tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71971828813322923832012-02-10T14:48:51.591-06:00"but their mother treasured these things in her heart..." (Luke 2:51)Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.comBlogger8591100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-20140163093262914362012-02-09T09:47:00.000-06:002012-02-10T10:13:41.652-06:00

When we signed Conner up for basketball and asked Micah if he'd like to play too, he said that he would rather do something else, like karate or gymnastics. They love Little Gym birthday parties, but the classes are just too expensive. But we were actually able to find something else that was do-able - the description read, "...the course ranges from marital arts fundamentals to skills similar to

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-61523996849902268242012-02-08T06:26:00.000-06:002012-02-10T09:07:02.341-06:00

After the Pinewood Derby, Micah and Josiah were both very upset that they didn't get trophies like Conner did. And Bret, who normally balks at the "let's give everyone a trophy because really we're all winners" thing, caved and promised to get trophies for the little brothers, too. My guess is that it was probaby because he worked just as hard (really, even harder) on those silly little cars as

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-42388991600002196312012-02-07T22:16:00.002-06:002012-02-07T22:19:35.812-06:00

Conner and Micah decided to participate in Runner's Club at their school this year. After school on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the kids go out and run or walk around the track for about 30 minutes. They keep track of how many laps they've run (about 4.5 laps = 1 mile), and then at the end of each semester the child who's run the farthest gets some kind of little prize. I've enjoyed it - I get to

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-14295756307305773482012-02-04T16:16:00.000-06:002012-02-05T08:24:47.510-06:00

Micah just got his first bike for Christmas. He's been practicing and practicing pretty much every chance he gets...and today we already got to take off his training wheels! Woohoo! Way to go, Micah-Man!

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-69036607919260620292012-02-02T21:49:00.000-06:002012-02-03T22:55:51.973-06:00

We're learning about letter P this week, so today was Popcorn and Pajama Day at preschool. Josiah has been veeeeery excited for a couple of weeks now, and he's had big plans to wear his spiderman pajamas. (Which happen to be the same ones that Micah wore to pajama day when he was 3. :) ...but then yesterday, Griffin gave him a brand-new pair of pajamas (that match his!) that have monsters on

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-26011044708798217712012-02-01T23:16:00.001-06:002012-02-02T13:49:08.415-06:00

The other day - last Wednesday, to be exact - one of our little molly fish went missing. We weren't too worried though. That had happened before with another fish, and a few days later it turned up again. Well, we kept waiting for "Red Rainbow" to come back...and waiting...and waiting...until the other day I decided to check the filter box. But no, Red Rainbow hadn't died and floated into that.

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-37042959557032331952012-01-31T14:31:00.000-06:002012-02-01T05:56:08.279-06:00

My kindergartener, who could barely read an easy three-letter work when school started, has reached another milestone. Yesterday, Micah had officially earned enough AR (Accelerated Reader - a little computerized quiz you take after reading a book) points to earn the privilege of wearing crazy socks! (Plain old white or uniform-colored socks are part of the standardized dress code.) We're so

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-31720904462319315182012-01-30T04:56:00.000-06:002012-02-01T05:30:59.240-06:00

For Christmas, Griffin got Josiah a huge color-your-own cardboard rocket ships. No really, it was huge. At least five feet long. You get the idea here. It just about took up about half of our little living room. Josiah was very excited about it, and we got it out within a few days of getting it. Everyone helped color it. Micah, artsy-fartsy Micah, even added a window with a view of an

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-18068608086877179362012-01-29T21:04:00.000-06:002012-02-01T05:30:54.287-06:00

No really, they've been cutting the grass. With scissors. I don't know what gave him the idea, but Conner decided to take a pair of scissors out with him on Friday, and just started cutting. And then everyone else got some scissors. And they've been cutting the grass like that all weekend. Literally, for hours. Crazy...but hey, they've certainly been entertained!

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-18908808805367455362012-01-28T23:08:00.000-06:002012-02-01T05:30:48.075-06:00

The last several times we've seen Ira and Kelley (probably Thanksgiving and Christmas), we keep saying that we need to get together. And then the kids hear us talking and tell Uncle Ira that it's been forever since they've been to his house - they can hardly remember what it looks like. And then I agree - after all, I haven't seen his house since Kelley got her hands on it after they got married!

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-45636038568981186032012-01-27T22:24:00.000-06:002012-02-05T08:30:04.538-06:00

We just spent two weeks researching golden lion tamarins, and we thought we were done with them. Then on Monday Conner came home with an assignment to make a diorama of his chosen mammal's habitat. Ooooookay, I guess we weren't done, after all! Conner and I talked about it. Some of his friends (who had older siblings) had already known that the habitat diorama was coming after the research

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-52452530933374795142012-01-26T07:59:00.000-06:002012-01-28T07:01:50.900-06:00

I had a ton of work to do the other day, so Josiah and I went to Chick-fil-a. I took my computer, and planned to let him play in the playground while I worked. (Hooray for Christmas gift cards! :) He was very excited. But when we pulled up into the parking lot and found a fire truck there, it was more excitement than he could contain. "Firefighters eat at Chick-fil-a??" I explained that

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-14368391419129755422012-01-25T23:07:00.001-06:002012-01-26T15:46:28.420-06:00

