Wednesday, October 27, 2010

God The Healer

Amaria just said, "Satan made everything bad. He even made the germs. God couldn't have made the germs because they call Him The Healer, so He couldn't have made the germs. He heals people from germs. That's why He is trying to heal Clayton, right now....because Clayton is my best friend & he is sick & he needs God to heal him from the evil germs Satan gave him."

I'm so thankful for such a precious girl with such a sweet heart.

Thanks for reading, & God bless!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Catching everyone up

Okay. I'm quite possibly the worst blogger ever. I can't believe it's been so long between updates. So sorry everyone. And, there has been some really good stories....I just have failed. So let's try to catch you up.

First off--this morning I was taking Amaria to school, & she has really become interested in math. So she asks, "What's 1 + 0?" So I hold up one finger, add zero fingers, & then asks her what the answer is. "Oh yeah! It's still 1. That's right--you don't invite zero to a party because he adds nothing."

We have really been blessed with Amaria's teacher & school, along with a book to help with her strong-willed personality. If you are a parent of a strong-willed child, I highly recommend "You Can't Make Me (but I can be persuaded)". Just simply understanding the way Amaria's mind works has not only helped us as parents at home, but the change in how we parent at home has completely changed her behavior at school. I can't say enough about this book or my wonderful customer who told me about it.

As far as her school goes, she had a rough start but has adjusted nicely. She is reading, doing simple math, spelling & writing words, etc. Heidi & I are just amazed at the progress she has made in such a short time frame. We always knew she was an extremely bright child, but seeing what she is capable of when placed in the right environment is so cool.

On the Cambree front....WOW! The girl is doing something new every single day. It's going to be hard to catch up on everything in the last two months, but I'll try my best.

She turned 10 months yesterday. She has her 2 bottom teeth in. She is standing on her own, & walking while holding onto something. Her vocabulary is insane. She has been saying, "Mama," "Dada," & "Nana" for a while now, but she has added some new words in the last week or so. I'm convinced that there is no cuter way to say "Bottle" or "Tickle" than the way Cambree says them. This morning, she was standing & fell on her bottom & quickly said, "Oh, Cambree!" I'm not sure she knew what she was saying, but it....was...awesome! She looks more & more like her momma every single day. I can't believe that my baby will be turning 1 year old in less than 2 months. My parents always said we grew up too fast & that time flies...I know what they meant.

Heidi & I are doing great but have been really busy. We are still teaching 2nd grade Sunday School, & we love all our kids. We generally have 14-16 kids every morning, with at least 75% of them being girls. I feel like I'm right at home. Haha!

In September we started leading a small group on Sunday evenings. We have 21 of us in there & we love our group. Two families in our group had babies in the last month & we are so blessed to be able to watch those little babies grow up as we grow in Christ. We are doing a study on the book "Church of the Irresistible Influence" & are excited about taking the wonderful story of Jesus Christ out to all of Pflugerville.

Heidi is also leading a MOPS (Mothers of Pre-schoolers) group at church. It keeps her extremely busy but she is enjoying every minute of it. She has so really wonderful ladies in her group & it's cool to hear all the stories.

We have been extremely busy, but we're loving every minute of it. Somehow during all that's going on, we've had the privilege of getting to hang out with some old friends that we haven't seen in quite some time. If you're ever out the Austin way, please let us know. We'd love to get together & see you.

Thanks for reading & God bless!

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Sharks at the Beach

Amaria just asked me if sharks lived at the beach. I have to be very careful when I answer these questions because she is probably already 3-4 questions into this thing in her head. So I said, "No, sharks live in the ocean." She immediately comes back, "And where does the beach lead to?" I said "The land...or not? Maybe. The ocean." Her response was extremely classic. "You just answered your own question, Dad. The beach leads to the ocean, where sharks live...beware!"

