SCHOOL'S OUT!

Well, another year of school has come and gone... in the blink of an eye, it seems. Crockett began this year at First Baptist Church CDO in Midland. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED this program and all of the teachers and people involved with it. He had such a great time, learned so much and made lots of friends. I was so sad to leave all of them when we moved to Lubbock and never imagined we could find a CDO program that would compare. Luckily, we did! Crockett began school at Church on the Rock KDO in January and he immediately LOVED it! He walked right in everyday and learned the ABCs, his #s and instantly took to his new teachers and friends. Poor Crockett has been moved around quite a bit in his short 3 years, but we have been so lucky to find such wonderful school programs and people to surround him with. I feel so blessed that COTR KDO is where we got to spend the past 6 months. Mrs. Kelsey, Mrs. Amanda and Miss 'Atina" (Miss Catrina) were so caring and loving towards Crockett... We still talk about them daily! Crockett has grown so much in the past year. It is hard to believe how far we have come and how much he has changed. We are looking forward to a fun summer, with lots of exciting things to do!

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL 2011

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL 2012

Baby Bowen - 36 weeks!

I am feeling a teeny-tad bit guilty as I write this very first blog dedicated to my sweet baby Bowen Barrett. I am 36 weeks as of this past Monday and SO ready to meet this sweet boy! We had our final sonogram on Monday and everything looked great, thank goodness! Bowen weighs about 5 lbs 15 oz and should continue to gain about 1/2 lb each week. We couldn't get any good pictures because of how squished he is, but that is ok, we will see him soon enough! I also had my 36 week appointment with my doctor, Dr. Devine. His heartrate was 152 to 154. I measured 33 cm, which is small, but I have been measuring about 2 cm off each appointment. The measurement is supposed to line up with whatever week you are... so technically I should measure 36, but we think he may have dropped. I can tell his head is very low, so that makes lots of sense. Dr. Devine also checked me and I am dilated to 2 and about 50% effaced. If Bowen will stay put about 2 more weeks, that would be wonderful. I have a feeling when he comes, it is going to happen VERY fast! His room is not quite finished, but we are getting SO close. I have really procrastinated until the very end, and would probably still not be ready, but thank goodness for Chris, my mom, Ryan and Monica, it will be ready! They really had to light a fire under me to get some things done, so it has totally been a group effort. I cannot thank them enough! We are so excited to meet this little man! I know that he will be here so soon and I just cannot wait!

KDO Water Day!!

To celebrate the end of the year, Church on the Rock KDO kids got to have a WATER DAY!! Crockett was SO excited to get to play with his friends in the water, and could not have cared less that I was there... which is usually not the case. He played in the pool and dumped the water out with the other little boys, he helped Mrs. Kelsey hold the hose and fill up another pool, and he had a BLAST playing in the bounce house. I got such a kick out of Crockett and his "friend" Farrah playing in the bounce house... Crockett would get in and go up the ladder, while Farrah was right behind him. He would wait at the top and Farrah would say ,"Crockett I need help!" and he would reach his hand down the ladder as far as it would go and he would help her up. Once they were both at the top, they would slide down together, and then do it ALL OVER AGAIN. And AGAIN. And AGAIN. They had such a great time and were just too cute together!

It was such a fun morning and, on a very overcast day, it was beautiful weather for that entire hour. What a fun way to spend one of the last days of school!

Mother's Day 2012

We were so excited that Mummer (Grandmaw Elwanda), Kyle, Marla, Kylee and Dylan came to visit for Mother's Day weekend! We went to dinner on Saturday evening, where Crockett promptly fell asleep... He slept through dinner and woke up in the WORST mood. I mean it was BAD. He didn't want to get out of his carseat, but he didn't want me to leave him in there. He wouldn't let anyone look at him and put his hands over his eyes when we were in the living room with everyone. I wouldn't blame them all if they never wanted to come back... although, I hope they will!!! So on Sunday, we had a Do-Over, thank goodness! For Mother's Day we went to Outback. We had to wait quite a while, but luckily between the rocks, Dylan and Mummer, Crockett was happily entertained! We had a lovely lunch and SO enjoyed our visit. After lunch, the Stone's left and we went to see LuLu. She was excited to spend some time with 2 of her favorite boys and all of her girls! RiRi was in town too, so I was excited to spend some time with her! When it was nap time for the boys, Mom, RiRi and I went to get pedis. What a great way to pamper this expectant momma! I am so blessed to have the best mom and so many other wonderful "Mother's" in my life. Most are still here, near and far, and some have passed on, but all have helped make me the momma I am today. Thank you so much to my wonderful, loving husband for making me a momma. It is truly the greatest gift I have ever received. I have the sweetest boys, Crockett, whom I love BIG MUCH, and Bowen, who I am so anxious to meet and hold in my arms. Being a mother is such a hard job, but I can't imagine doing anything else. When I think about my children, my heart is filled with joy and awe. Happy Mother's Day!

