41 posts tagged “collin”

Still Being Thankful

Nov 25, 2009
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Easter 2009

I couldn't let my thankful mood pass without posting about my 3 precious children. From the moment that each of them was born, I've felt pretty blessed that they were mine. But as they get older and their personalities and talents develop more and more, I am continually amazed that I actually gave birth to these 3 incredible people. They are so much more than I ever

Fall 2008

imagined my children would be.

Brendan, Kaelin, and Collin are all very different creatures. Brendan is the stereotypical firstborn child. He is an overachiever, highly intelligent, responsible, soft-spoken, and patient. He is laid back and quiet. He is silly and likes to make people laugh. He observes everything that is going on around him and takes it all in. Recently we discovered that he has a talent for playing and writing music. He's really good on his electric guitar and it's been a lot of fun to watch him develop his talent. In school, Brendan is a teacher's dream. His 5th grade teacher still refers to him as "the genius." He loves to play baseball, and even

Brendan

though he is never the best player on the team, he is always consistent and you can count on him to get on base or make the play in the field. He's becoming interested in other sports and is considering running track next year in 7th grade. I have encouraged this because he runs like a rabbit. He is not built for football, but that boy can run. We tease him sometimes about his $80,000 NICU bill and threaten to make him pay us back. But he was worth every penny.

I prayed many times for a daughter. I was ecstatic when we had the ultrasound and found out that we were, in fact, having a girl! I knew from the time I was a teenager that my daughter's first name would start with a K and her middle name would be Gail. I'm so happy that I have had the opportunity to raise a little girl, and I'm so happy that my little girl is Kaelin. Despite the fact that she is a blonde haired, blue-eyed version of me, she is very different than I was as a child. She is all girl whereas I was a tomboy. She loves nail polish, makeup, purses, body

Kaelin

spray, anything that sparkles, hats, and shoes. Kaelin is a very talented dancer and throws a baseball like a girl. She played one season of soccer and decided it wasn't for her. She, too, is a teacher's dream. She is quiet, attentive, and very smart. She loves her doll house and one of her favorite things to do at home is anything artistic or crafty. She loves to paint and draw. Kaelin is very strong-willed, but one day that could work in her favor. She just has to learn how to channel it appropriately. I look forward to watching her grow up and I can't wait to see what (and who) she becomes. Her first 8 years have been an incredible journey. I'm sure the years to follow will be even more so.

Collin

Last, but not least, there is Collin. He is our little surprise that we are so thankful for every single day - truly a gift from above. Collin has the sweetest little heart and the funniest personality. We never know what he will do or say next. He is equally as smart as his older siblings, but he is not quite the teacher's dream that the other 2 are. Collin is a very typical little boy and has trouble sitting still and quiet for any amount of time. It's not unusual for him to have to move his clip at school, but it's usually only once. We are still waiting to see exactly what Collin's passions and talents will be. He's a fairly decent little baseball player, but as of right now, he doesn't want to play next Spring. Collin is creative, smart, unique, adorable, and he's a total mama's boy, although I'm sure those days are numbered. I will enjoy it while it lasts!! One of his favorite things to do is build things out of Legos or Magnetix. Recently he's started drawing, and loves books that teach kids how to draw. He pronounces breakfast "breftis" and calls granola "granilla." These are things I will miss when he starts pronouncing them correctly. Collin loves art and crafty things, too. I have a picture on the refrigerator that he drew that says, "I love Mom." He drew 2 cats on it and punched the edges with my paw print punch. I will never throw that picture away.

I did nothing to deserve these amazing kids, but I am so thankful they are mine.

My Collin Earned the Game Ball!

Oct 19, 2009
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Collin finally earned a game ball in tonight's game. He struck out twice, and on his third at bat, he hit a grounder to the infield. Fortunately, whoever threw it to first base overthrew, and the first baseman missed the ball, so Collin ran to second. He hit a double and got 2 RBIs!! The next batter got a hit and Collin listened to Coach Jeff perfectly and ran all the way home. He slid into home because he knew the throw was coming. It was close, but he was safe! We really needed the run. All of the coaches congratulated him and Coach Josh even picked him up and carried him into the dugout. It was a big night for Collin, and I'm so glad his coaches recognized that. We are really blessed that he is on the Blue Jays this season.

And just as an aside, the reason this is such a big deal is because Collin is not a fast runner. He told me yesterday he wanted a game ball, and I told him he had to hustle. So he did! Yay, Collin!

Here he is proudly holding his game ball...

