Life of a teacher

I have only one more day of "freedom".
I love my job. I feel blessed to be a teacher and to have an impact on children daily, but I would do just about anything to not have to go back to work on Friday. I have enjoyed every single minute of my summer. By every single minute, I mean the happy minutes and the pull-out-my-hair, losing my mind minutes, too. There is absolutely nothing better than spending time with my babies and my husband.
So, that being said, I am going to sit and do nothing but soak up every last second I have of my "freedom" before I put on my teacher hat for yet another school year.

Houston

Craig and I took Olivia to Houston for a much needed break. It was one of the best times we have spent together, ever.
The drive down to Houston was actually quite nice. We left early enough for Olivia to go back to sleep, and she slept a little over half the drive. We laughed at all of the Buc-ees billboards with quotes like, "Eat here - Get Gas" and "My overbite is cute". On out way home from Houston we couldn't resist the temptation to stop at this acclaimed rest stop. We would've been crazy to be that close to a bathroom that has made itself into the Restroom Hall of Fame and not stop! Olivia fell in love with a stuffed Buc-ee, so she is now a proud owner of her very own beaver snuggle! Everything in that place had the Buc-ees name on it...drinks, candied jalapenos, gummy worms (which Craig enjoyed), etc. It was marketing genius in that place!
The first night in Houston, we were able to see Craig's brother, Tyler. He came in for the Man U soccer game. It was nice getting to spend some time with him. We walked around the mall in Baytown and saw stores with names like, TT Jewelry. I'm sure they had nice jewelry in there, but I'm not sure I'd be thrilled if Craig came home with a necklace for me from a place with the word TT in it!
Thursday morning Craig's dad surprised us with tickets to NASA. I was super excited! I have always wanted to go to NASA and could hardly wait to get there! The theme at NASA right now is STAR WARS, too! You can't get much better than that in the Stevens' household!
We loved every single minute at NASA! It was so amazing seeing all of the shuttles in person. We went on a tour of where the astronauts actually train, and we were able to see the Saturn V and an actual Apollo capsule! I was in awe of how huge the rockets were and at how small the Apollo was. Pictures do neither justice.
The only side-note I have about NASA is that it was full of Middle Eastern tourists. Not a problem, EXCEPT, they kept touching Olivia! I am not exaggerating, she must have been touched 20 times. They would rub her face, her hands, her hair, commenting on how pretty she is. The woman sitting on the row in front of us on the tram literally turned around in the middle of the tour and started stroking her cheek. They were all polite (despite the fact they kept touching my daughter without asking).
Friday we went to the beach. We knew we were going to the beach. We talked about going to the beach when we were at home, but did we "plan" for the beach? Um...no. No chairs, towels, or even swimsuits for us! So, the beach was not a day long excursion, but it was fun, none the less. We looked for shells and walked along the shore, feeling the sand and water on our feet. Olivia did not like the feel of the sand or the water on her feet! She did like the sea gulls, however. She kicked her feet and squeeled whenever she saw them!
Friday night we had dinner at Craig's cousin, Nicole's, house. His Aunt Carol was there with all of her children and their children. It was a gathering that has needed to take place for quite some time. Craig soaked up every minute he spent with everyone there. I loved meeting people I had heard about, people that I know played a huge part of his childhood.
We can not wait to go back to Houston. The time we spent with Craig's dad and the rest of his family was special and memorable. And, of course, another trip to Buc-ees is always needed!

Burger's Lake

On Wednesday, July 21, we took the kids (minus Olivia, she stayed with Brandie) to Burger's Lake in Ft. Worth. It was a blast!
The drive there was easy, for the most part. It's a straight shot from 80, which becomes 30, and takes you straight into Ft. Worth. Once we made our exit, we had a few minutes of drama, but that was short lived (Craig doesn't like to be lost and my directions weren't clear enough for him). But, we arrived on schedule and our day continued without a hitch!
Burger's Lake is beautiful! It is a spring fed lake with sandy beaches and a sandy bottom. It's the best of both worlds, the lake and the beach, without animals swimming in the water with you! The lifeguards were amazing! There was never a big rescue, but they were diving in the water left and right to help kids and whistles were blowing to warn kids to stop running, etc. The bathrooms were super clean. There was someone assigned to keep the bathrooms hosed out (to wash the sand away), toilet paper filled, and room spray sprayed. I was very impressed!
The kids didn't know what they wanted to do first! They finally agreed on the trapeze. Tay watched them from the comfort of the water below as we took pictures. Craig swung the trapeze bar out, picked up Collin and Caleb, and they grabbed the bar when it swung back towards them. They did fantastic on it! Noah's big enough to grab the bar himself, and he loved it, too! Taylor wanted to try it, but decided she should wait until next year when she's bigger.
After that, we built sand castles, went down water slides, jumped off diving boards, and swam for hours! We buried Noah then Collin in the sand, found shells and special rocks, and watched some of the lifeguards do diving tricks from the high dive.
The kids were exhausted when we left! They were all asleep in the car just a few miles down the road! Burger's Lake is our new annual summer spot! We can not wait to go back next year!

