Junior Picture:

I came across this picture the last time I was at my moms for my birthday (that would be the big 3-5...ugh!). Anyway, I have this issue with my eyebrows in high school and why no one told me about tweezers. So, I asked Piper if she noticed anything strange about me in the picture and she pointed at my eyebrows and said "These are a LITTLE big". Just what I thought. Secondly, there is a rip in the corner of the pic and my mom said that my brother, Patrick did it. When I asked if it was on purpose, my mom said of course not and Tyler said "Well, you have to ask". True, Patrick, true.

Baby Blankets

We are three for three - kids attached to crocheted blankets. Piper at 6yrs STILL can't sleep without hers and it's the first thing she grabs when she gets home from school. Porter loved his until he was about 3 and then he got less attached, which is good because as you can see below, his is reduced to a wad of yarn strings. Piper knows I hate hers even though I will be secretly sad if/when she decides to give it up. It's just a gross collector and dirt and dust and hair and probably slobber from sleeping with it and carrying it everywhere. She knows if she ever gets in my bed in the middle of the night, the "kiki" as it's affectionately called is not allowed, so I'll wake up with it on the floor beside the bed. But, somehow, I love Payson's. Maybe because he hasn't had the chance to drag behind him wherever he goes yet. He just snuggles it in his bed. And for some reason, it smells like freshly baked cookies - I'm not even kidding! I don't WANT to wash it.

Bad Day?

Have you whined or complained about your bad day lately? I can tell you for sure I have...the HEAT, Tyler's crazy travel schedule, turning 35, etc. BUT, I beg you to take a look HERE, and then you may develop a new perspective along with shedding lots of tears. A very wise friend once told me God isn't as concerned about my happiness as He is my holiness. And out of holiness, by and through Christ, I WILL have joy and peace. Those are so much richer than fleeting happiness. Cancer does not produce happiness. But, it is drawing my friend, Jen, and those around her nearer to the Lord and that is the most precious place to be.

First Week of First Grade - Long Post

We did it! And with much less emotional breakdowns and worry. I think it will always be hard to send my kids off to school with the majority of their day away from me, but to know they are happy and well - adjusted (for the most part) makes it at least more comforting. And I LOVE the blessing of boy/girl twins that are in the same class and always have each other. However, on the first day I asked who they sat by at lunch and when Piper said she sat by Porter, I said, "Oh, that's so sweet!" and she said, "Well, there was no where else to sit." Oh well. I still feel good about it:) Their teacher seems great - calm and organized. They have a few friends they already know in their class, too.

Tyler was out of town all week and that is pretty stinky, but my mom helped us out, and that was huge! I say "help us out" but she was not exactly helpful on the first day of school when she let the dog out and he attacked the sweet dog across the street about to go for a walk. I was heading back from dropping the kids off when I heard my mom scream "AMY!" and saw Scout running for the dog. The owner was just going to let his dog meet Scout because who would look at Scout and think he's a dog killer? So, I screamed as I'm running toward them, "Get your dog BACK!", but I was too late. Scout was wrestling the dog down and making horrible, scary sounds. The owner was kicking Scout and I was looking for a hold on his collar to pull him off (despite the fact that we practically weigh about the same amount). Nothing was working and I was sure the victim dog was about to die, so in the midst of families walking their children to school, I laid my whole body down on top of my fighting dog. And he just quietly lays down and relaxes underneath me like that's what he was waiting for. And SOMEHOW the other dog walked away without even a scratch! I guess Scout doesn't want to actually KILL - just intimidate? Thankfully, the owner is the friendliest man on earth and was very understanding and forgiving - at least he acted that way:) That said, I still don't really like to make eye contact when I see him now. We are continuing to take Scout to a dog trainer, but I'm not sure if it's helping or not. I have a few ideas of my own that I will carry out if I can get another dog to volunteer to possibly be mauled if the plan goes awry. I know there is hope for our otherwise perfectly perfect dog, though. There has to be. In the mean time, I'm laying hands on him and praying:)!

Tyler comes home today! I have been on an organizing rampage while he's been gone, so that's kept me busy. I even managed to take the trash out TWICE which is a huge accomplishment for me while he's gone. I used to just stuff it down and not close the lid, and add more bags next to it and fill those. I did leave the pile of recycling for him to take out - so he can still feel needed around here.

And if you haven't heard about our Blizzy's trouble, read here. Ugh!

God is good no matter what. And all the good and all the bad are working to sanctify!

Lindsey Jost Photography

Our good friend, Lindsey has started her own photography business. Yes, she is new to it, but she does not take pictures like an amateur. With the twins, I was really good about having them photographed every few months. However, #3 hasn't been professionally photographed since birth:) Oh well. These of him at 8 months are worth the wait. It was HOT out at Zilker Park even though it was 9am, we had one child melt down at the end, but we made it through and got some BEAUTIFUL shots to treasure. Thank you, Lindsey! Find out more about her and her great work, here!

Last Weeks of Summer

Well, maybe it's owning Blizzy's, maybe it's the third child, maybe it's the two older children fighting all day long, but summer has FLOWN by - even despite this crazy heat wave! I can not believe school starts back up in just over a week. Payson weighs 20 pounds, is crawling, pulling up and being as cute and sweet as ever. And the olders are starting FIRST grade! What??!! We've had lots of good company in lately...we love friends and family always filling our home. Tyler and I celebrated 12 years of marriage with paddleboarding on town lake (neither of us fell off the board!) and dinner at our all time fave Austin eatery, SoCo Cafe. If you go, don't even look at the menu - just order crab cakes and sea bass on homemade gnocchi! We also just attended an amazing parenting seminar with Paul Tripp at our church, The Austin Stone. SO GOOD! Go, if he comes near you. It's all about the big picture - helping your kids see/understand the Awe of God and that we all need Jesus! And lastly, of course we are loving our new addition, Scout. Although, we did find his Achilles heal - other dogs! So, we are working with a trainer to get him to meet and greet others of his kind nicely. Otherwise, he's pretty much an angel. In summary, we've had an eventful summer and here are some snap shots...

Allison wanted to hunt for Brad Womak. So, we did.

We tie dyed.

Tyler making me laugh hard.

Scout in our pond fetching a big stick.

Blizzy business.

Scout

Well, I wasn't kidding. We have a dog! I was obsessively searching Craigslist for a week and I even got Tyler on the bandwagon. We BOTH came up with this listing for Scout...a 5 yr old, full bred, yellow lab for FREE! Unheard of. He's AKC certified, all shots up to date, and came with a bin of toys, snacks, and food. His family moved to Hawaii. Did you know they don't have rabies in Hawaii? They don't! And they don't want it, so they make it hard for you to bring an outside dog in. Well, I feel sad for his family because they must have LOVED him and not wanted to lose him, BUT I feel SO BLESSED to have Scout be our new buddy. He's an angel dog. Really. He's also HUGE! He's housebroken and does amazingly on a leash - even Piper walked him with ease and he's 3x her size. He doesn't chew and stayed peacefully in the laundry room while we were out for a while today (even with a basket full of shoes in there with him!). We just can't believe it! We've had two dogs since our lab, Rocky, died 4 yrs ago and we thought we'd never have a good dog like Rocky again because those two in-betweeners were quite the challenge for us, to say the least. Well, now we've found a fit for our family and even read a Cesar Milan book just in case (which is amazing whether you have a dog or not!) to ensure we start out as the "pack leaders" this time. I realize we are only 2 days in, but I just have a feeling about him:) And so does the baby...