Collin and His Game Ball

Since UT is No Longer Trying To Lose

Oct 10, 2009
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The Texas/Colorado game is in the 4th quarter, and I'm so happy (and relieved) that Texas has decided they want to win. I thought I'd take a minute while I'm sitting in front of the tv and do some blogging.

Things have been moving fast around here, just like always. I will resort to my old crutch, the bullet point, to bring you up to speed on the happenings at our house.

-I just finished my first long term sub job at the kids' elementary school. It was a 4 week job teaching the gifted and talented class and it was the perfect job to get me back into the swing of elementary education. I enjoyed myself, got reacquainted with the elementary way of doing things, and had some great learning experiences. I think I still was in a preschool mindset as it took me much longer to explain things than it should have, and I realized within the last week that I was explaining things too much, and not leaving much for the kids to figure out on their own. Mental note taken.

-I was offered my second long term sub job, which made me very happy and was a great little ego boost as the principal wouldn't have offered it to me if I had not been doing a good job with the GT class. This one starts in early November and is a 2nd grade class. My biggest behavior problem in the GT classes is in this homeroom, and it's going to be a challenge, but I will surely grow from it.

-My second round of measurements for the Total Transformation contest was yesterday. All numbers went down, including weight. Yay! At my September measurement, my weight had not changed, even though inches and body fat percentage all went down, and Mandi (the trainer) told me to step up my cardio and only do weights twice a week. Evidently this was my magic bullet and I have made myself run on the treadmill and make sure that my heartrate is in the correct range while doing cardio and it has made all the difference. Now that things are in motion, I look forward to seeing how I do over the next 4 weeks.

-Brendan and Collin are playing baseball and enjoying themselves. Collin has a fantastic coach and we are so grateful that Coach Jeff got Collin on his team. He has improved greatly since the beginning of the season, and it has required a lot of patience from Coach Jeff and the assistant coaches. Cole is coaching Brendan's team again, and they are having a mediocre season. They, too, have improved, but for some reason they just can't get their stuff together completely.

-Kaelin is taking jazz and ballet and she really loves her jazz class. She is bored with ballet, but was told by the owner of her dance studio that she needs to take ballet in addition to whatever other class she wants to take. She doesn't complain about it, but she doesn't really like it. She is loving 3rd grade and is still quite the social butterfly.

There are 6 minutes left in the football game, and it appears that Texas has a victory wrapped up. It shouldn't have taken them the whole first half to get this far ahead, but I'm just glad they got here. Hook 'em, Horns!!

Quotes from Collin

Sep 8, 2009
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My little Collin is quite the character. Every single day he says or does something that makes us laugh. He's given us 2 memorable quotes over the past week or so.

Quote #1: Collin earned a Transformers Bumblebee toy that he wanted and was happily playing with it upstairs. I heard yelling and he told me Kaelin took it out of his hand. I called them both downstairs and made Kaelin apologize to him, which she did with typical 8 year old girl attitude. Then she went back upstairs and Collin was still standing in front of me. He looked at me and said, "It's okay, I forgive her."

Quote #2: We went to visit my parents over Labor Day weekend. Kaelin wanted to take Cookie, but we wouldn't let her. She was crying Friday morning at breakfast and I was talking to her trying to get her to understand why Cookie would be happier at home. Collin said to her, "Whenever I have tears, I just drink some milk, and *poof* they're gone."

I just don't know where he gets this stuff!

Where Did the Summer Go?

Aug 18, 2009
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I thought of this really profound blogpost the other night as I was falling asleep. Unfortunately it has escaped my very frazzled brain, and who knows if I will ever recover it? So, here's what I have to say instead of the profound post...

The kids go back to school on Monday, and it doesn't seem possible that summer is already over. Brendan is starting middle school and he is so ready. I think I'm ready. It will be an adjustment, that's for sure. Kaelin is going into 3rd grade. She will be upstairs at her elementary school for the first time and she thinks she's pretty cool. Collin is very quickly leaving behind all traces of being the baby and seems to be growing up at an alarming pace. He's starting 1st grade and I've said many prayers for his teacher. I am unemployed for the first time in several years. I'm hoping to sub, but I just got my 2nd reference in yesterday, and I don't know if I'll be on the list or not. I sure hope so because I need to make some money.

I'm still spending time at the gym regularly, and I've signed up to participate in their "Total Transformation" contest. I had to be weighed, measured (body fat % and inches) and photographed, and that wasn't awkward at all (I'm rolling my eyes). It's a 3 month contest, and hopefully at the end of the 3 months my pictures will look completely different and the measurements will shrink. I am pretty sure that even though I was eating healthy food, my calorie intake was too high, so I'm watching my food more carefully. I have the Lose it! app on my iPhone (Cole got me my iPhone for our anniversary...yay) and it's helping me keep up with calories much better than I was before.

