3/17/03

Dear Tyler,
On March 17,  2003 we welcomed you, our first born child into the world.  To say that our lives would be forever changed is an understatement.  I cannot believe that you are 7 years old!  Where has the time gone by?  

Daddy and I are so proud of you.  You continue to make EXCELLENT grades and school and your teachers always have wonderful things to say about you.  You are a hard worker and very compassionate to your friends and family.  You truly care about people and their feelings and try your best to make them feel better.

You are the best big sister a little brother could ask for.  As I am typing this post, you are playing with Landon in your room.  I love to hear the two of you playing and laughing together. He loves it when you read him books and teach him how to throw snowballs.  You are so protective of him when it comes to his allergies.  You constantly ask if something has eggs or peanuts in it.  And now you make sure that he doesn't get too close to a cat or dog.  I know that he is always safe when his big sister is around.

You were such a strong a brave girl while Daddy was deployed last year.  Now that he is home, you soak up every minute that you can with him.  Being a military child is not the easiest.  Daddy has missed several of your birthdays, including this year.  But a phone call from daddy makes you grin from ear to ear.  

I love our girl time together!!  I know that we will always have a close relationship! We are two peas in a pod, well that is what your Daddy tells us.  You always make me laugh and I cannot wait for the years ahead of us!  

Happy 7th Birthday, Tyler!!  I hope you have a wonderful day!!  You deserve the best!!  Keep dancing, smiling, and loving life!!


Love,
Mommy

Go Panthers

This past week was Homecoming for Tyler's school district.  Her school colors are orange and black.  My mom found this shirt last weekend and we knew that dressing her up as a football player would be too cute!!  Her shirt says Team Captain.  If you cannot tell, Tyler is posing as if she is throwing a football.  On Friday, the schools released at 2:00 for the parade.  The kids loved the parade.  I was having a crazy afternoon and forgot my camera.  I won't even mention what happened after we got to the parade!  One of those moments where you keep reminding yourself that they kids are having a blast!!  Did I mention on here that Tyler was named student of the month for  August!  We are so proud of her.  She also made a 100% on her first spelling test this past week!  First grade is going great!!!

Girl Power

Tyler gets off the bus this afternoon and tells me about her first Bully experience. Here is how the confrontation went down:

Bully (older boy, of course): Give me your snack in your lunchbox.

Tyler: (Laughing) I ate it all in the lunchroom.

Bully: I will eat you then.

Tyler: Whatever, you can't eat me.

Bully: Well then I will throw you in the pond.

Tyler: That isn't true.

Bully: Well bring me a snack tomorrow.

Tyler: Whatever, get a snack at home!

OMG, Tyler totally held her own! I was blown away! I never knew she had it in her! Damn, this girl has grown up over the summer! I was very proud of how she took care of the situation. I did let her know that she should NEVER give into bullies. If the situation continues, she should tell her bus driver and mommy. Mommy will be more than happy to go and have a nice little chat with Bully's mother!

Prayers and Swimming

Before I talk about what is going on with us, I want to ask for prayers for a very special little boy who needs all the prayers that he can get. I am sure the majority of you know who I am talking about. Please pray for Stellan and his family during this difficult time. You can check out his story at www.mycharmingkids.net. This poor boy has been through hell and back in his short life. He is about to be life flighted to a specialist in Boston, for the second time, and his parents will leave behind their three young children. My heart breaks for them during this very difficult time. Please God, heal Stellan and give his parents strength and the doctors and nurses the guidance needed to help cure little Stellan.

David has been begging me for pictures of Tyler's swim lessons. Her lessons are at 8:30 in the morning and I am doing good to even get the kids out the door that early in the morning, not to mention remembering to bring a camera with me. But today I remembered! And David loved seeing the pictures!!

The closest town from the base is 15 minutes away and they just opened up a water park at their Parks and Recreation Center.

This is the lazy river. In the mornings, you can come and walk. I would love to do that, but no kids allowed during this time!!

I hope everyone has a great week!!! We have 6 weeks down in this deployment! WOOHOO!!

A Work in Progress

Last Friday, David and I decided to work on some projects that had been put off until the weather was warmer. My mom gave us my brother's old headboard and foot board for Landon. I think it is pretty much pipe that was welded into a bed. It is old and heavy and I LOVE it!! David spray painted it black and it looks great! I decided that I would sand down Tyler's old dresser and paint it black as well. I wasn't sure what to do but we are happy with how the dresser came out!

The kids were OPS (sorry, that is the military wife coming out in me!) checking the bed.

I really need to find a bed skirt to match. This is a horrible picture but Landon's room is the size of a closet so it was the best angle I could get!

Here is a picture of the dresser. You can click on the pic to make larger. When we put the drawers in, I realized that I will have to go back and do some touch up work! David wants me to paint a razorback on the middle drawer and I am on the hunt for some drawer knobs. Please excuse the hats and bat not centered with the dresser. I am going to get him a shelf to hang his bats from and hooks for his hats. None of those hats fit anymore! I am also going to get a lamp to give him some more light in the room.

The room is still a work on progress. Some color on the walls would really make a difference but we do not want to have to repaint white when we move! I am planning on getting picture of David and Landon hunting in the fall and put in frames.

Here are some more random pictures of the kids playing on Sunday. Tyler was playing sick and Landon just does whatever his sister does. ENJOY!!