyes alone!"

08. "Look mom, she has a brown baby!" (very loud in the pediatricians office).

07. "Mommy, I'm going to go sit on my bed and think about how bad daddy has been."

06. "You really shouldn't eat that mom. It's not good for you."

05. "If someone's mean to you, just walk away and find someone else to play with." (Amen!)

04. "Well, mom, a dollars not a lot of money, only 2 dollars is."

03. "Pop can be nice when he wants to." (yes, that IS a direct quote!)

02. "But those round green things on my plate are gross." :)

And the top words of wisdom from Grace Gates is:

01: "Daddy, I'm sorry you lost your game. Maybe you can win next time."

What a sweety.

Ryan, the trooper

Ryan was such a trooper today. We woke him at around 4:30 and put him immediately in the car to drive to the hospital. Checkin was at 5:30. I was sure he was going to scream the whole way since he's used to having his milk first thing, but he talked himself right back to sleep. When we arrived at the hospital we were immediately taken back to the "holding" room. Ryan was all smiles. He looked adorable in his hospital gown, and I think he knew it! He loved his new bed and explored every inch of it, including the little screws which he was amazed by for some reason. The nurse came around and attached his arm bracelet (but to his leg so he wouldn't notice it-yeah, right!) and then an orderly took us back to the surgery holding area. There' s probably a term for that, but I can't think of it right now! Ryan was beginning to get a bit fussy, well.. a lot fussy, and thankfully fussed himself back to sleep again for a while.

Just as I layed him in the crib to give my arms a break, the nurse came in with his "silly juice". They give this to all the little ones to help with the transition from mommy. We woke Ryan up and he gulped it down like it was chocolate! Within about 15 minutes the fun really began! Ryan was such a hoot! He was giving the wall "kisses" and laughing like there was no tomorrow! He'd smile real slow and fall to the side.. he was like a drunk little one year old! Too cute! Soon after that the nurse came and took him back to surgery.

Rick and I went to the waiting room and sat patiently for what seemed like an eternity. After about an hour, we finally got a call from the operating room telling us they had not started the surgery yet because they couldn't find a vein to start the IV in. I noticed after the surgery that he had over 20 different needle pricks all over him. Poor thing. They finally found a place right on the inside of his upper thigh. Thankfully he wasn't awake during any of this, so he doesn't remember a thing. Hopefully he's not too sore from it. The dr. came out into the waiting room around 9:15 and said that Ryan had done wonderfully, but that he did have to take out his adnoids as well. He was also already getting another ear infection, so he had to drain some extra fluid out of his right ear as well. Poor baby.

We then went back to the post-op to see him. He was just coming out of anestesia and boy was that heartbreaking. I just held and rocked him until he fell back asleep. We sat there for about 20 minutes and then went back to the recovery room for about an hour. He slept through that and all the way, and pretty much all the rest of the day until around 3:00. He started coming out of it by then and began to play. By 4:30 he was scooting around on his John Deer tractor and by supper he downed a whole hotdog! I guess you could say he was about 95% back to normal.

I'm so thankful that this is all over and everything went smoothly. Thank you for all the prayers and words of wisdom. It's all greatly appreciated and well used!

Christmas '08

We had a wonderful, magical Christmas this year! We started out a few days early at Nana's and Pop's house where the weather was frightfully cold..perfect! The smell of the woodstove burning and turkey cooking filled the air along with the children playing and men snoring! Good times! We opened gifts on Saturday evening and enjoyed a nice time at church the next morning. My mom sang a beautiful medly of Christmas songs and Grace sang with her, softly in the pew..priceless. We headed back home Monday morning to rest up for Ryan's ear appointment that was scheduled for the next day.

The appointment went as expected and his ear surgery is scheduled for Jan. 2nd. He'll have tubes put in and his adnoids checked. Hopefully he'll be a much happier little boy after that. Please say an extra little prayer for him that all will go smoothly.

Wednesday, Grace and I spent all day cooking and doing some last minute shopping. I served a "miniture Christmas Eve Supper" for just us. Right before we gathered around the table to eat, Ryan had a little fall in the kitchen and put a nice little scratch on his cheek, which required some major crying and a bandaid. He is constantly on the go and quite the little menice! After supper we got the kiddos ready for bed and read the Christmas story from the Bible. We then let them open one small gift from under the tree. Grace got the Cinderella barbie doll from Ryan, and Ryan opened one of the many "shake-n-go" cars that he LOVES! Then it was off to put food out for Santa's reindeer. Grace had made a special mixture of oatmeal and corn from school (which amazingly disappeared by morning!). Soon it was time to finish icing the cookies for Santa and place them by the fireplace just incase he was hungry from all that flying around! The "babies" were in bed by 7:00 and as soon as they were fast asleep the fun really began!

The next morning came early with screams from Grace that "Santa had come!" This was the first year that she had actually understood what was going on. Ryan, on the other hand, was happy with me holding him and drinking his morning cup of milk. He could have really cared less! After all the unwrapping and a quick breakfast, it was off to Nanny and Pawpaw's. We spent the afternoon with them eating yummy food and opening more gifts. Ryan went dressed as "John Deer" himself and loved showing off his little fourwheeler! He is such a little rascal!

This has been a wonderful Christmas that I know I'll always cherish. We have been blessed beyond our wildest dreams. Here is a slideshow of our Christmas tour! (click on "view all images")

A few dreams come true:

This has been an amazing year for Rick and I. Here are a few dreams I thought would never come true:

*I'd see two stockings hung from our chimney with care with names of our children stitched in white thread.

*We'd pretend there's a Santa and sneak 'round the house, hiding long wanted toys that piled up in mounds.

*I'd snuggle up tight on the couch with my son and my daughter, watching Charlie Brown's Christmas until the wee hours.

*I'd watch my own children sit on Santa's knee, making big promises of how good they would be.

*We'd make Christmas cookies and warm, gooey fudge, setting them carefully by the tree for our own special "Santa" to see.

*I'd dress my own little girl in ribbons and bows, and see my own son reach for lights all a glow.

*Sharing with my children the birth of our Saviour, now that's a dream come true that I always will savor.

Christmas time is a special time for everyone, but for this new family, it means so much more than you can imagine.

The perfect Christmas Card

I spent what seemed like hours the other night trying to get the perfect shot for our Christmas card this year. I think I took about 30 different pictures before I decided that I really couldn't sacrifice anymore nutcrackers or already wrapped presents. I quickly got the kids to bed and settled down at the computer to hopefully find several pictures to choose from. I loaded up the shots and started sifting through them. Of course, there were the ones that had Grace perfectly smiling and Ryan screaming, or Ryan grinning like a canary and Grace showing her "fake-celebrity smile", and the one's where one or the other's head is cut off. We finally got to about the 3rd one from the end and decided our little darlings looked perfectly wonderful no matter which one we chose! We hope everyone enjoys their card! Here is a few of the pictures we chose from: