Happy 234th!

Happy Birthday, America! 

 I love the 4th of July and all that represents to us as Americans.  I never get tired of seeing the flag flying high and I never get tired of honoring those who make sacrifices so that we can live in a free country.  I am so thankful for the sacrifices my dad, mine and Flint's grandfathers, and our friends have made to serve our country.  It is so honorable to me that people leave their wives, husbands, kids, and parents to go to far off lands and defend America around the world.  Thank you, to you brave people.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth of July.  We sure did.  We actually had a pretty quiet weekend as a family enjoying the wonderful weather in our new home!   Here is our little firecracker after church.  She really is quite a spunk!

  

Bluebonnets 2010

I Love You More

This morning I was reading books to Cilla in her bedroom and as usual she pulled them ALL out of her dresser one by one.  I noticed one that was not on the rotation of books I normally read to her.  This ONE was a very special one and knew exactly what it was when I saw it.  It is one that Flint's mom, Cilla, gave to Flint years back and it is titled, "I Love You More".  They would tell each other "I love you more" from about the time Flint started to talk.  It brought tears to my eyes to read through the book.  Tears wishing so badly that Cilla's Grammie could hold her and read the book to her and tell her that she loved her more.  But it also brought me to tears thinking about how deeply I love this little girl that God has entrusted to us.  A love so deep within me that it really can't be put into words, but this book beautifully tries!
Here is a little sneak peek of it:

"I Love You More"
Written by:  Laura Duksta
Illustrated by: Karen Keesler

Walking outdoors one day a little boy turned to his mother and asked,
"Mommy, just how much do you love me?"
Surprised at the question but with no delay, she replied with a smile.....

I love you higher than than the highest bird ever flew.

I love you taller than the tallest tree ever grew.

I love you longer than the longest path ever wound.

I love you prettier than the prettiest flower ever found.

I love you deeper than the deepest fish ever swam.

I love you stronger that the strongest big river dam.

I love you mightier than the mightiest wind ever blew.

I love you fuller than the fullest moon you ever knew.

I love you brighter than the brightest star ever shone.

I love you so much more than you've ever known.

Must Love Dogs

We found THIS........

while we were out running some errands over the weekend!  That's right, folks, Katie is in Cilla's car seat!  I guess it is the most comfy seat in the car.  Now, if we could only convince Cilla of that!
Monday night, we joined the  men's tennis team (since that is one of daddy's teams) for Baylor Hour.  They were interviewed on the radio live from Rudy's. 

Cilla had a grand ole time!

Our Mess

Like I mentioned earlier, Cilla has become quite the little independent eater these days.  This has been a hard one for me to swallow because the clean side of me can't stand the the messes and you can see she is such a MESS!  

And, how dramatic is she with her hand on her head?!?!  Oh there is never a dull moment!

Good Friends. Good Times.

Some of our very first friends in Waco moved away last summer.  We miss them bunches, but they recently came back for a quick visit and to help celebrate Baby John Welstead!

We went out with all of these guys to one of our very favorite places in Waco...Ninfa's!

Thomas and Stacy,
We miss you guys lots.  You are such dear friends and we love ya'll.  Hopefully, we will make a trip to visit you soon ;)

 Spring Football
Just when you start longing for fall to get here, spring football rolls around and gives you just what you need to make it to September...at least that is what my husband says!

Student Athlete Night
Robert {known around these parts as RGIII}  wanted his picture made with Cilla and she was not very nice about it!  Apparently, we need to work on her manners {and not have her out at bedtime!}  I just hope she plays this hard to get with the football players when she is 18 years old!

Springtime in Texas

So, I got in trouble from my hubby this weekend......He had a little birthday date with our little Roo and the pics did not make the blog.  Sorry, babe!  So, apparently, I have some catching up to do.  I hear by dedicate this week to making up March and April.  

Here is my first attempt.

We have spent lots of time at BU sporting events this spring a)because the weather has been fantastic and b)because it is easy entertainment for our kiddo!  Since Flint works with the men's and women's tennis teams we watch lots of tennis matches!

Our little "people.watcher"

 

Besides the fact that I have four and a half chins in this picture, it makes me smile!

Cilla got to meet her new four.legged pal Jake!

Everyone, meet Jake!

And here is Jake's mommy and one of Cilla's biggest fans (and A+ Babysitters).  This is Jordan and I highly recommend that you hop on over to Puplets and Polkadots for a fun read!  She is the author and is so cute and lots of fun!

Cilla also got to meet her new friend, Aaron.  Isn't he precious?!?  We had a fun lunch and a great visit with Aaron and his momma, Sara.  Cilla and Aaron are just two days apart in age, so it was fun to watch them together!  And Sara, you are a breath of fresh air and I loved my time with you!

Look at these two!  Already learning to share!