They said on the news a little while ago that today was "the wettest day in January ever." Wow. I believe it. It rained and rained and rained and rained last night/early this morning. We had a lot of thunder and lightning yesterday evening, and even ate our dinner in the dark so that we could enjoy the lightning flashes! (It's been so long since we've had a good afternoon thunderstorm with

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-36711291481301463732012-01-22T23:14:00.000-06:002012-01-26T00:22:06.605-06:00

As a part of our museum membership, we get to get into the Fort Worth Stock Show for free. Some of our friends from The Gathering have memberships too, so we all went together. I've lived in the Fort Worth area for the majority of my life, but this was the first time for me to go. Bret had been a few times, but only as a little kid. So of course, our boys had never been either. We were all

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-29416267681386752762012-01-21T23:29:00.000-06:002012-01-26T00:04:28.429-06:00

Today was Conner's 3rd basketball game. And we had a special treat - Bubba and Griffin came to watch! (Isn't he cute in those little boots?!) So Conner put on a good show and played a great game for them. Until the end, that is. I think the long and busy week of late nights working on golden lion tamarin research reports and pinewood derby cars is officially taking a toll. He really slowed

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-18861015190333639482012-01-20T22:56:00.000-06:002012-01-21T11:23:17.049-06:00

The Pinewood Derby was last night! The boys each got a box containing a block of wood and some nails and wheels before Christmas. So we've been working on pinewood derby cars for about a month now. Each of the boys started off with a plan. Then they spent some time with Bret tweaking and finalizing their plans, making them a little more feasible and aerodynamic. Then we waited for a

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-77395361629553232002012-01-20T11:46:00.000-06:002012-01-28T08:23:28.297-06:00

Holy moly. We've been busy. We've added basketball practice and games for a few weeks, at the same time that we're working on cars for the pinewood derby. And then Conner comes home with an assignment for his first research report. On a mammal of his choosing. Some his friends chose animals like polar bears or raccoons. But not Conner. He chose a golden lion tamarin. What's that, you say? Well

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-79575962004344974562012-01-19T21:28:00.000-06:002012-01-20T16:16:00.511-06:00

Tonight was Dad's Night at Josiah's preschool. It's an annual thing, and the kids get to enjoy an evening of dinner, games, crafts, and a devotional - just "me and dad." This year's theme was "Dad's Knight Out." Josiah has been anxiously looking forward to this, counting down the days. This morning he decided that he wanted to wear his spiderman costume...and he wanted Dad to wear his butterfly

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-1530147090015908442012-01-18T21:38:00.000-06:002012-01-18T21:38:29.832-06:00

There are some things that I really don't like about being Josiah's preschool teacher. But there are some things that are absolutely priceless. For example, I know that one of the big things I work with my three-year-olds on is learning to write their names. I know how much we talk about the letters and how to hold your crayon and how much we trace and practice at school. So when I see my own kid

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-35607321666612677582012-01-17T06:03:00.000-06:002012-01-25T23:21:36.072-06:00

Micah has been asking for "hard-boiled eggs" lately. I've been reluctant to make them - no one usually eats them. But Micah usually knows what he wants, and kept on and kept on and kept on asking, so I finally made them. But knowing that just plain boiled eggs might not appeal to his palate so much, I decided to go ahead and boil a dozen and make some deviled eggs. I had actually never made them

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-10904202569556167982012-01-15T22:13:00.000-06:002012-01-15T22:18:40.344-06:00

Well, I didn't really intend for this to be a New Year's resolution. But it has kind of ended up that way. I have some friends who make a lot of their own cleaning supplies. And I had been seeing it all over Pinterest. And then I found out my sweet Queen of Clean mother-in-law had started using it and loves it. And she got it from her mother, who loves it. And it's the Duggar's recipe. And, it's

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-15225109818364506662012-01-14T22:55:00.005-06:002012-01-14T22:57:37.385-06:00

Ok, so it totally stunk that I actually had my camera out and was ready...but then the ref was in the way. But who cares. At his basketball game today, Conner scored his first goal!!!! (And not only did he score, but it was a perfect little swish!) You can see him shooting just behind the ref. And you can see his little arm up in the air just behind the ref as he's whooping and jumping and

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-81296675650448091622012-01-11T21:12:00.002-06:002012-01-11T21:12:33.593-06:00

One of Josiah's school friends invited him to come make playdoh today. Usually we go to storytime at the library on Wednesdays, but this sounded like too much fun to pass up! The moms ended up making the playdoh - a pink batch and a blue batch - while the kids ate a snack. Then they all got to choose which color they wanted to play with. Of course, all the girls chose pink and all the boys chose

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-29115324869849365812012-01-10T05:50:00.000-06:002012-01-15T21:26:36.828-06:00

At kindergarten, Micah and his friends have class pets - a teddy bear named Sully (presumably a nickname of sorts for his teacher, Mrs. Sullivan), and a little chick named Chickie. Sully and Chickie live in a backpack, and have a journal. Each night a different student gets to bring them home, and write about their adventures in the journal. Conner's class had a Tigger that did the same thing,

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-56893997227597770752012-01-08T22:14:00.000-06:002012-01-09T14:25:01.853-06:00

  We haven't really messed with sports for the boys much...we tried it once, and then decided we'd do it again when/if they ever started asking to do it. Well...the day has finally come. So we signed Conner up for Upward basketball. We had heard really good things about it, and love the non-competitive nature of it. Plus, Conner has gotten to go to basketball camp for the past couple of

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-59651341133631276572012-01-06T21:23:00.000-06:002012-01-07T10:44:18.860-06:00

Sometimes I get a little aggravated and frustrated with kindergarten homework. Some of it really is good stuff for Micah to be practicing, but it requires me sitting down and helping him. While I'm sitting down and helping Conner. While I'm making sure Josiah is busy doing something else - but it can't be anything involving the TV because that distracts the homeworkers. While I'm cooking dinner.