live, laugh, love

We've all heard the familiar saying, "live, laugh, love". I think most of us have some form of the saying hanging around our house, thanks to Kirkland's. Instead of looking at this today and thinking how cute it was, I looked at it today and thought how true it was.
Craig's best friend, Dave's, father passed away suddenly today. The cause of his death is still unknown. My heart is in pieces for his family. He was a wonderful man. He was a huge part of Craig's upbringing.
I can not wrap my mind around the fact that no one was able to tell him goodbye. Not a final goodbye, anyway. I realize that death happend every day. And I realize that many times it is unexpected. This is just the first time that I have sat and really thought about how quick it can happen, and how so many things are left unfinished when it happens that way. The questions and things that will never be answered or said are just there....there's no conclusion to those.
I have no doubt that his family will be at peace with all of this in time. He was a man of God and I know the angels are singing today as they welcome him home. That makes me smile. I hope it makes them smile, as well.
All of my rambling brings me back to my original thought...live, laugh, love. We must live every minute to it's fullest. We must not waste time worrying about petty things, arguing for the sake of being right, and holding grudges because we're too proud to move on. Life is about living for God with the people you love, doing the things that honor HIM and make you happy.
We must laugh. The sound of my children laughing is my favorite sound in the world. It is the sound of happiness. As with all parents, if my children are happy, I am happy. Laughter is a must. Laughter is essential to our well being.
We must love. We must love one another as Christ loves us. We must love our spouse, we must love our friends, we must love our family. We must teach our children how to love through our examples and we must love them with every fiber of our being.
I thank God daily for the many blessings in my life. Today I have had a wake-up call that has reminded me that I am blessed beyond my wildest dreams and that in a second, it can all be taken away. My job is to be the heart of my home. I must see that all members of this home are living, laughing, and loving. My prayer is that I can set an example to each of my children that they will carry with them forever on how to live life to its fullest. When it is my time to go home to Christ, I want everyone that knows me to be able to say I lived, laughed, and loved.

Olivia-9 months old

Miss Olivia is growing up fast! She is now 9 months old, weighing in at 18 pounds 7 ounces. I can't believe how she's changing every day. She is crawling like crazy and has even taken her first step! In no time she's going to be running, chasing her brothers and sister all over the house. It's cute watching her search for me all over the house. I can hear her sweet "mama...mama" and the pitter-patter of her crawling knees towards me. When she spots me she lets out a "hi" and smiles her huge one-tooth smile!
Livie's favorite foods are cheetos and pizza crust. Healthy, huh?! She'll eat just about all baby food, with the exception of peas...she hates peas. But, give her a cheeto or pizza crust and she's happy! Of course, I watch her carefully while she eats these things. It takes her a while to use her one tooth to gumb through her new found treats, but she doesn't give up. She has recently discovered Oreos and Nilla Wafers, too. This girl has learned early wht the good stuff is!
My little mermaid has learned what swimming is all about and she loves it! Her little feet kick like crazy and she squeels a happy squeel as soon as she hits the water! I picked out a cute little tie-dyed, purple swimsuit (since her daddy's favorite color is purple) that she looks super cute in!
I am so excited to see what this little wonder will do next. She rarely slows down, or skips a beat, so whatever it may be, it'll keep me busy!