"What else has the Miss Cilla been up to the last few weeks?", You might ask.
Well she discovered that she can crawl into MY old baby doll crib.  I am not sure about how many years old something must be before it is officially an antique, but I am pretty sure this jewel is now an antique and was probably never intended to hold a 24lb hunk of love!

We spend lots of time walking to the lake in our neighborhood and watching the ducks.  Cilla loves the ducks and points to the lake every time we drive in to our neighborhood.

Here is a momma duck and her babies.

And this past week, Miss Priss learned that there is more to life than her mom and dad feeding her with a spoon.  She figured out that she, too, can feed herself with a spoon.  A new found independence.  Let the REAL MESSES begin!
{Please make note of the living breathing vacuum we call Katie sitting patiently under the high chair.  What would I do without her?}

Day at the Zoo

I wanted to share the pictures of our day at the zoo because there are some really cute ones of Cilla's friends.  Our day at the zoo was lots of fun, but more time was spent eating snacks and herding kiddos than looking at the animals!

Silly girl has decided that she HATES to sit sown in her stroller.  This makes her mommy's life a little more difficult!

But, Cheerios fix a lot!

Anna Kate and Tiffany

Anna Kate is definitely the big girl in the group.  Here she is pulling Kenley.  So motherly!
It is so funny how Cilla adores Anna Kate and watches her every move.   

Jennifer and Drew

and last, but certainly not least... Ethan

Always Be My Baby

This precious girl lights up my life.  I love her more than words-runny nose and all!
Last Friday we went to the zoo with our friends and one of my super talented and super sweet friends, Brittney, took this picture of Cilla.  I just LOVE it.  I have more to post, but we have had a busy week and it is only Monday.  More to come!  For now, I am off to bed.

Hoarding

I must preface this story with a little background information. Cilla has been on.the.go since she started pulling up. In fact, I really thought she would be walking before her first birthday (but she is not...still). She does things on her own time frame and the way she wants them. Some might call her headstrong or hard headed?!?! I have NO idea where that comes from! You never know what you are going to catch her doing next. She loves to pull everything out of drawers, raid the pantry, crawl through the doggie door, feed the puppies (people food), climb on the lid of the dishwasher....I could go on and on. Recently, she has started putting her toys on her walker and pushing them around the house. Kind of like a mini hoarder-she wants to have all of her "stuff" with her! So, today's development did not come as a complete surprise, but still made me run for the camera and laugh hysterically!

I was checking my email and I heard her rustling around in the kitchen and I also heard her walker so I knew she was not in danger, but I had no idea I would find this:

This girl LOVES Cheerios!

She was feeding the puppies a little snack

and having a little snack herself! Yes, she eats Cheerios by the fist fulls!

Silly Goose! Oh, the fun never ends!

Little Buddies

I have been meaning to post this picture for a while. My sweet friend, Cari, emailed me this picture of our little cuties after Cilla's birthday party.

Mase is one of Cilla's darling boyfriends here in Waco. He really is cute beyond words!

We went walking together this morning and that reminded me to post this picture. We are so thankful that God brought us such sweet friends when we moved to town!

Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday to Cilla's Poppa!

We worked hard to come up with some pictures and this is the best we could do! She would not put down her giraffe or take out her paci! It has been one of those mornings!

Happy Birthday, nonetheless!

We love you bunches!

Thanks for always being there and for loving us so unselfishly! We can not thank you enough for all you do for us! We hope you have a wonderful day. We wish we could be in Arkansas to give you lots of birthday lov'in, but since we can't this will have to do!

Love,

Flint, Rebekah, and Cilla

Funny Stuff

I saw this video on the Today Show a couple of weeks ago and it makes me laugh for a couple of reasons:

A) Because it is just plain ole funny.

B) I can already relate to this. Sometimes I tell Cilla no and she has the same reaction. Such devastation!!! Glad I am not the only parent out there dealing with this!

Watch and laugh!

Waxahachie

This past week was pretty hectic, but sometimes Cilla and I both thrive when we stay busy!

We met up with some of our dearest friends from Dallas for lunch in Waxahachie. I have been wanting to visit Waxahachie. Perfect!  Lauren and Harper met us at The Dove's Nest for a yummy lunch and then we walked around the historic downtown area. Even though we have two busy little girls, we had a fun time and a good visit!  It was such a cute little town with cute little shops.

Cilla loves her friend Harper! I hope they will be besties their whole lives!

How precious is Harper in her new glasses?!

It is a small feat that Cilla has this much hair blowing in the wind!!! It has finally started to grow! Bless her little heart, she gets mistaken for a little boy all the time. I know she will be glad when she has pig tails!

Thanks Lauren and Harper for driving the distance to meet us! We love ya'll and love spending time together! We are so thankful for your friendship!!!