And speaking of anniversaries. Cole and I celebrated 14 years on July 29. We took the kids and ate at The Melting Pot. I gave Cole a new iPod and he got me an iPhone. Yay! I love it! The kids loved The Melting Pot. Of course the chocolate was everybody's favorite. We had the original (chocolate and peanut butter) and I think the other one was S'mores.

"Each Of Us Is a Flower, Growing in Life's Garden"

Jun 11, 2009
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DSC09792

Kindergarten Graduation - the ultimate tearjerker. My last 2 blog posts were about how wonderful Brendan and Kaelin are, and now it's time to gush about Collin. He is just as wonderful as his older siblings. He is just as smart and creative as they are, but he has a completely different personality. He hasn't quite figured out when is a good time to talk, and when it would be a good idea to be quiet, but we're working on it. Pretty much everywhere Collin goes, he has fun. He is almost always smiling and giggling, and it warms my heart when I hear him laugh. He, too, received some awards at school. The music teacher gave him an award for enthusiasm in music (not really sure what that means), and his kindergarten teacher gave him an award for most patient. This I find hard to believe. When he is at home and he wants my attention, he says, "Mommy." If I don't respond within 3 seconds he says, "Mommy" again. He is not patient at all when he's home, but I'm glad he is at school. Collin is a unique little person, and I have a feeling he is going to shake things up in this world.

It's Been a While

Jun 11, 2009
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It's been a long time since I took time to blog. The past couple of weeks have flown by, and some unexpected things occurred. One of which temporarily left me without appropriate words for a blog.

Last Friday was the last day of school for the kids. Tuesday, Brendan graduated from 5th grade (sniff, sniff), Wednesday, Kaelin had her 2nd grade end of year celebration, and on Friday, Collin graduated from kindergarten (again sniff, sniff). I had planned to upload pictures and post about each event, but my week kind of went berserk, and I suddenly had no time. I had a very sudden job opportunity come up that required a resume (the last resume I had was from 10 years ago) and an 8 page application. I'm pretty sure I did not get that job, and as much as I would have loved it, I'm okay with it. I am certain that God has something that He wants me to do, I just have to find out what it is. And also last week, my sweet friend, Liz, who had battled cancer for 6 years, died. Usually when phrasing a cancer battle this way, when the person dies, people tend to say they lost their battle. But I have to think that Liz did not lose so much as she won as she is now in heaven and she is completely healed and rejoicing with Jesus. The world was a better place with her here, and it boggles my mind to try and figure out why God would take a 42 year old mother of 2, but I have to believe He has a perfect plan for all of us, and for some reason, her time on earth only lasted 42 years. It might sound trite and even cliche, but I am better for having known Liz.

Among the sadness of losing my friend last week, the end of year celebrations at school reminded me that my precious kids are growing up and that each one of them is an incredible human being. They all say things sometimes that blow my mind. I can't believe how smart they are, and how creative they are, and I guess I will never know where they come up with some of this stuff. In a way I am sad about my babies growing up, but in another way, I look forward to seeing who they will become. I am so excited to find out what God has in store for them and how they will impact the world. There is no doubt in my mind that they will, and I hope they do it in a big, important way. There are a lot of things that I have done wrong in my life, but when I look at my kids I have to think I'm doing something right. They are too amazing for me to be messing everything up!

Just When You Thought it Couldn't Get Any Cuter...

May 3, 2009
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Collin's bride-to-be, Ally, lost her first tooth, too. Here they are together...showing their gaps.

Collin and Ally - Gaps

Collin's Big News

Apr 22, 2009
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Collin lost his first tooth today. He's so excited! He was playing with his loose tooth and it fell out.

Is it weird that when Brendan lost his first tooth I was fine, but just a few minutes ago when my baby lost his first tooth I got all teary?

DSC09374

Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday...

Apr 16, 2009
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Collin - 5 Months

Today is Collin's 6th birthday. Wow! Those years sure have gone by quickly. This morning he was so excited about it being his birthday! He told me he is taller today, and he asked if he could open his presents before school. His party is tomorrow and he can't wait.

Collin makes me laugh daily with the things he says. He is usually such a

Collin Now

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happy kid and goes along with everything. He can be the most stubborn human being on the planet if he chooses, but normally he just has fun wherever he is. He is smart and creative - you should see the Star Wars pictures he draws. You can tell what characters and ships they are. We are working on listening more and talking less, but something tells me he is going to struggle with that for the rest of his life. Good thing he's so cute!