Collin's Baptism

Tonight was one of the most special moment I know I will ever have in my life. It was a night I will carry close to my heart forever. Tonight, Collin, made is Public Profession of Faith, and was baptized.
Collin has always been drawn to church. He loves reciting scripture and talking about Jesus dying on the cross. He has already begun spreading the Gospel! Mark my words, he's going to be a preacher one day!!! One example of his preaching abilities took place this past year in his Kinder class. One of his classmates made a comment (no idea what the comment was) and he stood up and proclaimed, "and that's why Jesus died on the cross"! AMEN! Who could argue with that?! He looks forward to going to church every week, and when asked what story he wants to read before bed, he always grabs his Bible. His favorite song is "Lead me to the Cross". He is my special little man, and I am so blessed to have him as my son.
Two weeks ago Collin started talking about wanting to get baptized (or as he calls it, "bap-a-tized"). I asked him if he understood what that meant and sure enough, he was able to tell me all about it. So the following Saturday night, June 12, at the end of the sermon, he said he wanted to talk to someone about being baptized.
Now, tonight was amazing. Like I said, it was a moment I will cherish forever, but the time we spent in the Hospitality Center at Lakepointe,the time when he poured his little heart out and accepted Jesus as his LORD and Savior is a moment that I hope is forever burned into my brain. I cried as I watch him pray like such a big boy. It was all I could do not to pull the camera out to capture every second!! But, I didn't. It wasn't the time or place. It was just a special, sacred moment, that we shared.
The other kids were so excited about Collin's decision. For the most part, they understand what he is doing, but none of them can say it. Caleb says Collin is being "avaporized" and Taylor says he's being "appatized". I love it! It makes me smile hearing them just as sincere as can be talking about his "avaporizing, bap-a-tism, appatized".
Sean was able to baptize Collin tonight. All of our family and friends were there to celebrate with us. I cried as I watch him. It was such a beautiful time! Collin was full of smiles for the entire evening!
Afterwards, we all came back to the house and enjoyed pizza, salads, and cupcakes. We sang "Happy Birthday to You" in honor of his new birthday! The kids played, the adults laughed, it was one of the best nights I've had in a long time.

Thank you, Jesus, for my wonderful, special gift, Collin! I am so proud of the decision he has made and I know he will do great things for the glory of you!

Happy 6th birthday!

Happy Birthday, Collin! How could I have ever known that a little man, that is now 6 years old, could hold my heart in the palm of his hand. Collin is the first of my many blessings. I am still in awe of how amazing he is and what a miracle he is.
His 6th birthday was special! He celebrated at school (May 28 was on a Friday this year) with his classmates. Gram brought sports-themed cupcakes for him to share. He wore the biggest grin around all day! One of the perks to being a teacher's kid is that just about everyone in the building knows it's your birthday. So, everywhere he went he was showered with, "Happy Birthday, Collin!" He popped his head into my classroom at one point and my entire class started singing, "Happy Birthday to you" to him...he felt like a celebrity!
Friday night at our house is normally spaghetti night followed by a pig pile. Things were different on this special night. We ordered pizza and celebrated his birthday along with Caleb's birthday (June 9). Gram, Dink, Brandie, Jason, and their kiddos joined us. They opened presents and played!
Last Thursday we took Collin and Caleb for a day just for them and their 6-year-old selves! We were going to go to Wet Zone, but it was raining, so onto Plan B we went. We went to Northpark Mall (yes, they chose this...keep reading). The boys wanted grilled cheese sandwiches from Sonic, so that's what they had! We let them chose where to have lunch and this is what they wanted. I guess their sandwiches are just that good!?! Then we played in a random toy store on the way to our destination, the Lego Store. I'm not sure who had more fun in this toy store, the boys or Craig. This store had tons of Star Wars things. Action figures, statues, alarm clocks, Christmas tree ornaments, light sabers, etc. Craig was in his zone!! To top it all off, there was a Batman statue and a Superman statue at the entrance to the store that the boys (yes, ALL the boys) had their picture taken with.
Once we reached the Lego Store the boys were overwhelmed! They ran from side to side, choosing between Toy Story, then Star Wars, then Treasure Island, and on and on. Their main goal, however, was to build more Lego men before they left. They could not do that fast enough! Their final selection was actually fairly easy, and a great decision. They filled large cups with various Lego pieces that they got to pick themselves. They got tires, and bricks, and windows, and flowers, and random other things. They were so happy!! They have been building with these daily since.
The last part of their birthday was new bikes! It is so awesome watching them ride big boy bikes up and down the street!
The past 6 years have been filled with more love than I can describe. I love you, Licious! Happy 6th birthday!