Stone Family Reunion

We were excited to be able to attend the annual Stone Family Reunion this year. We look forward to the reunion and seeing EVERYONE each year. We went to Holliday on Friday and got to spend some time with Mummer. Crockett is always so happy to get to her house. Rich and Bella came late Friday night, so we didn't get to play with them until Saturday, but Crockett and Rich had a great time! Uncle Kyle told Crockett that there were ghosts in Mummer's closet, so Crockett and Rich hunted ghosts all afternoon... and this was after Uncle Kyle and Aunt Marla caught about 4 :) Uncle Kyle will be careful what he tells Crockett next time! Ha! Sara and I even got to sneak away for pedi's, a frappacino and a little shopping. It was WONDERFUL! The reunion was Saturday evening. We came loaded with cars and toys for the boys and other kids. Good thing! They had a great time, and there were only a few little tiffs. But for the most part, they did a great job playing nicely and sharing. I am always so amazed at everyone that comes to the reunion. The Stone family is SO big and I continue to learn names and faces and almost always meet someone I have never met before. This year was a little different, and sad... We all missed B.W. and his sweet smile. He was such a big part of the family. All the other brothers and sisters were there, although Holmes was not present for the picture I took. We got to see MiMi and Casey, Amie and their girls. That always makes our day! I feel very blessed to be a part of such a close-knit, big, loving and GROWING family!!! This is such a wonderful tradition and I am so proud to be raising our children to be a part of it!

Grandpa Steve!

We were so excited to get an unexpected visitor this week! Grandpa Steve came to visit us in Lubbock before he began his trip back to Tennessee for work. Crockett was so happy to see him! Every time the front door opened, he would say "Grandpa Steve!", even when it was just daddy! As soon as he got here, Crockett immediately took him back to his room to see his toys and watch a movie. It was pretty sweet. We really enjoyed catching up and visiting. He couldn't believe how much Crockett had grown and how well he is talking. They had a great time together We went to dinner and took Steve around Texas Tech. We all had so much fun and were so glad he came to see us!

Uncle Ten's Farm

Last weekend, Mom, Monica, Braidy, Quin, Crockett and I took a little road trip to Weatherford, OK to visit Uncle Tim (Crockett calls him Uncle Ten :) and Aunt Darla. The boys have SO much fun at the farm and were SO excited about going to see the 'ammals'. It is a kind of long drive, about 6 hours, but the boys watched movies and kept themselves pretty entertained. They had TONS of extra energy to burn when we arrived, so it was a good thing that Aunt D was prepared! She had set up a tent in the backyard for them to play in, and she had Meredith, Kathryn and Keenen there! The boys immediately ran to the tree house, the tent, rode horses, collected rocks and got to see the pig. They were in Hog Heaven ;)

That night after a delicious dinner, we all got to hang out and catch up, while the boys entertained... Imagine that!?!

Sunday morning we went to Church at Weatherford Church of Christ. We have been going there as long as I can remember... it is neat to be able to take my children there now. If only my Papo was there to greet us. We love going and seeing so many old, familiar faces. Such a special place for me. After class, we went home and ate a yummy lunch. Everyone was pretty tired, so many of us took an afternoon nap. It was so nice :) Meredith left while we were asleep, so I was sad that we were not able to tell her goodbye. Even more so because she leaves for Senegal, Africa in a week or so! She is traveling with a group of 3 other people and the group, LST, or Let's Start Talking. They will spend 6 weeks teaching the African people the English language using the book of Luke. Pretty amazing. I am so proud of her and will be praying for safe travels, good health, safety, strength and motivation for her entire group! On Sunday evening, Crockett got to ride the COMBINE!!! HE was SUPER excited and it might have been the highlight of his trip :) Uncle Tim let him drive and he even got LuLu to take a ride with them! Quinny watched all the action and played with his Aunt Darla. She even got to give him a little hair trim! After the combine, Mon and Braidy got on the semi with Uncle and Crockett. Braidy got to drive this time, and HONK the very loud horn! Later in the evening, Uncle Tim and Aunt Darla took the boys, all by themselves, to go water the cows. They had such a great time and saw LOTS of cows and babies! These boys were pretty smitten with their Aunt and Uncle!!!

Monday morning, we had to get ready to go home :( The boys had to get a little more time with Uncle Tim. They also had to play with the kitty cat's again. They LOVED those cats... actually, I was a little surprised no one asked to bring one home with us! After we left the farm, we went to the cemetary to visit Memo and Papo. I miss them so much, and just feel the need to go see them every once in a while. This was one of those times. I get so sad seeing these little boys run around the farm... I know my Papo would have LOVED these little great-grandsons. After we said our goodbyes, we headed West on I-40 toward home. I LOVE going to visit Weatherford... it is theraputic for my soul. So many fond memories there, and so many more to be made. It is such a special place. Until next time...