First day of school

Today was a big day here at our house. Macy started 1st grade and Jack started Kindersteps (a pre-K program for fall-birthday kids). The whole family did a great job of getting ready in the morning. Here are the two big kids.
First we took Jack to his school. He is the one on the far right. His teacher, Mrs. Tran, is on the far left. He seemed totally comfortable with heading off to school. He goes for 2-and-a-half hours per day, 5 days a week. He really liked it today. I heard that they had a potty break, snack time, and they read 2 books. Sounds like a nice morning!

Next we took Macy to her school. Right away, she saw lots of her friends from last year. While she was too shy to say hi to them, I'm sure that it was very comforting to see so many familiar faces. She looked a little nervous, but headed right into class without any problem. She did awesome! After school, she even walked with her friends to my minivan - which makes pick-up time much quicker! What a big girl with big responsibilities. I love her so much!

Being a family with some funny traditions, we had to indulge in an annual treat on the first day of school - Twinkies!!! The kids don't even remember what they are called from year to year. Nonetheless, they enjoyed them fully.

I thank God for answering prayers for this day. He has given both Macy and Jack great teachers and great first-day experiences. God is so good! Now Allie is looking forward to her first day of preschool, which will be in about 2 weeks.

12 years and counting...

Twelve years ago today I married the man of my dreams. And I couldn't be happier! I was head over heals in love with him twelve years ago, and I am even more in love with him today. He is the most loving husband and father. It is so obvious to me that God specifically designed us for each other. Steve is so strong in areas where I am weak. God is so good!

I remember back in like 1989 or 90 telling my best friend that I would marry that Steve Weber guy some day, but I really had no basis for saying so. He was just a really handsome boy that I admired from afar, barely even casual friends back then. But somehow I knew enough to make such a claim. Of course, we did become great friends and eventually started dating in 1992. We dated through college and then got married in 1996 - on a beautiful July day in Phoenix, AZ (it was a nice 115 degrees outside!). It was a great day! It seems like it was yesterday. I'm always saying that the years with the kids go by way too fast, but really it is the years with my honey that go by in the blink of an eye. I'm looking forward to the many more years to come!

Allie has been tagged! Thanks cousin Grant!

This is Allison Margaret at one week old. I have caught a couple of my newborns smiling in their sleep. This was one of those times. They must have sweet dreams!

Here is Allie now, at 3-and-a-half. And she is still smiling. We are so thankful for the abundant personality that she adds to our family. She's awesome!

5 Fun Facts about Allie

1. She loves her sister and brothers: Macy, Jack and Tommy. She truly expresses lots of love for each of them. She tends to be a follower, which is helpful because her sister is quite the leader type.

2. Allie is very attached to her blanky and sucking her thumb. She has a very precise technique where she sucks on her left thumb, while she uses her right hand to hold a corner of her blanky and move it around on her fingers. She loves that two of the corners have holes or seams coming loose, so her thumb or finger can easily poke into it. As soon as she starts to feel tired, she starts with the thumb, and soon, she goes to find her blanky. That blanky is so well-loved that it looks dirty even when it is clean.

3. Allie loves to play pretend. It can be anything. Sometimes she chooses to pretend that we are another family, and she assigns everyone their role. Playing doctor is another favorite.

4. Allie loves to play either Mommy or Grandma. She oftentimes asks me to babysit her babies when she needs to make a trip to the potty. When Macy or Jack talk about what they want to be when they grow up, Allie chimes in that she wants to be a mommy. I think she will make a great mommy someday.

5. Allie is a great pray-er. She prays for others, without us asking her to. And each of her prayers (other than "thank You for our food") are very unique. They are different from one day to the next. She will pray for people we don't know and for contestants that got kicked off of American Idol. She is so full of sweetness. I wish I had her same heart. I love you, Allie!

To anyone who would like to, consider yourself tagged! You're IT!!!

Macy has been tagged! Thanks cousin Grant!

This is Macy Kate when she was one week old. We were so excited to have our first baby. She was such a blessing from day one.


This is Macy now, at 6 years old. She is headed into first grade in a couple weeks!

5 Fun Facts about Macy

1. Macy loves her sister and brothers: Allie, Tommy and Jack. They are all so close in age, so they are really able to play together pretty well.


2. Macy is a pro at doing the monkey bars. She learned how to do it on her playground at school. This was a major accomplishment during her kindergarten year because at the start of the year, she was so reserved that she wasn't playing on the playground at all. Learning to do the monkey bars was a key skill that helped her turn a corner in a big way. This week, at the park, she got a blister on her hand from doing the monkey bars! Go Macy!

3. Macy is a great big sister. She takes her role as the oldest kid very seriously. She enjoys the added priveleges tremendously, like staying up a little later or manning the TV remote. And she is a really great helper. I am always so thankful for all of her help in rounding up the kids, setting the table, folding laundry, etc. Macy frequently uses her leader-status to guide each of her siblings in how and what to play, which usually works out great for a little while, but after 10 minutes or so, it doesn't always go so smoothly and I must intervene. Nonetheless, I love having Macy as our oldest kid in the family.

4. Macy loves listening to music. She asks me several times a day to turn music on. Her favorites are "Big House" by Audio Adrenaline and "I'm In Love With Jesus" by Joel Weldon. Here she is listening to her playlist on the Ipod.