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Amaria Gone Wild

A few updates from the last week or so:

As many of you may have seen on Facebook, Heidi & I had a little disagreement with Amaria earlier this week. She was in between the couch & end table & we have told her multiple times not to go there. Heidi told her move. Amaria said, "No!" "Who has the authority here?" was Heidi's response to the defiant 5 year old. "God!" said Amaria. I absolutely lost it, but Heidi wins mom of the year. "WELL....who did God put on this Earth to be in charge of you?" Amaria moved!

Today Amaria decided to give her cat Whopper a bath. One slight problem. She dropped the cat in the bucket that Heidi was using to mop the floor. I'm not sure what kind of reaction Pine-Sol has with cat, but we may soon find out. The cat got a real bath courtesy of Heidi & he hasn't shown any signs of being sick...yet! When questioned about dropping the cat into the cleaning solution, she claimed she didn't know that it was anything other than water. No excuses--this little incident got her one month without any TV or movies. Nothing like starting the next stage of your life grounded.

Speaking of that next stage--it begins tomorrow for Amaria--her first day of kindergarten. I can't believe that she is already starting 'real' school. Last week Heidi & I had a chance to meet her teacher & last night, Amaria got her chance. She, of course, was shy when we first got there, but by the time we left she was already hamming it up. Tomorrow is definitely going to be a big day for all of us. Thankfully, Amaria is extremely excited--possibly to excited to sleep maybe (not good!). We are so thankful for the opportunity that God has given us to allow Amaria to attend school at Round Rock Christian Academy. I'm sure they'll been tons of updates throughout the year on Amaria & school. We pray that the majority of them are good/positive updates.

Thanks for reading & God bless!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Cambree Update

Okay, so last week she started crawling. Since then, her first tooth has broke through. She has stood while resting her hand on a foot stool. She has pulled herself up. 2nd tooth broke through. And she has stood up in her crib. We have one of those "Baby's 1st Year" Calendars & it seems like there is a sticker on every day for the month of August. It has been so long since Amaria was this age, that I had forgotten how fast all these things happen once they start. Gotta go...there she goes taking off again!

Thanks for reading & God bless!

Friday, August 6, 2010

Dinner with Amaria

Getting Amaria to eat is like pulling teeth....speaking of teeth, Cambree has her first tooth coming in. Poor Heidi didn't sleep at all last night.

Anyway, Amaria was wanting a cookie after supper tonight, but as always the stipulation was, "You have to eat a good supper." Well, of course, after 3-4 bites, she was full & wanted a cookie.

Me: "No, that's not happening. You hardly even ate."

Amaria: "OK....how many more bites do I have to eat?"

Me: "17"

Amaria: "OH NO WAY. That would never happen...it would be morning by the time I ate that much."

Laughter breaks out between Heidi & I. She knows she has us.

Amaria: "I would die sitting here at this table trying to eat that much."

A lot more laugher.

Amaria: "I would definitely be a grown up by the time I got done."

We have compromised & agreed on 10 more bites for a cookie. During the time it took me to type this, we have reached 1 bite. I'll update at midnight.

Thanks for reading & God bless!

Thursday, August 5, 2010

And the fun begins....

Cambree is crawling....everywhere. Nothing less than a foot off the floor is safe & we are already having to lower her mattress in her crib. She has also started repeating & saying, "Da-da, Da-deeeee, Nana, kick, & ma-ma". She loves her voice & she shakes the walls when she lets out one of her joyous screams. We are so truly blessed. I think everyone who has ever met her says what a great, easy baby she is. For the parents sake, let's hope she stays that way.

We have also been granted the opportunity to get Amaria into a 5-day Kindergarten program @ Round Rock Christian Academy. She tested this week & thankfully, she was ahead of where she is supposed to be at this level. That's due to the hard work that her momma & the people at First Baptist Georgetown have put in with her over the years. We are so grateful for this opportunity that God has given us & we look forward to Amaria continuing her education in a Christian school.

Sorry for the long time between post but life has been hectic & boring all at the same time for the last month around here. Thanks for reading & God bless!

Dustin