Friday, Girl day for Trinity and Haircut and movie for the Boys with Grandmother

We started this day with a playdate at home with one of Maddux’s bffs. He’s actually the son of one of my good friends. They’ve known each other through our weekly bible study childcare nearly all of their lives and they connect and get along really well. It was a fun morning.

Thank you to both sets of grandparents for helping us today. I know Trinity enjoyed having girl time with her cousin and the boys loved getting Maddux’s haircut and going to a movie with Grandmother. Thanks to the kids being out of the house.

Thanks to some free time at home, Momma  (that’s me!) did some very important things at home- cleaned toilets, vacuumed, moved furniture, put away clothes, did several loads of laundry, dusted, ate, fed Leeland several times, went through mail, cleaned the stairs, etc.

It was great! Now, I’ve caught up on blogging and tomorrow I will do final preparations for Leeland’s baptism and brunch.

love,
Rebekah

Thursday, Galleria shopping with Grandmother & songwriting

To prepare for Leeland’s upcoming baptism, we went to the galleria today to shop for his baptism outfit. We knew exactly what we were looking for. Grandmother came over before lunch and we went together with all of the kids. The boys love the fountain at the Galleria. Although, I don’t remember the last time it was actually working. Of course, it was not operating on this day. Luckily, the clothing shop had a kid video playing at the back of the store. The older boys went right to it and gave us time to shop. After finding exactly what we were looking for, we didn’t waste any time heading out of there and going to lunch. Unfortunately, the els were set on chick-fil-a. So, no mexican food fix for Grandmother from Guadalajara Restaurant on this day.
By the time we got home, it was time for a playdate at the park with one of Bakri’s friends. I took all three boys and laid Trinity down for a nap. Her dad was working from home. We spent over an hour at the park and I enjoyed getting to know another mom a little better. It is always nice to get some adult conversation!
We were home in time for me to get dinner started and soon our sitter arrived. I spent the next hour upstairs alone finishing a new song called “Your Promises” which we will play this Sunday during the offering. It’s about a few of the promises that God has made us and how nothing can keep us from His Promises and I will hold tight to His Promises.
Soon after that, I headed to rehearsal. Things went really well. It’s always a little overwhelming and emotional for me when presenting a new song to the band (my friends) for the first time. This night was no different. This song, with simple lyrics, particularly speaks to my life story. I really feel connected to it and am very excited to share it on Sunday.

One more day of Spring Break week!

Wednesday, Rodeo Houston!, oh those Crazy Els!

As if going to the zoo during spring break wasn’t crazy enough, let’s go to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo on Value Day! Total insanity! It was one thing after another. But, again, we were so lucky that Moustapha was with us. Thank you, honey! You made a very difficult day of “fun” much more bearable. It’s true what I said a while back. Sometimes it is really hard work to have fun! Hope you enjoyed your day little cowboys and Miss Cowgirl! love, Momma and Daddy

Tuesday, a day with the Animals…at the Houston Zoo

And, we’re off! Here we go on the Hermann Park Conservatory Train! We were first in line for tickets and the first riders on the train. I was insistent that we arrive early to the zoo if we were going to go at all over spring break. From what I hear, the number of people that go to the zoo on a spring break day is 20 times the number on a regular day. So, we were kind of crazy to tackle the zoo on this day. But, I’ve been called worse. So, we arrived in the parking lot around 9:30am and we were good to go.

 First stop, the elephants. There are two new els!

 And, there they are. My beautiful family and a giant elephant. Awesome! This moment was just before the first fit of the day.

 Here’s Trinity enjoying a very expensive lunch. Hopefully most of the cost goes to protect endangered species and care for the zoo animals. It’s for a good cause. 🙂

 Leeland’s very first carousel ride. Could he be any happier…..or any cuter!?!?

 Momma and Trinity! What a beautiful, fun day we had at the Houston Zoo, Spring Break 2011.

Monday Rain and Rest

After a beautiful and busy start to our Spring Break, we returned home and needed a break! So, we took our rainy day Monday and we slept in, thanks to daylight savings. And, we enjoyed a relaxed day. When the rain stopped, we made our way out to catch up on grocery shopping. Not so bad, considering Moustapha went with us and Trinity and I were able to shop very quickly by ourselves. We are hoping for a wonderful week….Momma has lots of plans!

Saturdays

I love Saturdays. It’s my favorite day of the week, if we don’t have any plans. I love making breakfast with the entire family running around at my feet and the occasional helper climbing on a chair to help me stir. I love making a fresh pot of coffee and smelling it in the entire house. I love “forcing” everyone to come downstairs to be near me. 🙂
This Sunday morning was even better than most Saturdays, because not only was I in a kitchen with one of my bffs, but we cooked together. It was so much fun! She made the coffee, the egg casserole and I made pancakes from scratch. It doesn’t get much better. Then, we sat down on her porch with all of our families and ate breakfast together. Now that is a great way to start a spring break and a fantastic way to start the day. Happy Spring Break, y’all!

The River with friends

New Braunfels, here we come! Here are pictures of the kids on our way to New Braunfels for the first weekend of Spring Break.

 By the time we arrived, it was time to go straight to bed. You would obey that hand, right!?

 And, here’s a view from upstairs. Our friends had a fajita y familias fiesta on Saturday with four families. We had a blast with all of the kids- all boys except for Trinity! And, the food and company was awesome!

 The girls at the party!

 Partying with Leeland!

 And, the girls are on the floor!

Here’s a family photo of the six of us before we headed home. We had a wonderful time and so appreciate having friends that welcome all SIX OF US into their home! It was a great way to start Spring Break. Thanks, friends!

Spring Break!

It’s the start of Spring Break this afternoon. Basically, we have no school next week. That impacts 3 of the Els directly and of course impacts all of the rest of us as well. We  are excited to have extra time together. We’re hoping for good weather so we can do some fun Houston activities next week. Happy Spring Break, everyone!

El Spring Break 2010- Let’s put these kids to work!

So, we didn’t really put the Els to work for Spring Break. But, since I had the three of them at home with me the entire week with no breaks, we tried to stay busy. Here is a sampling of what we were up to:
We planted blueberries and blackberries and helped prepare an area where daddy added lots of brick pavers.
Notice how Trinity is really getting into this!
On the last day of Spring Break we ventured out. This was our ride on the ferris wheel at the Downtown Aquarium.
We also had a visit to the zoo on the last day of Spring Break. What an adventure. We usually go when it is mellow during the week. Yikes. Remind me not to go over Spring Break next year. It’s a ZOO!
The boys on the ferris wheel.
Bakri in front of the elephant exhibit.
Bakri waiting to board the train.
Giving me that smile!
The ferris wheel up close.
The grizzly bear.
Miss Trinity on the train.
A sleeping lion.
Maddux
Maddux waiting to board the train.
Somebody likes to make silly faces.
More fun at home!
We enjoyed spending the week together and especially enjoyed the huge improvement in the weather. It has made all the difference to be able to spend more time outside at least before it gets too hot. Happy Spring everyone!