5. Macy loves school. She loves going to school and she loves to play pretend school at home too. She says that she wants to be a teacher when she grows up. This is a photo of her kindergarten class this past year. She is in the back right corner. She is a great student! We are very proud of all of her hard work. Awesome job, Macy!

Hey Maya! Tag! You're IT!

Jack was tagged! Thanks Tommy!

This is Jackson Grant at 7 days old. I can remember very clearly how little Jack took his sweet time getting ready to be born. The doctor induced labor at 6 days past due, but a few hours later we had an emergency C-section. So in less than 10 minutes he was born and we found out that we had a boy! Thank you, God, for bringing him into this world safe and sound.

This is Jack today, at four-and-a-half. He is such a joy!

5 Fun Facts about Jack

1. He loves his brother and sisters: Tommy, Macy and Allie. If they are not around to play with (which is very rare), he starts to get desperate for other company. We are always telling the kids that these siblings of yours will be your best friends for the rest of your life.

2. Jack's current favorite thing to do is play video games. These include games on pbskids, nickjr, and webkinz, and the games on his handheld Leapster. He would play for hours if we let him. He still has a strong interest in pirates, legos, cars, balls, etc., but the current front runner is video games. Many of them are educational, so he is learning while he plays too.

3. Jack is a people person. He would much rather be with someone than alone. Several times a day I hear him ask, "What do you want to do with me?", rather than "What can I do?" One-on-one time together would be his first choice. Daddy would probably be his first choice too, but he'll enjoy time with anyone (especially uncles because they'll play rough like Daddy). It doesn't matter too much what we choose to do, but it is the together part that is most important. Below is a photo of Jack and Daddy on their Boys Weekend last summer, where he got a whole weekend of one-on-one time with Daddy. They both had a great time!

4. Jack is always thinking. His mind seems to work very well. One of these days, I should try to count how many questions Jack asked in a day. I would be curious to know, but if I had to guess, I would say he probably asks 85 and 1 million and 2 thousand and 80 (that's the kind of large numbers he comes up with). He tells me that he can count up to 800, but I've only seen him demonstrate up to 200. At only 18 months he fell in love with doing puzzles. He would easily do 10-15 puzzles per day. Back then, they were easier puzzles, but now, his favorite one has 96 pieces - it's a world map (in the photo below). He has also always loved being read to, but in the past year, he started reading to us. We have been totally surprised by his ability to read and spell. We did not intentionally teach it to him, he just picked it up. He definitely keeps us on our toes.

5. Jack is always willing to try new things. Whether it is eating oyster stew or jumping off the diving board or going to the movie theaters, Jack is up for the challenge. I enjoy his braveness, it oftentimes makes new things go a little smoother for the whole family. The picture below is Jack, with Daddy and Grandpa, as they came off of a roller coaster at Legoland. He will admit to being a bit scared when on the ride, but in the end he realizes a little fear makes it all a little more fun.

Tommy has been tagged! Thanks Cousin Eli!

This is Tommy at 3 days old. I love this photo because it looks like Tommy has an extra large pacifier, but really that's just how large a normal pacifier looks on a brand new babe. I don't ever want to forget how this huge blessing comes in such a small package (not really small - he weighed 8 lb. 5 oz.). It is easy to forget because he didn't stay small for very long at all.

This is Tommy now, at 2 years old. I sure wish these years went by alot slower, so I need to cherish each moment while it is here.

5 Fun Facts about Tommy

1. Tommy loves his brother and sisters: "Mace", "Szack", and "Aaayyyeee". He thinks he is one of the big kids. He wants to ride their bikes and scooters because he doesn't realize that he is smaller and less capable than they are. But anything that he is able to mimic, he does.

2. Tommy loves to suck on his first two fingers of his right hand. He discovered this when he was only a couple months old, and still does it today. The greatest thing is how the drool runs all over the fingers, hand, and arm all the way to the elbow and then it drips onto his shirt and shorts. Only a mom would find this charming.

3. Tommy has gone through phases of favorite things. For a long time it was balls, and then superheroes and Lightning McQueen, and his current favorite is Jeeps. All those others are still very dear to his heart, but Jeeps have won over. This began in February when his Daddy got a Jeep. And any day that Tommy gets to ride in the Jeep is an extra special day. So now, when he watches out the window of the minivan, he lets us know whenever he sees anything that resembles a Jeep. And when we pray at mealtime, he almost always says "Jeep", as if to say, "Thank you, God, for all the Jeeps." He discovered this old wooden car in our toy bin, and he has declared that it is a Jeep. So for his birthday, we bought him a real Jeep toy, but the old wooden one is just as special.



4. Tommy loves to dance. His favorite song is "Real Gone" from Cars, the movie. He can really rock out - even when strapped into his carseat. His other favorite song is the rockin' out version of This Little Light of Mine by the Clarks Brothers (they played it on American Idol). I don't have a picture of the dancing, besides a picture really wouldn't do him justice.

5. Tommy is all boy (except for when he's dressed up like a princess). He has the best tough guy face. He puts it on when he's wrestling or sword fighting. He even makes great sound effects. I couldn't believe when he was sword fighting with one of the big neighbor boys, he pretended to fall down as if he was hurt, and he made a groaning sound to go with it. This photo didn't really capture the tough guy face, but you get the idea.

Hey Grant! Hey Jack! Tag! You're both it!