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-70491016575669789892012-01-05T22:42:00.000-06:002012-01-09T09:32:49.134-06:00

One of the things that the boys got to do while at BooBoo and Yogi's house over the Christmas break was help Yogi with the quail "harvest." He buys quail eggs, incubates them, and then raises them from hatchlings until they're ready to be eaten. Awhile back, Conner got to help Yogi "dissect" a chicken (he wanted to learn about the body the same way Leonardo Da Vinci did, and they were all

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-71906958837219376032012-01-04T07:45:00.001-06:002012-01-04T09:55:56.769-06:00

The boys have been talking about sushi a lot lately. What exactly is it, and can we try some soon? Please????? Well, they finally wore Bret down and last night he came home with a little bit of sushi for them to try. Besides, he's all about them learning to like foods that he really likes - that way he gets to have them more! ;) First things first though - sushi was meant to be eaten with

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-28371990392970896262012-01-02T06:50:00.000-06:002012-01-03T06:31:47.339-06:00

A few of weeks ago, our pet crabs and one of our fish died. We're not real sure what happened - but we suspect that the temperature finally began dropping outside, thus it began dropping inside as we adjusted to our normal now-we're-running-the-heater-instead-of-the-air-conditioner-temperature, thus the water temperature dropped. (No...we're not using the heater that came with the aquarium...

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-788885899127026102012-01-01T07:46:00.004-06:002012-01-01T08:23:45.923-06:00

The wellsbrothers started off the afternoon / evening with big plans. They were all going to stay up late, all the way until midnight. They were sooooo excited. A little while before dinner they started trying to figure out what all they were going to do during all these extra hours that they were going to be awake. So they spent a little bit of time outside with Bret, watching him shoot his new

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-52170015340159158242011-12-31T22:40:00.000-06:002012-01-01T07:12:06.464-06:00

I used the "Year in Status" app on facebook...and ended up taking a beautiful little trip down memory lane as I re-lived 2011 through my facebook status updates. I don't expect anyone else to read this - but really wanted to preserve it for myself! January 2011 I don’t know what it is, but there’s just something about Godiva chocolate that makes a girl feel like a princess. One of my favorite

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-26505626302619692852011-12-31T08:56:00.000-06:002012-01-01T08:00:20.142-06:00

We got to celebrate Christmas with the Conner family last night. I love that, even though MeeMaw and PeePaw are no longer with us, we still manage to all get together. As has become tradition, we went to my Uncle Bubba and Aunt Stephy's house, and just had some plain ol' fun. We decorated cookies. We enjoyed new babies. This is Cate, my cousin Caleb's daughter. And this is Jodi's baby,

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-79184892972391659272011-12-28T15:42:00.013-06:002011-12-29T09:34:13.706-06:00

Blog bloggie blog blog bloggerson blog. Oh, how I've missed you! Happy Christmas break to me - I hope to put up a few posts!! No one know it, but I've actually been keeping up with all the pictures. They're uploaded to the blog here into separate posts, each tagged and dated accordingly. I've just got to write a little something to go with them. The perfectionist in me likes to have things in

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-60371356957586734792011-12-26T21:25:00.002-06:002011-12-29T09:33:16.539-06:00

  Kaleb had gotten a little jeep from Santa, but it was too wet and muddy for him to ride it. So on the next day, when it was warmer, drier, and sunnier, he was so incredibly sweet to let Josiah go with him on his first drive.   At 2 and 3 years old they're already best buds. I'm afraid we may be in trouble in a few years...

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-50566758920203601352011-12-25T20:31:00.041-06:002011-12-29T09:33:33.087-06:00

After spending Christmas morning at home opening our own presents, we drove down to Gammie and Poppy's to have Christmas with them. Tiffany and her family were at her in-law's celebrating when we got there, so we patiently waited (or tried to, anyway) for them to get there. It was a good thing Santa had come to Gammie's house, too. He left stockings and goodies for the boys to eat and play with

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-43188653093747459152011-12-25T17:50:00.121-06:002012-01-07T09:56:01.434-06:00

We put out the reindeer food, and goodies for Santa, and went to bed cuddling and smelling new Scentsy buddies while listening to Dad read the real Christmas story, and dreaming of bikes, "fish pillows", Slushy Magic, and ice cream maker balls. When Bret and I were growing up, Santa did different things at our houses. At Bret's house, Santa didn't wrap anything. Whenever the kids woke

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-54468988941856241312011-12-24T22:35:00.000-06:002011-12-29T10:55:22.178-06:00

After Christmas and lunch at Mom's and Dad's, we headed to Bret's Granny and Grandad's house. The kids usually get a handful of goodies there, and then the adults play the gift exchange game. It's always fun, and we laughed a lot. We are all thrilled and incredibly grateful that Grandad - after some scary close calls and several recent stays in the hospital - was able to celebrate Christmas

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-79616920016360081312011-12-24T21:57:00.059-06:002011-12-30T09:34:32.104-06:00

Woohoo, it's finally Christmas time!!! We got to Mom's and Dad's on Thursday afternoon, and got to hang out before everyone else started getting here yesterday afternoon. The family is getting big- 15 of us now! - and we're so excited that everyone was together to celebrate Christmas this morning! Bret got to shoot his bow (early Christmas present) for the first time! Conner and Micah sat down

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-75765785389786218652011-12-24T07:00:00.029-06:002011-12-30T09:32:59.654-06:00

My oh my, Jack was a busy little elf last night! When the boys opened their door this morning, they found toilet paper streamers across the doorway, blocking them in. And then right next to the doorway, looking a little mischevious as always, was Jack...with a roll of toilet paper and some tape. That crazy elf! But he also had a note today: (According to the Elf on the Shelf book, Christmas Eve

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-91695549373011855022011-12-22T08:24:00.041-06:002011-12-30T13:56:31.019-06:00

My friend Rachel told us about a pajama party showing of The Polar Express at the Omni. There will be hot chocolate and crafts and winter science experiments. Plus, tickets are discounted for museum members. Would we like to go with them? Um, YES!! How perfectly fun and wonderful and Christmas vacation-ish does that sound??!! So we put on our favorite jammies, and headed to the Omni! We made

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-10553543364423035832011-12-21T23:15:00.009-06:002012-01-07T06:30:03.296-06:00

It's become a Christmas tradition for our family to make a gingerbread house. And yes, I cheat - we always use the kits that you buy at the grocery store. And yes, I cheat even more than that - BooBoo always buys it for us. And I'm so thankful for those things, because I'm pretty sure we wouldn't do it otherwise! :) The boys worked very hard. Each one - including Bret - got his own side of the

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-77817071686508154432011-12-02T22:34:00.002-06:002012-01-20T15:40:32.562-06:00

We're still not real sure why...but the other day Josiah decided that he wanted to wear a butterfly costume. I told him that we couldn't go and buy one, but that I would be happy to help him make one. (Hey, who says boys can't be butterflies?!) So I cut a butterfly shape out of some posterboard, and he spend a day or two painting, and another day gluing on feathers. (Yes, we know that real

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-43317755852751144512011-12-01T22:25:00.002-06:002012-01-15T22:01:52.163-06:00

This is how they came home from school today. *sigh...* I love 'em though, wouldn't trade my job for anything!

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-48881028172131006622011-11-29T22:55:00.035-06:002011-12-30T08:36:05.643-06:00

We've been seeing and hearing people talking about them for a couple of years now. It seems they're all the rage. And now, an Elf on the Shelf has finally found its way into our house, too. We got a package in the mail from Gammie yesterday. In it was the Elf on the Shelf book, which we read at bedtime. The boys were very excited - they had been hearing about them, too. We were about halfway

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-28806180559123314712011-11-14T22:41:00.002-06:002012-01-15T21:24:40.309-06:00

Each elementary school's own Reading Bee Champion was recognized at tonight's school board meeting. They got to wear their medals, have their names called out, and stand in front of everyone there. Pretty cool. At one point, when the speaker was talking about how smart they all have to be to earn this honor, he asked if any of them planned to be president someday. All of the kids just kind of

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-37581692494351677732011-11-14T21:47:00.000-06:002012-01-02T22:54:22.214-06:00

A week or so ago, some of the boys' fish - Phineas and Buford - died. The wellsbrothers were sad - melodramatically so. "Can you see this tear? It's my 297th one." But that was over pretty quickly when they realized that they could go get new fish. Micah quickly found a really cool ghost catfish - you can see right through him. He looks kind of like a fish skeleton. And then we saw some fiddler

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-39549926607697658612011-11-13T23:07:00.047-06:002012-01-15T21:13:59.170-06:00

Wowee zowee, Conner was in the newspaper today!!! There is a picture and an article about him and his Reading Bee accomplishments! "When 8-year-old Conner Wells found out his great-grandfather had high blood pressure, he went straight to his second grade teacher, Cindy Joy, to learn everything he could about it. "He always comes up to me and asks, 'Mrs. Joy, can I take this book home?'" Joy

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-66565494185256761742011-11-12T11:40:00.000-06:002012-01-15T21:11:54.113-06:00

A few weeks ago, Conner came home from school with a permission slip for us to sign. It said that he qualified to represent Stribling at the district Reading Bee in a couple of weeks. What? Were you in some kind of a contest? Did you win something? What's a Reading Bee? Conner, what IS this? And of course, he didn't know. ;) So we read some more, asked some questions, did some research, and

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-57504816583272841282011-11-03T21:41:00.004-05:002012-01-27T07:57:33.785-06:00

Tonight Conner's Cub Scout pack was learning about community helpers, so we got to go to a fire house! (And no, these pictures aren't the best - I forgot my camera and was thrilled that I at least had my phone...) We have been to the fire house before, and even got to help wash the fire trucks. But this time we got to watch as they raised the big ladder all the way up in the air. Very cool.

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-14885620632926948662011-10-03T20:21:00.001-05:002012-01-02T22:31:33.744-06:00

When Conner got a little 2.5 gallon aquarium and a couple of fish for his 7th birthday a little over a year ago, he was ecstatic. But it wasn't long before he started asking when he would be able to get a bigger one with more fish. We told him that if he showed some responsibility and did a good job taking care of those fish, we'd consider getting something bigger in a year or so. It started

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-5281468629434615202011-09-23T22:43:00.001-05:002012-02-10T14:48:51.617-06:00

A few days ago, Micah drew a picture of a little blue monster. He must have really liked his creation, because then he decided to write a book about it. He got another piece of paper and drew a picture of the first page. Then he dictated while I wrote down the words. Then he drew another picture and had me write the words. We did this several times, until he had a pretty cute little six-page book

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-51110133208282592852011-08-28T23:41:00.000-05:002011-08-28T23:41:32.906-05:00

Can't believe I've got a 2nd grader and a kindergartener this year. There's no way my kids are that old! We had a little bit of drama surrounding Meet the Teacher - but aside from the blood we're all okay, and the boys are both very pleased with their teachers. We prayed all summer for the teachers that would be the best for our boys...and we thank God already for being faithful, and for the

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-79920243574919051052011-08-12T08:05:00.013-05:002011-08-12T21:19:23.338-05:00

School uniforms: Controversial. Boring. Pricey. Uncomfortable. I mean, they do have some pluses...like not having many decisions to make about what to wear each day, and not having to buy as many articles of school clothing. But what kid, constantly growing and learning, with an ever-developing sense of self wants to wear the same old polo and khaki pants everyday? Not my incoming kindergartener,

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-54161115047830523462011-07-19T21:48:00.002-05:002011-07-19T21:57:16.084-05:00

Wow, it feels like for-ever since we've made fun cupcakes around here! So we decided today that it was about time! It's been too stinkin' hot lately to mess with baking during the day. So I made the cupcakes last night. Then this afternoon when it was too hot to do anything else, we made some blue icing, got out some circus peanuts and m&m's, and went to town. :)

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-17981282897421020822011-07-17T22:48:00.002-05:002011-07-17T22:51:22.609-05:00

It would be an understatement to say this post is a bit overdue. It is about one of the very most exciting parts of our summer. You see, at the beginning of the summer, Micah would only get in the swimming pool with his puddlejumper life jacket on. We spent the majority of last summer telling him that if he would just believe in himself, have some confidence, he could take the silly thing off

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-67496546214448185022011-07-05T14:38:00.064-05:002011-07-17T15:58:07.112-05:00

Wow, it was a full one! After the parade we went swimming with some friends. They were house sitting for some folks who have a nice little backyard pool - with a diving board! (A very exciting recent discovery.)  Then after some pizza and a long nap we were ready for some more excitement. So we got some snow cones and headed out to see some fireworks. We, of course, had to wait awhile for it to

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-41754734033767714622011-07-05T09:43:00.000-05:002011-07-17T14:57:11.641-05:00

What a treat we got this year - Conner's Cub Scout Pack had a float in Burleson's July 4th Parade! After a week of all three wellsbrothers battling hand-foot-mouth disease, Conner's participation was a little if-fy at one point. But he pulled through and got well just in time. We let Micah choose if he wanted to be in the parade with Conner and Dad or not. Not real sure about the rules, we did

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-61054296147313929162011-06-23T22:44:00.000-05:002012-01-09T14:23:17.125-06:00

Conner got to go to basketball camp at BooBoo and Yogi's again...and this time Micah got to go, too! They stayed in Glen Rose with BooBoo and Yogi for the whole week, and Josiah and I got to come see that last day of basketball camp. It felt a little weird and kind of cool - they were having camp in the same gym I used to play basketball in during junior high. It's been redone, of course, and now

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-13675076176319256702011-06-20T00:39:00.000-05:002011-06-20T00:39:21.369-05:00

For weeks now - really, I think I can say months - Micah has been asking me to have a "gift party." At first, this meant that everyone would be making a gift for everyone else. And he had a pretty large guest list. The thought of pulling off a party like this just about sent me into a panic - that's called Christmas, isn't it? I'm only supposed to have to do that once a year, right?! As I tried

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-15814323470343904202011-06-15T22:02:00.000-05:002011-06-16T08:20:51.484-05:00

When I started teaching preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays last September, lunch/afternoon naps were an issue. School was over at 12:15, I had to stay for a litle while to clean up, then I had to feed Micah and Josiah, get Josiah down for as long a nap as possible, and then leave to get Conner around 2:40. My solution was to just pack lunches for the boys. That way they could eat while I was

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-50565065243328199892011-06-11T23:30:00.003-05:002011-06-11T23:34:33.931-05:00

It's summer. And the wellsbrothers have been fighting. A lot.Tired of time outs and similar punishments that just haven't been cutting it, I finally remembered the stories that Bret used to tell about what his mother did with his brother and sister. So I decided to try it: when two of them just can't seem to get along, they have to stand "nose-to-nose." That's right. Stand with their noses

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-80550031629856087492011-05-01T21:03:00.015-05:002011-05-02T10:02:01.843-05:00

My brother, Ira, got married yesterday!! We've been praying for a long time for the right girl to come along...and well, now that we have Kelley, I can honestly say she's much more wonderful than we ever could have imagined!I know some of you have been waiting on the edges of your seats to hear the crazy antics of the wellsbrothers...especially since Uncle Adam and Aunt Caroline's wedding a

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-34259448919535012632011-04-22T09:52:00.004-05:002011-04-22T10:19:28.997-05:00

Yesterday afternoon when we went to pick Conner up from school, there was a puddle on the sidewalk. It wasn't very big - hardly enough to be called a "puddle". It was really just more of a wet spot. But there was just enough water there to make a teensy tinsy splash when Micah and Joey jumped in it.So jump they did. Over and and over and over, they jumped and jumped and jumped, squealing with

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-856323674669458302011-04-19T21:31:00.001-05:002011-04-20T23:25:30.964-05:00

Bret got to take Conner and Micah camping with Conner's Cub Scout Pack last weekend. It was a family campout - I could have gone...but camping just isn't my favorite thing to do...especially knowing that Joey would have been my responsibility...and when I had an appointment to go get my hair done! :)So here's the scoop from the campout, as Bret shared on his blog:I don’t get to hang out with my

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-81450547970199808332011-04-12T05:20:00.002-05:002011-04-13T05:32:43.142-05:00

Typically, Cub Scouts meetings are on Thursday nights. But this week a field trip was planned for Monday night. Bret works on Monday nights these days, so I got the rare treat of getting to take Conner.The plan was to go to Sweet Imaginations, a local bakery, to see their kitchen and decorate cupcakes. I don't really know what I expected...but it was a little chaotic! The "tour of the kitchen"

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-54234546217472769502011-04-10T04:26:00.005-05:002011-04-13T05:18:31.456-05:00

We spent yesterday morning in the kitchen making fudge. We didn't really have any idea how much fudge we were going to need, so we thought we'd start with three batches (9 pounds). We're so glad that sweet Aunt Jodi and Baby Bonnie came over to help!Though I've definitely eaten my share, I don't know if I had ever made fudge - if so, it was as a kid with Mom's help. I was a little nervous about

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-76370611363884745552011-04-09T09:43:00.002-05:002011-04-13T05:18:53.374-05:00

A more complete story of the way Fudge for Japan came about can be found on Bret's blog: Japanese Destruction and a 7-Year-Old Prophet:So...yesterday, Conner - our unbelievably brilliant and compassionate 7 year old - saw a commercial about the continuing devastation in Japan. He came running up to Rachel screaming, “Mom! Mom! There’s tsunamis and earthquakes in Japan and they say we need to help

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-48839649405393844172011-04-08T19:43:00.008-05:002011-04-13T05:19:27.113-05:00

From Conner (7 years old):I'm selling fudge candies because there are tsunamis, earthquakes, and radiation leaks going on in Japan. I'm saving money to give to the Red Cross to help the people in Japan. Because if they don't get enough money to fix everything, the whole country could become extinct! That's happened before you know - we don't want Japan to end up like Atlantis!I'm helping Japan

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-1646620269937330682011-04-07T20:52:00.003-05:002011-04-07T22:04:23.350-05:00

So...I hear via facebook that many of you have dealt with children who are sleepwalkers. It's never been an issue for our kids, and it's not something that Bret or I deal with...but we got a taste of it last night. And it sounds like our fridge is not alone, there are many pantrys, closets, toy boxes, carpets, etc that share it's dark secret...I had done something very strange last night and gone

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-87274590350391724482011-04-04T20:38:00.011-05:002011-04-05T06:46:13.278-05:00

Bret came home from work this morning with an excerpt from a book, Naked Spirituality: A Life with God in Twelve Simple Words by Brian McLaren, that he just couldn't wait for me to read. It was a little long to quote here, but the gist of it was this: your creativity is a gift from God and your use of it could/should be worship. God is a creative God - just look at what all he made.So we, being

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-45712851115695306302011-04-03T22:03:00.003-05:002011-04-04T13:37:00.240-05:00

Last night as I was transferring my load of clean laundry out of the washing machine and into the dryer, I picked the last article of clothing up off the floor of the washing machine and heard a thud. What in the world?? When I peered in to investigate, I was shocked to see a half of a banana.It was still in the peel, relatively undamaged, except for the one end where it had been cut. I

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-26760499580811076852011-04-02T21:53:00.009-05:002011-04-02T23:41:45.798-05:00

We got to go to a birthday party today. Our sweet little friends Ian and Hudson have turned 5 and 3, and they invited us to come celebrate with them at Mainstay Farm. It was one of those places that has a Christmas tree farm, pumpkin patch, hayrides, etc, that rents out its facilities for events like birthday parties.I had never been to a place that had a treehouse quite like this one...or

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-4739461984434373192011-04-01T23:21:00.005-05:002011-04-02T06:23:18.522-05:00

I'm baaaack!!! :) Yay, yay, yay for me! I finally finished the two big projects that I told myself must be completed before I could blog again. And while yes, that means that I'm behind on some other things...well...after many weeks of trying to responsible to my wife and mommy and sister and daughter and friend and household CEO and church and preschool and babysitting and web administrator jobs

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-62523377308212045222011-01-21T23:05:00.000-06:002012-01-21T10:42:40.668-06:00

Conner's Cub Scout Pack had a pinewood derby tonight. Each scout was given a box with a block of wood, 4 wheels, and 4 nails several weeks ago. Then they all designed and built their cars, and got to race them tonight. This was our first go at it so obviously, we didn't really have any idea what we were doing. Plus, Bret has been very busy. Plus, Conner has been pretty sick with strep throat

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-84643415319327116532011-01-20T22:10:00.000-06:002012-01-20T16:15:10.617-06:00

Tonight was Dad's Night at preschool! Since I'm a teacher, it meant that Conner had to come, too. And because I'm a teacher, Josiah's and Micah's mom had to be there. But it was still a special time for Bret to spend with the boys! (...and it meant that there was someone to snap a few pictures, too!) I'm so glad that you boys enjoy your daddy!

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-27071735643046914632011-01-12T09:47:00.001-06:002011-01-12T09:49:19.842-06:00

*sigh*...but I'll be back...soon, I hope...

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-71566198841230014012010-12-02T22:47:00.003-06:002010-12-02T23:04:44.476-06:00

Each week, Micah's preschool class studies a new letter. And on Thursdays they each get to bring something from home that begins with that letter, and share with the class for show and tell.This week they've been learning about letter J. As we were talking about Letter J Show and Tell, Micah had the great idea of bringing J-J-Joey. We made our plans, got permission, and it was settled. And they

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-45510903075674786032010-11-28T22:15:00.006-06:002010-11-28T22:41:42.288-06:00

For the last several weeks and months I've been feeling, in several ways, spiritually lifeless. Without going into too much detail, I had come to realize that a major cause of this is busy-ness. We've all heard the sermons and read the devotionals - when you are too busy to fit time with God in, your just that - too busy. Something needs to go.Once I landed on the root of the problem (or at least

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-43583420605853647312010-11-25T22:03:00.006-06:002010-11-25T22:43:13.795-06:00

Our Thanksgiving plans were made...and then re-made and then re-made again this year. There were a couple of things that we thought we might do that for one reason or another fell through. And the same thing happened for much of the rest of the family.So we all ended up at Chris and Lydia's house. Jodi just got a new camera, so we pretty much let her be the day's photographer. We didn't get any

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-19993605870287032812010-11-24T21:03:00.006-06:002010-11-24T21:29:44.221-06:00

Micah has been afraid of the dark for awhile now, but it's recently taken a sharp turn for the worse. He's very afraid, especially of sleeping in or being in a dark (or even dark-ish) room alone. Yesterday he finally told me why - "Because you never know when a monster might come in, especially an invisible one. Some of them can go through walls, you know."So Bret got on the internet and did some

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-8151602296375073992010-11-21T13:48:00.004-06:002010-11-21T13:58:35.247-06:00

We had a Thanksgiving dinner with our Christ Journey friends last night. Joey wanted to wear his pilgrim hat from his school's Thanksgiving Feast, but we couldn't find it. And in the process of looking, somewhere along the way he decided that he'd rather have an Indian headband instead. And then Micah wanted one. And then Conner wanted on.So here's a picture of the three wild little Indians that

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-91571543787729089322010-11-18T14:18:00.004-06:002010-11-18T14:33:01.264-06:00

Today we celebrated Thanksgiving at preschool. I must say I thoroughly enjoyed it, both as a teacher and a parent. Mine and Joey's classes were Pilgrims, and the four-year-old classes were Indians. They all sang a few songs for their parents.Micah has been worried about this for weeks. He did NOT want to wear Indian face paint - even if everyone else in his class was wearing it. No really, he was

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-35722395881469354412010-11-12T15:46:00.007-06:002010-11-18T05:13:30.761-06:00

We got to go see our new Cousin Kallie last weekend! She is, of course, an absolute doll. (Yes, she's all dressed up in her Houston Texans dress to watch the game with her daddy. :) When we got there, the Wellsbrothers were all very excited to see her. Joey lost interest very quickly...but Conner could/would have sat there and held her all day. He's turning out to be such a good and attentive big

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-12730524950374004602010-11-05T14:13:00.006-05:002010-11-05T15:11:25.204-05:00

We made a jack-o-lantern last fall. The weather was nice, so we made it outside. The boys, of course, had a great time playing in the "guts," and since we were outside we didn't really bother cleaning them up very good.The boys also have a habit of throwing seeds - apple seeds, peach pits, plum pits, watermelon seeds, you name it - off the front porch just to see if something will ever grow. We

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-46040503461905213392010-11-04T21:20:00.005-05:002010-11-04T22:24:58.145-05:00

Conner has joined Cub Scouts this year. He heard about it, found it an easy task to talk Bret into finding out more about it, and the rest is history.They went on their first camping trip with the pack a few weeks ago. Conner was, of course, very excited. But it was Bret who just couldn't contain himself. :) It was actually a family camping trip, but with me not even almost as excited about

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-90531035090086955952010-11-02T21:52:00.003-05:002010-11-02T22:29:17.501-05:00

We're cousins - and an aunt and uncle - again!Kallie Joann Strong was born to Kevin and Tiffany today, November 2, 2010. She was 7 lbs, 11 oz and 19 inches long. After a couple of scares early in the pregnancy, we are pleased to say that Kallie is, in her delighted mother's words, PERFECT.Congratulations to Kevin and Tiffany, and Big Brother Kaleb! We can't wait to see you guys this weekend!

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-62388827284912661292010-11-01T23:51:00.006-05:002010-11-02T22:00:57.765-05:00

I don't know about you, but I'm kind of glad Halloween is over. It really seemed to last forever this year. But we of course, made the most of it!We carved our pumpkin and decorated our gingerbread haunted house. We madeand ate!jack-o-lantern cookies. We trick-or-treated at Bubba and Uncle Chris' house one night, and then at Aunt Jodi and Uncle Robert's another night. Micah and Joey had little

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-84706351398051924372010-10-30T13:35:00.003-05:002010-11-02T13:48:23.643-05:00

We found out this week that Aunt Jodi and Uncle Robert are having a...GIRL!We're counting the weeks to March 12!

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-69743306353045371722010-10-29T22:46:00.004-05:002010-10-29T23:34:55.101-05:00

One of my favorite things about my job is that I get to see Micah and Joey throughout their days at school. They still get to do their own thing and I get to do mine, but I get a glimpse here and there of them doing their thing.Yesterday we had our fall parties. Joey dressed up in his Spiderman costume, and Micah (surprise, surprise) refused his Batman costume and settled for his (much more

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-35149811029995314352010-10-28T22:15:00.007-05:002010-10-28T23:07:53.510-05:00

Cousin Griffin was born a couple of weeks ago, on October 15th. But because of a week in the NICU, and our being a little overly cautious about coughs and runny noses, the Wellscousins didn't get to see or meet him until last night.So we got dressed up and Red Dragon Ninja Conner, Skeleton Micah (yes, he does have an actual costume, but Mr. Comfort would much rather wear his favorite tshirt), and

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-90709929628795248232010-10-26T21:33:00.005-05:002010-11-02T14:16:08.751-05:00

We carved our jack-o-lantern the other day. In the past, Bret's done the design and all the work while the boys "help"...or throw pumpkin guts at one another.This year was a little different. Don't worry - Bret was still in charge of the knife. :) But the boys did help with the design.Micah drew the eyes, Joey drew the eyebrows, and Conner drew the mouth.It wasn't until after the carving had

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-32836966368080232672010-10-25T23:09:00.003-05:002010-10-26T00:22:26.490-05:00

It's Red Ribbon Week, and today was "Go Wild About a Drug-Free Life and Wear a Crazy Hat" Day at Conner's school. So he dug out his authentic coonskin hat (from Aunt Lydia years ago, I think?) and excitedly wore it to school this morning.When he got home he was very excited. "We had a hat contest today, and I won 2nd place in my class!" (Followed by many more details, like that it was his idea,

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-70967185048018758262010-10-23T23:16:00.007-05:002010-10-24T00:37:16.781-05:00

Apparently the weather we've had lately has been great for the woolly bears. We find them at home, we find them at Conner's school when we go to pick him up. Anytime we spot one, the world comes to a stop until we've captured it and are able to take it with us. It always causes a scene at school. All three boys love them and all three will pet them, but it's funny that Micah's the only one that

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-42489948213558618322010-10-22T23:45:00.005-05:002010-10-23T00:19:45.599-05:00

Most of you have heard already, but I've got to document it here, too - Cousin Griffin is here!!Griffin Wayne Robey was born to Chris and Lydia last week on Friday morning, October 15. He was 7 lbs, 6 oz and 18 inches long.There is quite a little story to his birth, but that's really Lydia's story to tell, not mine. Basically, he was born about 4 weeks early (I know, 7 lbs 6 oz doesn't sound

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-85490643402400236512010-10-12T21:05:00.006-05:002010-10-12T22:08:03.766-05:00

Yesterday was Columbus Day, and Conner had the day off school. Bret wasn't home, and we needed something fun to do. The weather's been gorgeous, so we should take advantage...and all three of the boys have been really into playing in sand/dirt lately...the beach sounded like the perfect place!So we headed out to the little "beach" in Granbury. Before we left, the boys were talking about playing

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-28867358158624191062010-10-04T14:07:00.008-05:002012-01-27T08:01:23.495-06:00

This summer, Christ Journey began an attempt to have a regularly scheduled time of worship through service. It's been a little hit-or-miss...but we have certainly learned a lot and done some great things in the process. This week is National Fire Prevention Week, so one of our friends suggested that we honor some local firefighters. Then another friend went ahead and made the call to arrange a

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-69623187572862933812010-10-03T08:43:00.000-05:002010-10-04T09:34:57.362-05:00

Another baby shower yesterday...this time for Tiffany and Baby Kallie! There were lots of other people taking pictures of Tiff opening her gifts, so I (surprise, surprise) decided to take pictures of the kiddos.Joey was fascinated with the cupcakes. "You don't touch them," he kept telling everyone. And then, since they looked like flowers, he would smell of them.Micah, always hungry these days,

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-35221276261495341572010-10-02T22:16:00.000-05:002010-10-04T08:41:31.625-05:00

Happy birthday, Bret!! Thirty-one today...and we're so blessed to have you home so that we can celebrate with you!The wellsbrothers have been very excited about this. After spending the week arguing and debating over what to get, we finally made our decisions. So we did our shopping, but when we got home to start wrapping we realized that we didn't have any appropriate wrapping paper. So we

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-55510826709391362012010-09-30T21:43:00.001-05:002010-10-03T21:49:47.500-05:00

One of the coolest things about teaching at the same preschool that my kids attend is that I get to see them during the day doing their thing.Today we had a dino dig. All the kids got to dig in the sand, and they each got to keep a dinosaur skeleton and a couple of shark teeth. I took lots of pictures of my class, but I don't know all the rules about sharing pictures of my students online......

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197182881332292383.post-26169628584250397342010-09-28T21:44:00.006-05:002010-09-28T22:38:42.062-05:00

Yesterday afternoon Conner came home with a special homework project. Every night this week he is supposed to go out and look at the night sky - specifically the moon - and then draw what he sees in his journal. Fun, I thought.And then I realized that when I lay the boys down at 7, it's not dark yet. So I pulled out my trusty iPhone, checked the weather, and quickly learned that the sun was

Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15641237686436801278noreply@blogger.com4